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Iran Vows Revenge After Deadly Attack on Consulate in Syria; Ugandan Court Upholds Harsh Anti-LGBTQ Law; FDA Clears First Prescription App for Depression; Iowa-LSU Matchup Breaks Rating Record for Women's Basketball Game. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired April 03, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Fallout from the Israel-Hamas war is spilling out across the region and raising fears of a broader conflict. Iran is now vowing to respond after accusing Israel of bombing its consulate in Syria on Monday. At least a dozen people were killed there.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon said the U.S. assessment was that Israel carried out that airstrike. The White House is warning Iran, though, against any retaliatory strikes against American forces in the region, because Tehran says that it holds the U.S., quote, answerable for this attack because of its support for Israel.

CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us now with the latest from Beirut. Ben, what is going on with Iran and this retaliatory promise? What's the latest there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, the Iranians have only spoken and not acted. But certainly tensions are rising despite the focus on the situation in Gaza. Today, for instance, we heard reports that the spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ramazan Sharif, said that soon we will deal deadlier blows to the Zionist regime.

Now, we have also heard from other senior Iranian officials that revenge is coming. They're not talking about time, place, method or target. But certainly it does appear that the Israelis are taking measures in the event that something does happen today.

It was announced by the Israeli military that they are calling up reserves for their air defenses. It's believed in response to fears about Iranian retaliation.

And we heard Yoav Galant, the Israeli defense minister today, who was in Haifa, in northern Israel, inspecting a home front command drill. And he said that we are expanding our operations against Hezbollah and are prepared for any scenario. And, of course, Hezbollah is closely connected to Iran. So it does appear that there is rising tension about the situation on the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Keep in mind that since the beginning of the war in Gaza, about 90,000 Lebanese have fled the south of the country as a result of the fire between Israel and Hezbollah. And a similar number on the Israeli side have also fled their homes and taken refuge in safer areas. So there are concerns that if there is a flare up, that flare up indirectly between Iran and Israel could happen on the border between Israel and Lebanon -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Ben Wedeman live for us from Beirut. Thank you so much, Ben.

Still ahead, a Ugandan court upholding one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world. Many expressing concern as the LGBTQ plus community there fights for their rights.

Plus, more bird flu is halted production at the nation's largest producer of fresh eggs. What the health risk could be to consumers.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Uganda's constitutional court today ruled to uphold a draconian law that outlaws gay marriage. The Anti-Homosexuality Act also punishes same-sex acts with life imprisonment. Even the death penalty in some cases. Petitioners challenging the law argued that it violated their constitutional rights.

CNN's David McKenzie is following this story for us and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Human rights activists and lawyers are deeply disappointed in the decision of the constitutional court in Uganda to unanimously uphold a draconian anti- LGBTQ law that calls for a life sentence in some cases, even the death penalty in certain circumstances for the LGBTQ community in Uganda.

Now, there were two aspects of the law that the judges said could be thrown out, including issues of privacy and health. But in the main, they let it stand. Despite the incredible pressure coming from Western governments and others, ever since President Museveni signed the law last year.

And extensive reporting by CNN has shown that LGBTQ Ugandans have been harassed, evicted and beaten and in some cases even had to flee their country to seek asylum elsewhere because of the conditions in Uganda.

[15:40:03]

Now, it's likely the lawyers will appeal this ruling at the Supreme Court.

David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to David McKenzie for that update -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Now, to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour.

At least 29 people were killed in a huge fire at a nightclub in Turkey overnight. The nightclub identified as Masquerade Club in Istanbul was undergoing renovations at the time and all of the victims were reportedly construction workers.

Turkish officials say eight people have been arrested in connection with the fire, reportedly including the nightclub's business manager and the nightclub's accountant.

Also, the largest producer of fresh eggs in the U.S. has halted production at a plant in Texas after bird flu was found in chickens there. Cal-Main Foods says roughly two million hens that they had to destroy them at their facility near Amarillo, Texas. But they say there is no known risk with the eggs that are currently on the market.

And a main couple is turning two once in a lifetime events into one giant celebration, their wedding and the total solar eclipse. Chris Selmick and Stephanie Sennett will tie the knot next Monday when the moon is set to pass between the sun and the Earth, temporarily blocking the sun's light.

They say they're embracing the celestial theme throughout their ceremony with eclipse glasses as part of the dress code and their walk down the aisle during the moment of totality.

And you don't need an invite. Well, this is your invite, actually, to join our coverage of the eclipse, because we are going to have a good time.

We have special live coverage of the eclipse across America. That's going to start live next Monday at 1:00 Eastern. And you can also stream it on Max.

Still ahead, a first of its kind treatment for depression online. The new app that now has the green light from the FDA.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The FDA has just signed off on the first prescription digital therapy for major depressive disorder. Rejoyn uses a six-week therapy program, and it's meant to be used with prescription medication. CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell has the details for us. So, Meg, how does this work?

MED TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, we know that millions of Americans have major depressive disorder, and many don't get enough benefit from antidepressant medications. So this is a prescription app that has been cleared through the FDA's sort of medical device pathway. And what it does is it's a six-week program that offers cognitive behavioral training and sort of emotional exercises to try to improve how people are doing as they're additionally taking antidepressant medications. Now, it's being offered by a pharmaceutical company called Otsuka, which itself sells antidepressant medications. It is not yet available, and we don't yet know what the price is going to be or if it'll be covered by insurance. And that's a major question for this app and other digital sort of medical tools.

We have seen that insurance coverage hasn't necessarily always been great because people in the field, doctors often have questions about how great the benefits will be. And that's what we're hearing about this as well. The company says that in a clinical trial, it did improve symptoms of major depressive disorder over time.

But there are questions about just the magnitude of that benefit. So this is expected to be available toward the end of this year, and it'll be interesting to see what the uptake is going to be and how much it can help -- guys.

SANCHEZ: And Meg, shifting gears, there's a new study that takes a look at irregular work hours and how they can hurt your health even years later. What are you learning about that?

TIRRELL: Yes, this is a really interesting study, because it doesn't just look at sort of what we know about, you know, having a tough work schedule where you may not be sleeping regular hours. We know that that can cause health problems and disrupted sleep.

But this study actually looked at the effects of that over a long period of time, between people's ages of 22 and then up to 50. And they looked at health outcomes at age 50, and they found that people who had sort of volatile or variable work schedules were more likely at the age of 50 to report less sleep, a lower quality of sleep, lower physical and mental function, and a higher likelihood of reporting poor health or depressive symptoms. And they saw differences in the data based on demographics, like women were more likely to have these experiences, people who are Black and people with lower education levels.

And so they're saying as our work schedules are shifting, unfortunately, ever more in some cases to be sort of more fragmented in terms of how much sleep we can get. This is something we need to be paying attention to in terms of our health.

SANCHEZ: Sleep is so critical. Meg Tirrell, thanks so much for the update.

Still ahead, women's college basketball has gotten more popular than ever. Next, a look at just how many people are watching. A surprising number to bring you after a quick break.

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SANCHEZ: We leave you today with an update from the sports world. LSU basketball star Angel Reese says she is taking her talents from college to the WNBA. It comes after her team's loss to the University of Iowa in the Elite Eight on Monday.

The game may have been a loss for Reese, but really it was a win for women's basketball.

KEILAR: That's right. The women's tournament is breaking ratings records, thanks in large part to stars like Reese and, of course, stars like Iowa's Caitlin Clark. Their showdown on Sunday drew an audience of 12.3 million, according to ESPN. And that set the all-time record for a women's college basketball game on the channel and was more people than watched the clinching game, get this, of last year's World Series. Isn't that amazing? Or all but one of the five games in last year's NBA finals.

That's crazy, isn't it?

SANCHEZ: It is.

KEILAR: An impressive accomplishment for the rematch of last year's final in the women's tournament. And next up, Caitlin Clark and the University of Iowa taking on UConn in the final four from Cleveland on Friday night.

And get this, Axios reporting the cheapest ticket to the women's college basketball championship game this year, 61 percent more expensive than the cheapest ticket to the men's championship game.

[15:55:02]

SANCHEZ: It is not inexpensive to go check out these games. And seeing the women's game flourish the way that it has is inspiring. Caitlin Clark is --

KEILAR: I mean, amazing.

SANCHEZ: -- she's great.

KEILAR: Isn't she? She's just such a great -- and also the personality they're bringing.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: People pay attention to the drama in these games. And, you know, someone like Angel Reese, she's going to be such a face in the WNBA with that same personality.

SANCHEZ: And you could bet that when they both get to the WNBA, it might be like Magic and Bird, shades of that.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.