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CNN International: U.S. Says Aid Deliveries Are Underway Via Floating Pier; ESPN: World's Number One Golfer Detained By Police In Kentucky; Putin Promotes Trade On Final Day Of China Trip. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired May 17, 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]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They raised their weapons. But, will firing make them more of a target? Three drones, one large one that hovers and two small ones whizzing about. Exposed, powerless, if we run for cover, they might come for us. All we can do is hide in the trees and hope that if we're seen, the Russians instead have a better target in mind, but they come right overhead. That noise, either the sound of death or someone deciding you're not worth that payload. We decided to leave. But again, we cannot travel fast enough to escape the drones, only expose ourselves and pray they lose interest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and this is the CNN Newsroom.
Straight ahead, the Israeli military says it has expanded its ground operation in northern Gaza into a sprawling refugee camp. We'll bring you those dramatic pictures. Then, police have shot dead an armed attacker who was trying to set on fire a synagogue in northern France, what we know about the possible motive. Plus, extreme weather conditions are ripping through Texas, killing at least four people. We will have a reality check from the ground.
Israel is defending its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice. Israel's lawyers want the judges to throw out a request by South Africa to hold its operations in Rafah and withdraw from Gaza. Israel calls its actions necessary to root out Hamas. This comes as Israel expands its operations throughout the Palestinian enclave. New satellite images show Israeli forces have been conducting bulldozing operations north of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Meanwhile, some desperately needed humanitarian aid is finally trickling in to Gaza via the floating pier built by the U.S. U.S. Central Command says trucks have started carrying international aid ashore.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is joining us now from Jerusalem with more on this. So, what is the latest on IDF ground operations in northern Gaza first.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the Israeli military says that it is expanding its ground operations in that Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, which was the site of some of the most intense fighting in the early months of the war, also the site of some of the most intense bombardment by the Israeli Air Force in during that time.
The Israeli military now says that its troops are fighting in the center of that Jabalia refugee camp. They say that they have killed over 60 militants over the course of the nearly a week of military operations there. In just the past day, they say that they've struck a weapons storage facility and killed militants firing mortar shells at troops. And it's clear that these battles in Jabalia have been very bloody. We know, according to Kamal Adwan hospital, that at least 12 people were killed overnight in Israeli military bombardments of the area. They say that 112 people have been killed over the course of this expanded Israeli military operation in Jabalia over just the course of the last week.
We know that there has been the sound of persistent gunfire in Jabalia. It's not clear of those people who are dead, how many are civilians, how many are combatants, but we certainly have seen images of civilians killed and injured in the very intense fighting, which, again, is happening because once the Israeli military withdrew from that area, they say that Hamas has since returned there, and that is also raising larger questions about the Israeli military's long-term strategy in Gaza, whether this is a cycle that will simply continue to repeat itself until there is some kind of a longer-term plan for post- war Gaza.
WHITFIELD: OK. And now, what can you tell us about the humanitarian aid by way of this newly built pier?
DIAMOND: Yeah. CENTCOM, which is the U.S. military agency charged with this region, says that trucks began moving ashore today around 9 a.m. local time. These were the first trucks to move ashore using that floating pier that was constructed by the U.S. military and anchored to the Gaza shoreline. Yesterday, a UN official saying that one ship is indeed being offloaded today. It appears that that ship is likely the Sagamore, a U.S. flagged ship that began a sailing from Cyprus to Gaza earlier this week. The World Food Programme is the agency that's going to be receiving, offloading and then distributing the aid in Gaza.
The U.S. military says that it is hoping to offload about 500 tons of humanitarian aid per day through this pier, that's about 90 trucks per day, and then they will work up to about 150 trucks per day.
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And this is coming at a critical time, a much needed time, not only because of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but also because that Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt has now been closed for about a week and a half after the Israeli military early last week moved in there, took control of that crossing. Negotiations between Israel and Egypt have yet to yield the reopening of that crossing, which has been so critical to the flow of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.
All right. Now, CNN has just learned the world's number one golfer was detained by police earlier this morning in Louisville, Kentucky. Scottie Scheffler was reportedly handcuffed after he tried to drive past a police officer in the Valhalla Golf Club before the start of the second round of the PGA Championship.
CNN's Carolyn Manno joins me now live from New York. What in the world happened here?
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a little bit confusing, Fred. So, I want to try to line it out in order just so everybody can understand what exactly happened. From what we've been able to gather from a reporting standpoint, there was an accident involving a pedestrian, a potential fatality around Valhalla golf course around five in the morning that involved a bus right before the start of the second round of the PGA Championship.
Now, somewhere in this time, likely because of maybe increased police presence with officers trying to work through what was ultimately this accident and potential fatality, Scottie Scheffler was trying to make his way through the front gate of Valhalla to start today's second round and was ultimately detained by a police officer, according to Jeff Darlington of ESPN.
So, as Scottie Scheffler was making his way into Valhalla, according to Darlington, he didn't realize that a police officer was trying to get him to stop his vehicle. So, he continued on about another 10 to 20 feet. The officer approached Scheffler, asked him to get out of the car, according to Darlington, detained him, put him in handcuffs, and then from what we can gather from what ESPN is reporting, essentially booked him, took him down to the Louisville police station, which seems like it's something of a misunderstanding, according to Darlington's reporting.
It seems like Scheffler didn't realize that he was being asked to stop by a police officer. It seems like it was a bit of a complicated situation with so many different officers on the street. Maybe he didn't realize that he was being asked to pull over. But, all that being said, what we know from the PGA tour right now is that the start of the second round was ultimately delayed for about an hour and a half while they work through what happened in this first incident involving this pedestrian who was reportedly struck by a bus and killed, and we're starting to figure out more about what exactly happened to Scottie Scheffler and where he is now, as play gets set to resume a little bit later on this morning.
WHITFIELD: So, we don't know if he has been released. We don't know if he is on his way or even at the golf course to be part of that second round.
MANNO: Right. WHITFIELD: All right. Carolyn Manno, we'll leave it there. Thanks so
much.
All right. Russian President Vladimir Putin is wrapping up a state visit to China. He and his Chinese counterpart making a show of unity with a farewell hug. The war in Ukraine has driven the two leaders and their economies closer together with trade hitting record levels last year. And before that bear hug was flashed around the world, the Russian President paid tribute to Soviet soldiers who died fighting for the liberation of China. Later, he offered his view of the world's second biggest economy and what it means to Moscow.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): The Russian-Chinese inseparable partnership is a direct influence on the development of the two countries' economy and will reliably provide energy security, stimulate the creation of new industries, well-paid employment, improve the welfare and quality of life in our countries for our citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. We're live in Beijing with CNN's Marc Stewart. Marc, good evening to you. I was about to say good morning. Good morning for me. Good evening to you. All right. Walk us through some of the key takeaways of Putin's visit to China.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Fredricka. So much imagery. As we talked about before, a big part of this visit was to show that these two men shared a friendship and have a shared view of the world. And some of the images that we've been seen over the last few hours certainly reflect that.
Let's take a look again at that goodbye that hug, that embrace between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. But, in addition to that, we saw some images also on Thursday of these two men just sitting together, sipping tea, having a conversation. But, this is much more than just pleasantries.
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These two men have a very defined view of the world and the West, going as far as saying that they view the United States as a destabilizing force. In fact, as this visit concludes, a joint statement was released between these two nations, talking about everything from Taiwan to the violence in Gaza. Let me read to you part of this 7,000-word statement that was released, partly saying "Russian-Chinese relations stand the test of rapid changes in the world, demonstrating strength and stability, and are experiencing the best period in their history."
One way, this unity is being shown is through military reasons. They are -- both nations have committed to joint exercises, training, as well as sea and air patrols, again, showing the strong alliances. So, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin said goodbye last night. Vladimir Putin did travel today, I mean Friday, to the far eastern part of China to this border where China and Russia border each other. There was a wreath-laying ceremony, paying tribute to some people who were lost -- soldiers who were lost in the liberation of China. And then, as you mentioned, Vladimir Putin attended a conference.
So, this is a visit that was high on symbolism, and I think Beijing and Moscow will do all they can to keep these optics going into the future, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Marc, how does the West, including the U.S., view this partnership?
STEWART: It was very concerning, without question. In fact, let me just share with you some of our previous reporting. We've heard the USA, they consider China to be the most serious long-term challenge to international order, and Russia clear and present threat. So, I think those words speak for themselves.
WHITFIELD: All right. Marc Stewart, thanks so much.
All right. On to northern France now where police in the city of Rouen shot and killed an armed man who set fire to a synagogue. That's according to the city's mayor who -- as the suspect was armed with a knife and an iron bar. Police reportedly shot the man when he moved toward police. This incident comes amid heightened global concerns over antisemitism and as Paris prepares to host the Summer Olympic Games.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne is joining us now live from Paris. What more are you learning, Saskya?
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Fredricka, we're getting a lot more details. We know that it happened just before 7 a.m. This armed man broke into the synagogue in Rouen, as you said, in northern France, and then he made his way up to the first floor. That is when he launched a cocktail Molotov that started the fire. He then made his way onto the roof, and it's at that moment that the firemen and the police arrived on the scene. Now, the man then jumped from the roof towards the police. He charged them with a knife and he was subsequently shot dead by the police. Now, no one else was injured. The fire was put out fairly quickly by the firemen. But, there was damage that was done inside the synagogue.
I don't know if we've got the still but you can see inside this -- the furniture that was burnt. You have the walls that were blackened. And how did the firemen and the police get to the scene so quickly? Well, since October 7, synagogues across France have been put under heightened surveillance. So, they were able to see on the CCTV this man who was trying to get into the synagogue, and that's how they were able to get there so quickly. And of course, this incident has sent shockwaves throughout the Jewish community in France, in Rouen. Take a listen to the Rabbi of the synagogue, Rabbi Lubecki.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RABBI CHMOUEL LUBECKI, BETH LOUBAVITCH ROUEN (Interpreted): Unfortunately, we were expecting this. We will have this worry inside of us. But, when it actually happens, it is still shocking. We are never ready. We are never ready. On one hand, we are ready, but not really.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VANDOORNE: Now, since October 7, there has been a rise in antisemitic attacks here in France, and just this week, the Paris Holocaust memorial was tagged with red hands. So, the Jewish community feeling that they are under threat here, and they said that they felt isolated. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Saskya Vandoorne in Paris, thank you so much.
All right. CNN is getting new images from the battlefront in Russia's war against Ukraine. These satellite images obtained exclusively by CNN show three destroyed Russian jets and damaged buildings.
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This is the Belbek airbase in occupied Sevastopol. Russia's hardware losses come after two days of attacks by the Ukrainians on the port city. But, Russian forces are still making advances in northeastern Ukraine. Civilians in the besieged border town of Vovchansk has been dodging military drones, as the fighting gets closer to their homes.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh saw it firsthand.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When nightmares recur, they're often the same. Here, they get worse. The border town of Vovchansk bearing the blunt horror of Moscow's race to take as much as they can in the weeks before Ukraine starts feeling American military help again. Every street, a flame, Russians deeper inside the town.
Policeman Maxine (ph) is answering one of 35 calls from locals on Thursday to evacuate. The day before, three colleagues were injured. The shelling never stops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Interpreted): Quiet. Everyone get down.
WALSH: Three people still coming out. And you have to imagine quite how desperate these final people situation must be really. Nicola (ph) and his wife hiding in their basement. But, despite staying through the first Russian occupation and then liberation two years ago, they found the airstrikes last night just too much. They're joined by Maria, their mother, who can't hear the shelling or anything too well. Thousands evacuated since Russia invaded again around here five days ago.
Why everyone has to leave, it clear again, as we drive out, as it is with almost every part of Ukraine Russia covets, just utter destruction. Little left to rule over. This is their first moment of calm in many days, entire lives in plastic bags. WALSH: Saying it wasn't like last night. It was scary and everyone
else was talking about significant bombardment more that it was just better to get out of there, 85.
WALSH (voice-over): An armored ride to a new world, knowing they may never get back to their homes tormented for days by shelling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Interpreted): Aerial bombs. Everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Interpreted): And mortars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Interpreted): Did you see the Russian soldiers?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Interpreted): No. They are over there, on the other side of the river. And we are on this side. They were shooting close to us, firing machine guns and everything.
WALSH (voice-over): We had back in with another police unit who soon learnt two of the houses they must rescue from are impossible to reach. As we wait, they hear a buzzing noise.
WALSH: They think they can hear a drone here. So hard to tell with the wind and the trees and the artillery. But, that's a constant threat for them now.
WALSH (voice-over): Then, our security advisor spotted. They raised their weapons, but will firing make them more of a target? Three drones, one large one that hovers and two small ones whizzing about. Exposed, powerless. If we run for cover, they might come for us. All we can do is hide in the trees and hope that if we're seen, the Russians instead have a better target in mind, but they come overhead, that noise, either the sound of death or someone deciding you're not worth that payload. We decided to leave.
But, again, we cannot travel fast enough to escape the drones, only expose ourselves and pray they lose interest. Perhaps they did. We'll never know. But, behind us, Ukraine is in flame again, because however the West's interest in this war wanes, Putin's burns brighter than ever.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Vovchansk, Ukraine.
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WHITFIELD: And it seems that a decision to deny military aid to Ukraine is one of the motives behind the attempted assassination of Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, who remains in serious condition. A 71-year-old man faces attempted murder charges after he allegedly tried to assassinate the Prime Minister. Officials described the suspect as a lone wolf with political motivations.
And authorities in New Caledonia report the situation is calmer after Paris declared a state of emergency in response to deadly violence that erupted earlier this week.
[08:20:00] France is sending hundreds of officers to its South Pacific island territory. The protests began on Monday when the French Parliament ultimately voted in favor of amending New Caledonia's Constitution to grant greater voting rights to French residents living on the islands.
Stay home. That's the advice emergency officials have given in Southeast Texas after a deadly storm ripped through the area. Coming up, we'll look at the damage left in its wake. And now, the rest of the U.S., Gulf Coast is facing possible flooding. We'll look at the danger zones after the break.
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WHITFIELD: Extreme weather is ripping through southern part of the U.S. At least four people were killed in Houston, Texas, where winds reach up to 70 miles an hour, and that's more than 100 kilometers an hour. And more than a million homes and businesses are now without power in and around the Houston metro area. Houston schools are closed with people being urged to stay home where possible.
Ed Lavandera is in Houston for us. Ed, I mean, quite a bit of damage behind you there. What else is happening?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the mayor of Houston describing this downtown area as a mess this morning. And you can see, this is one of the more dramatic examples of the damage we have seen. This is the back wall of a nightclub here in downtown Houston, all of that collapsing yesterday around 6:30, we're told, by a club employee. There was nobody inside the club, posted on social media that all of the employees are safe as well.
But, throughout downtown, we have light poles that have been knocked over, massive tree limbs that are knocked over. We still have floodwaters still kind of bubbling up from the manhole covers here on the downtown streets. This has always been an area where you can kind of gauge the intensity of the storms that blew through here in the Houston area. This is the bayou that runs through downtown Houston, and you can see just how quickly the water is moving, and water continues to pour into the bayou. Pretty intense. I have, over the years, been covering various flooding events and storm events, seen it higher. But, this is still kind of rather high than for what it normally is.
But, this storm killed four people. One person killed by a crane that was collapsed in the wind and two other people killed by trees that fell on them. So, it was hurricane force winds that blew through here, and the intensity of all of that, and because of that, it's going to be a long day. And emergency officials urging people to stay off the roads if they can.
WHITFIELD: Yeah. A real deadly mess there. All right. Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.
So, as we've been hearing, that storm system is now pushing through Florida.
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There was another round of storms in Mississippi as well as other parts of the southern U.S. are at risk of significant flooding.
CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is in the World Weather Center for us right now. So, what's the forecast?
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're going to continue to find strong and severe storms as we go through the afternoon. But, people in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, waking up in the dark, nearly a million people still without power, most of those in Texas. Now, this is a problem because the heat is going to start to crank as we go into the weekend and early into next week. Heat index values as hot as 105 degrees. So, without the power and the air conditioning, that can really be a problem for people in Houston. So, you'll want to keep that in mind.
Here is what's left over from the storms. We've got one line of storms that's really firing up in Mississippi, and then another line that's headed into the Big Bend there of Florida, headed toward Cedar Key, and some of the northern suburbs there of Tampa with some lightning and intense heavy rain. We do still have a severe risk for today. The threat continues along the Gulf Coast. We've got that level, two out of five slight risk for severe weather, meaning that we can still see a couple of cases of damaging winds, large hail, and a couple of tornadoes from New Orleans into Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama, as we go through the day today.
So, storms continue to fire up, again, especially in parts of southern Alabama there. Then, as we go into Saturday, we'll continue to find showers and storms firing up, dropping some heavy rain and possibly damaging winds early Saturday morning in parts of Louisiana. We still have this flood threat too. It's a moderate level three out of four flood risks, there you can see in the red, for parts of southern Alabama and Mississippi, where we could see an additional two to five inches of rain. So, we still have flood watches in effect for a lot of these areas.
Now, I want to show you that we also put some of these river gauges on here too because these rivers have been really aggravated over the last couple of days because they've had multiple rounds of incredibly heavy rain. So, the rivers were already aggravated going into this event. And then, again, only adding insult to injury as we get more rounds of heavy rain.
Look at the rain that we've got over the last 12 hours, widespread, two to four inches of rain. Now, when you look over the last month, over parts of eastern Texas, they've got upwards of 20 inches of rain. That is six times their normal amount of rain, which is why we're having such a hard time with all of this flooding. The soils really literally can't take any more moisture in there. So saturated. We do know that heavier rain is a trend. As our atmosphere is warmer, it holds more moisture. That brings down heavier rain. Fred.
WHITFIELD: My goodness. All right. Elisa Raffa, thank you so much. All right. Still to come, in Donald Trump's hush money trial, his
defense team succeeds in turning up the pressure on star witness Michael Cohen. Details of the fiery cross-examination straight ahead. And U.S. President Biden hopes his campaign can stop losing black voters. We'll look at how he plans to do that and why he is losing some of their support.
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WHITFIELD: The hush money trial goes dark today, as the judge granted the former President permission to attend his son Barron's high school graduation in Florida. But, come Monday, the defense will resume their intense cross-examination of key witness Michael Cohen. Trump's lawyers grilled Cohen on Thursday, exposing key inconsistencies in his testimony. The jury could have the case in its hands as early as next week as Judge Merchan told the lawyers to be prepared to deliver closing statements on Tuesday. Donald Trump seemingly had his best day in court so far on Thursday, as his legal team turned up the heat on the star witness Michael Cohen.
CNN's Paula Reid has details.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Cohen, the only witness being called by the prosecution who can directly implicate Donald Trump in an alleged hush money scheme, has crucial parts of his testimony undercut. Returning to the stand for a second day of cross-examination, Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche grilling Cohen about all the times he has lied, painting him as unreliable and out for revenge after not being given a job in the Trump White House.
You were disappointed that after all the work that you had done for President Trump for nine and a half years, nobody, including President Trump, offered you a position in the White House, Blanche asked Cohen after showing him text messages he sent to his daughter about potentially working in the Trump administration. That's not accurate, Cohen insisted, and he began to grow agitated as Trump leaned forward in his chair behind the defense table, at times staring intently at his former fixer.
The Trump defense then reached a crescendo, turning to a key moment of Cohen's testimony. A 2016 phone call he says he had with former Trump body man Keith Schiller, who says he then passed the phone to Trump. Cohen says he told Trump on that call how he planned to pay Stormy Daniels to keep their alleged affair quiet. But, referencing phone records, Blanche asked, this is the call that you testified about on Tuesday. It was to talk to President Trump about the Stormy deal and to move forward.
Cohen was then shown a text message he sent to Schiller the same night, about a 14-year-old prank caller who had been harassing him. Cohen texted Schiller, who can I speak to regarding harassing calls to my cell and office? The dope forgot to block his number. Schiller texted back soon after, call me. Blanche then raised his voice, asking Cohen to confirm the call was not actually a conversation with Trump about Stormy Daniels but about the 14-year-old prankster. Cohen defended himself, saying part of it was the 14-year-old but I know that Keith was with Mr. Trump at the time, and there was more potentially than this.
Blanche shot back. That was a lie. You did not talk to President Trump. You talked to Keith Schiller. You can admit it. Cohen calmly responded, no, sir. I don't know that it's accurate. Blanche responding, a one minute and 36 second phone call and you had enough time to update Schiller about all the problems you were having, and also update President Trump about the status of the Stormy Daniels situation, because you had to keep him informed. I always ran everything by the boss immediately. And in this case, it would have been saying everything had been taken care of. It's been resolved.
Cohen answered. He maintained his composure. I believe I also spoke to Mr. Trump and told him everything regarding the Stormy Daniels matter. We are not asking for your belief. This jury does not want to hear what you think happened. Blanche recorded, the prosecution that objected, the judge sustained, and Michael Cohen shook his head.
REID: Every day, we try to update people on when we could see a potential verdict in this case. Now, next week, there is court on Monday, Tuesday. Court is always off on Wednesday. But, it's unclear if they're going to meet on Thursday because a juror has an appointment that conflicts with court. Then there is a four-day weekend that they're giving the jury for the Memorial Day holiday. So, at this point, it appears unlikely there will be a verdict with everything they still have left to do until after the holiday.
Paula Reid, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. I want to bring in now CNN Legal Analyst Norm Eisen. Great to see you.
[08:35:00]
So, the former President seemed to have a little extra bounce in his step as he exited court yesterday, even kind of pumping his fist. He felt like it was a pretty good day. So, what do you think jurors are thinking about the cross-examination of Michael Cohen?
NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Fred, I was in the courtroom, as I am every day, and the jury did not have a strong reaction to that moment in the cross-examination. It was a good moment for Todd Blanche, after a decidedly underwhelming performance on Tuesday, and some additional meandering that morning and after lunch. It clearly was the highlight. In my view, juries decide on a witness and decide on a case taking the big picture. And there has been a mountain of corroboration of Michael Cohen starting with the August 2015 meeting with Cohen, Pecker and Trump, when we did have another witness. Mr. Pecker say there was an agreement to take these actions to benefit the campaign.
And there are additional Cohen-Trump calls. There are two, for example, on the key day, October 26, one at 8:26 a.m., one at 8:34 a.m., that are very clearly based on phone records and Mr. Cohen's testimony, calls from Cohen to Trump directly. So, I think in the big picture, the prosecution continues to have the upper hand, although this was a very good moment for the defense, and we will have to wait and see how the jury, which has generally seemed favorable to Cohen, takes this encounter.
WHITFIELD: So, you feel like that meandering, as you describe, it may not sidetrack the jurors, because their defense attorney, Todd Blanche, as you mentioned, he did spend a lot of time on certain things, including that 96-second phone call with Trump's security chief Keith Schiller, Blanche calling Cohen outright a liar in front of the jurors, and saying that that call was simply too short for them to have talked about, both a prank caller and Stormy Daniels payments. So, do you believe that it may have undermined the prosecution's star witness in any way, given that they did spend a lot of time on that, and it did seem like the descriptions were the demeanor of Cohen did change?
EISEN: Well, I was in the courtroom. I don't think it was, in my view, a market change in Cohen's demeanor. Look, it was a good cross- examination sequence. Todd Blanche landed a punch right on Cohen's chin and it was a hard punch. It rocked Cohen. It didn't knock him off his feet. He maintained his account. I was watching the jury. The jury paid close attention, as they generally do. They did not have strong reactions, as they have at other times. I don't think it's a jury that particularly likes Todd Blanche. I've noticed some adverse reactions by them to the lawyer. His shrill attacks that Cohen had lied were objected to and sustained by the judge. I don't know that those landed particularly well.
In my experience, over 30 years in court, it takes more than one punch to knock out a case. So, certainly, this was a damaging sequence. But, in the larger scheme of things, there is so much evidence of the alleged wrongdoing that has come in. I don't think that this was the knockout blow that the defense needed because they are behind on points. So, they're not quite there yet. They may get there when we come back on Monday morning. We'll have to wait and see, and of course, the verdict will ultimately tell. But, I don't think it did the job.
WHITFIELD: All right. Norm Eisen, we'll leave it there for now. I look forward to your point of view on Monday. Thank you.
EISEN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Back now to our breaking story, the world's top- ranked golfer detained by police. It happened in Louisville, Kentucky, as Scottie Scheffler was heading to the PGA Championship. ESPN reports he tried to drive past a police officer in the Valhalla Golf Club before the start of the second round. Scheffler is now facing four charges, including assault on a police officer, which is a felony.
[08:40:00]
CNN's Carolyn Manno is back with me now from New York. What more are we learning? Those charges, that's quite a bit.
MANNO: It is, Fredricka, and that felony charge runs completely counter to everything that Scottie Scheffler is for, that we seem to know about him. I mean, this squeaky clean, top-ranked golfer in the world who seemingly never done anything wrong and can't get rattled at all, but we know that he was obviously detained by police this morning. ESPN was the first to report this story. They said that he attempted to drive past a police officer this morning into Valhalla Golf Club, and that when he finally did stop, Jeff Darlington, the ESPN reporter, who saw this, said that he exited the vehicle. The police officer shoved him against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. That's according to Darlington's reporting.
For context here, Fred, there was a separate incident this morning that caused PGA Championship organizers to delay the start of the second round. There was an accident that occurred in the early morning hours near the course, and according to one of CNN's affiliates, the man who was involved in that accident was killed after being hit by a shuttle bus near Valhalla Golf Clubs. So, that incident did impact traffic. It is unclear right now whether that increased police presence or that traffic issue ultimately affected Scheffler's ability to get where he was going.
But, public shuttles to the course have resumed. Play is set to resume. Though there is significant rain there as well, that could impact the delay of the second round further. But, Scheffler's original tee time is scheduled for 8:48 a.m. That has since been moved to just after 10 a.m. We've also learned about these four charges now following his arrest. Jefferson County court records showing that second-degree assault on a police officer, that felony with the lesser charges of the third-degree criminal mischief, the reckless driving, the disregarding the signals from officers directing traffic.
So, CNN right now is reaching out to representatives for Scheffler. A spokesperson for the PGA of America telling CNN that this is an ongoing situation, and that they'll let us know of any updates as they come, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. And you let us know as well. Carolyn Manno, thank you so much.
U.S. President Joe Biden is reaching out to key constituents, a key constituency, rather, today. However, polls indicate that he is losing support among black voters. The President is set to speak at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. later on this morning. It is to mark the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court case that sought to end segregation in public schools. The President is also set to deliver the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Sunday, one of the nation's historically black colleges and universities.
Let's bring in now CNN's Arlette Saenz, who is joining me now from the White House, Arlette. So, President Biden's strategy, what is it, to encourage more black voters to support him?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Biden is using these weekend events to try to build support and enhance support among black voters, a constituency that was key to his election back in 2020. But, there have been some signs of eroding support with that demographic, as he is preparing for this next matchup against former President Donald Trump.
Now, the Biden campaign, throughout the past year, has been trying to amp up their outreach to black voters through organizing, through advertising campaigns, as well as direct appeals from President Biden. But, even as they've done this, you have seen this narrowing of support for Biden, as he is facing off against Trump. A recent a New York Times poll in battleground states found that in head-to-head matchups between Biden and Trump, Trump had garnered about 23 percent of support from black voters there, a major shift, and could spell some warning signs for Biden heading into November's election.
Now, this weekend push will start today as the President is set to speak at the African American History Museum here in Washington, D.C. He will mark the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, that Supreme Court decision which ruled that segregation in American schools was unconstitutional. Just yesterday, he hosted the plaintiffs from Brown v. Board of Education here at the White House, as he is trying to argue that he is looking to protect the advancements made in the black community over the course of the past 70 years.
But, the marquee event of Biden's push this week will really be that commencement speech down at Morehouse College, an all-male, historically black college down in the crucial battleground state of Georgia. Now, this event has in part been overshadowed by some of the controversy over frustrations students and faculty have had about the President's handling of the conflict in Gaza. Some had said that they were upset that the college went ahead with inviting Biden, even as he has supported Israel in its war to root out Hamas, which has led to thousands of civilian deaths.
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But, the administration has been trying to make some inroads, trying to hear out both students' and faculties' concerns. Just last week, they sent the Director of the Office of Public Engagement, Steve Benjamin, down to Morehouse College for a small two-hour meeting, where he heard those concerns about Gaza as well as other issues affecting black voters. And Biden's advisors, that I've spoke to heading into the weekend, insist that the President is intent on keeping the focus on the graduates even as there is the prospect of potential protests lingering over the events.
But, Biden's team has made clear that some of the work that they believe Biden needs to continue to do is promoting some of the accomplishments of his administration that have helped black communities, things like student debt relief, things trying to narrow the income gap between -- for black Americans. But, they also acknowledge that they need to make their case that Donald Trump would pose a threat to black Americans as well. You've heard President Biden make those arguments in recent radio interviews with black radio show host.
So, this is all part of the work that the campaign is trying to do to win over those black voters, which were key to Biden's reelection back in 2020, and he would need once again to beat Trump in November.
WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz at the White House, thank you so much.
All right. Still to come, we'll look at the economic challenges facing an entire generation. Why Gen Z is already maxing out its credit cards?
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WHITFIELD: Alarming new research that shows Gen Zers are in serious financial trouble. They are the ones that are born between 1997 and 2012. So, one out of every seven credit card borrowers from that generation has maxed out their cards, according to research from the New York Federal Reserve Bank. By comparison, less than 10 percent of Gen Xers have the same issue. They're the ones born between 1965 and 1980.
CNN's Matt Egan is joining us now with more on this. So, what's going on with the Gen Zers that they're having such big problems?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, credit card debt really is a problem across all age groups. Americans are now sitting on $1.1 trillion of credit card debt. That's actually down slightly from the end of last year. What's concerning is that more and more people, they're falling behind. They're failing to even make their minimum payments. And the New York Fed found that there is this connection between people who max out their credit cards and people who fall into delinquency. Now, that top line, that dark blue line shows where people are who've maxed out their credit cards, and you can see that a growing percentage, about one in three, have now fallen into delinquency, meaning they're not even making their minimum payments.
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And of course, this is a sign of financial stress, from three years of high inflation, right, food, daycare, it all really adds up. And unfortunately, people are turning to credit cards. You can see, 15 percent of Gen Zers are maxed out. That's more than triple the baby boomers. And I spoke to a 28-year-old woman from Jackson, Mississippi, yesterday, who told me that she fell into credit card debt in college and she just hasn't been able to get out. She has maxed out seven credit cards. She has got $30,000 of credit card debt. She said it's taking a real mental toll and delaying life events, like moving out of our parents' house and having kids.
And so, I think that all of this just shows, Fredricka, that beneath those national economic statistics that tend to be pretty positive, there are millions of Americans out there who are struggling right now.
WHITFIELD: Yeah. So, what can people do if they are struggling with credit card debt? EGAN: Well, Fredricka, the ironic part here is the problem is inflation. Right? And the Fed's solution to inflation is high interest rates. But, that's really painful too. I mean, the average credit card interest rate is above 20 percent. Look at that --
WHITFIELD: Wow.
EGAN: -- almost 21 percent. That is near all-time highs. So, there is never a good time to carry a credit card balance. But, this is arguably the worst time because those interest rates are just so punishing. But, experts do say there are some solutions out there. One thing you could do is try to transfer that high credit card interest into a zero balance credit card, where you have no interest, sometimes for up to 21 months. You could also apply for a lower interest personal loan. You could seek out nonprofit credit counseling.
Of course, in a perfect world, you'd be able to boost your income and cut your expenses. Of course, that's easier said than done. Fredricka, perhaps the best advice that I've heard is to just stay away from credit card debt as best you can because it's just too hard to get out of, especially when rates are this high.
WHITFIELD: Yeah. Those are some crazy high rates. All right. Matt Egan, thanks so much.
EGAN: Thanks, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, seeing double, the World Cup winner being honored with a statue of his own.
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WHITFIELD: Brazil bound, that's where the world's greatest female footballers will gather in 2027, as FIFA hosts the 2027 Women's World Cup in South America for the first time in history.
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GIANNI INFANTINO, FIFA PRESIDENT: And the winner is, Brazil
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WHITFIELD: FIFA president Gianni Infantino there making the announcement. The South American nation is of course the birthplace of some of the beautiful games, most sensational superstars such as Pele and Marta. Brazil beat out a joint bid from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. The exact dates of the tournament have yet to be confirmed.
And it is one thing to see yourself in a mirror, but French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe got to see himself in wax. He unveiled his wax likeness at Madame Tussauds in Paris there on Thursday. The World Cup winner called his double "impressive" and it is indeed. It looks just like him. All of this just ahead of the European Championship tournament
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KYLIAN MBAPPE, WORLD CUP WINNER: It's a big honor, a dream to represent France all around the world, all the time. We don't have to forget that. It is the first thing because it's going to be a big pleasure to be there, even as a captain to be there, to try to win the Euro, a great tournament. We are the best team in Europe.
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WHITFIELD: It will be on display at Madame Tussauds in Berlin, and this is actually Mbappe's second wax double. His first one is on display at the famed Musee Grevin in Paris.
All right. Before we go, questions are swirling around a newly discovered planet that's being compared to cotton candy. Scientists say this is an illustration of "planet WASP-193 b". The unusual planet sits about 1,200 light years from Earth. It's about 50 percent bigger than Jupiter, our solar system's largest planet, but it is the second lightest planet ever found. Scientists point to its composition, comparing it to cotton candy, because it is mostly made of light gases.
All right. Thank you so much for joining me in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Connect the World with Lynda Kinkade is up next.
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