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CNN This Morning

6 Killed In Stabbing At Sydney Mall; U.S. President Biden Warns Iran Against Threatening Israel; Abortions Will Be Banned In Arizona After The Supreme Court Upholds An 1864 Law; Tiger Woods Sets New Masters Record; Donald Trump's Hush Money Trial Kicks Off Monday; Ohtani Thanks Investigators After Ex-Translator Charged. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired April 13, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:33]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you. We have viewers with us from around the world this morning. It's Saturday, April 13. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be with you, Victor. I'm Amara Walker. Here's what we're working on for you this morning. Breaking news out of Sydney, Australia. A stabbing spree at a packed shopping center leaves at least seven people including the accused attacker dead what we're learning about the violent attack ahead and a live report from the scene.

BLACKWELL: Rising tensions Israeli forces target Hezbollah strongholds in overnight airstrikes as the U.S. says Iran is moving military assets in place for a possible attack. The developments are ahead in live team coverage.

WALKER: And we're just two days away from the first criminal trial against a former president in U.S. history. What Donald Trump says about testifying in his high profile hush money trial in New York.

BLACKWELL: Plus major abortion ban backlash in Arizona after the state Supreme Court upholds a Civil War era law. The weekend protests and Vice President Harris's blistering message on the future of reproductive rights in America, coming up.

WALKER: We begin with breaking news in Australia. Six people are now dead in a stabbing attack at a packed shopping center in Sydney. Authorities say a police inspector shot and killed the attackers as he raised a knife at her. Witnesses say she likely prevented more bloodshed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just coming around the corner there he was he just coming in and just started flirting towards us. He was put it down and then she shot him. But we were not convinced. She didn't shoot him. Well, he wouldn't get going. He was on the rampage. He was on the rampage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Several others were hurting and police say they are not ruling out any possibilities when it comes to figuring out a possible motive. With us now from Sydney CNN's producer Angus Watson. Angus, what's the latest that you've learned?

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Victor, I'm here at the scene outside of the Westfield Shopping Mall here in Bondi Junction where there is a major police operation under the -- underway state and federal police officers here trying to get some sort of indication as to just why this happened. Why a man entered the shopping mall just hours ago brandishing a knife attacking innocent bystanders killing at least five people before he was shot dead by a police officer.

Now that police officer is being hailed as a hero by the Prime Minister. And by people who saw her in the line of duty she was on her own. She was in the area when she heard about this horrific incident unfurling. She went to the scene. She would lead towards the attacker by members of the public and she shot him dead.

The Prime Minister of Australia just met a press conference saying that if she had not done that, now, more people would be dead, more than just the five that this person has senselessly killed today.

Now there are more people in hospital, including at least one child, as police and authorities tried to find out just why this happened. They're not ruling out anything at this stage, Victor, Amara. But they are saying that there wasn't any indication, at least initially that this was terrorism, no ideological paraphernalia or indication that this might have been a terrorist act. We'll wait and see as more information comes out. Victor, Amara.

WALKER: And Angus, if you will, give us more context in terms of setting the scene for us there at the mall. We could see a lot of people streaming out of Westfield Shopping Center there near Bondi Junction as you said, how busy was it and what area of Sydney is shopping mall located in?

WATSON: It's hard to understate just how busy this area was on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, around 3:00 pm. When this unfurled, people were going about their day, people were going about their shopping. They were not expecting something like this to happen this tragedy this horrific in which the prime minister just said is beyond words. Victor, Amara.

[06:05:07]

WALKER: All right, Angus Watson, we'll leave it there. Of course you keep us posted on any new developments. Thank you very much. Angus Watson there from the scene.

BLACKWELL: Right down the White House is on high alert for possible escalation in the Middle East. Sources familiar with U.S. intelligence tells CNN that American authorities expect that Iran will carry out strikes inside Israel soon in preparation.

The U.S. Defense Department is moving additional assets to the region. Other sources say Iran wants retribution for an Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus last week. And they observed Iran readying nearly 100 cruise missiles.

WALKER: Now the timing for any possible attack is unknown. But in a message on Friday, President Joe Biden predicted those attacks would happen quote, sooner than later. So he gave a one word warning to Tehran simply saying don't.

In the past 24 hours, Israel and Lebanon Hezbollah traded multiple airstrikes. We have team coverage of this. CNN's Camila DeChalus joining us now from Washington with the latest details on what a possible attack could mean for the US. But let's first start with CNN's Jomana Karadsheh in London. Jomana, what else is Israel doing to prepare for this potential attack from Iran?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, Israel and the entire region has pretty much been on edge since April, the first since Israel carried out that strike on the Iranian consular building in Damascus that killed a top Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander and other senior commanders.

The Iranians have found and made very clear publicly that they are going to respond. I mean, Iran cannot afford and won't let this go unanswered, really. But the question has been how will Iran respond? What sort of a response will we be seeing from the Iranians to this?

Israel has said that it's ready for all possibilities here. We heard yesterday from the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant who was speaking while he met with the U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM commander, General Erik Kurilla, who is in Israel, for meetings about this potential attack. The defense minister saying that Israel is ready, saying that ready to defend itself, both on the ground and in the air and would respond in close cooperation with our partners.

We also heard from the Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari yesterday during a briefing saying that Israeli commanders have presented their leadership with their plans, both defensive and offensive and repeating again, that they are on alert and they are ready.

Now while the Iranians, Amara, have said that they are going to respond. And the question has been, of course, or is this going to be Iran directly responding targeting Israel itself? What sort of -- what is the scale of this response that we are going to see? Or is Iran going to be using its proxies to respond at the same time, we have been hearing from CNN sources over the past week saying that Iran is indicating that while -- will respond that it still wants to keep this as a calculated and measured response. Because it does not want this to escalate into a war, something that the United States also wants to try and avoid.

So the big question right now, while the region is on edge, is not only what sort of a response are we going to be seeing from the Iranians? The question is, how will Israel respond to that as well, because we've heard from Israeli officials in recent days saying that if Iran were to attack Israel, that they will respond with an attack inside Iran, as well.

So right now you have the region, really on edge, a lot of concern about this escalating. And, you know, the fears of this escalating into a war are very real right now.

BLACKWELL: Jomana Karadsheh reporting for us this morning. Jomana, thank you. Let's go now to CNN White House reporter Camila DeChalus. Camila, what is President Biden saying about this rising threat from Iran?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, President Biden spoke to reporters yesterday and he really reiterated what White House officials have been telling us in the last few days. And that is that this threat that Iran poses and the retaliatory attack that they may conduct is very real, and it's very credible, and then they are in constant communication with Israeli military defense forces.

I want to play a quick clip of what Biden told reporters yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: To secure information for my expectation sooner than later.

[06:10:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, to Iran in this moment?

BIDEN: Don't.

(END VIDEO LCIP)

DECHALUS: So as you can see there, Biden is really issuing a very stark warning to Iran. And he's saying that he's monitoring the situation very closely and reiterated his support for Israel and said that he stands firm and supporting them and coming to their defense. Amara, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus for us in DC. Thanks so much. Joining me now is CNN military analyst. Retired Air Force, Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel, good morning to you.

Let's start with the significance if this is what is going to happen that Iran will directly attack Israel inside its borders. There's no shortage of Iranian proxies in the region, the Houthis, Hezbollah, we've discussed them over the last several months especially why do it themselves?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Victor, there could be several reasons. And good morning to you, one of the things that the Iranians may want to do is show that they are the ones that are directly responding to an attack on their consulate. And they look at it from the diplomatic point of view that that was sovereign Iranian territory, even though it wasn't Damascus, Syria, but legally, they are technically right, in that sense.

So this is one of the ways in which they could do this. They would do, you know, potentially launch some of their long range missiles into Israeli airspace and to potentially with the intent of striking a specific Israeli target. That is one possibility. Other possibilities include such things as cyber attacks, and you know, also drone swarms.

So I think what we might see is a combination of attacks from Iran itself and from the proxies. But it really remains to be seen if they want to wrap things up that much. And if they also want to, in essence, make it possible for a wider war to occur. And I don't think that's really an Iranian interest at this point. But Iran's calculations are going to be different from what we would do calculated in a similar situation.

BLACKWELL: Intelligence sources tell CNN that the U.S. has observed Iran moving resources, including drones and cruise missiles, 100 cruise missiles, is this the type of movement that would possibly be a distraction or deterrent? Or does this look like they're preparing for this retaliation for the strike in Damascus?

LEIGHTON: Well, both are possible. And that's what makes it -- makes this so difficult from an intelligence perspective, Victor. What we really need to understand is Iran's intentions, it wouldn't be logical for them to mount these movements as a distraction. But it is a large number of cruise missiles that we're talking about here. Hundred cruise missiles is no mean feat from a logistical standpoint to move them into position or will move them around.

So what they may be doing is either distraction or getting them ready. Or they may be trying to protect them and move them into areas in which they feel that they are less vulnerable to an Israeli counter attack.

BLACKWELL: You mentioned that Iran could call on some of its proxies to join in this attack, a coordinated attack. There were attacks from Hezbollah into Israeli resources, and then retaliatory attacks from Israel. There have been those skirmishes back and forth across the border since the fall, since October 7. Should we see what's happened over the last 24 hours between Hezbollah and the IDF in the context of this Iranian retaliation? Or is this independent of that, do you think?

LEIGHTON: Well, so far, it looks like it's independent. But there is certainly a possibility that these could be precursor actions. What they might be doing in conjunction with Hezbollah, is testing Israeli defenses, seeing if the Iron Dome system works as advertised or continues to work as it has in the past. So they may be assessing Israeli vulnerabilities as part of their usual attacks against Israel.

And so that's one of the key areas where they are looking at, I think, different areas, working with their proxies to determine Israeli vulnerabilities, especially in the defense sector. BLACKWELL: If Iran strikes inside of Israel, is there any scenario in which U.S. forces would not be committed, would not play a larger role in the defense of Israel? I mean, do you think that this then brings the U.S. and a large -- more significant way into this fight in the region?

LEIGHTON: Well, it depends on which targets are struck in Israel. And I think something that will happen is if it is deemed that is Iranian missiles are on their way to specific Israeli targets, may be an attempt to shoot down those Iranian missiles before they even enter Israeli airspace, and that would have to come from either U.S. or other sources in the region that could potentially be non-Israeli resources that would be used.

[06:15:06]

So that would be one of the things that would happen in terms of the U.S. response. The U.S. response to something like this would probably be measured, but there is a large chance that we may not respond to it directly, but let the Israelis respond in order to protect themselves.

The President says he expects this sooner rather than later. Colonel Cedric Leighton. Thanks so much.

WALKER: Vice President Kamala Harris tore into former president Donald Trump blaming him for the erosion of reproductive rights in the US. Coming up, how the White House is looking to keep the issue front and center for voters in this decisive presidential election cycle.

Also, two of Trump's co-defendants in the classified documents case are trying to get some of their charges thrown out by the judge and the case signals some skepticism.

Plus, baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani's former translator has turned himself into police. He's posted bond but with conditions, we will have the latest on the sports betting scandal.

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[06:20:45]

BLACKWELL: Protests are planned in Arizona this weekend after the state Supreme Court revived a Civil War era law banning nearly all abortions in the state.

WALKER: CNN's Camila Bernal spoke with reproductive rights advocates on the front lines who are working to put abortion on the ballot in November.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Signature and print your first last name. I've tried to do it once or twice a week right now. I'm doing for because we're pushing.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Energized. ROBIN WILLIAMS, VOLUNTEER: One more signature on this one.

BERNAL (voice-over): Append motivated.

WILLIAMS: Thank you guys for all showing up.

BERNAL (voice-over): After the Arizona Supreme Court revived a Civil War era law that would ban nearly all abortions in the state.

WILLIAMS: One thing is you're signing it.

BERNAL (voice-over): These volunteers are trying to collect as many signatures as they can to qualify for a November 2024 ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution. Robin Williams has been here before.

WILLIAMS: I did it in the 70s. Back in the Bible Belt.

BERNAL: How do you feel to have done it in the 70s and to be doing it again in 2024?

WILILAMS: For us to keep fighting backwards is insane.

BERNAL (voice-over): Arizona for Abortion Access the group leading the effort has seen a massive surge in donations. About 1,000 new volunteers and many more signatures. Joanna Sweatt, a Marine veteran has already signed. This is personal for her.

JOANNA SWEATT, VOLUNTEER: I've had to access abortion services twice in my life. As soon as Roe v. Wade fell, it just was like what is happening, right? We're answering that call, we're going to get the signatures and we're going to get women out to vote in Arizona.

BERNAL (voice-over): They need just under 384,000 signatures to guarantee placement on the ballot. They say they have those and now have a new goal of 800,000 as insurance against likely challenges from abortion opponents, like the It Goes Too Far campaign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've had our eyes on November all along.

BERNAL (voice-over): The group says they have also seen an increase in people wanting to join and is asking Arizonans not to sign or to remove their signatures.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The consequences could be pretty serious for girls and women's health and being a constitutional amendment it would be almost impossible to fix or update as problems arose.

BERNAL (voice-over): Meanwhile, providers are in limbo. If it's enforced , he near total ban carries a prison sentence of two to five years for them.

DR. DESHAWN TAYLOR, PRESIDENT, DESERT STAR INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY PLANNING: It's infuriating. I didn't go to medical school to go to jail. The idea that my livelihood and my freedom could be at stake for providing health care is something that is just unconscionable. BERNAL (voice-over): DeShawn Taylor has been an abortion provider for

23 years. She supports the ballot measure but believes the fight for abortion access will go far beyond the November election.

TAYLOR: After that ballot initiative passes, they'll need to be legislation and litigation.

BERNAL (voice-over): For now, she's worried about her staff and her patients.

TAYLOR: We will provide abortion services until they're no longer legal.

BERNAL (voice-over): Resources that Joanna says were crucial for her, her family and her military career. And the reason she is on the front lines today.

SWEATT: This is going to be a daily fight. This is not a pack that we can take off. It's something that when we wake up we have to think about and is a part of our daily work schedule.

BERNAL: And it's a sentiment shared by so many people all over the state of Arizona who continue to be inspired by others who come out to protest who are signing this ballot measure and who have vowed to come out in November to vote and to guarantee abortion rights in the Constitution. They believe that despite being a battleground state of swing state, they believe they can get this done. Amara, Victor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right, Camila Bernal, thank you for that. Joining us now is congressional reporter for Axios Stephen Newcomb. Good morning to you, Stephen. Thanks for your time. You know as soon as the Arizona Supreme Court abortion ban ruling came down, Vice President Kamala Harris immediately announced that she would be traveling to Arizona. She did so on Friday and of course she condemned this abortion ban calling it one of the biggest aftershocks yet since Roe v Wade was overturned and of course she pointed the finger straight at Trump. Listen to what she had to say.

[06:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: And we all must understand who is to blame. Former President Donald Trump did this. During his campaign in 2016, Donald Trump said women should be punished for seeking an abortion. Don't forget that. It said women should be punished.

As President Donald Trump hand-picked three members of the United States Supreme Court because he intended, intended for them to overturn Roe. And as he intended they did. And now because of Donald Trump, more than 20 states in our nation have bans.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALKER: So the Biden campaign launched the seven-figure ad buy in Arizona following this ruling, but talk to us about how the Biden campaign, Stephen, sees this as a really potent issue that will mobilize moderate and women voters, especially in battleground states, like Arizona.

STEPHEN NEUKAM, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Look, good morning. Yes, that's right. The Biden campaign and not just the Biden campaign, the Democrats all across the country, whether it's a Senate race, a House race, state level races, see abortion as the number one vulnerability for Republicans, whether that is the presidential race, where we see the Biden campaign trying to lay the blame squarely at former President Trump's feet.

And then on the Senate side, you see Democrats arguing that any Republican that is elected to the Senate would essentially be a vote for a national abortion ban if former President Trump were back in the White House.

WALKER: Now, Trump did say that he would not sign a national abortion ban if he were to become president. But you know, as Kamala Harris was speaking in Arizona, you had Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson holding this joint news conference in Mar-a-Lago.

Apparently, this meeting was initiated by Speaker Johnson as he's facing this really serious challenge to his speakership.

Listen to what Trump had to say, because, of course, he threw his support behind my Johnson saying he's doing a good job, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're getting along very well with the speaker and I get along very well with Marjorie. We have a speaker he was voted in. And it was a complicated process. And I think very -- it's not an easy situation for any speaker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: We had a lot to talk about there in that news conference. But Johnson was seeking a lifeline from Trump. Did he get what he wanted?

NEUKAM: Well, it's unclear. I mean, one thing that's notable is yes, he was supportive of Johnson. But he stopped short of saying that Marjorie Taylor Greene should stop her efforts to oust him. Look, it'll probably play well with a number of House conservatives who are deeply influenced by the former president, what he says usually goes in the House Republican conference, but it'll have to remain to be seen.

We have a lot of things coming up in Congress Ukraine aid, there was a controversial spot rates -- spiri (ph) authorization vote this past week that upset a lot of conservatives. So, this is a something that's going to continue to play out. And I think Johnson is probably pretty pleased with having the President, at least publicly on his side this week. WALKER: Yes. So it remains to be seen if that endorsement, I guess

from Trump will actually quiet calls for his ouster, at least from Marjorie Taylor Greene. But when it comes to Ukraine, as you mentioned there, you know, we know that Trump has said that he's opposed to sending aid to Ukraine, but he did mention in that news conference, that he'd be open to sending aid in the form of a loan.

So how does Johnson's, I guess, attempts to get this aid package passed? How does that come into play with what Trump had to say?

NEUKAM: Yes, the speaker is in a really delicate position here. There's deep distrust already with him amongst conservatives, and there are many House conservatives who do not want to see Ukraine aid move. But he has Republicans on Capitol Hill and in DC pressuring him to put forward the bill that has already passed the Senate not 90 plus billion dollars and National Security funding.

The idea of it being alone has been floated by Trump has been floated by the Speaker. We're going to have to see it next week. The expectation is that the speaker will have some sort of legislation on the floor for Israel and Ukraine aid.

WALKER: Stephen Neukam. Good to see you this morning. Thanks so much.

BLACKWELL: Still to come, Tiger Woods overcame the wind and a little bit of weirdness during day two and set a new record for that legendary course at the Masters in Augusta.

[06:30:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: The hush money trial of former President Donald Trump begins on Monday in New York. He faces 34 felony charges of falsifying business records related to alleged hush money payments to an adult film star. This is his first criminal trial, and it could result in jail time. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair.

BLACKWELL: Meanwhile, in the classified documents case, a federal judge in Florida will decide whether to dismiss charges against two of Trump's co-defendants. Now, this is the first major test of the obstruction case. CNN's Evan Perez has more.

[06:35:00]

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, the lawyers for Donald Trump's two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira were in federal court arguing for the obstruction-related charges to be thrown out.

They said that the government had not provided any proof that the two men even knew that there were classified documents that were being stored in these boxes, that were being moved at Mar-a-Lago, the former president's estate in Palm Beach.

They also said that the government hasn't even provided evidence that they knew there was an ongoing investigation or that there was a subpoena that had been served on the former president. The judge appeared skeptical of some of these arguments.

During the hearing that lasted over two hours, Jay Bratt, one of the prosecutors on the team of special counsel, Jack Smith, he's told the judge that the FBI doesn't know whether they recovered all of the boxes of documents. There were documents that were moved in June of 2022, and were taken to Bedminster in New Jersey.

The former President's golf estate up there, and the FBI doesn't know whether they've been able to recover all of the documents and all of the boxes that were taken on that flight. The judge did not make a ruling at the end of this hearing. We don't know when she might rule.

We also are still waiting for her to decide when a trial will actually happen here in Fort Pierce. Victor, Amara.

BLACKWELL: Evan, thanks so much. We are tracking what's expected to be a significant severe weather threat across parts of the country.

WALKER: Yes, tornadoes, hail and excessive rain are possible in several states early next week. There's also a severe threat for the northeast this weekend. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joining us now with more. Hi, Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: And good morning. Yes, two separate systems, but very similar threats. We begin right now, this is a live look at the radar across the northeast. You still have some lingering rain and snow showers across much of this area, but it's the next system that's going to be coming in, basically from Canada, sliding down tomorrow morning and continuing through the afternoon.

That's where the concern is. It's not going to bring just severe weather, but also the potential for very heavy rainfall. And trust me, rainfall is the last thing a city like Pittsburgh needs. They're already sitting at their third wettest April, even if they only get an inch out of this next system, they will likely top out at the wettest April on record.

And Pittsburgh is not the only one, we're still looking at the potential for some strong to severe thunderstorms in addition to that heavy rainfall, but also for Philadelphia, places like Columbus and Cincinnati. Then, an entirely different system also sets up for Monday, and this ends up being a little bit more of an enhanced severe weather threat as we go into the southern plains and central plains.

And that's all from this low pressure system that will begin in the Rockies and then eventually make its way eastward. And as it does, it's also going to spread some pretty heavy rain. So, you have the main threats, of course, for the severe weather.

We were talking about damaging winds, large to even very large hail, talking tennis ball size or even larger, and then yes, the potential for tornadoes. Obviously, the focus point is going to be that orange area. They're stretching from Wichita down through Oklahoma City and into northern Texas. But essentially, any of these areas have the potential for that severe

weather. And there's also the potential for some flooding across portions of the upper Midwest, including cities like Minneapolis.

WALKER: All right, good to know. Allison Chinchar, thank you. Allegations of fraud on a massive scale. Prosecutors reveal new details about the former translator accused of stealing millions of dollars from baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Shohei Ohtani says that he's trying to move on from the gambling scandal that involves his former translator. These are his first public comments since the scandal broke. He says that he wants to focus on playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers

WALKER: Now, Ohtani's former translator turned himself into police on Friday to face a federal charge of bank fraud. CNN's Nick Watt has more from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Ippei Mizuhara; the former interpreter walked into court in leg shackles, he walked out on a $25,000 bond. A number of conditions attached to that. He is not allowed to gamble. He is not allowed to speak to any bookmakers.

He has to seek gambling addiction treatment, his lawyer said he was planning on that anyway, also surrendered his passport, no travel, et cetera. Now, 37-page complaint against the interpreter. The final line are texts between a bookmaker and the interpreter.

The bookmaker asked obviously, you didn't steal from him. The reply from the interpreter, technically, I did steal from him. It's all over for me. There are still a few unanswered questions. For example, we read in that complaint that Ippei Mizuhara made $140 million sports betting over a couple of years.

He lost $180 million, $40 million shortfall. We're told he stole 16 million from Shohei Ohtani, so, there's a gap there in the finances. Another condition of his release, he's not allowed to contact Shohei Ohtani, and he'll be back in court himself May 9th.

Meantime, Shohei Ohtani continues to do what he does best, playing very well at baseball, $700 million golden boy is Dodgers' right now leading the National League West. Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:45:00]

WALKER: Nick, thank you. The next round of the Masters tournament is hours away, but there's one golfer who's been waiting years for the chance to return to the sport's biggest stage. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: All right, it is Saturday at the 88th Masters tournament. Some of the best golfers in the world are vying for the iconic green jacket, including Tiger Woods, who made the cut for a record-breaking 24th straight year.

BLACKWELL: And then there's the journey of 42-year-old Camilo Villegas. He is now back at the Masters after nearly a decade away.

[06:50:00]

CNN's Andy Scholes is live from Augusta ahead of today's third round with more. Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, guys. So, yes, it had been nine years since Camilo Villegas had been -- got an invite to come here to the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, that his road back to the biggest stage of golf, you know, it took longer that he could have ever thought.

And on this week's difference makers, our Don Riddell, he speaks with Villegas about how he turned an unimaginable personal tragedy into something positive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILO VILLEGAS, GOLFER: Last year when I won in Bermuda, I think that energy was bigger than my wind itself.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS REPORTER (voice-over): Camilo Villegas knows how hard it can be to win on the PGA Tour. There were nine years between his trophies in North Carolina and Bermuda. But in that time, the Colombian learned that other challenges are much harder than golf.

VILLEGAS: I just described it as life, I guess, with its ups and downs, and with its good and bad, we can regret, we can go back and forth, but at the end of the day, we're here in the moment, and all those experiences over the last nine years have changed me as a person.

RIDDELL: A few months after winning the Windom Championship in 2014, Camilo married his childhood friend, Maria, their daughter, Mia, was born four years later. But after battling brain and spine tumors, she passed away just a couple of months before her second birthday.

VILLEGAS: Just think about her, I feel her energy, I remember all the good things, I remember the tough things, it gives me perspective in life. It gives me gratitude in different ways. When you lose your daughter and it's your only daughter, you kind of feel like your family is somewhat destroyed -- I don't know if the word is destroyed, but it's empty.

You know what? And then with that comes tough situations with the wife. I mean, we all grieve different, but always talk with each other and then Mateo comes along, and he kind of brings us back together. RIDDELL: Mateo arrived in 2021, but Mia is still with them. Camilo

and his wife honored her memory by launching a foundation in her name, Mia's Miracles -- helping other families cope with the challenging circumstances that they so painfully had to navigate.

VILLEGAS: It's probably one of the best things that could have happened in our life. Obviously, when you hear that statement, it's like what? Really? And yes, we would love to have Mia with us, but the reality is that she's not here, and since she's not here, Mia's Miracles is one of the best things that could happen to us.

Why? Because it's opened our hearts, it's opened our hearts to give back. It's opened our hearts to help others. We want to connect with people. My wife has been great at just connecting and being very personable with people and just bringing smiles to those that are going through tough situations.

Yes, it's created a different purpose in our lives, in our careers. And again, life is about purpose, and I guess Mia's Miracles bring us a little bit more of that.

RIDDELL: Having discovered a purpose away from the course, Camilo's career is now back on track too. His victory at the Bermuda Championship last November, meant that he headed back to the Masters for the first time in almost a decade. And Wednesday's family-oriented par 3 competition meant more to him than most.

VILLEGAS: To have my little one in the par 3 was one of the first things I thought after I won in Bermuda. I mean, I thought about Mia, and then I thought about Mateo, our son, that after so many years of not being there, there's also a little something that you're so grateful to being there.

When I was playing majors early in my career, it was -- it was a little bit too normal back then. And maybe I wasn't appreciating and enjoying them as much as I should of. Right now, I know how tough it is. Man, I'm so happy to be here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES: Yes, and it was a successful return to the Masters for Villegas, he made the cut despite the crazy wind conditions that we had here yesterday, guys, he's going to be paired with Rory McIlroy in today's round number three.

BLACKWELL: Thank you so much for that story, Andy, there at the Masters. Thanks so much.

WALKER: Thank you, Andy. So, we are staying on top of breaking news. At least, five people killed in an attack at a small mall in Sydney, Australia. We have the very latest on the investigation at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:00] BLACKWELL: It's been 21 years since the shuttle Columbia disaster.

Seven NASA astronauts were killed.

WALKER: For many people who were on the ground that day, the wounds are still fresh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUTH ANN PETERSON, NACOGDOCHES RESIDENT: It was a Saturday morning, I was preparing to come to work, it was a beautiful day, beautiful drive, and as I turned onto Park Street, I heard a loud boom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden, our house just shook. We, you know, looked at each other and said, what is that? The space shuttle over Nacogdoches? What is -- what is happening? We had just gone through 9/11, and -- but first, I thought did somebody blow it up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was probably a reasonable thought that a lot of people had, that it could be something terrorist related, even in a small rural area, because you never know where that might take place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is going on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It appears that we have had an explosion in this area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An explosion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phones were ringing off the hook much more than our dispatch staff could handle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're telling me a piece of metal fell out of the sky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm telling you something fell out of the sky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Be sure to catch the new CNN original series "SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA: THE FINAL FLIGHT".