Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Israeli Ground Operation Could Stop Aid Efforts; IDF Retrieves Bodies Of Israeli Hostages; Ukraine Controls Entry Routes In Kharkiv Region; Putin And Xi Pledge To Deepen Partnership; Storms Kill At Least Seven In Houston; PGA Championship. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 18, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of our viewers here in the United States, Canada and all around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

these trucks marking a first when it comes to delivering aid to Gaza but it coincides with a warning of what an Israeli ground assault on Rafah could mean.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping meet with a promise to strengthen ties, the latest on their no-limits partnership.

And how an American golfer managed to get out of jail in time to tee off for the PGA Championship.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: As Israel plans for a possible evacuation of its offensive in Rafah, a new warning from the World Food Programme, who say it could bring humanitarian operations to a standstill.

Another group, the U.N. humanitarian agency says Gaza is now facing a dire food situation. Aid has finally been delivered by ship through the floating pier the U.S. built on Gaza's coast.

The United Nations says the pier can supplement land crossings into Gaza but it can't replace them and that Gaza needs much more aid to prevent famine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARHAN HAQ, U.N. SPOKESPERSON: The end of the day, the basic point is, will we be able to get enough aid in to keep people alive?

We've made it very clear that, unless things change dramatically for the better, the answer is no. And people will die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The Palestinian ministry of health in Gaza says new Israeli strikes have killed at least 31 people there. This is the aftermath from an airstrike in central Gaza, that left at least four people dead. In Rafah, the United Nations says more than 630,000 people have fled after Israel's evacuation orders.

And that leaves almost 1 million still in the city. The IDF says it's recovered the bodies of three hostages in Gaza. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has their stories but we have to warn you that his report does contain some disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They managed to escape Hamas' terrifying rampage of the Nova Music Festival on October 7 but they did not survive the day.

Hamas terrorists killed Shani Louk, Amit Bouskila and Itshak Gelernter 10 miles down the road from the festival, according to the Israeli military. Their bodies taken into Gaza and held hostage.

DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESMAN: Last night, the Israeli Defense Forces and ISA forces rescued the bodies of all hostages.

DIAMOND: The Israeli military now says their bodies are back on Israeli soil. Return to families who have endured more than seven months of uncertainty and anguish.

HAGARI: Our hearts go out to them, to the families at this difficult time. We will live no stone unturned. We will do everything in our power to find our hostages and bring them home.

DIAMOND: Twenty-three-year-old Shani Louk seen here at the Nova Festival hours before her death.

This image of her body being hauled into Gaza, embodying the brutality of Hamas' attack.

Her family learned in late October she had been killed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We cannot do really real funeral.

DIAMOND: Her father now, telling Israeli media, they can find peace.

NISSIM LOUK, FATHER OF SHANI LOUK (through translator): This was like a present for Shabbat for us. And now shell be able to find a place in the cemetery. We can put a bouquet.

DIAMOND: For the two other families, a different type of closure. For months, the family of Amit Bouskila, a 28 fashion stylists, had no information on civilian.

NATALIE AMOUYAL, AUNT OF AMIT BUSKILA: We know nothing about her. Not one person has seen her and is capable of telling us anything about her or any of the others, really nothing. DIAMOND: The Israeli military operation also confirming for the first time the death of Itshak Gelernter, a 58-year-old father of four and grandfather of two.

In Israel, reaction pouring in from across the political spectrum, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the news heartbreaking, vowing we will return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased alike.

[04:05:00]

But there is no clear path to securing their return with ceasefire negotiations at a standstill. The families of the remaining 125 hostages, cleaning in only two hope and fear -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Israel criticized South Africa for not mentioning Hamas during an emergency hearing at the International Court of Justice. Israel was refuting accusations that it's been committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Lawyers for Israel say Hamas, which attacked Israel on October 7th, has turned down numerous cease-fire attempts and caused suffering to Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Israel's deputy attorney general argued, quote, "calling something a genocide again and again doesn't make it genocide. Repeating a lie doesn't make it true."

Israel's lawyers --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILAD NOAM, ISRAELI DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: But there is no genocide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Israel's lawyers repeatedly criticized South Africa for what it said was a, quote, "blatant misrepresentation of its actions in Gaza."

Israel said the city of Rafah remains a Hamas stronghold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOAM: Rafah, in particular, is a focal point for ongoing terrorist activity. It is a stronghold for Hamas' operatives, with several battalions belonging to the Rafah brigades entrenched in the area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Lawyers for South Africa argued Rafah is the last refuge for civilians amid Israel's ongoing military operation. They made their allegations against Israel at the court on Thursday.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian investigators say Russia is using dozens of people as human shields in the town of Vovchansk. People are still evacuating people from there after Russian troops pushed into northern Ukraine last week.

But the investigators say some elderly residents have been captured while trying to evacuate and they're being held near a Russian military headquarters. Now one elderly man was reportedly shot while trying to escape from Russian troops.

CNN can't independently verify those claims.

Ukraine's new mobilization law goes into effect today, requiring all men of military age to register with the armed forces. That as Kyiv struggles to line up more recruits for its outnumbered military.

President Zelenskyy says Russia hasn't reached Ukraine's main defensive line in the Kharkiv region. He says Russians did advance up to 10 kilometers across the border but his military still controls the entry routes for further advances.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: For more, we're joined by former CNN Moscow bureau chief Nathan Hodge and he is speaking to us from London.

Good to see you.

So how precarious is the situation around Kharkiv?

NATHAN HODGE, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Kim, first of all, it's important just to look at the timing of this. It was only just last month that the U.S. Congress passed a long-delayed package of assistance for Ukraine, which had been held up for months.

And that meant that crucially needed supplies were not forthcoming from the U.S., which has provided a lot of support for Ukraine since the invasion over two years ago.

Now the U.S. says that those supplies are on the way but this new incursion north of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, is happening when there seems to be a window of opportunity.

These supplies are now on the way to Ukraine, with Russia taking advantage of this to both divert troops and equipment along Ukraine's 1000-kilometer front line in the Eastern Donbas region by opening up this new front.

And also putting the city of Kharkiv in peril. Now Kharkiv itself has been under constant Russian bombardment for months. It was just over two years ago that Russian forces had seen significant chunks of Kharkiv advancing on the city. Ukrainian forces were able to roll that back. But this -- it's hard to say, is this a new front or is this a diversion?

But this definitely puts pressure on Kyiv as it ramps up its supplies and tries to make up for that lost time on the battlefield.

BRUNHUBER: Putin has said that he wants to establish a buffer zone near Kharkiv. Last hour, I spoke to a Ukrainian MP in Kharkiv, who said it would basically help in Putin's goal to destroy the city utterly.

What would be the impact of being able to establish that buffer there?

HODGE: Putin has already been talking about so-called sanitary zone for months, in part because Russia has faced down cross-border incursions by Ukraine. Then Ukraine-backed forces, which have put pressure you know, on their side.

[04:10:00]

But the issue here is whether or not you take Putin at his word. Putin has said at least most recently this past week that the aim here is not to capture the city. But in the past, he's said things such as the city of Odessa, Russia -- Ukraine's Black Sea port, which is not under -- which is still very far from being under Russian control.

But which Russia had advanced on early in its invasion. He said he considers that a Russian city. Putin has long said that he denies the legitimacy of Ukraine as a state and doesn't believe Ukrainians are anything other than -- he essentially denied the Ukrainian nation.

So one has to be a little bit skeptical about anything that the Russian diplomat might say about what the objectives are here. But clearly it is putting a lot of pressure not only on Kyiv but for the civilian population of Kharkiv.

It's undergone months and months of bombardment by Russian forces.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. And Ukraine not only outgunned but outmanned. It just passed a new mobilization order.

So what effect do you think that will have?

HODGE: In a lot of ways, this is both a race between the ability of Ukraine to mobilize people quickly but it's a race of the West and its ability to build up an industrial base to support Ukraine in the face of a Russian industrial base that's already on a war footing.

Putin most recently named a new defense minister, an economist. In that sense, it's a clear signal to most observers that this was putting the Russian economy further on a war footing.

But it's already been clear for months now that Russia is able to outproduce the West when it comes to supplying artillery ammunition. Ukraine and Russia has a population much, much larger than that of Ukraine. So it's a serious dilemma for Ukraine.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, ability. We'll have to leave it there but always appreciate your analysis. Nathan Hodge, thanks so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, there's no question now, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are close allies in a divided world.

The Russian president wrapped up his two-day state visit to China on Friday during the trip the two leaders challenged the U.S. led world order and vowed to deepen their partnership amid growing friction with the West. Even hugged one another at one point during the visit.

Russia's war in Ukraine was also addressed as well as further economic cooperation

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, joining us now from Estonia is Kurt Volker. He's a former U.S. ambassador to NATO and a former U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So the relations between the two countries have entered a so-called new era.

What stood out to you from what you've seen over the past two days?

KURT VOLKER, FORMER SPECIAL ENVOY TO UKRAINE: Well, I continue to see this as an imbalanced relationship with China really holding all the cards.

China feels itself to be in a stronger position. It feels itself to be ascendant. It is pursuing Chinese interests, which are rewriting the global economic order, global political order. To the extent that Russia contributes to that, that makes China happy.

But it doesn't mean that China is lining up squarely behind Russian interests. The fact that it's Putin going to Beijing and seeking help from China, because Russia needs that, is also significant. I think it is a statement about Putin understanding that his ability to continue this war is being challenged.

We saw him remove his defense minister, put it in an economist instead. It is clear that the sanctions are having some impact. I think that he is looking at how he can get support from China, not China advancing Russian interests.

BRUNHUBER: You say he needs help. Obviously the war in Ukraine a huge factor in this sort of literal and metaphorical embrace that we saw between the two leaders.

So what help then do you expect from China going forward in terms of possibly components for weapons production and, as well, economic support for Russia's struggling wartime economy? VOLKER: Yes, again, I think you have to look at it through the prism

of how China looks at things. China is not doing things for Russia. But to the extent that it can have economic benefit by selling goods to Russia, buying cheap energy from Russia, then it's happy to do so.

It has not gone so far as to provide substantial amounts of weapons to Russia and even some dual use things, such as chips. They have been not fully supporting Russia with that. So I think China is looking at its broader global interests, including its economic relations with the U.S. and the E.U., which it doesn't want to see disrupted.

[04:15:04]

So it's going to be careful about substantial sanctions violations, for example.

But to the degree it can trade, to the degree it can buy cheap energy, China will do that.

BRUNHUBER: Trying to walk that fine balance, I guess. During the meetings, President Xi said he supported an international peace conference on Ukraine and committed to play a role in a political settlement.

And then President Zelenskyy just said he'd like to see China at the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland next month because of its influence on Russia that you spoke of there.

So what role could China play here?

I mean, one assumes it wouldn't be to the benefit of Ukraine or the West, given that, so far, China has largely followed the Kremlin's line here.

VOLKER: And China is very much attached to some of the key principles of the U.N. charter, including the inviolability of territory.

It used Taiwan as part of China. And so that's why it insists on a one China policy, not changing borders by force of -- international borders by force; doesn't view Taiwan as an international border -- and respect for sovereignty.

These are all things that Russia has violated with its aggression against Ukraine. So China would naturally be more aligned with Ukraine. That's why the Ukrainians, in crafting their peace plan, had wrapped it in these principles of the U.N. charter and saying that, if you want to have peace, Russia needs to adhere to those principles.

And getting China to show up, if it sits with these 160 other countries and identifying those principles as the basis for future peace would be very significant for Ukraine.

And I think it is something that China, under normal circumstances, would naturally do.

BRUNHUBER: All right, so an ally of sorts there. More broadly the two leaders, as I mentioned earlier, took aim at what they describe as a global security system defined by U.S. backed military alliances.

So how do you think they will work together to counter that?

VOLKER: Well, the Chinese have a long-term plan. They want to weaken the West, weaken the Western dominance of a global liberal economic order.

They're doing that through building their own economic power, political influence, their military power. And they are gradually trying to rewrite the rules in the world. I think the West still has a very strong opportunity to counter that and to actually make sure that we keep a law-based and liberal open economic order.

But we have to be on our game because China is very aggressively trying to change this through its own state-driven activity.

BRUNHUBER: We will have to leave it there but really great to get your expert analysis on this, Ambassador Kurt Volker. Thank you so much.

VOLKER: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The armed man killed by French police after setting fire to a synagogue was in the process of being ordered to leave the country. The French interior minister told journalists the arsonist was from Algeria and had applied to stay in France citing health issues.

But his request was rejected when a medical evaluation determined he was ineligible.

Meanwhile, Jewish leaders in the city express their shock at the attack. The French government has reiterated its support for the Jewish community, which has voiced fears about rising anti-Semitism since the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas.

All right. Still ahead, disturbing video obtained exclusively by CNN seems to corroborate assault allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs. We will have that video next, please stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: In Houston, Texas, at least seven people are dead and more than 0.5 million homes and businesses are still without power after a destructive complex of storms tore through the area.

The U.S. National Weather Service classified the line of storms as a derecho, a long-lived wind storm that causes devastating straight line wind damage. Wind speeds in this event were as high as 161 kilometers per hour in downtown Houston, equivalent to a category 1 hurricane.

The city's mayor signed a local state of disaster declaration on Friday in response to the significant devastation.

Now to a CNN exclusive. Surveillance video from 2016 obtained by CNN shows rapper and business mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs violently assaulting his then girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hotel.

And what happens in the video appears to match Ventura's allegations in a federal lawsuit, which has now been settled. CNN's Josh Campbell has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Disturbing new video from 2016 obtained exclusively by CNN shows rapper and media mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs assaulting his then girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at a Los Angeles area hotel. I'll warn our viewers that what you are about to see is graphic.

These images also match allegations that Ventura made in a lawsuit that was then settled. Now in this video, you see Ventura. She exits a hotel room and walks toward a bank of elevators.

We then see Combs, holding a towel around his waist, running down the hallway toward Ventura. He grabs her by the back of the neck and then throws her to the floor, still holding his towel close with one hand. He then turns and kicks her before trying to retrieve items such as a purse.

Again, that assault continues. Ventura is then seen standing up and going toward a phone on the wall. Combs then returns again, assaults her. In another vantage point you actually see him seated in a chair, grabbing an object off of a table and then forcibly throwing it at Ventura.

Now, in a statement to CNN, Ventura's lawyer said that in part the gutwrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. CNN has reached out to attorneys for Combs. We have not yet heard back for comment.

Neither for that matter, have we heard from the Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts Group, which had this hotel that was then open in Century City.

The big question, what, if anything, did they do with this video?

Did they turn it over to police after seeing this brutal assault in progress?

Of course this all comes after the dramatic raid at two properties owned by Combs in late March, one in Los Angeles another home in the Miami area, where agents from Homeland Security investigations conducted search warrants.

A law enforcement source told me this was part of a sex trafficking investigation.

Of course, the big question, what, if anything, did investigators find during those raids that could lead to criminal charges?

And could Combs himself be federally prosecuted? -- Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Still ahead, one of the world's top ranked golfers facing criminal charges here in the U.S. after an incident just outside the course hosting the PGA Championship. Scottie Scheffler says is all a big misunderstanding. We will explain coming up. Please stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Wall Street is ending the week on a historic high. The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 40,000 for the first time in its 139-year history.

The recent gains have been fueled by easing inflation and renewed hopes of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

The second round of the pro golf's PGA championship is set to resume in just a few hours. Play was suspended at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday due to darkness. Kander Schauffele is at the top of the leaderboard at 12 under.

Meanwhile, the top ranked men's player, Scottie Scheffler's, shot 5 under par. That was after some stunning news. He was arrested. CNN's Patrick Snell reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really has been an amazing last few weeks for Scottie Scheffler. Last month he became Masters champions for a second time. And then last week he became a proud father for the very first time.

Though nothing could have prepared him for the events that unfolded this Friday here in Louisville.

SNELL (voice-over): It was in the 6 am hour. Scheffler was trying to drive to Valhalla Golf Club, which is hosting this year's PGA championship, when the American allegedly injured a police officer after attempting to drive around the scene of a fatal crash, a separate unrelated incident.

Scheffler was arrested, charged with a felony assault and then released from jail in time to play his second round. Scheffler producing a stunning display, boosted by roars of support

and appreciation from the crowd, firing a five under 66 to power his way up the leaderboard to get, to nine under par before then sharing his reflections with reporters on his Friday ordeal.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, GOLF PRO: I feel like my head is still spinning. I can't really explain what happened this morning. I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell. That was a first for me. It was part of my warm-up. I was just sitting there waiting and I started going through my warm up.

I felt like there was a chance I may be able to still come here and play. And so I started going through my routine. I tried to get my heart rate down as much as I could today. But like I said, I still feel like my head is spinning a little bit but ...

Yes, I was fortunate to be able to make it back out and play some golf today.

Scottie Scheffler has an arraignment hearing scheduled for Tuesday, though its not clear at this point whether he's required to attend in person. Scheffler's attorney telling us Scottie Scheffler will be pleading not guilty to all charges -- Patrick Snell, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "LIVING GOLF" is next then I'll be back with more news at the top of the hour.