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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Israeli Tanks In Central Rafah; Israel Investigates Sunday Airstrike; U.S. Pier In Gaza Breaks Apart; Closing Arguments In The Trump Hush Money Trial; Taiwan Turmoil Over Controversial Bill; The Safety Of A.I.; OpenAI Announces New Safety Board; Papua New Guinea Landslide; Pope Francis Apologize For Homophobic Slur; Solar-Powered EV Moves Towards Reality; China's Rifle-Firing Robotic Dog; Japanese Town Keeping Tourists Out. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired May 28, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Now into their third hour, Judge Juan Merchan, a Republican appointee I should note, says he wants them finished
by the end of the day and has indicated the jury could stay until 7:00 or 8:00 tonight.
Complete trial coverage continues right now with my friend Wolf Blitzer. He's next door in a place I like to call "The Situation Room." I'll see you
bright and early tomorrow.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: It's 6:00 a.m. in Taipei, 8:00 a.m. in Sydney, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Julia Chatterley. And
wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
And a warm welcome to "First Move." And here's today's need to know. No shelter, no life, no future. Displaced Palestinians in Rafah in despair, as
the White House says it's not altering its policy towards Israel after Sunday's strike.
Closing arguments aren't finished yet, but he's already calling them boring. Donald Trump's take on proceedings in his hush money trial.
Taiwan turmoil. Thousands protesting as the island's parliament passes a controversial bill.
And it literally makes a flyby in JLo's new Netflix movie, "Atlas." Well, maybe one day, but here, back on the ground, solar EV maker, Aptera,
charging ahead with its production plans. That conversation and plenty more coming up.
But first, Israeli tanks seen in Central Rafah for the first time as Israel steps up its assaults on the southern city, that's despite mounting
international pressure. At least 29 Palestinians lost their lives in two separate strikes on Tuesday. That's according to Palestinian officials.
They say tents for displaced people were hit and that some of them were just a short distance away from a camp that was devastated on Sunday. An
Israeli strike and ensuing fire at that camp killed at least 45 people, many of whom were women and children. Israel says an investigation into the
cause of the fire is underway.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. will be watching the results closely as he was grilled by reporters just hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: We have been, I think, very strident in our condemnations
about the deaths of innocent civilians. These deaths are not excused from that. But we have to understand what happened here. There's going to be an
investigation. They've already said it was a tragic mistake. They're looking into it. They have been able to investigate themselves and hold
people accountable in the past. We'll see what they do here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem with more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Makeshift shelters housing displaced Palestinians engulfed in flames. The screams of women pierce the
smoke-filled air as bodies are pulled from the blaze.
The Israeli military says it did not expect carnage on this scale when it dropped two small precision guided munitions here, targeting two senior
Hamas militants.
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON: Our munition alone could not have ignited a fire of this size. I want to repeat it. Our munition alone
could not have ignited a fire of this size.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military says it is still investigating what else could have ignited the inferno. Floating the possibility of a
secondary explosion caused by ammunition stored nearby. It provided no verifiable evidence to back up that theory. What is clear, how close the
strike was to container like shelters housing hundreds of displaced Palestinian civilians.
These two container-like structures were targeted in the attack, according to this Israeli drone footage. At least three people can be seen on the
road outside those structures moments before the strike. These are the two structures identified as targets by the Israeli military, as seen in
satellite imagery. Adjacent structures were also destroyed in the explosion or the subsequent fire.
Displaced civilians were living in some or all of these structures. At least 45 people were killed according to the Palestinian Ministry of
Health.
Amid growing international outrage and condemnation, the Israeli military isn't slowing down its Rafah offensive, with tanks spotted in Central Rafah
for the first time. As the Israeli military investigates one strike, it is carrying out others, also in camps for displaced Palestinians.
[18:05:00]
Just 500 feet from Sunday night's strike, Hamza (ph) holds a piece of the projectile that killed his sister overnight in that Tel al-Sultan. She was
sleeping when shrapnel hit her in the face, he says. One of eight people killed in the same strike. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for
comment.
The walls of the U.N. warehouse next door are now scarred with shrapnel, a sign to many in this camp that the area is no longer safe.
Hundreds are now packing up what little they can still claim as their own, and fleeing once again, desperate for a refuge from the violence that
surrounds them.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And our thanks to Jeremy Diamond there. Now, aid deliveries for Gaza have been dealt another setback too. The temporary pier constructed by
the U.S. military broke apart Sunday in choppy seas. You can actually see the extent of the damage here in these before and after satellite images.
The pier, which cost $320 million to build, had only been operating for just a matter of days. Officials say it will be reassembled and reconnected
to the parking area when sea conditions allow. Natasha Bertrand is in Washington for us on this. Natasha, we know these waters are incredibly
choppy and this was always going to be at least one of the challenges. Do we know how quickly they can reassemble and re-establish this connection?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Julia, what we're being told from the Pentagon is that this pier system, the causeway
that was attached to the shore in Gaza, the entire thing is going to be removed within the next 48 hours, and then it's going to be taken back to
the Port of Ashdod in Israel to be repaired. And that is going to take just over a week, according to the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, who
briefed reporters on this today.
But this is a system that really does not do well in any kind of remotely challenging weather environment, even though it is a pier and it is meant
to be kind of stationed obviously off the coastline and help to deliver aid into different countries that need it, it can only operate really in about
three-foot waves as the maximum and in winds that are below 15 miles per hour.
So, it is very susceptible to being damaged. And this is what many officials had predicted might happen, given the sheer complexity of this
operation. And the fact that this pier and causeway was going to be based off the coast of Gaza for quite some time.
Usually JLOTS, as the system is known, is not necessarily stationed at one point right off the coastline for so long. And so, these problems, they
were foreseen. The administration is saying that they do believe that even the, you know, short number of days, very limited amount of time that they
were getting aid into Gaza was worth it because they managed to get about a thousand tons of aid and medical supplies and food into Gaza. And that is
not insignificant.
But still, this is a very expensive project. It is one that involved over 1,000 U.S. troops who had been operating there over the last two plus
months trying to build this system. And of course, now, it remains to be seen just when it is going to be operational again. And importantly, for
how long it is actually going to stay operational once it's back in action, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Hopefully, they can get this done very quickly. Natasha Bertrand, thank you for now.
OK. Moving on to Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial in New York. The former U.S. president's fate will be in the jury's hands as soon as closing
arguments wrap up. The defense was first, targeting the credibility of prosecutor's star witness Michael Cohen once again.
At one point, a Trump attorney called him the "GLOAT, greatest liar of all time." The prosecution, meanwhile, is arguing now that there's plenty of
evidence to support to back up Cohen's claims. They don't have to purely rely on believing him. They also said that the catch and kill scheme "could
very well be what got President Trump elected."
A short time ago, the former president posting boring on his Truth Social account. Zach Cohen joins me now. I am putting actually extra emphasis on
that. I perhaps should apologize for that, Zach. Waiting is clearly difficult in this. Just talk us through what we've seen today from both the
defense, of course, that went up first and the prosecution that followed.
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Julia, it's no surprise that Michael Cohen has really been a point of emphasis for both the defense
attorneys who went first, as you mentioned, and prosecutors in their closing statements today.
Defense attorneys really tried to underscore and reiterate what they've been saying throughout this entire trial, that Michael Cohen is a liar, he
can't be trusted, and they're trying to create that reasonable doubt that could result in a hung jury, or in a -- you know, these charges being
essentially put to the side by the jury and Trump being acquitted.
Now, prosecutors, meanwhile, have been arguing for the last couple hours that Michael Cohen is simply a tour guide through the mountains of other
evidence that exist in this case and that validate what he testified to when he took the stand. They've been pointing to communications and
documents that they call a smoking gun.
[18:10:00]
That's a direct quote used by the prosecutor in this case, Josh Steinglass. He's called these documents linking Michael Cohen and Allen Weisselberg,
the former CFO of the Trump Organization, a smoking gun that showed that Donald Trump had knowledge of this scheme to reimburse Michael Cohen for
the hush money payment of Stormy Daniels, which of course is at the center of this entire case.
Now, the prosecution has said they need about two more hours for their closing statements. Court could go as late as 8:00 p.m. Eastern time in New
York. And so, we do seem to be nearing the end of this trial. And at which point, when closing statements are over, the judge will give the jurors
their instructions. They will go back and deliberate and ultimately come back with a verdict for Donald Trump in this case.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and we have to wait and see how long they deliberate too. Zach, thank you for that for now. Zach Cohen there.
OK. Let's talk more about this Hofstra -- oh, my goodness, Hofstra University law professor James Sample joins us now. James, my apologies. I
get there in the end.
I want to talk about the prosecution closing, they get the last word, of course, and this, I think, is part of what's key here. They pointed to two
things, the conspiracy and the cover up. And, of course, in order to get a conviction, they have to prove both. The cover up, the falsification of the
documents, of course, to cover up the payments. The conspiracy, I guess, in a nutshell, to protect the election campaign. And, of course, Trump needs
to know about and participate in both. Are we there in your mind?
JAMES SAMPLE, PROFESSOR OF LAW, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: It's good to be with you, Julia. I think that the prosecutors have definitely provided enough
evidence, mountains as Zach just said in his report, to sustain a conviction and to persuade a jury to convict. That doesn't mean it will
happen, especially where you only need one juror, if you're Donald Trump, to create a mistrial, a hung jury would be a mistrial.
So, the burden is on the prosecutors not only beyond a reasonable doubt, but to get a unanimous verdict. And to get 12 New Yorkers to agree on
anything is a challenge, and that is the challenge that the prosecution is facing.
They have done a masterful job today in navigating and narrating a story, a narrative that weaves all of that evidence together. So, it's not just a
mountain and the jury's -- jurors forget what it all means, there's a story that Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor who's doing the closing statement
for the prosecution is weaving.
Whereas the defense counsel today, their strategy was basically to zero in on Michael Cohen. Michael Cohen in the defense counsel's view is the key to
the case. And if you don't trust Michael Cohen, and why could you trust Michael Cohen, everything falls apart.
The prosecutors say the reason to trust Michael Cohen now, even though he's an avowed liar, is that all of the evidence corroborates the testimony that
he's provided in this case.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it was quite interesting, wasn't it? Because the defense almost took a leaf out of Donald Trump's book with a sort of catch phrases
and catchy sayings that GLOAT, with the greatest liar of all time for Michael Cohen. And I think what we've seen the prosecution do, to your
point, is say, look, this doesn't all rest on Michael Cohen. We know that he's got a sort of ropey track record in terms of fabrications, to say the
least. There's greater backup for that.
Just what do you make of how the defense did? Because the beauty of being the prosecution in New York, at least, is that you get to go second. So,
you can pick up everything that defense say and sort of unwind and throw it back in their faces in front of the jury.
SAMPLE: Well, you're absolutely right that being able to get the last word is an extraordinarily valuable thing. If you think about baseball, you
know, batting in the bottom of the ninth inning is a significant advantage and it's an advantage that's given to the home team. That's the advantage
and it's standard practice.
You know, in advance of today's closing, Donald Trump on his Truth Social was whining as though it was unfair that he wouldn't get the last word.
Well, this is standard practice. These are not tailor-made procedures particularly for Donald Trump. This is the way -- the prosecutors have the
burden and in New York, that means that they get to go last.
And so, what the defense did today -- and you're right, they use some catchy phrases and so forth, but the -- I think the prosecution has been
the more compelling side, at least in -- with respect to the closing arguments, and they've had a number of really good one-liners. And
particularly vis-a-vis the response to Michael Cohen.
You know, one of the things that Joshua Steinglass said this afternoon is that Michael Cohen is not really our witness. Yes, we put him on. Yes, we
presented him on direct testimony, but he's effectively Trump's witness. We didn't -- and Josh Steinglass said, we didn't pick him up at the witness
store. This is the old classic thing. If you want to find out what's going on in the gutter, you're going to need to talk to some rats. That's the
scenario that Michael Cohen presented.
[18:15:00]
If you're going to get at the truth in a criminal enterprise, by definition, you're going to be relying on some individuals who were there
present and participating in the criminal enterprise. This is common practice in organized crime cases and all sorts of cases. And the
prosecutors are well-versed in trying this kind of a case.
And so, I think what they've done is they've pointed to all of the different evidence, including evidence from witnesses who are very powerful
precisely because they themselves remain loyal to Donald Trump, and there, I'm talking particularly about David Pecker, about Hope Hicks, and even
about the former controller at the Trump Organization who testified that in 50 years as a controller, he'd never once, except for this one time, the
payment engulfing Stormy Daniels, seen a grossing up for tax purposes, which is -- which goes to that critical document, Exhibit 35 for the State
of New York, which has Allen Weisselberg's own handwriting on it that says, you know, $130,000 plus $50,000 for a consulting company and then grossing
it up.
If those were legitimate legal expenses, which is what they claim, what the Trump defense claims, there would be no need to gross them up. This was a
reimbursement and prosecutors say that is the smoking gun that Zach referenced in his prior report.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, to your point, it's why it's so important to separate out conspiracy and cover up and to try and help the jury understand what it
could be something quite complicated and quite dry, but it's actually material to time these two things together and for the prosecution to make
their point.
Very quickly, and I certainly take your point that getting 12 New Yorkers to agree on anything is quite difficult. Perhaps Trump is the man to do it
in a predominantly democratic state, in fact. But, Professor, what's your gut feel at this moment, whether or not you will get all those jurors to
agree, or is it tough?
SAMPLE: Yes, I think -- speculating on what the jury will do, Julia, is so haphazard and so risky. Look, I think the prosecution has proven its case.
If the defendant were anyone other than Donald Trump, this would be a slam dunk for a conviction. But given that it's Donald Trump, the possibility
that there might be one person in that room who wants to present themselves as the hero who saves MAGA, so to speak, that's a real possibility. It's a
wild card. It's the kind of thing that you really just can't predict.
Predicting juries is hard. Predicting a jury faced with the first ever trial of a former president is harder by an exponent. And I am reluctant to
make a prediction other than to say, we'll wait and see. And this is certainly going to be an interesting couple of days.
CHATTERLEY: I thought you were going to say pointless or fruitless in predicting. But to your point, if this were anyone other than the former
president, yes, nice answer. Professor, great to have you with us. Thank you. James Sample there, professor of law at Hofstra University. Look, I
got it right that time. Thank you, sir.
All right. Taiwan's parliament has passed a controversial new bill granting lawmakers more government oversight. The bill was backed by Taiwan's
opposition parties. The new law criminalizes officials expressing contempt of parliament. Now, it passed despite thousands of people protesting
outside. The crowds braved the rain, chanting slogans such as no democracy without deliberation. Critics say the law is too vague and wasn't properly
reviewed.
Discussions inside parliament also turned heated, even violent. And of course, all this is happening while Taiwan faces renewed pressure from
China. Several opposition leaders have visited China in recent months, though they deny being pro-Beijing.
OK. Straight ahead. You're up-to-the-minute global weather forecast. Plus, ChatGPT decree. OpenAI announcing a brand-new committee on artificial
intelligence safety as it begins testing powerful new A.I. models. Will it be enough to ease concerns off the public and for company employees too?
And from the future of A.I. to the solar power from the sky. Aptera Motors is gearing up to produce its first solar-powered electric vehicle. Call it
an EV with a sunny CV. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:22:09]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" and a post Memorial Day milestone for tech topping today's "Money Move." U.S. tech stocks rose, while the S&P
and Dow lagged pressured by rising bond yields. The NASDAQ, though, hitting a fresh record high, finishing above 17,000 for the very first time. And
among the big tech winners of the session, you can probably guess, NVIDIA, chipmaker, which rallied another 7 percent.
Now, meme stock mania for GameStop also has not yet stopped. It rose 25 percent amid news that it raised almost $1 billion by selling new shares.
Asia markets also had a softer day Tuesday with the Shanghai Composite easing by around half a percent. The Japanese yen also fell to its weakest
level against the British pound in nearly 16 years.
Now, in other business news too, the parent company of ChatGPT is addressing concerns both inside and outside the firm that it needs to be
more serious about A.I. safety. OpenAI is setting up a brand-new committee to evaluate safety and security almost two weeks after the departure of Jan
Litke. And OpenAI security executive who said his team was under resourced and "sailing against the wind."
Clare Duffy joins me now. Clare, so just to get this straight, in the same month that they dissolved an oversight team that was focused on long-term
risks with a number of -- a couple of those members saying, look, we've got real problems here, they're now creating another body to do this, but
they're all internal.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Right, Julia. It does seem like OpenAI is trying to address some of these criticisms that have come in the past
couple of weeks as a string of employees have resigned, and some of them, including Litke, have raised public concerns that the company is
prioritizing, commercializing artificial intelligence over some of these long-term safety risks that come with this really powerful technology.
So, now, we have the company saying it will set up this new safety committee led by OpenAI CEO, as well as a number of the board directors.
And it will also include some internal employees working on the technology and security, including its head of security and its new chief scientist.
But you do have to wonder just how effective it will be to have this safety committee made up, first of all, of the CEO, whose job it is also to
develop and scale this technology, as well as all other internal employees. There is a long history of tech companies failing to effectively self-
regulate, and this comes just two days after two former OpenAI board members who were ousted in November as part of then leadership shakeup
wrote an op-ed saying that they don't believe that A.I. companies should be allowed to self-regulate.
Now, OpenAI does say that it will consult outside experts, including former cyber security officials as part of this new safety committee, but it's not
clear just how much say or control they would actually have over this group.
[18:25:00]
The next thing that we'll be watching for is this report that we're expecting the committee to release in the next 90 days where it's going to
review the company's existing safety and security practices. And so, I think it'll be a big question of just how transparent they are in that
upcoming report and whether the company decides to make any changes based on that.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, especially when you've had two employees leave because they're concerned about what the CEO and the current management are doing.
One has to be deeply skeptical because the social media companies have done such a great job of regulating themselves, as I -- you and I said earlier,
not. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.
We also did see an announcement from Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, that he's actually signing the giving pledge as well to give away half of his wealth
in his lifetime. Interesting announcement coming on precisely the same day.
DUFFY: Yes, it is an interesting announcement. The timing is fascinating. You know, I mean, it is certainly a good thing that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
and his husband plan to give away half of their wealth. He is a billionaire. He is -- interesting, he's actually not -- he doesn't have an
equity stake in OpenAI. That's not where he's made the majority of his money. The most of his money has come from his investments in startups, his
venture capital fund.
And so, it's interesting that he is at once at this moment of controlling this really powerful company, but he's not actually profiting from it.
Although he did say that he plans to give away his wealth to support technology advancements that could benefit humanity. So, clearly staying
sort of in the same realm here, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And also, when you're a CEO like that, you also get paid in stock. And when the stock price goes up, you certainly benefit even if
you're not an early investor, but I get your point on the aligned incentives here for a CEO and for a board. It's murky. Clare Duffy, thank
you so much for that.
All right. Turning now, from safe tech to safety alerts. It's been a particularly stormy spring with even more rain set to hit southern China
and Japan. For more on this, I'm joined by Chad Myers. Wearing my Wellington boots in anticipation, Chad. What can you tell us?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Is that where you are?
CHATTERLEY: Well, kind of. No, no, no. I'm in New York, but it's wet enough here.
MYERS: Oh, here in New York.
CHATTERLEY: I know.
MYERS: Well, I never know. You're a jet setter. You fly -- we put you all over the place in the world. Still at 138 kilometer per hour storm now
affecting Kyushu. Maybe even a little bit of rain on up toward Tokyo, but for the most part, this storm does stay offshore, which is the good news.
Maybe even some rain all the way up towards Sendai.
The big story, I think, is back out here a little bit farther west in the storm is how much rain we're going to get in Taiwan? How much rain we're
going to get in parts of China over the next couple of days? It could be 150 to 200 millimeters of rainfall. That's up to eight inches. And you just
can't get that in 24 to 36 hours without having some type of flooding.
Here's how it kind of shapes up here. All the areas right along the coast that have already been very wet. Picking up 150. And then here you see.
Look at Taipei. Look at the areas here at Taiwan. That red, over 200 millimeters, over eight inches, in a very hilly, mountainous region there.
Now, back to the U.S. where we've seen severe weather over the past, I don't know how many days, 20 it seems, still a chance of severe weather
today. Right now, there's some weather getting into parts of Southwest Louisiana and also into parts of West Texas. But really, this is a calm day
compared to where we've been.
Will there be a tornado? Possibly. Will there be hail the size of a baseball? Possibly too. So, that's really the threshold here is the wind
and the possibility of hail. But we had wind all night last night, even into this morning in Texas. Almost 1 million customers are still without
power in a place that has been very, very hot over the past couple of days and will continue to be very warm over the next few.
So, 83 tornado reports over the past five days. And there you see the wind and the hail. And the wind did all the damage in Texas, Julia, today. There
were wind gusts of about 80 miles per hour, 125 kilometers per hour. It was a big day for trees coming down, power lines coming down, and if you have
almost a million customers without power, you have problems. It's going to take a long time to get that many lines back up, because you don't have a
million workers working on it.
CHATTERLEY: No, and steamy temperatures to your point too. We hope they get their power back as soon as possible. Chad, thank you for that. Chad Myers.
MYERS: You're welcome.
CHATTERLEY: We'll be back after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:32:43]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" with a look at more international headlines this hour. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Portugal to
sign a bilateral Security Pact. As part of the agreement, Portugal will begin training Ukrainian soldiers.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy secured a similar deal with Belgium with that nation agreeing to deliver 30 F-16 fighter jets.
Georgia's parliament has voted to override the presidential veto on the nation's foreign agents legislation. The move clears all obstacles for the
contentious bill which has sparked weeks of protest. Georgia's president claims it has parallels with a Kremlin law and could prevent the country
from joining the European Union.
Government officials in a remote region of Papua New Guinea have ordered thousands of people to evacuate. Huge rocks and debris continue to fall
four days after a massive landslide there. The conditions are making recovery efforts that much more dangerous as crews struggle to reach the
area. Anna Coren has more details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last week's deadly landslide in the highlands of Papua New Guinea that is feared to have buried alive more than
2,000 people is still active and growing, according to government officials, triggering mass evacuations in the area. The PNG Defense Forces
have told more than 7,000 people to leave as the threat to life continues.
It comes as villagers and emergency crews try to dig through the debris, which officials say stretches over nine hectares, more than nine football
fields, and is six to eight meters deep in earth, rubble, and boulders, some as large as shipping containers.
Heavy earth moving equipment has reached the area but is unable to be used on the site due to the instability. The densely populated village that was
hit on Friday at 3:00 a.m. while people slept was located on a highway, the lifeline of the region, which locals say had more than a hundred homes,
shops, a school, church, gas station, and a lodge. All of it is now buried. The people who live there were mainly subsistence farmers.
A handful of bodies have been recovered so far and funeral processions have begun. U.N. officials who visited the site said the community is grieving
and still in total shock.
[18:35:00]
MATE BAGOSSY, UNDP HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION SPECIALIST: And they are mourning. They are dead. And they are looking forward to receive some
assistance, which is already coming. But I think the main question is right now, the population is caught between the trauma of what just happened and
the uncertainty about the longer-term future.
COREN: Basic aid, food, and clean water has reached the area, but more humanitarian assistance and medical supplies from the U.N., NGOs,
Australia, and New Zealand should be arriving in the coming days, along with engineering specialists to provide technical support over what has
tragically become a mass grave.
Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And to Italy now, where the Vatican is trying to contain a controversy involving a comment Pope Francis reportedly made to Italian
bishops. Christopher Lamb has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: The Vatican says the Pope has apologized for feelings of offence following reports he used an anti-gay
slur. Two Italian newspapers say Pope Francis made the remarks while meeting bishops in a closed-door meeting last week.
The Pope has instructed bishops not to accept gay men for the priesthood, and this is the context in which he was making his reported remarks. But in
a new statement, the Vatican insists the church welcomes everyone.
The Pope's remarks have caused a real stir because of the use of an anti- gay slang word, something that he used whilst discussing with Italian bishops whether to admit gay men to the priesthood. But the Vatican in a
statement stressed the Pope never intended to express himself in homophobic terms and said Francis apologizes for any offense.
It also says that the Pope has repeatedly stated that the church must welcome everyone, including "everyone as they are." Now, of course, this
has been the Pope's consistent message during his pontificate when it comes to LGBTQ plus Catholics. Pope Francis is the Pope who said, who am I to
judge, at the beginning of his pontificate when asked about gay priests. He's also opened the possibility for same sex couples to receive blessings.
So, the Pope's remarks, as they're reported in the media, caused surprise. It's also been suggested that Pope was not fully aware of how offensive the
term he used was, and the statement that the Vatican has issued is clearly saying that Francis did not intend for it to be homophobic.
Francis is a pope who apologizes for his mistakes and he clearly felt it was necessary to rectify the situation given this story and these reports
were threatening to damage or undermine the work that he's done to welcome gay Catholics.
Christopher Lamb, CNN, Cumbria, England.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: OK. Coming up after the break, for decades we've been hearing that mass produced solar powered cars are just around the corner. Well, now
Aptera says it's nearing that goal. Our conversation, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:57]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." It's a fast and furious "First Move" as we chase the progress of the solar electric startup, Aptera. And I
can tell you, they're accelerating with this blink, and you'll miss it, cameo in the new Netflix movie, "Atlas," starring Jennifer Lopez. I should
point out that this three-wheeled vehicle does not fly in reality.
But back down here on the ground, Apteria has been wowing investors speeding around a racetrack in Abu Dhabi as part of the company's
expansion. And it's entering a new financial phase too, with funding from U.S. Capital Global to drive production with the first deliveries now
slated for next year.
Apteria's rechargeable battery will last up to 1,000 miles. And the company says it can do an extra 40 miles a day from the solar panels on the body.
Chris Anthony is the company's co-founder and co-CEO, and he's joining us now from Southern California. Chris, welcome back to the show.
CHRIS ANTHONY, CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, APTERA MOTORS: Thank you so much.
CHATTERLEY: Now, we have to remind -- you're welcome. -- remind our viewers, because I remember when you were last on and we were talking about
this, you called this brutal execution on first principles engineering. Explain to us what that means.
ANTHONY: We went back to the root science to design the most efficient vehicle platform ever. So, we use a 20th of the energy of a combustion
vehicle and a quarter of the energy of today's electric vehicles. And we put it all in a very sexy package like what's behind me and put some solar
panels on top and you get some very useful range with about 40 miles a day of free power directly from the nuclear generator in the sky.
CHATTERLEY: But it also is an EV car, so people understand. So, if you live in a less sunny environment, then you can charge this. And on -- what
you're hoping to be some of the most expensive options on this car, the range is enormous.
ANTHONY: Yes, a thousand-mile range with the longest-range battery pack at its heart. It is an electric vehicle, but it has a solar panel package on
top that basically trickle charges your batteries as you go.
So, 40 miles a day of free driving in Southern California, that equals about 11,000 miles a year of free power. You don't have to pay anybody for
it. You don't have to stop at a gas pump. You don't have to plug in. It just comes directly from the sun.
But if you want to go on a long trip to see grandma, you can stop at a Tesla supercharger station and supercharge and be on your way. And, you
know, get several hundred miles of range in just minutes at those supercharging stations.
CHATTERLEY: And part of this as well is the weight. I remember that as well. It is incredibly light relative to other EV vehicles. I think it was
around 60 or 65 percent lighter than the average EV vehicle. Is that correct? Because that allows you to get some serious speed as well.
ANTHONY: Yes. Our base vehicle gets -- weighs about 2,000 pounds, but goes zero to 60 miles an hour in about four seconds. So, it's a super nimble,
super quick, great around the racetrack.
CHATTERLEY: So, let's talk about cost.
ANTHONY: The base vehicle is about $26,000. If you add all the features and the longest-range battery pack, it brings you up to about $44,000.
CHATTERLEY: And then the -- so the base cost was around 26K, I think, wasn't it? In dollars?
ANTHONY: $26,000.
CHATTERLEY: If you want the maximum range.
ANTHONY: The maximum range is about a thousand miles and bumps it up to about $44,000. But when you take into account the energy savings and not
having to stop at the gas pump, you know, the average family in America spending about $5,000 a year on gasoline now. So, if you could put a big
dent in that budget, you'd be saving money and doing good for the environment and having an amazingly capable vehicle to drive around your
town.
CHATTERLEY: I also noticed that the passenger in that vehicle was a very smiley dog, which I thought was cleverly done. And it's a two-seater, we
should point out as well. I remember that as well.
What made you really interesting to me last time, beyond the technology though, was how you were financing. We know this is a cash burn business.
You crowdfunded, and I believe you raised around $100 million from 17,000 people. And now, you've got an alternative funding source. Just talk to me
about that decision moving on and what that means for early investors and then, obviously, in this funding round, current investors.
[18:45:00]
ANTHONY: Yes, vehicle design and manufacturing is a capital-intensive effort. We've been humbled by having 17,000 investors contribute over a
hundred million dollars to the effort so far, and one of the most successful crowdfunding efforts in history.
But now, that we're tooling up and getting ready for production, we need bigger equipment and, you know, it cost a lot more money. So, we had to
find some more institutional partners and U.S. Capital is engaged to do just that. Get us to production here in the next nine months.
CHATTERLEY: So how many cars do you think you're going to be able to produce and have on the market, sort of, 2025 is what you're targeting? Can
you give us a sense?
ANTHONY: Yes, this production facility here in Southern California is about 80,000 square feet, and we can produce about 20,000 vehicles a year out of
this one facility. We hope to master the process here and then copy it and paste it in many other locations, Northern California, Texas, Virginia,
Georgia, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and be producing around 150,000 vehicles a year by 2034.
CHATTERLEY: Can we talk about what's happening in the UAE as well, in the Union or the Etihad edition? Because I saw that it features gold exterior
colorway and you're going to be producing these in 2026. Talk to me about how this deal came about and who are the potential buyers?
ANTHONY: Well, there's no better region for solar mobility than a region with lots and lots of sun. And that's what the UAE has. They're very
excited to get something going with Aptera and bring our advanced technologies to the region. And they have great manufacturing prowess in
many areas, in glass and aluminum. And they're really building an amazing manufacturing base there. So, we're excited to do work there too.
CHATTERLEY: I also remember you talking about going public, taking the company public, as we were talking about you keeping your money in there,
even as you were getting more money from the crowdfunding sources that were at that time stacking up. So, have you still left all of your money. and
even with this additional sort of private sector funding that you've managed to achieve, and are you still thinking in terms of sort of ramping
up production and then potentially taking the company private or is that perhaps been postponed?
ANTHONY: Yes, we've always looked at taking the company public. You know, we have 17,000 investors and just an amazing story. That's great public
appeal. That makes for a great IPO process. So, we've been getting the company ready. We're a regular filer with the SEC, working on Sarbanes-
Oxley compliance and just getting ready for the process as we enter production to also be a publicly available company.
CHATTERLEY: I can't believe I didn't ask you before now. Can I ask how much money they gave you?
ANTHONY: The U.S. Capital deal?
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
ANTHONY: Yes, we're working on about a $60 million funding plan for production. It could be a little less, could be a little more. We're
looking at other equipment financing and debt financing too. So, there'll be a lot of pieces of the puzzle that actually get us to production and
beyond. But U.S. Capital is amazingly capable and they're a global firm and we look to do some pretty great things with them.
CHATTERLEY: OK. So, the point is though, you can produce what you're planning now based on that money. And actually, you're not going to be
forced to perhaps go to the public markets for cash, at least in the interim. That's sort of what I was getting at there.
ANTHONY: Oh, yes.
CHATTERLEY: Elon Musk -- go on.
ANTHONY: This plan gets us to cash flow neutrality and beyond.
CHATTERLEY: OK. Cool. Elon Musk famously said that he didn't think that solar powered cars would ever really be a possibility. I think it was in
Joe Rogan's podcast that he mentioned this. Have you spoken to or heard from Elon about what you're doing?
ANTHONY: We think he's doing amazing stuff in the electric vehicle industry. And, you know, we're blessed by a lot of Tesla's technology
trickling down. So, we're grateful. But he's right. You know cars of today cannot really be solar powered. It's just not useful. You have to have a
vehicle that's designed for efficiency to really make solar power useful.
And we designed a vehicle that's lightweight and uses a quarter of the energy per mile as the average EV. So, when we put solar on top, you can
get really useful range. The average driver in North American drives 31 miles a day. We can provide all that driving with just the solar panels on
top of this vehicle and really makes it for a compelling solution.
CHATTERLEY: Has he -- have you heard from him? Has he said anything to you?
ANTHONY: I've met him a couple times. And you know, we're running the same kind of circles. But he's a much busier man now. So, he's got like an
easier run.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And your point is made as well that you need the combination of the EV and the solar, but for short distances and
runarounds, then you could arguably use this vehicle, if successful, just on the solar itself, which is pretty groundbreaking.
Chris, can't wait to see them being produced and up and running and to do a test drive at some point, she says, please
ANTHONY: Welcome to San Diego.
[18:50:00]
CHATTERLEY: Awesome. Yes. Chris Anthony there, co-founder and co-CEO of Aptera Motors. Sir, thank you. We'll speak to you soon.
ANTHONY: Thank you very much.
CHATTERLEY: And if you've missed any of our interviews today, they'll be on my X and Instagram pages. You can search for @JayChatterleyCNN.
Now, still ahead, from best in show to top gun. China showing off new pistol packing robot dogs that some believe could represent the future of
combat. All that and more coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." Now, it may look like a scene from the movie "Transformers," but it is actually another all too real
example of how technology is changing modern warfare. China has released video of its new battlefield weapon that is enough to give anyone pause for
thought. You know how I feel about dogs. Mike Valerio has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, during recent military drills with Cambodia, China's military showed off a robot dog with an automatic rifle
on its back. And, well, this is what happens. It's a two-minute video made during the China-Cambodia military training exercise known as Golden Dragon
2024.
In one drill, the rifle firing robot leads an infantry unit into a training building. And a soldier says in the video that's released by state
broadcaster CTV, "It can serve as a new member in our urban combat operations, replacing our human members to conduct reconnaissance and
identify the enemy and strike the target."
Now, a CCTV video from last year also highlighted China's rifle armed electronic canines and a joint exercise with the Chinese, Cambodian, Laos,
Malaysian, Thai, and Vietnamese militaries. The dogs have been popping up on China's heavily regulated social media. And this is the latest instance
of that happening.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: All right. Turning now to a tourism twist in Japan. Last week on "First Move," we told you about a Japanese town that was so upset with
the hordes of tourists coming to photograph nearby Mount Fuji that it erected a huge black barrier to block the view.
Well, the tourists, it seems, have not been deterred. Officials say someone's been poking holes in the screen just large enough to, you
probably guessed it, fit a camera lens through. They're working now to repair the barrier, but talk about best laid plans. Some say the barrier
itself now has become its own tourist attraction. Oh, dear.
And finally, on "First Move," we answer the question, what's the fastest way to require first aid? Health and safety officers, look away now. Roll
the tape and the cheese.
[18:55:00]
Now, these daredevils turn themselves into human ragdolls effectively as they threw caution to the wind at the U.K.'s annual cheese rolling chase in
Gloucestershire. Now, if you haven't figured it out yet, the competitors literally hurl themselves down a really steep hill, chasing a wheel of
double Gloucester cheese. The first person to reach the bottom gets to keep said cheese. And, despite the obvious clear risks here, the winners managed
to walk away relatively unscathed, or at least, they pretended they were.
However, now, what caught my eye was not those idiotic rollers, in this case all men, but someone in the women's event. Now, look here, on the
right of your screen. Look at that person. Just sliding down there on your bottom. Growing up in my family that maneuver was called bumpsy daisies and
it was the way to go safely down the stairs until we were around, I don't know, two or three years old, I think. So, congratulations to that woman
for showing us how it's done. Both good sense and good form there. And she probably won't be sitting down for at least a week or two.
And that's just about wraps up the show. Thank you for joining us. I'll see you tomorrow. Bumpsy daisies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
