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Storms Kill At Least 15, Including 2 Young Children; Closing Arguments Set To Begin This Week In Trump Trial; IDF Says It Killed Two Senior Hamas Officials In Rafah Strike; 2020 Alleged Fake Electors Trying To Return For 2024 Elections; Trying Voice Actors Allege AI Firm Stole Their Voices. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 26, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:50]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

And at this hour we are closely following breaking news and violent storms that are threatening nearly 110 million Americans. Tornadoes have killed at least 15 people, including two young children north of Dallas.

You're looking at aerial shots of the devastating damage in that community, and more areas are bracing for hail and powerful winds this Memorial Day weekend. Take a look now at the radar. You can see the areas that are under these threats for possibly dangerous weather tonight.

We have CNN's Ed Lavandera in Valley View, Texas, with the latest developments on the ground. First, though, let's go to CNN meteorologist, Elisa Raffa, who's joining us from the Weather Center.

And Elisa, you're saying that tonight and today, we have more threats than even yesterday.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We have another particularly dangerous situation. Tornado watch that's in effect for parts of Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, there. And then we also have this line of storms that has been bringing some damaging winds all day from Cleveland down to almost Charlotte, as we go through the afternoon.

So let's take a look at some of these watches. This one is -- they're all concerning, right? But this one we really have our eyeballs on because look at these discrete cells that are firing up. This is where you can get damaging wind and you have rotating cells. This is where you can get some violent tornado as possible from the Springfield area and then it's moving east into the boot heel of Missouri. And nasty line of storms about to get into St. Louis.

This part right here is a particularly dangerous situation. Tornado watch that's an effect until 11:00 Central Time. It includes St. Louis, Carbondale, Poplar Buff, and even Jefferson City in Missouri. This is where we can find not only the possibility of tornadoes, but strong tornadoes are possible. We're talking EF2 or greater. They could be violent, they could be long track, they could be intense.

So you want to, please, keep your eyes on this area. But like I said, a ton of tornado -- I'm sorry, severe thunderstorm warnings where these storms have been bringing some damaging winds, intense hail, and again, they can rotate.

This also has had some intense winds with it, too. 60 to 70 mile per hour winds just east of Charleston, making it down to the state line, almost to Winston-Salem in North Carolina, Asheville, with some severe for thunderstorm warnings as well.

So this is the latest risk that has just recently increased to that moderate risk, that level four out of five there in the red. That's where we can find the intense tornadoes if you're in the red or the orange, you really want to keep that in mind. Golf ball-sized hail also possible and winds up to 75 miles per hour. Theres that risk, again, EF2 or stronger, the strong violent, intense tornadoes possible.

Then as we go through the day tomorrow, the risk starts to shift to the East Coast. Look at it, up and down the I-95 corridor from D.C. down through Richmond, Charlotte, Columbia, and then into Atlanta. This is where we could find the risk for damaging winds and large hail as the line continues to progress eastward. So here's a look at where some of these nasty storms could continue as we go into the overnight hours.

You can see those cells just how violent they could be. Then we'll find that wine kind of congealing and when it organized into a wine like that, that's where you get the risk of damaging winds. That's possible as we go into the night. We'll start out with some storms in Atlanta in the morning, and then with the daytime heat and humidity, we could find some of these storms firing up again.

This is all coming in what's been a crazy, incredibly active severe weather season. Just since yesterday, we've had more than 960 reports since January 1st here in the U.S. Average to date would have been about 700. So it's been very active and that continues tonight and tomorrow -- Jessica.

DEAN: Elisa Raffa, with the latest for us on what's to come. Thank you so much.

And Texas Governor Greg Abbott is discussing the storm damage there in Texas where we know at least two children died as a result. Let's listen in for a moment.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: -- outstanding self. Law enforcement has stepped up and helped out. Local, state and federal officials have all been a part of this solution process.

[18:05:04]

But in typical Texas fashion, we have friends and neighbors and fellow Texans just helping out one another. And that's what we have come to see time and again in our state. It's one thing that makes Texas so exceptional. That's the character of our fellow Texans who will drop everything to help out their fellow residents.

It's a reminder that our lives, they're not measured by the adversity that we face. Instead they're measured by how we respond to that adversity. Texans are responding with their typical care, love, and generosity that we have for one another.

We know that it's not only this region that we're in right now that's been devastated by destructive storms. This happened all across the state. Before today --

DEAN: And you're listening to Governor Greg Abbott there in Valley View, Texas, where they had deadly tornadoes overnight. We're going to continue to monitor that news conference and bring you any additional information that we need to pass along.

In the meantime, the stage is set for an important week for former president Donald Trump. Closing arguments are due to begin in his criminal hush money trial on Tuesday. It could go to the jury later this week. That's after six weeks of testimony that included adult film star Stormy Daniels and longtime -- Trump's longtime friend turned enemy, Michael Cohen.

Joining us now is former Trump attorney Jim Trusty and former federal prosecutor Shan Wu.

Great to have both of you here on this Sunday afternoon as we head into this very important week for this trial.

Jim, just to you first. If you're standing before the jury, give us that best argument as to why the former president should be acquitted here?

JIM TRUSTY, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: Well, I think the defense is going to go heavy on Michael Cohen's credibility. I mean, that was a fertile ground for attack and I think the whole strategy all the way through the trial was make this about Cohen, emphasize that Cohen is the only person that has testimony that relates to the intent that is needed to felonize these misdemeanor cases, these misdemeanor charges.

So I think they'll go heavy, maybe a top 10 reasons for acquittal type of approach, something that just emphasizes that Cohen literally gives you everything to cross-examine on you could ask for, bias, interest, inconsistent statements, thievery. I mean, it's all there, so go heavy on that the entire time.

DEAN: And Shan, I want to ask you from the prosecutor's perspective, how do you guard against that and really close your case? Because the prosecution will have the last word, right? That's how this typically works. Yes.

SHAN WU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think what you do is you don't be defensive about Michael Cohen. I mean, I'd say to the jury, Michael Cohen is just one part of the evidence here. He's important, but he's just one important part. And, you know, ladies and gentlemen, if you find yourself not liking Michael Cohen, I'd walk over to Trump and point to him, think about who hired him. DEAN: Interesting. OK. Well, we could see something like that.

Jim, you've worked for the former president as an attorney. So you have a bit of insight into how he kind of metabolizes these sorts of things and this sort of information. Do you get the sense that he and his team are prepared for the possibility of a guilty verdict here?

TRUSTY: Yes, I think so because it's a Manhattan jury pool. I mean, the reality is that the numbers don't favor them. Only taking three days and three and a half days to pick a jury on something this high profile is very worrisome, even having a couple of attorneys on the jury could kind of cut wildly in either direction. So, you know, I think there's probably a feeling of fatalism, but not of surrender.

I mean, again, you can -- there are stuff to attack in terms of whether the entries are even false when it says legal services rendered. But beyond that, to go into Cohen as the star witness is just -- you know, you can make a lot of arguments that if you wouldn't buy a used car from this guy, you can't base a criminal verdict on him.

And the government is going to do a chain set. The government is going to distance themselves, they're going to say look at all this corroboration we have. Maybe they'll use the old speech there's no swans in the gutter. You know, going back about 30 years when I was a prosecutor. But they'll distance themselves and act like there's a lot of corroboration, although really for the intent I'm not sure there is.

DEAN: Yes. And then just what about if there is indeed a hung jury? I know that's really rare. We keep talking about it. It's a very rare occurrence. Typically a jury and a judge wants them to get to some sort of verdict either guilty or not guilty. Do you think that could be played as a victory for Trump?

TRUSTY: Look, a hung jury in Manhattan is a huge win. That's probably like the high-end of your expectations right now is that a couple of jurors just say, look, I'm not signing up for this inventive prosecution based on Michael Cohen's credibility, and the odds of a retrial, I mean, normally, frankly, I was a prosecutor for 27 years. I had a number of juries hang, usually the retrial if you chose to do that went pretty well.

[18:10:03]

You saw all the defense cards in the first trial. You tanker, you adjust it, you try to get a sense of what the jury liked or didn't like about your case. And a lot of times you can win on the retrial. But I think the pressure to walk away from this thing would be pretty great after a hung jury. So I think it would be maybe the equivalent of an acquittal.

DEAN: Yes. And Shan, just going back to something that Jim was just talking about and just how the defense will continue to attack the credibility of Michael Cohen. Do you think that the prosecution has done a solid enough job both standing him up as much as they can, but also spreading it out? I know we talked -- in the last several weeks we've been on together and you've talked about how they were trying to also have corroborating information with the host of other people who were testifying.

WU: Yes. They've done a very good job of corroborating him, making him just one important part of a lot of important parts. And most of all, Michael Cohen did a great job for himself. I mean, he was a stand-up witness. He came across very calm. Those are the big question was -- you know, they get under his skin and he becomes very volatile. He was very calm and he withstood the cross-examination very well. So I think at the end of the day, the jury is going to think about all the evidence in the case.

They're going to look at Cohen and say to themselves, well, he may have done dishonest things. Maybe did them in service of Trump, but on what we're hearing, there's corroboration for what he's saying so we find him credible.

DEAN: It is so interesting to learn that with these jury instructions that go on for pages and pages and pages that they argue days over, right. In New York, they don't get a hard copy that goes back with them. It's kind of committed to memory, then they can come out and ask follow-up questions. How might that play into all of this?

WU: That can make it hard and that's such an interesting point that you bring up. It's not just the jury instructions. We have the benefit of looking at transcripts at the end of the day.

DEAN: Right.

WU: We talk about everyone's thinking about it as the trial goes on. They don't have that benefit. They're not supposed to deliberate until the end of the trial. So they have to recall based on their recall of these different important parts of the testimony. That's why they may ask for some pieces of evidence, but it's the first time they get a chance to interact with each other and to sort of brainstorm about their impression of the trial. They don't have the benefit we have.

DEAN: Yes. Jim, what about you as somebody who's been a -- was a former prosecutor, has participated in a lot of these types of trials, in terms of the jury being able to absorb those instructions, and also, it's worth noting that in this case, trying to prove that these are -- these felonies were committed with these certain laws. That also is a high the bar that they're going to have to kind of grapple with.

TRUSTY: Well, yes, except that the instructions basically allow them to consider a federal election law, which it appears they're going to do. Then the jury is going to probably get through this and say, OK, well, there was at least some effect or some concern about politics that steered this thing. And they may get there. And frankly not having the written instructions to me means it's even more and more likely that they're going to heavily defer to the two lawyers.

And again, his lawyers might not have any criminal cases. They may do all civil and regulatory is my kind of impression from the jury selection. But I think it's kind of -- it's a natural deference to them that's going to kick in when they get to these thorny legal questions. And most likely that's bad for President Trump, although you could also say that the defense -- the attorneys that do civil work are not used to having to deal with the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.

So they could be the ones that say, wait a minute, we at least have reasonable doubt when we're talking about the star witness Michael Cohen.

DEAN: Yes, it's very interesting.

TRUSTY: We won't know until it's all over if then.

DEAN: Right. Eventually we'll get some sort of readout from them, right? They'll render something.

All right, Jim and Shan, thank you so much. Great to see both of you. Appreciate it.

We're still following breaking news out of Gaza tonight where the health ministry there says at least 35 people were killed in new Israeli airstrikes today outside Rafah.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:18:31]

DEAN: We have some breaking news. The Israeli military just saying it killed two senior Hamas officials in a strike in Rafah earlier today. The Gaza Ministry of Health had announced 35 people were killed in that strike and Gaza officials said that it hit a camp of displaced people.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has been following this story.

Paula, this brand new information about the two senior Hamas leaders, what more are we learning about this latest strike?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica, so this was a strike in Rafah, in the northwestern part of Rafah. So in one of the areas that had been told to evacuate by the Israeli military. And we understand from the Gaza government media office that more than 35 people have been killed at this point. Many others injured and they say that this was an area that was designated a safe zone, that this is an area that the Israeli military had told people to move from other areas where they were operating in, too.

So at this point, we do have but images obtained by CNN which show a fire within the camp itself. You see horrific images of bodies and injured being pulled from those burning tents. And we understand from the Gaza Ministry of Health as well that there is no hospital at this point which really has the capacity to deal with this number of dead and wounded, and the sort of injuries that they have suffered. [18:20:02]

Now, what we're hearing from the Israeli side is that there was an airstrike in Rafah itself. They say that they have killed two senior Hamas officials, one of them the commander of Hamas leadership in the West Bank. They also say that they are aware of the reports of, as they put it, several civilians were harmed and they say, quote, "The incident is under review." So at this point we do know that according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza itself, they say many of those killed and injured in the camp itself were women and children.

And this is a camp that really consisted of tents, of makeshift shelters for displaced people who had been moved a number of times already during this war. And we also fear according to some Palestinian officials that this death toll could rise. They say there is a number of hospitals in the area where they are being taken to. But the Israeli military saying that they will put this incident under review.

And we saw just earlier on Sunday as well that Hamas had fired eight rockets towards Israel and it's the first time since late January that they had actually targeted Tel Aviv. We heard from the military at that point that this is why they were having to target Rafah because Hamas is operating there and they believe that a number of hostages are being held there as well. And they described what they call a precision operation being underway in Rafah.

But of course those rocket attacks also do raise the question of the military strategy that Israel is undertaking at this point. It's coming under more criticism, including from the Biden administration, that there needs to be a political plan in place with this military strategy that well over seven months after this war started, Hamas is still able to launch these rockets -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Paula Hancocks, with the latest reporting, thank you very much.

And joining us to discuss this and other topics, CNN military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

General, great to see you on this Sunday. Paula just outlined what we are seeing there in Rafah, what both sides are saying. It strikes me that this is kind of at the heart of what we have seen play out, the tension here, which is Israel and the IDF saying we got to senior Hamas leaders in all of this, and the Gaza media office saying women and children and civilians who are displaced were killed as a result of this. That both sides, that that's what we've seen play out time and time again.

What are you -- what's standing out to you as we're getting more information about this?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, a couple of my thoughts, Jessica. Paula's comments and her reporting are very good. But I'll connect the dots a little bit for you because this is a very confusing situation. In my reports, I received updates from the IDF on a daily basis when

they released those and early this morning I received a report saying that eight projectiles, which Paula mentioned, were fired from the Western Rafah area, a place where Israel has not been conducting as much as operations as they have Eastern Rafah. In fact, those 11 rockets or eight to 11 rockets, as they said, were fired from between two mosque structures and where some of the camps were.

And they said they targeted those areas and struck down, getting a couple of key figures within the Hamas organization, but also some other terrorist activity. So, you know, again, as these reports are made, we've got to put the dots together and say both sides have their own story. When we're talking about information from the Gaza Ministry of Health, I'll remind everybody, that is actually the Hamas Ministry of Health that's doing that reporting, and they also said in their report that they are holding the Biden administration responsible for these.

So this falls right into the strategy that Hamas uses to try and take these awful kinds of strikes which seem -- and seen as and are humanitarian strikes and disasters, and blame them against Israel when they're the ones that are actually conducting Hamas operations in these areas. Israel has said that this entire attack is under review but I'm sure there's a lot of dots to be connected versus the initial reports that we're receiving.

DEAN: And so more broadly, we know these talks are going to resume over a potential ceasefire and hostage deal later this upcoming week. Help connect the dots there. How does this sort of activity start to play into that as well?

HERTLING: Yes.

DEAN: And also, Paula talked about the rockets that were fired into Tel Aviv for the first time in months. No one was injured, but that's worth noting, too.

HERTLING: Yes, it is. And there were also attacks from Southern Lebanon this morning, 15 rockets coming out of there. It seems like that every time the various parties get closer to a hostage deal, that there are indicators that Hamas will fire some rockets from the very area where Israel is conducting operations, and then blame Israel for the response that allegedly kill a lot of people.

[18:25:12]

And certainly there has been humanitarian disasters in this area. Civilians had been hurt and killed. So it's just a back and forth which, you know, when you think you're getting close to a deal for the hostages Hamas acts, Israel responds, the deal is off and it just goes through that same cycle again. This is an awful situation. Hamas is playing to their strategy. Israel is saying we've got to destroy this terrorist infrastructure even in the Rafah area where some civilians are. And it's just horrible.

DEAN: I do want to ask you before we let you go tomorrow is of course Memorial Day and for a lot of people out there, it's the start of summer. It's a day off and it is all of those things, but it's also Memorial Day and there's a reason for it. You wrote a very personal piece for "The Bulwark" titled "Memorial Day: Make It Matter."

I just wanted to see if you'd tell us about your own annual ritual to mark this day and how you remember your fallen friends.

HERTLING: Yes, I'm reaching for a box on my desk. I wasn't aware you were going to ask this. And this is the box, it says make it matter on the top and inside, if you can see that with the light.

DEAN: We can. Yes.

HERTLING: But inside the box, if I can show just kind of an indicator, I have 153 cards with soldiers that I served with, that gave the ultimate sacrifice in combat. Soldiers under my command or the organization I was in. And on this Memorial Day, you know, I watched -- I say in the article that I watched the movie "Saving Private Ryan," and from 40 or 80 years ago, when those D-Day landings took place, which is the opening scene of that movie, I reflect back on those were the same kind of soldiers that I served with, exactly the same, only the names are different.

But the faces are the same, and what they give up in terms of sacrificing for the United States and for the citizens are something that we should all remember. And what I do tomorrow on Memorial Day, I watched that movie again, think about the 253 cards with soldiers' faces on it that are in this box. And then at the end of the movie, go out, toast the sunset with a glass of bourbon, and go through that box and remember how those soldiers who died when they were anywhere from 22 to 24 would be 40 years old now.

And they'd have a great life. And what kind of things did they miss, and it's on us to make it matter or as it says in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" to earn their sacrifice and to do good things in terms of serving the country and the democracy which we're so fond of.

DEAN: We are so grateful. So very grateful to them.

Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thank you so much for sharing that. We do appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:32:25]

DEAN: Nearly three dozen Trump electors in four states are facing criminal charges for their plot to overturn the 2020 election. And now according to new reporting from the "Washington Post," at least six of those same electors are hoping to return to their posts for this year's pivotal presidential election. In Michigan, the chairman of the state's Republican Party says three

of the 16 electors indicted last year have been asked to be considered again at the state's GOP convention this August. According to "The Post," the chairman says he has no problem with those indicted 2020 electors serving again.

Joining me now is Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Madam Secretary, thanks so much for coming on. We really appreciate it. I think just kind of taking all that information in, the first question is, is it really up to the state's Republican Party to allow these people to serve again? Can the state step in at all?

JOCELYN BENSON, MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, thanks for having me, and yes, you know, the law does have something to say about this when there have been individuals who lied to the federal government claiming falsely to be the rightful electors of Michigan when they were not, trying to undermine the will of the people. The law would suggest that there needs to be accountability and that's exactly why these individuals have been charged.

They were part of a nationally coordinated effort to try to undo and overturn the results of a legitimate and fair presidential election. And so it really strikes me as the sort of disrespect, not just for the will of the people, but for the law of Michigan that one would even consider suggesting individuals who've broken this type of law before should in any way be called upon to serve as electors in the future.

DEAN: And of those 35 electors who are now all facing charges, all of them, except for two who have yet to enter their plea, have pleaded not guilty and now we know that some of them are trying to return to those positions as we head into this 2024 election. They clearly don't think they did anything wrong here. Are you concerned they might try this again?

BENSON: Certainly. We have been concerned since 2020 when we saw everything escalate up to the tragedy at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, that this was the beginning, not the end of a multi-year effort to delegitimize democracy and really set it up for 2024 to create a scenario where yet again, if folks don't like the results of the election to try to overturn or block those results from coming to fruition.

And, you know, there's video footage of these, you know, electors committing fraud against our government outside the state capital of Michigan, falsely claiming that they are the electors for the state of Michigan. They weren't. And the law was very clear on who won the election and who the electors were.

[18:35:04]

Yet now, they are trying again, which is a sign really for us, for 2024, that every tactic that was tried in 2020 will likely be tried again in 2024. And we have to be ready, and we're ready not just to ensure the will of the people, whatever it may be, prevails but also that the law is followed.

DEAN: And so how do you do that?

BENSON: Right now, thankfully, our attorney general, as well as the attorney generals in Arizona and other states are seeking accountability and trying to enforce the law for the violations that occurred in 2020. We hope that accountability will prevent or deter individuals, whether they be the same individuals or others from trying again. But we also should all know that the signal that any individuals who tried this before might try it again as the state Republican chair in Michigan, the signal he's sending, that we all have to be on guard and prepare for these tactics again, and to not be fooled by them.

We'll continue to enforce the law and protect the will of the people in our state, no matter what that will is. But at the same time citizens need to be prepared to understand that these type of tactics to try to deter them from believing in democracy will be attempted again. And we all have to be smart enough to not be fooled and ensure that, again, the will of the people prevails in our democracy.

DEAN: And we have seen over and over Trump loyalists in Congress here in D.C. repeat the former president's claim of fraud and cast doubt on the upcoming election again without any evidence. I just want to play a clip of some of the things they've said, and then I want to get your take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Free and fair election, will you accept the results regardless of who wins?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Look, if the Democrats win, I will accept the result, but I'm not going to ignore fraud.

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS' "MEET THE PRESS": Well, Senator, will you commit to accepting the election results of 2024 bottom line?

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump.

WELKER: Yes or no, will you accept the election results of 2024 no matter who wins?

SCOTT: That is my statement.

WELKER: What about 2024, Congresswoman?

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): We will see if this is a legal and valid election.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Will you accept the results of that election?

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): My answer has been very clear on this. If the states -- PHILLIP: It's a yes or no question.

DONALDS: If the states and localities actually follow rules and procedures, and everybody sees the rules followed, then of course you accept what's done.

WELKER: Will you accept the election results of 2024 no matter what happens, Senator?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): No matter what happens? No, if it's an unfair election, I think it's going to be contested by either side.

WELKER: No matter who wins. Senator, no matter who wins.

RUBIO: I think you're asking the wrong person --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: It's really become a very difficult question for members of Congress who let us remind everyone there is no evidence that there was massive fraud or that the wrong person is sitting in the White House in 2020.

You've said that multiple times and explained it as we've been sitting here. But I'm curious as we look to these electors in Michigan that are trying again, after they've been indicted. Is this permission -- when they're looking to these elected officials is this permission to act in this illegal way?

BENSON: Yes, it seems so. It's a stain on the integrity of these politicians to in any way suggest that fraud is rampant in our elections when there is no evidence to that extent. What these individuals should be doing is simply saying, we're going to look at the evidence and the evidence suggests that in every past election and there's every indication in future elections are elections will be an accurate reflection of the will of the people.

And notably, our elections not just in Michigan but nationwide are more secure and transparent in 2024 than ever before in modern history. We've got paper trails and paper ballots. We've got I.D. requirements in effect. We've got several layers of protections in place to ensure only valid voters can cast ballots and have them counted. And so what I wish these politicians would instead say is the truth, which is that our elections are secure, the results are going to be accurate and we all should stand by them regardless of whether or not we agree with the results.

DEAN: The most transparent and the most secure that we've ever seen.

All right. Secretary Benson, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

BENSON: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Bloody faces, food everywhere. This as another plane hit severe turbulence mid-flight. The second time in less than a week. We're also following a massive landslide that wiped out most of the village. What problems the rescuers are facing now.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:44:11]

DEAN: New tonight another passenger jet rocked by severe turbulence. This time a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin. 12 people were hurt, eight of them had to be hospitalized. The airline has now opened an investigation, but passengers described the chaos after landing in Dublin. One calling it the worst 15 seconds of his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERYL SUCKER, PASSENGER: I am settled down now but it was quite scary. The plane just seemed to go stop, which it didn't, but then dropped, quite a severe drop, and then fortunately the captain got it under control quite quickly because I was thinking, oh, it's going to keep falling but unfortunately there was this couple of passengers that didn't have seatbelts on so they were thrown in front of his cell phone, out of their seats and hit their head.

MUFADDAL ALI, PASSENGER: It's very scary, to be honest. I'm just (INAUDIBLE), right. (INAUDIBLE) 10 or 15 seconds and that was the worst 15 seconds of my life.

[18:45:03]

But for like -- by the God we are safe. Like the food was everywhere on the plane because it was -- it was the taxi time and I have seen a few people, they were like literally flying in the plane because it was so pressure in the plane and they were standing. So they were on the top of the plane.

PHILOMENA PRENDERGAST, PASSENGER: We had our seatbelts on. Just from watching the episode that happened last week, it was just -- it was there in your mind. It was so scary at the time. You just don't know if this is or not, like, what -- the staff were amazing like to actually get up and have to look after us and they're going around with bandages on their hands and bloodied faces like, and they have to serve us, as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now of course this was just days after a Singapore Airlines flight to London hit severe turbulence, injuring more than 100 people and killing a man who had a heart condition.

Staying overseas, nearly 700 people are feared dead after a massive landslide in Northern Papua New Guinea on Friday. Homes there are buried under debris and soil. More than 1,000 people have been displaced and that situation remains dire as large rocks continue to fall, endangering those rescue efforts.

Hollywood stars like Scarlett Johansson are the only ones were worried about AI copying their likeness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL SKYE LEHRMAN, VOICE ACTOR: My voice are saying these words that I did not agree to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: How a pair of voice actors are fighting back.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:14]

DEAN: A pair of voice actors are suing after they say they heard AI versions of themselves. They sat down with CNN's Clare Duffy to talk about why they alleged their voices were stolen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEHRMAN: Just ghost white. We're in the "Twilight Zone."

LINNEA SAGE, VOICE ACTOR: They really only need 30 seconds of your voice to clone it in a realistic way.

LEHRMAN: It's really, really disturbing.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER (voice-over): This is Paul and Linnea. They're both voice actors who say they were hired in 2019 and 2020 by a client who wanted to use their voices for, quote, "academic research," and to test for radio ads. They say they were told their voices would not be used for anything else. But years later, the couple made a shocking discovery while listening to a podcast.

LEHRMAN: And it's talking about the potential dangers of AI and how the impact it might have on the entertainment industry. And the host is interviewing a AI entity and that voice is my voice. And we had to pull the car over.

SAGE: Dead stop.

DUFFY: So you knew immediately this is my voice but these are not things that I've ever actually said.

LEHRMAN: There wasn't a moment of doubt.

DUFFY (voice-over): Quickly, the two actors discovered it wasn't just podcasts using what they say are AI versions of their voices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Introducing Genny by LOVO. Artificial intelligence that makes it fast and easy to create voiceovers for marketing, e- learning, documentaries, animations, games, audiobooks, and more. Need to create high quality voiceover content.

DUFFY: We just listened to what you say is the AI clone of your voice. What's your reaction to that?

LEHRMAN: This -- it's still infuriating. Not just because of the implications for my career, but because of the violation of me -- of my individuality, my likeness. My voice are saying these words that I did not agree to say. I gave no consent nor was there any proper compensation, and I no longer have control.

DUFFY: Will you do your commercial voice for us for a second?

LEHRMAN: Sure.

DUFFY: Just so that we can kind of compare.

LEHRMAN: Introducing Genny by LOVO. Artificial intelligence that makes it fast and easy to create voiceovers for marketing, e-learning, documentaries, animations, games, audiobooks, and more.

DUFFY: Can we pull up the one, too?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does your child have difficulty reading? Is mathematics a thorn in their side? Our certified teachers are ready to help your son or daughter conquer their fears of reading, writing, arithmetic and more.

DUFFY: And Linnea, you said this voice is your bread and butter. So this is the kind of thing that you might have said, but you didn't actually say these words.

SAGE: So the first half of that was me. Those were the audio files that I delivered to them and I still have those on an external hard drive that we were able to track down once we figured out who they were and when they ordered from us. And then the second half of the video is the AI version of me that they manipulated.

DUFFY: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does your child have difficulty reading? Is mathematics a thorn in their side? Our certified teachers are --

DUFFY: So that's where it switches?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- ready to help your son or daughter conquer their fears of reading, writing, arithmetic and more.

DUFFY: Wow.

LEHRMAN: And they mentioned when she delivered these audio assets that they would be used only internally and never public facing.

DUFFY: Obviously, this does sound a lot like you. But how do you know it's actually your voice? How do you feel confident about that?

LEHRMAN: The same company that solicit us for our work, we delivered audio assets to them, and they took those audio assets. This is a company that we now know manipulates audio that's delivered to them to clone voices. It seems so unbelievably clear to us. DUFFY (voice-over): The couple say they were unaware that their client

was LOVO who they're now suing. In a proposed class action suit, the couple claims that their voices were, quote, "stolen by LOVO and marketed by LOVO under false pretenses." A lawyer representing the company previously denied the claims to the "New York Times." The AI company did not respond to CNN's requests for comment.

[18:55:03]

What was your reaction when you read this news that Scarlett Johansson, her lawyers have sent a letter to OpenAI for sort of a similar situation to what you're now going through?

LEHRMAN: I hope Scarlett Johansson's case can serve as a wake-up call. It's happening to everyone no matter where you are on the totem pole, no matter what industry you're involved in. This really I hope is the writing on the wall for anyone who doesn't yet believe that this is an issue today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Clare Duffy for us. Wild story. Thanks so much.

Some breaking news, dozens are killed in an IDF strike near Rafah, an attack that Israeli forces say killed two senior Hamas officials. Now this latest incident could impact hostage talks set to resume this week.

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