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Connect the World
Fresh Attacks in Kyiv and Just Inside Russia; Debt Limit Deal Heads to President Biden After Passing Senate; Kenya Religious Cult Leader Appears in Court; Mexico Police Find 45 Bags with Body Parts; Mystery Illness Devastating Sea Urchins and Coral; U.S. and South Korean Troops Train Near North Korean Border; Settlement Reached in "Rust" Wrongful Death Lawsuit. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired June 02, 2023 - 10:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:28]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christina Macfarlane live from London. This is CONNECT THE WORLD.
Coming up this hour, underground in Ukraine. These residents take cover as Russian missiles and drones target their city once again.
A chilling case in Kenya. The preacher behind an alleged starvation cult where hundreds died appears in court.
And small, ugly but vital to the coral ecosystem. Why are black urchins dying off the coast of Israel?
And these Nuggets proves that they can take the heat.
In Russia's war on Ukraine, we are seeing fresh attacks on both sides of the border. Ukraine says it destroyed more than 30 drones and missiles over
Kyiv. The capital has been the focus of Russia's forces with relentless attacks this past month. These people here hoping to find safety in a
subway station. Shelling killed two people in Russia's border Belgorod region. That's where we're seeing increasing attacks and incursions. Fuel
and energy facilities were also targeted in Russia's west.
CNN's Sam Kiley is following all of these developments for us from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Sam, Kyiv itself continuing to be in bombarded by Russian shelling. I think this attack overnight the 16th or 17th they've had this month. And shelling
increasing, too, as they're saying, in the Russian region of Belgorod. How much are the pattern of attacks changing here on both sides of the border,
Sam?
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think you're right in that the focus from the Russian perspective for more than a month
now has overwhelmingly been on trying to hit Kyiv. A level of attention it hasn't had really since the beginning of the war when Kyiv and Kharkiv
where I am now were being systematically targeted, precisely because there were concentrations of civilians.
But now there has been a switch of tactics from the Ukrainians in their effort to take the war into Russian territory. But the tit-for-tat process
is really just catastrophic for civilians now effectively on both sides.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KILEY (voice-over): Grief has struck again in Kyiv. Overwhelming grief when a loved one is taken. Three people killed here at 3:00 a.m. civilians ran
for cover. The bunker was inexplicably locked. Debris from a downed missile killed two women and a child. A fatal accident in an all-too-deliberate
attack.
Such events are driving support for Ukraine from NATO, Europe, and beyond.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: That is why every European country that borders Russia, and that does not want Russia to tear them
apart, should be a full member of the E.U. and NATO. And there are only two alternatives to these. Either an open war or creeping Russian occupation.
KILEY: NATO's weapons are already in use in Ukraine's east. And now Ukraine has launched a campaign inside Russian territory. At least eight people
have been injured and hundreds evacuated from what are now frontline villages in Russia.
(On-camera): The original sin of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, compounded as it is by their continued targeting of civilians, the absolute brutality
of their occupation, has ceded Ukraine an unassailable position on the moral high ground. But they've got to hold onto that, even as they
prosecute their own campaigns inside Russian territory.
VYACHESLAV GLADKOV, BELGOROD GOVERNOR (through translator): A massive attack is ongoing. The lives of local people, primarily in Shebekino and
nearby villages, are in danger.
KILEY (voice-over): Anti-Putin Russians in Ukraine's forces claim to have raided his province a second time and broadcast these warnings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Stay in your homes. Don't worry. Soldiers of the Russian Volunteer Corps are not at war with civilians.
KILEY: They claim to have hit Russian ammunition dumps and other military targets. But Russia says the raiders were driven out with heavy casualties.
Still, Ukraine now holds the initiative on this front.
Russia continues to rain misery from the sky.
[10:05:02]
Yarasov (PH) lost his wife and 9-year-old daughter in this raid on Kyiv. Nothing matters anymore, he says. There are no more people left.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KILEY: Now the effect of the attacks inside Russia have reached all the way now to the Kremlin with Vladimir Putin making a statement nationally today
exerting his countrymen not to be affected, not to be affected by the destabilizing activities of Ukraine and Ukraine's allies in those Russian
dissident groups. And that is I think a very clear indication of precisely the effect the Ukrainians want to have.
MACFARLANE: And staying with this, Sam, we're hearing that Ukraine are claiming a Russian special forces unit have been deployed to the Belgorod
region. What more are you hearing about that in particular?
KILEY: I'm afraid I wouldn't comment on that because I think that this is - - we got to be really careful with this. This is -- we're in the realm of psychological operations, information operations. The Ukrainians making
comments about the movement of Russians should be seen in that context. Clearly from the Ukrainian perspective, if they're able to claim with
accuracy, the Russian special forces have been moved into that location. That means that they've probably been taken away from another location.
We're on an infinite number of these sources soldiers. But this is very much part of the psychological operations that the Ukrainian commenting on
the movements of Russian troops, particularly the sensitivity of that level I think should be taken with a pinch of salt.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And Sam, additionally, you're reporting in your piece there about the mother and child that died on Thursday morning, I believe
it was. We heard President Zelenskyy speak out about this in the past 24 hours, being sharply critical of local officials in Kyiv for not ensuring
that the bomb shelters were open, saying that specific individuals will be held to responsibility over this.
I mean, how much is that being looked at now and who specifically is he referring to there?
KILEY: Well, in the case of Kyiv, he said the Kyiv authorities have launched their own investigation and audit of the bomb shelters available
to civilians and others throughout that city, as a consequence of this accident effectively. And at the same time President Zelenskyy nationwide
has demanded the same be carried out right across the country because of course nobody in Ukraine can understand why a bomb shelter in a city that
is regularly bombed would be locked.
MACFARLANE: All right. Sam Kiley there live in Kharkiv. Thanks very much, Sam.
A default has been averted in the world's biggest economy. The U.S. Senate passed a bill late Thursday to suspend the nation's debt limit through
early 2025 just days ahead of a looming deadline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): This vote, the yays are 63, the nays are 36. The 60-vote threshold haven't been achieved. The bill is passed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: The U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the deal. Congressional approval comes after weeks of hardball negotiations. Many
economists and stock market watchers telling CNN a default would have sent shockwaves through the global economy.
More details now from CNN's Melanie Zanona on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER (on-camera): Well, after weeks of intense negotiations and with just days to go before the default deadline,
Congress has averted an economic disaster. And the Senate on Thursday night passed a bill that would raise the debt ceiling until 2025 and also limit
future spending. And the final vote tally in the Senate was 63 to 36. They needed 60 Republicans and Democrats to come together to pass this bill. And
they did.
Take a listen to Chuck Schumer talking about this bill after the vote.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): So many of the destructive provisions in the Republican bill are gone because we persisted and we kept insisting that
default is off the table. We will not be defaulted. And we will not be passing the hard right's extreme agenda. Virtually no part of it. And that
is thanks to the Senate and House Democrats, and to President Biden.
ZANONA: And the bill now heads to President Biden's desk for his signature. But it was not always an easy road to get here. First of all, they had to
hammer out the deal, which took weeks. Usually they try to do these things in a matter of months. It was a very complicated fiscal agreement. There
were blowups. There were points where it looked like it was going to go completely off the rails.
And then the other half of the battle is that they had to sell this deal to their members and there was opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.
Democrats don't like the stricter work requirements for food stamp recipients, they don't like some of the energy permitting reforms, and
Republicans thought the bill does not go far enough to cut spending.
[10:10:08]
They also don't like that it's going to hike the debt ceiling for two years until after the next presidential election. But ultimately a coalition of
members came together in the middle to get this done and avoid what would have been the first ever default.
Melanie Zanona, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now, just hours ago in Kenya, we saw the latest step in the legal process surrounding Paul Nthenge McKenzie, the Christian cult leader
accused of encouraging followers to starve themselves. Authorities say nearly 250 bodies and several mass graves have been found on his property,
and he appeared in court Friday morning.
CNN's David McKenzie is joining us now from Malindi, Kenya.
David, this is a horrendous case. As I was saying, the cult leader appeared in court earlier today. What more have you been learning?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina, I think this case will grow and grow in shocking this nation and around the
world because I think that death toll is just the beginning. Frankly, based on documents we have seen of an affidavit placed in that court hearing by
an inspector, they say, well, while 240 bodies have been recovered from that site, many of them from shallow graves.
Most of them showing signs of starvation, but others have been bludgeoned to death, according to investigators, Christina, and others have been, in
fact, suffocated, according to witnesses we've spoken to, including possibly children suffocating their own parents, suffocating their own
children because of what this pastor was telling them to do, that the world was coming to an end and that they had to starve themselves to death.
Now, in that affidavit, at least 10 other mass graves are in a forest close to where I'm standing where that cult had moved several years ago. I
managed to get inside that courtroom and speak to the pastor. I put the allegations to him that continue to unfold. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL NTHENGE MCKENZIE, LEADER, GOOD NEWS INTERNATIONAL CHURCH: Intimidations and wasting of others' time for nothing. Yes.
MCKENZIE: What happened in the forest with your followers?
P. MCKENZIE: I can tell nothing about that because I've been in custody for two months. So I don't know what is going outside there. Have you been
there?
MCKENZIE: The people before you were in custody, people were starving and there are allegations that people were killing their children.
P. MCKENZIE: I've never seen anybody starving, even killing our children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Now, the inspector say, in fact, the pastor is allegedly behind many of these killings in terms of actually being there when they buried
children and adults. There have been rescues in the forest near to where I'm standing, trying to get those remaining in that vast area to come out.
Many of them still believing that the world is coming to an end.
If you just look at the scale of this death, it is quite heartbreaking. I spoke to a grandfather who is one of the first to get in there with others,
private citizens because they said the police were ignoring their pleas to find out what was going on. He found his grandson, who was 8 years -- who
is 8 years old, his two younger siblings had already been allegedly killed by his own parents.
These are the kind of awful family tragedies that people here in the coast and across Kenya are trying to deal with as more information comes out of
this extraordinary death cult that unfolded over many months -- Christina.
MACFARLANE: It's absolutely tragic, heartbreaking as you say, David, but you can absolutely understand the anger, no doubt, being felt by people
close to those who are being recovered.
David McKenzie there live in Kenya. Thank you, David.
Now, police in Mexico have made a gruesome discovery. Dozens of bags filled with body parts. Investigators say they found them in a ravine in a suburb
of Guadalajara. An initial investigation suggests the remains may be connected to a nearby call center.
Let's bring in CNN's Patrick Oppmann for more on this.
Patrick, not many details yet, but what are you learning? It's quite gruesome this.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, just a horrible story here and horrible news of four family members of these seven missing employees of a
call center who, over the last 10 days, have been calling the Mexican officials to investigate the family members' disappearances. They say that
their family members who worked at this call center all around the same time about 10 days ago went offline. Their phones no longer answered.
[10:15:02]
They couldn't find them. They essentially had been disappeared, which is often the fate of thousands of Mexicans in areas where drug cartels hold so
much power and influence. And so they've been calling, holding marches, and calling on the Mexican officials to provide some answers.
Now, this grim discovery, as you said, bags, trash bags are thrown into a ravine, some of which had broken open and exposed dozens of body parts. So
officials are working to remove this grim discovery, and they've said that they believe that the two cases are connected, that these seven missing
call center employees may have been murderers and placed in these bags and thrown into this ravine.
Family members say they're going to be holding more marches as soon as this afternoon to protest what they feel is local officials kind of foot-
dragging in all this. And they do know that in previous cases, there are tens of thousands of people missing in Mexico. So as history has shown, it
is rare that people are caught, it's rare that if it's a drug cartel crime that anyone is held to account. And so certainly family members are
horrified by this discovery and are calling for answers and some kind of investigation that actually leads somewhere.
MACFARLANE: All right, we will wait and see whether this goes. Patrick Oppman there, thanks very much.
Now, an entire population of sea creatures gone within days. A coral reef dying as well. We look at the mystery illness wreaking havoc in the Red
Sea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Now, a mysterious waterborne disease is wiping out black sea urchins in the waters off Israel, and that's not just a problem for the sea
urchins, but the coral reefs that depend on them for survival.
CNN's Hadas Gold has gone underwater to report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pristine waters of the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, reefs teeming with colorful fish. But
something is missing, and it's threatening this entire ecosystem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a very short time, we experienced a massive catastrophe of, well, talking about losing a species. It used to live there
forever.
GOLD: In January, black sea urchins here started dying en masse. Within days, entire populations of thousands were getting sick and literally
disappearing.
OMRI BRONSTEIN, FACULTY OF LIFE SCIENCE, TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY: We've never seen any fluctuations on that magnitude. And now to say that sea urchins
were completely gone, that whatever is killing them is still defined as a waterborne pathogen. We know that it is transmitted through the water. You
don't need direct contact. That it takes 48 hours for an individual to go from a live, healthy individual to basically bare skeleton.
[10:20:06]
GOLD: Vital to keep the delicate balance of life here. These urchins consume the algae that can choke reefs already stressed by human activity
and the effects of climate change. Dr. Bronstein and his team of researchers from Tel Aviv University show us how the beauty and health of
the reefs are under attack. We do not spot a single black sea urchin.
BRONSTEIN: The thought that we might be seeing something that is going to be radically changed is simply a very sad thought. And it is probably the
most unique coral reef in the world. It is our responsibility to make sure that they will remain here for future generations.
GOLD (on-camera): This coral reef is unique in the world because of its ability to withstand high temperatures, making it more resistant to the
effects of climate change. And that's why this reef is so ecologically important to the globe.
(Voice-over): These tanks at the Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel, were once filled with the jet-black urchins. Now
they are covered in algae, a small-scale example of what scientists say is happening in the sea.
BRONSTEIN: Without external regulation that the sea urchins provide, corals do not really stand a chance in this competition with algae because the
growth rate of algae is order of magnitudes higher than those of corals.
GOLD: Only a few have survived this epidemic, like this young juvenile.
(On-camera): He seems rather lonely.
BRONSTEIN: Oh, yes, a few individuals, even when they survive, that's not enough to sustain a population.
GOLD (voice-over): A similar pathogen wiped the urchins out of the Caribbean in the 1980s and reared its head again last year. Dr. Bronstein
said it's likely spread by ships and possibly helped along by climate change. And it's spreading. Researchers are using DNA technology to make a
difference.
LISA MARIA SCHMIDT, RESEARCHER, TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY: So, basically, just establishing a new monitoring method, a high-throughput and noninvasive
one. It's allowing us to follow processes in the water of different species.
GOLD (on-camera): So, in a way, you're trying to predict the future with what you're doing?
SCHMIDT: More or less, yes, without going through the water, yes.
GOLD (voice-over): But the time to save these black sea urchins is running out, Dr. Bronstein says. Governments need to move within weeks.
BRONSTEIN: And decision makers need to understand that the window of opportunity to take action is very, very narrow and it's closing rapidly.
If we don't move quickly to create the brood stock populations based on the Mediterranean population, the remaining population, if we don't take extra
care about what we pump into this environment, we may find ourselves in a huge problem, in a huge situation.
GOLD (on-camera): Israel shares this gulf and this problem with Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which you can see just behind me, and with which
Israel has no official relations. But under the water, there are no boundaries and no politics, and international cooperation will be a key to
fixing this problem.
(Voice-over): These fragile reefs where everything plays its part in the cycle desperately waiting for help.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Eilat Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, our next guest has studied a similar disease that affected starfish and he calls this new outbreak a grave concern. Dr. Ian
Hewson is director of undergraduate studies for marine biology at Cornell University.
Thank you so much for joining me. As we were hearing there, the death of these sea urchins was described as fast and pretty violent. Actually over
two days. I know that you have carried out research in the last year on a similar pathogen that I believe wiped out Caribbean urchins I think back in
1983. Do you see any correlation similarities between the two mystery pathogens here?
IAN HEWSON, DIRECTOR OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES FOR MARINE BIOLOGY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: Absolutely. So from a gross level or, you know, what we see on
the outside rather looking microscopically on the inside, these animals are dying in very, very similar ways. They start to have their spines droop.
The spines drop off. They start to behave abnormally. They come out from their crevices on to sand flats.
All of the hallmarks of what happened in the Caribbean are being seen in the Red Sea as well at the moment.
MACFARLANE: So what does that tell you about what, or tell us about what this pathogen actually is and its ability to move between reefs? I mean,
the Caribbean and the Red Sea are very different parts of the world.
[10:25:00]
HEWSON: Well, for sure, as of yet we do not have any data to support that is the same pathogen, although, to be honest, it looks very, very similar
to it. But we're waiting on partners in the region to actually do confirmation through something called the polymerase chain reaction, PCR
which people are probably most familiar with as a way of detecting COVID. So we have an essay which we can look for this pathogen, which uses broadly
the same technology.
But if it does happen to be the same pathogen, it would mean that it would've had to have been transported to the region by humans because the
connection between these ecosystems over such wide geographic ranges is really, really limited. And particularly when we talk about moving from the
Mediterranean into the Red Sea there's very little movement of materials through the Suez Canal, and so it is likely that humans played some role in
transporting it across that boundary.
MACFARLANE: And when you say humans, do you mean transported via boats or ships? I mean, we were hearing in Hadas' report there that the movement of
ships here could have helped to speed up this pathogen.
HEWSON: For sure, shipping is one of those things that has a great potential to, you know, move large amounts of water, potential
microorganisms. We know the balance of water and other sort of build water has the ability to transmit invasive species. I mean, look at the Great
Lakes in the United States, for example. We know that quagga mussels were introduced in the 1970s through ballast water inputs from the (INAUDIBLE)
River.
But we don't, as yet, have any information on that. One thing I will say, also, is there is potentially other ways it could be moving. For example,
scuba divers and their Riptide gear. That might be moving it around. We also have one other possibility for biological movement of it, and that is
seabirds. Things like seagulls. They have a tendency to move species from one place to another, and so it's possible that seabirds might be playing a
role in this as well.
MACFARLANE: Interesting. And we were hearing there, of course, the window of opportunity to stop this is very, very small. Very narrow. Weeks, in
fact. And that international cooperation is key. So what emergency steps need to be taken right now?
HEWSON: So, just at the moment, we're trying to map out exactly where this disease is. And so, this relies upon a network of national organizations,
governments, citizen or community scientists around the region. We've been working a little bit with people in the Arabian Peninsula as well to try
and understand how far it is a way. And then, you know, if it does so happen to be something that is moved around by boating transport, perhaps
coming up with better practices for mitigating that.
For example, releasing your ballast water well offshore, nowhere near ports, which I believe is current practice. But perhaps there's other ways
that it's being introduced into these regions. We do see this disease manifest predominantly around ports and harbors at the moment. So that
gives us a little bit of a clue as to one potential mechanism by which it's moving around.
MACFARLANE: Dr. Ian Hewson, it's great to hear your thoughts on this, although very concerning as it is because we know if this isn't resolved,
this could threaten the biodiversity of the entire ocean. So it is an important topic. Thank you so much for trying to clarify and break this
down for us.
HEWSON: Thank you very much for having me.
MACFARLANE: Now, ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, after tragic shooting death on the movie set of "Rust," a grieving family may be getting some closure.
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:54]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Here are your headlines this hour.
Both sides in Russia's war in Ukraine are seeing new strikes. Ukraine's air force says it shot down 36 missiles and drones over Kyiv today. The capital
has been under almost daily attack since last month. Strikes are ongoing in Ukraine's south including on towns occupied by Russia, and shelling killed
two people across the Russian border.
The Christian cult leader in Kenya accused of urging followers to starve themselves appeared in court Friday. Prosecutors are asking that Paul
Nthenge McKenzie be denied bail and held in custody for at least 60 more days. He tells CNN he's never seen anyone starving, despite nearly 250
bodies being found in a mass grave on the land where he preached.
A risk of a U.S. economic meltdown, which would have been felt around the world, has been averted. The U.S. Senate passed a bill late Thursday to
suspend the nation's debt limit through early 2025, just days before an urgent deadline. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the deal.
And this just into CNN, the U.S. Justice Department has closed its investigation into former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's handling of
classified documents. No charges will be filed. CNN reported earlier this year that a lawyer for Pence found about a dozen documents marked
classified at the former vice president's home.
And we're watching for a response from Pyongyang as the U.S. and South Korea hold large military exercises near the North Korean border.
These are live -- massive live fire military drills. And as CNN's Paula Hancocks explains that they could unplug an already heightened tensions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): The scenario of these military drills is very clear, and that is that North Korea has staged
what's been described as an illegal armed invasion in this scenario, and this is the joint counter attack by the U.S. and South Korean militaries.
(Voice-over): There's no doubt it is more blatant than usual, North Korea is the enemy and the U.S. and South Korea are training together to defeat
that threat. Now we're told that this is the biggest joint live fire drills ever, a reflection of the perceived threat posed by North Korea. Around 30
kilometers or 18 miles north of here, we have seen a year and a half of unprecedented missile launches and weapons test from Pyongyang.
So this today is a coordinated military drill from the air and on land. 2500 soldiers from the U.S. and South Korea, 610 pieces of military
equipment, it is a clear measure message to North Korea. The official line is it is to demonstrate, quote, "peace through overwhelming strength."
COL. BRANDON ANDERSON, DEPUTY COMMANDING OFFICER, U.S. 2ND INFANTRY DIVISION: I think the message is that we were prepared. That the training
we do is efficient, it's working.
CAPT. ANTHONY LOPEZ, U.S. 2ND INFANTRY DIVISION: Take away just having confidence and the credibility of the alliance and our ability to execute
kind of that extended and integrated deterrence together.
HANCOCKS: Now North Korea says that these drills are a large part of the reason why it has conducted so many tests, saying that the failed military
satellite launched this week was in response to what it called the dangerous military act of the U.S. Another reason for these bigger joint
exercises, this year marks the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and also the 75th anniversary of the founding of South Korea's
military.
(On-camera): Now these drills are being staged on five separate days, each with around 2,000 spectators. Some of them regular citizens who volunteered
to come and watch. So a fun day out for some, a show of force for others.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Pocheon, South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Still ahead, this is their first chance at winning the NBA Finals, and the Denver Nuggets know it. We'll have a look at their
performance after game one. And we'll bring you new developments in the 2021 shooting death on the "Rust" film set. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:37:13]
(MUSIC)
MACFARLANE: Bill Joel will practice what he sings and move out of New York's Madison Square Garden. Officials say his record-breaking tenure
residency there is coming to an end. But not before a final round of performances which start in October and end with his 150th show there in
July next year. In a way, Billy Joel made it clear, to borrow another one of his signature song lines, he is still in a New York state of mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY JOEL, MUSICIAN: It's hard to end 150 lifetime shows, but as I said, we're not abandoning New York. We're just spending a little more time
someplace else. And I just want to thank everyone for the wonderful thing that's happened here. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: And did you know that 1.6 million fans have seen Joel at the Madison Square Garden over the past 10 years.
A U.S. judge has approved a settlement agreement for the family of Halyna Hutchins. She's the cinematographer who was fatally shot on the set of the
movie "Rust" in 2021 after Alec Baldwin's prop gun fired a live round. The Hutchins family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin along with
the film's producers and key crew members last year. The settlement's financial details haven't been made public.
Let's bring in CNN entertainment reporter Chloe Melas.
So, Chloe, not many details here, but what more do we know about the settlement?
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and this is a settlement that has been a long time coming. This is something that Halyna Hutchins'
husband, Matthew Hutchins, filed on behalf of himself and their son, Andros, who was 9 years old at the time of his mother's death on the set of
"Rust." And they said that circumstances on the set of "Rust" were negligent and reckless.
And here we are seeing a judge finally signed off on this settlement. The financial details of this have been sealed, but what we do know based on
the agreement that CNN has obtained is that the judge says that this is fair, appropriate and in the best interest of Andros, Halyna Hutchins' son.
We know that the son will receive part of the money and that it will happen when he's 18, 22 years old. I do, though, want to point out that this is
coming as Alec Baldwin has been cleared of criminal charges. This is also coming on the heels of the film wrapping filming just a few weeks ago in
Montana. We know, based on sources that we have spoken to, that this settlement, which was agreed upon the last fall, was always contingent on
the film "Rust" being completed.
[10:40:01]
And as part of this settlement, Halyna Hutchins' husband, Matthew, was made an executive producer on the film. So he has been a part of making this
completed, making it completed in the memory of Halyna. We saw Alec Baldwin go back to the set, we saw the director Joel Souza who was also injured
that day go back to the set.
The film's weapon expert Hannah Gutierrez Reed she was not back on the set, and she still faces criminal charges, and Alec Baldwin, though not
commenting. We know that he is recovering from hip surgery right now, but we have reached out to him for comment on this settlement. And again, the
financial details have not been disclosed, but a big moment for Halyna Hutchins' family.
MACFARLANE: A big moment, and as you say, a long time coming, as well.
Chloe Melas, thank you.
Fans of the Denver Nuggets were in for a treat Thursday. They waited 47 years to play in their first NBA Finals and they were more than ready to
trounce the Miami Heat. Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic led the home team. So what can we expect from game two?
Andy Scholes joins me now.
And Andy, I'm sure Nicola Jokic is certainly going to be a target in game two.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: He will be, Christina, but it's certainly going to be hard for this Miami Heat team to now win four out of the next
six games. It seems like they're just really unmatched in this series. Nikola Jokic just so good.
Christina, he took three shots in the first half, but he ended up with a 27-point triple double. He was just getting complete control of this game
from start to finish. We'll break it all down for you coming up here on "WORLD SPORT."
MACFARLANE: Looking forward to that, Andy. Stay tuned for Andy and more "WORLD SPORT" and more Champions League as well I think coming up just
after this short break. Stay with us.
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