Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Verdicts Announced in Landmark Hong Kong National Security Case; Argentina Sees Layoff, Poverty Rise Amid Austerity Measures; Iceland's Volcano Spews Lava, Cuts Off Roads Leading to Nearby Town; Trump Shares Stage with Rap Artists Indicted Over Alleged Conspiracy to Commit Murder; Judge Drops Charges Against Golfer Scottie Scheffler. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 30, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. Here are today's top stories.

The second day of jury deliberation in the Trump hush money trial set to begin in a few hours. The 12-person jury met for more than four and a half hours yesterday. During that time, they asked to review four pieces of testimony. Jurors also want to rehear a portion of the judges' instructions.

The final results of South Africa's general election are expected on Sunday. A record number of nearly 28 million people registered to vote. And for the first time in three decades, the ruling African National Congress is facing a serious threat to its hold on power.

New Delhi sweltering under record heat. India's capital recorded a high of 52 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Parts of northwestern India are also facing an unprecedented heat wave. But forecasters believe that area could get some relief in the days ahead.

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 amongst 47 arrested in 2021 for organizing an unofficial primary election ahead of Hong Kong's legislative vote. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The verdicts are out in Hong Kong's largest national security trial to date. It involves 47 pro- democracy activists. Now, 31 had already pleaded guilty to charges of subversion, including the high-profile activist Joshua Wong.

Now, 16 had pleaded not guilty. But of the 16, 14 were found to be guilty on charges of subversion today, including the former journalist Gwyneth Ho, as well as the former opposition lawmaker known as "Long Hair." Sentencing will come next. Now, security has been tight. We have been watching hundreds of people pour in to witness the proceedings, including diplomats from the United States, the EU and elsewhere.

And then there was that moment in the courtroom when the verdict was read out loud. Some family members of defendants wept and cried openly upon hearing the news that their loved ones could very well be facing life in prison.

This has been a long legal ordeal. It all dates back to over three years ago, January of 2021, when 47 pro-democracy figures were arrested in a dawn raid.

They were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion, which is a serious crime here in Hong Kong, under the national security law. It's punishable by up to life in prison. They were accused of staging an unofficial primary vote, which was deemed illegal by authorities here.

Now, the national security law was imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020 in the wake of the massive anti-government protests of 2019. Critics say it has dismantled the opposition. It has crushed dissent.

Supporters say it restored law and order, with authorities saying it's a matter of national security as they warn against any foreign interference. But observers say that this case is a significant test of Hong Kong's judicial independence. Watch this.

JOHN BURNS, EMERITUS AND HONORARY PROFESSOR, 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.

STOUT: The state has won every national security case until now. Now, two defendants, they're two former district councilors, have become the first two national security defendants to be acquitted after trial.

[04:35:02]

But we've also learned that the Department of Justice here in Hong Kong plans to appeal that decision.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, South Korea says its neighbor to the north has fired a barrage of what are thought to be ballistic missiles off its 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 days straight, but says its military operations were unaffected.

Meanwhile, South Korea has issued a sharp warning to North Korea to immediately halt the floating bags of filth that it's been sending over the border. The latest images show a large trash-carrying balloon, really, that landed near Seoul, just one of the more than 260 balloons North Korea has deployed into the south. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister, who's a senior official, referred to the dirty deliveries as freedom of expression.

CNN's Will Ripley picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR 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) FOSTER: I will be keeping an eye on today's trading on Wall Street. After the U.S. markets tumbled on Wednesday, investors are still worried about inflation and when the Federal Reserve might start cutting interest rates. The Dow dropped more than 1 percent, 411 points lower.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also in the red, as you can see.

Now, 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.

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.

[04:40:00]

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

PABLO VAZQUEZ, UNEMPLOYED CONSTRUCTION WORKER (voice-over): 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 100,000 Argentinians lost their jobs this year in the construction industry alone, part of a harsh austerity package imposed by Milei's pledge to change so 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 that means at that moment, we 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): Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still to come, explosions of lava shooting into the air, a live report from Iceland for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: As we mentioned earlier, lava from a volcano erupting in Iceland has closed off some roads to the nearby town, and residents are being urged to leave the area. Rikke Pedersen is scientist and center leader at the Nordic Volcanological Center, joins us from Reykjavik in Iceland. Thank you so much for joining us.

And I was just seeing that the meteorological office is saying that it looks like the start of this eruption is actually more vigorous than the other ones we've reported on in recent months.

RIKKE PEDERSEN, SCIENTIST AND CENTER LEADER, NORDIC VOLCANOLOGICAL CENTER: That is correct. This is the fifth eruption in a series from this particular volcanic system. And this is the typical pattern that you'll see in rifting events.

So the initial eruptions will not be as voluminous because most of the magma actually stays in the ground. So it's filling out the void which is created by the plate spreading apart in Iceland. So this is the fifth in a row, and therefore we have already filled in much of the material into the voids inside the Earth, and now we have more vigorous eruptions.

FOSTER: There are protective barriers, as I understand it, around the town. Just explain how they work and whether they're holding.

PEDERSEN: Yes, so prior to this eruption, we had a series of barriers put in around the town of Grindarvik and also surrounding the power plant Svartsengi. And those have worked very well.

[04:45:00]

Yesterday, the lavas entered an area that has not been exposed to lavas before on the western town -- western side of the Grindarvik town, and the dikes really protected the resident area, and there's no damage to houses there.

FOSTER: But these roads are closed off. Presumably, there is still some way for the remaining people to get out because I know that that's the warning. PEDERSEN: One road in and out of town. Fortunately, only two of the roads were destroyed by lava. So there's still the eastern road into town.

FOSTER: And you've had to close off the electricity as well. Just explain the thinking behind that.

PEDERSEN: Yes, so the power was cut prior to the eruption starting, and that's to avoid any kind of outage. I'm not an expert in the electricity, so it's cut off deliberately. But also, during the eruption, some of the big masts holding the grid, they actually burned. So we need to see today if there is any chance that the electricity can hold. There's just one line still intact.

FOSTER: How concerned are you? As you were saying, a lot of the space that this lava would have filled has been taken by previous lava. But when we look at the images of the height of the spray, as it were, it looks very dramatic to us. But is that a surprise to you?

PEDERSEN: Oh, no, that's not really a surprise, because we knew that we had more than 20 million cubic meters of magma accumulated in the crust. It was more than we'd seen before. So we knew that the overpressure was quite high.

So the initial phase of an eruption starts really rigorously and with high fountaining, but it also dwindles out fairly rapidly. So after one and a half hours from the initial start of the eruption, it starts dwindling again. So this is really following a very repeatable pattern that we've seen before.

FOSTER: And we can see the smoke rising. Obviously, you know, the area is burning, so you'd expect that. But just to clarify, this isn't, you know, an ash cloud, is it, of the type we saw many years ago?

PEDERSEN: Not at all. Not the same type of ash cloud. But in this case, there were two kinds of smoke.

So one, when the lava actually runs over the road, the pavement will start burning and that causes some black smoke. But there was also another incident where the magma actually hit groundwater and we had some small ash production for a short period of time during the eruption yesterday. That is something that happens occasionally and it has been not longstanding, but it did develop some ash in the area. It's very local and not like the ash cloud back in 2010.

FOSTER: OK, Rikke Pedersen, thank you for your insights and explaining what we're seeing there, spectacular images actually coming out from Iceland, if nothing else.

As the presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump has campaigned on messages of law and order and being tough on crime. But he's also made a point of associating with, praising even, promising to pardon accused criminals and convicts whilst personally facing dozens of criminal charges.

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, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 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 going to shout the wins for all of us.

[04:50:00]

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 got to 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.

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)

FOSTER: A New York prosecutor says new accusers have come forward ahead of Harvey Weinstein's retrial on rape and sexual assault charges. The 72-year-old Hollywood mogul's 2020 conviction was overturned on appeal. The assistant district attorney says the new claims are being actively investigated and a new indictment is possible.

Weinstein became a symbol of the MeToo movement after a slew of accusations led to his downfall. He remains behind bars due to rape and sexual assault convictions in Los Angeles.

Panda diplomacy between the U.S. and China getting back on track at a pair of new -- rather two-year-old bears are the newest envoys of friendship. We'll have the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: A judge in Kentucky has dropped all charges against golfer Scottie Scheffler.

[04:55:00]

The world number one, faced several charges, including felony second- degree assault on a police officer. Scheffler was accused of dragging the officer with his car as he drove around the scene of a fatal crash on his way to the PGA Championship in Louisville earlier this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVEN ROMINES, SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER'S LAWYER: He asked to talk to the officer. He wanted to explain to him what happened. However, they are trying to get him to confess to something that he didn't do. And the video evidence shows he didn't do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: While Scheffler posted on Instagram: I hold no ill will towards Officer Gillis. I wish to put this incident behind me and move on. And I hope he will do the same. Police officers have a difficult job and I hold them in high regard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a call from the ancestors to sail to new skies and reconnect our people across the entire ocean.

FOSTER: And that is Disney's new trailer to the sequel of 2016 hit Moana. It shows the main character reuniting with shapeshifting demigod Maui for their latest voyage. The sequel's out in theatres in November.

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 on Wednesday in a video with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden planning a black-tie vegetarian dinner for the two-year-old 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 said the newest envoys of friendship are a symbol of the friendly ties between the two countries.

Thanks -- and now, also, before we go, a piece of Beatles history. It has a new home after selling at auction for almost $3 million.

The 1964 Framus Hootenanny acoustic guitar was owned by John Lennon and used by both Lennon and George Harrison during recording sessions for the Beatles' Help! and Rubber Soul albums. Lennon gave the 12- string guitar away at the end of 1965 and it's not been seen or played for more than 50 years until it went under the gavel with Julian's auctions in New York City.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next after a break.

[05:00:00]