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Deliberations on Trump's Hush Money Trial Gets Underway Today; South African Voters Want Change as Polls Opened for the Pivotal General Elections; Pope Francis Apologized for his Homophobic Remarks in a Closed-Door Meeting with bishops; Georgia Voters React to the Hush Money Trial and the Upcoming November Polls; Colombia Bans Bullfighting as Transition will Take Effect in Two Years. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired May 29, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, Israel's military pushes deeper into Rafah even as it faces increased condemnation over a deadly airstrike that set a tent camp ablaze.
Donald Trump prepares to be judged by a jury with deliberations in the Hush Money trial getting underway in the hours ahead.
And South Africa heads to the polls for the most pivotal election since the end of apartheid. We are live from a polling station in Johannesburg.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. The U.N. Security Council will meet today and one diplomat tells CNN Algeria is circulating a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages.
It comes as Israel says it's looking into the deadly fire that killed at least 45 people in a displacement camp in Rafah on Sunday. The IDF says its strike, targeting two senior Hamas officials, may have unintentionally set off weapons stored in a nearby compound, which then caused the fire.
A CNN analysis of video from the scene shows Israel used U.S.-made munitions. Two more strikes in Gaza have killed at least 29 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. And witnesses report seeing Israeli tanks deep inside Rafah's city center for the first time in this war. But these latest developments apparently not enough to change U.S. policy. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: So how does this not violate the red line that the President laid out?
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY SPOKESPERSON: We don't want to see a major ground operation. We haven't seen that at this point. As a result of this strike on Sunday, I have no policy changes to speak to. It just happened. The Israelis are going to investigate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The latest Israeli strikes in southern Gaza are forcing more people to flee for what they hope will be safer areas. The U.N. says nearly a million people have been displaced from Rafah alone over the past three weeks. Hospitals and medical facilities are short on supplies and humanitarian groups are having a hard time getting aid into the region. One woman in Khan Younis says she's been displaced four times and no matter where she goes, there's no shelter, no life and no future.
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ANSAR MAHDI, DISPLACED FROM RAFAH (through translator): They told us to move from the north to the south. We did. We stayed in tents in abysmal conditions. No words can convey what we went through. Then we went from Rafah to Khan Younis in tents like you see. See how it looks? See the type of life we are living? Where else can we go? Where would the next displacement be?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now live from London. Good morning to you, Nada. So what all is Israel saying about its deadly strike on the Rafah tent camp?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well we heard yesterday from the Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari denying that Israel had targeted this tent city, the Tell al-Sultan neighborhood and said that it was a precise targeting of what it believes to have been a Hamas compound but also said that the IDF is continuing its investigation, that it believes its munitions would not have been possible to create a fire of that size.
And of course, as we saw those graphic disturbing videos emerging on Sunday evening of the tent city completely engulfed in flames, the charred bodies of some civilians who had been sheltering in those tents being pulled out by other survivors.
Now the IDF at this point says it believes one possibility according to the IDF is there may have been a weapons store nearby that the Israeli military was not aware of despite the fact that the Israeli military has said that it was carrying out precise aerial surveillance ahead of its strike on Sunday evening. These are of course claims that CNN has not been able to independently verify. The Israeli military says it is continuing its investigation but just a matter of 48 hours after that deadly strike on Sunday evening as you mentioned Rosemary, we have seen further strikes not only in the Rafah area and the Tell al-Sultan neighborhood again but also in the al- Mawasi coastal region which is of course a region that civilians have been told to evacuate to.
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This is a humanitarian zone. The Israeli military has denied targeting the humanitarian area.
CHURCH: And Nada, what's expected at the UN Security Council meeting today with Algeria apparently circulating a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages?
BASHIR: Well look, we have seen widespread outrage, outcry from members of the United Nations and the U.N. Security Council. There is a huge focus on the situation in Rafah as there has been for weeks now according to a U.N. diplomat. Algeria has circulated this call for a new resolution not only calling for a ceasefire and the release of hostages but for Israel to halt operations in the southern city of Rafah.
We've heard from the U.N. ambassador for France saying that it is high time that the U.N. Security Council took action against any further military developments and operations in the Rafah area. And of course this comes less than a week after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt any military offensives in the southern city of Rafah.
So of course a lot of focus on the situation on the ground. But as you mentioned Rosemary, we are also according to eyewitnesses now seeing Israeli tanks in the central part of the city.
CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Nada Bashir joining us live from London with that report.
A temporary pier constructed by the U.S. military to transport much needed aid into Gaza has broken apart and sustained damage in heavy seas. CNN's Natasha Bertrand has the details from the Pentagon.
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NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A key part of the U.S. military's floating pier off the coast of Gaza that was meant to serve as a launching point to get humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave is now not operational after being damaged in heavy seas over the weekend. It is being moved back to the port of Ashdod in Israel where it is going to be undergoing repairs that are going to take at least a week according to the Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary.
Now, this pier project has been really beset with issues since it became operational just over a week ago. It was originally delayed because of bad weather conditions and then last weekend army vessels that were attached to the pier were actually also impacted by heavy seas and bad weather conditions and were beached along the coast of Israel and Gaza.
And so this has been a very complex mission, one that involved over 1,000 U.S. troops constructing it over the last two-plus months off the coast of Gaza and it only became operational a little over a week ago and in the span of a short amount of time really the Pentagon insists that they did manage to get over a thousand tons of aid into Gaza, something that they say made the project worth it alone.
But still this is a very expensive mission costing over $320 million and of course a very risky one involving this 1,000 plus U.S. troops right there off the coast of Gaza and potentially in harm's way. So it remains to be seen just when this pier is going to be back up and running but the Pentagon says they do expect to put it right back where it was over the last week and hope that it becomes fully operational again within the next several days if not about a week from now.
But again, you know, this is a mission that aid groups were deeply skeptical of. They want to see those land routes open rather than just this maritime corridor, but the Biden administration for its part insisting that this maritime aspect of this humanitarian mission was always meant to be supplemental to those land routes and not replace them entirely and as of right now they say it is working at least partially to get much needed humanitarian supplies into Gaza.
Natasha Bertrand, CNN, at the Pentagon.
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CHURCH: Closing arguments have wrapped up in the historic Donald Trump hush money trial, the first criminal trial of a former US president. The New York jury is expected to begin deliberations in the coming hours weighing everything they've heard over 21 days which includes the testimony from nearly two dozen witnesses.
More now on closing arguments from CNN's Kara Scannell.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This case is not about Michael Cohen, it's about Mr. Trump. The prosecution with the final word to the jury in the Trump hush money trial, the first criminal case ever brought against a former president.
Cleaning up some star witness Michael Cohen's testimony after Trump's defense repeatedly painted him as a liar and thief who the jury could not trust. The defendant chose Michael Cohen as his fixer because he's willing to lie and cheat on his behalf. Lead prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said Mr. Trump chose Mr. Cohen for the same qualities that his attorneys now urge you to reject his testimony because of it.
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The Manhattan district attorney accuses Trump of conspiring to undermine the 2016 election by illegally falsifying business records to conceal a payment Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair.
Her story is messy, it makes people uncomfortable to hear but that's kind of the point. That's what the defendant did not want the American people to see, Steinglass said referring to Stormy Daniels. It turned out to be one of the most valuable contributions anyone ever made to the Trump campaign, Steinglass told the jury, while ticking through evidence of another catch-and-kill deal involving former Playboy model Karen McDougal when Cohen recorded a conversation with Trump.
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: About how to set the whole thing up--
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: So, what are we going to pay $150?
COHEN: -- with funding, yes.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Steinglass called the recording jaw-dropping and said of the catch-and-kill deals, this scheme cooked up by these men at this time could very well be what got President Trump elected.
TRUMP: This is a very dangerous day for America, it's a very sad day.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump's defense speaking first, something sources tell CNN the former president only recently realized and has been angry about.
TRUMP: Now with the Federal law, I did nothing wrong.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Trump attorney Todd Blanche reminding the jury that at one time Stormy Daniels denied the affair she now says she had with Trump.
ANDERSON COOPER, "60 MINUTES" CORRESPONDENT: So you signed and released a statement that said I'm not denying this affair because I was paid in hush money, I'm denying it because it never happened, that's a lie?
STORMY DANIELS, PORN STAR ACCUSED OF HUSH MONEY TO DONALD TRUMP: Yes.
TRUMP: You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful, I just start kissing them.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Blanche claiming Daniels took advantage of Trump while he was running for president after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape. Ms. Daniels seized an opportunity, now's the time to strike, Blanche says she thought.
After ticking through many of the characters in this case trying to dent their credibility, Blanche became laser focused on Michael Cohen. He lied to you repeatedly, he lied many, many times before you even met him, Blanche told the jury. Michael Cohen is the gloat, the greatest liar of all time.
In a closing line that drew an objection from prosecutors and an admonishment from the judge, Blanche exclaimed you cannot send someone to prison, you cannot convict somebody based upon the words of Michael Cohen.
SCANNELL: Steinglass finished his closing arguments after four hours and 41 minutes telling the jury that the name of the game of concealment all roads lead inescapably to the man that benefited the most, the defendant former president Donald Trump, urging the jury to find him guilty. Now the judge sent the jury home at about eight o'clock eastern time in New York on Tuesday night, they will be back in court on Wednesday morning, the judge will instruct them on the law, that should take about an hour and then jury deliberations will get underway.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
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CHURCH: Areva Martin is an attorney and legal affairs commentator, she joins me now from Los Angeles, good to have you with us.
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thank you, good to be with you.
CHURCH: So closing arguments are now over, it's up to the jury now to deliberate and determine the fate of Donald Trump. Which side did a better job, do you think, of arguing their case, the defense or the prosecution?
MARTIN: Well Rosemary, I think the first thing that probably struck everyone was the length of time that these closing summations took, the defense took just slightly under three hours and the prosecution took around four hours, that was a long court date for these jurors.
But when I look at what's been reported out by the reporters that were inside that courtroom, because as you know there haven't been cameras in the courtroom, it appears that the prosecution made a more cogent and a more persuasive argument, tying in all of this essential evidence that they presented during this trial.
Some of the comments from those who heard the argument by the defense team is that it was a scattershot, that Todd Blanche was all over the place, that he made inconsistent arguments and that at times he seemed to be making the prosecution's case.
So again, based on everything that's been reported out, I would have to go with what the pundits are saying, which is that the prosecution made a more cohesive and perhaps more compelling argument.
CHURCH: So given that, what do you think the jury will decide, acquittal conviction, a hung jury or perhaps mixed outcomes for the 34 charges against Trump?
MARTIN: That's the million dollar question, Rosemary. No one ever knows what a jury will do. What we do know though is that juries take their jobs very seriously, they listen very attentively to the evidence that's been presented to the law that will be read to them tomorrow when the judge gives them the jury instructions. So I expect whatever the outcome of this case to be, that it will be
one that is made with a lot of thoughtfulness on the part of this jury. Based on the evidence that I've been following to date, based on the mound of evidence presented during the prosecution's case, I'm inclined to believe that there will be a conviction on some of the charges.
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Some of the evidence is just overwhelming and Trump's defense team, quite frankly, didn't address during its closing argument some of the most compelling evidence that would suggest that Trump is guilty of these charges.
CHURCH: So what happens if there's a hung jury? Is that good or bad for Trump and how likely is it, do you think?
MARTIN: Well, I think if there is a hung jury, which means that there hasn't been a unanimous decision on guilt or acquittal, that Trump will of course spend that as if that is a victory for him. But a hung jury just means that the jurors could not come to a unanimous decision.
The prosecutor has an opportunity to retry a case if there is in fact a hung jury. So it's not a victory by the defense. As I said, we can expect Donald Trump to spin it as such if there is one, but it just simply means the prosecution has to decide whether or not it will try that case again. And we know there are lots of cases where there's a hung jury on the first go round, but then a prosecution comes back and gets a conviction.
CHURCH: And now with the luxury of hindsight, what mistakes do you think were made on each side? What could they have done better perhaps?
MARTIN: Well, one of the things that Donald Trump's team did, which is still somewhat of a mystery, is during the opening statements, the defense team made a big deal out of saying that Donald Trump did not have a sexual relationship with Stormy Daniels.
And no one is going to believe that. The testimony that Stormy Daniels gave was so compelling. She had details, the details of which would be almost impossible to make up. So if you as a lawyer tell the jury that you're going to prove something in your opening statement and you're not able to prove it, you will be held to account for that.
So I think that was a huge mistake and an unnecessary mistake on the part of Trump's team. I think as it relates to the prosecution, the prosecution had to deal with Michael Cohen. And Michael Cohen, as you know, is a liar. He's a convicted felon.
But I think the prosecution did a very good job in the summation of dealing with that, saying, look, we didn't choose him. We didn't go to witness role and pick him out. He is a key witness in this case because Donald Trump chose him, and he chose him for the very same reason that the Trump team is attacking him. He chose Michael Cohen because he was pretty ruthless that he would do anything to prove his loyalty to Donald Trump.
So again, prosecutors don't always choose their witnesses. And of course, anyone would have preferred a witness that didn't have the kind of baggage that Michael Cohen had. But I think jurors are smart enough to recognize that this case isn't just about Michael Cohen. It's about all of the other evidence, the testimony from Hope Hicks, the testimony from David Pecker, the written documentation that was submitted, all very compelling evidence that the jurors can rely on despite what they may think of Michael Cohen.
CHURCH: Areva Martin, many thanks for your legal analysis. I Appreciate it.
MARTIN: Thank you.
CHURCH: Voting is underway in South Africa in what could be a monumental general election. We will have a live report from Johannesburg.
Plus, new satellite images show the scale of the devastation in Papua New Guinea, where a massive landslide is believed to have buried about 2,000 people. We're back in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. South Africans are going to the polls right now for a general election that could upend the 30-year rule of the African National Congress. The party of late President Nelson Mandela is facing serious challenges, with the country suffering from years of corruption, stark inequality and violent crime.
David McKenzie is following all of this live for us from Johannesburg. He joins us now. So, David, polls have been open for a couple of hours now. What's voter turnout looking like this hour, and what are people telling you?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's hard to tell what the turnout is like at this moment across the country, but certainly at one of the biggest polling stations where we're at in downtown Johannesburg, there are a lot of people here. They're growing a bit frustrated because of delays, but generally things are running smoothly.
And what could be one of the most important elections in South Africa since the dawn of democracy? I'm here with Roselyne. You've been patient so far, right? Why is it important for you to wait and to cast your ballot today?
ROSELYNE TSWAKAE, VOTER: No, it's very important, you know, as a South African. Yeah, it's important. MCKENZIE: But what are the big reasons for you to want to vote? What are some of the frustrations you have of this country?
TSWAKAE: The frustration is unemployment is very huge and big, especially from the youth, you know. They say education is the key to success, but we don't see that. Kids, they went to university, but knowing their unemployment, they end up being involved with drugs, smoking, drinking, doing funny things, you know.
MCKENZIE: And do you think it's time for change or do you want more of the same?
TSWAKAE: I believe this is the time for change. We hope so. We don't know anyway, but we're hoping for the best.
MCKENZIE: Is this your first time voting, your second time voting?
TSWAKAE: No, it's not my first time. It's not my second. It's not my third. I've been voting since, but no change. We don't see any change. You know, even if you apply for work, they will tell you from 18 to 35. I'm over 35. It means I'm not qualified to work.
But them in parliament, you will see from 60 upwards, 70, 70 something, they are still there. They are working. What about the youth? What about people that we are, you know, all our hopes, they are, our hopes are in those kids that the youth must do something, must come with a change.
MCKENZIE: A lot of young people are in South Africa and especially in these neighborhoods. I've spoken to them over the months and years.
TSWAKAE: Do you worry about their future? I do worry big time. I do worry big time because like, it's like our country is going down each and every day. We don't know. We're hoping for the lights.
MCKENZIE: The lights and maybe your vote will make a difference.
TSWAKAE: I believe my vote will make a difference this time around. Thank you,
MCKENZIE: Roselyne. You know, I've heard this from a lot of people, but it must be said, this part of the city is a stronghold of some of the opposition parties. The ANC, the ruling party, has a very strong ground game, as it were. They are mobilizing people, particularly in the rural areas and older voters. But, you know, at least here, Rosemary, you sense the frustration about the lack of jobs, the issues of crime and the allegations of corruption against the ruling party that have been pervasive over many years. It's going to be a long day of voting up until 9 p.m. local time.
And I think you do get a sense of excitement and purpose from the people of South Africa today, Rosemary.
CHURCH: And we'll be watching for the outcome. David McKenzie, joining us live from Johannesburg. Many thanks. Pope Francis is asking for forgiveness after reports he used
homophobic language during a meeting with Italian bishops. CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb has details.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Vatican says the Pope has apologized for feelings of offense following reports he used an anti- gay slur. Two Italian newspapers say Pope Francis made the remarks while meeting bishops in a closed-door meeting last week. The Pope has instructed bishops not to accept gay men for the priesthood. And this is the context in which he was making his reported remarks.
But in a new statement, the Vatican insists the church welcomes everyone. The Pope's remarks have caused a real stir because of the use of an
anti-gay slang word, something that he used whilst discussing with Italian bishops whether to admit gay men to the priesthood.
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But the Vatican in a statement stressed the Pope never intended to express himself in homophobic terms and said Francis apologizes for any offense.
It also says that the Pope has repeatedly stated that the church must welcome everyone, including, quote, "everyone as they are".
Now, of course, this has been the Pope's consistent message during his pontificate when it comes to LGBTQ-plus Catholics. Pope Francis is the Pope who said, who am I to judge at the beginning of his pontificate when asked about gay priests. He's also opened the possibility for same-sex couples to receive blessings. So the Pope's remarks, as they were reported in the media, caused surprise.
It's also been suggested that the Pope was not fully aware of how offensive the term he used was. And the statement that the Vatican has issued is clearly saying that Francis did not intend for it to be homophobic.
Francis is a Pope who apologizes for his mistakes and he clearly felt it was necessary to rectify the situation given this story and these reports were threatening to damage or undermine the work that he's done to welcome gay Catholics.
Christopher Lamb, CNN, Cumbria, England.
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CHURCH: The death toll from tropical cyclone Ramal, which lashed coastal India and parts of Bangladesh on Monday, is up to 51. It's now weakened to a depression, but it caused widespread damage in both countries, flooding roads and leaving millions without power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNKNOWN (through translator): This cyclone is more dangerous than the previous ones. There was rain and the wind speed was 120 to 130 kilometers per hour. We struggled to even go to the shelter center with my family. I've never seen something like this cyclone before.
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The storm also caused landslides in parts of India, killing at least 27 people.
New satellite images reveal the magnitude of the landslide in Papua New Guinea, which has left as many as 2,000 people buried under the rubble. These before and after images released Tuesday show a vast section of the landscape torn away. The landslide hit a remote village on Friday, slamming tons of rocks and mud into people's homes as they slept. India has now joined Australia and New Zealand in pledging aid to the country.
CNN's Anna Coren has more.
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ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last week's deadly landslide in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, that is feared to have buried alive more than 2,000 people, is still active and growing, according to governed officials, triggering mass evacuations in the area.
The PNG defense forces have told more than 7,000 people to leave as the threat to life continues.
It comes as villagers and emergency crews try to dig through the debris, which officials say stretches over nine hectares, more than nine football fields, and is six to eight meters deep, in earth, rubble and boulders, some as large as shipping containers.
Heavy earth-moving equipment has reached the area but is unable to be used on the site due to the instability. The densely-populated village that was hit on Friday at 3 am while people slept was located on a highway, the lifeline of the region, which locals say had more than 100 homes, shops, a school, church, gas station and a lodge. All of it is now buried.
The people who lived there were mainly subsistence farmers. A handful of bodies have been recovered so far and funeral processions have begun.
U.N. officials who visited the site said the community is grieving and still in total shock.
MATE BAGOSSY, UNDP HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION SPECIALIST: They are mourning, they are dead and they are looking forward to receive some assistance, which is already coming, but I think the main question is right now the population is caught between the trauma of what just happened and the uncertainty about the longer term future.
COREN: Basic aid, food and clean water has reached the area but more humanitarian assistance and medical supplies from the U.N., NGOs, Australia and New Zealand should be arriving in the coming days, along with engineering specialists to provide technical support over what has tragically become a mass grave.
Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
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CHURCH: The health care situation in Gaza is dire as the war puts many hospitals out of service. We will have details in a report after the break.
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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom". I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check today's top stories.
The historic Donald Trump hush money trial will resume in the coming hours. The judge is set to present the jury with their instructions before they begin deliberations in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. President. Both sides wrapped up their closing arguments on Tuesday after the court heard from nearly two dozen witnesses over 21 days.
South Africans are voting in an election that could knock the ruling African National Congress out of power for the first time in three decades. President Cyril Ramaphosa is promising his party will, quote, "do better if re-elected". But he's facing competition from several new parties and criticism for high unemployment and crime rates as well as economic stagnation.
Protests are growing across Europe against Israel's military action in Gaza. About 1,000 people occupied a train station in Italy on Tuesday. Large crowds also turned out at the home of U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London and several locations in Paris.
The British charity Medical Aid for Palestine says Israel's military bombardment has put 20 hospitals in Gaza out of service since October. Sixteen others are only partially functional.
CNN's Paula Hancocks has more on the crisis and a warning, her report contains some graphic content.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another residential building reduced to rubble by an Israeli airstrike. This time in Gaza's Jabalia neighborhood. Killing at least four people on Sunday, according to medics on the scene. Adding to the more than 36,000 Palestinians killed since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th.
But even the survivors may not stand a chance. The U.N.'s humanitarian agency says there are no functioning hospitals in the area after the two remaining facilities in northern Gaza came under siege last week, prompting this panicked escape.
Kamal Adwan, hospital's director, claiming the Israeli military deliberately targeted the emergency room and reception area, forcing doctors out onto the streets with their most vulnerable patients.
This was deliberate, Dr. Abu Safiya says. Those here are medical staff, providing medical and humanitarian services. They targeted us with the first missile, then the second, then the third. They want to force us out of this hospital.
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CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment, but in a statement to Reuters it said, the IDF is looking into the source of the hit and is reviewing the possibility that it was IDF stray fire that was not directed at the hospital.
It was a similar scene outside the nearby Al-Awda hospital the next day. The director of the World Health Organization says the Israeli military forced most of the staff and patients to evacuate.
We were shocked today, says Dr. Abu Jassa, after four days of suffocating siege on Al-Awda, that the military has reached us and the tanks positioned outside the hospital gate.
Airstrikes, power outages and supply shortages have pushed dozens of health facilities in the strip out of service. The Israeli military has accused Hamas of using hospitals to launch attacks from, making them legitimate targets. The U.N. says they are protected under international law.
On Monday, yet another health center forced to close, Rafah's Kuwaiti hospital, after a drone strike killed two members of staff just outside the gates, according to the Ministry of Health.
The devastating result of a health system under attack means injuries sustained by innocent Palestinians, or even childbirth or dialysis, can quickly become a death sentence.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Ukraine's president is urging Western allies to speed up delivery of F-16 fighter jets, as well as getting Ukrainian pilots trained to use them. Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a new security agreement with Belgium on Tuesday, which will provide Ukraine with 30 F-16s by 2028, the first of which will be delivered this year. He also visited Portugal, which became the 12th country to sign a bilateral security deal with Ukraine, under the joint declaration adopted by the G7 last July.
France and Germany say Ukraine should be able to defend itself fully from Russian attacks, even if it means striking military targets inside Russian territory. Russia warns that could lead to a global conflict. But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron say Ukraine is well within its rights to do so under international law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Ukrainian soil is being attacked from bases in Russia. So how do we explain to the Ukrainians that we're going to have to protect these towns, and basically everything we're seeing around Kharkiv at the moment, if we tell them you are not allowed to hit the point from which the missiles are fired?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Ukraine and some of its NATO and EU allies are urging Washington to change its policy regarding strikes on Russian territory. Here's how the U.S. is responding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON: We're aware of the interest that President Zelenskyy has expressed in this regard. I would tell you that there's no change to our policy at this point. We don't encourage or enable the use of U.S.-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia. I would note that the Ukrainians have in the past defeated imminent air attacks, such as some of the ones that have occurred in the last few days on their own since the war began.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: David Sanger is a CNN political and national security analyst and a White House and national security correspondent at the New York Times. He's also the author of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West". He joins me now from Washington. Always good to have you with us.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, AND WHITE HOUSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Great to be with you again, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So President Joe Biden has always insisted that Ukraine never fire American weapons into Russian territory for fear of triggering World War III. But you just wrote about a debate that's taking place inside the White House over whether to allow Ukraine to shoot U.S. weapons into Russia after Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned from a trip to Kyiv. What changed Blinken's mind and what might the final decision on this be?
SANGER: Well, what changed his mind, Rosemary, was this new front that has opened up near Kharkiv.
It's right along the Russian border. And the Russians, knowing about President Biden's mandate, have put a number of their gun emplacements, artillery, missile launching sites, all just inside Russian territory, knowing that the Ukrainians would be prohibited from firing many of their weapons into that area.
[03:39:52]
So when Blinken came back from this trip to Ukraine, after having heard the complaints, which we've all heard now from President Zelenskyy, he said, I'm not sure we've got the right policy here, because it's being exploited by the Russians, and it's not clear that in fact letting them fire into Russian territory would start World War III. After all, the British have been allowing this now for some number of months.
CHURCH: And we did see France and Germany on Tuesday saying Ukraine should be allowed to strike military targets inside Russia with Western weapons. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg has made a similar argument. But what would the ramifications be, especially if the U.S. makes the decision to relax its ban? You say it wouldn't necessarily trigger World War III, which is a big issue, of course, for everybody. What would it do then?
SANGER: Well, good question. So one of the concerns that you hear frequently among President Biden's aides is that the Russians view the United States differently, and that if the U.S. allowed this, even if the Russians would tolerate it from Britain or others, it would be a different thing.
Now, we don't know yet if that's the case. President Biden was hesitant to give them ATACMS, the long-range artillery firing equipment, for the same reason. He was hesitant to give them F-16s for the same reason, tanks for the same reason.
But over time the administration has discovered that the tolerance that Putin has for these kinds of American weapons has been higher than they initially thought.
CHURCH: And what targets would Ukraine be allowed to hit inside Russia if this ban is relaxed?
SANGER: Presumably, Rosemary, they would only be allowed to hit military targets, those that are firing into Ukraine. In other words, the American rules would say you can't use this just to hit an oil refinery 50 or 75 miles into Russian territory. Now, how well that's enforced, we don't know.
CHURCH: And of course, this proposal hasn't yet been formally presented to President Biden. How will he likely respond given his previous caution on this issue?
SANGER: It's difficult to tell. My instinct is that with so many different voices coming together to say that he should change his mind, that he may well do so. He did change his mind in those previous cases I mentioned. And so in each of those, he sort of reassessed what he thought the risk level was.
But this is a hard case, because this involves one nuclear superpower allowing its conventional weapons to be fired into the territory of another nuclear superpower. It's really an unusual situation. And I would have to say, not without risk.
CHURCH: All right. We'll be watching very closely to see what does happen on this very issue. David Sanger, many thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.
SANGER: Thank you.
CHURCH: North Korea's latest attempt at tormenting South Korea is sending trash over the border. As of today, the Hermit Kingdom has deployed more than 150 floating bags of garbage, according to South Korean officials. The waste is attached to giant balloons, with some broken packages spilling, scraps of plastic, sheets of paper, and what appears to be dirt onto roads and sidewalks. North Korean state media says the move is to retaliate against South Korean activists who send banned materials into the North, such as propaganda leaflets, food, medicine and USB sticks with news and TV shows.
Well Donald Trump's fate will soon be in the jury's hands. But will the hush money trial verdict sway voters in the presidential election? We will ask voters in a key swing state. That's on the other side of the break. Stay with us.
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[03:45:00]
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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.
In the coming hours, the jury is set to begin deliberations in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, and the verdict could tip the scales when it comes to attracting or alienating prospective voters. CNN's Gary Tuchman spoke with voters here in Georgia about the impact of the trial.
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are here in Atlanta with 12 voters who've done their best to pay attention to the coverage of this trial. We've watched the coverage of the closing arguments tonight.
Unlike the jury in New York City, I've grilled these people about their politics. I've asked them who they're going to vote for in November because we want political diversity in this group. I feel we've succeeded because five of you say you're going to vote for Joe Biden. Five of you say you're going to vote for Donald Trump. And two of you are undecided. The first thing I want to ask you though, a show of hands, who feels, think like a juror now, who feels that Donald Trump has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? Raise your hand.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
Who thinks that Donald Trump is not guilty? Raise your hand high. 1,2,3,4.
We have one undecided person then. Who's undecided? You're undecided. Okay. I want to start with you, Ross. You said you're going to vote for Donald Trump, but you think he's guilty. Why?
ROSS, GEORGIA VOTER: Yes, sir. I think he's guilty because I don't think in his business dealings that he would not know what was going on with the hush money payments.
TUCHMAN: Okay. Deanna, you said you're going to vote for Joe Biden. You feel Trump is guilty. Why?
DEANNA, GEORGIA VOTER: Correct. Yes, I believe that the evidence that was presented was pretty substantial, including the bank account statements from Michael Cohen and the series of checks that were signed off by Trump.
TUCHMAN: Joe, you say you're undecided about who you're going to vote for in November, but you feel that Donald Trump is guilty. Why?
JOE, GEORGIA VOTER: I do. Yeah. Same reason. I believe that they proved the money trail and they hid that for nefarious reasons.
TUCHMAN: Joe and Sandy are a couple. Sandy feels differently. She's ready to vote for Donald Trump and feels he's not guilty. Why do you feel that way?
SANDY, JOE'S WIFE AND GEORGIA VOTER: I think Michael Cohen is a total lack of credibility as a star witness. He's proven to be dishonest and admitted it as well, and now we're supposed to believe him.
TUCHMAN: Okay. Robert, you said you're ready to vote for Donald Trump and you feel he's not guilty. Tell me why.
ROBERT, GEORGIA VOTER: Yeah, correct. I think for me, it comes down to the burden of proof and I don't feel the prosecution has laid out a real game plan or really proved any of the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
TUCHMAN: Toni, on the end, is an attorney. She says she's ready to vote for Joe Biden and feels Donald Trump is guilty. How come?
TONI, GEORGIA VOTER: Yeah. I mean, whether Trump intended to protect his family or Stormy threatens to come forward, he still participated in falsifying documents and attempts to influence the election. I mean, if he wanted to pay the hush money, this happened in 2006, he would have paid it years ago. And the NDA from 2016 shows his awareness of what took place.
TUCHMAN: On the top row on the left, this is Scott. Scott doesn't know who he's going to vote for November and he doesn't know if Donald Trump is guilty or not guilty. How come you feel that way at this point?
SCOTT, GEORGIA VOTER: I think the prosecution made it about Michael Cohen when they let him open his mouth and he turned out to be the worst star witness in the history of trials. So good luck to the jurors trying to figure out what's true.
TUCHMAN: Well, you're the juror right now, but you're saying you haven't decided you don't like Cohen, but you haven't decided that he's not guilty.
SCOTT: Yeah, I as an American, I also didn't have the ability to see things through an unfiltered lens. So that would have really helped. And that's what I've explained. We've done your best to follow this trial.
TUCHMAN: Delancey, you're ready to vote for Joe Biden at this point. You say Donald Trump's guilty. How come?
[03:49:53]
DELANCEY, GEORGIA VOTER: I think Cohen is also not a very credible witness. But I think on the things that he said that mattered in the trial, it was backed up by the testimony from David Pecker, the controller for the Trump organization, and also the silence of Allen Weisselberg, who did not testify and wasn't called because of the nondisclosure agreement he signed for $2 million.
TUCHMAN: This is Delancey's son, Roscoe, voting in his first presidential election in November. He says he's voting for Donald Trump.
ROSCOE, DELANCEY'S SON AND GEORGIA VOTER: No, no.
TUCHMAN: I was chucking you there, Roscoe. I was going to see how nervous you were. You're voting for Joe Biden, you said, but you think Donald Trump is guilty too?
ROSCOE: Yes. Unlike most people, I kind of liked Michael Cohen's testimony, and I thought it was a strong one based on what I heard from the court reports and how the jury seemed to really resonate with him. And I think that the prosecution's attempt of trying to decredit him mostly serves as a way of decrediting Trump, who was in charge of hiring him.
TUCHMAN: Okay. And this is Matt over here. Matt is ready to vote for Donald Trump in November, and he feels he's not guilty.
MATT: Yes, sir. I believe, basically, with the Michael Cohen's testimony, it was just going to be basically just a lie from the beginning, from the idea of just his information he gave.
TUCHMAN: Okay. And Matt and Beliza are a couple there. Beliza, also, you're ready to vote for Donald Trump. You feel he's not guilty. How come?
BELIZA, MATT'S WIFE AND GEORGIA VOTER: Yes. I believe he's innocent, because I think he didn't violate any campaign financial law.
TUCHMAN: Okay. Beliza's from Colombia, originally. She became an American citizen a few years ago, so congratulations on that.
BELIZA: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: And finally, Daryl's up there. He's ready to vote for Joe Biden, feels Donald Trump is guilty. How come?
DARYL, GEORGIA VOTER: You can't explain away the receipts. He did what he did, and regardless of whether you think he's lying or not lying, the receipts remain. The documents remain.
TUCHMAN: Final question for you, a show of hands here. If Donald Trump is found guilty, do any of you who say you're ready to vote for Donald Trump, would you consider switching to Joe Biden? Raise your hands.
No consideration, even if he's found guilty.
Other hand, if he's found not guilty, any of you voting for Joe Biden, would you then possibly consider Donald Trump?
All right, everyone's sticking with the candidates they have right now. We may find out guilt or not guilty as early as tomorrow.
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CHURCH: A setback for the prosecution in another one of Donald Trump's criminal trials, the classified documents case. Judge Eileen Cannon denied the special counsel's request to impose a gag order on the former U.S. president. She called the motion wholly lacking in substance and professional courtesy and slammed prosecutors for not giving Trump's team enough time to discuss it.
The special counsel can resubmit the motion once they satisfy those requirements, and they've got the time since Judge Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, indefinitely postponed the trial earlier this month. Trump was indicted for bringing classified material from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after he left office and for resisting the government's attempts to retrieve those documents.
Well still to come, a controversial spectacle. Bullfighting is still allowed in eight countries worldwide, but an approved bill could soon bring that number down to seven. We'll take a look.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
Colombia's Congress has approved a nationwide ban on bullfighting in a significant victory for animal rights activists. The bill will now be sent to Colombian President Gustavo Petro to be signed into law.
[03:55:10]
Stefano Pozzebon has details from Bogota.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Colombia has become the latest country in the world to effectively ban bullfights, marking a significant victory for animal rights activists and progressives in the Andean nation.
The bill was passed by the Colombian Chamber of Representatives on Tuesday evening with 93 votes in favor and two against. According to its text, bullfights will still be allowed until 2027 as a transition period for the bullfighting industry. Nevertheless, there were supporters of the ban celebrating the results, which came after years of failed votes in Congress.
ALEJANDRO GARCIA, COLOMBIAN CONGRESSMAN (through translator): To the country, we say we are prioritizing the protection and welfare of animals, and to the world, that Colombia is going through a cultural transformation where all beings are treated with dignity.
POZZEBON: Until now, Colombia was one of only eight countries around the world to still allow the practice of bullfights, which is known as corridas in Spanish. Spain and Mexico are the countries that see most of corridas or bullfights around the world these days.
The bill will now pass to the Colombian President Gustavo Petro to be signed into law, and Petro himself has long been a supporter of the ban. He took on X, formerly known as Twitter, to celebrate the results in Congress on Tuesday, saying that congratulations to those who managed that death will no longer be a show.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Some lucky fans of the legendary hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan may get a chance to listen to the group's mysterious album, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin". Fans would have to go to the Australian island state of Tasmania and snag one of the limited free tickets for a private listening session at the Museum of Old and New Art next month. Wu-Tang Clan secretly recorded the album and made only one copy, kept in a hand-carved box. It was sold in 2015 for about $2 million to a former CEO, later convicted for defrauding investors. The Justice Department seized the album and reportedly sold it to a digital art collector for about $4 million.
And I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Max Foster.
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