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Israel Faces International Outrage Over Deadly Rafah Strike, U.N. Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Rafah Strike; Spain, Norway and Ireland Formally Recognize the Palestinian State; Closing Arguments Begin in Hush Money Case, Jury is Expected to Begin Deliberating on Wednesday; Belgium to Provide Ukraine With 30 F-16 Fighter Jets; Russian Forces Ramp Up Attacks on Kharkiv Region; Australia and New Zealand Pledge to Help With Landslide Recovery in Papua New Guinea; in South Africa, ANC Faces Biggest Test Since Taking Power; U.S. Lawmakers Plead for Leniency for Americans Held in Turks and Caicos; Watches and Warnings Continue After Deadly Weekend of Storms; Taiwan Lawmakers Pass Controversial Reform Bill; China's Military Showcases Gun-toting Robot Dog; Witnesses Say Israeli Tanks Seen in Central Rafah. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 28, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

CHRISTOPHER LAMB CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: -- church's position on this.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Yeah. Christopher Lamb, thank you so much. Much more to learn here for sure. Thank you. John -- is next hour on CNN News episode (ph).

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi, everyone, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I am Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, global condemnation is mounting over Israel's airstrike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah. This as three European countries officially recognized the Palestinian state. We will have the very latest developments. Then, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues his visit to Europe seeking military support. We'll tell you what his trip has achieved so far.

Plus, closing arguments in Donald Trump's hush money trial will begin next hour. We are live outside the Manhattan Criminal Court, on what to expect.

As Egypt is expected to host another round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas today, Israel is pushing ahead with punishing strikes on parts of Gaza. At least six people were killed in bombings overnight and that is according to a Palestinian news agency, this amid an international outcry over Sunday's strike in Rafah that killed at least 45 people and injured more than 200 at a camp for displaced Palestinians.

The Israeli military says, it is investigating the strike which it says killed two senior Hamas officials. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls the attack "a tragic error." The U.N.'s main relief agency in Gaza says around 1 million people have fled Rafah in the past three weeks. The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting in just a few hours from now. Aid groups are also calling on the Council to enforce last week's ruling by the International Court of Justice, which ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah.

Now, all of this comes as Spain and Norway formerly recognized Palestine as a state, with Ireland also set to do so. A lot of developments to get through, let's bring in CNN's Nada Bashir in London. Nada, I mean, so much outrage coming from around the world following this attack on this camp in Rafah. What is Israel saying and what do we know about people fleeing Rafah right now?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Amara, we did hear yesterday from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing this latest attack as in his words, a tragic error. But this was an area known to be housing thousands of civilians in these makeshift tents. This is an area that many displaced Palestinian had, of course, fled to and crucially, this it was not a neighborhood of Rafah that had received an evacuation order over the last few weeks from the Israeli military ahead of its expanded offensive on the city.

This was supposed to be a safe zone for civilians. Clearly, that is not the case. At least 45 people killed, more than 240 wounded in this attack. And we have seen that widespread condemnation, as you mentioned, not only from humanitarian organizations, but also, of course, from world leaders here in Europe, a number of leaders have come out to express their condemnation of the attack. And of course, so has the U.N. We heard yesterday from the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemning the attack, describing it as horrific.

And we have also heard from the U.N.'s Humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths, issuing a statement in response to Benjamin Netanyahu's comments on Monday, saying whether the attack was a war crime or "a tragic mistake," for the people of Gaza, there is no debate. What happened was the latest and possibly most cruel abomination. Now, as you mentioned, Amara, U.N. Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting in the next few hours and all eyes will certainly be on the U.S. response. We've heard from the White House describing the attack as heartbreaking, but it remains to be seen whether or not this constitutes a red line for President Biden, whether we will see tougher action and reaction from the White House with regards to this latest attack on Rafah.

WALKER: And Nada, we are mentioning that Spain, Norway, and Ireland are a recognizing the State of Palestine today. What more can you tell us about that? And obviously, the intent behind this because we've heard that from these countries that they're doing this to -- in hopes of achieving a lasting peace there in the region.

BASHIR: Absolutely. And they will be joining more than 140 other countries that have already recognized the State of Palestine. We've heard earlier today from the Spanish government, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez saying that the intention behind this decision is to encourage peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and the hope is to see a viable Palestinian state with the occupied West Bank and Gaza forming that state with a corridor between the two, East Jerusalem as its capital.

[08:05:00]

BASHIR: We heard from Sanchez earlier today saying his hope is that the Palestinians and Israelis can co-exist together peacefully. We've also heard from the foreign minister of Norway and Norway confirming that they have now recognized the State of Palestine, saying that it is regrettable that the Israeli government shows no signs of engaging constructively, that this is a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine. And of course, we are expecting a similar decision to be announced by Ireland later today.

Now, of course, over the course of the war, there has been a continued push for a ceasefire agreement that could lead to a viable and lasting two-state solution. There are certainly the political will from many world leaders behind this motion. But of course, (inaudible) how that translates into practical terms. You heard Norway there, the foreign ministers suggesting that Israel has shown no engagement on this front. And in fact, what we have seen, particularly over the last seven months, over the course of the war in Gaza, is an erosion of the integrity of the occupied West Bank in territorial turns, when it comes to any viability of a future Palestinian state.

We have seen the continued expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Just in march, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced a further seizure of land in the occupied West Bank for the intention of establishing further settlements. These are settlements which are considered by many in the international community to be illegal. So whether this can actually translate to a viable Palestinian state in the future is, certainly, still a key question. It does not seem as though the Israeli government has any will to do so.

WALKER: Nada Bashir, appreciate your reporting there from London. Thanks so much. A White House official called the Rafah strike "heartbreaking," adding the U.S. is actively engaging with Israeli officials to determine what exactly happened. Separately, a U.S. official tells CNN that Israel told the Biden Administration that an explosion from the strike ignited a fuel tank nearby, starting a fire which razed through the camp. You can see the pictures there.

Pentagon Correspondent Oren Liebermann joining us now. Hi there, Oren, what is the view there from the Pentagon?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Amara, at this point, the U.S. is waiting to see what more it is able to learn not only from the Israeli military, the IDF, but also from other organizations and groups with which the U.S. is in touch, to get a better and clearer picture of what happened. According to a U.S. official, Israel has told the Biden Administration that they carried out a strike that was not in the camp itself, but that then lead to a fire perhaps igniting a fuel tank that razed through the humanitarian camp, leading to at least 45 deaths and 200 injuries.

The U.S., at this point, doesn't have an independent way of conducting its own assessment and determining the credibility of that explanation. Frequently, the U.S. has had to rely on Israeli explanations for incidents or events. But you can also see where the U.S. is placing the blame here. A National Security Council spokesman has called this "heartbreaking," saying in a statement, the devastating images following the IDF's strike in Rafah last night that killed dozens of innocent Palestinians are heartbreaking.

The question, of course, at this point, how does the Biden Administration choose to respond? President Joe Biden said a ground incursion into Rafah would effectively cross a red line and that there will be actions from the Administration if that were to happen. Now, this clearly isn't that. This is the result of an Israeli strike. And yet, it has led to exactly what the Administration was hoping to avoid and working very hard to avoid, that is innocent Palestinians, women and children have been killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike and wounded.

This was the situation, humanity catastrophe, the civilian deaths that the Administration was looking to avoid and trying to get Israel to step away from in terms of the way it carried out its operations. So at this point, we now wait to see how the Biden Administration chooses to respond, but it is crucial to note again, the U.S. needs to rely generally in these situations on Israel to carry out an assessment, to give an explanation of what happened. It is incredibly rare to see the U.S. try to carry out its own independent assessment of what happened.

So, Amara, big question, how credible does the U.S. find the Israeli explanation in this instance?

WALKER: Exactly. And also, how does this impact the hostage negotiations, right, because anytime you see an attack by Israel that kills many civilians, that is going to be the question on many people's minds. Is the Biden Administration expected to put more pressure on Israel to implement a ceasefire?

LIEBERMANN: At this point, as a result of this specific strike and this specific instance, that remains unclear, largely because the Biden Administration is still waiting to see what comes out of Israel's own investigation, the initial part and then a more thorough, fuller investigation of exactly what led to these deaths and these injuries. The U.S. has already paused one shipment of bombs, 2,000- pound and 500-pound bombs over concerns of civilian casualties.

[08:10:00]

LIEBERMANN: Even as other munitions have gone through, Biden made clear he would always send defensive munitions to Israel, but would not allow them to have the sort of large-scale weaponry that he says could lead to many more civilian deaths and the collateral damage associated with that. Could the Biden Administration put more pressure on Israel? Sure. They could pause other weapons shipments. They could take longer to review weapons. They could try more diplomatic pressure. For the Biden Administration though, the question is, what gets you faster to a ceasefire and to hostage release? And that as of right now, is a very difficult question.

WALKER: Very, very difficult situation. Oren Liebermann, appreciate your reporting there from the Pentagon. Thanks so much.

A story that has dominated our coverage over the past couple of months is about to enter its final chapter, closing arguments in Donald Trump's hush money trial are scheduled to begin in just over an hour from now. Trump's defense team will go first and then we will hear from the prosecution. The closings are expected to take all day today. The judge will likely give the jury their final instructions tomorrow and then deliberations will begin. If they find Trump guilty of falsifying business records, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Let's get right to the courthouse in lower Manhattan, that's where we find CNN's Brynn Gingras. Hi there, Brynn. OK. So today, closing arguments. It is going to take much of the day. What do we expect to hear from both sides?

BYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Amara, five weeks of testimony, 22 witnesses, two of which were the defense, 20 from the prosecution. This is the final culmination, as you have just painted for the viewers, of this historic trial. Like you said, the defense starts first and what we are expecting to hear is from them is for them to really focus on Michael Cohen. They say that the prosecution believes Michael Cohen is their star witness. He is the only one that ties Trump to these alleged crimes and they say he is a liar and they're going to continue to paint him as a liar to the jurors.

We are also told they're going to focus on the people that weren't called to the stand, people's names that were sort of evoked by other witnesses that jurors heard, but never met. People like the former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg, who of course is the one who allegedly made all those calculations for the hush money payments with Michael Cohen, people like Keith Schiller, the former bodyguard of Donald Trump, and the other -- and Dylan Howard, of course, who was with AMI.

So, that is the focus for the defense and then it is the prosecution's turn, and we are understanding that Joshua Steinglass is not going to really just rely on Michael Cohen. They don't believe he is the star witness. They're going to tell jurors, look at all the evidence that we have put forward, not only through testimony, but physical evidence. Look at the 34 counts that Donald Trump is charged with and here are the documents when it comes to business vouchers and the receipts and the checks. And so, they're going to paint that story again for the jurors of finalizing their entire case.

Amara, if I could give you a sense of what is going on here outside the courthouse, there have been people who have been sleeping in tents in the line, the public line, to try to get in for these closing arguments. Right now, that line is wrapped around this park which is right outside this courthouse. So, this is obviously a very critical moment in this trial. People anxious to see how it goes and then like you just said, then it is going to go to jury instructions and then to those 12 jurors, seven men and five women, to deliberate the fate of the former president. Amara?

WALKER: The unprecedented nature and historic nature of this, I mean, people sleeping outside in tents and the line snaking around the courthouse, that is a sight to see I am sure. Brynn Gingras, good to have you. Thanks so much. Live for us there at the courthouse, outside there in lower Manhattan. Thank you.

Portugal is welcoming Volodymyr Zelenskyy just hours after the Ukrainian president was in Belgium, where he signed a deal to receive 30 F-16 fighter jets. Spain is also adding serious money to Kyiv's war chest. Now, Mr. Zelenskyy needs all the help you can get as Ukraine battles the ongoing Russian invasion. Authorities say Kharkiv residents are now forced to bury their dead in basements as heavy Russian shelling continues to claim more lives.

Let's head now to Paris and CNN's Melissa Bell. Hi there, Melissa. Tell us more about what Zelenskyy has achieved so far and how Europe is seeking to ramp up its support of Ukraine?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a visit to Europe, Amara, that was delayed by the opening of that third front early this month by Russia, north of Kharkiv. And that important background is, of course, what is fueling Zelenskyy's calls as he makes his way around these European capitals, not just for more weapons as he has been for the last couple of years without fail, but for a shift in European policy. And I think it is important when we look at what he has achieved so far, not just the billion euro contract that was agreed in Madrid yesterday, the nearly billion euro contract that was agreed with Brussels that includes those F-16s that come by the way with the proviso, Amara, that they will not be used on Russian targets.

[08:15:00]

BELL: What is interesting about this whistle-stop tour of Europe is that it is happening a context where a number of the red lines of allies so far in the war in Ukraine are being actively reconsider it. Take for instance, the question of whether or not allies or Ukraine can use the weapons delivered by allies against targets inside Russia. Jens Stoltenberg has been actively pushing for allies to reconsider their positions. He says some NATO allies haven't placed restrictions on the sale, on the delivery of their weapons to Ukraine. Those that have, he believes need now to reconsider whether or not to lift those restrictions, given that this war is happening right up at that border, as active it is (inaudible) Ukraine to be able to defend itself goes Jens Stoltenberg's argument. It needs to be able to use the weapons actively across the border against Russian targets.

The other line that is being shifted, the other important debate that so far had marked something of red line for European allies had been the question of boots on the ground. We know that President Macron had led efforts, the opening of the debate a few weeks ago about whether or not some western military personnel should be allowed inside Ukraine, for instance, to help train Ukrainian troops. We heard from Ukraine's Chief of the General Staff yesterday, General Syrskyi, that he believed French troops would shortly be arriving in Ukraine to help with the training with Ukrainian soldiers on the ground.

And whilst France's minister for armed forces hasn't gone so far as to confirm if and when they will arrive, he has said that those conversations are actively ongoing to see what the Ukrainian needs are. And this would be significant, Amara, because you'd be talking about the first western boots on the ground in Ukraine, and that too would mark an important shift and no doubt an escalation. What Jens Stoltenberg is speaking to the question of whether weapons delivered by the west should be allowed to cross the border and be used on Russian targets said earlier today was, look, this was first of all, a war started by Ukraine and he feels that as long as the NATO allies stay short of putting NATO boots on the ground, that'll be OK.

It is then, of course, up to the allies' independently decide whether they want to help with things like training. So an important shift to the debate of the lines that is taking place here in Europe, even as President Zelenskyy makes his way around its capitals, Amara.

WALKER: All right. CNN's Melissa Bell, appreciate your reporting. Thank you so much. Now, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is an eastern Ukraine where Russian strikes have devastated homes and communities. He spoke to a 10-year-old boy who lost both his parents when their home was destroyed. And we warn you his report contains some disturbing video and content.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fragments of loss and losing so often go unheard, but fast unravel lives over the same. Two missiles hit this comfortable family home just outside Pokrovsk. Now, only dust and the smell of a decaying family dog. We are close enough to the Russians, we can pick up their radio station.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The West will not give modern equipment to Kyiv. So, the ordinary Ukrainian soldiers will be the ones to suck it up.

PATON WALSH: Every time you see the structure (ph), this is really hard to work out exactly what Russia must have thought it was hitting with fire power like this. People in the street say there is no military around at all, but all the same, utter devastation.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): People here know two parents died but the survivor knows a greater horror. Mykola is 10 and watched his mother Larissa die while she lay crushed by the rubble.

MYKOLA GLUSHKO, SURVIVOR OF RUSSIAN ATTACK (through translator): I heard a whistle through my dream, then bang, all the windows were shattered in a second. My eyes were still closed. I felt the windows shattering and I heard it. Then, something fell. My mom was saying "Kolya, Kolya." I said, Mom, I'm alive. I took everything off my face and then I saw my mom crushed down by the ceiling. I tried to pull it away but I couldn't. Mom was moaning and shaking her legs. I was shouting, "Mom, mom, it's just a dream, just a horrible dream." I was screaming, "God, why did you do this to me?" I was running in my underwear, asking for help.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): He says he hates himself for not saving his mother.

GLUSHKO (through translator): I will visit them, take care of their graves. Apologize for not being able to save them. I'll apologize to my father that I couldn't save my mom, his wife.

[08:20:00]

GLUSHKO (through translator): My biggest dream is to ask my parents at least one question. What should I do now? How do I live? My other dream is to take revenge on who fired the missile.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Enter. Easy, easy. We are in.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): When you hear the words to injured in Ukraine, the agony of survival is rarely heard too. A blast hit four feet from these two soldiers dugout.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So what was it? Shelling or drone?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Legs here, good job.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): It will take weeks to learn if they will see again. Now the stabilization point, as to just keep them alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I open the eye like this, do you see the light?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): And people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Cold?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): OK for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Wow, these two are from a town that Russia has claimed to be seeing progress in, in the past days, possibly because forces have been wounded withdrawn from there by Ukraine and rushed north towards Kharkiv to stop the new Russian offensive there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Oleh Mykolayovich, look at the hand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Something burns on my side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Where?

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Suddenly, he feels pain in his right, internal injuries from the sheer force of the blast. They must quickly intervene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Is it a shot or what? UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Just a little shot, a painkiller. It will be unpleasant now. That's all, it's done honey.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The doctor says, last year, during Bakhmut, it was much busier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): 250 people a day.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The beds here at empty now, not because the war is getting better, quite the opposite. This unit, the 93rd Mechanized Brigade say it is because they're running low on infantry.

PATON WALSH: And that's how they leave, in complete darkness with their headlights off. So worried are they about the Russian spotting this place.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Australia and New Zealand are pledging to help Papua New Guinea recover after Friday's massive landslide. It is feared as many as 2,000 people are still missing four days after the disaster. The two countries are promising to send relief assistance to the hard-hit northern region. Meantime, officials in Papua New Guinea have ordered thousands of people to evacuate the area near the landslide, saying it is still unstable. They report huge rocks and debris are still coming down in the affected region.

Just ahead, the party of Nelson Mandela is facing serious challenges on the eve of what could be a pivotal election in South Africa. We will take you live to Johannesburg. Also, another American is headed to court in the Turks and Caicos, where he will learn his fate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:25:28]

WALKER: Welcome back, everyone. The African National Congress could be facing its biggest test of South Africa's democratic era. Voters had to the polls on Wednesday in what could be a momentous general election. The party of Nelson Mandela is facing serious challenges to its 30-year rule as the country suffers from soaring unemployment and feeble economic growth. We are live from Johannesburg where CNN's David McKenzie is now joining us. Hi there, David. What is the latest on campaigning for Wednesday's election?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Amara, well, the campaigning is still going, it is the last ditch attempt because rarely, this party needs to be looking towards the voting and the results. And as you said, the ANC, the party that has defined South African politics since the freeing of Nelson Mandela, back more than 30 years ago, is under real electoral threat. This will be a critical election to watch amongst a year of many critical elections across the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE (voice-over): IT worker (Inaudible) knows how to gin up a crowd. He has volunteered for the ANC since he was just 15. But now, it is crunch time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to show the support to the ANC because ANC has been supporting us.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): The party of Nelson Mandela needs their voices. And it really needs their votes. 30 years in power and the party that has defined South African politics faces its strongest challenge yet.

MCKENZIE: This could be the most closely contested election since the dawn of South Africa's democracy. And many believe that the ruling ANC could lose its majority but there is a hope that (ph) is saying don't count them yet.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): The ANC can fill stadiums, yes. But it also has a formidable ground game, spending vast sums on this campaign, getting right into neighborhoods with senior leaders,

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Voting for ANC until now.

MCKENZIE: Why do you still want to vote for the ANC?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to vote because my ANC worked for me.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Millions of South Africans like (inaudible) depend on modest government social grants to survive. For decades, these grants have been the party's trump card. But South Africans want more. Breathtaking unemployment, sustained electricity blackouts, and stark inequalities have left many feeling betrayed by the promises of the ANC. Once loyal supporters are abandoning the ANC, even forming their own parties. There are more than 50 on the national ballot.

HERMAN MASHABA, LEADER, ACTIONSA PARTY: I voted for the ANC twice. All these people here before, majority of them used to vote for the ANC. Look at the ANC's electoral support, every year it is going down.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): The ANC government has presided over huge allegations of corruption and there is a very significant problem with unemployment. Why should people this time vote for this party given that record?

FIKILE MBALULA, SECRETARY-GENERAL, ANC: We are a party that have made strides in terms of renewal and fighting the stigma, so to say of being associated with corruption.

MCKENZIE: Is it enough to win this election? Are you feeling confident?

MBALULA: The elections will be won on the basis of the work we do among our people. And as we -- you can see, we are not idling.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Never idle, not during campaign season. But on Election Day, will voters be singing a different tune? (END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: That was CNN's David McKenzie reporting. Thanks so much for that, David.

Now, CNN is learning that at least 160 people are missing and ten others killed after suspected Boko Haram militants raided a remote mountain village in north-central Nigeria. A local official talking to CNN says the weekend attack went on for hours. He says the gunmen went unchallenged and were able to make tea and even cook for themselves during the raid. The Nigeria State Police Command has not returned CNN's request for comment.

Still to come, we are just moments away from the final words being spoken at Donald Trump's hush money trial. We'll talk to a former federal prosecutor about what to expect from the closing arguments. And if you want to know how Trump feels about the case, well. Just check out his social media feed, a report on his latest incendiary posts when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:32:30]

WALKER: One of the most historic trials in American history is about to wrap. In almost exactly an hour from now, Donald Trump's lawyers will stand in front of the jury and give their closing arguments about why the former president is not guilty of 34 counts of falsifications of business records. After the Trump team is done, the prosecution will have its final say.

And we've just gotten word that several Trump family members will be in court today, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Eric Trump's wife Lara, and Tiffany Trump. Both sets of closing arguments are expected to feature comments about the testimony of Michael Cohen. Of course, the defense will hammer his credibility while the prosecution will remind jurors that Cohen directly ties Trump to the alleged conspiracy here. The jury will likely begin deliberations on Wednesday.

Joining me now to help preview what we may hear from closing arguments is Amy Lee Copeland. She is a criminal defense attorney and a former federal prosecutor. Amy Lee, good to see you. Thank you so much for your time.

All right. So let's start with the closing arguments. That's where we will begin this morning with the defense going and then it will be the prosecution. I guess, it is -- the burden is on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. What do you expect to hear on both sides and especially from the prosecution, who will have this task of connecting all the dots?

AMY LEE COPELAND, CRIMINAL DEFENSE AND APPELLATE ATTORNEY: Sure. The prosecution has to summarize for the jury what its 20 witnesses said over 50 hours of testimony. They structured their case so that their least believable witness, potentially their least believable witness, Michael Cohen, was sort of bolstered going into his testimony. So, no doubt they're going to talk about a narrative about how even if you only believe Cohen a little bit, there are plenty of things that support his credibility.

They're going to go through each of the individual 34 documents with the jury because, after all, this is a documents case and talk about how Trump acted with criminal intent and knew or reasonably foresaw that this was criminal activity. As for the defense, it is going to simply argue the state didn't meet its burden of proof, that there was no criminal intent on the former president's part, and that the state really should have called a third witness or the third witness that was there when Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump had the discussion about the payment of fees, and that was Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization.

The defense undoubtedly is going to argue that Mr. Weisselberg could have told the jury what was going on, yet the state didn't call him. So, that's kind of what I expect to see from everybody. The state saying he did it, the defense saying he didn't do it and here is why.

[08:35:00]

WALKER: Do you think that the prosecution will be able to effectively invoke Michael Cohen when they're making their closing argument, considering the fact that there was a dramatic testimony about the October 2016 call that seemed to highlight potentially a discrepancy in some of Cohen's statements?

COPELAND: There was that call and the state kind of rebounded by showing a photograph from the C-SPAN archives of Mr. Trump with his bodyguard only a few minutes before that call and that was the dispute. Did Cohen called the bodyguard just to talk about a 14-year- old boy making threats or did Mr. Cohen called the bodyguard to loop Trump into a short conversation about these hush money payments?

That was though a devastating blow to Mr. Cohen. But as I mentioned, the state really did everything it could through the documents, the recorded conversation, through emails from Mr. Cohen, and really Mr. Costello, a defense witness, to give Mr. Cohen enough credibility, I think, to make its case.

WALKER: OK. So then, jury deliberations could begin as soon as Wednesday, is that correct?

COPELAND: That's my understanding. They are going to reserve (inaudible) the closing arguments. Yes.

WALKER: So, I mean, with every trial that we've covered, right, I mean, we are trying to read the tea leaves as someone comes out with a question, if they take maybe longer than anticipated, I guess, what will you be watching for once this case goes to the jury and they start deliberating?

COPELAND: Well, you mentioned some of it. Will the jury be asking any questions? A lot of times, you can get what the jury is thinking if they're asking, you know, we need to hear the evidence again on this particular issue, or can you play this tape for us? Another thing I'm going to be looking for is the length of deliberations, typically longer deliberations favor a defendant and possibly suggest a mistrial.

Of course, if the jury comes out and says nobody can reach a decision, we are hopelessly deadlocked, the judge will bring them out and give them an instruction called an Allen or a dynamite charge saying there is no jury that is better than you, that we don't have any reason to think any jury better than this one could decide this case, so please give it another shot.

So again, what does the jury ask, what do they want to see, and really how long are they taking to decide the case.

WALKER: Given all the documents and the evidence and of course, all the minutia, I mean, what is this -- if this were a quick deliberation, what would that -- would that be a verdict by Friday?

COPELAND: I would think so. I mean, you've got 34 counts. They've got to decide individually on each of the 34 counts and they've got to reach a unanimous verdict on each of the 34 counts. So, Friday would be a fairly quick verdict or at least one that could favor the prosecution. Yes.

WALKER: OK. So, is that what your conversation has been like, Amy Lee, with your colleagues in the legal world? I mean, is your inclination that there may be a conviction, an acquittal, a hung jury, what are your thoughts?

COPELAND: Well, from the outside looking in and from the coverage of red, it looks like there is certainly plenty there for a jury to convict Mr. Trump. The real wildcard here though is Mr. Trump himself. You -- normally, you have a fairly decent sense of what a jury will do. For instance, if there is a drug case and their sales to confidential informant that is on tape, you have a good idea what the jury is going to do. But here, Mr. Trump has so much notoriety and so much fame, and you had a few jurors that had read the art of the deal and that seemed to be fans of Mr. Trump. You are just really not sure what the jury is going to do.

I've tried to keep an open mind and just to remind everybody that we've got to wait and see what this jury does and certainly need to respect whatever the jury decides.

WALKER: Yeah, of course, it is always a difficult, if not impossible to predict. But of course, we want to hear what the conversations are sounding like and what the legal experts, which way they're leaning. Former Federal Prosecutor, Amy Lee Copeland, it is great to have you here in Georgia. Thanks so much.

COPELAND: Thank you.

WALKER: Well, Donald Trump prepared for closing arguments by posting a series of angry rants on his social media platform. Trump repeatedly blasted the judge in the case and blamed the whole thing on Joe Biden, calling the case election interference. Trump is under a gag order which prevents him from talking about witnesses or the jury or their family members, but he has repeatedly attacked the judge and prosecutors in social media posts.

Our Steve Contorno is tracking all of this. Hello, Steve, lots to go through. What else did Trump say?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, a busy 24 hours of posting online for the former president when these flurry of activity, the first post was sort of a Memorial Day message to the "human scum that is working hard to destroy the country" and it continued to go on from there. He railed against a gag order, as you mentioned. He also was critical of rulings that have blocked some of his defense's witnesses from being able to testify.

[08:40:00]

CONTORNO: He had said there was "no crime," but if there was a crime, it should have been brought seven years ago. And then he posted (ph) this question, which is getting quite a bit of attention this morning. He asked, why is the corrupt government allowed to make the final argument in the case against me? Why can't the defense go last? Big advantage, very unfair. And to answer his question, that is standard operating procedure in these cases. There are going to be the hundreds of cases across the entire country this year where there are -- today, where there are closing arguments, where the defense will go first. The prosecutor goes second. That's how the American justice system works. But at least it gives you a little bit of a window into his state of mind as we enter this critical last phase of his trial.

WALKER: Steve Contorno, thank you. Well, in just a couple of hours, a Turks and Caicos court will decide the fate of another American charged with bringing ammunition onto the island.

31 year-old Tyler Wenrich is one of five Americans arrested in recent months on the same charge. He has pleaded guilty, which comes with a possible 12-year prison sentence. Wenrich hoping his fate mirrors that of another American, Bryan Hagerich, who is now back in the U.S. following a suspended 52-week sentence and fine. CNN's Carlos Suarez is following the developments from Miami. Hi there, Carlos, what do we know?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Amara, good morning. So, we know that two of the accused four Americans are going to be in court later today. As you noted, Tyler Wenrich is expected to learn his fate when a judge hands down his sentence. Now, the 31-year-old, just like the other Americans, is accused of bringing ammunition into the country of Turks and Caicos. A fellow American, Ryan Watson, he is also going to be in court. Now, he is expected to decide whether he is going to plead guilty to his charges or if he is going to go to trial.

Both of these appearance, Amara, comes just days after Bryan Hagerich was allowed to return home after a judge in the country there handed down that 52-week suspended sentence and issued him a fine. The 40- year-old, he was quick to board a flight back to Pennsylvania on Friday, just hours after the judge ruled that he found "exceptional circumstances in the case." Hagerich told officials that he did not know that the hunting ammunition was in his luggage when he visited the country earlier this year.

Hagerich's attorney is also representing Watson. That is the American who again is going to have to decide later today whether he is going to take a plea in the case. And now, over the weekend, his wife spoke to CNN and told us that the attorney is essentially going to present the same kind of argument, the same kind of case as they did with Hagerich, which is to say that Watson did not know that he had this ammunition in his luggage. And so, the judge in the Turks and Caicos Islands should use discretion.

Going into this week, we now know that some U.S. officials that have been pretty critical of just how officials in the Turks and Caicos Islands have handled all of these cases. They were really quick to applaud the decision on Friday, saying that it was the right thing to do. And so, we could get a better sense of just how the remaining cases are set to play out when both of these men appear in court later this morning.

WALKER: Carlos, what am I missing here though? Ammunition being brought into the Turks and Caicos, at least these are the allegations and several Americans are being held on these charges. What is going on?

SUAREZ: Yeah, that's exactly right. So, in all five Americans in recent months have all been arrested, accused of having ammo in their luggage. And in every single one of these cases, U.S. officials said that the Americans did not know that they had the ammunition in their bags. And in all of these cases, the ammo was found when the Americans were trying to leave the island. And so, a lot of critics of these criminal prosecutions have said, look, they didn't have guns with them. You didn't catch them -- TSA officials in the U.S. at least, officials in Turks and Caicos, they didn't catch the Americans on their way in.

And so, there really was nothing to nefarious here. These were probably, most likely mistakes made by all of them. Now, Turks and Caicos officials have been a little bit hesitant here and saying, look, we understand where you guys are coming from and we are not saying that we don't necessarily agree with that. But let's allow our judicial process to play out here. They weren't really keen on American officials and the government telling them what to do. They said, look, allow these cases to play out. Judges here have the discretion. This 12-year mandatory minimum most likely is not going to take place with all of these Americans. And so, just give us a little bit of time to allow the process to play out here.

Of course, the counter to that at least from the American side and some of these families is that they've been away from their families and their friends. They've been away from home in some cases since February.

[08:45:00]

SUAREZ: And so, we will see how the remaining cases play out, again four of them of the five still had to kind of go through the process. But it does seem increasingly clear that they're not all going to face significant jail time other than what they've already been undergoing the last couple of months.

WALKER: Yeah, a bit of good news. All right. Carlos Suarez watching the story for us from Miami, Florida. Thanks so much.

47 million people across parts of the U.S. are bracing for more severe weather today, after a weekend of deadly storms and tornadoes. Parts of Texas are again seeing violent storms this morning, in addition to heat warnings, and that is according to the National Weather Service. It comes after a weekend of deadly storms in the central U.S. with 26 tornado reports across ten states, just on Sunday. At least 23 people were killed and you can see this funnel cloud in the video taken in Missouri on Sunday, which was the busiest severe weather day so far of the year.

All right. Still to come, Taiwan passes a controversial reform bill as protests grow in Taipei and China's newest member of its military comes on four legs and packs a bark you don't want to mess with. That story next.

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WALKER: Despite growing protests, Taiwan's parliament has passed a controversial reform bill that grants greater oversight powers to lawmakers. Protest warn the bill could undermine Taiwan's democratic institutions and lead to greater influence from China. Opposition parties back the bill, calling for tighter scrutiny of the president and his administration. The bill could end up in Taiwan's constitutional court or the cabinet could demand a re-vote.

China's military is showcasing its latest weapon of the future. Think man's best friend meets the terminator, a robotic dog capable of combat operations. CNN's Mike Valerio has more.

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MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, during recent military drills with Cambodia, Chinas military showed off a robot dog with an automatic rifle on its back. And well, this is what happens. It is a two-minute video made during the China-Cambodian military training exercise known as Golden Dragon 2024. In one drill, the rifle-firing robot leads an infantry unit into a training building and a soldier says in the video that is released by state broadcaster CCTV, "It can serve as a new member in our urban combat operations, replacing our human members, to conduct reconnaissance and identify the enemy and strike the target.

Now, a CCTV video from last year also highlighted China's rifle-armed electronic canines, and a joint exercise with the Chinese, Cambodian, Laos, Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese militaries.

[08:50:00]

VALERIO: The dogs have been popping up on China's heavily regulated social media and this is the latest instance of that happening. Mike Valerio, CNN, Hong Kong.

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WALKER: This is just into CNN, witnesses say Israeli tanks have been spotted in central Rafah. This development coming despite a global outcry over Sunday's strike in the southern Gaza city. Gaza's health ministry says at least 45 people were killed and more than 200 injured in that strike where a camp was hit for displaced Palestinians and then a fire ensued. We will have much more on this breaking news when we come back.

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WALKER: More now on the breaking news just into CNN, witnesses are saying that Israeli tanks have advanced into central Rafah. This development comes despite a global outcry over Sunday's strike in the southern Gaza city in a camp. Gaza's health ministry says at least 45 people were killed at a camp for displaced Palestinians. Let's bring in CNN's Nada Bashir in London with more. Nada, what are you learning?

BASHIR: Well, with (ph) hearing these warnings around potential expansion of Israel's military offensive in Rafah for some time now. Now, eye witnesses on the ground in the central part of the southern city have told CNN that they have seen Israeli tanks and armored vehicles moving into the central part of Rafah. Now, this has not yet been confirmed by the Israeli military to CNN. We have requested further information and confirmation. But again, these reports all coming from eyewitnesses on the ground.

We've also seen footage emerging, overlooking the southern city, showing smoke billowing from parts of Rafah, unclear what has caused this smoke at this stage. But as we have seen over the last few weeks, and in particular, over the last few days, an intensification of bombardment of this southern city, as you mentioned, that incident, that attack on Sunday evening strikes on the (inaudible) neighborhood in Rafah, which left more than 45 people killed. As a result, more than 240 severely wounded as well.

We saw those flames engulfing the encampment, where many Palestinians had been sheltering, all of them, of course, have been displaced time and time again, ordered to move to the southern city by the Israeli military. And it is understood that that particular neighborhood was supposed to be a safe zone. It had not come under an evacuation order from the Israeli military. Now, of course, Rafah is still densely populated with civilians. We have seen over the last few weeks, more than 1 million according to officials, Palestinians moving out of the city, again forced to flee out of fear over the encroaching Israeli offensive on the city of Rafah.

And of course, this comes despite international warnings against such an offensive, such an expansion of that military offensive from world leaders, from the United Nations, from the humanitarian organizations, from some of Israel's closest allies, not least the United States. We've heard from President Biden previously telling CNN that if Israel were indeed to go into Rafah, that the U.S. would not be able to support this, that the U.S. would not be offering support Israel in the form of arms.

It remains to be seen whether Sunday's attack marks a red line for President Biden, and whether this latest expansion, if indeed confirmed, of this military offensive will mark a red line for President Biden. The White House on Monday described Sunday's attack as heartbreaking. But again, no further comments from the U.S.

[08:55:00]

BASHIR: We are expecting to see the U.N. Security Council emergency meeting in the next few hours to discuss Sunday's incident. Again, questions around the expansion of Israel's ground offensive. If we do indeed get that confirmation of tanks on the ground of an expansion from the Israeli military will certainly form a focus of that U.N. Security Council meeting and all eyes will of course be on the U.S. for that reaction.

WALKER: Yeah. Concerning developments, like you said, and the big point is what will the U.S. do? What actions by Israel will constitute them crossing that red line that Biden publicly pointed out? Appreciate your reporting, Nada Bashir. Thank you so much.

Thank you for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker. CNN's special coverage Donald Trump's hush money trial begins next hour on "Connect The World" with Eleni Giokos and Erica Hill. Stay with us.

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