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Russia's Putin To Visit North Korea For The First Time In 24 Years; Benjamin Netanyahu Dissolves Israeli War Cabinet; Southern California Wildfire Burns 6,000 Hectares; A Water War Is Looming Between Mexico And The U.S.; Vladimir Putin Making Landmark Trip to Pyongyang; Growing Fears of Israel Hezbollah Tensions Boiling Over; Task Force Reports on Anti-Semitism at Columbia; Weinstein Accusers Speak Out after His Conviction is Overturned; U.S. Surgeon General Urges Warning Label on Social Media Apps. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 18, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:27]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. Putin's power trip, the Russian leader is making a landmark trip to North Korea deepening ties with Kim Jong un.
Benjamin Netanyahu disbands his war cabinet in an apparent rebuff to his far right allies who want to end her mass no matter the cost and mental health in a digital age the U.S. Surgeon General is urging Congress to put warning labels on social media apps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. From Russia with love, Vladimir Putin is heading to North Korea for a two-day visit to deepen ties between the countries. But the Russian president's trip is raising major concerns for the U.S. and its European allies about Ukraine.
Satellite images show preparations are underway for a large parade in central Pyongyang, including construction of a grandstand on Kim Il Sung square. Mr. Putin has written an article for a North Korean newspaper praising Pyongyang for its unwavering support on Ukraine. While the White House accuses North Korea of sending weapons to Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON: What we are concerned about, Trevor, is the deepening relationship between these two countries, not just because of the impact is going to have on Ukrainian people because we know North Korean ballistic missiles are still being used to hit Ukrainian targets. But because there could be some reciprocity here that could affect security on the Korean peninsula. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Matthew Chance reports from Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is why for Moscow, North Korea has become so crucial. Vast supplies of artillery shells, helping Russian forces sustain a massive bombardment on the Ukrainian frontlines. Russia and North Korea deny arms shipments, but U.S. officials assess millions of rounds have already been delivered.
Now the Kremlin says President Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, who toured a Space Center in eastern Russia last year, will cement ties even further in a two-day visit to Pyongyang, such as fueling concerns this is fast becoming one of the world's most dangerous relationships.
But Moscow was played down fears it could swap sensitive nuclear missile technology sanctioned by the U.N. for basic North Korean ammo (ph). The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has its own nuclear umbrella, Putin told Russian state television earlier this year. They haven't even asked us for anything, but he insisted.
But both countries stand to benefit. The Kremlin says it's working with Pyongyang on a new strategic partnership treaty to include security cooperation, as well as bolstering trade in food and fuel supplies. Both states opposed to U.S. power look set to join forces undermining us allies in Europe and the Far East.
It's been more than two decades since Putin last visited Pyongyang. Back when Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un's father ruled the country. The newly elected Russian President was trying to revive Moscow's waning influence with an isolated and sanctioned regime. But now Russia is isolated and sanctioned by the West to finally giving Moscow and Pyongyang a common cause. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: For the second time in less than two weeks, South Korea's military has fired warning shots after soldiers from North Korea crossed into the demilitarized zone. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says it doesn't think the breach was intentional. About 20 to 30 soldiers crossed the military demarcation line early Tuesday. They retreated back into North Korea after the warning shots.
Well, meanwhile NATO is celebrating what It calls good news for the Alliance for the U.S. and for Europe but it certainly won't make Moscow happy.
[01:05:06]
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House Monday, he announced that more NATO member countries than ever have reached target defense spending. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Across Europe and Canada, NATO allies are this year increasing defense spending by 18 percent. That's the biggest increase in decades. And 23 allies are going to spend 2 percent of GDP or more on defense this year. That's more than twice as many as four years ago, and demonstrates that European Allies and Canada are really stepping up and taking their share of the corporate responsibility to protect all of us in the NATO alliance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche has more on what that announcement means for the Alliance and for President Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOSUE CORRESPONDENT: With less than one month before Washington hosts the annual NATO Summit in mid-July, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg paying a visit to President Biden at the White House, where the two hailed significant progress in expanding the number of alliance members who are meeting a defense spending benchmark that benchmark 2 percent of each country's annual economic output. And now 23 countries out of 32 members are currently meeting it. That's more than double the statistic from just a few years ago, and that statistic was a point of ongoing criticism from former President Donald Trump and the current GOP opponent.
During Stoltenberg visit to Washington he made remarks outlining several priorities for the Alliance as the months proceed. Those include allowing NATO to take a leadership role in the deployment of military aid and the training of soldiers for fighting on the battlefield. He also said that more costs need to be imposed on China for its material assistance of Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine.
But this all comes amid far right movements on both sides of the Atlantic that currently challenged the status quo of the Alliance, as well as continued bloodshed on the battlefield in Ukraine. Now more than two and a half years at war, with war still raging, President Biden told Stoltenberg he wished he could stay another decade. Stoltenberg term is set to expire this year with a top Dutch official expected to take his place. And of course President Biden to will face voters in just a few months. Kayla Kayla Tausche, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: In central Ukraine, at least 22 civilians including three children were wounded by a Russian missile attack on Monday. Local officials say a Russian cruise missiles struck the Poltava region, damaging apartment buildings and kindergarten and knocking out power for several hours. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it's important for Ukraine to strengthen its air defense systems to respond to Russian attacks.
We have new details on the Israel-Hamas war and a massive anti- government protest in Jerusalem. Israeli police say they arrested at least nine people after thousands gathered outside the Knesset and then march to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home calling for new elections. Authorities say those detained were arrested on suspicion of attacking police and trying to set a fire.
Meanwhile, there appears to be deepening political rifts within the Israeli government. Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded his war cabinet announcing the security Cabinet will now decide matters regarding the conflict. Now this comes more than a week after opposition leader Benny Gantz withdrew from the War Cabinet and the Israeli military says defense minister Yoav Gallant approved the tactical pause to allow more aid into Gaza.
But an Israeli official tells CNN that when Netanyahu heard about that pause, he called it unacceptable until he was assured that fighting in Rafah would continue. The IDF claims it's killed more than 500 Hamas militants in the Rafah areas since early May. And the United Nations says more than 1 million Palestinians have been displaced from the city during the same timeframe. And only about 65,000 people are left there now.
Hagar Chemali is the host of the Oh My World news show on YouTube. And she's also served as the director for Syria and Lebanon on the National Security Council under President Barack Obama. She joins me now from Greenwich in Connecticut. Appreciate you being with us.
[01:10:04]
HAGAR CHEMALI, DIRECTOR. SYRIA AND LEBANON AT NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL UNDER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you so much for having me, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So what are the political ramifications of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanding his war cabinet Monday after Benny Gatnz's recent resignation triggered the breakup of the unity government formed after the October 7 Hamas attacks.
CHEMALI: Well, on one hand, you see this as a desperate plea from Prime Minister Netanyahu. He is trying to hang on to his political survival. He feels that this is his one way to stay in office. And that is been really pretty much the one thing that has been guiding him this thus far.
But at the same time, it's not really going to change much, he is going to have to answer to more of his right wing, far-right wing cabinet members, which is something by the way that he had tried to avoid in the immediate aftermath of October 7, which is why he had created this four cabinet. It was meant to be a small decision making body for the war, and it was meant to be a bit more centrist and to isolate those far right members.
But that said, he's going to find himself between rock and hard place. And the reason for that is because those far right members don't at any cost wanted to negotiate a ceasefire deal. Whereas on the other side, he's facing increasing global pressure to agree to a ceasefire, and certainly pressure from the hostage families to make a deal to get the hostages released.
CHURCH: And Benn Gantz withdrew from the war cabinet last week, citing Netanyahu's failure to devise a strategy for the conflict in Gaza and its future governance. He also accused Netanyahu of putting his own personal political considerations ahead of a post war strategy for the Gaza Strip and called for elections to be held in the coming months. So what will Gants likely do next do you think?
CHEMALI: What I think this is one of the most important points here because I think Benny Gantz in the fact by the way that he is polling greater than Netanyahu, what are the latest polls from an Israeli newspaper show that he's pulling it 42 percent, whereas Netanyahu was pulling it 34 percent. And this entire time, he has been pulling greater than Netanyahu.
And given that Israeli politics have always been volatile, even before the Israel-Hamas conflict between all of these factors, and the fact that you have Netanyahu in between these two places where he's got the far right cabinet members, and also the pressure from the hostage families.
All of this leads me to believe that that Netanyahu's days are numbered, that Benn Gantz calls for elections by September, if they don't happen by September will happen at some point this year, and that Netanyahu is going to remain on shaky ground, he's not going to be able, as although has tried to consolidate this power, he's not going to be able to hang on to it, given that Gantz is going to continue trying to undermine Netanyahu, and show that he's not the one who's going to be able to lead the country to an end to this war successfully.
CHURCH: And what about far-right members and Netanyahu's governing coalition including Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was pushing to join the war cabinet, what's their likely next move do you think?
CHEMALI: Well, on one hand, so you're going to see the voice themselves more loudly, for sure. And Netanyahu may have to try and listen to them to some extent, because, as we know, and as you said, Netanyahu has been making these moves with his political survival in mind, as you noted, Benny Gantz to that person, Biden also reiterated that every move he makes is with his political goals at hand, which is a huge problem, obviously, when your number one goal should be to achieve the outcomes of this war. That said, you're going to see more of their voice come through.
But the thing is, there isn't enough support on that side, if Netanyahu only follows the support of this far-right wing and the small parties that make up his coalition, it isn't enough for him to stay in power because of this increasing voice among Israeli citizens against Netanyahu.
And then on the other hand, if he only follows the voice of the public and those hostage families, it's also not enough to keep him in office because that right wing Coalition, which is keeping him in office has threatened to collapse the government. That's why I say that Netanyahu really that his days are numbered, he's in a lose-lose situation. CHURCH: So what did you make of the IDF announcement of a tactical pause in southern Gaza aid deliveries being met with a negative response from Netanyahu, as well as those far right members? And what might that signal do you think?
CHEMALI: That's absolutely Netanyahu trying to play to his far right side to those to that group of far right parties that are keeping him in power, because he knows that that's what they want to hear. And at the same time, by the way, Netanyahu is very aware that this isn't necessarily the right path toward the end of this war. That's why after October 7, he created this War Cabinet that only was by the only included three members. It was him, it was Benny Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
[01:15:03]
But the reason he created it was not only to show unity, but it was also to isolate those far right members and prevent them from having a strong say, in the direction of this war. Right now, Netanyahu is on shaky ground. He's going to have to try and appease these members of the far right but it's only going to last him so long.
CHURCH: Hagar Chemali a pleasure to have you with us. Thank you so much. Appreciate your perspective on this issue.
CHEMALI: Thank you.
CHURCH: Still to come, high winds are a concern in the day ahead. As a huge wildfire near Los Angeles burns largely out of control, we'll have details. Plus a water war is brewing between the U.S. and Mexico, we will see how it's impacting farmers in Texas. Details just ahead.
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CHURCH: A wildfire in California's Los Angeles County has now burned more than 6,000 hectares. Authorities say it's 20 percent contained, but they fear high winds in the day ahead could change that. More than 1,000 firefighters are battling the so called post fire which started on Saturday. CNN's Camila Bernal has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Firefighters are describing this fire as creeping underground moving slowly and they say that at any moment. Things can change. And that's why they're so concerned about the wind and they expect these winds to remain high through Tuesday. So firefighters are saying that they have been able to keep the fire lines, but that it is still very challenging work because of the high speeds of the wind gust in this area.
You're seeing some of the crews here on the ground attempting to put out any hotspots so that you don't get those new fires because of the wind in this area. You're also seeing some of the crews in the sky using these helicopters to do water drops. So it is a joint effort between the different crews in this area to try to gain some containment here is what officials are saying about this fire. FLEMMING BERTELSEN, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: It means we're going to be tested. Especially tonight ridge top winds are going to be calling for 50 mile an hour winds on ridge tops and during the day. Valley winds 25 plus. So we're awkward in and we're making a stand.
BERNAL: And climate change also greatly impacting the way these fires are spreading. You know firefighters telling me that because of the rain that we got here in California over the last couple of days, you have a lot of vegetation and in particular, you have a lot of grass and that is what firefighters call fuel to this fire. In particular they say that it spreads quickly and so you add in the wind, the low humidity, the high temperatures and that what makes this fire just so dangerous and so tough for these firefighters that are working around the clock. Camila Bernal, CNN, Lebec, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:20:10]
CHURCH: A long lasting heatwave is bringing miserable weather conditions to some 270 million Americans. The Midwest and the Northeast could see record breaking temperatures last for days. Some areas are expected to top 15 to 20 degrees above normal.
Heat alerts are in place from the Great Lakes to New England temperatures will reach dangerous levels in cities including New York, Chicago and Boston. Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be the hottest days of the week.
Well, tensions are rising between the U.S. and Mexico over a decade's old agreement to share water from the Colorado River and the Rio Grande. Mexico has fallen behind in sending water to the U.S. because the severe drought is gripping the country. CNN's Rosa Flores has more on how it's impacting farmers in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSE SILVA, CITRUS GROWER: District 71 and growing citrus. That's always been my passion.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jose Silva, citrus grower in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas takes us to a grove he hasn't irrigated since January.
SILVA: Well, this grove is about 25 years old.
FLORES (voice-over): To show us how his life's work could be in peril due to lack of water.
SILVA: As you can see the leaves folding and the fruit how small it is because we haven't been able to irrigate like we should.
FLORES (voice-over): The culprits he says are both natural and manmade. There's the years long drought that has reservoirs along the Rio Grande at all time lows according to Texas water authorities and a dispute between the U.S. and Mexico over an 80-year old water treaty that has Silva and many Texas farmers blaming Mexico for their misfortunes.
SILVA: If we had water from Mexico. This grove would be irrigating right now.
FLORES: I'm in South Texas under the 1944 Treaty, Mexico which you see over my shoulder across the Rio Grande owes the us about 390,000 Olympic sized swimming pools of water so far this five-year cycle, which ends October 2025.
FLORES (voice-over): When Mexico released water to the U.S. in 2020, it sparked violent protests for Mexican farmers. Currently about 90 percent of the country is enduring its most expansive drought since 2011.
ALICIA BARCENA, MEXICO FOREIGN MINISTER: We have a 1944 throttle (ph).
FLORES (voice-over): Mexico's Foreign Ministry points to that year's long, severe drought and says it plans to meet its treaty obligations by the October 2025 deadline. But it's too late for some farmers, not only have some citrus growers pulled and burned their wilted groves.
SILVA: When you see this, it's just heartbreaking. It just breaks your heart.
FLORES (voice-over): The entire South Texas sugarcane industry is dead, forcing the state's only Sugar Mill a $100 million business that employs more than 500 people to close in April, according to this man.
FLORES: Do you blame Mexico?
TUDOR UHLHORN, CHAIRMAN RIO GRANDE VALLEY SUGAR GROWERS: Yes, I mean, this is not act of God. This is a manmade situation.
FLORES (voice-over): Tudor Uhlhorn is the chairman of the Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers.
FLORES: So is this equipment going to be sold?
UHLHORN: Yes.
FLORES (voice-over): And says a group of 90 farmers went from harvesting 35,000 acres of sugarcane and churning giant piles of sugar like this one to producing less than 10,000 acres in February.
FLORES: Do you impart blame the State Department for not forcing Mexico to provide the water?
UHLHORN: It's definitely the fault of the State Department because this has occurred under Republican administrations and it's recurring right now under a Democratic administration. Do you start to feel like maybe the State Department doesn't care about you very much.
FLORES (voice-over): The State Department tells CNN that the agency continues to urge Mexico to make water deliveries and continues to work with Congress to resolve the issue.
SILVA: We have to check with the water districts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in a crisis.
FLORES (voice-over): It said meetings like these that Jose Silva advocates for the water he needs to save his wilting groves.
SILVA: Is there something that maybe you guys can do to --
FLORES (voice-over): But after much discussion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm sorry, we couldn't come up with a better solution for you. But --
FLORES (voice-over): The outcome was, there's no water.
FLORES: Could this mean that some of your groves die?
SILVA: There's a good chance. Yes. It's really heartbreaking. It really hurts. It really does.
FLORES: At this point, Texas farmers are praying for rain. They are praying for a miracle. They are praying for a hurricane, anything that will save the citrus industry right now. They're keeping their eye on the weather system that's in in the Gulf.
[01:25:00]
Now I checked according to the National Weather Service, the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas could get between four to six inches of rain so this could help the citrus farmers. But the citrus farmers are also hoping that it rains in Mexico. Why? Because they're hoping that the reservoirs in Mexico fill up so that Mexico can pay up its water debt. Rosa Flores, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden will soon announce a sweeping new executive action on immigration policy. People familiar with the plan say it would shield the undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation and allow them to work legally in the U.S. while they seek citizenship.
The policy would apply to those who have been living in the United States for 10 years. The election year efforts have long been sought by immigration advocates and Democrats and come after the President took restrictive steps earlier this month to limit asylum processing at the southern border.
Vladimir Putin is set to arrive in North Korea for a landmark visit. We will show you what Pyongyang is preparing for the Russian president, that's just ahead.
Plus, cross border rocket strikes have driven many people from their homes along the Israel-Lebanon border we'll hear from those who decided to stay behind. Back in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, you're watching CNN Newsroom and I'm Rosemary Church. I want to bring you up to date on our top story. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in Pyongyang in the coming hours his first visit to North Korea in more than 20 years. The two-day trip is raising concerns about Kim Jong on support for Russia and its war in Ukraine. CNN's Will Ripley has details.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The North Korean capital Pyongyang preparing a supersized socialist welcome for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a pariah in the free world and Kim Jong Un's world and invincible comrade in arms.
North Korean propaganda praising Putin is first Pyongyang trip in 24 years. He met Kim's father in 2000 months after becoming President. Kim Jong Un was still a teenager. Moscow-Pyongyang ties today the strongest since the Cold War, a grave and growing threats say Seoul and Washington.
They accused Kim of supplying weapons to Putin's army in Ukraine in exchange for advanced military technology. Possibly boosting Kim's ballistic missile and spy satellite programs which could make Kim's growing nuclear arsenal more accurate experts warn.
[01:30:06]
For years, North Korea has been threatening to use nukes against the U.S. in the event of war. In April, Kim was quoted in state media, "Now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before.
SCOTT SNYDER, CEO, KOREA ECONOMIC INSTITUTE OF AMERICA: The relationship really is built on a transactional relationship, not on mutual trust.
RIPLEY: the North Korean leader's lavish armored limousine, a gift from the Russian strongman, a symbol of Kim's strategic pivot away from failed U.S. diplomacy with former president Donald Trump which experts say left Kim furious and humiliated.
SNYDER: So far it seems like the door is shut and I would say that for North Korea and for Kim Jong-un, the real message is beware of betrayal.
RIPLEY: Leaving President Joe Biden with very little leverage to pursue the fading prospect of North Korean denuclearization. Satellite images of Pyongyang in recent days, show possible preparations for a massive celebration.
The Kremlin unfazed by western warnings, claiming it has every right to create closer kinship with neighbors.
The stakes are high. The symbolism powerful. Observers say Putin and Kim's dangerous alliance is bigger than politics, a defiant message from two leaders determined to take down the U.S.
And that is why the White House is saying it is deeply troubled by this deepening relationship between Russia and North Korea. The Kremlin saying that Kim and Putin are expected to sign a new strategic partnership agreement replacing previous documents signed in 1961, 2000, 2001. And the power dynamic between the two leaders has changed so much over the last 24 years since Putin visited Pyongyang.
Kim is no longer an accessory or an afterthought like his father or his grandfather were to the Russian leaders. He is vital to Putin's strategic mission in Ukraine, and he knows it.
Will Ripley, CNN -- Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. is trying to prevent an escalation in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah along Israel's border with Lebanon.
U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein met with Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders on Monday. The fighting has driven many people from their homes along the border.
CNN's Oren Liebermann has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the main drag in the city of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel, Amatsya Dahary (ph) works alone, taking orders from customers who won't come in person.
AMATSYA DAHARY, NORTHERN ISRAEL RESIDENT: There is no people here in the city. My customer don't come to my gallery and I feel alone here.
LIEBERMANN: The stores and restaurants near his frame shop are closed. The city is nearly empty under constant threat of rocket attack from Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. But Dahary shows up to work here every day.
DAHARY: I think it's wrong to leave Kiryat Shmona. I think everybody had to be here.
LIEBERMANN: The first launches fell in this city soon after October 7.
This was the safety room and security room and the mortar tore right through it.
The city was evacuated two weeks later.
The charred remnants of a life hastily abandoned visible inside.
Mayor Avichai Stern (ph) says less than 10 percent of the people here have stayed.
"Since the 8th of October, we've been attacked every day," Stern says. "I don't think there's any nation in the world that would be prepared for its citizens to be fired upon every day."
At a nearby location, the mayor shows us a much larger rocket that hit the street. Its shrapnel tearing into nearby homes.
"Also this," Stern says, "this is shrapnel. Look in here. You'll find them in every place."
Along Israel's northern border once thriving villages have become ghost towns.
In Shlomi, the spirit of the country may be strong but its people have left. Approximately 60,000 people have been evacuated from the north to hotels across the country.
According to Israel, Hezbollah has fired more than 5,000 rockets and drones since the start of the war. Israel has carried out strikes against Hezbollah targets and commanders amid fear of a simmering conflict boiling over into a war.
[01:34:46]
LIEBERMANN: "We are approaching the point where a decision will have to be made," says chief of staff Herzi Halevi. "And the IDF is prepared and very ready for this decision."
In recent weeks, the north isn't just under fire, but on fire sparked by Hezbollah attacks and missile intercepts. Locals caught this video, but interceptor explosion that drained (ph) burning shrapnel on the area.
Firefighters are still coping with smoldering embers that re-ignite in the dry conditions, with fire that keeps burning on a border that threatens to do the same.
Oren Liebermann, CNN -- in northern Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Two former hostages held by Hamas are sharing details about their weeks in captivity. Danielle Aloni and her five-year-old daughter were held for 49 days before being released in a prisoner- for-hostage exchange in November.
She said, and I'm quoting her, "The terrorists who was waiting for me in the tunnel as I descended the ladder, grabbed my jewelry and tore it off me. He groped and grabbed me an intimate places in the most humiliating way in front of my daughter, and I kept quiet out of fear."
Another former hostage is Luis Har, the man in the black shirt in this video. He was held for 129 days before being rescued in February.
Describing his rescue, he said, "There was a huge explosion. I rolled towards the door and then they called out to me, Luis over here. I crawled on all fours and someone grabbed my head and leg and shouted Luis, IDF, IDF we've come to take you home. From that moment all the worries and fears disappeared."
A task force at Columbia University, one of America's most prestigious schools has revealed, disturbing instances of anti-Semitism and a hostile environment for Jewish students and faculty on campus.
The task force was created months before pro-Palestinian protests rocked the campus earlier this year.
CNN's Omar Jimenez reports on the group's findings.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ESTHER FUCHS, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Many things are broken at Columbia, deeply broken.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Professor Esther Fuchs is among the co-chairs of Columbia University's Task Force on anti-Semitism. The task force was formed in November 2023 to quote, "foster a community," as Columbia University President Minouche Shafik put it, "where debates and disagreements are rooted in academic rigor and civil discourse."
Where are you right now in the process?
FUCHS: Questions of harassment, intimidation, hate, just pain, isolation, discrimination, every word you could think of came out from students' experiences, Jewish students' experiences at Columbia, making it very clear to us that a lot of systems in place are not working for Jewish students.
What we found in the listening sessions were essentially students who felt like the burden was on them to resolve it.
JIMENEZ: Professor Fuchs says they found that one professor came across what may have been a Jewish-sounding name before an exam and asked that student to explain their views on the Israeli government's actions in Gaza.
Also that another professor told their class to avoid reading mainstream media, declaring, quote, "It is owned by the Jews."
FUCHS: To ask a student to defend the policies of a government in Israel because they're Jewish is -- I don't even have words to say how ridiculous that is, but also how intimidating that is.
JIMENEZ: For weeks, Columbia University was at the focal point of nationwide protests on college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war. Some of those nationwide protests got violent.
In and around Columbia's campus, there were similar dynamics, especially just outside campus. At the very least, there was palpable tension. Some Jewish students felt unsafe to the point they chose to leave campus in the lead up to graduation.
We also heard from Jewish students who did not feel that way, who said they did feel safe on campus. And we also heard from Muslim and Arab students who also felt unsafe. I know this is an anti-Semitism task force, but --
FUCHS: No, no, no. It's a perfectly appropriate question.
JIMENEZ: -- but how do you deal with that dynamic?
FUCHS: So you know, we are hoping that our recommendations will be relevant and be used to deal with all students who are feeling unsafe or discriminated against. We were asked to be the anti-Semitism task force to do the work around that.
The president tried to constitute an Islamophobia task force and could not find faculty to be on it. We would have preferred to have an Islamophobia task force right next to us doing the work with us because this is a broader issue.
[01:39:54]
JIMENEZ: A university official told CNN they didn't get enough professor buy-in. That for the administration, there was a will but no willingness from those who were calling for it.
FUCHS: The university has to do better, you know, if we're about educating, which is our primary mission, education and research are our primary missions, we have to do better.
Omar Jimenez, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Iranians got a closer look at the six candidates running for president during the country's first presidential debates ahead of this month's snap election. Iran's Guardian Council approved the candidates who faced off in a televised debate on Monday. They are vying to fill the spot left empty after President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month. The candidates focused on Iran's economy, which several Tehran residents said was among their key priorities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: first of all, jobs need to be available for all young people according to their education. And housing is very worrying and problematic for young couples.
There are many other things like right to free speech.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first priority is the economy. And if we want to mention it in particular, it is the stability of the economy. The prevention of inflation and the containment of inflation and the growth of production. These are the three main issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Iran's presidential election is set to take place next Friday.
Disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein is awaiting a new trial in New York.
Just ahead, CNN speaks exclusively with two of the women who testified against him in his sex crimes trial. Back in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
Lawmakers in Thailand are in the final stages of an historic vote on gay marriage. Senators are currently in session and scheduled to take up a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Thailand's House of Representatives approved the legislation back in March with 400 voting in favor and only ten members opposed.
If senators pass the bill and the Thai king approves it, Thailand will become the first country in Southeast Asia to guarantee equal marital rights.
The governor in the U.S. state of Maryland has issued pardons for more than 175,000 marijuana convictions. Maryland joins the Biden administration and several other states, which have granted mass clemency for low-level marijuana offenses in recent years.
But the governor's order will not free anyone from prison. Maryland legalized recreational marijuana for adults last year and is one of 24 states to do so.
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CHURCH: Well now, to a CNN exclusive. New York prosecutors are planning for the potential retrial of Harvey Weinstein and two women who testified against the disgraced Hollywood producer are speaking to CNN about how his 2020 trial upended their lives. They're working to change the laws that led to Weinstein's sex crimes conviction being overturned.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reports.
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DAWN DUNNING, TESTIFIED AGAINST HARVEY WEINSTEIN: This has been you know, such a long ordeal for me. You know, I would love to have that closure.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Closure that for Dawn Dunning will have to wait. Her testimony as a supporting witness against Harvey Weinstein is among the evidence that led to his historic sex crimes conviction in 2020.
It's also why the New York Court of Appeals overturned that conviction this April, ruling that too many women like Dunning testified to prior bad acts even though Weinstein wasn't facing charges in their cases.
DUNNING: I think there's a lot of these nuances and these loopholes that just don't make sense and you know, really needs to be updated. WAGMEISTER: Dunning and others pushed for laws allowing supporting witnesses to testify in New York sex crimes cases. State lawmakers proposed a bill that passed the Senate but failed to pass the full legislature before the session ended last week. Another setback for Dunning.
WAGMEISTER: On a personal level, what would you tell these lawmakers?
DUNNING: I would feel less let down and I would also feel like it could prevent other women from coming forward as well.
WAGMEISTER: Women like TaraLe Wulff.
TARALE WULFF, TESTIFIED AGAINST HARVEY WEINSTEIN: I just bawled.
WAGMEISTER: Also one of the supporting witnesses who testified against Weinstein in 2020 then struggled to process the fact that the conviction was narrowly overturned because of testimony like hers.
WULFF: The idea that too many assaults is too much for them. It also highlights for me what needs to change.
WAGMEISTER: Wulff plans to advocate for the New York law in the next legislative session. But for now, worries about what could come next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're supposed to be judged on the facts of the case.
WAGMEISTER: Weinstein and his legal team are also appealing his California conviction, which led to a 16-year prison sentence in 2022. Even though California is one of 16 states that do have laws allowing supporting witnesses to testify to prior bad acts in sex crimes cases, Weinstein's lawyers claimed a jury was prejudiced when told of the prior New York convictions.
JENNIFER BONJEAN, WEINSTEIN'S ATTORNEY: He came into that courtroom with the stamp of convicted felon on his back and that it was done so fairly. And that turns out not to be the case at all.
WAGMEISTER: Is there any fear in your mind that there could be a day where that appeal is successful?
WULFF: When they filed for appeal in New York, I refused to believe that was possible. This can't happen. And then it did, because all I really have is the hope that the laws are different there and strong enough to hold that conviction.
WAGMEISTER: Weinstein has repeatedly denied that he ever sexually- assaulted women, but accusers like Dunning say they live in fear that Weinstein who has been accused by more than 100 women of sexual misconduct won't be held accountable for his crimes.
DUNNING: The thought that he would be free again is terrifying. I know everyone thinks he's so old and frail and sick, but he's never going to stop. He never will stop. WAGMEISTER: Now the Manhattan DA's office plans to retry this case for the conviction that was overturned and that trial can occur as soon as this fall.
New York prosecutors have said that they are in touch with more women who were too scared to come forward in 2020 and these indicated that there could be a new indictment coming out against Weinstein to bring more women to this trial to testify.
Now, I asked Dawn Dunning if she knows of any other women and she says that she does personally know that there have been other women who are too scared to come forward but they do allege that they have been assaulted by Harvey Weinstein.
Back to you.
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CHURCH: The U.S. surgeon general sounds the alarm about children's mental health and the threat posed by social media. How he wants congress to address the issue. That's just ahead.
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CHURCH: The Boston Celtics have written another page in the NBA record book with their 18th league championship. they beat the Dallas Mavericks 106 to 88 to win the series in five games.
Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 31 points. Jaylen Brown added 21 points. He was named the Most Valuable Player in the finals. The Celtics finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA. They lost only three games throughout the entire playoffs.
The U.S. surgeon general is urging congress to put a warning label on social media apps, much like the ones you see for cigarettes and alcohol.
In a "New York Times" op-ed, Dr. Vivek Murthy argues social media platforms are a key contributor to the mental health crisis among young people with teens spending several hours a day on the app.
In an interview with CNN, Murthy explained how he plans to handle the issue with his own children.
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DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON-GENERAL: What I worry about and what I find to be disheartening as a parent is that the entire burden of managing all of this social media technology more broadly for our children has fallen on the shoulders of parents, despite the fact that we didn't grow up with this technology, despite the fact that you have some of the most well-resourced companies in the world with some of the best product engineers in the world designing these platforms to maximize how much time our kids spend on them. So we've got to get help to parents.
Here's what I'm planning to do with my own kids. Number one, I am planning to wait until at least after high -- middle school for my kids to use social media. And when they're in high school, my wife and I will reassess them based on their maturity, what the data says about safety and whether there are safety standards in place.
But there are additional steps that we can take as well. If your kids are already on social media, establishing technology free zones in their day, to protect sleep, in-person interaction, physical activity. This is really vital.
That can look like making mealtimes tech free, making our time, you know, an hour before bedtime throughout the night tech free, device, free zones as well.
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CHURCH: And last hour I spoke with child psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Dunckley about the surgeon general's push for warning labels.
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DR. VICTORIA DUNCKLEY, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: We know that warning labels do help especially like the tobacco warnings we did see tobacco use drop significantly and continued to decline after that.
So I think parents really are ready to hear this message, but they feel helpless to do anything. But I do see like the younger generation of kids who are in -- or parents of kids in elementary school age, they are hearing all this research. And I think it's going to be those parents that are -- more have a conviction and the resolve to really prevent their kids from using social media.
I already hear parents talking about having pacts to band together as their kids get older to stay away from social media. It's the parent -- but the parents who are in the thick of it now with parents of teens, really feel helpless.
Like I think having that warning will help them.
CHURCH: And Dr. Murthy says social media can have detrimental effects on mental health and increase the risk of depression for adolescents.
So how strong is the evidence that this is indeed the case.
DUNCKLEY: its overwhelming, I would say. I think we know in general that screen time is psychoactive, it's -- depressogenic (ph) in general, screen time. The social media adds extra layers on there.
We already know that screen time disrupts sleep. It changes brain chemistry. It increases stress hormones that kind of shifts blood flow so that kids can access the more developed parts of the brain. It affects impulse control and attention and mood regulation.
[01:54:46] DUNCKLEY: And then social media adds extra layers on top of that. So that not only exploits these reward pathways, but because it's social, it needs -- it's meeting all these developmental needs that are very strong during especially adolescence and in particular early adolescence.
So the need to role-play to be seen, to belong -- all of those things are being exploited by very sophisticated techniques.
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CHURCH: Our thanks to Dr. Victoria Dunckley for her perspective there.
British actor Theo James is taking on a new role, this one for the United Nations Refugee Agency. James was named a UNHCR global goodwill ambassador on Monday. The UNHCR says he has supported the agency since 2016 meeting with asylum seekers and refugees in Greece, France, and Jordan.
James who's known for his roles in the "Divergent" series and "The White Lotus" called this new position an honor.
At a maximum-security prison in Greece, some inmates managed to find an escape or rather an escape from reality through theater.
Within the confines of the prison some two dozen inmates perform the Greek tragedy Antigone, for friends, family, and other guests. According to the director, the men are often skeptical of the theater program at first, but end up finding solace in the small freedom of performing.
Since 2016, about 250 prisoners have participated in the drama workshop. Rehearsals, and performances offer a welcome distraction from the walls and barbed wire fences of the prison ward.
Some inmates even go on to join amateur theater troupes after their release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KONSTANTINOS BOUGIOTIS, INMATE: You escape. You come out of the prison ward and you talk about other things. You see another scene. You think differently. And you forget that you are in prisons.
DIMITRIS KAVALOS, INMATE: In almost every rehearsal, you live like a dose of freedom, being able to leave that world out of that commotion that is created in there. And feel a small freedom.
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CHURCH: Paul McCartney is bringing his Got Back Tour to Europe later this year, the former Beatle, who turns 82 on Tuesday, announced his European tour dates, which will see him and his band perform in France, Spain, and the U.K. in December. McCartney's Got Back Tour first kicked off in 2022.
Great stuff.
Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more news in just a moment. Do stick around.
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