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Israeli Strike On U.N. School Kills Dozens In Gaza; Trump Steps Onto Campaign Trail For First Time Since His Conviction; European Parliament Elections Kick Off In Netherlands; World Leaders, Veterans Gather to Remember D-Day; Russian Warships to Visit Cuba Next Week; Cross-Border Propaganda Campaign Divides South Koreans; New Evidence in Gilgo Beach Murders; Space Race Heats UP with Two Launches This Week; A.I. Chip Giant Center of Attention at Taiwan's Computex. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 07, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ACHOR: Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will need to be accountability for everything that has happened in Gaza.
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HOLMES: Another deadly Israeli strike in Gaza, Israel says it was hitting militants, but among the dozens of dead and wounded women and children.
It is the second biggest election in the world, after India's voters in the European Union begin casting ballots for their next parliament, amid signs of a right wing soon and SpaceX starship proves its usability after a milestone mission.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: Israel says it was targeting Hamas fighters with at least two U.S. made bombs which hit a U.N. run school being used as a shelter by displaced Palestinians, killing dozens of people, including children, and wounding many more.
The U.N. Agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza says 6,000 people were sheltering at the school at the time the bombs hit. The chief of UNRWA said there was no warning. A CNN analysis found U.S. made munitions were used to carry out the strike. Fragments of at least two American small diameter bombs, as they're called, were identified at the scene. More on that in a moment. Israel says it has identified nine of roughly 30 alleged Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters it says were the targets of the strike, but has offered no evidence so far. The White House deferred to Israel when asked about the use of U.S. made weapons in the attack.
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JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON: We want to learn more about this clearly, and we'll ask the tough questions, as we always do, but we also want to make sure that Israel does have what it needs to defend itself against a still viable threat by Hamas. And Hamas is deliberately making it that much more difficult.
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HOLMES: The EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, is calling for an independent investigation into the incident, as well as other deadly Israeli strikes in central Gaza. CNN's Jeremy Diamond, following the latest developments for us from Jerusalem. First a warning his report contains graphic content.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mohammad Farajallah is still picking through the rubble of the airstrike that killed his brother, and alongside the blood spattered walls, he is still finding pieces of flesh. He believes they are his brothers.
May his soul rest in peace, he says. I wish I died instead. There is no hope in this life at all. Mahmoud is the second brother Mohammad has lost during the war. His third brother is in the hospital in critical condition. His skull fractured in the blast.
Mohammad is not the only one sifting through the rubble. The Gaza health ministry says at least 40 people were killed when the Israeli military struck this building overnight. But this is no ordinary building. It's a U.N. school converted like so many others into a shelter for thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes.
Blood stained mattresses now filling the space where dozens were sleeping at the moment of impact. Fragments of an American made GBU-39 bomb identified in the wreckage, according to munitions experts who reviewed this footage, same type of munition used in the deadly strike in Rafah last month that killed 45 people.
The Israeli military says it carried out a precision and intelligence based strike targeting 20 to 30 Palestinian militants who it says were sheltering in the school and preparing attacks on Israeli troops.
An Israeli military spokesman said the IDF was unaware of any civilian casualties. Hospital records tell a different story. Nine women and 14 children as young as four years old are among the dead delivered to Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital. Those who survived also accuse Israel of targeting civilians.
Netanyahu is killing the civilians. He is not killing militants. Shabbir Abu Dharr (ph) says, it's innocent people asleep in an UNWRA facility. What did children and the elderly do? What did they do to him?
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The school is one of at least 180 UNRWA buildings to be hit since the beginning of the war, according to that U.N. agency attacking, targeting or using U.N. buildings for military purposes are a blatant disregard of international humanitarian law, wrote UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini.
But the devastation goes beyond un facilities. Scenes like this have been playing out all week in central Gaza and had a clear uptick in Israeli airstrikes, bloodied and covered in soot, survivors and victims alike have been arriving at Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital at a rising cliff.
As one wounded child cries for her mother, another arrives at the morgue to say goodbye. Mama is going to visit grandpa, his father tells his son, don't cry. You're a man, he says, but he is the one who breaks down. Jeremy Diamond, CNN Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, tensions have been boiling over along Israel's northern border with Lebanon, amid increasing attacks from Hezbollah. The militant group released this video, which it claims shows a rocket targeting Israel's Iron Dome defense system in the North.
The Israeli military spokesperson said he can't confirm whether that incident happened. Israel and the Iran-backed Islamist group have been ramping up cross border attacks in recent weeks after months of for tat exchanges. The fighting has focused tens -- has forced tens of thousands of civilians from both sides of the border to leave their homes.
Joining me now is Firas Maksad, a Senior Fellow and Senior Director for Strategic Outreach at the Middle East Institute. Always good to see you, sir.
Let's talk about just how precarious is the situation between Israel and Lebanon on that northern border. What could trigger a full blown conflict?
FIRAS MAKSAD, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Michael, we're probably at the most dangerous tipping point in this conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in the past eight months. The problem here is that both parties believe that the other side is bluffing and are really ready for war.
Israel, I believe correctly, have judged that Hezbollah and Iran are very reticent. Hezbollah suffers from a war weary Republic, with Lebanon being an economic collapse. Iran wants to safeguard Hezbollah in defense of its nuclear program. Should Israel attack it?
And I think Hezbollah and Iran truly believe that with the Biden administration so clearly against Israel launching a war in Lebanon, that that would keep Israel at bay. I worry that Hezbollah and Iran are misreading domestic politics and domestic opinion in Israel.
HOLMES: Yes, and I'll touch on that in a minute. But before we do, I mean, when it comes to, you know, Israel's view of all of this, Lebanon isn't like surrounded and besieged Gaza. Hezbollah isn't Hamas in terms of capabilities. It's got bigger capabilities. What are the risks for Israel militarily of going to war in Lebanon, if it comes to that?
MAKSAD: Well, let me just say, I mean, if you thought that the Gaza war was tough, a war in Lebanon would make Hezbollah look, sorry, would make Gaza look like a picnic. Hezbollah is the most powerful non-state actor in the world.
In 2006 it fought a month long war with Israel, and kept firing those missiles until the very last day. So yes, this will be a very challenging and very difficult war, should Israel decide to fight it? However, again, the domestic politics in Israel as such, with 60,000 plus Israelis having pushed to relocate away from that northern border and with schools due to begin again in September.
We heard the Israeli Defense Minister yesterday promising the public that they will bring him back to the north, they will change that equation on the northern border, either through diplomacy or even through force.
HOLMES: And to that point, there's been a lot of bellicose statements essentially calling for war from some even within the Israeli government, the usual suspects, like Minister of National Security, Ben-Gvir. He's not the only one. The IDF chief this week said we are approaching the point where, at which we will have to make a decision the IDF is or is ready for an offensive.
Speak more about what the Israeli appetite is for a war with Hezbollah and, by definition, Lebanon.
MAKSAD: Well, again, Michael, I don't think that there's appetite on either side of that border. It kind of reminds me of that famous quote by Leon Trotsky, the Soviet political thinker, in which he said, you might not be interested in war, but war is interested in you. We are currently in a slippery slope towards a much broader conflict between Hezbollah, on one hand, and Israel.
Neither side wants it, but the realities and the dynamic are such that either side believes the other one is bluffing, and we're one mistake away from a conflict that can very quickly then suck in.
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The United States in defense of Israel and also, Iran has made it very clear that if Hezbollah is attacked, it could find itself involved in defense of Hezbollah too.
HOLMES: Yes, it is worrying. I mean, I wanted to ask you this before I let you go. Hezbollah has managed to create, and you touched on this. It's sort of like a security zone of sort for them, which is devoid of residents inside Israel's territory, despite having suffered more losses than the IDF has.
Hezbollah does say it doesn't want all-out war, but will it be feeling it's making an impact with the conflict at the level it's at right now. As you said, I think it's up to 80,000 civilians on the Israeli side have had to leave.
MAKSAD: Hezbollah has succeeded in causing pain within Israel, that's true, but I honestly believe that its strategy has failed from day one, Hezbollah has said that Lebanon is a second front. It's a secondary front meant to support the main front in Gaza and support Hamas.
Well, that hasn't worked, because despite eight months now of conflict on that northern border or Lebanon southern border, clearly the Israeli army has operated with largely a free hand in Gaza.
So in that sense, Lebanon and Hezbollah are feeling the pain, and Hezbollah has not met its military objective. There is currently both French and an American diplomatic initiative on the table. It's about time that both parties begin to think about diplomatic upfront.
HOLMES: Always terrific to get your analysis. Firas Maksad, thank you so much there in Washington for us.
MAKASAD: My pleasure.
HOLMES: World leaders and World War II veterans have been marking 80 years since D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France that led to the eventual downfall of Germany.
But along with all the tributes and emotion came dire warnings that democracy is once again under attack, with direct parallels drawn between the fighting in 1944 and Russia's current war on Ukraine.
The U.S. president declaring his ironclad commitment, warning that abandoning Ukraine will only embolden Russia. Ukraine's president warmly welcomed by many attendees, including this World War II veteran. And in the hours ahead, Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden. CNN's Kayla Tausche with our report from Normandy.
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KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back at the battlefront where they braved it all, a hero's welcome for the Americans who lived through the Battle of Normandy.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Memory of those who fought here, died here, literally saved the world here.
TAUSCHE: President Biden honoring the service and the sacrifice of the last living D-Day veterans, the hundreds of thousands who served alongside them, and the 9,388 who never came home. BIDEN: They knew beyond any doubt, there are things that are worth fighting and dying for. Freedom is worth it. Democracy is worth it. America is worth it. The world is worth it. Then, now and always.
TAUSCHE (voice-over): Western leaders marking 80 years since the turning point in World War II that brought an end to occupied Europe.
BIDEN: We're living in a time when democracy is more at risk across the world than a point since the end of World War II, since these beaches were stormed in 1944. Now we have to ask ourselves, will we stand against tyranny, against evil?
TAUSCHE (voice-over): Now, with Ukraine's President looking on warning, Europe could easily be occupied again, this time by Vladimir Putin, a notable shift from just 10 years ago, with Putin joining to mark the 70th anniversary.
BIDEN: We will not walk away. Because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated and will not end there. Ukraine's neighbors will be threatened. All of Europe will be threatened. To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable.
TAUSCHE (voice-over): Biden is set to meet with European and NATO leaders with alliances resting on upcoming elections. Biden laying out a choice for the future on both sides of the Atlantic.
BIDEN: Isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago, and is not the answer today.
TAUSCHE: And passing the torch from the greatest generation to the next generation.
BIDEN: Let us be the generation that when history is written about our time in 10, 20, 30, 50, 80 years from now, it will be said, when the moment came, we met the moment.
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We stood strong. Our alliance is made stronger. We saved democracy in our time as well.
TAUSCHE: President Biden will return to Normandy to deliver an address on the power of democracy. A senior administration official says the president will focus on the young men themselves who scaled those cliffs destroyed the German artillery positions to protect the troops that were landing on shore.
The official tells me that the President will talk about the example they set and what Americans owe them now. Of course, it is sure to draw comparisons with a similar speech delivered by President Reagan, 40 years ago, and the administration says it's prepared for those comparisons. Kayla Tausche, CNN, Paris.
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HOLMES: Well with his New York hush money trial behind him, but sentencing yet to come. U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail for the first time as a convicted felon.
At a town hall in the battleground state of Arizona, Trump hammered U.S. President Joe Biden's recent executive action limiting asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump vowing to rescind the action on his first day of office if he wins in November.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I want to send Joe Biden's illegal aliens back home where they belong. They have to go back home. Because, quite simply, Joe Biden wants an invasion. I want a deportation.
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HOLMES: Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's appeal over his 2022 conviction for contempt of Congress has been rejected and a judge ordered him to start serving his four-month prison sentence July the first.
Bannon refused to testify and provide documents to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and remains defiant, he vows to take further appeals, quote, all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.
Well, hundreds of millions of people expected to vote in the E.U. parliamentary elections. Look at what's at stake in the world's second biggest Democratic vote. That's when we come back.
Also, Sudan's top leader says there will be a price to pay for a horrifying attack on civilians by paramilitaries, that story as well after the break.
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HOLMES: The European Union's Central Bank cut E.U. interest rates on Thursday for the first time since 2019. Now, this puts the E.U. benchmark rate at 3.75 percent down from its all-time high of 4 percent where it had stood since September.
Major central banks began raising rates to fight inflation in 2021 but with cost increases slowing to near the 2 percent target.
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The ECB has followed the Bank of Canada, which lowered rates on Wednesday.
Voting is underway and will continue for the next three days for the next European Union parliament. It's the world's second largest democratic election, after India's, with nearly 400 million people from 27 countries eligible to vote for 720 candidates. The election comes as the E.U. grapples with major issues such as the
wars in Ukraine and Gaza, immigration, climate change and security. The polls closed Sunday, results expected Monday.
And a coalition of two centrist parties is expected to retain the majority in the E.U. parliament, but candidates for some right wing groups could gain more power and eventually, perhaps change the political direction of the bloc for the next five years. CNN's Clare Sebastian with more on that.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We will act by expelling delinquents, criminals and foreign Islamists who pose a threat to national security.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From threats of mass expulsions in France to openly Islamophobic campaign material, this from far right Portuguese party Chega, asking, which Europe do you want?
Emboldened by winning elections at home, Europe's far right is pushing the boundaries as it eyes big gains in E.U. Parliament elections.
CATHERINE FIESCHI, VISITING FELLOW, EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE: They've tried, in different places and in different ways to kind of test the waters in trying to be bolder if they can, right, to see how closely they can flirt with really inflammatory rhetoric.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): With just weeks to go, Germany's alternative for Deutschland crossed a line after its lead candidate claimed the Nazi paramilitary group, the SS were, quote, not all criminals. France's Marine Le Pen kicking the party out of her far right coalition in the E.U. parliament.
SEBASTIAN: So it's really a sort of litmus test as to how far right is too far?
FIESCHI: Yes, that's right. Because, you know, these parties really live or die by their own domestic public opinions.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): For Hungary's voters, culture wars are playing well. Prime Minister Victor Orban's Party has put up billboards showing opposition leaders carrying gender among other things, on a dinner plate to Brussels.
Not clear yet how that will play out for France, where candidate Marion Marechal is promising to quote, preserve our families, our values, in the face of wokism or Italy, pregnant men and woke madness. No. Thank you. Reads this post from far right Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini.
FIESCHI: For them, it's upending of the natural order, right, which is, you know, sort of the heart of ultra-conservative ideology.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And if that doesn't work, there's always the war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Orban's party in Hungary holding a massive peace rally in recent days. Free, neutral, safe, one slogan from Austria's lead far right candidate calling for an end to quote warmongering by Europe.
Here, though, divisions in Europe's far right are stuck, Italy's Giorgia Meloni a key supporter of aid for Ukraine, and so in what could be Europe's most right to wing Parliament ever. Alliances may be blurred. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
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HOLMES: And now live to Berlin and Matthew Karnitschnig, the POLITICO's chief European -- Europe correspondent, always good to see Matthew. All the talk has been about, you know, not whether Europe will shift to the right in these elections, but how far right? How is that looking to play out as voting begins?
MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, CHIEF EUROPE CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Well, it is interesting, because over the past few years, we have seen the entire political spectrum in Europe really move to the right, and the defining issue for most of these far right parties is migration, as we heard in the report. So that's really forced a lot of the mainstream parties to move to the right on that issue and on other issues.
That said, I do think this could really create waves in a lot of national governments, because it will shock a lot of people to see just how strong the far right has become across Europe.
HOLMES: Yes, you're seeing it, as we know, in France, Germany, Italy, elsewhere. What policy impacts could a rightward shift potentially have when it comes to the European Parliament?
KARNITSCHNIG: Well, the European parliament itself is a fairly weak body at the end of the day. So I don't think that we're going to see a lot of policy impacts, because as we heard in the report, the center right is likely to hold their likely to form this de facto coalition.
Again, the question is, who are they going to elect as commission president? That's the key power that the parliament has.
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And I think the stronger the far right becomes, the more difficult it could be for Ursula von der Leyen, who's the current president of the European Commission, to get reelected so they could really throw a wrench in the works here, as it were.
HOLMES: Yes, a lot of horse trading to come. In France, Marie Le Pen's far right national rally party was topping the polls ahead of President Macron party and the Prime Minister Gabriel Attal was campaigning, and he was warning about the rise of the far right, saying, in his words, Europe is mortal. What do you think he meant by that?
KARNITSCHNIG: Well, I think France is really feeling the pressure of the far right now more than any other country across the continent. They're facing another election in 2027 where Marine Le Pen, the far right leader, could win.
And I think what he's saying there is that with the far right so far ahead at the moment of the mainstream parties there at over 30 percent and the war in Ukraine happening with Donald Trump possibly returning to the White House. This is a perfect storm, really, for the far right in France and in Europe. And people need to be aware of what's at stake here.
HOLMES: It's a remarkable experiment, the European Union, when you think about it, 27 member states, naturally, a lot of awkward alliances between countries and political ideologies that, you know, represent some different electorates.
I mean, how well or badly do the nations play together in the sandbox? I mean, do common goals generally outweigh national differences?
KARNITSCHNIG: Well, this is an interesting question, because we've seen in times of crisis that countries tend to come together. This was true in COVID, it was true during the Euro crisis a decade ago, but the presence in the power, the growing power of these far right parties could complicate that calculus.
The one thing that they want, like all other politicians around the world, though, is access to money so that they can reward their constituents. So this is a very important aspect in all of this, that the European Union has been very generous to many of the countries that are now seeing a resurgence in far right support.
HOLMES: Yes, it's interesting. Going back to the shift right and you were saying, you know, a lot of people are sort of wondering what it's all going to mean. I mean, if there is a surge of sorts in the European elections, how does that trickle down in those individual countries in terms of what's ahead for their own state elections.
KARNITSCHNIG: Well, most people refer to this as a barometer. It's really a key point. And the problem with the European election is that a lot of people use it to vent their anger at their domestic politicians, rather than to vote on the European issues that are at play at the moment, so the domestic national political parties tend to take it as a kind of admonition, almost, that they need to do more to combat the far right in their home countries, be it on issues like migration or on climate policies. And we're seeing that right now.
There's a lot of frustration, in particular about migration, but also on the European Union's climate agenda that people think has gone too far in some cases. So we're already seeing movement there. So it's a good indication for the national politicians of how they're going to position themselves in their domestic political campaigns.
HOLMES: Yes, always good to get your take Matthew. Matthew Karnitschnig there in Berlin, POLITICO's Europe correspondent, good to see you. Thanks for that.
KARNITSCHNIG: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, it's been 80 years since Allied forces came together to storm the beaches of Normandy. World leaders and the few surviving veterans come together to commemorate the history making day. We'll have that.
And also not all South Koreans are pleased after Seoul responds in its balloon war with North Korea, we'll be right back.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not walk away because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated and it will not end there. Ukraine's neighbors will be threatened. All of Europe will be threatened.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. President Joe Biden there speaking at a gathering to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
He drew a direct line between the evil that U.S. soldiers were called upon to fight in the 1940s and the current attempt by Vladimir Putin's Russia to wipe Ukraine off the map.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in attendance at the ceremony. You see there, him meeting with a D-Day veteran. It was an emotional moment. Each man insisting that the other was the hero.
Now, this year's commemoration is likely to be the last major observance attended by significant numbers of D-Day veterans.
When you think about it this way, a 19-year-old who stormed ashore on that day in 1944 would soon be 100 years old.
Our Christiane Amanpour with more.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The cemetery behind me is empty now. The celebrations, the commemorations are over. But it was an extraordinary moment as all these world leaders came to remember those who had given their lives to end tyranny in this continent. And to also realize that this would be the last time such a number of survivors would still be here because they are fewer and fewer and fewer.
I spoke to a 101-year-old survivor, Jake Larson, who landed on Omaha Beach 80 years ago this day. And I asked him, did he remember exactly what it was they were fighting for?
JAKE LARSON, U.S. VETERAN: Oh definitely. That we knew, every one of us.
AMANPOUR: Tell us. LARSON: Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler's
ass out of Europe.
AMANPOUR: And you did.
LARSON: And we did. We lost quite a few of -- I lost friends. Everybody lost friends. But we were soldiers. We were prepared to give our life.
AMANPOUR: Now, Jake has become quite famous because he's now on TikTok. He's got almost a million followers somewhere around 800,000 to 900,000. And that's because he has been telling his stories, his eyewitness storis of coming ashore here 80 years ago. And just the stories of World War II and all that was at stake and all that really needs to be fought for. He's trying to inspire and motivate a younger generation.
Also, a motivational force in a different way as a storyteller is the actor Tom Hanks who joined me here as well. He has spent a lot of his creative endeavors really developing an anthology of World War II along with the director Steven Spielberg.
They were "Saving Private Ryan" 26 years ago and then they did the TV series "Band of Brothers", "The Pacific" and now "Masters of the Air" about the Air Force during World War II.
This is what Tom said to me about the storytelling.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HANKS, ACTOR: We did not have the smell of cordite or burning flesh or, you know, blood on the sand. But we did have some version of that -- the -- how -- whatever you can get out of a motion picture.
If you've ever wondered what it was like, that's as close as somebody in Davenport, Iowa or Oakland, California or Minneapolis, Minnesota was going to get today.
AMANPOUR: Now, of course, this entire day was framed in every speech and everybody's heart with what is going on in Europe today.
80 years later, a raging war on this continent where Russia has invaded Ukraine. It's into its third year. There's so much deaths, so much destruction. And democracy and freedom are well and truly at stake here and at risk.
And so all the world leaders recommitted themselves to supporting Ukraine and fighting this existential battle.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN -- the Colleville-Sur-Mer American cemetery in Normandy.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Now, the U.S. is not making much about an upcoming Russian naval visit to Cuba. The island nation says several warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine, will anchor in Havana next week.
Cuba, portraying the visit as a routine affair. But the announcement came just days after the U.S. gave Ukraine the go-ahead to conduct limited strikes within Russia with American weapons. And just one day after the Russian president Vladimir Putin suggested that Moscow may respond by supplying weapons to the rivals of Ukraine's allies.
Washington believes the visit is meant to send a message from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON: Well, we're going to watch it closely, of course, like we do, all Russian naval exercises in the Caribbean.
This isn't the first time they've done this. They've done it several years past almost every couple of years or so, they do this.
So we'll watch it closely, but we're not anticipating any significant national security threat as a result of these exercises.
And I'd have to say largely, although this is not atypical for them and they are prescheduled, it very much we believe is messaging by the Russians clearly unhappy now that we've got the supplemental funding and we are supplying Ukraine with weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Sudan's top leader says they will be a harsh retribution for a horrific attack that reportedly left more than 100 people dead. The president of Sudan's governing body visited the area near the village of Wad Alnoura on Thursday.
The government says that's where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces launched a gruesome attack the day before, injuring some 200 people.
Witnesses say that the militants used armored vehicles and heavy weapons and that most of the victims were civilians. Sudanese activists later shared this video on social media saying that it shows the remains of some of the victims, scores of them.
The militants have been fighting Sudan's army since April, 2023 forcing millions to flee their homes.
Well, it's been a bit of a battle of the balloons between North and South Korea lately. Pyongyang recently, of course, sending balloons filled with waste across the border south. And now South Korean activists are floating their own versions with cash, K-pop, and TV shows north.
Balloons have been crossing the border for years and some South Koreans are getting a little fed up with it. CNN's Mike Valerio with more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a place that blooms with life, a serene and stunning setting, 60-year-old farmer Kim Young-bin cares for his giant onions with water flowing from North Korea.
It's part of a beautiful and, he says, inseparable bond between North and South, now fraught with tension once again.
"There used to be a time when we talked about peace," he says, "but it's all changed now. We only hear difficult situations between the Koreas, so we farmers are very uncomfortable."
Kim tells us he's farmed this land in Cheorwon, South Korea for 36 years and he disagrees with this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Free North Korea.
VALERIO: Activists from South Korea sending balloons northbound filled with American dollar bills, K-pop, and K-dramas downloaded onto thousands of USBs. There's also 200,000 leaflets in bags tied to the balloons denouncing the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Park Sang-hak is the founder of the group behind this latest launch, Fighters for a Free North Korea. He's been doing this since 2006, and his latest balloon deployment is in direct response to about a thousand trash-filled balloons sent from North Korea.
PARK SANG-HAK, FOUNDER, FIGHTERS FOR A FREE NORTH KOREA (through translator): We send money, medicine, facts, truth, and love, but to send filth and trash in return? That's an inhumane and barbaric act.
[01:39:48]
VALERIO: Park defected from North Korea in 2000, and he remembers in the early 90s when a balloon similar to one of these popped above him, and he secretly collected a leaflet from South Korea.
It told him of a better life, and he says it told him the truth.
SANG-HAK: South Korea is not an American colony or a wasteland of humanity like I learned in North Korea. North Koreans are filled with anger and hatred and only sing military songs, but South Korea is a gentle country.
VALERIO: Kim tells us while toiling his fields, the new aerial tit for tat should stop, and if it doesn't, his life and his farm could be upended.
Now, once you get up into the hills, you can actually see into North Korea. We're not talking about the fields in the foreground. We're talking about way in the background, the DMZ, about 4 kilometers, 2.5 miles away from where we're standing.
Now, Farmer Kim has told us that during moments of heightened tension in the past, the South Korean army has kept him from entering about half of his property because it is so close to the DMZ in order to keep him and others safe.
The question now, how will North Korea respond, especially after a show of force by the United States, a B-1B bomber on Wednesday flying over the Korean Peninsula and for the first time in seven years engaging in land target practice with live munitions.
We asked Kim if he wants to leave. His answer?
"I want to move to somewhere else, but I can't afford it. We're very upset that the balloons are making our daily lives inconvenient and our areas seen as a war zone.
It's very unfortunate. There's nothing we can do. If I could, I would want to stop them, but it's difficult."
So for Kim, there's no choice. Staying in his field, surrounded by waters from the North, longing for a time before new heights of tension in the sky.
Mike Valerio, CNN -- Cheorwon, South Korea.
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HOLMES: A suspected serial killer faces two more murder charges as authorities reveal disturbing new evidence found at the suspect's home.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: Disturbing developments in New York state's Gilgo Beach murders case. The suspected serial killer now charged with two additional murders. He's facing charges in six deaths spanning three decades. In court on Thursday the prosecutor revealed disturbing details about what police found at the suspect's home.
CNN's Jean Casarez, with our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAYMOND TIERNEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: His intent was nothing short of but to murder these victims.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prosecutors say it is the forensic evidence that links the alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer with the murder of two more victims. Jessica Taylor in 2003 and Sandra Costilla in 1993, bringing the total number of known victims to six.
[01:44:51]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has indicated he is not guilty of these charges.
CASAREZ: In 1993, a forensic scientist determined Taylor had been decapitated, dismembered at her arms below her elbows.
A male human head hair was recovered from underneath Taylor's body and underwent DNA testing.
TIERNEY: It's also that was able to exclude a 99.96 percent of the population. The defendant could not be excluded as the donor of that hair.
CASAREZ: Taylor last called her mother on July 21, 2003. She was going to visit on July 25th to celebrate her mother's birthday. But Taylor never showed up.
One day later, a person in Manorville, Long Island found her dismembered body.
Eight years later her hands, forearm, and skull were founded at Gilgo Beach.
TIERNEY: Those remains were found on the same side of the road as the Gilgo Four.
CASAREZ: The alleged serial killer was previously charged with murder in the killings of four women who have become known as the Gilgo Four: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Before the Gilgo Four, November 1993, remains of Sandra Costilla were discovered by hunters. The 28-year-old was found in Suffolk County, Long Island lying on her back. Three hairs -- one male, two female -- were found on Costilla's remains.
DNA testing determined the male hair was more likely to have come from a person genetically identical to the Gilgo killer, and the female hair matched a woman the alleged serial killer had previously been living with.
Also found documents on a hard drive in the alleged killer's home. Among them, what authorities described as a planning document, essentially a blueprint to plan out his kills.
It listed out problems to avoid apprehension and supplies to carry out the serial murders, and to avoid leaving behind DNA. Another document talked about body prep the need to wash body, remove trace DNA, and included references to remove head and hands, and package for transport.
TIERNEY: This case is about the victims and their families and hopefully providing them with that small measure of closure.
CASAREZ: Jean Casarez, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Coming up the SpaceX Starship executes a milestone test flight, but it wasn't the only historic mission to space this week.
We'll have that after the break.
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HOLMES: SpaceX Starship launching here for a milestone mission, the rocket demonstrating its reusability after executing what they're calling a successful soft splashdown in the ocean.
But SpaceX wasn't the only company with an historic launch this week. Boeing's Starliner made its first crewed flight to space.
CNN's Kristin Fisher breaks down both these missions and their significance.
[01:49:46]
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KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: For the first time in history, there are two different U.S.-made spacecrafts docked to the International Space Station.
And it's that kind of redundancy that has been the goal of NASA's commercial crew program for the better part of a decade. That was NASA's dream of outsourcing the transportation of its own astronauts to the International Space Station to private companies -- SpaceX and Boeing.
Now SpaceX has been doing this for about four years but Boeing and its Starliner spacecraft just joined the party on Thursday by safely delivering NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams to the ISS on its inaugural crewed test flight.
They did encounter some minor hiccups on the way. Two new helium links started up. And then they also had some issues with the thrusters. As it was approaching the space station, they missed their first docking attempt, but safely made it on the second one. So a big day for Boeing and NASA's commercial crew program.
But this was also a big day for the company that has another spacecraft docked at the ISS -- SpaceX.
SpaceX down in Boca Chica, Texas Starbase, they just launched the fourth flight test of the biggest, most powerful rocket that's ever flown -- Starship.
And it achieved both of its goals, both the super heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft were able to perform soft or controlled splash-downs into either the Gulf of Mexico or the Indian Ocean.
So this is really the beginning of reusable, rapid reusability for this rocket. And its really at the center of NASA's Artemis missions. This is the
spacecraft that NASA is hoping will land its astronauts on the surface so the moon for the first time since the Apollo program.
So a very big day in space news for both Boeing and its Starliner spacecraft, and SpaceX and Starship.
Kristin Fisher, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The A.I. chip giant Nvidia is at the center of attention at a trade show in Taiwan this week called Computex. Taiwan is also having its moment in the sun as more chips giants boost investment there.
CNN's Will Ripley reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A Hollywood welcome in Taiwan for a trendsetting tech superstar. From throwing the first pitch, to visiting his favorite food stands, the travels of Taiwanese-American Jensen Huang, NVIDIA's founder and one of the world's richest men, dominating the island's news and social media even more than China's massive military drills last month just before Huang began his highly anticipated trip ahead of this major tech conference in Taipei.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you feel about the tensions in the region? Is that a cause for concern?
JENSENG HUANG, CEO, NVIDIA: I don't think it's either. We've been doing technology and doing engineering and conducting business here in Taiwan for almost three decades. And so, we're going to continue to do that. We're investing in Taiwan.
Our next generation platform is called Rubin.
RIPLEY: All of NVIDIA's next generation artificial intelligence chips made in Taiwan. The island democracy, the world leader in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
One reason NVIDIA and its competition are investing big here.
AMD CEO and Jensen Huang's cousin, Lisa Su, brushing off concerns about Beijing's military moves.
RIPLEY: The bigger picture in the region with China, both the chip makers in China and also the military drills.
LISA SU, CEO, AMB: Our product goes through every part of the globe. Taiwan in particular is very, very important to the semiconductor ecosystem. We do a lot of our manufacturing here.
I think the bottom line from our perspective is it's really important to have a global ecosystem. RIPLEY: A remarkably fragile ecosystem, as we all learned from supply chain disruptions during COVID, pushing nations like Japan, Germany, and the U.S. to develop their own semiconductor hubs, the kind that took Taiwan decades and billions of dollars to create.
Can you update us on how efforts are going to replicate some of that success in the United States?
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, one of several tech titans trying to take chip making back to the U.S. A huge hurdle, banking on billions in government subsidies.
PAT GELSINGER, CEO, INTEL: So, we've clearly seen a manufacturing resurgence as a direct result, I believe, of the Chips Act. Our projects are on track. You know, what we're doing across our four manufacturing sites are on track. And we're proud of the momentum that we're seeing for that.
But we also have great respect for the ecosystem here in Taiwan. But the world needs more geographically balanced and resilient supply chains, and I think that's starting to take shape.
[01:54:55]
RIPLEY: A steady supply of chips crucial to creating the next generation of A.I.-powered tech. Tons of it on display here at Computex in Taipei.
Drawing some of the biggest names in tech and tens of thousands to the Taiwanese capital.
AI RENDERING OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE'S VOICE: Have you explored the hotel's amenities?
RIPLEY: I haven't. What's your favorite?
AI RENDERING OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE'S VOICE: Definitely the rooftop pool. It's the perfect spot to relax after a long day of conferencing.
RIPLEY: This is my slightly awkward conversation with an A.I. bellhop, perhaps the future of hospitality.
RIPLEY: Maybe they can go to the rooftop pool.
AI RENDERING OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE'S VOICE: Good idea.
RIPLEY: I still prefer a real human though.
What's wild too, is that a year from now, this will seem like ancient history when we're talking again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. I mean, a year ago it was ChatGPT, it was just text. Now, we have voice, animation. It's running locally. It's not in the cloud anymore. So it's advancing really quickly.
RIPLEY: None of this possible without advanced chips from Taiwan. Some call the island's vital role in global tech its silicon shield, making it too important to attack.
Here, geopolitical tensions seem far away, even with the Chinese military making moves miles from the Taiwanese coast.
Will Ripley, CNN -- Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, if you're an NBA fan, good news if you're Boston fan. The Celtics off to a strong start in the NBA finals, blowing out the Dallas Mavericks by 18 points in game one on Thursday.
Thats a lot. The Celtics dominated the first half, leaving the Mavericks trailing by 29 points at the break. Dallas would later cut that deficit to single digits led by the Slovenian star Luka Doncic.
But it wasn't enough. The Celtics regained control and returned their lead to double-digits for the rest of the game.
And divers in Key Largo, Florida were clearing trash along the shore when they discovered more than two dozen bricks of suspected cocaine.
A photo from the sheriff's office, you see it there showing the packages marked with fake Nike logos, next to an open garbage bag. The suspected drugs were turned over to U.S. border patrol.
In May, a beach fellow (ph) found about 65 pounds of cocaine washed up in the Florida Keys, valued at around a million dollars.
I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me.
NEWSROOM with Anna Coren continues from Hong Kong next.
I'll see you later.
[01:57:21]
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