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Evacuations Continue in Sudan amid Growing Humanitarian Crisis; Satellite Images Suggest Russia Is Moving Armored Units; U.S.-China Panda Diplomacy; Turkiye's Erdogan Appears after Concerns about His Health; Disney-DeSantis Feud; U.K. King and Queen Get the Tussaud Treatment. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired April 27, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade live from the CNN Center. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.

Coming up this hour, as a temporary cease-fire in Sudan teeters on expiration, what will happen to foreign nationals trying to flee?

South Korea's president is set to speak to the U.S. Congress in the coming hour.

And Florida governor Ron DeSantis laughs at Disney's lawsuit against him, saying it has no merit.

And the giant panda, Ya Ya, returns home to China after 20 years in the U.S.

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KINKADE: Sudan's shaky three-day cease-fire is due to expire in about eight hours from now. Clashes today in and around the capital are

undermining that truce and making the prospects of extending it uncertain.

Plus, Wednesday the general leading Sudan's armed forces said he's open to an extension. The rival paramilitary, Rapid Support Forces, has not

responded so far. Thousands more people are fleeing Sudan or trying to leave, while those who remain face what one U.N. official calls a

humanitarian catastrophe.

Our David McKenzie is following the developments for us and joins us now from Johannesburg.

Good to have you with us, David. Food, fuel, medicine, all in very short supply now as we have been discussing. And the violence is continuing,

despite this cease-fire.

What are you hearing from those you speak to on the ground?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That cease-fire, Lynda, really is a cease-fire in name only. Yes, there might have been some

reduction in the overall level of the fighting.

But within the capital and other parts of the country, there still has been fighting going on. Also, airstrikes continuing, according to eyewitnesses,

to doctors that we've been speaking to over the past few days. Even this morning there was still airstrikes going on.

So the cease-fire, if it is extended, won't mean very much if it continues to be broken repeatedly. The diplomatic push to try to end the fighting

hasn't gotten anywhere yet. In the meantime, doctors on the ground are trying to save the casualties whichever way they can.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE (voice-over): A brave Sudanese doctor takes us inside a front line hospital in Khartoum, filming over several days.

Dr. Howida AlHassan and her team are barely coping at Alban Gadid Hospital. They talk about ceasefire but there is no ceasefire.

"The wounded keep coming in," she narrates. "The same staff have been here for 11 days."

They're facing a deluge of civilian victims, many with multiple gunshot wounds, wiping away the blood because the casualties never stop.

"My son was wounded," says this man. "I had come because many hospitals aren't working."

DR. HOWIDA ALHASSAN, ALBAN GADID HOSPITAL (through translator): I'm astonished how we're able to continue. We don't sleep. I wouldn't call what

we do sleeping. I would call it fainting. We faint, then we wake up again. I'm surprised how we are managing.

MCKENZIE: Dr. Howida says everything is running out. They're giving smaller doses of medicine to ration their supply.

"We use the equipment and the instruments more than once," she says. "We can't sterilize properly. There are just too many wounded."

ALHASSAN (through translator): Soon we'll have no bandages, no medication, no anesthetic drugs and no oxygen. The situation is bad, with all the

meaning of the word.

MCKENZIE: Bad and it will get worse, unless help comes soon or the fighting stops.

Sudan's doctors union says that more than two-thirds of hospitals are shut in the capital. Eyewitnesses and doctors' groups say hospitals are being

targeted with heavy weapons by both sides, which they deny.

As foreign governments speared their diplomats and nationals out of Sudan, Dr. Howida says her conscience compels her to stay.

ALHASSAN (through translator): I believe the number of casualties and wounded will increase after the foreigners are evacuated. God knows if we

will be alive or dead.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): "Sudanese blood is one blood," she told us.

[10:05:00]

MCKENZIE (voice-over): "I beg you to silence the sound of the rifles."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Just today, we spoke to Dr. Howida and she said they have run out of oxygen and other supplies. They are trying to get supplies in but

those have been frequently stopped by armed militias and groups.

Also, ambulances cannot get people to and from the hospital given the danger to move and also being blocked by those same forces. Lynda.

KINKADE: David, what can you tell us about these discussions to extend the cease-fire, as shaky as it may be?

MCKENZIE: Most of what we are hearing is from General Burhan, the head of the Sudanese armed forces, the de facto leader of the country. He has said,

through his statements, that they are accepting to extend the cease-fire for another 72 hours.

It's not really a cease-fire but at least that is a positive sign, that they are wishing to extend it. But we haven't heard from the paramilitary

group, the Rapid Support Forces, at all on this particular cease-fire.

And meanwhile, the fighting continues. It is unclear at this stage if there's any push from either side to actually sit down and talk. It must be

said, though, that General Burhan said he would welcome potential negotiations in neighboring South Sudan, brokered by the East African

regional community.

But efforts by EGAD (ph), that group and the African Union, the U.S. and others so far hasn't actually brought any practical stoppage to the

fighting that can be felt by the citizens on the ground, that are just hunkering down and trying to survive.

KINKADE: That is who we are really thinking of right now amidst all of this fighting. David McKenzie for us. Good to have you on the story. Thank

you so much. We will stay on this story because there are some Americans angry with the U.S. government, as this crisis deepens.

They say they have family members who are trapped in Sudan and want to leave but that the State Department has done little to help them. All U.S.

government personnel were evacuated from Sudan over the weekend.

But officials say a civilian evacuation still is not safe. CNN's Kylie Atwood is at the U.S. State Department in Washington.

Kylie, good to have you with us. People have been telling CNN that their families are making these life or death decisions about when or how to get

out of Sudan with very little guidance.

What are officials saying?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Officials have been saying over the course of the last few days that they are in touch with

American citizens who are trying to get out of the country.

They say there's a few dozen of them who have contacted U.S. State Department and are trying to get support to get out of the country. They

also say they are facilitating their departure from the country.

That is a little bit of an interesting language to use, because what we do know is that the U.S. government is flying some drones over these convoys,

these overland convoys, that are getting out of the country right now, to make sure they don't run into violence. But they're not actually running

those convoys on their own.

They are run by countries of allies, like Turkiye or the United Arab Emirates, or multilateral organizations, like the U.N. We have heard there

is this informal network of convoys that has been set up. And Americans trying to reach out to anyone they can really to pay them to get them to a

place that is safe, like for Sudan to then get out of the country.

But even that is a very challenging situation when they get there for health and safety reasons. And so it is becoming quite an issue for those

Americans here in the U.S., who are trying to remotely provide support to their family members. A lot of them have elderly parents, who are part of

these groups trying to get out of the country.

And one of the problems is that they will be in touch with them while they are in cities like Khartoum. But then once they begin on these journeys,

which are journeys that are many miles long to get out of the country, they lose connectivity. So they are not able to talk with them.

And that is creating just a really scary situation because they don't know about their safety as the country is consumed by violence. So it is one

thing that we continue to track, you know, talking to these Americans trying to get out.

The other juxtaposition here is that other countries are actually flying their citizens out of the country. You know, you have the U.K., who's run

about six flights for their citizens, to get them out. And that is the backdrop and the contrast.

While the U.S. government is saying that it would be more dangerous for these Americans if they actually evacuated them by air like they did with

U.S. diplomats over the weekend, saying that the convoys are just the best option here. But that argument does not necessarily stand up --

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ATWOOD: -- when they are watching other countries actually providing these evacuations by air for their citizens.

KINKADE: Kylie Atwood for us on the story. Thank you very much.

"The alliance formed in war has flourished in peace."

Those are the words of U.S. President Joe Biden extolling Washington's 70 year alliance with Seoul. For his part, South Korea's president will

address a joint session of Congress within the next hour, applauding that friendship.

This is part of President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit to Washington. On Wednesday, he and Mr. Biden announced a security agreement to deter North

Korean aggression. CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from Seoul for more on all of this.

Good to see you, Paula. So the U.S. and South Korea announced this key security agreement yesterday, which means sending a nuclear armed submarine

to South Korea.

Some have asked why publicize that when this is a weapon designed for stealth?

What are you hearing as a reaction in the region?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's interesting; we haven't heard anything at all from Pyongyang up until this point considering this

agreement, the Washington Declaration.

It's very much focused toward trying to deter the threat that South Korea feels from the increased missile launches and testing and declarations from

Pyongyang and Kim Jong-un.

What we've heard is a reaction from Beijing. We've heard that Washington actually went to speak to Beijing and pointed out that this declaration was

coming ahead of time, saying that it is preventative and that is intended to deter North Korea and that there is nothing that Beijing should be

worried about.

But that's not the way Beijing saw it. They oppose the fact that there will be this U.S. nuclear submarine being deployed in the Korean waters. The

quote is from the ministry of foreign affairs, the reactions, the actions of the U.S. reeks of Cold War mentality.

We are also hearing from the presidential office official here in South Korea that this deployment could happen within weeks.

KINKADE: Wow. That is quite incredible. I understand we are just getting some news in. I want to show our viewers, of the South Korean president,

actually walking through Congress right now. He is going to speak to Congress within the next hour. There is House speaker McCarthy.

I want to ask you about what we can expect when he does address the Congress in the coming hour, given that he spoke a lot yesterday about the

alliance, about the key values they share in terms of freedom.

But before that I just want to show some images from last night's state dinner of the South Korean president performing "American Pie." Take a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We know this is one of your favorite songs, "American Pie."

YOON SUK-YEOL, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA: "A long, long time ago --

(APPLAUSE)

YOON: -- "the day the music died."

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: It certainly looks like that state dinner went very well.

So what can we expect when he addresses Congress next hour?

HANCOCKS: He had a standing ovation after that little interlude. Let's see if he gets a standing ovation from Congress for not his singing but his

politics.

Certainly that went down extremely well last night. What he is expected to say to Congress today is likely to be very much focused on the 70 year

alliance between the U.S. and South Korea.

This is the reason that President Yoon Suk-Yeol has the state visit to Washington; of course, the extended deterrence being strengthened is all

part of that as well. This is very much the message that he wants to get across, the fact that the U.S. and South Korea are very close.

He has put his legacy on his relationship with the United States. That will be the resounding message.

KINKADE: All right, we will be following that closely next hour and will speak to you at that time. Paula Hancocks, thanks so much.

Now to some rather curious satellite images from a key Russian base in northern Crimea.

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KINKADE (voice-over): Have a look at the base. Back in February, these images showing dozens of tanks and other military vehicles there. This

image, taken in late March, shows that most of that equipment is gone.

Experts say they may have been moved to prepare for a Ukrainian counter offensive. CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now, live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Good to have you with us, Mick. It's interesting, we heard recently from the Ukrainian defense minister, saying the expectations of a

counteroffensive are overheated.

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KINKADE: Those comments coming as we're seeing these satellite images from Crimea that seem to show that Moscow's moved out its equipment.

What's your read, both the statements and those images?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Russia does anticipate a Ukrainian counter offensive. Potentially in this case north of Crimea,

it's taking forces out of the way of where it might think they could get caught up in that counteroffensive.

Or it's deploying them to use to repel that counteroffensive. In the north of Crimea, the moving of that equipment perhaps indicates that they think

the attack will come along the Ukrainian coast, that the Ukrainian forces would cross from Kherson, across the Dnipro River from west to east.

East is currently controlled by the Russians and try to come along the coastline, essentially cut off that land bridge that connects Crimea, the

Crimean Peninsula to the rest of Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials, of course, are not giving any clues about where a counteroffensive might come or even when it might come. I think the sense

that the defense minister is alluding to there, the atmosphere around it is overheating somewhat, I think that's the general feeling here of, it's not

quite the right time yet maybe.

The weather certainly is not playing its part. The country is still sort of receiving a huge amount of rain. We're seeing a lot of flooding here in the

north and, in the south, it means many of the roads close to what might become more active front lines are bogged down in mud.

I think the phrase that you'll hear Ukrainian officials refer to, less than calling it a counteroffensive, they will call it a spring-summer campaign.

They're sort of playing away from this idea that there will be this huge, massive, sudden operation and then all done after a few weeks.

They know they've got a big job to do. They want to make sure they have all the equipment, most importantly all the ammunition that they think they

need, in hand before they launch this offensive.

Even if they were ready, they're not going to say where or when. And I don't think the weather is playing its part, as I said.

KINKADE: Of course, even before that so-called counteroffensive, Russia, last night, launched another series of strikes in two locations.

What can you tell us about the extent of the damage?

ROBERTSON: Yes, in Mykolaiv, big damage to an apartment building. Three, four rather, Russian S-300 surface-to-air missiles which ripped right

through apartment blocks that they hit last night.

One civilian killed, 23 injured, including one child in Mykolaiv. In Zaporizhzhya as well, an area that, is again an area the Russians

potentially expect the possibility of you know, this offensive to come from, there it was 83 different strikes, seven airstrikes, five UAVs,

according to Ukrainians, two multi barreled rocket launchers and 69 artillery strikes, they say, in that area.

Is this Russia trying to target what it thinks a buildup of Ukrainian forces not clear but two people, two men killed in that offensive in the

Zaporizhzhya region.

KINKADE: Wow. All right, Nic Robertson for us from Kyiv, Ukraine. Good to have you with us, thank you so much.

Still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, as a deadline looms, new developments emerging in the U.S. debt limit drama. Why that's important not only for

the U.S. but also for global trade.

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are taking a victory lap after narrowly passing a bill to raise the nation's debt limit to prevent a

federal default this summer. U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, warns that a default would be what she calls an economic catastrophe. Observers

say it could sink global trade.

The measure has almost no chance of passing in the Senate. Democrats object to the bill's huge cuts in federal spending. We want to bring in our Lauren

FOX, standing by in Capitol Hill.

Good to have you with, us Lauren. So the president won't negotiate on the debt limit. He says it must get extended; he calls it nonnegotiable.

Where to from here?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're essentially in a standoff at this moment. On Capitol Hill yesterday, Republican leaders

were able to galvanize the support that they needed, just barely, to get this legislation across the finish line.

It does increase the debt limit until the end of next March or by $1.5 trillion, whichever comes first. But one thing very clear is they want

spending cuts. And their proposal proposed a series of those cuts over the next decade.

The CBO score for this estimating that they would save about $4.8 trillion over the next 10 years. That is something that Republican lawmakers say is

essential in these negotiations.

That is where the standoff lies right now between the White House and the House Republicans. How this gets resolved is another question entirely.

Is Joe Biden going to come back to the negotiating table?

That's what Republicans are gambling on. That's what they're hoping for but whether or not it actually happens is still a huge question right now.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the Senate seeking mostly united with the White House, arguing that they too are not going to negotiate with Kevin

McCarthy, that their bill that they passed yesterday was dead on arrival.

But Republicans arguing at the moment, their legislation, even though it does include steep cuts, it's the only bill moving through Congress right

now that would increase the country's borrowing limit.

KINKADE: All right, Lauren Fox, good to have you there for us. Thanks so much.

Breaking his silence and talking about being silenced, Tucker Carlson has been speaking out after he was fired from FOX News earlier this week. He

posted this 2 minute video on Twitter, where he criticized the state of TV news, in particular, televised debates.

The right-wing media host did not directly address his departure from FOX but made cryptic comments about so-called liars trying to silence honest

people.

Chinese media reports that Ya Ya, the giant panda, has arrived in Shanghai from the U.S. The animal was part of the so-called panda diplomacy between

the two nations and was set to be returned to China as part of an agreement.

But the death of her companion earlier this year, along with tensions between Beijing and Washington, have put that diplomacy to the test. Anna

Coren has been watching this play out from Hong Kong and joins us live.

Good to see you, Anna. So this is panda diplomacy at play and CNN has been speaking to people in Beijing about this.

How is the story playing out in the region?

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, people in China are thrilled that Ya Ya is finally home. She was on a 16-hour flight from

Memphis, Tennessee. She landed in Shanghai this afternoon.

That is where she will be kept for the next month for quarantine. The 22- year-old panda has spent the past 2 decades on loan at Memphis Zoo as part of China's panda diplomacy. Her stay was always due to end this month.

But Chinese medicines (ph) have been campaigning for her early release, insisting that she was being mistreated. They claim the animal was unwell,

in poor condition, had lost weight.

[10:25:00]

COREN: That her coat was mangy after images appeared of her not looking so well. Any allegations of mistreatment were firmly denied by Memphis Zoo.

But concerns intensified about her health following the death of her male mate, Le Le, back in February, you just mentioned, Lynda.

A postmortem found the 24-year-old panda had died from heart disease. Now pandas can live in captivity for up to 25-30 years. Chinese experts from

the Beijing Zoo, they flew over to help with the postmortem and also to inspect Ya Ya.

They found that she had a good appetite, her weight was stable and they agreed with Memphis Zoo, that she was in fact suffering from a skin

condition that makes her fur look thin and patchy.

But despite the consensus and opinion from the experts, critics demanded Ya Ya be brought home. Once she has finished her quarantine in Shanghai,

Lynda, she will travel to Beijing Zoo, where a special enclosure has been built. This is where she will see out her final days.

So when you go to Beijing next time, Lynda, you'll be able to go and see Ya Ya.

KINKADE: I will go visit Ya Ya, I look forward to it. Anna Coren, good to see you as always. Thanks so much.

COREN: You, too.

KINKADE: Still to come, tens of thousands of Israelis are expected to rally tonight in support of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's

controversial judicial reform. We'll have a live report.

Plus, Florida's governor and Donald Trump's potential rival in the Republican primary is now being sued by one of his state's biggest

employers. We'll explain.

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KINKADE (voice-over): Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade, at the CNN Center. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Good to have you with us. Here are your

headlines this hour.

Clashes are reported near army headquarters in Khartoum and elsewhere in the final hours of Sudan's shaky 3-day cease-fire. The general leading

Sudan's armed forces says he's open to extending the truce. The rival paramilitary, Rapid Support Forces, hasn't responded so far.

South Korea's president is gearing up to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the next hour. The speech will mark seven decades of an

alliance between the two countries. It comes after Yoon Suk-Yeol and the U.S. President Joe Biden announced a key security agreement to deter North

Korean aggression.

Turkiye's President Erdogan appeared today by video link for the inauguration of a nuclear power plant. This comes two days after a live

interview where the Turkish leader was interrupted when he left his chair and returned, saying he had a serious stomach flu.

[10:30:00]

KINKADE (voice-over): Turkiye's government is calling reports about President Erdogan's deteriorating health, quote, "baseless claims."

KINKADE: In just about 90 minutes from now, right wing demonstrators will be rallying in Jerusalem to show support for the Israeli prime minister,

Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul legislation.

The event is being called a million man march. It is considered a counterprotest to those large, frequent demonstrations that have been

taking place across the country. This comes a few days before the Knesset returns, following a holiday break. CNN's Hadas Gold joins us live from the

rally.

Good to see you, Hadas. Give us a sense of the turnout there right now. These supporters out in support of the prime minister.

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the protest is set to begin in about 1.5 hours. So protesters, demonstrators are now starting to

stream here. We're in front of the supreme court. The protesters, the organizers say that they want to fill the space in front of the supreme

court down to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.

It's about, I would say, half a kilometer down from where we are, with what they say is going to be 1 million demonstrators in support of these

judicial reforms. Organizers say they've chartered 1,000 buses to bring people in from all around the country.

Now for 16 weeks now, we've been regularly reporting on the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have come out to protest on the streets in

opposition to this judicial overhaul.

The plan that was set originally would give the Israeli parliament unprecedented power over the supreme court, just behind me. What we haven't

seen as much is a movement in support of these reforms. That's what these organizers say that they're doing.

They're bringing (INAUDIBLE) Netanyahu that there are people out there who want these reforms to happen. These protests, these demonstrators say this

is what they voted for. They say that a right-wing government, voted into power in those November elections, and that these reforms are what they

voted for.

Keep in mind, of course, Benjamin Netanyahu suspended (INAUDIBLE) the legislation after the most massive general strike ever seen in Israeli

history. (INAUDIBLE) and his government have promised that these reforms will be brought back onto the legislative table when the new parliamentary

session begins next week.

But negotiations are still ongoing with the Israeli president for the opposition party and the coalition to hopefully come to some sort of

compromise agreement on what these reforms will look.

But these protesters, their message to the government is we voted you in, we want these reforms, they need to happen now.

KINKADE: So the prime minister is certainly not expected to attend because of the security concerns.

Just explain for us, Hadas, how are these protests, which have been so far- reaching across the country, different from protests we've seen in the past?

GOLD: Yes, a great question. It's the people. The people are different, of course. The people here are much more right-wing. They support the

government, they support the ministers like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich and (INAUDIBLE) behind this reform. And they support Benjamin

Netanyahu.

They also tend to be much more religious. They tend to be much more from settlements, perhaps, in the West Bank. And it's a completely different

makeup from the people we typically see at the protests who are against the reforms.

But many of the people out here, they feel as though they have not been represented on the streets and in the media. That's why they say they're

coming out today to show their support for the reforms.

Also, as a warning to the government, because the legislative process is now paused. They say they want to see this happen in the next legislative

session that begins next week.

KINKADE: All right, we will come back to you next hour in the protest really takes off. Thanks so much, Hadas Gold for us there.

Well, Florida governor Ron DeSantis is in Jerusalem, where the potential U.S. presidential candidate hailed Israel as, quote, "one of America's most

valued and trusted allies."

Jerusalem is the third leg of the Republican's worldwide tour after stops in Japan and South Korea. The tour will end with a visit to the U.K.

Back here in the U.S., the governor is getting sued. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has filed a lawsuit against Ron DeSantis and his handpicked

oversight board. It claims they're carrying out a, quote, "targeted campaign of government retaliation and violating Disney's constitutional

right to free speech."

Here's what he said about that lawsuit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): They had no accountability, no transparency, none of that. And that arrangement was not good for the state of Florida.

We did not think that that should continue. So we now have brought accountability. Every other Floridian has to have this type of oversight,

all Florida businesses.

[10:35:00]

DESANTIS: So it is a little bit much to be complaining about that. I don't think the suit has merit. I think it's political.

The people of Florida, they understood that this was an issue.

Did -- do you want one company to have their own fiefdom?

Or do you want everyone to live under the same laws?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Reporter Steve Contorno is covering the story for us and joins us live now.

Good to have you with us, Steve. So Disney claimed the Florida governor is waging this relentless campaign to weaponize government power. As we just

heard there from the governor, he claims this is all political. So just explain the case for us.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a complex case because Disney's situation in Florida is a very complex; 60 years ago, the state of

Florida decided to give Disney essentially control to run its own government in the area around its theme parks.

There's tens of thousands of acres there, where Disney runs the roads, the sewage system, the utilities. They're in charge of their own inspections of

the rides. They basically operate as their own government inside of the state of Florida.

Well, when Disney decided to speak out against the so-called "don't say gay" bill that DeSantis championed last year, DeSantis fired back by

saying, OK, well, we're going to take away your special status.

And over the past year, he has worked to do just that. Yesterday, Disney decided it had had enough and it said, "This action you are taking is a

violation of our First Amendment right. You are punishing us because we spoke out against your law that you didn't like."

And so that's their case. DeSantis is saying, you have these special powers the state of Florida gave it to you, well, we give it, we can take it away.

That sort of where we're at now. It will be up to a judge in Florida to decide who is right here.

KINKADE: Quickly, this, of course, all coming as Ron DeSantis is expected to announce a presidential run for the Republican Party.

How could this impact that run?

CONTORNO: Well, this issue is central to his political narrative. He just put out a book. This is an entire chapter of the book he released. So this

is something he's been campaigning on all across the country.

But we're starting to see some of his political rivals criticize DeSantis for going after one of his state's largest employers. We've seen that from

Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor, who's in the race. She invited Disney yesterday to move to her state of South Carolina.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie over the weekend was very critical of DeSantis. A lot of Republicans are saying this is not the

Republican Party. We are a pro business party. We are not a party that punishes business for political speech.

There is a lot of people who are concerned with that. But there's also many Republican voters who have been galvanized by DeSantis, despite his fight

with Disney. They see the company as a bad actor in this case.

And they're excited and energized by the fact that DeSantis is standing up against a company that they say has gone too far in pushing progressive

values.

KINKADE: All right, good to have you with us on the story, Steve, thanks so much.

Still ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, red shirts and possibly red faces all around after Arsenal's football match last night.

Just what in the world happened?

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

King Charles III, at least his statue, will be wearing a fresh new outfit, while the Queen Camilla will be shown as a brand-new wax figure at Madame

Tussaud's in London.

The display by the famous museum comes a little more than a week before the royal duo are crowned as British monarchs. Camilla, in a dark blue gown,

will stand alongside her husband, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales, the late Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip.

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