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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Israel's Warning To Hezbollah; Israeli Strikes Reportedly Killed Dozens In Aleppo; India's Modi Rings A.I. Alarm Bells; Modi's Warning On Fake Content; Six Russian Journalists Jailed; Gershkovich Spends One Year In Russian Detention; Biden To Visit Baltimore Next Week; Huge A.I. Growth In India; The Potential Of A.I.; Florida Fish Mystery; Prosecutors Trying To Expand Trump Gag Order; N. Korea Prepares For Possible Trump Presidency; Private Markets For The Masses; Arta Gives More Access To Private Markets; Teen Baseball Star In A League Of His Own; Eggs-Pensive Easter; Cocoa Prices Soaring. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired March 29, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN. More people get their news from CNN than any other news source.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST, FIRST MOVE: It's 6:00 a.m. in Shanghai, 9:00 a.m. in Sydney, and 6:00 p. m. here in New York. I'm Julia Chatterley, and
wherever you are in the world, this is your FIRST MOVE.
And a warm welcome once again to FIRST MOVE, and here's today's need to know. Anywhere and everywhere, Israel promises to pursue Hezbollah in
Lebanon, Syria, and beyond, as Israeli strikes reportedly killed dozens in Aleppo.
India's A.I. alarm Prime Minister Narendra Modi's warning on fake content and the need for more protections as the nation's A.I. development
accelerates.
And an eggstraordinary shock that's leaving a bitter taste. Cocoa prices are soaring and chocolatiers are in meltdown. That story and plenty more
coming up.
But first, we begin with Israel's defense minister vowing to pursue Hezbollah fighters anywhere and everywhere. It follows airstrikes on Friday
by Israeli forces in both Lebanon and Syria. Syrian state news says, attacks near Aleppo led to casualties among both civilians and military
personnel. The IDF says, the alleged deputy commander of Hezbollah's rocket and missile unit was killed in strikes on southern Lebanon.
Melissa Bell has more on what this escalation could mean for the conflict in Gaza and the wider region.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Julia, there's been a substantial ratcheting up of the pressure along Israel's northern border, not only
after a series of strikes from Lebanon into Israel earlier this Friday and from Israel into Lebanon but also further afield with some news reports
that there have been dozens killed in Syria near Aleppo.
This represents an important ratcheting up of the pressure. This was already a region of border that had seen tens of thousands placed --
displaced on both the Lebanese and Israeli sides of this border of the course of the last few months. What we've seen now is Israel in the shape
of its defense minister, Yoav Gallant, announcing that Israel intends to pursue far more aggressively Hezbollah than it had before. Announcing that
it wouldn't simply be pushing back against the group but seeking it out further.
Now, this is something we understand that had been raised by Yoav Gallant earlier this week when he met with his counterpart in Washington with other
American officials. What we're hearing from American officials is that Israel had been looking at changing that policy to make a more aggressive
one in the north of Israel.
American officials extremely worried that Israel believes that there's, according to the officials, a level of aggression that is just under an
offensive. The United States, doesn't. It is worried about what response there may be from Hezbollah, a far more formidable foe, than Hamas in the
Gaza Strip. It is believed by many observers looking at this conflict from outside.
Still, we've heard Yoav Gallant say that they will continue with that strategy, pursuing Hezbollah and announcing the IDF that they've killed a
high ranking, they say, missile commander of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. We've heard from Hezbollah confirmation of a death although no confirmation
of the rank and name of the commander that was killed.
So, a worsening of the situation in the north and something that is of extreme concern where elsewhere there is some sign of hope or cautious
optimism, certainly when it comes to the hostage talks that may take place regarding the Israeli hostages still in the Gaza Strip.
We've heard from Benjamin Netanyahu that he is sending, after consultation with Mossad and the Shin Bet, the Israeli security services, a delegation
back to Qatar and Egypt to resume those talks, indirect talks, about the remaining more than 130 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. We heard
from him only a couple of days ago saying that were no agreement, no deal to be found. Israel would have no choice but to pursue its planned ground
offensive in Rafah.
That is something the United States hopes to temper Israel on when that high level delegation finally makes it to Washington early next week.
Julia.
[18:05:00]
CHATTERLEY: Thanks to Melissa Bell there.
Now, Poland's Prime Minister warns Europe has entered what he calls a pre- war period. Donald Tusk was speaking to the German newspaper Die Welt about the threat posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said, I know it
sounds devastating, especially for the younger generation, but we have to get used to the fact that a new era has begun. The pre-war era. I'm not
exaggerating, it's becoming clearer every day.
That warning comes as six journalists working for independent media outlets in Russia were arrested within a span of a few hours. That includes
Antonina Favorskaya, who filmed the final court appearance of Alexei Navalny. She's seen here with Navalny's mother a few days after her son's
death. Russia's investigative committee has accused Favorskaya of extremism, the same charge levied against the late opposition leader.
And it's also one year since the U.S. Journalist Evan Gershkovich was first jailed in Russia. His newspaper, "The Wall Street Journal", making a
powerful statement Friday on the absence created by his arrest. The headline reading, his story should be here, a year in Russian prison, a
year of stolen stories, stolen joys. Stolen memories. Gershkovich was accused of spying, which the journalist, his paper, and the U.S. government
strongly deny. Gershkovich trial was recently extended for another three months.
It's yet one more delay, but U.S. hostage experts believe it could offer a window for negotiating his release. That's because once a trial begins,
it's often actually harder to then make a deal. Matthew Chance has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was our latest brief glimpse of Evan Kovich appearing in a Moscow court
this week. In the past, we've been kicked out to the courtroom.
CHANCE: You can see Evan Kovich is in there. Hi. Matthew from CNN. You holding up all right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in a foreign language).
CHANCE: OK. What do you want us to do?
CHANCE (voice-over): This time, journalists weren't even allowed in as the detention of the Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges was
extended for another three months. Outside the U.S. Ambassador marked a bleak anniversary.
LYNNE TRACY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA: This verdict to further prolong Evan's detention feels particularly painful as this week marks the one-year
anniversary since Evan was arrested and wrongfully detained in Yekaterinburg for simply doing his job as a journalist. The accusations
against Evan are categorically untrue. They are not a different interpretation of circumstances. They are fiction.
CHANCE (voice-over): But incarceration behind the walls of Lefortovo prison in Moscow is a grim fact. U.S. officials say they're negotiating
with Moscow for his release, even the Kremlin confirmed this week contacts on a prisoner swap are continuing.
For the Russian president, the 32-year-old American newspaper reporter is a tradable asset.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are willing to solve it. But there are certain terms being discussed via special services
channels. I believe an agreement can be reached.
CHANCE (voice-over): And this is who Putin has hinted he wants in return. Vadim Krasikov, a Russian operative, jailed in Germany for killing a
Chechen dissident in a public park. So far, the Germans have been reluctant to set him free. But the Kremlin knows painful agreements have been reached
in the past.
In 2022, U.S. basketball star Brittany Greiner convicted of possessing cannabis in Russia was swapped for Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms
trafficker.
PAUL WHELAN, DETAINEE: I want to tell the world that I'm a victim of political kidnap and ransom.
CHANCE (voice-over): Russia's also holding other Americans, among them former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted of espionage and jailed since
2018. U.S. officials have designated Whelan and Gershkovich as unlawfully detained.
TRACY: If the Kremlin has any desire to salvage Russia's integrity and international esteem, they should do what is right and release Evan and
Paul immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Evan.
CHANCE (voice-over): But the Kremlin may want more than just integrity and esteem in exchange for its most valuable bargaining chips.
Matthew Chance, CNN, St. Petersburg.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Now, U.S. President Joe Biden says he will visit Baltimore in the U.S. State of Maryland next week. It comes after Tuesday's bridge
collapse, a cargo ship leaving the port of Baltimore hit a -- the Francis Scott Key Bridge with six construction workers losing their lives. The
largest crane on the east coast has now arrived on site to help clear debris and reopen the cargo channel as soon as possible.
[18:10:00]
Joining us now is Brian Todd. Brian, great to have you with us. I was listening to Maryland's governor, Wes Moore, speaking earlier, and he was
saying that the physical structure, the part of the bridge that's sitting on top of the ship, has to be cut into pieces and then lifted off in order
to begin the process of getting that ship out of the way. I could see a crane earlier and I still think I can actually behind you, but that doesn't
look big enough to be the Chesapeake 1000. How quickly can that be brought into action?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Julia, the Chesapeake 1000 is here. It is not at the bridge at this moment. It's not far away. It's just kind
of around the bend of the river. It just arrived overnight. It will be ramped up fairly soon.
As we, zoom into the wreckage here, we can show you there is another crane. It's kind of leaning to the left there. It's just beyond the wreckage of
the bridge there. You can kind of see it. Our photojournalist Harlan Schmidt can train his camera into that crane there. That is not the
Chesapeake 1000. That is another crane that was brought here. But we're told that several heavy cranes are being brought. A couple of them are
already here.
And we -- part of the really arduous task of removing this debris and all of this wreckage is that I think, as you just mentioned, they've got to
remove just the metal that's draped over the bow of the ship first. All of that, according to the governor, weighs about 4000 tons. So, they've got to
excavate figure out which parts of that they can remove and then get it off there.
And what we're told by the Army Corps of Engineers is that really massive crane that's called the Chesapeake 1000, that's going to be doing a lot of
this work, it can lift about 1,000 tons at a time. So, that means it's got to cut just the debris on the ship into four different pieces, at least, in
order to remove that.
Now, we talked to another mechanical engineer from Morgan State University, Dr. Oscar Barton. he said, really, what they've got to do first is excavate
and survey all of this area first and figure out what the biggest pieces are, where they are, and how they're going to cut it up into pieces.
They're going to have welders do that, and then they're going to have these massive cranes come in and remove all of these pieces.
And that -- again, that's just the debris that is on the ship itself. Then it's going to take days and weeks to remove the other wreckage that is all
around there. Now, General Scott Spellman of the Army Corps of Engineers says he thinks that process could take weeks as far as opening the channel.
Now that's a fairly optimistic viewpoint, but once they get all the assets here, they can kind of expedite that process.
But again, this is painstaking. It is very dangerous work as well because the divers -- because the water conditions, and you can see the water is
very rough behind me. The wind has really kicked up today. The divers have really not been able to go in very much over the past couple of days.
They're going to allow them back in when the conditions permit.
But this time of year, Julia, the weather is really kind of touch and go. It's very cold, windy. The water is murky. It is very dangerous under the
surface. That's just kind of a picture of what they're up against tonight.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, Brian, I was literally going to ask you that because as we focused in when you were showing us the crane, I could see the movement
of the water. No one's diving in that right now. Well, let's hope their optimism proves correct. Great to have you with us, sir. Thank you. Brian
Todd there in Baltimore.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become just the latest world leader to issue a warning over artificial intelligence. Modi was speaking
to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. He said rules must be put in place to ensure data privacy and stop the spread of fake and misleading A.I.
generated content. Listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARENDRA MODI INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Addressing the challenges A.I. presents, I have observed that without proper training,
there is a significant risk of misuse when such powerful technology is placed in unskilled hands. I have engaged with leading minds in A.I. and I
suggested that we should start with clear watermarks on A.I. generated content to prevent misinformation This is not to devalue A.I. creations,
but to recognize them for what they are,
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: A great idea. Modi is obviously well aware, too, of the huge benefits A.I. will deliver to India's economy over the coming years and the
speed in which it's already being adopted. Microsoft Asia President Ahmed Mazhari telling us earlier this week, if you remember, that India is
already a global leader in A.I. development.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED MAZHARI, PRESIDENT, MICROSOFT ASIA: We believe that by 2027, GitHub will have more developers in India than the United States. And even today,
one in four A.I. projects in the world are happening out of India.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Wow. Now, just one sector rapidly adopting A.I. technology is finance.
[18:15:00]
They've long been -- they're pioneers of cutting-edge tech. While I spoke to the CEO and co-founder of FinTech Firm, Arta Finance, who says A.I. is
already helping transform the way it delivers wealth management solutions to investors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAESAR SENGUPTA, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, ARTA FINANCE: The impact of A.I. on wealth management is truly profound. You know, what we've seen coming of
the large language models over the last year is going to dramatically improve the ability for people to understand complex concepts, for us to
understand what users want.
But the type of A.I. that we are using very extensively right now is machine learning, which is sort of A.I. for numbers, if I may simplify it
that way. And that's being used again in the industry, particularly in public markets, by very sophisticated quant funds. And what we've done is
taken that same technology and scale it so that we can bring it to people, regular people, accredited investors around the world, and let them invest
in the same kind of very sophisticated portfolios using big data, using a lot of machine learning so they can, sort of, get access to something that,
till now, they just didn't have access to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And you can hear more of my interview with the CEO of Arta Finance later on in the program. For now, we're going to take a quick
break, but your Easter weekend weather forecast coming right up.
Plus, an alarming story from Florida. The sudden, bizarre behavior of more than two dozen species of fish. They're doing things, as you saw there,
like spinning in the water. Scientists think it may be tied to global warming.
And move over, Ohtani. We'll introduce you to another young baseball slugger poised for stardom. He's only 18 and he's already a big hit with
fans. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: And welcome back to "First Move". And we've almost made it to the weekend, an Easter holiday weekend too for many of us around the world.
Here's hopping everyone who celebrates has a lovely and eggciting Easter Sunday planned. I'll stop with the puns.
A mini egg sized money move today -- sorry, that was a lie. Perhaps with many stock markets closed for Good Friday. Solid gains, however, for
Chinese and Japanese stocks. The Japanese Nikkei closing out the first quarter with a super strong 21 percent advance, driven in part by the
weakness in the yen.
[18:20:00]
The Shanghai Composite in the green too, up a modest two percent, will certainly take that, I think, given the selloff in Chinese stocks back in
January. You can see that in the chart in front of you. Stocks bounced back last month on government stimulus hopes.
Now, Wall Street which was closed for Good Friday, just wrapped up its best Q1 since 2019 with the S&P 500 up 10 percent driven in part at least by
A.I. euphoria. Just to give you a sense, chipmaker NVIDIA up 87 percent on the quarter. And of course, hopes for Fed rate cuts this year.
That said, new numbers Friday showing the Fed's preferred inflation measure rising for the first time in months to an annual rate of 2.5 percent. Blame
higher energy prices. Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying Friday that he still sees inflation falling to the Fed's goal of two percent. But he's in no
hurry to cut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Many forecasters see growth coming down to around two percent this year, that's about what roughly what
the first quarter looks like. That means that we don't need to be in a hurry to cut. It means we can wait and become more confident that in fact
inflation is coming down to two percent on a sustainable basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: We'll see if there's a soggy reaction to that on Monday when a new month and a new quarter kicks off on Wall Street.
Now, speaking of soggy, it's shaping up to be a wet weekend around the world with downpours in China and flood threats in California. For more on
this, Chad Myers joins us now. Wellies and umbrella to the ready, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND AMS METEOROLOGIST: Afraid so. From Shanghai all the way down to Taiwan, showers already now this morning for
you here and heavy rain coming into California mountain snow as well with flood watches in effect.
So, let's start here. Temperatures are fairly mild. So, this isn't a cold rain or any real threat of any snow. But there goes the rainfall there
across parts of Okinawa. Some of it will be very heavy. We will see spots here in the orange. That's 150 millimeters, so about five inches of
rainfall coming down here just in the next 72 hours. But temperatures are very mild, 23 Celsius for you in Tokyo for later on today.
It does cool down for Monday, but still you're going to be above normal. Even all of these numbers are above normal. From Wuhan all the way down
toward Hong Kong, temperatures there in the upper 20s to almost 30.
Here's Tokyo. We go 23, 24 Celsius, so then you're above 70, 72 degrees there. Cooling back down to 17, but that's still above where you should be
this time of year.
Now, turning our attention to a big storm coming into California, and we don't need another one here. It has been plenty wet with this El Nino
pattern that we've had all winter where many spots have already seen flooding. We've had mudslides and more in the way of two to four inches of
additional rainfall coming down here, especially in the transverse mountains there, north of L.A., that's where the heaviest rain will be up
into the Sierra, that's where the heaviest snow will be.
Take the snow because that doesn't really run off. It will later on this year when it melts, but it's a slow runoff. So, that's a helpful rain, a
helpful freshwater solution here. There are your flood watches for all of L.A. And then the snow in the higher elevations could see at least two to
three feet of snow with winter storm warnings posted.
Something else that's going to go on, we're going to see winds about 100 kilometers per hour, 50 to 60 miles per hour here across all of the
Southwest, even into places like Flagstaff, well away from the low-pressure way out there, but that will blow sand around and we'll get a dust storm.
Probably not very healthy air out there either if you pick up those fine grains of sand.
We'll take the rainfall here across parts of China, that's where it's coming in. At least right now, everything else in California happens a few
hours from now, but we will keep watching both sides of the world. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Wet and windy, but at least it's Friday, Chad. Happy Friday.
MYERS: You too.
CHATTERLEY: Chad Myers there. Thank you.
OK. Now and on to a disturbing new phenomenon in Florida. Scientists are racing to understand why more than 30 species of fish have been behaving
strangely. Some of the fish is spinning around upside down before then dying. Researchers will look into whether it's tied to some of the extreme
weather and recent heat waves we've been seeing. Bill Weir is in Florida Keys with more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREGG FURSTENWERTH, FLORIDA KEYS LIFETIME RESIDENT: I started diving when I was eight years old with my mom. So, I've been in the water for a very
long time.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gregg Furstenwerth has seen a lot in his life spent underwater around the Florida
Keys, but he'd never seen anything like this.
FURSTENWERTH: I noticed the fish were spinning and so I started taking video of that. I really had no idea what I was looking at.
WEIR (voice-over): Since last fall, he's seen stingrays moving upside down, goliath groupers flailing on their sides and dozens of other species
swimming and tortured flailing loops.
FURSTENWERTH: Well, I mean, I've said that, you know, it's like I'm in the middle of a disaster movie and I'm that guy yelling from, you know, the
mountaintop trying to get people to pay attention.
[18:25:00]
WEIR (voice-over): State Fish and Wildlife officials and Florida's Bonefish and Tarpon Trust have logged nearly 200 incidents with over 30
species acting this way, mostly in the lower Keys, but as far north as Miami.
MICHAEL ROLPH, CAPTAIN, MYKEYS TOURS: Yes, this is crazy. I was out on a six-hour charter. I had two people on the boat and we were down off a
(INAUDIBLE) bank. And we happened to see a fish floundering on the flats. And then so we got close to him, we wanted to see if there was a problem
and we could obviously tell that it was in distress.
WEIR (voice-over): It turned out to be a sawfish, a critically endangered species that might lose four or five mature adults a year. But in just a
few months, at least 27 have beached themselves or died after intense episodes of what anglers are calling the spins.
MIKE PARSON, PROFESSOR, THE WATER SCHOOL AT FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY: So, typically, when we think of fish acting strangely or dying, we either
think of low oxygen conditions in the water or red tide. And so, we saw neither.
WEIR (voice-over): At the Water School, Florida Gulf Coast University, Mike Parson's team is part of a statewide effort to solve the mystery of
the spinning fish. And while tests for most toxins have turned up empty, the most promising suspect is found living off seaweed at the bottom, a
tiny critter named Gambierdiscus.
ADAM CATASUS, RESEARCHER, THE WATER SCHOOL AT FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY: This is the highest we've seen of the Gambierdiscus in the
Keys. We don't know if it's the main cause.
WEIR (voice-over): The single cell algae can produce various neurotoxins and is showing up at record high levels. But it's just one more stressor on
marine life already reeling from pollution, overfishing, and off the charts ocean heat waves brought by climate change.
PARSONS: So, there's a concern and curiosity, I guess, on could the hot temperatures in the summer cause some changes that may be led to the fish
behavior now. And we just don't really have all the pieces together to try to link one to the other.
FURSTENWERTH: They really have no idea what is happening. I mean, there is no concrete, conclusive proof of what is happening yet, and that is still
to be determined, which is quite terrifying.
WEIR: It is scary, isn't it?
FURSTENWERTH: It is, because if it continues, it's going to be the end of this ecosystem as we know it.
WEIR: Off the chart's ocean temperatures are, of course, just one of the massive stressors on marine life down here these days. There was a three-
year study recently in which 100 percent of the bonefish that were tested in the Keys turned up at least seven different pharmaceuticals from opioids
to antidepressants.
And so, this behavior has not been seen before, but it is sort of an attack from a thousand different angles for the creatures living down here and
maybe a warning for the rest of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: What we're doing to our planet. More "First Move" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" and a look at more of the international headlines this hour.
Pope Francis did not attend a Good Friday service he usually leads at the Coliseum in Rome. It wrapped up moments ago. The Vatican said the last-
minute decision was meant to, "Preserve his health" ahead of this weekend's Easter rituals. The Pope took the unusual step of personally writing the
meditations for Friday's stations of the cross, addressing women's oppression, online hatred and war.
The U.N. has appointed Saudi Arabia to chair a gender equality forum and it's being widely criticized by women's rights advocates. Amnesty
International condemned the appointment, pointing to the kingdom's crackdowns on women's rights activists, as well as its laws on so called
honor crimes and marital rape.
And new legal developments from New York today and the potential expansion of Donald Trump's gag order in the criminal hush money case against him. It
follows his online attacks on the presiding judge and the judge's daughter.
For more on what this may mean for the case, let's bring in Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Elie, even on a Friday night, it doesn't stop. Let's
talk about this first and foremost. I think everybody will understand what a gag is. It's meant to silence somebody. What do you mean by a gag order
in this case?
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NY, AND FORMER FEDERAL AND NEW JERSEY STATE
PROSECUTOR: So, I think the phrase gag order is actually a little bit misleading, Julia, because you're right. When normal people think about a
gag, you think of maybe an action movie where the hero gets tied up and gagged and he can't talk at all.
That is not what's happening here. This is a very limited gag order. There's still plenty Donald Trump can say. What he is not allowed to do
under the terms of this gag order is make public comments that might impact a witness, a potential juror, or a court staff or their family members. But
up until now, Donald Trump has been free to criticize the case itself, the merits of the case, and to criticize the judge or the district attorney
himself. So, there's still plenty Trump could say.
Now, of course, he went overboard immediately. He issued a Truth Social yesterday where he attacked the judge and the judge's daughter, prompting
the D.A. today to say, OK, now we need to expand this to cover family members of the judge and the D.A.
CHATTERLEY: So, Donald Trump has said that all of the cases and the charges against him are effectively compromising a broader witch hunt
against him. But how unusual, unhelpful, self-detrimental perhaps is it to criticize a judge that you have to stand in front of and try and defend
yourself against -- in just a few weeks' time?
HONIG: So, it's very unusual for a litigant to criticize the judge for the obvious reason that the judge holds enormous power over the case. If Donald
Trump is convicted by a jury in this case, guess who sets the sentence for him? The judge. So, I promise you Donald Trump's legal team is begging him
to stop doing this.
But it is important to note, a litigant, a defendant, does have broad First Amendment rights, even if it's maybe not a great idea to exercise them in
this case, but does have broad First Amendment rights to criticize the case against him. And indeed, in most cases, to criticize the judge. That's
actually why the judge left himself out of the protective order and the D.A.
You can say, this judge is against me. This D.A. has bad motives. Not a great idea, but generally it -- absent a gag order. You do have that right.
CHATTERLEY: But what you're saying is basically the defense and the prosecution in this case are probably clearly aligned. They want him
gagged.
HONIG: That -- that's a good point. Yes, I think they probably agree if they could get together and say --
CHATTERLEY: Yes, per their benefit.
HONIG: -- just to be quiet. But look who's going to control Donald Trump? Yes.
CHATTERLEY: Good luck with that. Elie Honig, thank you so much for that.
OK. To the U.S. election now. Watching the contest closely, albeit thousands of miles away, is North Korea. Some think leader Kim Jong Un
could invite Donald Trump to Pyongyang if he wins another term. Will Ripley has more on what it might mean for both nations.
[18:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Pyongyang, North Korea, Kim Jong Un is preparing for a possible second
presidency of Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, THEN-U.S. PRESIDENT: It's an honor to be together.
RIPLEY (voice-over): He went viral in 2018, gushing about the North Korean leader.
TRUMP: He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton posted that clip along with this warning, Donald Trump wants Americans to
treat him like North Koreans treat Kim Jong Un. Get ready. If Trump wins in November, Bolton thinks Kim may invite the president to visit Pyongyang. An
invite the close aide turned Trump critic says his old boss could very well accept.
TRUMP: They will be met with fire and fury.
RIPLEY (voice-over): From fiery saber rattling, to historic summits, and surprise meetings, all ending in bitter failure. Trump's first term was a
rollercoaster for U.S.-North Korea relations. The big question, would Kim actually consider a second round of Trump style diplomacy?
RIPLEY: What do you think would happen was going through Kim's mind after Trump walked out and he had actually promoted this meeting ahead of time to
his people, which is something North Korea never does. And do you think that Kim is likely to forget that feeling anytime soon?
JOHN DELURY, PROFESSOR, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: I think coming out of the Hanoi meeting, Kim Jong Un on that long train ride felt burned, and he had to
simmer in the juices of the fact that you can't really count on Donald Trump at the end of the day to seal the deal, that Trump will walk. I mean,
that's the lesson learned.
RIPLEY (voice-over): These days, Kim's cozied up to President Vladimir Putin, supplying the Russian strongman with weapons and ammo for his war in
Ukraine.
TRUMP: He wrote me beautiful letters. And they're great letters. We fell in love.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Trump shared 27 of those love letters with journalist Bob Woodward. Revealing a relationship that soured when diplomacy
disintegrated in 2019. In his last known letter to Trump in August of that year, Kim wrote, if you do not think of our relationship as a stepping
stone that only benefits you, then you would not make me look like an idiot that will only give without getting anything in return.
DELURY: And there was always this gap between the seriousness that Kim Jong Un brought into the process versus the theatricality of it for Donald
Trump.
RIPLEY (voice-over): some compared the whole thing to a made for TV reality show. Now, many wonder, could there be a second season?
RIPLEY: Based on my experience dealing with the North Koreans, they're always planning. They're always calculating. So, in preparing for a
potential second Trump administration, North Korea is likely to pursue a dual strategy. On one hand, they may seek to engage directly with Trump and
leverage the personal rapport between him and Kim Jong Un, but on the other hand, they're going to continue to grow their nuclear arsenal, experts say.
And also, deepen diplomatic and economic ties with Russia and China just to try to get themselves leveraged due to the unpredictability of U.S. policy,
especially under a Trump administration.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: OK. Coming up for us, we'll introduce you to a financial startup helping smaller investors navigate the world of private markets. An
alternative way, perhaps to diversify portfolios. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move".
It wasn't so long ago that only the ultra-rich were able to sink money into tantalizing higher return investment opportunities outside of what we know
is listed stocks and bonds. For example, tech startups, private companies, private credit, even real estate ventures. But a new generation of fintech
firms are muscling in now on the action, finding ways to get smaller investors involved. I spoke with Arta Finance's CEO about what's on offer,
and of course, the potential risks and rewards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENGUPTA: Haven't you ever felt that the ultra-rich have these special superpowers that most of us don't even know about? Like they have access to
financial products that, you know, most haven't heard about. Things like alternative investments or they know about these tax strategies that the
rest of us are, sort of, just about figuring out.
What we're doing is essentially taking many of these financial superpowers and using technology and some amount of A.I. to make them available to many
more people around the world.
CHATTERLEY: I like the concept. How wealthy do you have to be to get these services?
SENGUPTA: So right now, we're open in the U.S. for accredited investors, which essentially means you need to have about a million in net assets, or
this is more important because a lot of people don't know this. You can just have $200,000 or so in income and that makes you an accredited
investor, and that will give you access to all the products.
But most importantly, on order, we actually don't have a minimum for people to join the order platform or don't have fees to have them join the
platform so they can actually truly explore all these financial superpowers and see if that works for them.
CHATTERLEY: OK. So, what's the minimum then that somebody can invest?
SENGUPTA: So, the minimums vary by product. I mean, there are certain funds that are available for as low as $2,500. So, that's how we're
starting. And then different products have different availability and different minimums associated with them.
CHATTERLEY: OK. So, when someone says, OK, I'm going to give you, let's start with $100,000. Let's be excitable. How do you choose how to allocate
the money? How much is determined by them? How much is determined by your decisions?
SENGUPTA: So, totally it depends on what our members looking to do. If a member wants to talk to a financial advisor or get our advice, we will sit
down with them. However, what we believe at Arta is that we want to put people in control.
So, we give them, essentially, all the driving controls that they need to plan exactly where they want to deploy their assets, whether that's in
alternative assets, whether that is in very sophisticated ways of using public markets or other financial tools to further their financial goals.
CHATTERLEY: What differentiates you then versus some other wealth manager, perhaps, that they could go to in?
SENGUPTA: The biggest thing that you'll find that differentiates us, like if you compare us to sort of the, you know, the 100-year-old Swiss or the
U.S. private banks, you'll find us a lot more digital forward, a lot more engaging, a lot more personalized. Obviously, much lower cost and more fun
to use. If you compare us to sort of startups that are trying to do this, you'll find most of them just solve part of the problem.
At Arta we're trying to provide something that's very comprehensive that gives you access across a wide variety of different asset classes.
CHATTERLEY: The digital aspect of this, I think, is very important, whether it's a -- sort of, digital private office that somebody is creating
on a smaller scale, perhaps, or access to effectively a digital private bank. So, hypothetically, I could go on. Decide that I want to allocate a
piece of money to some form of private equity and do that without ever really having to speak to somebody individually and do it all online. Is
that possible?
SENGUPTA: That's absolutely possible. For someone who wants to just do it automatically on the platform, totally possible. If you want to talk to an
expert just to bounce ideas off, you can do that.
[18:45:00]
CHATTERLEY: You wouldn't just put me into stocks of private equity firms, for example.
SENGUPTA: No, absolutely not. I mean, you would invest in some of the funds offered by some of the best private equity or private credit of
venture capital firms in the world. Of course, if you want to buy or sell stock, you can do that. We also have very sophisticated public market
strategies that are automated, that take a lot of inspiration from very sophisticated quant funds. Where again, depending on your sophistication,
your needs, we can give you something as simple as a Robo or something as sophisticated as a min volatility portfolio that uses machine learning and
all sorts of fancy stuff.
CHATTERLEY: OK. So, how do you make money and how do I pay for the right to have access it all different levels?
SENGUPTA: You know, we're a business we charge based as a percentage of AUM for most products. But we did one interesting experiment, which is we
let people pay for one of our products, pay based on performance. So, they only pay when the product, you know, that that portfolio goes up.
And what's interesting is we found almost a third of our users starting to use it. So, we think there's some interesting new business models that we
could actually bring to market here, too, in addition to all these cool products.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. So, you only pay a fee if you make money. What happens if you lose their money and their capitals not protected?
SENGUPTA: These are market products. So, in many cases, you do take risk. However, there's a whole series of products. Like, if what you want to do
is not take risk, like, we have a fantastic portfolio of U.S. Treasury bonds, where instead of leaving your cash in the bank, you can actually put
it into U.S. Treasuries, which are, as safe as it gets, right? It's the U.S. Government after all. And then that yields you great return at a very
safe way.
So, depending on what the user wants, there is the right product for them on the platform. And that's really key. That personalization and being able
to get the right product for every single user.
CHATTERLEY: How do we gauge the performance that you're providing to consumers under this very tailored and bespoke environment?
SENGUPTA: You know, we believe in complete transparency. So, for every portfolio, we will show people where it's relevant. Back tests will show
them how things are doing so that they can truly decide for themselves if it's working or not.
But you know, the proof is in the pudding. And what we have seen now that we've been live for, you know, a number of months. It's people telling us
that what they're seeing is they're finding value from a number of things. The platform, they're finding value from the access and fundamentally their
trust is increasing with us because they're seeing that this is something that works for them in a way that, you know, is affordable and new and
interesting and engaging.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: OK. Coming up next in a league of his own, we meet the rising Japanese baseball star who's poised for global fame.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
CHATTERLEY: We're in Japan for today's sports move where a rising baseball star is following in the footsteps of icons like Shohei Ohtani in a way
that's very close to home. Hanako Montgomery has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At just 18, Rintaro Sasaki is a baseball phenomenon, hitting a record 140 home runs
in high school, far surpassing Japanese baseball legends Shohei Ohtani and Yusei Kikuchi. Both graduates of Sasaki's alma mater and icons he grew up
with.
MONTGOMERY: Right now, I'm in Hanamaki-Higashi, a high school known for its elite baseball team. It's been the birthing ground of some of the
biggest Japanese baseball stars in recent years, including Shohei Ohtani, Yusei Kikuchi, and soon to be Rintaro Sasaki.
RINTARO SASAKI, BASEBALL PLAYER (through translator): I was a big kid in elementary school, so I used to wear hand me downs from Yusuke (ph).
Shohei-san also gave me a lot of baseball equipment to use, which I really appreciate.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Sasaki's the projected number one pick in Japan's professional baseball draft. But this slugger is forgoing all of it to go
to Stanford. A decision his father, who's coached Ohtani, Kikuchi, and now his son, advised him to make.
HIROSHI SASAKI, HEAD COACH AND RINTARO'S FATHER (through translator): In Japan, people tend to focus more on shortcomings, but in the U.S. they
develop individuality. I think this is a very good choice for him.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): This unassuming high school tucked away among Japan's snowy northern mountains now boasts three baseball stars. So,
what's the secret? Coach Sasaki tells me it's not about the power in the arm, but in the mind.
H. SASAKI (through translator): I think the most important thing is to not blame others or to make excuses. Once I stopped doing that, my life
changed. And the other thing is to set a firm goal.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): And of course, practice, practice, and more practice. Practice. Still, Sasaki has a way to go before reaching the
heights of Ohtani, his dad tells me.
H. SASAKI (through translator): I'd never seen such a level of athleticism before. From the moment they joined the team, I knew they would be
tremendous athletes once they got stronger.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Ohtani and Kikuchi, forever legends for this Japanese high school, and a source of motivation for Sasaki.
R. SASAKI (through translator): One day, I want to be playing on the same field as Ohtani and Sasaki. That's what's driving me.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Hanamaki City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And Easter is upon us for those who celebrate, although this year the Easter bunny might look a little slimmer even if we don't. Why?
Well, cocoa prices have skyrocketed. If you remember, we discussed the record highs for Bitcoin yesterday. Well, cocoa futures have outpaced both
crypto and gold this year. How I missed this opportunity, I will never know. But Anna Stewart met a chocolatier in London who's been left
shellshocked by the rising prices and is now scrambling for a solution. I warn you, her report involves even more extremely bad jokes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): It's hard not to be egg-cited. Easter weekend is here. The eggs and bunnies are ready. But this is an egg-
streamly hard season for chocolatiers like this one in West London.
ANDREW NASON, CEO, MELT CHOCOLATES: We're going to have to teach you how to temper chocolate first.
STEWART (voice-over): Chocolatiers are feeling the heat this year.
NASON: You know, we spend most of our life worrying about the price of cocoa and the rest of it worrying about the temperature of the chocolate.
STEWART: What worries you more right now?
NASON: The price of cocoa, obviously.
STEWART: Oh, no.
NASON: Well, actually, the way you're tempering is worrying me.
STEWART: Aaron, get tempering.
STEWART (voice-over): The egg-spert takes over. Cocoa futures have more than doubled since January. Partly because of what's happening in West
Africa where erratic weather and climate change have hit cocoa producing countries hard. So, every drop of cocoa counts leftovers go back into the
melting pot. No licking the bowl here, sadly. Once cooled, moment of truth.
STEWART: I'm really scared. I'm going to mess this up.
NASON: I can say that.
STEWART: OK. Ready?
NASON: Oh, that's perfect.
STEWART: Oh, I did it.
NASON: Look at that. That's excellent.
STEWART (voice-over): With Easter eggs selling for as much as $80, this business is egg-stravagant. But being on the premium end of the market
doesn't insulate the business from the explosive rise in cocoa prices.
NASON: We're not a big producer. We're artisan. We hand make it. We don't have huge storage. So, we get very much impacted by, you know, the spot
price. So, when it doubles. You know, we have to double, you know, increase our price.
[18:55:00]
STEWART: How much of an egg like this, the bunny egg, how much of the cost of that is the cocoa?
NASON: It's probably about a third.
STEWART (voice-over): Some finishing touches before this egg is ready to go. Although, perhaps not quite good enough to sell.
NASON: You made it.
STEWART: Thank you.
NASON: You get to eat it.
STEWART: I will enjoy this.
NASON: I'm sure you will.
STEWART: You're not going for the eggplant? It's egg-cellent.
NASON: It is truly egg-cellent.
STEWART (voice-over): Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And finally, on FIRST MOVE, a perfect fix if that last story made you worried for both your waistline and your wallet. Forget the
chocolate egg, how about buying a little egg that will one day hatch into this? Yes, it's a tiny baby penguin. OK. The downside is you don't get to
take it home, but you do get to help protect this endangered species.
That's the mission, at least, of the South -- Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds who are looking for donors to "Adopt
an egg". The penguin population has plunged to less than 10,000 breeding pairs in 2024 and without help, could be extinct in just over 10 years'
time. Adopt an egg. An egg-straordinary -- sorry, I had to do it. Idea, if you ask me. I'm very happy they hatched it.
I'm done. That's about wrapping up the show. Thank goodness. Thank you for joining us. I'll see you next week. Have a great weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
