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Israel-Hamas War Unlikely to End Throughout 2024; Trump's Hush Money Trial Verdict to Decide After Today's Jury Deliberations; 14 Hong Kong Activists, Politicians Charged with Subversion During 2021 Protests vs. National Security Law; Mexico City Faces Water Crisis; Negro League Statistics Now Added to MLB Records for the First Time in Decades; Two Pandas Set to Return to a Washington D.C. Zoo as Part of a Stronger Panda Diplomacy. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 30, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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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, at least seven more months of war. Israel's national security advisor says the fighting in Gaza is unlikely to end before next year.

Donald Trump's fate in his historic criminal trial is now in the hands of 12 jurors who will be back for day two of deliberations later today.

And some Ukrainian soldiers say American-supplied tanks are not proving to be much help on the battlefield. Instead, they say the tanks make them a target for Russian strikes.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Israel's national security advisor is warning the war in Gaza could last another seven months, at least through to the end of this year. That means Rafah likely will not be the final battle against Hamas. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested, new video geolocated by CNN shows Israeli tanks in a neighborhood in Rafah signaling a push farther west.

Meanwhile, Israel says it has found 20 tunnels that crossed into Egypt, which Hamas has been using to smuggle weapons into Gaza. The IDF says it now has operational control of the area. Video released by the IDF shows what it says are rocket launchers and other terrorist infrastructure. Egypt denies the tunnels exist.

So let's bring in CNN's Scott McLean, who joins us live from Istanbul in Turkey. Good morning to you, Scott. So what more are you learning about developments on the ground in Rafah? SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Rosemary. So the

Ministry of Health in Gaza had yesterday said that two Palestinian Red Crescent medics were killed inside of an ambulance that they were in going to pick up injured people and transport dead bodies elsewhere in the city.

Now, they say that this happened in an Israeli bombardment. The IDF said that it's looking into the circumstances, but also put out a short statement explaining what they believe at this stage to have happened. It said, in part, a suspicious vehicle approached IDF troops in a manner that raised suspicion and posed a threat to the forces operating in the area of Rafah. Accordingly, an IDF tank fired toward the vehicle.

Now, this is not the first time that this has happened. The U.N. says that since the war began, well over 250 aid workers have been killed. A few weeks ago, Human Rights Watch put out a report saying that on eight separate occasions, Israel targeted areas that were knowingly being used by aid workers.

Now, in terms of the military situation, you mentioned it already, Israel says that it is in control of the entire length of Gaza's border with Egypt. It says it's in tactical control. It doesn't necessarily mean there are troops stationed along the entire length of it. But in having control of that area, it says that it's discovered these 20 tunnels that you mentioned and more than 80 entrances to those tunnels. Of course, for years and years, the Israelis have been suggesting that tunnels are the way that smugglers are getting weapons into the Gaza Strip.

But Egypt, though, is denying the existence of these tunnels at all. So this comes from a senior Egyptian official speaking with state affiliated TV in Gaza saying that Israel is spreading lies to cover up its military failures.

Now, Israel says that it informed Egypt about the tunnels. This senior official, though, anonymous official, is saying that no communication has been had between the two sides on the existence of these tunnels at all. It's also worth noting that back in February, Egypt made abundantly clear that Israeli troops along the length of that border would be, without its permission at least, a violation of the peace agreement between the two countries. Rosemary?

CHURCH: And Scott, Turkish President Erdogan had some rather choice words for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. What did he say?

MCLEAN: Yeah, so since the outset of the war, I should maybe preface this by saying that prior to the war, relations between Turkey and Israel were actually quite good after years of sort of icy tension between them.

[03:05:00]

But they were at a good spot. When the war began, though, Erdogan quickly became one of the most outspoken international critics of Israel and especially its prime minister, calling Israel a terrorist state, repeatedly comparing its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to Hitler. The list goes on and on.

Yesterday, he spoke to the Turkish parliament where he sharply criticized the West and had some especially creative language to describe the prime minister. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): The world is watching the barbarism of a sick man, a maniac, a psychopath and a blood feeding vampire called Netanyahu, and they are all watching it on live broadcasts. Oh, the American state, this blood is on your hands also. You are responsible for this genocide, at least as much as Israel. Oh, the heads of state and government of Europe, you also have participated in Israel's genocide, barbarism and vampire like act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: So months ago, Rosemary, Erdogan had been taking some pretty harsh criticism from inside of Turkey for not taking matching those harsh words with actions toward Israel. About six months into the war, he cut off all trade with Israel. A move that frankly harms Turkey more than it harms Israel.

And in that speech there, he said that he criticized Islamic countries for not doing enough, not putting in strong enough policies to stop what he describes as a genocide taking place in Gaza. He also called Zionism a quote, "unlawful perversion". Rosemary.

CHURCH: Scott McLean, joining us live from Istanbul. Many thanks.

And at the United Nations, the U.S. said Israel needs to do more to protect civilians in Gaza and allow aid to get in. The deputy U.S. ambassador told the Security Council Wednesday that incidents like Sunday's deadly strike in Rafah undermine Israel's strategic goals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT WOOD, DEPUTY U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: As we have said before, Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas, but Israel also has obligations to protect civilians. The fact that Hamas' leaders and fighters hide among civilians does not lessen the requirement for Israel to conduct its operations in accordance with international humanitarian law. The continued pattern of significant civilian harm resulting from incidents like Sunday's airstrikes undermines Israel's strategic goals in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: One day after Norway, Ireland and Spain officially recognized a Palestinian state, French President Emmanuel Macron indicated he's willing to do the same. But he says that recognition will only come if the Palestinian Authority makes what he calls necessary reforms. Macron delivered that message Wednesday in a call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The French president offered the prospect of recognition and highlighted France's commitment to building a, quote, "common vision and security guarantees for Palestinians and Israelis".

The jury in the historic Donald Trump hush money trial has begun deliberations and they're asking to re-hear key testimony. Jurors met for more than four and a half hours on Wednesday and before being dismissed, they sent notes to the judge asking to hear his instructions and several critical portions of witness testimony again.

CNN's Kara Scannell has details now from New York.

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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The historic first criminal trial of a former president and presumptive Republican nominee is now in the hands of a jury.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They might have to erase him and not meet those charges, but we'll see. We'll see how we do.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Twelve Manhattan residents, seven men and five women, deliberating if Donald Trump is guilty of 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in an attempt to influence the 2016 election.

TRUMP: These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged.

SCANNELL (voice-over): After nearly four hours of deliberations, the jury sent in their first note, asking for portions of testimony to be read back from former "National Enquirer" publisher David Pecker and former Trump fixer Michael Cohen about a meeting at Trump Tower.

Prosecutors say there was a 2015 meeting there between the two men and Trump, where Pecker allegedly agreed to be the eyes and ears for Trump's campaign and flag any negative stories to Cohen. There were several other meetings there that Pecker and Cohen testified about during the trial. The testimony will be read back to the jury at the start of deliberations on Thursday. The jury also had a second question before they were dismissed for the day about Judge Juan Merchant's instructions.

[03:09:56]

Earlier, he explained that to find Trump guilty, they must unanimously find that he falsified business records with the intent to violate New York State election law, promoting or preventing the election of a candidate to public office by unlawful means. The jury does not need to be unanimous about what those unlawful means are.

Prosecutors have put forward three theories about how Trump violated election law, a corporate donation or individual contribution exceeding $2,700, falsifying other business records such as Michael Cohen's bank records, and tax law violations. As it did during his 17 hours of intense testimony and closing arguments, Michael Cohen and his credibility took center stage. Under our law, Michael Cohen is an accomplice, Judge Merchant said to the jury. Even if you find the testimony of Michael Cohen to be believable, you may not convict the defendant solely upon that testimony unless you also find it's corroborated by other evidence.

Cohen, the prosecution's star witness and the only person called who could directly implicate Trump, testified he spoke to Trump twice to get his sign-off just before making payments to Stormy Daniels. He said Trump approved the repayment scheme.

Trump's defense painted Cohen as a liar and a thief who could not be trusted, out for revenge on his former boss. The judge left the jury to deliberate with these parting words. It is not my responsibility to judge the evidence here. It is yours, Merchant said. You are the judges of the facts, and you are responsible for deciding whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Nancy Marder is a law professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she also serves as the director of the Justice John Paul Stevens Jury Center. She joins me now from Chicago. Thank you so much for being with us.

NANCY MARDER, LAW PROF., CHICAGO-KENT COLLEGE OF LAW AND DIRECTOR OF JUSTICE JOHN PAUL STEVENS JURY CENTER: Thank you for inviting me.

CHURCH: So the jury wrapped up its first day of deliberations, the seven men and five women asking to hear the jury instructions again, and they also asked for four pieces of testimony to be read again as they determine the fate of Donald Trump. What does all this signal to you?

MARDER: It signals to me a jury that is trying to do its job very carefully and is taking the judge's instructions very seriously. The judge doesn't give them a written copy of the instructions, and I think that's because New York law provides that. But the judge did make a point throughout the instructions that they can send a note to the judge if they want to hear a particular instruction again or testimony again, because what they -- or an exhibit that's been admitted into evidence, because they don't have the instructions in front of them, so they are just simply following what the judge has told them to do and by sending a note with their requests.

CHURCH: And it's interesting what you say there, because some experts have said and asked, in actual fact, why the judge wouldn't have given the jury 55 pages of instructions, some of them suggesting that that could be used as grounds for an appeal if there's a conviction in this case. So can you just elaborate on that point?

MARDER: Yes. My understanding is that New York law does not permit the court to give a written copy of the instructions.

Many states do permit it, and federal courts permit it, but states are free to design their system in a way that makes sense to them. And so the judge is simply following New York law.

CHURCH: So what is likely happening in the deliberation room? How much pressure would this jury be under, and how long will it likely take, do you think, if they're being so very careful to hear those jury instructions again, as well as the four pieces of testimony?

MARDER: So nobody knows how long jury deliberations will take. It's a question that I often get asked, and I wish I were in the room and were able to tell you.

But the truth is that the jury can take as much time as it needs, and the judge will tell them that as well. And we want them to keep deliberating because we want them to be able to reach a unanimous verdict, whether it's for conviction or acquittal.

So when they take time, it means they're going through the elements of each count and seeing what evidence supports the count.

[03:15:00]

But the prosecution has the burden of proof, and the jury has to decide whether the prosecution has met that burden beyond a reasonable doubt. So jury deliberations are really hard for any jury, and so that they should proceed slowly and carefully is a good thing.

CHURCH: And what outcome do you expect here, acquittal, conviction on some or all counts, a hung jury? What's your sense?

MARDER: I never predict, because each one does its work, and I have great faith in juries, but it's up to them to set up their ways of deliberating. And juries have different ways. The two that have been described by social scientists who observe mock jury deliberations, one is verdict-driven, where you take your vote right away, but then you can end up with disagreement that's really hard to counter. And we saw that in the movie "12 Angry Men" with Henry Fonda.

So going around carefully for each juror to speak and to give their recollections, it's preferable to not take a vote right away and to have full consideration. So I think that proceeding slowly and carefully is a good thing, and hearing from all jurors is a good thing. And it also depends on the foreperson and how the foreperson helps to organize the deliberations.

CHURCH: Nancy Marder, thank you so much for joining us. I Really appreciate it.

MARDER: Thank you.

CHURCH: In a major blow to Hong Kong's democratic opposition movement, a court has handed down guilty verdicts to 14 of the 16 opposition figures charged with subversion in a landmark national security case. The defendants were among 47 arrested in 2021 for organizing an unofficial primary election ahead of Hong Kong's legislative vote. The court declared two defendants not guilty, including former Hong Kong district councilor Lawrence Lau, who urged everyone to continue to pay attention to the others involved in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAWRENCE LAU, FORMER HONG KONG DISTRICT COUNCILOR: Thank you for your concern of all the developments that have been ongoing and please, please carry on with your concern and love for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Kristie Lou Stout joins me now live from Hong Kong. Good to see you again, Kristie. So what is the latest on all of this and these verdicts?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, the verdicts are out in Hong Kong's largest national security case to date. It involves 47 pro-democracy activists. 31 had earlier already pleaded guilty, including the high-profile activist Joshua Wong, the legal scholar Benny Tai, and 16 have pleaded not guilty. But this is what we learned today. Of the 16 who have pleaded not guilty, 14 were today found by the court to be guilty on charges of subversion, including the former journalist Gwyneth Ho, including the former opposition lawmaker known as Long Hair. We know that sentencing will come out next. Now, security has been very tight this day. Hundreds of people have been pouring into the courtroom to witness the proceedings, including diplomats from the European Union, from the United States and elsewhere.

And then there was that dramatic moment in the courtroom when the verdict was read aloud. Some family members of the defendants cried and wept openly as they realized and took in the news that some of their loved ones could be facing life in prison. Now, this has been a very long and drawn-out legal process. It all started over three years ago, in January of 2021, when 47 pro-democracy figures were arrested in the dawn wave.

And they were later charged with conspiracy to commit subversion, a very serious crime in Hong Kong under the national security law, punishable by up to life in prison. They were accused of staging an unofficial primary vote, which was later deemed by authorities to be illegal.

Now, the national security law was imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020, in the wake of the 2019 massive anti-government protests here in the territory. Critics say that the law has been used to dismantle the opposition, to crush dissent.

Supporters say that it restored law and order with the Hong Kong government authorities, saying that it's a matter of national security, as they warn against any foreign interference. But when you speak to political and legal observers, they point out the significance of this case and what it means as a test for the judicial independence of Hong Kong. Watch this.

[03:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BURNS, EMERITUS AND HONORARY PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: It's absolutely clear that the national security law reduced the independence and the autonomy of the judiciary. No juries. Much more difficult to get bail. Those are all things that previously were determined by the judges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, the state has won every single national security case until now. Today, two defendants, two former district councilors, became the first two national security defendants to be acquitted after trial.

And in the last hour, we have just learned that the prosecution, the Department of Justice, plans to appeal that decision. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Kristie Lu Stout with that live report from Hong Kong. Many thanks.

The U.S. and Europe are playing catch up with Russia when it comes to ammunition production. But as the U.S. ramps up its output to help Ukraine, it's also helping its own military. We'll explain. Stay with us.

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CHURCH: Moscow is threatening to ramp up its missile production after more NATO countries said they're OK with Ukraine strikes inside Russia. The increase would include both intermediate and short-range missiles, according to Russia's deputy foreign minister. The statement came after multiple NATO countries said Kyiv should be able to use weapons supplied by them to hit some military targets on Russian soil.

Part of the reason, Russia's strikes on the Kharkiv region, since Russia can easily launch them from behind its border. Using U.S. weapons to defend against those strikes by targeting sites inside Russia has been a red line for Washington. But now the U.S. Secretary of State is hinting at a possible shift in that policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We haven't encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine. But Ukraine, as I've said before, has to make its own decisions about the best way to effectively defend itself. We're going to make sure that it has the equipment it needs to do that. Another hallmark of our support for Ukraine over these now more than two years has been to adapt. As the conditions have changed, as the battlefield has changed, as what Russia does has changed, in terms of how it's pursuing its aggression, escalation, we've adapted and adjusted too. And I'm confident we'll continue to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A famous military quote says, "Infantry wins battles, but logistics wins wars". Well, that appears to apply to Ukraine, as NATO estimates that Russia now makes three times more artillery shells than the U.S. and Europe combined. U.S. arms makers are trying to close the gap. And as Oren Liebermann reports, they're helping the U.S. military in the process. [03:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just outside Dallas, Texas, test rounds of artillery ammunition are rolling off a new U.S. production line.

LIEBERMANN: The goal of the U.S. is to produce 100,000 155-millimeter artillery shells like these a month by the end of next year. This facility alone, when it's at full capacity and up and running within the next 12 months, will make nearly a third of that, 30,000 shells a month.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The U.S. has committed more than $51 billion in security aid to Ukraine since the start of the war. The weapons go to Ukraine, but the vast majority of the money comes right back into the U.S. in manufacturing facilities, jobs and production.

CHRISTINE WORMUTH, U.S. ARMY SECRETARY: I think what we've seen from the lessons learned in Ukraine is that all of us, the United States, our NATO allies need more munitions. We need bigger stockpiles. Conflicts can be more drawn out than we thought.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): And when one weapon from U.S. inventories goes to Ukraine, another, newer weapon takes its place.

Bradley infantry fighting vehicles sent into the thick of the fight will be replaced by the latest models of the armed and armored systems. Counter-battery radars Ukraine has used to defend against incoming fire will make way for newer radar systems.

And ATACMs missiles that Ukraine has used to strike deep within occupied territory are to be replaced with advanced, longer-range precision strike missiles.

LIEBERMANN: As we send weapons to Ukraine, the U.S. replaces them with either newer variants or newer systems. It is a way of modernizing the U.S. military.

WORMUTH: That's right. I like to say we're not going to replace old with old. We're going to replace old with new. We are modernizing through the support that we're giving to the Ukrainians.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): To feed the Kremlin's war, President Vladimir Putin has placed Russia's economy on a full wartime footing, trying to outproduce the West in what is becoming a grinding war of attrition.

Russia spends nearly 7 percent of its GDP on defense, with plans to go even higher, far more than the U.S. or any Western nation. Even if Russian weapons are lower quality, an old military adage says that quantity has a quality of its own.

When Russia burned through its own supply of artillery ammo too quickly, North Korea sent millions of rounds that made their way to the front lines. Iranian Shahed drones have expanded an already deadly Russian arsenal, and the Kremlin wants more.

The U.S. effort to produce weapons at the speed of war took precious time to close the gap. For years, the U.S. relied on decades-old plans like this one in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to make artillery rounds, a World War II-era defense industrial base that suddenly fell far short.

This new artillery plant is part of a surge in weapons production that isn't done yet, with pressure on the U.S. to supply Ukraine's military as it modernizes its own.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): It took two years from start to finish to bring us here, and now we're just in the process of building the munition stockpile that we need not only to help our allies in Europe and elsewhere, but to deter countries like China and Iran and North Korea.

LIEBERMANN: It's not just artillery ammunition that's being ramped up in terms of its production. The U.S., for example, also wants to produce many more Patriot missiles. Six hundred fifty a year, up from only a hundred now, and that's been a critical munition for Ukraine to withstand Russian aerial assaults. It's not a question of resources, but of political will.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Mesquite, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still ahead, mixed messages from Donald Trump as he takes the stage with two rap artists with rap sheets while campaigning on law and order.

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[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom". I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check the top stories for you.

Israel says it has found 20 tunnels along the border between Egypt and Gaza, which it claims Hamas has been using to smuggle weapons into the enclave. The IDF says it has gained operational control of the area known as the Philadelphia Corridor. Egypt denies the tunnels exist.

A Hong Kong court has handed down guilty verdicts to 14 activists and politicians charged with subversion for 2021 protests over national security laws imposed by China. Two others were found not guilty. They're all part of the Hong Kong 47 who were arrested for conducting an unofficial election primary ahead of the city's legislative vote.

Jury deliberations are set to resume later today in the historic hush money trial of Donald Trump. The jury has asked the judge to read back his instructions for them. They also want to rehear four portions of witness testimony. Well, as the presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee, Trump

has campaigned on messages of law and order and being tough on crime. But he's also made a point of associated with -- associating with praising, even promising to pardon accused criminals and convicts while personally facing dozens of charges in four separate criminal cases.

CNN's Randi Kaye takes a look at the contrast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump just last week in the Bronx, inviting two rap artists on stage, but not just any rap artists. They've both been indicted in an alleged conspiracy to commit murder.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here as well as rapper Sheff G. Does everybody know Sheff? Where is Sheff G? Come on up, fellas. Rapper Sleepy Hallow.

KAYE (voice-over): Those fellas, Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow, are alleged gang members who the Brooklyn district attorney named in an indictment. They are accused of conspiracy to commit murder and weapons possession.

This is them in a video used as evidence in the case brandishing weapons in a car. Both have pleaded not guilty and from the looks of it, are now on Team MAGA.

SHEFF G, RAP ARTIST: One thing I want to say, they always go whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures. Trump gonna shout the wins for all of us. Make America great again.

TRUMP: Thank you very much. That's where I like those teeth. I want to find out where you did. I gotta get my teeth like that. I want that to happen to me.

ERIC GONZALEZ, BROOKLYN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It was shocking that a presidential candidate would be meeting and having known gang members who have an open indictment for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Introduce him at a presidential rally.

KAYE (voice-over): Over the weekend, Trump aligning himself with a convicted criminal who is serving life in prison.

At the Libertarian National Convention, promising to commute the sentence of the founder of Silk Road, a now-defunct, unregulated online marketplace where users could buy and sell anonymously.

TRUMP: And if you vote for me on day one, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to a sentence of time served.

KAYE (voice-over): Silk Road's founder, Ross Ulbricht, was convicted on charges including money laundering and drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison in 2015 after a prosecutor noted six deaths resulting from drugs bought on his website. Ulbricht was quick to thank Trump on social media, writing on X,

Donald Trump pledged to commute my sentence on day one if reelected. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

At that same Libertarian event, there's Trump posing for a photo with rapper Afro Man. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to punching a woman at one of his concerts.

[03:35:01]

And then, of course, there are the convicted January 6th rioters. Trump almost never lets an opportunity pass to praise them and has promised to pardon them if elected to a second term.

TRUMP: When people who love our country protest on January 6th in Washington, they become hostages unfairly in prison for long periods of time.

KAYE (voice-over): Trump's commitment to those criminally charged also on full display at his hush money trial. As his own former lawyer turned convicted felon, Michael Cohen, testified against him, Trump's courtroom entourage included former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Carrick, who served time in prison for fraud before Trump pardoned him.

Also in tow, Chuck Zito, an actor and former leader of Hells Angels' New York chapter, who spent years in prison, a place Trump is currently very much trying to avoid.

Randi Kaye, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: South Korea says its neighbor to the north has fired a barrage of what are thought to be missiles east coast. Officials say North Korea deployed 10 short-range projectiles, which flew about 350 kilometers and landed in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. South Korea condemned the launches and also accused the north of jamming GPS radio wave signals for two straight days, but says its military operations were unaffected.

And now to a much messier provocation. The Hermit Kingdom has floated more than 260 balloons filled with filth over the border and South Korea has warned the north to stop immediately. Images just in to CNN show a large trash-carrying balloon that landed near Seoul on Wednesday. Officials say the balloons have been spilling all sorts of rubbish onto South Korean roads and sidewalks and the U.N. says it will carry out a formal investigation.

CNN's Will Ripley has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This seems to be a new strategy by North Korea, sending so far hundreds of these trash- filled balloons into South Korea. Local residents have actually been getting warnings to avoid outdoor activities because authorities just don't know exactly what is inside these things. Photos show plastic bags with garbage and filth as South Korea described it, you know, scraps, paper, dirt, that sort of thing. North Korea says this is a response to South Korean activists sending prohibited materials.

For a long time now, South Koreans, a lot of NGOs, sometimes former North Korean defectors that are now living in South Korea, they send into the north, sometimes using balloons, leaflets, food, medicine, even media like Korean dramas or K-pop, music that is forbidden for North Koreans to listen to, programs that are forbidden for North Koreans to watch, but they send them from South Korea anyway as part of this propaganda push to try to convince the north that there's a better way of life in the south.

This has been going on for a long time. North Korea has long accused the south of psychological warfare and has promised retaliation. So now, by sending these hundreds of trash-filled balloons, they want South Korean authorities to experience the headache of cleaning up and locating all of this, just like they say they've been dealing with for a long time.

But for North Koreans who receive content, particularly from South Korea, the penalties can be extremely severe. Remember, we showed you rare footage of those North Korean teenagers apparently sentenced to hard labor for viewing and distributing South Korean content.

There was a time, 2017-2018, when there were some brief periods of cultural exchange between the north and south, part of that diplomatic detente. And at that time, North Koreans were allowed to legally get a glimpse of South Korean culture. But those days seem like a distant memory now, with information controls arguably tighter than ever inside North Korea, and now these trash balloons being sent to the south, part of this tit-for-tat back and forth, and just yet another sign of the escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In Argentina, President Javier Milei has implemented aggressive austerity measures since taking office late last year, hoping to turn around the economy and tame the country's sky-high inflation. But those tougher policies have also led to a rise in poverty and unemployment, as journalist Stefano Pozzebon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST (voice-over): Not your traditional political rally, but Argentina's president is anything but conventional.

A former Mick Jagger impersonator, Javier Milei presented his latest book to thousands of screaming fans at the tune of rock and roll. But backstage, the reality is much different. The Argentinian economy is hitting rock bottom according to latest

estimates, with growth falling at the steepest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic, and thousands unemployed. One of them, another rock cover artist.

[03:40:07]

SEBASTIAN MASARACHIO, UNEMPLOYED BASS PLAYER (through translator): The production company I was working for lost their main client, and most of us were let go. Since February, I'm basically floating. I tried to find other jobs, but it didn't work out.

POZZEBON (voice-over): It was not long ago that Masarachio toured the country with his music. Now, he just plays by himself.

MASARACHIO (through translator): Often wages don't even cover the expenses. My bass chords, cables, if something breaks down, or not even gas and transport to get to the venue.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Construction worker Pablo Vasquez is also struggling to make ends meet.

PABLO VASQUEZ, CONSTRUCTION WORKER (through translator): The president needs to realize what is happening. He says everything is fine, but many people are unemployed. People are on the streets, sleeping on the streets. We are not doing fine.

POZZEBON (voice-over): More than a hundred thousand Argentinians lost their jobs this year in the construction industry alone, part of a harsh austerity package imposed by Milei's pledge to change saw through public finances.

The president believes Argentina's chronic economic troubles come from overspending by previous governments, and brags that his measures are already showing results, tampering inflation and registering fiscal surplus for the fourth straight month.

At home and looking for a job, Masarachio believes Milei's cuts were required, but admits that moment may have come too late.

MASARACHIO (through translator): I'm still hopeful. I know that at my age, this is my last chance, and if things stay this way, I'll have to think about leaving this country.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Steffano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Coming up, one of the world's largest cities is running out of water. I'll ask an expert about Mexico City's options, and what other countries can offer as examples.

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CHURCH: The last day of campaigning for Mexico's politicians was scarred by a wave of brutal violence against candidates. A warning, this next video is difficult to watch.

A mayoral candidate in Guerrero State was gunned down at his final campaign event before Sunday's election. Video shows Jose Alfredo Cabrera greeting supporters as someone points a pistol at his head and fires off several rounds. Cabrera died at the scene. Violent and sometimes deadly attacks on political candidates have been reported across the country in recent days. Several organizations say this year's election cycle is the most violent in Mexico's recent history.

[03:45:02]

The wave of violence is threatening to overshadow the importance of Sunday's elections. Nearly 100 million Mexicans are being called on to decide more than 20,000 positions on ballots nationwide, and the country is poised to make history with two women leading the race for the presidency for the first time ever.

Left-wing candidate Claudio Scheinbaum and center-right opposition hopeful Sochiel Galvez closed out three months of campaigning on Thursday. Each of them hope to be elected leader of the world's most populous Spanish-speaking country.

And as Mexico's election day approaches, the country's capital is grappling with a water crisis. Mexico City is currently in a serious drought. Low rainfall, extreme heat from El Nino weather patterns, and issues with geography and infrastructure are all impacting water levels. Nearly 22 million people have endured water shortages and restrictions for months now. Some officials warn that one of the city's main water networks may hit day zero within the next few weeks, meaning it will be unable to provide any water.

Christina Boyes is an assistant professor in the International Studies Division at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching in Mexico. And she joins me now from Mexico City. I Appreciate you being with us.

CHRISTINA BOYES, ASST. PROFESSOR, DIVISION OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, CIDE: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So water scarcity has long been an issue for residents in many parts of Mexico already dealing with rationing their water supplies with trucks filling house tanks every two weeks or so. So what happens now that Mexico City and its population of 22 million could run out of water in just a matter of weeks?

BOYES: I think we need to take a step back first and ask if that's really what's going to happen. There's a lot of noise right now about reaching day zero, but we're also heading into our rainy season. And at this point, dams in the area are around 48 percent capacity. So we may not actually hit that mark. That doesn't mean we need to relax in terms of the way that we take care of water and conserve resources, however.

CHURCH: So, I mean, it is still a problem. As you point out, lower income residents are used to this problem. They've been dealing with it for a very long time. But now that it's also hitting wealthy residents, they're starting to scream and shout, calling for action ahead of the country's June 2nd presidential election. What should the government be doing to deal with this water crisis, and why hasn't it had a plan in place?

BOYES: So I think the government has actually had a plan, but it's a bit like a game of whack-a-mole or lights out.

So as soon as one problem is resolved, more problems arise. We have infrastructure problems in the city that cause about 40 percent of the water that comes in and freshwater to the city to be lost.

That's not for lack of repair, but it is for soil subsidence and compacting over time. Mexico City is a lake bed, basically, and as the soils dry out and compact, then pipes are damaged and broken.

At the same time, we also have earthquakes in the zone, which means we have more infrastructure repairs that are required based on that.

And then we have contamination taking place in certain zones, which is bringing the idea of water scarcity to the attention of many residents who didn't necessarily face it before.

So for example, the Benito Juarez delegation recently faced an issue that they're calling potentially sabotage. It's something that the government's trying to push right now, that it was actually a case of sabotage.

But the issue is that the water contamination brought to their minds and to their use the idea that, oh, we need to actually think about this resource as something that's not infinite.

We've seen residents on the far east of the city in areas like east of Palapa and also in the southeast of the city in Xochimilco facing these kind of restrictions for a very long time.

CHURCH: So what about desalination plants along the coastline? How much can residents rely on them for water supplies? How sustainable is that system? Because it is in place, but how widespread is it?

BOYES: So desalination wouldn't solve the capital city's problem. We're located in the center of the country, but right smack in the middle and at the top of a volcanic ridge. So it's not the ideal setting to try to bring in desalinated water, although there is some discussion of should we do more of this type of plant.

Desalination has its own problems in that we're dumping back in brackish water to the system, which is going to cause further contamination and damages the coastal areas to an extent and the ecosystems along them.

What's more sustainable and would be a better solution for the city is actually water recycling. And that's something that culturally is a bit of a harder pill to swallow, but I think it's a very relevant one. And we've seen examples worldwide of how water recycling can be very effective for large cities.

CHURCH: And how would that work? And are there any plans like that in place at this juncture?

BOYES: There's some limited recycling that does take place. And for example, car washes and some areas like the National University do water using recycled water. So they do the water of the gardens and plants and things, but treated water.

[03:50:08]

But there's a cultural perception that treated water, even though it's just as clean and sometimes more clean than what we consider potable water from natural sources, which is also essentially treated, there's a resistance to it because it was already used by humans. Some of it is black water and some of it is gray water when we're talking about water recycling.

And it can happen at the individual level. So there's household examples from Holland. There's a really cool system called the Hydroloop where within a home, you can actually do all the water recycling.

But then we've also seen models in cities. San Francisco has decided that the larger buildings, all new construction actually has to incorporate water recycling on site. And you can also do city level like we see in Singapore. There's a system called New Water, which produces water for the city. And then when they have surplus of what goes to industrial use, then they dump that back into the public drinking water supply.

CHURCH: All Right. Well, at this point, let's hope for more rain. Christina Boyes, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

BOYES: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: For the fifth time since December, a volcano in southwestern Iceland is erupting, spewing lava into the air and cutting off most of the roads that lead to a nearby town. Scientists warn that the start of this eruption has been more vigorous than in previous cases, and the country's civil defense has urged residents to evacuate. Iceland's famous tourist destination and geothermal hotspot, the Blue Lagoon, was evacuated on Wednesday before the volcano erupted.

Time for a short break now. When we come back, Major League Baseball is updating its record books, now including the segregated Negro Leagues. We'll explain.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Major League Baseball integrated when Jackie Robinson, formerly of the Kansas City Monarchs, broke the color barrier back in 1947. But these statistics of Negro League players were not officially integrated into the MLB record books until now.

CNN's Tom Foreman looks at the legendary players who have now literally changed the record books, replacing even Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb in some major categories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the golden age of baseball, Babe Ruth hammered his way into the record books with the best career slugging percentage ever. Ty Cobb scored the best all-time batting average, but now both have been bested by Josh Gibson, a power-hitting catcher from the Negro Leagues.

BOB KENDRICK, PRESIDENT, NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM: Josh Gibson was the greatest baseball player to have put on baseball uniform. When you look at what he was able to do as a catcher, and as many of you know, he wasn't a good catcher. He was a great catcher, and he is arguably the greatest combination of power and average this game has ever seen.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The story of the first black man in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson, has long been lionized.

But sports historians have just as long argued that the record books were incomplete because they did not include stats from the Negro Leagues, where Robinson and so many others held forth before the game was integrated.

[03:55:08]

Not many are left, but Major League Baseball databases will now carry the accomplishments of over 2,300 Negro League players from 1920 to 1948, along with a promise.

ROB MANFRED, MLB COMMISSIONER: I think focus on the history of the Negro Leagues is consistent with our efforts to produce diversity on the field in the front office. So there's lots of things, lots of good things going on.

FOREMAN (voice-over): What's more, the inclusion of the Negro Leagues records will also boost the resumes of some players who made it to Major League Ball and into sports lore.

Like pitcher Satchel Page, whose career wins will go from 28 to 125.

KENDRICK: This is indeed an exciting day and like I said, this is just the beginning.

FOREMAN: One of the reasons they say it's just the beginning is the Negro Leagues, plural, there were several of them, didn't always keep the best records. It was thrown together in many ways and those records haven't necessarily been maintained in a great way. So they're still being discovered and that means as time goes on, even more records could fall.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: An ankle injury will force three-time Olympic champion gymnast Gabby Douglas out of the upcoming summer games in Paris for Team USA. The 28-year-old withdrew from a competition in Texas this week after the injury. Douglas told ESPN she still plans to train for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. She had just returned to the sport last month after an eight-year break from competition. She hasn't competed in an Olympic event since the 2016 games in Rio.

Giant pandas are returning to the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington to continue decades of so-called Panda Diplomacy with China. The zoo made the announcement Wednesday in a video with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden planning a black-tie vegetarian dinner for the two-year-old bears or pandas. They're due to arrive from China later this year. One of the bears actually has ties to Washington. His mother was born at the National Zoo in 2013 and his grandparents were there as well until they were returned to China last year. China's U.S. ambassador says the newest envoys of friendship are a symbol of the friendly ties between the two countries.

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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