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Zelenskyy: Blinken And Austin To Visit Ukraine Today; U.K.: Ukraine Has Successfully "Repelled" Numerous Russian Assaults In Donbas Region; Ukraine Military Says It Hit 17 New Russian Air Targets; Official: Russian Forces "Continuously Attacking" Area Around Mariupol Steel Plant Where Civilians Are Trapped; Zelenskyy To Leaders Who Visit Ukraine: Don't Come Empty-Handed; At Least Eight People Killed In Missile Strike Against Odessa; Melitopol Mayor, Detained By Russians In March, Joins CNN; Ukraine Aid Near The Top Of The Agenda When Congress Returns; Biden Administration Renews Push For COVID-19 Funds As Congress Returns; Parents Concerned About Traveling With Kids After Mask Mandate Lifted; McCarthy To Lead GOP Lawmakers To Southern Border On Monday; San Antonio Sounding Alarm As Trump-Era Border Rule Is Set To End. Aired 6-7a
Aired April 24, 2022 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:42]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Buenos dias. Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Sunday, April 24th. I'm Boris Sanchez.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Boris. I'm Christi Paul. We're so grateful all of you are spending some time with us here this morning as we talk first and foremost about Ukraine. The president of Ukraine says he's preparing to welcome a high level U.S. delegation. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Kyiv today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translator): I shall be meeting with the State Secretary, Mr. Blinken, and the Defense Secretary, and we will be waiting for the time when the security situation allows for the president to come and talk to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Now President Zelenskyy says he'll welcome Blinken and Austin with a request for specific weapons and assistance. And he says leaders -- quote -- "should not come here with empty hands." We need to point out the U.S. has not confirmed this visit by Secretaries Blinken and Austin.
SANCHEZ: Meantime, the most intense fighting remains in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine where U.K. intelligence sources say that Ukrainian forces have successfully repelled numerous Russian assaults in the Donbas region. Russian officials confirm last week that their goal is full control of the eastern Donbas region, and to build a land bridge through Crimea. PAUL: The Ukrainian military says that it hit 17 air targets yesterday. The statement posted on Telegram says the targets included three Russian aircraft, five cruise missiles and nine drones.
SANCHEZ: Russian forces have stepped up their attacks on a steel plant in Mariupol, where soldiers and civilians are holed up. A senior Ukrainian official says the plant is being shelled continuously. It's the last major bastion of Ukraine's defense of the city.
PAUL: Want to go to Ukraine for the latest. CNN's Isa Soares is with us from Lviv. Isa, it's so good to see you this morning. Talk to us about what we know regarding this potential visit by Defense Secretary Austin and Secretary of State Blinken.
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi. Good morning to you, Boris too. Well, it was -- we don't know much at this hour because it took many people, I think it is fair to say, by surprise. In fact it was a press conference, Christi, held by President Zelenskyy, full of surprises. One, because he was held on an underground tube station in the center of Kyiv, while trains were still going past. And, two, because many people didn't see that announcement coming.
These sorts of events tend to -- we tend to find out after the event for -- really operational security reasons. But, you know, the message seems to be from President Zelenskyy that the importance, the optics of this would be incredibly strong, given that Ukraine is now entering the third month of this war and also because we have seen almost so many officials coming from Europe. I think we have a graphic to show you, a door -- of just opening door of so many European officials making their way to Kyiv to meet with President Zelenskyy.
Now, President Zelenskyy spoke yesterday for about two hours. And he basically said that when Secretary of State and Defense Secretary do arrive, they shouldn't come, he said, empty handed. Have a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): Why is it important for leaders to come to us, I will give you a pragmatic answer, because they should not come here with empty hands now. We are waiting not just for presents or cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Now, Christi and Boris, I have spoken to an adviser for president -- for President Zelenskyy in the last two hours or so, and I pushed him on that, what exactly is he expecting given that we have seen two aid packages from the United States in the last two weeks or so, the last one, of course, $800 million. And he said, look in an ideal world what we would like to see, he was giving me his opinion here, it's basically more weaponry, more specific weaponry, he said, because the Donbas region, with the offense they have seen in the Donbas region, the terrain is very different. [06:05:04]
That's the first thing. The second thing he needs, he was asking for, is more training for the troops and for the very specific weapons. And the third, of course, is financial help in rebuilding the country, given the fact we have got 17 or so million people, 7 million, pardon me, that are -- that are without homes here in this country.
He also said rather interestingly that they do still expect -- the Ukrainian officials still expect -- the president would like, I should say, President Biden to visit -- to visit Kyiv because and he said, because that would give -- optically that would be an important message to Russia, further isolating Russia, he said. And obviously demoralizing the troops, those were his words.
Let me give you a picture meanwhile, Christi and Boris, of what is happening on the ground here in Ukraine we have been seeing in the last 24 hours. I'm going to take you to the port city of Odessa, and we have seen just more shelling over this Easter bank holiday really. We have heard eight people killed from shelling there, increased shelling, including this 3 month baby girl. Absolutely tragic when this war started, this baby girl was a one-month-old.
President Zelenskyy was just scathing in his remarks in his overnight address, calling them, his words, calling them bastards. But in the meantime, we have seen Ukrainians fighting back across the country. They have taken out about 17 Russian air assets. And it's the similar picture we are seeing in Mariupol, with the last stronghold of fighters inside the Azovstal steel plant still pushing back, despite of what we heard this morning that it is being continuously attacked. Boris, Christi.
SANCHEZ: All the more heart breaking, Isa, that news you're reporting about the attacks in Odessa, considering that it's Easter for Orthodox Christians, many of them in Ukraine and Russia, and requests for a cease-fire were declined by the Russians. Isa Soares reporting from Lviv, thank you so much.
We want to bring in the mayor of Melitopol now. Ivan Fedorov is here with us. His city fell under Russian control in early March and he was detained by Russian forces for five days, later freed in a prisoner swap. Ivan, we're grateful to have you this morning. Thank you for sharing part of your Sunday with us.
There are Russian forces currently occupying your city. Have you heard from friends or family still in that area? What have they shared with you?
IVAN FEDOROV, MAYOR OF MELITOPOL: Of course, because I know all things that now happen in my city. Because every day, every hour we contact with our citizens, with our -- part of team who are now situated in Melitopol. Now it is very difficult situation, very dangerous situation because when Putin understood that he can't take support from our civilian citizens, from our legally elected representatives. Now he starts to make (INAUDIBLE). He wants to kill all Ukrainian nation. And, of course, he start from occupied cities and now we can't deliver humanitarian aid. We can't deliver pharmacy. We can't deliver food for emergency services.
Now it's a big problem -- big, big problem with cash because our old citizens can't take from their cards cash and can't buy food for them. That's why it's a very dangerous situation now in occupied city and in Melitopol.
SANCHEZ: You believe that Vladimir Putin is carrying out a genocide, that he's attempting to wipe out the Ukrainian civilization?
FEDOROV: Yes, because he thinks that all Ukrainian patriot is nationalist. But it's crazy because our citizens and all people in our culture love Ukraine and in 2014 make a greatest choice for European development. That's why now Putin come with war to Ukraine and want to kill all our patriot -- patriots of our county.
SANCHEZ: What do you believe is the future of your city? I understand that he's installed a pro Russian mayor there.
FEDOROV: She's not pro Russian mayor. She is an illegal mayor and she is not manage city. She only make (INAUDIBLE) in our city and kidnapped business men, kidnapped civilian citizens and that's all. In the future, of course, I hope that all United States of America, European Union will give enough support to win this war, enough weapons to win this war, and in nearest future we will win this war and we will rebuild all of our country especially my city.
[06:10:05]
SANCHEZ: Ivan, I want to dig deeper on your message to western leaders because President Zelenskyy says that he's going to be meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin later today. I'm wondering what your message to them is and more broadly to the White House.
FEDOROV: You know, we have one main message. Two months ago nobody believes that war can start in Ukraine -- a full war can start in Ukraine. In first day of second stage (INAUDIBLE) 21st of February, all civilians will just wait. Can Ukraine stay or Ukraine will capitulate?
But now, two months of full war in Ukraine, our soldiers, our military have a greatest results, stop Russian aggression in central -- in the middle of Ukraine. That's why now we need support to end this war, to win this war, and stop Putin in Ukraine and also in European Union. That's why we need support, but what is important we need it today. Not tomorrow. We need it today.
SANCHEZ: Ivan Fedorov, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate your time and what you're doing and we hope that you can soon return home safely. Thank you.
FEDOROV: Thank you.
PAUL: Still ahead, Congress comes back to Washington after a two-week recess. What is ahead on their agenda and how likely is it that they could get it all done? Also, frustrated parents are waiting anxiously for a vaccine to protect kids under five. How much longer do they have to wait and what can they do now to protect them particularly going into the summer travel season? We're going to ask an expert about that. Stay close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:15:54]
PAUL: Fifteen minutes past the hour right now. And Congress is returning from recess tomorrow with this possible aid package for Ukraine at the top of its agenda.
SANCHEZ: Now let's bring in CNN's Daniella Diaz who joins us now live. Daniella, President Biden has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. There's also the subject of potential new COVID funding coming up, a lot for Congress to tackle.
DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Exactly right, Boris. It's a lot and the priority, of course, being that Ukraine aid, but first the Biden administration needs to make a formal request to Congress of that number, that funding number, they want to send to Ukraine to, of course, combat that Russian invasion.
And, look, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that that would be a priority. She plans to put that bill when they finally negotiate that number after the request from the administration, put that bill on the House floor as soon as possible for a vote. Now, the bigger question being whether they plan to vote on Ukraine aid with COVID-19 funding that they already agreed to before this two-week recess, a bipartisan group of senators before the two-week recess agreed on $10 billion for COVID funding. That being a paired back number than what the Biden administration initially requested but that is what they can get through the Senate, of course, because they need 60 votes to break that filibuster.
But they were ultimately not able to agree on the number of amendments and the type of amendments they wanted to add to that bill, which is why they tabled it before they -- all the lawmakers went home to their home states. Now, they plan to address that again when they come back this week. The question being whether they will vote with that -- for that with Ukraine funding.
The other bigger issue here this week that we will hear a lot about is Title 42, Christi and Boris, that pandemic era protocol that the Biden administration announced they will rescind. Of course, was put in place by the Trump administration. It allowed migrants to be sent back to their countries to await processing. Now they are going to repeal that which means migrants will stay in the United States. And moderate Democrats as well as Republicans have criticized the administration on that issue and we will hear a lot about that, this week, when lawmakers return back from that two-week recess. Christi, Boris.
PAUL: All right. Good to know. Daniella Diaz, we appreciate it, thank you. So you know sometimes the summer is the only time you can get away with the whole family, isn't it? And the dropping of mask mandates has left some parents uncertain about traveling with their children, particularly those children who are too young to be vaccinated. Well, Dr. Susannah Hills is a pediatric surgeon at Columbia University Medical Center. She's with us now.
It's so good to have you with us again. Thank you, Doctor, for being here. Let's just get this right out there. How should parents with children under five navigate some of the new mask rules as they're making their plans?
DR. SUSANNAH HILLS, PEDIATRIC SURGEON: It can be really confusing. The guidance has changed and now all of a sudden these mask mandates are dropped and parents are really feeling at risk taking their kids on planes. But fortunately there are some other things that people can do to keep this in their control. You can still protect your children, even if other people around you aren't masking.
First of all, everybody who is eligible to get vaccinated who hasn't been, who is around an unvaccinated child, should go ahead and get vaccinated. That's the first thing to do. Kids who are eligible to get vaccinated, to get vaccinated, that's the first thing that can be done to protect them. Everybody around these unvaccinated kids also should be wearing a mask, especially when traveling.
Everybody should be wearing a mask if they are traveling with a child who is not protected with the vaccine. And frequent hand washing, especially when eating and drinking, sanitizing your hands, that's really key too, that's something you can do while you're traveling to keep the level of possible transmission down. And finally if you have a child who is at risk, who is immunosuppressed, who's unable to be vaccinated and protected it might be worthwhile to rethink whether traveling on a plane or train or an enclosed space is really necessary right now.
PAUL: OK, so I want to just hit the mask thing one more time because I think there are a lot of parents who are saying, well, I'm happy to get my kid on a plane, and I'm happy to wear a mask and are them wear a mask.
[06:20:07]
But what is the risk if, say, a child is sitting there with a mask, but there is really not a lot of people around them that are wearing masks as well?
HILLS: Yes. Well, Christi, I have to tell you from personal experience that there is clearly a risk right now. I was just traveling with my husband last week. He tested positive for COVID and we have been masking. We're triple vaccinated. We are wearing N95 masks but he is immunosuppressed so he was a little bit higher risk and he tested positive. And -- so this is clearly a moment -- and he hasn't tested positive this entire pandemic. So this is a moment when people absolutely can still get this -- PAUL: I apologize. I'm so sorry. Dr. Susannah Hills, we appreciate --
I don't know if she can hear me -- we appreciate that you were here. But the gremlins apparently are in the computer system today and all of our -- wait, we have her. Do we have her back? Yes!
HILLS: Am I back? Sorry, guys.
PAUL: OK.
SANCHEZ: There she is.
PAUL: That's OK. That's OK. It never fails. So you said you were triple vaxxed. Your husband -- and your husband and he still tested positive.
HILLS: Yes, and he's in quarantine now in the location where we were, waiting to come back. And so, you know, he's feeling fine, but this is a moment where we're at high risk and are concerned that dropping these mask mandates is going to take what could have been a slight increase in cases and push it into a real surge. We're at a high travel time now. It's been Easter and Passover and spring vacation for a lot of students, so it is high risk moment.
PAUL: No doubt about it. Dr. Susannah Hills, we're glad that we got you back to finish that off. Thank you so much.
HILLS: Thanks, Christi.
PAUL: Take good care and best to your husband.
HILLS: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Still ahead on NEW DAY, the border policy known as Title 42 invoked by former President Donald Trump expected to end in just four weeks. Up next, we take a closer look at how the change is going to affect cities on the border. Don't go anywhere. We're back in minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:26:29]
SANCHEZ: So tomorrow House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is expected to lead a delegation of nine House Republicans to Texas to visit the southern border. The trip comes as a growing number of lawmakers oppose President Biden's plan to roll back a pandemic era immigration rule known at Title 42.
The Trump-era policy allows for the quick deportation of hundreds of thousands of migrants back to their home countries citing a public health crisis, the pandemic. It's set to end on May 23rd. Many people are worried now about a possible surge in border crossings once it's lifted. Already last month saw the highest monthly number of migrants arrested at the southern border with roughly 221,000 encounters.
PAUL: And so let's dig a little deeper here because officials in San Antonio, Texas, for instance say they are already dealing with a surge in migrants. The city's mayor is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to take immediate action, stating since last month more than 600 people have been staying in shelters, sleeping at the airport, or the city park. Here's CNN's Rosa Flores.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This park in downtown San Antonio has turned into a waiting area.
(on camera): How many days have you been in San Antonio?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven. Seven days.
FLORES: Seven days?
(voice-over): For migrants who are exempt from Title 42, the pandemic order that allows immigration agents to swiftly return migrants to Mexico, among those who are exempt, an electric engineer, a paramedic and professional artist.
(on camera): Can you live off that?
(voice-over): They say they earn between $2.00 and $4.00 a month in their home countries of Venezuela and Cuba. The city mayor, a Democrat, recently sending a letter to the Biden administration sounding the alarm about the unsustainable increase of migrants. His administration warning that if Title 42 lifts, the city's ability to meet the humanitarian need could be limited.
(on camera): DHS estimates that thousands more migrants could arrive at the border. Would you be ready to serve that many more migrants?
KATIE MYERS, INTERFAITH WELCOME COALITION, BUS STATION COORDINATOR: It is daunting.
FLORES: Katie Myers from Interfaith Welcome Coalition says that on average between 150 and 200 migrant arrive at this bus station every day. Many with cell phones, the migrants say, issued and geolocated by the U.S. government.
(on camera): It said, take a picture of yourself.
(voice-over): Some migrants confused about how to use the devices to check in with immigration officials using facial recognition technology, an alternative to detention rolled out by the Biden administration. Another 300 to 500 migrants being dropped off at the airport every day, says Myers. The latest spike, she says, started in mid-March.
(on camera): How many of you had money to buy a ticket to get to your destination?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
FLORES: No?
(voice-over): And it came with a new challenge. Migrants are arriving with no plan and no money. The result, sleeping at the park.
(on camera): About how many people have slept in the park?
MYERS: There might have been 20 or 25 men --
FLORES (voice-over): Per night, says Myers. That's why Pastor Gavin Rogers says he recently opened a shelter at Travis Park Church. You see mostly men here because women with children are placed in hotels, he says.
PASTOR GAVIN ROGERS, TRAVIS PARK CHURCH: They can shower. They can eat. They can receive the proper food and they can wait safely until they get through San Antonio.
FLORES: On average, between 50 and 150 migrants sleep here every night, says Rogers, a nonprofit filling in the gaps for the federal government.
ROGERS: It falls on to nonprofits and municipalities that really are kind of indifferent to the local or national politics but have to find a local solution.
[06:30:07]
FLORES: U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar represents this area and he's bucking his party on Title 42, saying the Biden administration's intent to end the policy --
REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): -- would be a mistake.
FLORES: So, when you asked the White House for a plan, what do they say?
CUELLAR: Well, they said they have a plan. And I saw --
FLORES: Did they share the plan?
CUELLAR: They said, we're going to notify the non-profits that more people are coming. That's not a plan. That's just a notification. They said we're going to bring some of the agents from the northern border over here. That's only temporary.
FLORES: Most migrants stay in San Antonio a few nights. Jessy Amaya has been here 21 days. He says he's waiting for his wife who is still in Mexico waiting to cross.
What's your biggest worry?
JESSY AMAYA, MIGRANT FROM VENEZUELA (through translator): Her physical safety.
FLORES: He says he plans to wait for her in San Antonio, the place they hope to call home. So, what is the mayor of San Antonio asking the federal government
for? First of all, more resources and also a heads up before the federal government drops off an increasing number of migrants in his city? Rosa Flores, CNN San Antonio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Rosa, thank you so much.
So, if you are no longer a teenager like myself, I feel you, will remember those years and they're hard years, right? Well, imagine spending some of those years living in a warzone. We have a story you are not going to want to miss. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Ukrainian officials say that satellite images showing mass graves on the outskirts of the city of Mariupol is mounting proof of Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians.
PAUL: Yes, CNN Ed Lavandera actually spoke to one Ukrainian teenager about the horrors of what he has seen and experienced through all this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Hidden behind a row of homes in the town of Borodyanka, Ukrainian police exhume the bodies of nine civilians killed by Russian soldiers. They're documenting evidence of war crimes. This mother stands over her son's body left in a makeshift grave.
On the other side of the graves, we notice Ivan Onufrienko staring quietly at the grave of another victim.
One of your friends is buried here?
Ivan says his friend was killed by Russian shrapnel as she tried to escape the city. The cross bearing Katya's name was made by his grandfather who dug this shallow grave because they couldn't store the bodies at the hospital.
IVAN ONUFRIENKO, BORODYANKA RESIDENT (through translator): I can't take this well when I see this. I cry, but I'm not showing this. I feel weak, weak because I cannot do anything.
LAVANDERA: Ivan is 16 years old. In two months of war, he's witnessed the innocence of childhood die before his eyes. Watching Ivan makes you wonder how a teenage mind copes with the horror in front of him. His family says to understand we must see what they experienced.
Ivan's family never left this backyard shed for more than 30 days while Russian troops occupied the city. Ivan's grandfather and father showed us how they survived on nothing but homemade bread.
So, basically, they would take the grain, the raw grain, and grind it down into flour or a version of flour, and then they would make their own bread in this oven. And that's what they lived on for more than a month.
Five adults and four children hid in this underground bunker. This is where Ivan heard weeks of artillery blast and cries for help, the sounds of war that will haunt survivors forever.
ONUFRIENKO (through translator): I slept here, my sister and my mom slept here, and another family slept here too. We tried to curl up and sleep here together. Sometimes when things got really scary, our dads would come down and stay with us.
LAVANDERA: Ivan's grandfather says he says Russian soldiers told him the family would be killed if they tried to escape. Police say more than 50 people were killed here, many of them shot as they tried to run away. The death toll is expected to climb.
How frightening was this experience for you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): I can't express it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): It's war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text):It's war. It is scary. WE never felt anything like that. They were hitting everything, smashing it.
LAVANDERA: Serge is stoic as we talked about surviving the Russian siege, but there's one question that pierces his heart.
Do you worry about your grandchildren witnessing this war?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): I don't have words for that, do you understand?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): The little ones can forget, but the older ones will remember always.
LAVANDERA: Grandfather and father know their children will never be the same.
Why do you feel it was important to be here at this moment?
ONUFRIENKO (through translator): So people can see for themselves. The whole world should see how the Russian world comes and kill civilians for nothing.
LAVANDERA: When you get older, what do you think you'll remember about this moment and this day?
[06:40:03]
ONUFRIENKO (through translator): I'll remember everything. I'll remember every day. And I will tell my children and my grandchildren. I will remember this all my life.
LAVANDERA: He's a teenager who refuses to look away from the raw reality of this war. Ed Lavandera, CNN Borodyanka, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Thanks to Ed Lavandera for that report.
Russian opposition leader and fierce Vladimir Putin critic Alexey Navalny has now been in jail for more than a year. The new CNN film, Navalny, focuses on how he ended up there after surviving an alleged murder attempt, and then in a surreal sequence, tracking down his own would-be assassins.
PAUL: And you'll hear CNN Senior National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt with a closer look at how Navalny became one of President Putin's greatest enemies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): There is no greater antagonist or political threat in Russia to Vladimir Putin than Alexey Navalny. As a result, the 45- year-old opposition leader is now languishing in a Russian penal colony serving a combined sentence of more than 11 years in prison.
ALEXEY NAVALNY, OPPOSITION LEADER, RUSSIA: I understand how system work in Russia. I understand that Putin hates me.
MARQUARDT: Navalny's imprisonment is the culmination of more than a decade of activism, of being a thorn in Putin side. He was a blogger and a lawyer who emerged in 2008 exposing corruption at some Russian state-owned companies.
NAVALNY (through translator): The Putin regime is built on corruption and Putin himself is the most corrupt.
MARQUARDT: In 2011, after allegations that parliamentary elections were rigged in favor of Putin's political party, Navalny rose to prominence as a leader in the large-scale protests. Over the years, he was repeatedly arrested, evidence of a growing popularity that threatened the Russian establishments grip on power.
His shining rise somewhat complicated in his early days with cooperation and marching alongside other anti-Putin forces which included members of far-right nationalist groups. Navalny justifies it now by saying a broad coalition is needed to fight a totalitarian regime.
In 2013, he ran for mayor of Moscow and lost to Putin's favorite candidate. The same year, he was also convicted of embezzlement, a conviction which he called trumped-up that would prevent him from running for president against Putin in 2018.
Two years later, in August 2020, he boarded a flight from the central Russian city of Tomsk to Moscow. Soon, his cries were heard throughout the cabin. Navalny knew exactly what had happened.
NAVALNY: I turned over to the flight attendant and said him I was poisoned. I'm gonna die.
MARQUARDT: He'd been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent called Novichok. He was flown to Germany for treatment. A joint investigation by CNN and the investigative group Bellingcat uncovered the team of agents from the FSB, the successor to the KGB, that had tracked and followed Navalny for years before the poisoning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it your contention that Vladimir Putin must have been aware of this?
NAVALNY: Of course, 100 percent.
MARQUARDT: CNN Clarissa Ward and her team confronted a member of the FSB's toxin team Oleg Tayakin at his apartment on the outskirts of Moscow.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: My name is Clarissa Ward. I work for CNN. Can I ask you a couple of questions? Was it your team that poisoned Navalny, please?
MARQUARDT: Five months after his poisoning, Navalny returned to Russia knowing what awaited him.
NAVALNY: I will go back because I'm Russian politician. I belong to this country. I would never give Putin such a gift.
MARQUARDT: He was arrested on arrival. In prison, he started a hunger strike. He was initially sentenced to two and a half years for violating his probation. Then another nine were added for fraud and contempt of court charges, which Putin critics say are clearly political. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Alex Marquardt, thank you. It really is an incredible story and you will not want to miss the CNN film Navalny tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:45:00]
PAUL: 48 minutes past the hour. We're so glad to have you with us here. You know, former Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, the longest serving Republican senator in U.S. history has passed away.
SANCHEZ: Hatch left Washington in 2019 after he served in the Senate for 42 years. CNN's Ryan Nobles has a look back at his long career in politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you solemnly swear -- RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): He was one of the longest-
serving Republican senators in the Chamber's history. Orrin Hatch spent more than four decades crafting a legacy of unwavering conservative ideals.
The grandson of Mormon settlers, Hatch grew up in a poor mill town outside of Pittsburgh. Tragedy struck his life early when his older brother died in World War II.
ORRIN HATCH, FORMER REPUBLICAN SENATOR: I got a white stripe in my hair right here because it just affected me so drastically.
NOBLES: In the late 60s, Hatch moved to Utah where he practiced law and raised a family. In 1976, he won a seat to the U.S. Senate arguing the incumbent three-term Senator had served too long. But that first term turned into a lifelong career and the Senate, he said, into something of a family.
[06:50:12]
HATCH: We may get very partisan from time to time, we may fight each other very hard, we may get irritated with each other, we might scream and shove. But, you know, we look towards the person. We're looking towards somebody who's a member of the family.
NOBLES: Over his seven terms in the Senate, Hatch favored corporate tax cuts, limited government deregulation, and military spending. He consistently voted against gay rights, abortion, and stricter gun laws.
HATCH: I believe in the Second Amendment and the right to keep them --
NOBLES: But despite his ardent conservatism, Hatch occasionally reached across the aisle supporting AIDS Education, the DREAM Act, and stem cell research. In 2000, he made a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
HATCH: The reason I'm running for president is because I have more experience and all the rest of these candidates for President put together.
NOBLES: But he lost to George W. Bush. As the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Hatch ushered in the 2017 tax cuts and jobs act.
HATCH: This is a great day for America because they were going to pass a pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-America bill.
NOBLES: The bill was lauded as the biggest tax code change in three decades and criticized for favoring corporations and the wealthy.
HATCH: I come from the poor people. And I've been here working my whole stinking career for people who don't have a chance. And I really resent anybody saying that I'm just doing this for the rich. Give me a break. NOBLES: Critics also blasted him for helping President Trump dismantle the Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah. A devout Mormon, Hatch was a prolific writer of religious music, composing over 300 songs during his lifetime.
HATCH: For over 40 years, I've had the great honor of serving as your senator.
NOBLES: Hatch announced his retirement in 2018 shortly after his hometown newspaper, the Salt Lake Tribune, called for him to step down.
HATCH: I've always been a fighter. But every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves.
NOBLES: Orrin Hatch, a lifelong public servant who chose a path of faith and tradition.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Thanks to Ryan Nobles for that.
It is being called a classless display at the ballpark. One ballplayer nearly climbing into the stands after Yankee fans trashed the field even when their team won. Your sports update in a few minutes. Stay with us.
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[06:55:00]
PAUL: Well, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Brooklyn Nets down the verge of getting swept right out of the playoffs at this point.
SANCHEZ: Yes, let's bring in Coy Wire. Coy, I hate to count up the Nets. Kyrie and K.D. on the ropes unexpected.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris. The Nets were preseason favorites to win it all, but the Brooklyn boys ran into a buzzsaw in Boston as defense, out hustling, outplaying them. Brooklyn already down 0-2 in the series hoping some homecourt cooking could correct some things in game three, but Jason Tatum was all up in their kitchen, smothering defense, leaving one of the most talented duos to ever play in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving frustrated yet again, just 16 points apiece for them.
Tatum monster on offense too leading with 39 points, the first postseason Celtics player ever with at least 35 points, five boards, five assists, and five steals. Boston wins 109-103. The Mighty Nets just one loss away from getting booted in round one.
MLB now. Detroit's Miguel Cabrera joining one of the most elite clubs in baseball. First inning, home crowd, he becomes just the 33rd player ever with 3000 hits, the first from Venezuela. He's just the third player to do it while hitting 500 homers with a career batting average over 300. The others were Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Swarmed by former and current teammates, roaring crowd, his family
there to share the moment. The 39-year-old said afterwards, he was so nervous he couldn't feel his legs, Borris and Christi. And he was even more happier that his team got to win.
Meanwhile, ugly scene at Yankee Stadium. Fans reportedly heckling Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan after he got hurt running into a wall there. But his teammate Miles Strong was livid about this, scaling the wall saying afterwards that some of the stuff that was being said to Kwan wasn't going to fly with him. I mean, we don't ever see this in sports do we?
Following Gleyber Torres' walk-off hit then in this Yankees when we see the fans turn it up a notch, throwing all kinds of objects onto the field at Cleveland players. And you'll even see here that Yankee stars Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, they're running out to tell them, hey, knock it off. This is not cool.
Stanton backed down after the game, Boris and Christi, calling the fan base classes. Of course, this isn't representative of all Yankee fans, but certainly not a good look for the fans there yesterday.
SANCHEZ: No, it's not pretty. I will ignore that and congratulate Miguel Cabrera, one of my favorite players growing up, former Florida Marlins, amazing accomplishment. 3000 hits, more than 500 home runs, an exclusive club.
WIRE: Yes, getting Miggy with it. Great day indeed.
PAUL: Nice, Coy.
SANCHEZ: Coy Wire, thank you so much. The next hour of NEW DAY starts right now.
[07:00:00]
