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Slovak PM Robert Fico In Hospital After Shooting; Situation In Kharkiv Oblast Partially Stabilized; IDF Ramps Up Operations In Eastern Rafah As People Flee; Russian President Arrives In Beijing for State Visit To China; Manhunt for French Fugitive Known as the Fly; Guns Pour into Haiti's Capital Despite International Isolation; 6,000 Evacuated from Their Homes in Alberta; Biden and Trump Agree to 2 Debates in June and September; congressional Hearing Focuses on Cargo Ship Blackouts; Contestants Battle Boredom in Rivalry of Relaxation. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 16, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.
Slovak leaders are calling an assassination attempt on the country's Prime Minister and assault on democracy.
Israeli forces are ramping up their operations in Rafah as the U.N. reports more than 600,000 people have been displaced from the city in the past 10 days. And Interpol gets involved in the manhunt for a prison inmate in France after a daring and deadly escape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin with the assassination attempt on a world leader Slovakia is Prime Minister Robert Fico who's considered a Kremlin sympathizer. Now we're waiting on an update on his condition with the Slovak Deputy Prime Minister said if he'd so is expected to survive.
Now he was shot five times on Wednesday by a man in the crowd even though they were separated by barriers. You can see the security team leading food so to a car for safety in the crowd watching nearby. The gunman was quickly apprehended and no one else was hurt.
Fico was rushed to hospital and has spent hours on an operating table. The deputy prime minister said the surgery went well.
Now prior to the attack, Fico had been attending a government meeting in the central town of Handlova. He won a third term as Prime Minister last October after running a campaign that criticized Western support for Ukraine. Slovak leaders have called the shooting an assault on democracy and blamed rising hate speech for the country's tense political atmosphere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT KALINAK, SLOVAK DEFENSE MINISTER: Just talking about the level of democracy about the ability to understand each other to accept the other opinion, and not only one is that good one. Does somebody have a different opinion? It's also -- have also his place on the years and the political field. So this is the issue. What's happened. It's a political assault. It's absolutely clear. And we have to react on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now Slovak Prime Minister has no shortage of critics after his political comeback last year, Fico led a major U-turn in Slovakia's foreign policy by vowing to block military support for Ukraine and its ambitions of joining NATO. CNN's Nic Robertson shows us how the attempt on fits his life unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DEPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): As Prime Minister Robert Fico approaches a security barrier, his would be assassin pulls a gun, five shots fired into Fico. This film from another angle, the Prime Minister unable to walk manhandled by bodyguards into a car.
The shooter instantly wrestled to the ground as Fico so rushed to a nearby hospital where a spokesman said he was conscious. His life functions stabilized before being transferred by helicopter to another hospital about 30 kilometers away for higher level care.
More than three hours later, the defense and interior ministers announcing the PM still in surgery. And this a motive.
KALINAK: It's a political assault. It's absolutely clear. And we have to react on that.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): No details from the countries two top security officials about the suspected assassin only extreme concern. His actions will trigger a violent backlash in this politically divided nation of 5 million people.
MATUS SUTAJ ESTOK, SLOVAK INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): I tell to all of us citizens the answer to hate is not and cannot be hate. I'm begging you all to stop. You have to stop spreading attacks and hatred also through social networks and the media.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The shooting occurred following a government meeting in Handlova, two hours drive from the Capitol. This eyewitness says she was there to shake the Prime Minister's hand, usual at events like this.
LUBLCA VALKOVA, WITNESS (through translator): I heard three shots. It was quick one by one like if you throw a firecracker on the ground. I saw scratching his head and then he fell next to the barrier.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The reality however, more than a scratch on the head, the president of the country declaring it a terrible a malicious attack.
ZUZANA CAPUTOVA, SLOVAK PRESIDENT (through translator): A physical attack on the Prime Minister is primarily an attack on a person but it is also an attack on democracy.
[01:05:08]
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Fico was never shy of courting controversy, a divisive figure, a populist who is anti-immigration, anti-Islam, anti- LGBTQ, and pro Putin and Russia. He had a political comeback last year, winning the elections as prime minister for a third time, despite long running corruptions allegations.
He was forced to resign during his previous term amid mass protests over the murder of an investigative journalist in 2018. Fico had no shortage of potential enemies. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And international condemnation was swift to come from both allies and opponents of Fico. U.S. President Joe Biden said he was alarmed by the news of the attack which he called a horrific act of violence. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it appalling and said every effort should be made to make sure that violence does not become the norm.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a Kremlin ally said he was shocked by what he called a heinous attack on Fico, whom he called a friend. While Russian President Vladimir Putin said there can be no justification for what he described as a monstrous crime in a message to Slovakia's president. He also called Fico courageous and strong willed men.
Now, the Slovakian Prime Minister has subscribed to the Kremlin's narrative about the war in Ukraine, blaming Kyiv for provoking the conflict.
We're joined by Dominic Thomas CNN's European Affairs commentator, thank you so much for being here with us again. So, Slovakia historically, no stranger to political violence. But this seems the first time in recent years that someone this high up has been targeted?
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, certainly in this part of the world, although, as you know, Kim, elsewhere, political tensions and had been high, with protests with attempted assassinations on other leaders, in some cases, former prime ministers, where it's been successful, and also on politicians.
So these sorts of things are playing out. And these are high risk environments. And that division and the polarization that has very much been a characteristic and most notably of European politics, certainly over the last 10 years have unfortunately, here played out in the way that we, that we witnessed during the unfolding of this today. Kim. BRUNHUBER: Yes, I want to ask you about that polarization a little later. But just right now, to the motive. I mean, we don't know much about the motive beyond what we heard from the government saying it was politically motivated. But the Prime Minister certainly was a divisive figure, right?
THOMAS: Yes. So I mean, it's interesting to think about these sort of questions. I mean, in many ways, the sort of the geography of Slovakia is so interesting in terms of understanding how that sort of polarization is playing out. It's a landlocked country. It has so the politics of Ukraine, one of the neighbors there, Poland, and in addition to Austria, of course, Hungary, and his friend and ally and Viktor Orban.
So E.U. politics around immigration, around the question of Russian sanctions support, yes or no, for the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
And then beyond that, the kind of rebranded Fico as somebody who's very much played out in the public space on sort of culture wars, LGBTQ rights. But I think more importantly, since election, it has been the various ways in which feed so has gone about very much like his neighbor, Orban, undermining the media, weakening the judiciary, and so on.
And these are proving increasingly polarizing issues and questions, particularly when one considers that the election itself did not turn his party to power. He simply emerged in the parliamentary system as the leader and have an opportunity to create this coalition government. So it's quite a divided political landscape, as we see in many European countries today, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's right. And now with all of that division, I mean, we heard the government pleading against further violence or against the backlash to what's happened, how likely is that do you think that that this isn't the end, just the beginning?
THOMAS: Right. Well, what we've seen here this attempted assassination of a leader who is of course, absolutely unacceptable, but the fact is that in the public space, as we see and in other areas in the region, the sort of recent tensions in say, Georgia, and the ways in which conflict in the Balkans and so on.
But I think what we see here is the sort of divisiveness of the country electorally, shifting kind of political and alliances with those in power now with this very weak alliance in the national parliament with three political parties are essentially in charge
[01:10:03]
And between a rural vote and the urban vote, we see these kinds of divisions play out in Hungary as well, where Orban is more popular in rural areas. And the way that that Fico is, and around these questions of kind of cultural walls and the conflict and so on. And so it's a very divided, highly polarized country. And the reality is that, yes, of course, the attack on Fico is an
attack on democracy, but the attempt to weaken the media, to weaken the judiciary, and so on, are also assaults on the democratic system on the kind of recommended preconditions of E.U. membership. And these are the sorts of things that are also upsetting people in the national context. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, we'll have to see how this plays out. In the meantime, I want to ask you what happens next? I mean, who might take over for him until hopefully, he recuperates and then if he isn't capable of carrying on as leader? What then?
THOMAS: Yes, well, he's got quite an expansive cabinet. And what we've been hearing, of course, because of the nature of the attack, domestic violence, and so on, we've been hearing the Home Secretary, the Minister of the Interior, basically talking about it.
But the fact is, he currently has four deputy prime ministers that also hold cabinet positions, defense environment, and so on, and that reflect the different coalition organization that we have here. He's in party with a breakaway group from his party, and also with the Slovakia National Party, which is a far right leaning organization.
So he has that. But the bigger question, or the most important answer here is, it's a parliamentary system. Fico himself was not elected. His party came out ahead in the election. And as the leader of that party, he had the opportunity to create a government.
So, we're here to be replaced in the long term, it would essentially be up to his party to go about identifying a new leader but in the short term, his party and his cabinet are able to run the show. And there's also let's not forget it and elected president and the incoming president who will be in office June 15, is a former member of his party and a member of the breakaway party.
So there's a lot of allegiance there and solidarity when it comes to sort of following the path that fits so and his folks are trying to map out. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right, as we wait to hear more details about his condition. We'll have to leave it there, but certainly appreciate your analysis. Dominic Thomas, thank you so much.
THOMAS: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's president says the country's defense forces have partially stabilized the situation in the Kharkiv region against an ongoing Russian offensive. Heavy fighting handgrip the area near the border for days after Russia launched a surprise cross border assault on Friday. The town of Vovchansk is the scene of some of the most intense battles.
Ukrainian officials on Wednesday said some of its troops were forced to move positions and suggested Russian forces made further gains. President Zelenskyy said the fighting in the Kharkiv won't lead to defensive gaps elsewhere along the front line. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In the Kharkiv regions, the areas near the border are defensive actions are continuing. The occupier is being destroyed by all means artillery, drones and our infantry are working quite accurately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in northeastern Ukraine with more on the latest finding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: But it's a deeply grave situation north of Ukraine second largest city Kharkiv, and it's getting worse, frankly, day by day. We're now five or six days on from when the Russians first crossed the border again and what some dubbed a third invasion heading from their territory into parts of Ukraine. They'd been kicked out nearly two years ago now.
And in fact, it's depressing to be here, not far from Vovchansk. And just remember how two years ago, this was a frontline area. And then we saw the Russians pushed out because their supply lines essentially crumble.
Now they have their act together at seams and have on mass crossed over. We're talking double digits, possibly a village as they claim to have seized Vovchansk the key town north of Kharkiv on the border. That's really the focus of the fighting. Ukraine's military making an admission that they've had to a paraphrasing here execute some kind of tactical withdrawal, but saying they put their forces in better positions around essentially suggesting the Russians have pushed them back a little.
And a police chief inside the town has been reporting today hearing extensive sounds of gunfire in and around the town there. So lots of moving around above Vovchansk. Russia clearly coming at this with extensive resources. Ukraine struggling to respond in kind.
Remember that delay of the $61 billion of U.S. aid for about six months, has already had an impact across the frontlines in the east and now we're seeing it more acutely where they're being frankly outgunned by Moscow. Without the artillery they can't stop advancing forces, desperate need to for F-16 is in the air here as well.
The situation is so grave that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has counseled forthcoming trip abroad that (INAUDIBLE) he was going to Europe.
[01:15:00]
Remember so much of his job still is going around his allies shopping for the aid making the case for continued and better support for Ukraine, that is now not going to happen for the days ahead because things are so acutely bad here.
Clearly, Russia has in its sights the second biggest city Kharkiv still pretty far out, but its guns might soon be in range. And remember too, all of this distracts forces from frontlines that have already seen Russian advances over the past days or weeks, in some cases to a new phase of the war here, utterly desperate.
And one, frankly, that the slowdown in U.S. military aid is significantly to blame for. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Starisoltiv (ph) just north of Kharkiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Israel is ramping up military operations in the southern Gaza City of Rafah despite U.S. warnings to hold off to avoid mass civilian casualties. The Israel Defense Forces say they've targeted a Hamas training compound in the eastern part of the city.
The IDF says they're also engaged in intense battles in parts of northern Gaza, including the Jabalya camp and Gaza City where it has previously claimed to have dismantled Hamas.
Now, the renewed fighting in northern Gaza has resulted in an additional 100,000 Palestinians displaced from the area in recent days. According to the U.N., and about 600,000 Palestinians, a quarter of Gaza's population had fled Rafah after the Israeli military ordered them to evacuate the city last week. Many of them have been displaced multiple times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANSAF QANDEEL, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): No one feels our pain. No one empathizes with us. Since the war started, I've had problems with my vision because I've cried so much. I feel sorry for myself and for the people who have been displaced for the women who fled their homes barefoot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And I want to bring in SAM Rose, Director of Planning at the UN Relief and Works Agency and joins me now from Rafah. Thank you so much for being here with us.
First, just you're there, what is the latest on the ground with the evacuations in Russia?
SAM ROSE, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING, UNRWA: Thanks for having me. On the latest on the ground is that we estimate that over 600,000 people in Rafah have now been displaced. So that's essentially half the population over a period of 10 days. Large areas of the city have emptied out and people have moved in sways to the beach area on the coast. So it really, really difficult conditions here today.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, I mean, that area on the coast, we've seen pictures of it. I mean, basically just, you know, sand dunes certainly not conducive to, you know, sustaining life essentially. And we've heard that food and tents have run out in many areas. Is that true?
ROSE: That's correct. Since the operations in Rafah started about 10 days ago, the border crossing and Kerem Shalom, Rafah, which was essentially the lifeline for southern Gaza has more or less closed. There's been a trickle of supplies coming in, but by no means enough, suddenly the needs of the people who are in desperate humanitarian need here.
So yes, absolutely. There are a few tricks here and there that are coming in, but large scale aid distributions have essentially ground to a halt.
BRUNHUBER: So I mean, if they don't have shelter and food, and there's no way to bring it in, what becomes of them?
ROSE: What becomes a bit is that an already very difficult situation becomes immeasurably worse. So we are in desperate need for the borders, to be reopened to have political -- for a political solution to be found to the situation in southern Gaza. It's absolutely critical that this be found. We're talking days. We're not talking weeks, populations already in dire, dire need as we know we need an urgent solution.
BRUNHUBER: Now, the focus, of course, is on trying to, you know, help people and of course, we can't forget, I mean, 35,000 at least dead but just recently a U.N. worker was killed your organization, UNRWA, has lost almost what 200 people and has been directly targeted and attacked by Israeli residents. Is that right?
ROSE: I mean, UNRWA has -- we've lost about 189 of our staff since this horrific war began on the seventh of October. There was also a killing of an international staff member from our security department, the U.N. Security Department a few days ago.
So yes, it is really, really difficult condition for aid workers to move around.
[01:20:00]
But let's not forget the conditions of the population as well. These are women, children, elderly people that are moving in fear, that are living in fear, every movement, essentially, people go out of the house and family members will not know if they're going to come back.
BRUNHUBER: As I say the focus can't be lost on them. But, you know, in the meantime, you're trying to help people. There has been a lot of anger against UNRWA, because Israel has accused some of your organization's workers of being members of Hamas and recently Israel has claimed that Palestinian gunmen were filmed using a U.N. warehouse. Can you shed any light on what may have happened there?
ROSE: Yes, we've not been able to verify that video footage. That video footage appears to have come from Eastern Rafah, these areas of Rafah which were evacuated several days ago by order of the Israeli government. And what that means is that when these areas are evacuated, we're no longer able to guarantee to the inviolability of our premises to protect those premises.
Of course, we call on all parties to the conflict to respect the neutrality, to respect these facilities. But the reality of the situation is that when these evacuation orders come into place we're unable to do that.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Underlines the urgent need, as you said, for a ceasefire. We'll have to leave it there. Sam Rose in Rafah. Thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it.
ROSE: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: All right, coming up. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are telling each other and the world that their countries are united in the face of international pressure. We'll have more on their meeting in Beijing next.
Plus, the stage is set for a face to face rematch between President Biden and Donald Trump. We'll have debate details coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Beijing for a two- day state visit. He was greeted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two have already entered their first talks and they're hoping to show the world that China and Russia are very close and are only growing closer.
Kristie Lu Stout joins me now from Hong Kong. So Kristie, would this alliance, what is Putin after here and is China willing to deliver it?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the optics are really strong. What we've seen so far coming out of Beijing this red carpet welcome and this strong display of unity for Putin. That is what he craves and he's getting it in China. He is back in China for a state visit today, a very busy program in the Chinese capitol.
Putin and Xi have been holding talks on regional issues, on Ukraine, on the Middle East and also on the scheduled today as ceremony to sign your documents. There's also going to be a state reception and a gala concert to mark 75 years of ties.
[01:25:05]
Look, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are close friends. Xi says that China is willing to be Russia's good neighbor, friend and partner adding that he personally has met with Vladimir Putin more than 40 times. And ahead of this visit, Putin hailed the relationship in an interview he gave with Chinese state run media and we have an excerpt for you and to Xinhua, this is what Putin said he said, quote today, Russia-China relations have reached the highest level ever. And despite the difficult global situation continue to get stronger.
And relations have indeed grown stronger, as the U.S. and its allies impose sanctions against both of their countries in particular, Russia after invaded Ukraine. And we have seen trade surge between Russia and China. Let's bring up the bar chart for you.
It is reached, in fact, an all-time high last year, around $240 billion is Russia bought Chinese commodities like vehicles, like vehicle parts, like machinery like chips and China bought a cheap Russian fuel. But China has been coming under mounting pressure from the West, from the U.S. and Europe to make sure that Chinese products are not supporting Russia's war machine.
Fact last month when he was visiting Beijing, the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned Chinese officials that the U.S. and other countries would act if Beijing doesn't move to curb the flow. And there are signs that China may be doing just that, in fact, according to Chinese customs data, China's monthly exports to Russia fell in both March and April this year compared to last year.
So keep in mind, China is looking after its economy. It's working hard on mounting a sustainable economic recovery. It cannot afford to rupture ties with the West. Back to you, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Appreciate that.
Tensions are high in the French territory of New Caledonia where nearly 200 people have been arrested amid anti-government protests. Violence broke out on Monday after the French government proposed changes to New Caledonia as constitution which would give more French residents living in the territory the right to vote.
Pro-independence groups feel it's an attempt by France to consolidate power over the Pacific island chain. At least four people have been killed in the protest violence. France has declared a state of emergency in the territory. CNN's Ivan Watson has more on the history of the territory and the cause of the unrest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An island paradise in turmoil in the South Pacific, the French territory of New Caledonia, erupting in violence for the third straight day Wednesday. Pro-independence protesters clashed with security forces leaving shops, cars, homes burned.
Mostly young demonstrators are protesting against a vote held over 10,000 miles away.
In Paris on Tuesday, France's National Assembly has changes to voting laws in New Caledonia. The aim of the legislation to open up voter lists to French residents who've been in New Caledonia for 10 years. Local independence activists believe new voters want the Pacific archipelago to stay with France, which has ruled the islands since the 19th century.
DENISE FISHER, FORMER AUSTRALIAN CONSUL-GENERAL IN NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONIA: The kind of people are objecting to that, not just because it's been decided in Paris without them, but also they feel that they wanted to be part of a negotiation, a whole negotiation, which would include another self-determination vote.
WATSON (voice-over): The French government wants more talks with the independence leaders before the voting rules are formally changed, driven.
GABRIEL ATTAL, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Our priority is to find a global political agreement, the broadest possible political agreement with the separatists and the non- separatists, which will allow us to move forward and right the future of New Caledonia.
WATSON (voice-over): Leaders of the independence movement are calling for an end to the violence, which has turned deadly. For the first time deaths reported by the president's office as gunfire erupted between rioters and security forces.
FISHER: The last two days we've seen violence of a scale we haven't seen for 30 years in New Caledonia. It is kind of marking the end of 30 years of peace in New Caledonia.
WATSON (voice-over): New Caledonia has had the chance to vote for independence. Three recent referendums all resulted in the decision to remain with France. That's done little to defuse tension between some residents of New Caledonia and the government in Paris. Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right, still to come, a man hunt of unprecedented scale in France after a fugitive known as The Fly busted out of a prison convoy and a deadly end bushwalk latest on the search. Coming up. Stay with us.
[01:29:51]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: All right. More now on our top story as Slovakia's prime minister remains hospitalized at this hour after an assassination attempt, which appears to have failed.
The Slovak deputy prime minister says Robert Fico is expected to survive but stressed he was heavily injured in the shooting with bullets going through his stomach and joints.
The gunman fired five shots at him on Wednesday after he held a meeting and news conference in the central town of Handlova. Fico is considered an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who called the attack a monstrous crime.
Other leaders worldwide have also condemned the attack.
An intense manhunt is ongoing in France for a fugitive known as "The Fly. 30-year-old Mohamed Amra, a known drug trafficker with more than a dozen convictions escaped from a prison convoy on Tuesday.
CNN Saskya Vandoorne has the latest on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER: The ambush has sent shockwaves throughout France because of its violent and bloody nature with the perpetrators still at large.
The escaped inmate, Mohamed Amra, nicknamed "La Moushe" or "The Fly". He is 30 years old and has over a dozen convictions, the Paris prosecutor says are mostly related to theft.
According to BFMTV, Amra had tried to escape from prison two days before the ambush by sawing off the bars of his cell.
Video on social media shows the moment after gunmen ambushed a prison convoy that was transporting Amra. They killed two prison guards and wounded three others.
Interpol have put out a red notice requesting law enforcement around the world to look for Amra and provisionally arrest him.
And an unprecedented manhunt is ongoing in France with hundreds of police officers taking part in the search.
LAURE BECCUAU, FRENCH STATE PROSECUTOR: The determination of the magistrates and investigators is and will be equal to this outburst of violence.
VANDOORNE: Prison staff across France spent Wednesday protesting, calling for improvements to their security and work conditions.
And they held a minute's silence in memory of the killed prison officers, one of whom leaves a spouse behind, who is five months pregnant.
Saskya Vandoorne, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Haiti's capital is largely cut off from the world because most of it has been overrun by gangs.
[01:34:48]
BRUNHUBER: But despite the isolation, guns and ammunition have no trouble getting into the city and feeding (ph) deadly violence.
David Culver went to Port-au-Prince to investigate how the guns made their way there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 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 to Port-au-Prince, we pass those desperately trying to survive a crippling humanitarian crisis.
Can you give us a sense how dire the situation is getting with each passing day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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: The WFP warns food supplies across the country are rapidly dwindling as hunger worsens.
For folks who are getting this, how many of the meals a day are they going to get --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This will be their one meal.
CULVER: And delivering that one daily meal to starving communities increasingly risky.
The logistics alone are incredibly challenging. I mean, just every corner. You don't know what you're going to come across.
Not to mention the constantly shifting gang boundaries.
Do you ever get scared delivering the food?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes.
CULVER: 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: All right. We'll do one low pass. We'll make a hard right turn, (INAUDIBLE).
CULVER: We're flying near the central plateau. This is an area that for years have 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 -- light airplane. I've seen a lot of Cessnas. But it does look like that grass has been tampered with right there.
CULVER: 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. says 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: There are always guns that come in. There are always bullets.
CULVER: 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.
Are your weapons coming in from the U.S.?
INNOCENT: No, I don't go to the U.S. I cannot accuse the U.S. to say weapons come from there.
CULVER: 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 Cadeaus (ph) shot earlier this year while playing with friends.
When we visited in February, her family was living in this makeshift encampment as she was recovering from surgery. Her little sister keeping watch.
But days later, gangs torched the whole neighborhood.
Hi, Woodjina, how are you? Good to see you. You're walking.
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: When we had to run, I could not have ran with both of them.
CULVER: Back alongside the WFP, we arrive at our stop to distribute those meals. 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.
And did you see that firsthand, some of violence?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I see. I run from it. CULVER: You ran from it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ran from it.
CULVER: What --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ran from a lot of like a lot of shots, a lot of --
CULVER: People shooting at you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People shooting and they're burning houses.
CULVER: Folks here, grateful for the one meal they'll get today.
What about tomorrow?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know about tomorrow. We're just hoping for tomorrow.
CULVER: Here, thinking about tomorrow, even that is a luxury.
David Culver, CNN -- Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:39:49]
BRUNHUBER: Coming up, wildfires are closing in on several towns across Canada, forcing thousands of people to flee. But there is some cause for hope. We'll tell you about that next.
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BRUNHUBER: Weather conditions are temporarily turning in favor of firefighters in Canada who are battling more than 100 wildfires across the country. But there's still a long road ahead.
First responders in the province of Manitoba are struggling to put out one of the country's largest wildfires, which is burning out of control.
In Alberta, thousands of people were caught in a traffic jam on Tuesday. They were trying to escape another huge out-of-control fire close to Fort McMurray. But officials say weaker winds and cooler temperatures will improve conditions for firefighters.
But some 6,600 people have been ordered to get out. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTINE PAYNE, EVACUEE: When we woke up, we woke up around 6:00 in the morning and there was just a good steady smoke in there and the smell of burning, you could smell it and you can see the orange glow in the sky. And we knew it was coming. So we started packing up and prepared for the notice right. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Sam Samson of CNN partner CBC shows us how residents and officials in Alberta are coping.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM SAMSON, CBC NEWS: This is Prairie Creek. It's one of the neighborhoods in Fort McMurray that was told to get out on Tuesday.
Now, as you can see here, if you can prove that you actually live in the neighborhood, RCMP are letting people in on a case-by-case basis to grab essentials that maybe they missed when they were trying to evacuate as quickly as possible.
We did meet one man earlier who came back to grab a generator, some work gear, things for his sons. They're all staying at a camp ground about an hour-and-a-half away from here. And he told us what it was like to try to get out as fast as possible.
SERJIY FROLYKOV, RESIDENT FLED HOME: I got more time yesterday like back from site so I just grabbed what my wife prepare for us and then we just take my camper and we will go to one (INAUDIBLE) and stay in a camper for now.
SAMSON: we met another man who was trying to come in just to sleep for a little bit. He and another team are helping to create fire breaks around the city. So really pads where it would be difficult for the flames to get through.
And he just described his exhaustion and what his shifts are like.
DYLAN EBY, CONTRACTOR: I got up here, hold a four-hour shift then got a couple of hours sleep right on the 37-hour shift than went home, three hours asleep and one on 12 hours last night to stand fire guard.
SAMSON: About 6,600 people were ordered to leave their homes here in Fort McMurray, but we did see thousands of other people also leave just as a precaution. Whoever stayed is still on an evacuation alert and the mayor described how he's seeing his community pull together.
[01:44:44]
MAYOR SANDY BOWMAN, WOOD BUFFALO REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY, CANADA: We see community groups stepping up our vulnerable -- social proper groups stepping up to check on our vulnerable residents. We see local restaurants donating food and that sort of things to first responders.
SAMSON: As of Wednesday, there is a new fire ban in effect for a larger portion of northern Alberta to try to stave off any new fires.
Now, cooler temperatures and pretty calm winds helped firefighting efforts in Fort McMurray on Wednesday. But officials say it's too early to know if more neighborhoods will be ordered to leave in the city. Officials also say, and warned that evacuees from these neighborhoods
should be prepared to be out of their homes until at least after the May long weekend.
Sam Samson CBC News, Fort McMurray, Alberta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Well, U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump don't agree on much, but on Wednesday they suddenly agreed to set the presidential debate schedule ahead of the crucial election in November.
CNN's M.J. Lee has more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump agreeing on Wednesday to participate in two presidential debates. The first one hosted by CNN will take place on June 27. And the second one by ABC News will be on September 10th.
Both campaigns, basically agreed to shun the presidential debate calendar that had been set forth by the Commission on Presidential Debates the idea they said of the first debate taking place not until mid-September they basically said was too late. That at that point some voters had already started participating in early voting and they were eager to reach voters a lot earlier in the election cycle.
And in fact, we are told there was an informal back-channel contact between the two campaigns and that they agreed on their shared disdain for the CPD.
Now, what is going to be unusual about the CNN debate in June is that there is not going to be a live audience in that studio in Atlanta. And one of the things that the Biden campaign had said was that the way that these debates were created in the past, with large audiences ended up making spectacles of the debate and that they were frankly a distraction.
Now, one person we are learning that is going to be participating in some of these debate prep sessions for the Biden campaign is Ron Klain. He is, of course, the presidents former chief of staff and a trusted advisor. He tells me that he is going to be taking some vacation time to participate in these prep sessions.
We don't know who is going to be playing the role of Donald Trump, that role in the past back in 2020 was played by Bob Bauer, the president's personal lawyer.
Now, the Biden campaign clearly wanted to use the debate over the debates to go on the offensive, proposing this idea first and sort of asking the Trump campaign to accept and respond to their proposal.
And we also have seen the Biden campaign trying to needle Donald Trump as well throughout the course of the day. President Biden saying earlier in the day, I hear you're free on Wednesdays, that of course, is a clear reference to the fact that former President Trump has been stuck for many weeks inside of a New York City courtroom.
M.J. Lee CNN -- at the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: At Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York, coming up on Thursday Trump's defense team will apparently try again to undermine the credibility of his former fixer, Michael Cohen. A person familiar with the defense plans, say they are expected to focus on their cross-examination on the alleged lies Cohen has told in the past and on Cohen's testimony about conversations he says he had with Trump about the money he paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels and the reimbursement he got.
Cohen's credibility could be central to the case. He is the only prosecution witness who has tied to Trump the $130,000 payment to Daniels. And he allegedly falsified documents that describe the repayment to Cohen as a retainer.
A bridge collision in the U.S. state of Texas is causing all sorts of problems. Have a look. A barge hit the Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston early Wednesday, causing oil to spill into the nearby bay.
The bridge is the only access to that island and it's now closed to all vehicles. The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to help contain and clean up the spill and state engineers will inspect the roadway to determine when it can reopen.
Now the deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore was the focus of a congressional hearing on Wednesday with investigators zeroing in on a series of electrical failures on the cargo ship Dali, the day before it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
We have details now from CNN's Pete Muntean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Major new investigative findings lay out a new timeline of multiple blackouts on the cargo ship Dali, before it rammed into Baltimore's Key Bridge.
Wednesday on Capitol Hill investigators along with those overseeing the cleanup and rebuilding efforts, said a chain of glitches that started in port set up the collision and collapse.
JENNIFER HOMENDY, NTSB CHAIRMAN: They were essentially drifting.
[01:49:49]
MUNTEAN: National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy says her biggest questions are now focused on the Dali's electrical system. In a new report, the NTSB says only ten hours before leaving Baltimore, the ship's crew experienced an electrical blackout, followed by another.
After the second blackout, investigators say that crew then switched the configuration of electrical power to run through a pair of circuit breakers that had not been used for several months.
HOMENDY: Switching breakers is not unusual but may have affected operations the very next day on the accident voyage.
MUNTEAN: The NTSB says the day of the collision the crew reported that the ship was in good working order with the ship underway. And only six-tenths of a mile from the bridge another power blackout rendering the ship's propulsion and steering useless.
A port pilot on the ship frantically called for tugboats that helped it out of the harbor to come back. But they were already three miles away. The entire disaster played out in four terrifying minutes.
VICE ADM. PETER AGUTIER, U.S. COAST GUARD: It's too early in the investigation to understand whether tugs would or would not have helped in this circumstance.
Demolition began this week on the largest section of the bridge wreckage, critical to the releasing the Dali, which is blocking the port of Baltimore.
Investigators say the bridge was designed without structural redundancies and not well-protected with the Dali sailing past the bridges protective barriers known as dolphins.
The Maryland agency that oversees the Key Bridge now says it will also reassess protections on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on the same shipping channel.
HOMENDY: If you own a bridge, if a state owns a bridge or other entity owns a bridge, look at the current structure. Do a risk assessment. You can do that now. You don't have to wait until we issue an urgent recommendation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right. Still to come. It's the Olympics of laziness. The competition of the couch potatoes, the battle royale of boredom. You just sit and space out.
But this contest has one big catch. We'll explain just ahead. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: First, Queen Camilla is done the buying new clothes made of animal fur. That's according to a letter Buckingham Palace sent to PETA, which didn't say what Camilla will do with her existing furs. Last month, the animal rights group reached out to the Queen and spelled out what it described as cruel practices in the fur industry.
Camilla follows in the footsteps of late Queen Elizabeth, who stopped buying for products three years before she died.
Now the U.K. economy could see a boost of nearly $1 billion thanks to one of the world's biggest music tours.
That's right. Swift-onomics omics strikes again. The British bank, Barclays, estimates the 15 U.K. top stops on Taylor Swift's Eras tour later this year could inject more than $950 million into the economy. The bank considered fans spending money on travel, accommodations, tickets and food, spending over $1,000 each.
[01:54:46]
BRUNHUBER: All right. Finally, there's a competition for all the couch potatoes out there. No running, jumping, or physical activity of any kind required. You just sit and space out. But contestants say doing nothing for a while actually does a body good.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A crowd gathering, media jostling for the best spot to catch sight of a fierce competition among more than 100 people in South Korea recently.
They are rivaling each other in Seoul's annual space out competition, where contestants have to zone now for 90 minutes without falling asleep or checking their phones. The winner gets determined based on audience votes and competitors heart rate.
This year more than 4,000 people applied to participate in the competition, the city government says. From an Olympic athlete, to bakers contestants came dressed in clothes that reflect their different professions.
KWAK YOON-GY, SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATER: I tried out for the Olympics five times and have never taken a proper rest while training for 30 years. I heard this place is where I can clear my mind and rest, at least during this time. So I came here thinking, wow, this is what I needed so much well.
GU GA-HYEON, BAKER: While we stare at the oven, we see customers outside our window going out after buying bread while we work in the hot heat. We're so tired and exhausted so we wanted to relax our minds.
MONTGOMERY: This year marks the tenth anniversary of the competition that was founded by a visual artist, Woopsyang.
WOOPSYANG, VISUAL ARTIST: The space out competition overturns the social convention that spacing out is a waste of time in today's busy society and turns it into a valuable activity.
This contest tells you that spacing out is no longer a waste of time, but a time that you really need.
MONTGOMERY: since its first competition in Seoul in 2014 the contest has expanded internationally, taking place in cities like Beijing and Tokyo.
For this year's competition in Seoul, the winning trophy went to a freelance broadcaster, Kwon So-a, who works multiple jobs.
KWON SO-A, WINNER OF SPACE OUT COMPETITION: I think, especially here in Korea, it's such a competitive country where people think that if they do nothing, that they are a little behind.
So I think everyone has to have their own pace and sometimes just slow it down.
MONTGOMERY: Hanako Montgomery CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my colleague Rosemary Church, next. please do stay with u
[01:57:25]
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