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IDF Tells Palestinians in Eastern Rafah to Evacuate Immediately; Four-Year-Old Boy Dies After Being Swept Away By Texas Floodwaters; Soon, Trump Returns to New York Court for Hush Money Trial Week Four. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 06, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

AYESHA RASCOE, NPR HOST, WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY AND UP FIRST: So, maybe this is clearly her. I think she wanted to sound tough, and like, yes, I'm a woman, but I will do those hard things.

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: If that was what was going on, I mean, the Trump team has clearly been very put -- I mean, they don't want anything to do with this anymore.

RASCOE: I think it didn't work. I think she should have ran it past them first. And, I mean, I don't think Trump likes this type of press.

HUNT: I think I'm going to have to start collecting everyone's dog photos, so that when we wrap up this segment, she's set up talking about tragedies. We're enjoying our own canine friends.

I'm sorry, it's 7:00. We have to wrap up here. Thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt.

CNN News Central starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Evacuate immediately the warning now from the Israeli military telling an estimated 100,000 civilians to get out of Eastern Rafah in Gaza right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Warnings of long-track tornadoes and giant hail. Millions of Americans are under a severe weather threat today. And we now know the historic flooding over the last several days in Texas has turned deadly.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Dramatic, disturbing video. A gunman pulls the trigger on a pastor in the middle of services. What happened next to save lives?

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sarah Sidner. It's Monday, and this is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: Happening right now, as many as 100,000 people in Gaza are being told to get out of Eastern Rafah. The Israeli military is preparing, it appears, for a possible and long-anticipated ground offensive in the southern Gaza city. In the last hour, we've seen smoke rising over part of the area, unclear right now why and what it is from. However, the IDF has been dropping leaflets to alert civilians warning Palestinians to evacuate immediately, with a map showing them where to go to find safety.

Also happening right now, the hostage and ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas this morning are stalled once again, all of this interconnected. This is just after there was a brief moment of optimism, of progress at the end of last week.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem, Arlette Saenz is at the White House.

Jeremy, what are you learning about what Israel is planning and what they're saying right now?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for weeks now, we have been anticipating the possibility of a ground offensive in Rafah, and what we are seeing now with these leaflets being dropped on a part of Eastern Rafah certainly appears to be setting the stage for a major Israeli ground offensive into that city.

The Israeli military insists that this is a limited-scale operation, but make no mistake that we did not expect the entire city of Rafah to be evacuated all at once, nor did we expect Israeli troops to begin moving into that entire city in one large-scale offensive. Instead, what we have been anticipating is a ground offensive as well as an evacuation that would take place in stages.

And so early this morning, the Israeli military began dropping leaflets on Eastern Rafah, where an estimated 100,000 people are currently living, asking those individuals to begin evacuating. The Israeli military has also said that it has issued text messages as well as phone calls to tell people to evacuate. They are telling them to evacuate northwards to the Al-Mawasi area, which has been a designated safe zone. They have also expanded that area, the Israeli military says, to cover parts of Western Khan Younis as well as Northern Rafah, where we have seen them beginning to set up more tents.

But now the major question, Kate, is whether or not enough has been done to adequately receive the number of people who have begun to flee Rafah this morning. The Israeli military says that they have fixed a major water line to that area. They have begun to set up field hospitals and allowed in more food, water and medicine. But there are major questions about whether or not it is adequate for the population that is fleeing there.

UNRWA's Gaza director says that that area is, quote, not quite suitable for habitation and he also expressed concern that the beginning of these evacuations, that panic could spread beyond that area of Eastern Rafah that has been ordered to evacuate to much larger portions of Rafah, where more than a million people are currently living.

The concern being that if that panic spreads and too many people leave Rafah all at once for that humanitarian zone, it simply will not be able to handle the number of people who are fleeing there, but all of this, of course, happening because those ceasefire negotiations over the weekend appear to have stalled. They are not dead all together.

And there is some hope, I can tell you, from Israeli officials that this the early stages of this Rafah push could perhaps convince Hamas to change its position.

[07:05:04]

But it's clear at this point that the question of ending the war is the major sticking point in these negotiations. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Jeremy, thank you so much for being there and for your continued reporting.

Arlette, let me bring you in now from the White House. What are you hearing from the Biden administration about this right now? We know we have been hearing warnings from top cabinet officials about what this ground offensive could mean without proper evacuation for weeks now.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, there's no question that the White House is watching these latest moves from Israel relating to Rafah incredibly closely. It comes as the Biden administration and President Biden himself had also warned that any Israeli operation in to Rafah must also take into account the more than 1 million civilians who are currently in that area.

U.S. officials have been speaking over the recent weeks with Israeli officials about what plans they might have in place to ensure the protection and safety and evacuation of those civilians. On Friday, we reported that the Israelis had recently briefed the U.S. on their thinking relating to evacuating civilians out of Rafah, but sources stress that what was presented did not represent a final plan or provide full insight into what a military operation would look like. So, certainly, the White House has expressed concern about what could happen in Rafah, and they'll certainly be seeking more answers from the Israelis about their intentions and their plans there.

Now, over the weekend, we also learned that the U.S. paused a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that this does not have to do with any potential invasion into Rafah, and it won't affect shipments going forward. But there are real questions about why they paused this shipment. A bit earlier today, Senator Chris Coons, a key member of the Foreign Relations Committee, suggested that it could be due to some logistical issues.

Now, this is all playing out against the backdrop of those ceasefire and hostage negotiations, which Jeremy was just speaking about. CIA Director Bill Burns had been in Cairo for these talks. He traveled on to Doha and remains there today. He had met with the Qatari prime minister and was set to travel to Israel, but will remain in Doha. And it comes as the administration had really been striking an optimistic tone, expressing some hope about the prospects of this potential deal. But at this time, it appears that things have stalled for a bit with both the Israelis and Hamas leaders blaming each other for what they view as extreme views.

Now, President Biden today will have lunch here at the White House with King Abdullah of Jordan, someone who has expressed some concerns about the situation in Gaza. So, we will see what the president might have to say as he meets with the Jordanian king. But certainly, they will be watching the situation that's developing in Rafah very closely as they've expressed concern about the path forward.

BOLDUAN: Arlette at the White House, thank you so much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Back here in the U.S. new this morning, tragedy in North Texas, floodwater snatch a four-year-old from his parents, the little boy's body recovered on Sunday. He's there, really cute. More than 200 people were rescued after flooded areas from Hurricane Harvey levels. But conditions are improving just a bit this morning after streets and neighborhoods were inundated by heavy rainfall.

CNN's for Rosa Flores is in Harris County, Texas. Rosa, what more can you tell us about that little boy, four years old, and what exactly happened?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, it's just such a tragic story. The boy's mother spoke to NBC DFW and she says that her son's name is Lucas Warren. She says that the family mom, dad and son were headed home, but they were headed home during the storm. There were floodwaters. They said that they were headed home on a road that normally floods, but there was no barricade.

But they were driving through those floodwaters and eventually their car battery died. Then water started going into their vehicle and so this couple decided to get out of the car to try to get to safety. Mom grabbed little Lucas and she says that she treaded water with her son for a while. And then she told NBC DFW, quote, and a current came up really high and just let go. And I didn't hear anything from him. I think he just went under.

Now, this mom is devastated. She says that rescuers arrived just minutes later, but it, of course, was too late for this little boy. She says that his body was found hours later. She describes her little boy as being sweet and just a bright little boy and that he was weeks from turning five years old.

Now, this tragic story happened near Dallas. I'm in Harris County, which is near Houston. And it's the same weather system that people there are battling with, that people here where I am are battling with.

[07:10:03]

Just yesterday, we hopped on an airboat with the Harris County Sheriff's Office. We have video of this. Take a look and I want you to take a close look at the water levels because it's going to be relevant here in a moment when I reference it again. You can see that stop signs were at eye level.

Now, these first responders had been going door to door, asking people if they wanted to be taken to higher ground to safety. And they tell me that one of the most difficult parts of their job is when they stretch their arms to an individual and that individual refuses to be taken to safety.

With that said, since Wednesday, this team rescued nearly 100 people and not just the residents from this area, but also their pets. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. DAVID JASPER, HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: They did one rescue and the guy handed us a box with a litter of puppies in it and then an ice cooler that was full of kittens. And, you know, I mean, I guess they're -- well, not I guess. I know that their pets are like family members to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: And, Sara, just to give you a sense of how quickly the water has receded, that video that you saw of that team in the airboat, we were on the airboat with them, it's the same area where I'm standing right now. You can see, you know, some puddle the water behind me, but this is the same area.

And that tells the story because just how water recedes this quickly, it also rises very quickly. And that's what makes it so dangerous. And that is one of the reasons that that tragic story near Dallas happened, that little boy who died and, of course, now making this weather event a deadly event here in Texas. Back to you, Sara.

SIDNER: It's hard not to think about that four-year-old little boy, Lucas. Thank you so much, Rosa Flores. Our hearts go out to his family. John?

BERMAN: All right. After the bombshell testimony of longtime aide Hope Hicks, what is next in the criminal trial of Donald Trump? Could we hear from Stormy Daniels today?

An investigation launched at the University of Mississippi after accusations of racist gestures toward a black student.

And is this the strangest damage control of all time? South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, fresh off the controversial story over killing her dog, says another famous dog should be killed too.

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[07:15:00]

BERMAN: A new week in the criminal trial of Donald Trump set to begin this morning. Let's get to the court. CNN's Brynn Gingras standing by outside there. Brynn, what do we expect today after the really dramatic testimony of Hope Hicks as the day closed on Friday?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, dramatic is the word, John. I feel like it might have been the most dramatic testimony that we have yet seen in this trial. But Hope Hicks really kind of helping both sides as we've sort of seen with some of these witnesses.

She really took us inside the campaign before Trump's election in 2016, kind of showing jurors sort of the crisis mode that they entered once that Access Hollywood tape came out, also when The Wall Street Journal article came out about Karen McDougal and a little bit of mention in there about Stormy Daniels, there was an email that was shown to jurors where she told her camp, deny, deny, deny.

Also, she didn't tell jurors or acknowledge for the prosecution that she knew of any hush money payment that was paid to either of those women. But she did say that Cohen wouldn't make a payment out of the kindness of his own heart. He would have had to have done it at the direction of someone else, obviously hinting towards Donald Trump.

And then she got emotional, John. She actually started crying on the stand a little bit and had to take a little bit of a break before really right as cross-examination was starting up. And so court took a little bit of break. She came back on. She acknowledged really at the top of this that she was very nervous about testifying. She was there under subpoena.

And when the defense was asking their question, she really painted the former president as a family man, someone who valued Mrs. Trump's opinion, someone who didn't want to cause any embarrassment for his family, really helping the defense show that it's possible maybe these payments were paid not to interfere with the election, but rather because he was concerned about his family's perception of him.

And she also talked about Michael Cohen. Of course, we know this as a key witness in this trial. She kind of dug at him a little bit more as we have seen in this defense tactic, talking about how he was this person who sort of inserted himself into the campaign, how he would frustrate the members of the campaign, saying this, that Cohen liked to call himself a fixer or Mr. Fix It, and it was only because he first broke it that he was then able to fix it. So, interesting kind of quote there.

So, she's off the stand. We don't know again who is going to be coming up next, but certainly it's going to be an eventful week, four days of court this week. And we know, of course, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, a lot of people's names on that list who could possibly take the stand this week. It starts up again, John, at 9:30.

BERMAN: Yes, some big names still to come. All right, Brynn Gingras, thank you very much.

And perhaps the most important thing Hope Hicks says is that Donald Trump said it was better that the Stormy Daniels news broke after the election than before. That could be one of the key points for the prosecution case, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Coming up still for us, an investigation at Ole Miss, the school now looking into actions of quote hostility and racist overtones after what was seen on video during demonstrations on campus.

[07:20:08]

And the lawyer whose relationship landed the Fulton County D.A. in court, he is now speaking out. Why he says their relationship was as American as apple pie.

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BOLDUAN: Ole Miss has opened an investigation after a confrontation between pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protesters on the school's campus, officials citing allegations of offensive and hurtful language and, quote, hostility and racist overtones being portrayed during the heated exchanges.

[07:25:02]

One video in particular shows a group of mostly white men in the counter-protest yelling at a black woman.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now with much more on this. Rafael, tell us more.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, there are multiple videos circulating online showing the protest at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, but there's one video in particular that has gone viral and it's at the center of the controversy.

Before I show you the video, we need to warn our viewers that it may be offensive to some people.

As you can see, the video shows a group of mostly young white men in the counter-protest yelling at a black woman. At least one counter- protester is seen on video and appears to be making gestures at the woman.

We now know who the woman in the video is. Her name is Jalen Smith. She's 24 years old. She confirmed to CNN that she's the woman seen in the video.

Smith said that during the protest, pro-Palestinian demonstrators were kept in an enclosure, which police said was for their safety. She also said that she briefly stepped out of the enclosure to go live on social media and that's when the confrontation took place.

CNN has made efforts but has not identified any of the counter- protesters seen in the video.

We've also learned that the University of Mississippi has opened an investigation into student conduct but didn't say who or what they were specifically investigating. In a letter, Chancellor Glenn Boyce says university officials are aware that some statements made were offensive, hurtful and unacceptable, including actions that conveyed hostility and racist overtones.

Smith tells CNN she said some insults back to the counter-protesters but adds the following quote. People calling me fat or Lizzo didn't hurt my feelings because I know what I am. I am so confident in my blackness. I am so confident in my size and the way that I wear my hair and who I am. They do not bother me. If anything, I felt pity for them for how stupidly they acted.

The controversy, Kate, took another turn when U.S. Representative Mike Collins, a Republican representing parts of Georgia, shared the viral video on next, the following day, saying Ole Miss taking care of business.

CNN has reached out to Collins' office but there hasn't been an answer so far. And then on Saturday, Congressman Collins' tweet prompted the NAACP to send a letter to congressional leadership asking for an investigation into Collins' conduct.

And part of the letter says the following. These actions conducted by a member of the House of Representatives, regardless of intent, legitimize and propagate racism and undermine the principles of equality and justice that our government is sworn to uphold.

Some of our viewers may remember that the University of Mississippi has a long history of racial incidents, including the deadly riots that broke out there in 1962 when James Meredith became the first black student to enroll at the school.

Kate, back to you.

BOLDUAN: Rafael, thank you for the reporting. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Still ahead, they went on a vacation in Mexico and ended up dead. What happened to them? Mexican authorities are revealing more about what happened to the three surfers.

And a warning to millions in the Central U.S. Multiple, intense, long- track tornadoes, giant hail and severe winds are likely coming your way. The areas that need to be prepared, that's ahead.

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