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Biden's Planned Morehouse Commencement Address Met With Backlash; Soon: Trump Addresses NRA Convention In Dallas; No Body Cam Video Exists Of Interaction Between Arresting Officer And Scheffler, Mayor Says; More Than 300 Pallets Of Aid Delivered To Gaza Through U.S. Floating Pier; Star Witness Michael Cohen Resumes Testimony On Monday; Analysis Of Clinical Trial Says Drug Wegovy May Have Benefits Weight-Loss, Diabetes. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired May 18, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That is obviously occupying regulator's minds right now. Or it should be.

Watched the rest of my conversation with Mustafa Suleyman at amanpour.com. And you can find all of our shows online at cnn.com/podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you again next week.

[12:00:37]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Right now, President Biden is on route to Atlanta right now as he has a whole weekend of courting black voters. Tomorrow he will give a commencement address at Morehouse College.

His visit comes as the campus is seen pro-Palestinian protests in recent weeks, much like across the country at several university and college campuses.

The president of Morehouse College tells CNN that he will not tolerate disruptions during tomorrow's event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID THOMAS, PRESIDENT, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: We will also not ask police to take individuals out of commencement in zip ties. If faced with the choice, I will cease the ceremonies on the spot if we were to reach that position. But this will not be a place where there will be a national photo op of individuals being taken out of the Morehouse campus in zip ties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Despite that warning coming from Morehouse president, students who spoke to CNN say they plan to show their outrage over the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I exist as more than a prop for a photo op.

NOAH COLLIER, GRADUATING SENIOR, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: He completely dismiss us by calling us violent, by calling us antisemitic, and --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you?

COLLIER: No. In no way shape or form are any of us, antisemitic.

AYLON GIPSON, GRADUATING SENIOR, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: I don't want him to come here and campaign. I know he's going to talk some of -- some of his accomplishments. I know he's going to talk about some of the things he's going to do for black people. I'm expecting to hear that. But I also to hear authentic speech about why he's here for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Arlette Saenz is here with me in Atlanta. Great to see you.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, you know, on the issue of the war in Gaza, you know, some Morehouse students, as we heard right there, have expressed their objection to the president and his arrival. How has he shaped or reshaped his commencement address, knowing that he has an audience of some students and perhaps even some of their parents or grandparents who say, you know, we're not completely happy with your agenda, or the position on the war on Gaza?

SAENZ: Well, president Biden and his advisers are well aware of the frustration among some students and faculty about his handling of the conflict in Gaza. And we've also seen a lot of that play out on various college campuses over the course of the past few weeks.

But Biden's advisors have really been drilling in on this speech, to try to take into account some of the concerns of people. One of the president's most senior advisors, the Director of the Office of Public Engagement, Steve Benjamin was here in Atlanta just about a week ago, and he met with a small group of students and faculty to hear their concerns.

One source told me that about half of that meeting focused on the issue of Gaza, while they also got to talk about other things they were concerned about, including some concerns that some students are worried this will overshadow their graduation day, a moment that's supposed to celebrate the graduation of the seniors.

But the White House has also been consulting not just students and faculty, but also alumni of Morehouse College. This is a well-known all male, historically black college with significant number of important alumni that includes former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, Cedric Richmond. The president also personally spoke with Dr. Tony Allen, he is the president of Delaware State University, another HBCU, a close friend of Biden, who really counselled him to acknowledge the students' bravery, but also talk about the impact of peaceful protest.

Allen told us in an interview that he believes that there has been these powerful moments of student protests over the course of the past few years, pointing to the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. And that is something that he expects the President really to tackle head on.

So, what advisors have also been clear as they've been planning this speech and speaking to them into this weekend, is that he's here to be a commencement speaker, not a foreign policy voice. And so, we'll see how exactly he strikes that balance, when he delivers the speech.

WHITFIELD: And the president is arriving in Atlanta rather early. The commencement address is tomorrow. We're looking at pictures of him, you know, boarding Air Force One out of the Washington, D.C. area on his way here because he's got at least two other right private fundraising and campaign stops in Atlanta.

[12:05:01]

And then, throughout the weekend, after he leaves Morehouse, he's going to be heading to Detroit for an NAACP dinner, where he'll be speaking there.

So, he is making a significant push, not just to the black community, but apparently also to young voters. You know, what is his message that he is trying to, you know, convey this weekend by making all of these stops, and really full swing with his campaign?

SAENZ: Yes, we're really seeing the president focus in on these three days of a very fresh push to try to appeal to black voters. That is something that will be on hand tomorrow when he speaks at Morehouse.

And what you hear from the president is he's trying to tout some of the accomplishments that they've been able to achieve when it comes to lowering insulin, infrastructure investments, and also, student -- trying to cancel student loan debt, as he's trying to show that they are doing work to help the black community.

But it does come at a point when black voters made up a core part of Biden's coalition back in 2020. But recent polling has shown a narrowing of that support heading into November.

If you take a look at a recent poll from the New York Times that took a look at battleground states, Biden is at 63 percent with black voters, while Trump is at 23 percent. That's in a head-to-head matchup between the two. It gets much narrower if you consider third party candidates.

The Biden campaign acknowledges that they have real work to do to try to stress one what they would do for the community, but also trying to drive that contrast with former President Trump. WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, great to see you. We'll have you back. Of course, Air Force One, almost wheels up on his way to Atlanta and we'll talk more about his visit. Thanks so much.

All right. Former President Trump is spending his weekend in Dallas, where he is speaking at the annual NRA convention. The gun rights organization has seen a major shakeup in recent months following a series of scandals. CNN's Steve Contorno is in Dallas for today's speech.

Steve, good to see you. So, how influential is the NRA expected to be in this presidential race?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Fred, eight years ago when the NRA endorsed Donald Trump for president, few would have questioned the organization's influence in American politics. Now, that has come under threat by a series of scandals, financial mismanagement, leadership shakeups, that have not only questioned its relevance, but how much it's has to support Donald Trump in this upcoming election.

This is an organization that spent upwards of $30 million, eight years ago, helping Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016. It is unclear what kind of financial commitments they can make to Donald Trump this go around.

Now, Donald Trump for his part, he is standing by the embattled organization. Recently his campaign hosted a whole bunch of conservative organizations to talk about their strategy for the summer and fall.

The NRA and people, a part of the NRA were part of those talks. Trump has also said that he will be a second amendment president if elected again, he said he would unravel all the steps that President Biden has done to address gun violence in this country.

He often reminds Second Amendment voters that he, "did nothing" to succumb to pressure from gun safety groups, after all the mass tragedies that he oversaw in his watch.

Now, what's interesting is this is a contrast that the Biden campaign is very eager to make. And there is little disagreement between the Biden side and the Trump side over where these two candidates stand on guns.

President Biden wants an assault weapons ban, getting weapons like AR- 15s out of the hands of Americans. Donald Trump has said that he rejects those kinds of proposals.

So, guns are going to be a major point of contention in this election. And we are going to see later today how Donald Trump rallies those who are most interested in this topic for the 2024 election. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Contorno in Dallas, thanks so much.

All right. We're also following new developments in the arrest of the men's world number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler. CNN has learned that there is no police body cam footage of the incident that led to his stunning Friday arrest.

Scheffler says he was rattled by his arrest that he calls a big misunderstanding with police. And unfolded just before dawn yesterday outside the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, Scheffler is accused of injuring an officer who tried to stop him from driving through the scene of a fatal traffic accident outside the club.

Scheffler was booked in jail and is in -- and now facing four charges including felony assault on a police officer. We've got team coverage from Louisville. Patrick Snell is covering the tournament for us.

But let's begin with Gloria Pazmino, who's looking at the investigation of all of this. And you just spoke with the mayor of Louisville about this incident and what are you learning?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. We just caught up with Mayor Greenberg in the last hour who have told us that so far, they have not found any body camera footage, showing the beginning of the interaction between Scheffler and the arresting officer.

[12:10:14]

We know that there is video from the area and from other officers, who had body cameras on, but there is no video that the police has been able to find a so far, showing that beginning interaction, which is really going to be the key to answer some of the questions we've had here, because we're seeing a bit of two different sides to the story.

As you said, Scheffler and his attorney has said that this was all just a terrible misunderstanding. Scheffler has been extremely complimentary of the police department. So far, he has been cooperating with the investigation.

But we also have an incident report by the police department, which says that Scheffler did not obey the orders of those police officers who were controlling traffic near the golf course. And that as he continued to move his car towards the entry of the golf course, that he dragged to a police officer who ended up being injured, and that is the result of that felony charge.

Take a listen to what the mayor told us just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG GREENBERG, MAYOR OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: The officer did not have a body cam footage turned on during the incident. We will release footage that we have. We do not have any -- to my knowledge, we have not yet had discovered any video of the initial contact between Mr. Gillis and Mr. -- Officer Gillis and Mr. Scheffler.

There is some footage from across the street of a fixed camera when Mr. Scheffer was being arrested. And we will release that footage in the coming days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is officer wearing a cam, and it was not on or there was no cam (INAUDIBLE)?

GREENBERG: I don't have certainty on that answer. We will get certainty for you on that though when we released the footage that we do have available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So far, and important to know here, the mayor also would not say whether or not he believes the charges should be drowned -- downgraded or dropped. He said he's going to let the legal process play out.

In the meantime, Scheffler expected to tee off in a short time from now. But on Tuesday, he is expected to be arraigned on those charges. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Gloria Pazmino, thanks so much.

Let's check in with Patrick Snell there who is at the tournament. So, I mean, despite his arrest, Patrick, Scheffler still managed to finish Friday's round near the top of the leaderboard, as Gloria said, he's going to be teeing off soon.

He starts today in the fourth place. Has he been talking at all about this incident?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: He most certainly has Fred. Yes. Welcome back to here to Valhalla.

Yes. Extraordinary press conference after his round on Friday. No question about a tees off in around about an hour and a quarter from the right. Now, would be playing with the Belgian player Thomas Detry, and his fellow American, Mark Hubbard as well.

But, you know, from stretching in his jail cell on Friday morning, Fred, to then make you get out to the course just about in time for his tee off time. And boy, did he respond, he got a terrific response, I will say from the fans out here, the spectators making a real show of support for him, letting him know they were right behind him.

And he responded with a couple of early birdies in his round. But it was impressive. It was a five under 66. It's saw him vaulting right up the leaderboard, as you said.

And I -- just plays a creatures of habit, Fred. I will say this. They like their normalcy, they like their routines. And Scheffler was very quick to try and get back into that. He was mingling with fans afterwards.

And the video sending out very powerful imagery, I feel he was even much too many people surprised, I would say, he was even talking to police officers as well out on the course.

So, extraordinary scenes there. And then, afterwards, he really opened up, sharing emotional insights into just what he'd gone through in terms of his ordeal on Friday. Take a listen to what he said when he faced reporters after his round on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, RANKED WORLD NUMBER ONE AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: My body was -- I was shaking, you know, almost, I would say in shock and in fear. And so, coming out here and trying to play today was definitely a challenge. But I did my best to, you know, control my mind, control my breathing. And, you know, basically just calm down. So, I come out here and try and play golf.

You know, I knew there is going to be a lot of distractions. But I didn't really know what the reception would be like, and to be honest with you, it was -- it was great having the fans behind me, you know, they cheered for me really loud. It was -- I felt like they were really, really glad to have me out competing today. And, you know, it was -- it was -- it was a nice day to come out here and compete.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: And Fred, a change to routine due to different circumstances. Again, for Scottie Scheffler, because he won't have it regular caddie on his bag today. Ted Scott.

[12:15:03]

Ted Scott is attending his daughter's high school graduation on this day. Instead, Scheffler will have his good friend, Brad Payne, PGA Tour chaplain on his bag. So, really cool moment there for Mr. Payne.

WHITFIELD: Wow, what an incredible set of experiences, shall we say.

All right Patrick Snell, Gloria Pazmino, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

All right. Still to come, exclusive video obtained by CNN shows Sean Diddy Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura during a 2016 altercation.

How the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office is reacting to that video, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:20]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. The disturbing video exclusively obtained by CNN that appears to show Sean Diddy Combs hit, kick, and drag his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura inside of a hotel. This happened back in 2016. Well, it seems to support at least some of the abuse claims against the hip hop mogul.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister walks us through her exclusive reporting. We have to warn you, what you're about to see is very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New surveillance footage obtained exclusively by CNN appears to corroborate some of the allegations of abuse against music mogul, Sean Diddy Combs.

The video captured on multiple cameras, shows Combs wearing only a towel, assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hallway at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016.

A lawsuit filed by Ventura in November last year and settled the next day referenced actions that seem to match those seen in this video. There is no audio.

According to the complaint, Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye, which, according to the lawsuit, prompted Ventura to try and leave the hotel room.

The surveillance video obtained by CNN begins as she enters the hallway. The complaint says, as she exited, Mr. Combs awoke and began screaming at Ms. Ventura. He followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her. The complaint goes on to say, he grabbed her and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her.

In the surveillance video, Combs can be seen grabbing Ventura and throwing her to the ground. As Ventura lies on the ground, Combs then kicks her twice and attempts to drag her on the floor back to the hotel room.

Ventura is seen picking up a hotel phone. Combs seems to walk back to the hotel room, then returns and appears to shove her in a corner. Moments later, he can then be seen throwing an object in her direction.

According to Ventura's now settled lawsuit, the pair began dating several years after they met in 2005. They parted ways in 2019.

Combs attorney said the decision to settle was in no way an admission of wrongdoing. Ventura declined to comment on the video, but her attorney told CNN, "The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light."

The video hasn't been seen publicly before and comes on the heels of a series of civil lawsuits alleging Combs' involvement in sex trafficking and sexual abuse, allegations that Combs has repeatedly denied.

Authorities searched Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March, as part of an ongoing federal investigation carried out by a team that specializes in human trafficking crimes.

In a December 2023 statement, Combs responded to the claims in some of the lawsuits, saying, "Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear. I did not do any of the awful things being alleged."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER: Clearly, very disturbing footage and violent actions that we are seeing coming from Diddy, who up until this point has denied many of these allegations from all of these lawsuits that he is facing.

Aside from this lawsuit from Cassie, which he settled back in November 2023, he is facing five separate lawsuits and he has been fighting back through his lawyers.

In fact, just last week, we reported on a motion that he filed to dismiss a lawsuit from a Jane Doe that claim she was 17 years old, a minor at the time of her allegations in just a few days before that, he filed a motion to dismiss a portion of an entirely different claim.

It will be interesting to see now how this may impact all that Diddy is facing. But we have yet to hear directly from him.

WHITFIELD: Elizabeth Wagmeister, thanks so much.

All right, let me bring in CNN correspondent Veronica Miracle. Veronica, good to see you.

So, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is now responding to this disturbing surveillance video. What are they saying?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. The L.A. County District Attorney's Office, they have posted a statement to Instagram where they acknowledged they've seen the video. They describe it as incredibly difficult to watch, extremely disturbing.

They also say that if this did, in fact, happen in 2016, they "unfortunately, we wouldn't be unable to charge as the conduct would have occurred beyond the time line where a crime of assault can be prosecuted."

[12:25:03]

They also say that as of today, law enforcement has not presented a case to the district attorney's office.

We've reached out to the LAPD. They acknowledged they too have seen the video that they are aware of it. But there is not an open LAPD investigation against Mr. Combs.

There is no open investigation at this time. And again, Sean Combs, at this hour nor his attorneys, they have not responded to the video. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Veronica Miracle, thanks so much.

All right, still to come. Following a terrifying storm that's left a large swath of the Houston area without power, people they are will now have to deal with soaring temperatures.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:08]

WHITFIELD: All right. Some pictures right now of President Biden arriving on Air Force One, there in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. He's going to have a couple of fundraising events, speaking engagements today. And then tomorrow he will be the commencement speaker at Morehouse College. And we see that he's being greeted there by people, including, we understand, some Morehouse students who were there on the tarmac to give a handshake and an introduction there to the President. That might be the Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock there that he is first being greeted by. And then he'll go down the line there. But again, we understand that there are a couple Morehouse students there, even though there have been some rumblings among some of the students that they would show that they would be contesting the President's commencement address.

But we also heard in an interview done with our Victor Blackwell earlier today that aired, the president of Morehouse said he will not tolerate, that it will be an environment where everyone can hear, engage and listen and appreciate the visit from the President of the United States. We'll have more on the President's visit later on.

All right. Now, more than 50 million people are facing severe weather today, including some areas that have already been pummeled by destructive storms. Houston officials are assessing the damage from deadly storms that brought 100 miles per hour winds. To make matters worse, crippling humidity is coming after this weekend's storms, while many are without power or even air conditioning. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking all of this for us. So what areas are we talking about?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're really watching that Houston area closely still, even though the storms have exited. And then there are a couple of more areas that are under the gun for some storms along the Gulf Coast. Still more than a half of a -- almost a half a million people without power across parts of Texas as we go through the day today.

Now, the problem over the next couple of days is that heat will build. We're looking at the heat index. So the temperatures, coupled with the humidity approaching 100 degrees, you could see it approaching 103 in Brownsville, Texas by Monday. Some middle and upper 90s for that heat index and Corpus Christi, even in Houston, some of those heat index values in the middle 90s. Again, a lot of these people don't have power or access to air conditioning right now.

We also have air quality alerts in effect from the Houston metro down towards Galveston because when you get this very hot air, it could be stagnant. And that traps the pollution that comes out of the tailpipes of our cars. So it makes the air quality pretty poor, especially for those that might have pre-existing conditions, you know, with lung or heart disease, children, elderly. So just take it easy. Take breaks if you're doing cleanup efforts outside in the Houston area.

Here's the line of storms from the same system continuing to work its way across the Gulf coast. It's been pounding some heavy rain and some lightning this morning. We're watching for the development of maybe additional damaging winds as we go through the afternoon.

Here's what's left of the flood watch from Panama City to Tallahassee, where an additional 2 to 5 inches of rain can fall on already pretty saturated soils. Here's a look at the severe risk for today. You see that slight risk sliver, the yellow, level two out of five where we're watching in for damaging winds, large hail and additional isolated tornadoes. The threat does stretch up into the Carolinas, including Charlotte and Raleigh as we go through the day today.

So the storms continue to work its way south and east. By the way, heat index values are well over 100 in parts of Florida, so at least the rain might cool them off briefly. It does look like the threat, though, ends going into the overnight, so not looking at this lingering overnight.

Then we're already with our eyes set on the next storm system. We have another storm system developing in the central plains as we go into tomorrow where we already have a level three and a five severe risk over parts of Kansas, including Wichita. We're looking at the threat for damaging winds, very large hail and again, a couple of tornadoes. This threat does linger into Monday, includes cities like Omaha. So again, eyes set on multiple rounds of severe weather through the next couple of days, keeping us yet again very busy.

WHITFIELD: Yes, this has been a very tough spring season.

RAFFA: Yes. All right, Elisa Raffa, thanks so much.

[12:34:23]

WHITFIELD: All right. Aid is now flowing into Gaza through the floating pier set up by the U.S. We'll go to Jerusalem next and hear why aid groups are saying the pier is helping but will never be enough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New today, the Israeli military says more than 300 pallets of humanitarian aid were delivered to Gaza through a new floating pier built by the U.S. military. Trucks began moving aid ashore after the pier was anchored into place on Thursday. It will be used to funnel aid not just from the U.S., but multiple countries that are also providing aid. The U.S. says the goal is to get about 150 trucks filled with aid through to Gaza.

Inside Gaza, the U.N. says the food situation remains dire with most border crossings remaining closed and thousands of residents are going without food and water. Let's bring in Shaina Low. She is a communications advisor at the Norwegian Refugee Council and she's in Jerusalem. Shaina, good to see you. So how quickly is the aid being delivered, that is now taking advantage of that pier? How can it actually get to people?

[12:40:15]

SHAINA LOW, COMMUNICATION ADVISER, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Well, that's a huge challenge right now in Gaza, as there remain to be access issues, the ability to ensure that humanitarian trucks are able to move safely throughout Gaza and to reach people in need. While, of course, we applaud the efforts to get in additional aid, the scaling, even once this pier reaches full capacity at an estimated 150 trucks per day, it is still woefully short of the needed aid that's needed to support the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and try to address the needs of the people who have been suffering there for the last seven and a half months.

In order to properly and adequately address these needs, we need a surge of aid. And the easiest way to get that aid in, as we've been saying for the last several months, is through the ground crossings. That is the most efficient, cost effective way to get in aid and assistance. There's been very little, if any, aid getting in from the southern crossings into Rafah over the last several weeks, week or two, despite the fact that there are literally thousands of trucks on the Egyptian side of the border with lifesaving humanitarian assistance just waiting to get in. We need that aid to get in as soon and as quickly as possible.

WHITFIELD: And when you say 150 trucks is still woefully short to meet the need. In the meantime, what are you seeing happening there in terms of what people are doing with the, you know, the small amount of aid that is getting in?

LOW: What we are seeing and as we conduct our distributions is that people are just getting increasingly desperate. We've seen a huge displacement take place over the last two weeks or so, with close to 700,000 people being displaced from the southern city of Rafah in Gaza. I spoke to a staff member of ours who's been attending our distribution. She said the level of desperation is just unimaginable. This is coming from a seasoned humanitarian. She said she saw people passing out because of malnutrition, people desperate, trying to push one another get to the front of the line to express how desperate their needs were and their need for assistance.

We have a small amount of aid that we managed to get in before the first evacuation orders in Rafah, but we are quickly running out. These are hygiene kits. We've run out of tents. I think all Ngo's providing tents in Gaza are now out of tents. And many of the people who are being displaced do not have any form of shelter whatsoever.

WHITFIELD: And has it been your observation that with the aid that is getting in the aid delivery that is happening, that there is a shortage of fuel? And even, you know, that is yet one more obstacle to deal with?

LOW: We're hearing from our teams that the shortage of fuel is a huge hindrance to being able to access communities in need, for people to be able to move, for us to be able to move our goods. We have had difficulty procuring trucks that are willing to enter the areas where our warehouses are because of security risks and the fear of being stuck in the south. As hostilities continue to escalate down there, and we've had, as there's a liquidity crisis, there's no cash on hand, it becomes more and more difficult to hire trucks, especially as the cost of fuel has doubled in just the last two weeks.

We desperately need more fuel. And, of course, the thing that we're hearing, the number one thing that we're hearing from people on the ground is that they desperately need a ceasefire. They cannot go on much longer under circumstances like this. And our colleague said every morning, despite how far it seems, people are waking up and just hoping for a ceasefire and imagining what they would do, how they would be able to return to their homes and start rebuilding their lives. That's what we need to continue to be pushing for in addition, of course, to the surge of aid entering Gaza.

WHITFIELD: All right, Shaina Low, thanks for being with us and all the best in your continued efforts.

LOW: Thank you.

[12:44:20]

WHITFIELD: When we come back, Michael Cohen's cross examination in Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York will continue on Monday. What to expect, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Former President Donald Trump's hush money trial will resume on Monday as his former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen returns to the stand for more cross examination from Trump's attorneys. On Thursday, he faced heated questioning as the defense tried to undermine his credibility. Trump's attorneys called into question the purpose of a key October 2016 call with Trump's bodyguard that Cohen testified was about the Stormy Daniels hush money payment.

I'm joined now by Debbie Hines. She's a trial attorney and a former Baltimore prosecutor. Good to see you, Debbie. So let's begin with that call. It became, you know, such great, of great focus on Thursday. So it lasted about the call, meaning it lasted about a minute, 30. And Cohen testified that in that call, it really was, yes, like 96 seconds. The call was about the hush money payment. But defense attorneys were able to show texts leading up to that call focusing on a prank caller who was bothering Cohen. So Cohen came back with, OK, well, we talked about both. Is this a significant discrepancy?

[12:50:21]

DEBBIE HINES, TRIAL ATTORNEY: So I think this is the only thing significant that the defense has basically harped on, you know, from all the two days plus that they've done the cross examination, because this call goes to one of the elements of the case, whether Michael Cohen told Donald Trump exactly what was being done with the hush money and confirming what was being done. So if they're casting doubt, they, meaning the defense, if they're casting doubt on, was that what you were doing, or was it something else going on? Was it a prank call that goes to the meat and substance of the case? So that was probably, I think out of all the two plus days that they went on, that was the most significant issue that they harped into.

WHITFIELD: Do you think this case hinges on Cohen's testimony?

HINES: No, not totally. And that is why the prosecution spent most of their time before they got up to putting on Michael Cohen. They spent most of their time presenting the other witnesses, presenting the documents, laying out the foundation, although it was very boring, probably for the jury to hear about phone records, to hear about texts, to hear about documents that supported the testimony that would be coming up with Michael Cohen.

So, no, it doesn't hinge 100 percent on Michael Cohen, but there is no getting around it. Michael Cohen is a substantial element of this case. The jury has to find him credible. They don't have to like him, but they have to find him credible in order for the prosecution to actually get a successful verdict, a guilty verdict.

WHITFIELD: From what you heard and obviously, a lot of people were, you know, relying mostly on transcripts, unless you had an opportunity to be in the courtroom. Did you feel like Cohen was credible?

HINES: So, you know, the -- how I answer it this way, Fredricka, it really doesn't matter what myself and all the pundits and legal analysts really think. The only thing that really matters are what those 12 persons in the jury that are going to decide the case. Some of what Michael Cohen said, I did find it believable. I mean, in the sense that they harped on, they discussed his vindictiveness. And here was a man who spent 10 days, I mean, 10 years, excuse me, with Donald Trump doing everything that Donald Trump wanted him to do.

Yes, I think that part was believable. And I think the reason for his vindictiveness is believable too, because in essence, Donald Trump just pushed him under the bus when, you know, he got indicted. So I think there are things that can believed, but in terms of reasonable doubt, which is what the prosecution has to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. If there's one or two or however many jurors that do not believe that, you know, have some reasonable doubt about Michael Cohen's testimony, that totally ends up with either a hung jury if they cannot convict on all 12 or I don't think it would be a night guilty with what the prosecution has put on. But I think that would bear more towards a hung jury. So, yes, everything does in a certain matter depend on Michael Cohen.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now. Debbie Hines, great to see you. Thanks so much.

HINES: Thank you.

[12:53:41] WHITFIELD: All right, up next, a new clinical trial show the drug Wegovy may have benefits beyond weight loss and diabetes. That is next.

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WHITFIELD: All right, drug makers are looking into how new drugs for diabetes and weight loss like Ozempic and Wegovy may have benefits beyond losing some extra pounds. Right now, researchers are analyzing the longest clinical trial yet of Wegovy. And the analysis is raising new questions about how the wildly popular medicines in this drug class should be used and covered by insurers. CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard is here with more on all this. So tell us more about this trial.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Yes, well, this trial filed -- followed people over four years, Fred. So they followed people taking Wegovy over four years, and they found that among those people taking a dose of the semaglutide each week, they had a 20 percent reduced risk of heart attack and stroke. And this is in people who, exactly. And this is in people who had cardiovascular disease. So they were already at risk. So the researchers are now wondering, OK, was this reduced risk a result of simply losing weight, or is more happening here? Because even people who didn't lose weight on Wegovy still showed these cardiovascular benefits. And some scientists are thinking, is this because of how semaglutides can reduce inflammation in the body, or is more happening?

WHITFIELD: Wow.

HOWARD: That's the question.

WHITFIELD: OK. That's good and intriguing. But then did the study address any kind of side effects, especially if you're on it long term?

HOWARD: There were no new side effects that emerged over the four-year period that we didn't already know about. So we already know about side effects like diarrhea, vomiting, nausea. Those did emerge for some people, but those are side effects we already knew about. But over the four years, people who did lose weight, they were able to sustain the weight loss. So these long term effects, yeah, they're important to watch over time, especially. We're now at a place where at least 25,000 people are taking semaglutide each week.

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WHITFIELD: That's amazing.

HOWARD: Yes. That's --

WHITFIELD: And especially because it's very expensive.

HOWARD: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Right. I mean, it's not necessarily within reach for a lot of people, but still that number is significant.

HOWARD: Yeah. And the cost is something that I'm sure we're going to hear more about over time as more people start taking these drugs. It costs about $1,000 a month without insurance.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. All right, Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much.

All right, and a quick programming note tonight. Join us for an intimate look at the pioneers inspired to help humanity and transform society for the best Champions for Change. That's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Right here on CNN.