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Israel Launches Land, Sea And Air Strikes On Al-Mawasi; Blinken Expresses Frustration At Changes To Gaza Ceasefire Deal Requested By Hamas; U.S. Expands Sanctions On Russia as G7 Leaders Gather; Europe Risks Trade War With China By Hiking Tariffs On Its Electric Cars; Elon Musk's Future At Tesla Hangs On Shareholder's Pay Package Vote; Tesla Shareholders Vote on Whether Musk Gets $50B Payday; CNN Speaks with Family of Rescued Hostage Andrey Kozlov; Israeli Blasts U.N. Probe Into Gaza War, Hamas Attack; Sandy Hook Survivors Graduate High School as They Remember Their Classmates; Rebuilding Puerto Rico's Coastline. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 13, 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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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's time for the haggling to stop and the ceasefire to start.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Chances of a ceasefire in Gaza quickly slipping away as Israeli forces on land, air and sea attack a small coastal village, which Israel declared a safe haven.
Leaders of G7 nations together in Italy with an agenda to further isolate Russia and use frozen Russian assets to pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It will ultimately undermine Europe's own interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And how about this, also subsidizing their own EV makers for years and dumping cheap cars on foreign markets. Beijing is now complaining after being hit by E.U. tariffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause. VAUSE: We begin in southern Gaza where there has been reporting Israeli military operation in a designated safe zone in the coastal town of Al-Mawasi, according to the WAFA, the Palestinian news agency.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been living in tents in squalid conditions in this small fishing village, about the size of Heathrow Airport, after being designated as safe zone by the Israeli military ahead of renewed IDF operations on the border city of Rafah.
CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on these reported strikes. Now we're back yet. Joining me now though, is Yaakov Katz, Senior Columnist at the Jerusalem Post and Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. Welcome back. It's been a while.
YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, JERUSALEM POST: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Good to be with you. Now, the timing of these attacks raises a lot of questions so to just the location. There have been reports that this was a roll out offensive in many ways from the air and the sea and the land. We don't know that for certain yet. We're still waiting for confirmation.
But it does come as this, you know, ceasefire deal is where is still hanging in the balance with waiting for word by Hamas. So, why the intention of this attack at this point in time? And why that location? What does it say about what this could have been?
KATZ: Yes, I think we have to wait and see what the IDF Israel Defense Forces says about that, for Palestinians of this attack that area. No, this was an area that was designated for the displaced Palestinians to basically gather themselves and be located and not come under attack either side.
So I think we just have to wait and see if it was an attack there, I'm guessing there was some target that Israel was looking for. But I would urge some patience in waiting to see what exact tales are.
But, you know, as you mentioned, the ceasefire talks now delayed or stuck, and not looking very hopeful, as you said, there's going to be a question of what moves Israel does still have its pocket to be able to move forward with the potential deal to get back the house (ph).
So is this part of that pressure to try to get more pressure on Hamas that it should come into a deal because it is now stood up a bunch of conditions that would make it feel maybe not possible and don't yet know that this is going to be something that Israel is going to think about.
VAUSE: I guess the question here, though, is that within the Israeli government, as opposed to the Israeli war cabinet, there wasn't a lot of support for the ceasefire deal from the far right members of that cabinet.
You know, what we're now seeing playing out in in southern part of Gaza is kind of precisely what they wanted this all out offensive if these reports are anywhere close to being true on Hamas. So this does sort of fit in with your the intentions or desires of some within that right wing coalition.
KATZ: Yes, there's no doubt that there are members of Netanyahu's coalition who want to see this war just continue. But I think that really Netanyahu finds himself in a difficult position at the moment because the offensive in Rafah is going to come to an end at some point. And from what I'm hearing in the IDF, we're looking at maybe another two to three weeks, Israel is taking over what's known as the Philadelphi Corridor. That's where Hamas had its oxygen pipeline, what I call the Hamas tunnels that it was using to smuggle weapons in from Egypt.
It's taken over parts of Rafah not yet in the city center, but it's basically at this stage already close to breaking the back of those remaining Hamas battalions. That was the reason to go into Rafah to begin with.
So the question after Rafah is what's next in this war. Israel has pretty much taken out most of the Hamas battalions and all of Gaza. Yes, there are, of course, going to still thousands of fighters, but less than an organized way. And the deal that was on the table that President Biden was trying to put forward that Secretary Blinken was in the region he was just in Israel was in Doha was trying to also move ahead with and get Hamas to come into was basically could have been something that would have coincided with the end of the assault in the Rafah area and been the way for this war to end.
[01:05:10]
Rafah's done and a return of hostages that will lead to a ceasefire. Without that happening, Israel is going to have to come up with a different alternative for how to get this war over.
VAUSE: What is doubled over the weekend, Gaza officials say almost 300 Palestinians were killed by Israel during a hostage rescue operation. Israel disputes that number, claiming it's less than 100. And many were militants.
Last week, at least 40 dead and Israeli airstrike on a U.N. school again, that's from Gaza officials, a strike which Israel says was precise and targeted and killed at least nine Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants. At the end of last month, at least 45 people killed in a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, again, that's according to Palestinian officials in Gaza. Israel says it was another precise and targeted airstrike.
You know, the accuracy of the numbers can be debated. And you and I have discussed that in the past and the credibility of the source question. But you know, the strikes are happening and people are dying over and over again. And there's a common theme here. These are often civilians in areas that are meant to be safe a U.N. school, or just camp for just, you know, for displaced Palestinians the safe zone.
Are the Hamas leaders which have been killed, are they worth the price being paid not just in the dead and the injured Palestinians. But in the growing international isolation which Israel is now facing? KATZ: Look Israel's facing and you said it right, John, Israel is facing a wall of condemnations and growing diplomatic isolation. But I think that Israel also has to do what's right for its own security. And after the October 7 massacre, it has to be able to prevent Hamas from ever being able to do this again.
The one thing I would say and again, we never really know the phone numbers, because they come up from Gaza, they come from Hamas. But what we do know is yes, there is a tragedy that is unfolding in Gaza. And it's unfolding on the Palestinian civilians who are not involved in these terrorist activities.
But the blood of the civilians is on Hamas' hands. And we saw that John over the weekend, or just a couple of days ago, sorry, with the Wall Street Journal report, where they had and received the writings of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, who basically saying, Tthis is what we want, we want the civilians to be killed because we want Israel to be isolated. We want Israel to come under diplomatic isolation.
So this is part of Hamas' strategy. And the one thing I'll push back on is just that when the world sees that Israel goes in and rescues for its hostages were being held in apartment buildings by civilians or so called civilians. But if they're holding hostages, they're not exactly civilians. Israel goes in there and does what any country in the world would do the United States, the U.K., France, Germany, you name it to get that gets people comes under ferocious fire.
Do we think that this is something that takes place in a sterile environment, it's like a laboratory, you knock on the door? And you say, give us back our people? And they just hand them over? Of course not. So Israel has to fight to get back its people. But that's sadly the way it is. And that is Hamas' responsibility for allowing this situation to be like this.
VAUSE: Absolutely. Sinwar is hiding underground somewhere in a tunnel, like, you know, anyway. But here's the problem. There's a short term goal and there is long term survival. In the short term, yes, there's got there's a war in Gaza. And there is a determination to eliminate Hamas. Long term though Israel still needs international coalitions and support from countries like the United States and from allies in Europe, without that survival becomes very difficult.
KATZ: John, I couldn't agree more with what you just said, you're 100 percent right. And Israel does need to work very closely with its allies, because we're a country that is also highly dependent on the international relationships that we have, especially with the United States, which is our greatest ally in the world provides us with a lot of not only diplomatic support around the U.N. Security Council table, we rely on that diplomatic cover, and in general, helping us broker some of these deals that we need to see an end to the war and to get back the Israelis who have been taken hostage, but also for the supply of weaponry, for the supply of aircraft to be able to even prosecute this war to be able to defend ourselves.
So definitely these relationships are super important. And that is this balance that the government needs to somehow manage. It's not simple. You mentioned those foreign arrayed elements in the coalition who are pushing for even more fighting and more of an Israeli presence in Gaza. This is not an easy task for Prime Minister Netanyahu to keep up with the war to be able to defend Israel to end it in a way that will bring back our people, but also to retain that important critical security and diplomatic alliance with the United States.
VAUSE: Well, for Benjamin Netanyahu, you are judged by the company keeping he did form that coalition, Yaakov Katz. Thank you, sir. Appreciate your time. Thank you for being with us.
Well, these strikes come after the U.S. Secretary State handling of Lincoln's latest diplomatic push in the Middle East seems to have failed to secure a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. America's most senior diplomat left the region frustrated over numerous changes to the proposal, and he questioned whether Hamas is proceeding in good faith. More details are from CNN's Kylie Atwood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLINKEN: It's time for the haggling to stop and a ceasefire to start.
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary of State Antony Blinken ending his middle east toward Doha, without a peace deal in hand, an agreement between Israel and Hamas appears to be in limbo again.
[01:10:00]
BLINKEN: A deal was on the table that was virtually identical to the proposal that Hamas asked before on May the sixth. A deal that the entire world is behind. A deal Israel was accepted. And Hamas could have answered with a single word. Yes.
ATWOOD (voice-over): Instead Hamas put forward multiple changes to the ceasefire proposal Blinken said, a frustrated Secretary of State and his Qatari counterpart now unable to detail where the talks will go from here.
MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: It's frustrating, lots of times their behavior from both parties, different occasions been counterproductive to the efforts.
BLINKEN: Hamas waited nearly two weeks and then propose more changes, a number of which go beyond positions that had previously taken and accepted. Some of those are workable changes. Some, as I said, are not.
ATWOOD (voice-over): The top U.S. diplomat also bluntly suggesting that Hamas may not actually be committed to finding a solution.
BLINKEN: If one side continues to change its demands, you have to question whether they're proceeding in good faith or not.
ATWOOD (voice-over): This just days after he questioned if the terrorist group is prioritizing the protection of Yahya Sinwar, its military leader hiding in the tunnels under Gaza are the Palestinian people.
BLINKEN: Are they looking after one guy who may be for now safe? Very, I don't know, 10 stories underground somewhere in Gaza. While the people that he purports to represent continue to suffer in a crossfire of his own making.
ATWOOD (voice-over): Israeli officials have privately deemed Hamas' response to be a rejection. Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said Wednesday evening that the Israeli leader was conducting a security assessment in part quote, due to Hamas' negative answer regarding the release of hostages. The U.S. as Israel is committed to the deal which Netanyahu still has not formally embraced as he faces pressure from far-right cabinet members who oppose the deal.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Hamas is committing war crimes every day, including the holding of these hostages. Our soldiers are performing in the most valued and moral way to end this war, victory against these killers and against these good numbers, and we shall prevail.
ATWOOD: Now, Blinken also called for urgent action in the coming days to bridge the gaps to bridge these differences between Israel and Hamas. We'll watch and see what that looks like. He said he believes that that is possible but he also said that there are no guarantees. Kylie Atwood, CNN, Doha.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: (INAUDIBLE) of G7 leaders begins in southern Italy in the coming hours focusing on how to further isolate Moscow and reduce its financial capability to bankroll Putin's war of choice. And meanwhile, the Russian president has said the flotilla of warships and a nuclear powered submarine for a five-day visit to Western ally Cuba. Also to conduct military exercises. This is a show of force with clear parallels to the Cold War of decades ago.
At the G7 summit, U.S. President Joe Biden will unveil more than 300 new sanctions targeting Russia meant to degrade Moscow's ability to source materials for the war, and particularly from Russian ally China.
President Biden also expected to sign a new 10-year security pact with Ukraine on the sidelines, which will include training for Ukrainian forces, more weapons and other military equipment, as well as greater intelligence sharing.
G7 leaders are set to announce a $50 billion loan for Ukraine paid for with proceeds from Russian investments, which have been frozen since the beginning of the war.
Now, Moscow has routinely deployed warships to Cuba and other allies in the Western Hemisphere. Russian military drills in the region are just not as common. In 2008, four Russian warships, including the nuclear powered cruiser Peter the Great held exercises while on a visit to Venezuela, and this is why many believe the Russian warships in one sub now docked in Havana there is Vladimir Putin tries to protect Russian military power. A long way from home. Here's CNN's Patrick Oppmann in Havana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a 21-gun salute three Russian naval ships and a nuclear powered submarine enter Havana Harbor. Russia's warships and spy ships have frequently resupplied in Cuba over the years. But these ships are the largest convoy in some time, and boasts some of the most modern weapons in Vladimir Putin's arsenal, including a warship that's been used to test hypersonic missiles.
Their arrival comes as Putin threatens to retaliate to U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine. We do not have the right to do the same, he says, to me are these actions. In route to Cuba, the Russian skirted the coast of Florida, tracked by U.S. and Canadian warships all visible from tourists aboard a cruise ship.
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While they both some of Russia's most cutting edge weaponry, Cuban officials insist the ship's presence just 90 miles from the U.S. poses no threat.
OPPMANN: That's a nuclear powered submarine, Kazan, just over my shoulder there. And according to Cuban officials, none of these ships are carrying nuclear warheads. All of them are here for peaceful intentions. We'll just have to take their word on that. But clearly Vladimir Putin is showing the United States, the West, that if they can put sophisticated weapons of war on his doorstep, well, then he can do the same.
OPPMANN (voice-over): As Cuba endures the worst economic woes in decades, the war in Ukraine is reuniting them with their cold war era patrons in Moscow. Despite Cuban officials statements that the communist run island is not involved in the war and that Cuban citizens are forbidden from participating, Cuban mercenaries continue to fight on the front lines of Putin's invasion.
And during a meeting with Putin at the Kremlin in May, Cuba's president issued his most public endorsement of the war so far.
We wish you success in the military operation, he said. Russia has increasingly sent oil to keep the lights on in Cuba as blackouts worsen and promised greater investment in tourism and agriculture.
UNIDENATIFIED MALE: The United States answer to what Adlai Stevenson termed Soviet blackmail in Cuba.
OPPMANN: This revived partnership may bring back memories of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when Soviet nuclear warheads were briefly placed in Cuba. But times have changed, says a former us official.
ERIC FARNSWORTH, FORMER U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We're not sending missiles to Cuba to recreate the missile crisis or anything like that, but it does show that they can continue to project force and power, and it does show that they have allies in the region willing to accommodate them.
OPPMANN: So close to us shores, these Russian ships are a sign of Vladimir Putin's military ambitions. And once they leave Cuban waters, the Pentagon says they may head to another U.S. adversary, Venezuela. No doubt the U.S. military will keep a watchful eye as they continue their journey. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Fire is burning out of control at an oil refinery in northern Iraq, according to local reports. No word on the cause of the blaze, but it reportedly began at an asphalt storage warehouse at the refinery in Erbil late Wednesday. At least one person has been injured. There's no word on fatalities at this point.
In a moment, how and why E.U. tariffs on Chinese made electric vehicles differ from the ones announced by the US president? And how will China react? Also ahead, a huge payout for Elon Musk rests in the hands of Tesla shareholders. Will they vote to make him one of the world's richest men? Even wealthier? He's already number one. What comes after that.
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VAUSE: The E.U. has hiked tariffs on China made electric vehicles. The additional tariffs range from about 17 percent to 38 percent, bringing the highest rate to close to 50 percent.
[01:20:03]
European Commission investigation has found Chinese subsidies for EV makers have kept their prices artificially low, making it difficult for European car makers to compete. CNN Steven Jiang live in Beijing with more on this on what China is now saying, I'm pretty sure they're not happy.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right. This is not a surprise. So their response has come swiftly and of course very angrily. The Chinese commerce ministry saying these new tariffs are what hurt bilateral trade and cooperation, they would hurt European consumers and industries. They make a mockery of the EU's pledge for green economic transformation, and then again vowing to take all necessary measures to protect Chinese interests and industries.
Now, unlike the U.S. tariffs just announced by President Biden last month 100 percent on Chinese EVs, this is going to have a bigger impact because the Chinese EVs have almost no presence in the U.S. market but they have a 20 percent market share in the E.U. including both Chinese brands, but also European brands but also Tesla making cars here then exporting them back to the E.U. market.
Now a lot of European economies and their carmakers also are much more entwined with the Chinese EV industry compared to their U.S. counterparts. Sweden's Volvo owned by a Chinese company, Germany, their biggest auto companies, Volkswagen, BMW and also their auto suppliers have a huge presence in China not only selling cars here, but also making EVs here cheaply and efficiently before exporting them back to their home markets.
So that's why the Europeans are lot more concerned about potential retaliations from Beijing. That's why we have heard German Chancellor Scholz and a big names like Volkswagen already coming out publicly to oppose these new tariffs. That obviously plays very well into the Chinese playbook of divide and conquer in dealing with EU.
But perhaps the biggest question is how effective these new tariffs would be given the amazingly low cost space of these Chinese EV makers. BYD the biggest name, for example, facing a new tariff of 17 percent. But a lot of experts say that's not going to affect their ability to make a comfortable profit margin in the EU, it has to be something like 50 percent to make a difference.
So it's going to be very interesting to see what Beijing does next to given their months of threats and condemnations to have to do something, but they may want to exercise some restraints, given that very complex and nuanced picture in the EU. John.
VAUSE: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang live for us there in Beijing.
For more of these E.U. tariffs, Josh Lipsky is with us now. He's the former adviser to the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, currently the senior director of The Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center. Thanks for being with us.
JOSH LIPSKY, SENIOR DIRECTOR, ATLANTIC COUNCIL'S GEOECONOMICS CENTER: Thanks so much for having me.
VAUSE: OK. So the big unanswered question in the immediate aftermath of the increased tariffs from the E.U. is what will China do? Here's a spokesperson for the foreign ministry in Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIN JIAN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): We urge the E.U. to abide by his commitment to support free trade and oppose protectionism and work with China to safeguard the overall situation of China-E.U. economic and trade cooperation. China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Just turn that statement around and apply to China. If EV makers there abided by a commitment to free trade if they oppose protectionism. And I'll add product dumping as well. Would they be the targets of .E.U and for that matter, U.S. tariffs right now?
LIPSKY: Right. No, the short answer is no. If China was not taking their own subsidies, industrial policies, circumventing free trade practices, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. They wouldn't be dumping these products across the G7 and wouldn't have got to the spot that we're in with tariffs in the U.S. tariffs in the EU.
The question is, what will China do next? I suspect it's more bark than bite at the moment. That's because the E.U. decision isn't actually final. It has to go through several more stages. There's negotiations with the Chinese happening quietly.
So they will threaten retaliation, and they will try to split the E.U. try to hurt maybe French agricultural sector, German auto exporters into China. But I don't think we'll see actions from China until this actually becomes final if it does in the current form that's announced later in the year.
VAUSE: Well, within the E.U. touched on this this seems to be a split of imposing tariffs on Chinese made EVs. It's essentially six member states. We see China as an economic opportunity, as opposed to those countries which consider China to be a threat to their economies as Germany sees that you China's opportunity, France and others see it as a threat.
LIPSKY: I think that's correct that Germany especially did not want these tariffs levied in the way they were. They fought hard against them. They lost that fight at the 11th hour and you know this was delayed. This was supposed to happen before the European elections it was pushed home right after.
[01:25:00]
There's German auto exporters, especially thinking of Mercedes thinking of Volkswagen, who were doing extraordinary amount of business in China. And they're worried about what retaliation will mean.
But French, the Italians, the others have pushed harder for the tariffs, protecting their own domestic industries. They don't pay as high a price necessarily, depending on Chinese retaliation.
VAUSE: There is a difference between the E.U. tariffs and the ones which the U.S. president announced back in May. Now the E.U. is taking sort of a company by company approach, determining the level of subsidy each company receives in China.
So why are they doing that approach? And how do they actually work out that number in percentage terms with regards to how much support each company is receiving from Beijing?
LIPSKY: Yes, it's a complicated calculation, as you might expect from Brussels, and it has to do with the level of cooperation each company had with the subsidy investigation that went on over the past year, some companies think get evaluated. So a flat tariff around 21 percent was put on them. SAIC which is state backed in China got the highest tariff that 38 percent.
So it values and fluctuates based on one what the company is doing and to how they cooperate or did not cooperate with the Commission. The U.S. system is much different. It's a flat tariff 100 percent. Very straightforward.
Now, of course, think about the difference between US and European imports of Chinese EVs, the U.S. imports total of their EV imports, about 1 percent come from China. In Europe, it's about 20 percent, it was almost zero before COVID. So think of that scale up just over the past four or five years.
So it's a very different environment, the Europeans are dealing with a much more complex one. And that's where you see their tariff scenarios are more complex that they announced today.
VAUSE: A few months ago, the White House raised some concerns about imported cars, especially ones coming from China as potential threats to national security. In a statement, it reads apart, the like smartphones on wheels, connected vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about our citizens and our infrastructure, and send these this data back to the People's Republic of China. These vehicles could be remotely access or disabled.
That's from President Biden in February 29. Now, trying to make EVs as you say, virtually no presence on the U.S. market, as opposed to Europe where they, as I say, flooded over the last couple of months, in the last couple of years. Why don't the Europeans share the same security concerns that they have in the US?
LIPSKY: Well, we haven't heard that kind of justification from the Europeans. And I don't expect it in the near future. Europe is taking a much more tactical and calibrated approach, understanding the amount of business they continue to do in China. And if they started making the national security argument, think of how that could apply to a range of products with sensors in it. And we're not just talking cars here think of refrigerators, think of all kinds of inputs that have microchips and sensors, and that kind of justifications could be applied to them.
So based on the European-Chinese economic integration, that's just not a place they're willing to go. The U.S. is much more willing to use the national security justification right now when it comes to China.
VAUSE: Well, Josh, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate your time as well as your insights.
LIPSKY: Thanks so much.
VAUSE: All it's not happy, it seems at the Elon Musk own SpaceX, now being sued by eight former employees alleging they were fired for speaking out of a gender discrimination and sexual harassment.
In 2022, there are among 400 employees who signed an open letter criticizing Musk and urging the company to change the culture to be more inclusive. According to the lawsuit, Musk's thinks he's the leader to a brave new world of space travel, but runs his company in the dark ages, treating women as sexual objects to be evaluated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with loot sexual banter, and offering the reprise to those who challenge the animal health environment. And if they don't like it, they can seek employment elsewhere.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit or the brass eyes comment. Elon Musk will know in a few hours if he will finally receive the sort
of money he thinks he truly deserves for being the boss of Tesla. Shareholders will set to vote on a $50 billion salary package one which a judge had previously struck down. CNN's Ann Stewart has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONENT (voice-over): It sounds like the trailer of a blockbuster movie. Featuring fast cars and starring robots. Well, it's not. It's a teaser for a corporate AGM. But given it involves Elon Musk, it's far from boring.
ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA MOTORS: At Tesla, we build our cars with love, like we really care.
STEWART (voice-over): This was Musk at the 2018 AGM after the board agreed unusual compensation package that gave Musk no salary or cash bonuses or equity that vests by the passage of time. Instead, Elon would get a 100 percent at risk performance award with a huge price tag now worth around $50 billion in Tesla shares if Musk hit a series of performance milestones, which he did.
[01:30:08]
But a few months ago, the payday was cancelled by a judge in Delaware.
DAN IVES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: This is a game of high stakes poker. It all started with the Delaware court ruling that essentially voided Musk's $56 billion pay comp package from 2018. But Musk hit all the issues, all the issues, all of the milestones that he needed to in taking Tesla above a trillion dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On June 13th, we will hold our annual shareholders meeting.
STEWART: The Tesla board is now asking shareholders to reinstate Musk's pay package, and to move Tesla's incorporated home away from Delaware to Texas.
IVES: Musk is Tesla, Tesla is Musk, heart and lung and ultimately, shareholders need Musk. And if Musk starts to spend less time at Tesla, that's a bad thing for Tesla. And I think that's the issue right now at stake.
STEWART): Musk has other companies he can focus on like SpaceX, Neuralink, The Boring Company, and X, formerly known as Twitter.
And Tesla shareholders may want his attention if Tesla is to evolve from electric vehicles to humanoids, robo-taxis, and artificial intelligence.
So coming soon to an AGM Thursday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your vote decides the future of Tesla.
STEWART: Anna Stewart, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Still ahead, details of the abuse and punishment suffered by an Israeli hostage at the hands of his Hamas captors.
The family of former hostage, Andrey Kozlov, speaking out to CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone.
I'm John Vause.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
An update now on our lead story.
Israel has denied military operations and strikes in a designated safe zone on the al-Mawasi on the southern Gaza coast -- a small fishing village. Earlier, the Palestinian news agency WAFA, has been reporting the IDF was attacking the town which has taken in tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians who were there ahead of a renewed IDF operation in the nearby border city of Rafah.
Reports come as a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas appears to be stuck in limbo.
[01:34:46]
VAUSE: The family of former Israeli hostage, Andrey Kozlov who was rescued in the IDF raid at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Saturday now sharing details of the abuse and punishment he suffered during months of captivity.
Kozlov was working as a security guard at the Nova Music Festival October 7, when he was kidnapped by Hamas.
CNN's Paula Hancocks spoke to his family about the rescue and the future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When the Israeli military launched Saturday's rescue mission in Gaza, one of the hostages thought they had come to kill him.
Andrey Kozlov shouts his name in terror to the troops. His family says the Hamas guards told them for months, the sounds of war they were hearing were Israel trying to target them as they were causing trouble for the state.
His brother, Dmitry, tells me he didn't understand why the IDF came. He was afraid they came to kill him. It took some time to realize they had come to rescue him. Psychological abuse coupled with frequent punishments marked Kozlov's captivity, according to his family.
"They were trying not to leave marks," his brother says because eventually it is their reputation, but they would still punish him this way or the other.
"He has told us there are some moments he will never share with us," his father says, "but one he did share is that at the hottest time of the day, they would cover him in blankets. It's a difficult ordeal to be dehydrated through heat."
Kozlov, 27 years old, is a Russian citizen who moved to Israel almost two years ago. He was working as a security guard at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th when he was kidnapped and taken into Gaza.
His parents flew from Russia Sunday for an emotional reunion, one they hadn't dared to hope for after eight long months.
"This is the best scenario we could have hoped for," his father says, "to see him alive, to feel his presence and to hug him. It is outstanding."
His mother says, "we are infinitely happy to see him. He laughs, he jokes, "he enjoys communicating with all of us. With his family, with doctors, with the people who surround him."
His family says Kozlov was shocked when Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to visit him and the three other hostages rescued while in hospital.
As for those hostages still in Gaza, his father says, a deal or a rescue, whatever it takes to get them out.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: An independent investigation done for but not by the U.N., has found both Israel and Hamas have committed war crimes and grave violations of international law.
In response, Israel accused the fact-finding mission of trying to justify what Hamas did October 7, and embracing the Palestinian narrative. We should note Israel did not cooperate with this investigation, much like countries like Russia, North Korea, and China do not cooperate with the U.N.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After months of investigations, the Commission of Inquiry releasing two damning reports, more than 200 pages, with their findings. One report focused on the October 7th attacks on Israel, where they found that Hamas and six other Palestinian armed groups, and in some instances they say they were aided by Palestinians in civilian clothing.
They'd committed war crimes, including intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder, or willful killing, torture, taking hostages, including children, and more.
They also say that they identified quote, patterns indicative of sexual violence and concluded that these were not isolated incidents, but perpetrated in similar ways in several locations primarily against Israeli women.
Now the report on the Israeli military operations in Gaza focused mostly on events between October and December. And they found that Israel had committed crimes against humanity and war crimes accusing Israel of using starvation as a method of warfare.
They say that Israel enforced a total siege on Gaza amounting to collective punishment of the population, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Here they say that they found that the immense number of civilian casualties and the widespread destruction is a result of a strategy to cause maximum damage, disregarding the rules of war, proportionality, distinction and adequate precautions.
Other crimes that they accused Israel of sexual violence, extermination, murder or willful killing, forcible transfer, and more.
The commission accused Israel of obstructing its investigation and says that it had prevented access to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
[01:39:45]
KARADSHEH: And you know, Israel for months had made its position clear, saying that it was not going to deal with what it described as this anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic body.
Now today in a statement responding to these findings and said that the U.N. Commission of Inquiry showed quote, "systemic anti-Israeli discrimination", again rejecting accusations against the IDF saying that it adheres to international law and carries out its own investigations.
They also say that the report disregarded what Israel says is Hamas using civilians as human shields.
And on the accusations of sexual violence, Israel says, its outraged by attempts to draw a quote, "false equivalence" between Israeli soldiers and Hamas.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The U.N. is urging G7 leaders to fight famine in conflict zones around the world. It says wars in Gaza and Sudan are pushing millions of people to the brink of starvation. Some are already dying of hunger.
U.N. Humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths says more than a million people in Gaza are expected to face starvation and death by the middle of next month. At least 5 million people in Sudan are teetering on the brink of starvation as well.
Griffiths urged world powers to stop feeding war machines and start feeding civilians caught up in conflicts.
Tensions also flowing along Israel's northern border. About 200 rockets were fired at -- from Lebanon, rather, on Wednesday. Some were intercepted, others fell in unpopulated areas starting fires, no injuries have been reported.
Hezbollah though claimed responsibility for the barrage of rockets. The Iran-backed militant group says it's the response to an attack carried out by the IDF in southern Lebanon which killed one of Hezbollah's most senior commanders along with three other fighters in an airstrike on Tuesday.
At least 49 people have died in a fire which raced through a building just outside Kuwait's capital. The six-story building was home to foreign workers, about 150 people are believed to have lived there, including Indian nationals who are among the dead. India's external affairs minister traveling to Kuwait to oversee relief efforts and repatriate the deceased.
One police official warns the death toll could rise. According to state media, the building's owner has been detained on suspicion of negligence.
Extreme heat has forced the Acropolis -- one of the world's -- or Greece's most famous landmarks to close for hours Wednesday, and there's more heat on the way. The site close between 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. the hottest hours of the day,
Temperatures in Greece forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius this week. That's what -- 110 Fahrenheit. The closure of the Acropolis is becoming an annual trend as Europe breaks temperature records year on year. It closed last July as blistering heat waves swept across the continent.
Extremely heavy rain and life-threatening flooding in Florida prompted the government to issue a state of emergency for five counties. Officials are urging residents to shelter in place, avoid driving or walking through floodwaters which was knee-deep in parts.
The National Weather Service says flood warnings are in effect for the next few hours over much of southern Florida. Flood watch has been extended until Friday evening for some cities including Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Vehicles were stranded or were submerged after two days of torrential rain. According to flightaware.com more than 600 flights were canceled at airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale just on Wednesday alone. Surfing in the streets. On Wednesday, several dozen students who survived one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history graduated high school. They were the first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School where a gunman murdered 20 of their classmates and six adults.
The new graduates tell CNN's Brynn Gingras how their lives are being shaped by a tragedy and how they are determined to keep massacres like it from ever happening again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT HOLDEN, SANDY HOOK SHOOTING SURVIVOR: It is bittersweet, you know, knowing that they should have been there.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Matt Holden is among the more than 300 Newtown High School graduates. Today, there'll be missing the 20 classmates who aren't celebrating with them.
ELLA SEAVER, SANDY HOOK SHOOTING SURVIVOR: This is such a monumental day and we all can feel what we've lost.
GINGRAS: It's been nearly 12 years since a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 first-graders and six educators. The horrific memories still so vivid in these seniors' minds.
LILLY WASILNAK, SANDY HOOK SHOOTING SURVIVOR: We just heard popping and popping. So the loudspeaker came on with our principal Dawn Hochsprung, telling us to get to our safe spots. When we heard the phone drop, which was something I'll never forget.
And then we made it to the firehouse where we lined up by grade and immediately we saw a chunk of our grade that was missing.
GINGRAS: CNN talked to a six-year-old Seaver weeks after the shooting on her first day back to school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think you're going to do today? You don't know? Are you excited to see everyone?
GINGRAS: Back then, Seaver didn't know how the tragedy would shaped her life. Now, it's more clear. She wants to be a therapist.
SEAVER: I want to help give back to people who either are struggling and went through, you know, an act of violence with a gun or people who just need help in their normal lives.
[01:44:52]
GINGRAS: Seaver, Holden, Wasilnak among a group of Newtown seniors who are now activists. Last week meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss gun violence.
SEAVER: It is so frustrating. You know, you turn on the TV or you scroll on social media and you see these kids now and you say, now they're like me. WASILNAK: For me to take that tragedy and try and do something with it, whether its stopping others who happening in the future or just making the most of my own life since theirs got cut short.
GINGRAS: Holden attending George Washington University in the fall, eager to be a politician.
HOLDEN: The way I see it, the only way that I'm going to get the change I want to happen is doing it myself.
GINGRAS: But first, a diploma. Oh, what they survived but oh, the places they will go.
And then graduation ceremony was full of remembrances of those lives lost. The seniors wore green ribbons on their gowns. The names of those 20 students who should be walking across that stage, getting a diploma were read out loud and there was a moment of silence.
Brynn Gingras -- Newtown, Connecticut, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: As carbon emissions increase causing global temperatures to rise, the planet's oceans are getting warmer, which is fueling more powerful hurricanes more often causing greater damage in regions like the Caribbean.
And today on "Call to Earth", we head to Puerto Rico, where simple nature-based solutions are being used to restore the island's vitally- important first line of defense against coastal storms.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the north shore on the main island of Puerto Rico, an idyllic destination for sun-seekers. It's also prone to natural disasters.
ROBERT MAYER, DIRECTOR, VIDA MARINA CENTER FOR CONSERVATION AND ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION: We're here in Isabela, Puerto Rico on north western tip of the island, in an area that has been devastated by hurricanes in the past few years.
We had dunes here. The dunes were totally devastated by the storms and we are restoring those ecosystems.
ASHER: Professor Robert Mayer is the director of an organization called Vida Marina at the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla.
It aims to strengthen the resilience of the island's coastline particularly its sand dunes which are natural barriers to flooding and storm surge.
MAYER: Restoring degraded ecosystems especially coastal ecosystems is very important. Not only because we are very vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but because these are ecosystems that are used by other species, other species like sea turtles, birds. We have invertebrates and we were seeing a degradation of these ecosystems just increasing at an alarming rate.
[01:49:53]
ASHER: Today, the team is installing what they call biomimicry matrices, planks repurposed from shipping palettes that are placed vertically into the ground. This helps rebuild dunes by mimicking natural processes to trap sand.
MAYER: We have the trades winds that are pretty, pretty strong and they carry a lot of sand. Since we don't have any structures here, most of that sand falls on the roads and from the roads it disappears. This will help us promote formation of a dune similar to what we had before the storms.
ASHER: After Hurricanes Irma and Maria battered Puerto Rico just two weeks apart in 2017, followed by a destructive winter storm in 2018, Vida Marina was called into action, identifying 23 priority sites in desperate need of restoration. By 2021, they had successfully restored all 23 sites using this system.
MAYER: what we see here is approximately three meters of sand accumulation.
ASHER: Severe weather events are not the only threat to the coastal regions here. Mayer says that the illegal extraction of sand, recreational vehicles, horseback riding, and beachgoers are all contributing factors to significant beach erosion.
To help protect the dunes wooden boardwalks are now constructed and signs redirect foot traffic from sensitive areas. Community outreach education, and building a network of local volunteers are also critical to beach protection efforts.
MAYER: So were trying to train a new generation of ecological restoration practitioners, which is so important in this decade.
ASHER: Vida Marina says that to date, it rebuilt and restored nearly 35 kilometers of sand dunes along the north shore, simple solutions taking cues from nature and the supportive communities that are proud to call this island home.
MAYER: We see more respect as time goes by. We've seen less tracks of ATVs on the dune, less sand extraction. We think we're getting through. We have created a buzz around sand dune restoration, which wasn't the case 20 or 30 years ago.
Things have changed and that's very rewarding.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Let us know what you're doing to answer the call with the hashtag "Call to Earth".
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Actor Kevin Spacey has spoken publicly about the fallout from his sexual misconduct trials. He admitted he made mistakes, was prepared to be accountable for his behavior. He also told Piers Morgan he owes millions in legal fees and his house is in foreclosure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: Pushing the boundaries --
PIERS MORGAN, TV HOST: In what way?
SPACEY: Being too handsy, you know, groping someone sexually --
MORGAN: Groping people.
SPACEY: -- in a way that that I didn't know at the time they didn't -- they didn't want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Last year, a court in London found Spacey not guilty of seven counts of sexual assault. Two other counts as serious sexual offenses.
In the past, he was found not liable in alleged case of battery and an indecent assault case was also dropped. Spacey pleaded not guilty to all charges.
[01:54:49]
VAUSE: Well, before we go, Hollywood actress Halle Berry got herself into a tight spot by trying to get into an outfit that she could not take off.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're used to seeing actress Halle Berry slinking around in her Catwoman outfit.
But now we get to see her in a cat fight with her stylist.
HALLE BERRY, ACTRESS: No. Ow, there's a zipper.
MOOS: Halle managed to get into the outfit but when it came time to get out of it, she risked everything from shoulder dislocation to repeated wardrobe malfunctions that left her momentarily exposed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're going to rip it.
MOOS: Women everywhere sympathized, been there. Even fellow Catwoman actress Michelle Pfeiffer chimed in with a comment, "I'm usually alone when this happens." A third Catwoman, Anne Hathaway has had her own wardrobe issues
collapsing in laughter as she tried to sit up in a corseted leather dress next to Donatella Versace, who designed it.
The designer of Halle's $495 outfit is Ana Kwan (ph).
BERRY: Ana Kwan, we might have to cut this (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MOOS: The designer's advice, it's easier to pull the dress down rather than over the head, adding that they'll be considering longer zippers.
Finally success.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold on, hold on. I got to grease up your elbows.
MOOS: Forget elbow grease the stylist gave her a licking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There we go.
MOOS: Maybe what Halle needed was a little stripper music to help take it off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take it all off.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: I'm John Vause.
Thank you for watching.
CNN NEWSROOM continuous with my friend and colleague Lynda Kinkade after a very short break.
Hope to see you right back tomorrow.
[01:57:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
