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PNG Red Cross Reports that Many were Feared Dead in a Landslide; Iran's Late President Laid to Rest After Massive Funeral Ceremonies Held Nationwide. Biden Meets Kenyan President to Mark 60 Years of Diplomatic Ties; Mexico to Investigate the Collapsed Stage, Offers Condolences to the Fatalities; Cassie Ventura Breaks Her Silence on the Assault Video Against Sean Diddy Combs; DOJ, Several States sued Live Nation-Ticketmaster for its Illegal Monopoly. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired May 24, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom".
A landslide hits a remote village in Papua New Guinea with many feared dead. We'll have the latest on what we're learning.
Working to get negotiations back on track, we'll have a live report on efforts to end the fighting in Gaza and bring the hostage's home.
And U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Kenya's President William Ruto at the White House. Why this meeting could be crucial for Haiti as it struggles to take control back from gangs.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: -- with breaking news, a massive landslide in a remote region of northern Papua New Guinea. Now, the death toll isn't yet known, but residents say many people are feared dead. I want to go straight to CNN's Anna Coren, who's watching the story from Hong Kong. So Anna, it's still early, but what more are we learning at this hour?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the story is developing, Kim. But we can tell you that it's going to get dark where this landslide happened very soon. I think it's just turned 5 o'clock in the afternoon. So it's going to be even more difficult for emergency crews to get to this province, Enga Province, which is in the north of the country. It's about 600 kilometers from the capital Port Moresby. And it's happened at this isolated and rather remote village, Kaokalam Village.
And the reports that we are getting is that this landslide occurred at three o'clock this morning as people were fast asleep. And you can see from the video and the pictures that have been released, it's like a side of the hill has just come away. It's just slipped.
And we are hearing that it has completely flattened a village. So they're saying more than 100 dead. It could be even more, you know, people obviously desperately trying to recover the bodies. There are reports that some people were found alive. But there is an enormous, enormous task ahead when you look at the amount of earth and rock and rubble that they will have to dig up to find the other people from this community.
But as I said, we are hearing that the access road into this village has been cut off, that the main highway has been cut off, making it very difficult for emergency crews to reach this area.
We heard from a Red Cross official in Port Moresby a short time ago who says that there were earthquakes in the area a couple of days ago, that this is the highlands. It is hilly, but it's not as mountainous as other areas that experience landslides all the time. Let's have a listen to what this Red Cross official had to say.
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JANET PHILEMON, CARETAKER AND THE NATIONAL TREASURER, PAPUA NEW GUINEA RED CROSS: There was a 4.5 earthquake in the area about four days ago, so that could have shaken things up a bit, opened up some cracks. If rain followed, you'd possibly get the weakening and then sometimes these landslides in those circumstances just happen like this one did overnight with seemingly no cause.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: And we understand too, Kim, that this area has received a lot of rainfall in a neighboring province earlier in the year. Dozens were killed also in a landslide. We have heard from the Papua New Guinean Prime Minister, James Marape. He issued a statement. Let me read it to you. He said we are sending in disaster officials, PNG Defense Force and the Department of Work and Highways to meet provincial and district officials in Enga and also start relief work, recovery of bodies and reconstruction of infrastructure. I will release further information as I am fully briefed on the scale of destruction and loss of lives.
But Kim, you know, people now believe that at least 100 people are dead. That toll could very well rise.
[03:05:05]
BRUNHUBER: All right. Desperate situation there. I appreciate you giving us the latest. Anna Coren in Hong Kong. Thank you so much.
Well, it is just after 10 a.m. in Gaza, where more desperately-needed food and medical supplies are getting into the enclave. But it's still nowhere near enough for the tens of thousands of sick, wounded and starving civilians.
Aid groups have been distributing more than 500 metric tons of supplies brought into Gaza across that floating pier built by the U.S. military. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have taken control of the Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza after a four day siege. Doctors say the facility is now out of service. It was one of the last functioning hospitals in the north.
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UNKNOWN (through translator): They didn't give us a chance to negotiate. The answer was clear, evacuate the hospital. Only after a lot of talks, they agreed to let the patients stay at the hospital alone with the medical team to stay with the patients until they are evacuated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And the U.S. is working to get hostage and ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas back on track. A U.S. official tells CNN CIA Director Bill Burns will head to Europe in the coming days to try to revive the process.
CNN's Ben Wedeman has reported extensively from Gaza over the years, and he's following the latest developments for us live from Rome. So let's start there, Ben, with the U.S. efforts to revive the talks. What more can you tell us?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as we know, David William Burns, the head of the CIA, is going to Europe, presumably Paris, where he will be meeting with Qatari, Egyptian, Israeli and French officials to try to get the hostage talks back on track.
You'll recall that earlier this month, the beginning of the month, they basically collapsed when it appears that the Egyptians gave different versions of agreements to Hamas and Israel. There was confusion and suddenly they stopped. So here we are on day 231 of this war. These, basically, the last time any hostages were released was in late November last year, when for eight days the fighting ceased and hostages were released.
And Palestinian detainees and prisoners were also freed. But since then, these talks have been going back and forth, and the death toll rises. It's almost 36,000 at this point, and it's worth mentioning yet again, after 231 days, the international media is not allowed into Gaza, either by Israel or by Egypt. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah. That number, 231 days, a good reminder of just how long this has been going on. And in the meantime, as you say, more dire warnings about what will happen if aid agencies can't get more fuel and supplies into Gaza. What's the latest on that front?
WEDEMAN: Well, the U.S. peer that cost more than $320 million to build and operate has only been able to let in a fairly limited amount of aid. Oftentimes, the trucks that actually get in with aid are looted by desperate Palestinians.
And because of the fighting in Rafah, the crossing from Egypt has been closed for quite some time. It's important to keep in mind there are seven land crossings from Israel and Egypt into Gaza, and it is so much cheaper and easier to actually send aid through there. But the United States and others have decided to go for this peer option. There are also airdrops going on into Gaza, but they simply aren't enough. There are more than 2 million people in Gaza, the vast majority who have been displaced multiple times.
And as the fighting in Rafah goes on, keep in mind, of course, Rafah was the main crossing for humanitarian goods into Gaza, but because of the fighting there, very little is getting into Gaza at all at the moment, and therefore the already dire situation is only getting worse. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right. I Appreciate that update. Ben Wedeman in Rome. Thank you so much.
U.S. President Joe Biden is repeating his opposition to the International Criminal Court's pursuit of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. The chief ICC prosecutor announced plans this week to try to prosecute Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. He's also calling for charges against three top Hamas leaders for the October 7th terror attack on Israel. Biden says Israel and Hamas are not the same. Here he is.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We've made our position clear on the ICC. We don't think we don't recognize the jurisdiction, the ICC, the way it's being exercised, and it's that simple. We don't think there's an equivalence between what Israel did with Hamas did.
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BRUNHUBER: And joining me now from London is Daniel Levy, who's the president of the U.S. Middle East Project. Thanks so much for being here with us again. So let's start there with what we just heard. One of the main criticisms, of course, is this idea of equivalence, that the leaders of Hamas are being treated the same as the Israeli leaders did. Is that accusation justified?
DANIEL LEVY, PRESIDENT, U.S./MIDDLE EAST PROJECT: I do not think it is. I think this is painfully simple, which is that international law is applied without distinction. Everyone is bound by international law. So this isn't about equivalence. It is about saying that a Palestinian people under belligerent permanent occupation has the right to resist, but that resistance must be conducted within the framework of international law.
And the Israeli state has the right and indeed the duty to defend its citizens, to provide them with security. But that has to be conducted within the framework of international law. What Hamas did on October 7th apparently violated international law. It is therefore culpable in its leadership, in those who conducted and ordered this, to prosecution. What Israel has done subsequently, using starvation as a weapon of war
in how it has conducted itself in Gaza, is also culpable under international law. The ICC was also previously considering the crimes committed before October 6th under Israel's illegal occupation. So there's not an equivalence, not between a regional military nuclear armed power and an occupied people denied their rights and freedoms. This isn't about equivalence. It's about law.
And I think the U.S. has a problem if its president does not understand that the law, whether internationally or nationally, has to be applied equally. Because one of the things also I understand he and his Democrat party are running on is that his opponent is a threat to the rule of law and democracy. But does the president himself understand what those things are, if he makes these accusations?
BRUNHUBER: Yeah. Since you're talking about the U.S. response here, I mean, they haven't changed their support for Israel. They've called the decision wrongheaded and the Biden administration might pursue sanctions against the ICC. What do you make of that?
LEVY: You know, I don't see how this is supporting Israel. I really want to challenge this notion that encouraging Israel to break international law is somehow an act of friendship. I would say it's quite the reverse.
I would say Israel has gotten itself into this predicament partly, partly because it has gotten used to the idea of impunity, the idea that whatever you do, you can get away with it because the U.S. has your back at the U.N., at the ICC, at the ICJ, that the U.S. can intimidate. Let's be frank about this. And that's the question you're saying they're going to they're issuing threats against the ICC.
The idea that you can intimidate people into doing the wrong thing, into violating their own charters, is a terrible thing for the U.S. to be doing at a time where international law and international institutions are fragile, at a time when U.S. standing internationally needs that floating global south-global majority vote. You're undermining yourself at a time of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
You stand up for one thing in one instance, you undermine, cut it off at the knees in another. And you're encouraging Israel to do the very things that will not bring Israel security. Of course, these are devastating to the Palestinians, the images we see every day from Gaza. But this is also what got Israel to this place originally, and it encourages the overreach and the extremism.
BRUNHUBER: Prime Minister Netanyahu calls this, these charges, both that and the charges from the International Court of Justice, or the efforts there to, you know, bring Israel to change their behavior, I guess he calls that the new anti-Semitism. I want to read just a few quotes from some Israeli columnists here. Gideon Levy wrote in "Haaretz", there is no joy in your Prime Minister and your country's Defense Minister about to become wanted all over the world, but it is impossible not to feel some satisfaction about the beginning of some doing of justice. And Noah Landau wrote, if and when Netanyahu is called to the courtroom there, not for a moment will I feel that I am on trial as well. Anyone who feels himself accused of something should ask himself why.
[03:15:10]
I'm wondering, how marginal are those types of views in Israel right now, do you think?
LEVY: Look, sadly, your question is spot on, and those views are not mainstream. The entirety of at least the Zionist political spectrum has jumped to the defense of the Prime Minister, as if the problem is the consequences, as if the problem is being caught, not the act you are committing and being caught for.
That's unfortunately a deep moral failing that needs to be discussed. Part of it is what you pointed out, what the Prime Minister is saying, because I think the cognitive map in people's heads is, well, this is easy, we know, this is anti-Semitism, this is the world is against us, and it's a terrible direction to go in for many reasons. But one of them is, when you trivialize the accusation of anti-Semitism, when it becomes meaningless, if everything is anti-Semitic, then nothing is, then you actually undermine the struggle, the very real struggle, to secure Jewish communities, other minorities.
It makes it harder to create a broad anti-racist coalition at a time when intolerance is on the rise. So this conflation, this misplaced accusation of anti-Semitism, I would argue is bad news for Jewish communities, in addition to all the bad things happening in the Middle East right now.
BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there, but always good to speak with you, Daniel Levy, in London. Thank you so much.
LEVY: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Taiwan's new president is being put to the test as China launches another day of large-scale military drills around the self- ruling island. The Chinese military claims it's testing its ability to, quote, "seize power and occupy key areas" only days after the new Taiwanese president took office. Taiwan says dozens of Chinese aircraft, warships and other vessels have been detected in and near the Taiwan Strait.
Meanwhile, Beijing says its fighter jets have been conducting mock strikes against, quote, "high-value military targets". Earlier, China called the drills a punishment for so-called separatist acts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANG WENBIN, SPOKESMAN, CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): All separatist acts seeking Taiwan independence will be met with a crushing defeat dealt by more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. It all, separatist forces for Taiwan independence will have their heads bashed bloody in the face of the historical trend of China's complete reunification.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Taiwan is condemning China's drills as an irrational threat to regional stability and has dispatched its own forces.
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LAI CHING-TE, TAIWANESE PRESIDENT (through translator): I will stand on the front line with all the brothers and sisters from the national army to defend the national peace together. And while facing the external challenges and threats, we will continue to defend the values of democracy, protecting regional peace and stability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: A senior Biden administration official called Beijing's moves reckless and escalatory and says the U.S. is monitoring the situation very closely. We have more now from CNN's senior international correspondent, Will Ripley, reporting from Taipei.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A chaotic start for Taiwan's new president, Lai Ching-te, just days after taking office. China launching large-scale military exercises and protesters taking to the streets of the capital Taipei.
Operation Joint Sword 2024A set to encircle Taiwan over two days. Dozens of Chinese aircraft, warships and Coast Guard vessels. Beijing describing the drills as a powerful punishment for so-called separatist forces in Taiwan. A dramatic increase in military pressure on the island democracy.
UNKNOWN: I think Beijing will likely respond with fire fury. That's almost to be expected from Beijing.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Senior security officials in Taipei tell CNN most of the aircraft crossed into Taiwan's self-declared air defense identification zone, a move the island's defense ministry calls a serious provocation.
SUN LI-FANG, TAIWAN DEFENSE MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: Their military exercise is not helping with the situation around Taiwan street.
RIPLEY (voice-over): China's military says the exercises are a direct response to the separatist provocations and external interferences. They say the motherland must be reunified and will inevitably be reunified.
In his inauguration speech this week, Lai calling on the communist mainland to stop its military and political intimidation and recognize the sovereignty of democratic Taiwan using the island's official name, the Republic of China.
CHING-TE (through translator): I hope that China will face the reality of the Republic of China's existence and respect the choices of the people of Taiwan.
[03:19:59]
RIPLEY (voice-over): Words seen by some as a departure from the cautious tone taken by his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen.
President Lai's first days have been anything but calm. Massive youth protests erupted outside parliament. Demonstrators protesting a push by opposition parties to subject the island's new leader to tighter scrutiny from China-friendly lawmakers.
More chaos inside Taiwan's fiercely-divided parliament. A massive brawl broke out last week over those legislative reform bills. In the Taiwanese capital, confidence in the government and the military.
UNKNOWN (through translator): If the Chinese Communist Party does attack Taiwan, it won't be easy. Taiwanese people are not afraid of war.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I believe leaders will prioritize people's happiness. So I'm not worried. I think peace will be maintained.
RIPLEY (voice-over): A fragile peace in tumultuous times for President Lai. Military threats across the Taiwan Strait and deep divisions at home.
RIPLEY: So here we are, President Lai Ching-te, less than a week in office, and you have military drills happening around Taiwan, protests in the capital, tension in parliament. It is quite a situation. And the people here say they're not necessarily all supporters of the president, but they are supporters of democracy. And they say Taiwan's democracy is in danger right now. And those drills are enough evidence for the world to see exactly what's happening.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Hundreds of thousands of Iranians pack the streets as the late President Ebrahim Raisi is laid to rest. We'll look at what comes next for the Islamic Republic just ahead.
Plus, Russian missiles take a deadly toll on Ukraine's second largest city and prompts its president to call for removing limits on striking back. That's all coming up. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Iran's late president has been laid to rest after days of massive funeral ceremonies across the country. He and eight others were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday. And now elections to pick Ebrahim Raisi's replacement are just over a month away.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The streets of Mashhad jam-packed with people mourning the late president Ebrahim Raisi as a truck with his casket made its way to the Imam Reza shrine, one of the most important holy sites in Iran.
PLEITGEN: Hundreds of thousands of people have come out here on the streets of Mashhad. This is really very much the political and the spiritual homeland of Ebrahim Raisi. And the people here say while they're in great sorrow, they hope that Iran continues down that conservative trajectory that was common for Ebrahim Raisi's administration.
[03:24:52]
PLEITGEN (voice-over): In power for three years, Ebrahim Raisi was a conservative hardliner, overseeing a crackdown on protests against Iran's strict hijab laws in 2022, but also the first ever strikes against Israel from Iranian soil in retaliation for the bombing of Iran's embassy compound in Syria.
Crowds at the funeral screaming death to Israel and death to America, vowing to remain loyal to Raisi's hardline agenda.
100 percent, 100 percent, this man says, these are all Raisi's and they will continue.
And this woman says, we have come here to say if they took Raisi from us, we still have our supreme leader and we back him and we'll never leave him alone.
We have always expressed our position towards the U.S., this man says, just like the policy of the president and the martyr Qasem Soleimani to struggle against arrogance. We won't allow the arm of arrogance to go around the world. We'll cut it down.
After Raisi, Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, and several others were killed in a chopper crash in northern Iran on Sunday, Tehran says a new president will be elected in late June.
But this week has been one of mourning, culminating in the funeral prayers for Raisi inside the Imam Reza shrine. As the body of Ebrahim Raisi was brought to its final resting place, Iran is looking ahead. One of the U.S.' toughest adversaries soon to decide its political future.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Mashhad, Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is reeling from the latest barrage of Russian missile strikes on its second largest city. Regional officials say seven people were killed and at least 23 others wounded in attacks on Kharkiv on Thursday. The targets included a major printing company that publishes newspapers and about a third of the books released in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country still lacks enough air defenses to fight back, and he's urging some Western allies to allow Ukraine to use weapons provided by them to strike across the Russian border to defend itself. Kharkiv came under fire as Russia is trying to push ahead with its new cross-border offensive north of the city.
So as his troops attack Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is propping up his relationship with the country that helped his invasion. He arrived in Belarus on Thursday for talks with his counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko. The Kremlin says the discussions will include their strategic partnership and alliance. Belarus allowed Moscow to use its territory as a launchpad to invade Ukraine in 2022. And last year, Russia transferred some of its non-strategic nuclear weapons to Belarus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is hell-bent on rooting out Western influences in Russia, but one well-known U.S. TV personality is getting a lot of airtime on Russia's state television. Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson has become a familiar face on political programs. As Matthew Chance reports, it may have something to do with his political views.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Russian state TV, Tucker Carlson's face is hard to escape. That loud American journalist, they call him, whose conservative Republican views clearly strike a chord with the Kremlin.
For months now, Carlson's online show has been airing on local Russian media, which is a sure sign the Kremlin, which has silenced critical voices, sees propaganda value in what it has to say.
Most recently, a segment on the dangers of U.S. biological weapons development with an American science and technology writer was aired in full. Carlson tells CNN he was unaware the clips were being shown.
But for months now, the Kremlin has been casting Tucker Carlson, who lost his job on Fox News last year, as a truth-speaking American media star. Even granted him a rare, very long interview with Vladimir Putin, screened at cinemas across the country to dutiful Russians.
I watched this movie out of big respect to our president, said this theater goer. I've seen it twice, says another. It's great to hear the opinion of our great leader, she adds.
Tucker Carlson isn't the only outspoken American celebrated by Moscow. He's also praised on Kremlin TV.
As is Republican Senator Mike Lee, both staunchly opposed to U.S. military aid to Ukraine, a position of course shared by the Kremlin.
If the war in Ukraine drags on, there are concerns.
Kremlin propaganda, anti-Ukraine, pro-Russia, is increasingly finding its way into the U.S. political debate.
Even being uttered, one Republican congressman told CNN recently, on the House floor.
And Moscow's interest lies in bolstering those who it feels share, at least in part, its skeptical, sometimes distorted worldview.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: After the break, we'll have more on the catastrophic landslide in Papua New Guinea. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom".
All right, returning to our top story, a massive landslide in a remote region of northern Papua New Guinea. Red Cross there says more than 100 people are feared dead. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, it hit around 3 a.m. local time, the dark of night, in an area about 600 kilometers northwest of the capital, Port Moresby. Bodies are being recovered as residents assess the damage. And we're hearing that access to the area is limited at best. Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister says he has yet to be fully briefed on the situation, but he says authorities are working to address the disaster.
All right, now to the race for the White House. Donald Trump is making his case to the voters of New York. He campaigned Thursday in one of the most democratic districts of the country, the borough of Bronx. It's part of his push to win over black and Hispanic voters, disillusioned with President Joe Biden. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It doesn't matter whether you're black or brown or white or whatever the hell color you are. It doesn't matter. We are all Americans and we're going to pull together as Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: All right. And now we have more from CNN's -- rather we're not going to go there. We're going to go to the pomp and circumstance that were on full display at the White House on Thursday as the Bidens welcomed Kenya's president for an official state visit. The U.S. first couple made a grand entrance at the state dinner with William Ruto and his wife, Rachel. Now, this is the first time an American president has hosted an African leader for a state visit since 2008.
[03:35:10]
Washington is keen to strengthen ties with key players in Africa, like Kenya, to counter China's growing influence on the continent. President Biden designated Kenya a major non-NATO ally, the first in sub-Saharan Africa, as he celebrated 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: The accelerating drift towards regimes indifferent to democratic values is a deep concern to us. And I believe it is time the U.S., working with Kenya, deploys its capabilities and rally like minded democratic countries to set up the course for democracy.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: These are responsibilities Kenya and America must meet in the years ahead, to meet them together as partners for security, for prosperity, for innovation, and most importantly for democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The presidents also announced what they're calling a Nairobi-Washington vision focused on sustainable development.
Now, another key area of U.S.-Kenya cooperation is providing security for Haiti. Kenya has agreed to lead the UN-backed mission and deploy 1,000 paramilitary police officers to Haiti to help quell the violence. Now, it's not exactly clear when the mission will start. President Ruto said the multinational force will work with Haitian police to, quote, "break the backs of gangs and criminals". And he explained why Kenya is taking an active role in peacemaking operations. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUTO: Kenya believes that the responsibility of peace and security anywhere in the world, including in Haiti, is the collective responsibility of all nations and all peoples who believe in freedom, self-determination, democracy, and justice. And it is the reason why Kenya took up this responsibility, because we have been participating in peacemaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now, last hour I spoke with a Haiti expert from the International Crisis Group, and I asked him what's delaying the Kenyan-led mission. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIEGO DA RIN, HAITI EXPERT AT INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: It has been delayed allegedly by a lack of some equipment, mainly of helicopters to evacuate possible casualties of the foreign force, and for lack of armored vehicles to -- for the troops. But we might think that we are not very far away from the deployment and that even if it has been delayed for some days or weeks, the first contingent of the force will be landing in Haiti quite soon.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, soon is the key. It's so important that they get there, because the situation right now is so desperate. What is the latest that you're hearing on the ground in Haiti?
DA RIN: Well, the situation has worsened a lot since the end of February, when the gangs, rival gangs that were fighting for each other for years in the capital to impose a military hegemony, they united their forces and created a united front to combat well, to try to derail the plans of the multinational mission.
They have been targeting critical infrastructure, state buildings, but for some time now they have been launching indiscriminate attacks against everything to sow chaos in the capital and other parts of the country.
BRUNHUBER: Now this has been going on for such a long time. I mean, I've been there to Port-au-Prince, been on tours with U.N. soldiers. The aim was, as it is now, to try and ensure peace, but years later, I mean, it's more dangerous than ever. Will things be different this time around, do you think?
DA RIN: Well, this will surely be a very challenging mission for the multinational force. Gangs have never controlled so much territory and they have greatly expanded their ranks and their arsenals in these last years.
They have also created this united front that allows them to launch attacks in simultaneous places at the same time. But the gangs still lack clear command and control and most gang members, even if they are very willing to fight during combat, they are not really well-trained. They don't wear, for example, protective gear as bulletproof vests. And until now, the gangs have been facing an understaffed and underfunded police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Severe weather continues to batter the U.S.. A few hours ago, a large tornado tore through Jackson County, Oklahoma.
[03:39:57]
There are currently no reported deaths or injuries. There were 18 tornado reports across the U.S. on Thursday and more than 170 storm reports. The severe weather threat continues to move eastward through the Memorial Day holiday weekend from the Great Plains, the Ohio Valley, while the south faces potentially record-breaking heat.
And we're getting new details about the injuries suffered earlier this week when the Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence. According to a hospital in Bangkok, 22 passengers are being treated there for spinal injuries, six with skull and brain injuries. The plane, headed from London to Singapore, was forced to divert and make an emergency landing in the Thai capital where ambulances and emergency response teams were waiting. A 73-year-old British man with a heart condition died. The hospital
says 17 patients have undergone surgery. Of the 71 passengers who were reported injured on the flight, 55 remain in hospital.
At least four people are dead after the roof of a restaurant collapsed on Spain's popular tourist island of Mallorca. Police tell CNN 16 others were injured in Thursday's incident. Rescuers continue to work at the scene, searching for more people stuck under the rubble. Spain's Prime Minister says the government is prepared to send all necessary resources to the island.
The number of people hospitalized after a stage collapsed in heavy winds in Mexico has risen to 36. Nine others were killed. Mexico's president offered his condolences to the victims and promised an investigation. CNN's Gustavo Valdez has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUSTAVO VALDEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The incident happened moments after presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez-Mainz took on the stage to address the followers that had gathered in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, a northern state in Mexico. When you can see everybody on stage react to the sound of the metal structure on stage starting to bend under the force of the strong wind that gusted suddenly, you can see the structure collapse. People are literally jumping off the stage to save their lives. Unfortunately, there were people trapped.
There were nine people killed, including a child who was in attendance. The state government has said that they will pay for all the expenses related to the hospitalization and funerals of the victims. And the Mexican president is calling for an investigation because earlier in the day, the Mexican weather agency had issued an alert warning of potential severe thunderstorms in the area.
In fact, local residents say that they witnessed storms around the metropolitan area, not necessarily in the place where the event was taking place, but that was the weather system in which this event was taking place. The state governor says that the local authorities had checked on the stage and he assures everybody that the local protocols were followed so it had been safe to continue with this event that happens about 10 days before Mexico goes to elect the next president on the June 2nd elections.
The other two candidates offer their sympathies to the victims. One of them, Claudia Sheinbaum, had an event in that same city, not far away from where the incident took place, and she canceled the event in solidarity.
Gustavo Valdez, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right, just ahead, Cassie Ventura breaks her silence days after the release of footage showing her being abused by then- boyfriend and music mogul Sean Diddy Combs. We'll be right back.
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[03:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BRUNHUBER: An American man is set to be sentenced in Turks and Caicos in the coming hours on charges of possessing ammunition. Ryan Hagerich is facing 12 years in prison and a fine, but he could get a lighter sentence if the court determines there are exceptional circumstances. Hagerich, Tyler Weinrich, shown there, and another man have pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition while traveling in Turks and Caicos. Two other Americans are also accused of bringing ammunition into the islands in recent months. Singer Cassie Ventura is speaking out for the first time about a video from 2016 of rap mogul and then-boyfriend Sean Diddy Combs assaulting her.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister broke the story and has this follow-up on Ventura's reaction. And we just want to warn some of our viewers that the images in her report are disturbing.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cassie Ventura breaking her silence for the first time since CNN uncovered this disturbing video showing music mogul Sean Diddy Combs violently throwing her to the ground, then kicking and dragging her.
On Instagram, Ventura thanking family, friends, and strangers, writing, The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now. But this is only the beginning. My only ask is that everyone open your heart to believing victims the first time.
The surveillance video from 2016 also shows Combs throwing a vase at then-girlfriend Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel. The security camera footage seeming to corroborate part of Ventura's 2023 lawsuit against Diddy, alleging he punched Ms. Ventura, giving her a black eye, then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her.
The lawsuit since settled also referenced this.
SEAN DIDDY COMBS, RAP MOGUL: I got to give a special thank you.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): A 2022 acceptance speech in which Combs spoke of Cassie in a much different light.
COMBS: Cassie for holding me down in the dark times. Love.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): But now with the ugly truth of his abuse caught on video, Diddy took to his own social media Sunday to respond.
COMBS: I mean, I hit rock bottom, but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The allegations continue to pile up against Combs. This week, former model Crystal McKinney filed a lawsuit alleging Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2003. And Combs still faces possible charges related to those federal raids on his homes in March.
The L.A. County District Attorney says the hotel video from 2016 won't lead to new charges because the statute of limitations expired.
Cassie didn't address the video directly, but did say domestic violence is the issue. It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become.
Advocates say cases like Cassie's are helping to turn the tide for victims of abuse.
DERBA KATZ, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ATTORNEY: It means that people who are too scared, they were too young. They felt that they'd be disbelieved long ago, but whose lives were altered now have an ability to come forward and seek legal redress.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Cassie speaking directly to those victims writing, I offer my hand to those that are still living in fear. No one should carry this weight alone.
WAGMEISTER: Now, when Cassie filed her lawsuit back in November, it was filed under what is called the New York Adult Survivors Act. That is a law that created a look back window for alleged assaults that happened outside of the statute of limitations. Now, with us releasing the surveillance video from 2016 and with the Los Angeles District Attorney's office saying they cannot bring new charges because it's outside of the statute of limitations, that has generated a large conversation about whether these laws protect victims or abusers.
Now, I do want to point out that you may have noticed both Cassie in her statement on Instagram and Diddy in his apology video. Neither of them addressed each other by name. That is because I have sources familiar with the settlement who tell me per that agreement, they are not allowed to talk about each other.
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[03:50:08]
BRUNHUBER: Police released new video showing the arrests of world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler. Still to come, why one officer has been disciplined following the incident. We'll bring you that coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Golfer Scottie Scheffler struggled yesterday in the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. The world number one shooting a two over par and finishing the day tied for 79th on the leaderboard.
Earlier, police in Louisville, Kentucky released two videos showing some of the arrest of Scheffler last week. Scheffler was detained after trying to drive around police at the scene of a fatal accident outside of the PGA Championship. CNN's Gabe Cohen reports from Louisville.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Louisville police released new video of Scottie Scheffler's arrest on Thursday, including an angle from a nearby traffic pole camera.
It does not show the initial incident in which Scottie Scheffler allegedly disobeyed that police officer's orders and then dragged him with his car. But it does show just seconds later as the officer is chasing down Scottie Scheffler's vehicle. He appears to strike the car with some sort of object, and then he converses with Scheffler through the driver's side window before other officers arrive at the car. They get Scheffler out and they take him into custody.
The city has said they don't have any video of that initial incident, and that's because the officer's body camera was not turned on, something that the police chief has said is a violation of the department's policy. And as a result, that officer has received counseling from a supervisor.
Now, on Thursday, Louisville's mayor and police chief held a press briefing. They did not take any questions from the media, and they didn't address the charges that Scottie Scheffler is still facing. He faces four charges, by far the most serious of which is that second degree assault on a police officer charge. It is a felony. And a source tells me that behind closed doors, at least some of the top brass within the police department have voiced some concerns that that felony charge may be excessive.
So we thought that might be addressed at the press conference, but it was not. Scottie Scheffler's attorney, though, spoke to me just afterward, saying that the videos that were released lineup with their version of events, that this was all a big misunderstanding.
STEVE ROMINES, SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER'S ATTORNEY: Our position is the same as it was last Friday. Scottie Scheffler didn't do anything wrong. We're prepared to litigate the case as long and as aggressively as necessary. And we're not interested in settling the case. It'll either be dismissed or we'll go to trial.
COHEN: And you've seen the videos that are coming out today. What do they tell you?
ROMINES: Everything that is out there supports what Scottie Scheffler said from the start, that this was a chaotic scene and a miscommunication, and he didn't do anything wrong. And that's where we're at.
COHEN: And the county attorney's office continues to reiterate that they have not made any final decisions on how they're going to prosecute this case. And so it is still very possible that the charges could be changed or even dropped ahead of Scottie Scheffler's scheduled arraignment, which is still set for June 3rd.
Gabe Cohen, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[03:55:00]
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. government says it's looking to protect music fans from sky-high ticket prices by upending the alleged monopoly in the live concerts industry. The Justice Department and dozens of states sued the country's biggest ticketing website and concert promoter on Thursday. The suit claims that Live Nation, the company behind the Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticket sales debacle, masterminded a plan to stifle competition.
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MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We allege that Live Nation has illegally monopolized markets across the live concert industry in the United States for far too long. It is time to break it up. It is time for fans and artists to stop paying the price for Live Nation's monopoly.
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BRUNHUBER: Live Nation dismissed the allegations as baseless and went on to say, quote, "calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a P.R. win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment".
Unusually high sea temperatures caused by a regional heat wave are impacting coral reefs along Thailand's eastern Gulf Coast. Around a third have lost their vibrant colors due to coral bleaching. Now, that happens when water temperatures are high, and it's a sign that their health is deteriorating. Underwater readings taken this month show temperatures around 33 degrees Celsius or 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat is also impacting other marine life and the livelihoods of local communities that depend on the sea for survival.
The Holy Grail of shipwrecks is the nickname of a three-masted warship lying on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, and it's said to be a treasure hunter's delight. Well, now the Colombian government has launched an expedition Off Cartagena to explore the submerged wreck of the San Jose. The 62-gun ship sank in 1708 in a battle with the British in the War of the Spanish Succession. It's thought to be laden with billions of dollars in gold, silver, emeralds, and more. While Colombia hopes to recover the artifacts, it will need to resolve a dispute with a U.S.-based marine salvaging company, which claims it spotted the wreck first.
All right. I Really appreciate all of you who are watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber here in Atlanta. "CNN Newsroom" continues now with Max Foster in London. That's coming up next. Please do stay with us.
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