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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Trump's Classified Documents Trial Postponed; Stormy Daniels Testifies In Trump's Hush Money Trial; Israel-Hamas War; Ceasefire Talks Ongoing; Israel Continues Incursion Into Rafah; The Yen's Rough 2024; Weak Yen Boosting Tourists' Buying Power In Japan; U.S. Finishes Building Pier For Gaza Aid; Zelenskyy Assassination Plot; New Nintendo Switch On Its Way? Champions League Semifinal. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired May 07, 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]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Wolf Blitzer will pick up our coverage next in "The Situation Room." I will see you back tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.
right here on "The Lead."
Until then, you can follow me on social media, @JakeTapper. You can download the show wherever you get your podcast, all two hours just sitting
there. I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: It's 7:00 a.m. in Osaka, Japan, 8:00 a.m. in Sydney, and 6:00 p.m. right here in New York. I'm Paula Newton in
for Julia Chatterley. And wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
[18:01:02]
And a very warm welcome to everyone. Here's your need to know. Donald Trump's classified documents trial is postponed indefinitely. The judge
citing significant issues around classified evidence.
A stormy day in court in the former president's hush money trial here in New York. Heated exchanges between Donald Trump's legal team and the adult
film star Stormy Daniels.
And ceasefire talks are ongoing as Israel continues its incursion into Rafah, cutting off aid deliveries. All that and more coming up right here.
But first we go in fact to the newest decision from a federal judge indefinitely postponing Former U.S. President Donald Trump's classified
documents trial in Florida. Now, the move makes it even less likely that the trial will take place before the presidential election in November.
The judge's new schedule doesn't include a new trial date but does lay out all the legal disputes that Judge Aileen Cannon must decide before a jury
could even hear this case. Cannon said that process will take at least until late July of this year.
A reminder, that Trump is charged in the Florida case with mishandling classified documents and with working with two co-defendants, Walt Nauta
and Carlos De Oliveira, to obstruct the Justice Department's investigation. All three have pled not guilty in this case.
We do want to go, though, to another one of Trump's legal cases. That one right here in New York. A key witness taking the stand in his hush money
trial, Stormy Daniels, who says she received $130,000 to keep silent about her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006. She explained how
the non-disclosure agreement was reached and how the payment was negotiated. Trump meantime has always denied that any affair took place
between him and Daniels.
His defense team started the cross-examination a short while ago, trying to damage her credibility in many, many ways. Here's the judge though has now
called it a day. Daniels is expected to answer more questions on Thursday.
Kara Scannell has our wrap of what went on in court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the stand, Stormy Daniels, the former adult film star and director at the center of the first
criminal trial of Donald J. Trump. The $130,000 deal in exchange for her silence is at the heart of the prosecution's case.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you sleep with Stormy?
SCANNELL (voice-over): On Tuesday, prosecutors tried to paint Daniels as a credible witness, having her reveal specific details on her alleged sexual
encounter with Trump and the events surrounding it. Trump denies the affair.
Meanwhile, during cross-examination, Trump's attorneys tried to undercut Daniels' testimony by attacking her motivations, credibility, and
demonstrating how much she hates Trump. Daniels testified she met Trump while working at a celebrity golf tournament in 2006. That's when Trump
invited her to dinner.
Later, in Trump's penthouse suite, she said they talked for two hours and Trump asked thoughtful business questions. She explained she went to the
bathroom and, when I exited, he was just up on the bed like this. In boxers and a T-shirt, she said while demonstrating his pose for the jury. She
noted, it was not in a threatening manner. Daniels said, the next thing I know, I was on the bed.
She described their relationship in a 2018 interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 minutes.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: So, he definitely wanted to continue to see you?
STORMY DANIELS, FORMER ADULT FILM STAR: Oh, for sure. Yes. And this was not a secret. He never asked me not to tell anyone. He called several times
when I was in front of many people and I'd be like, oh, my God. He's calling. And people were like, shut up. The Donald?
SCANNELL (voice-over): During her testimony, Trump nudged his attorney repeatedly, who objected to questions and answers when Daniels suggested
she didn't want to be alone with Trump again. The judge agreed and struck several of her answers from the record.
When the Access Hollywood tape came out before the 2016 election, Daniels said she spoke with her publicist about selling her story.
DANIELS: Suddenly, people are reaching out to me again, offering me money. Large amounts of money.
[18:05:00]
SCANNELL (voice-over): She soon learned Trump and his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, were interested in paying for her story in a $130,000 deal that came
with a non-disclosure agreement. Daniels testified how she wanted the deal done before the election because she was worried, I wouldn't be safe or
that he wouldn't pay and there would be a trail to keep me safe.
Prosecutors then turned to Daniels' 2018 statement denying a sexual affair with Trump ahead of a "Wall Street Journal" article that was going to
outline their deal. Daniels said she did not want to sign it because it was false. The day it was released, she was interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel and
denied it was her signature.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": Did you sign this letter that was released today?
DANIELS: I don't know, did I?
KIMMEL: Wait a minute, that you can say, right?
DANIELS: But that does not look like my signature, does it?
KIMMEL: It doesn't.
SCANNELL (voice-over): Daniel's testified she purposely signed her name in a different way to tip off Kimmel. After a court break, Trump's team moved
for a mistrial, pointing to aspects of Daniels' testimony. Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued, this is the kind of testimony that makes it impossible
to come back from. Judge Juan Merchan ruled against the call for a mistrial.
Then Trump's team took their turn to question Daniels. Trump's attorney, Susan Necheles, asked Daniels, am I correct that you hate President Trump?
Yes, Daniels responded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, for more on this, we're joined by law professor at Hofstra University, James Sample. And thanks so much for being here as we continue
to parse this breaking news.
I do want to go first to this documents case. Does any of this sound legitimate to you in terms of what Judge Cannon is saying? What she's
saying is twofold, one is she scheduled a couple of hearings. One is to try and parse through a lot of these documents, and a lot of them have to do
with what can be displayed in court, divulged and disclosed in court, because a lot of this has to do with national security in the United
States. And the other, that she actually scheduled a hearing to listen to arguments on what was considered a long shot legally that the Trump team
was going to ask for records from the Biden administration.
JAMES SAMPLE, PROFESSOR OF LAW, HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: Well -- and it's good to be with you, Paula. I think that there are two ways to read the
situation with Judge Aileen Cannon, who is the judge overseeing the classified documents case.
If you want to read things in the light most charitable to Judge Cannon, you would emphasize that there is a procedure, there is a law in the United
States called the Classified Information Procedures Act, and that law details the ways in which when a -- when classified information is to be
presented at a trial, the ways in which it needs to be handled, the care that needs to be taken to determine what the jury can see, what can become
public and what can obviously not become public. In fact, the very nature of the case is that these are the kinds of things that we don't want to
become public. So, it's not as though these are not serious questions that she's wrestling with.
On the other hand, at every single turn, since these classified documents case began and was assigned to Judge Cannon, she has ruled in ways that
have treated arguments that the defense team, Donald Trump's team has made that most judges would find to be farfetched, and as you said, a complete
long shot. And at every single turn, the result, the byproduct of those rulings has been delays, delays, delays.
So, now, we're at a stage where, as the report just mentioned, it is highly, highly unlikely that these classified documents case could even
conceivably take place before the election. We're essentially now one delay, even one minor delay, from a situation in which the voters will not
be able to take into account whether Mr. Trump mishandled and then obstructed justice with regard to the inquiry into the mishandling of those
documents.
NEWTON: Yes. On a very significant level here, this is really good news for the Trump defense team. I want to ask you, though, if you're the special
counsel in this case, do you have any right of appeal here? Is there anything you can do about either thing? The fact that she's scheduled this
hearing about Biden documents and the fact that she's delaying this trial really indefinitely now?
SAMPLE: There are very, very limited rights for Jack Smith here in terms of appellate options. And that speaks to the discretion that federal district
court judges have over matters like discovery and matters like scheduling and docket management. This is the kind of thing that is squarely within
the prerogative of your federal trial court judge.
Now, there are some long shot bids that Jack Smith can consider, and it's been much discussed whether or not he should seek the recusal, the
disqualification of Judge Cannon on grounds that she's somehow unfair or is likely to be partial towards Mr. Trump.
I think that -- you know, I spent a lot of time on recusal issues. It's a tough sell to say that just because he appointed her and she has ruled in
ways that are favorable to him, that she needs to be disqualified. That being said, if you take all of these in the aggregate, it sure does seem
like Donald Trump, for all of his legal problems, could literally not have found a better judge on the draw, so to speak, than Judge Cannon for that
case.
[18:10:00]
NEWTON: Yes, a Republican appointee, we should add. Before I get to the Stormy Daniels testimony today, I want to ask you, if Donald Trump is re-
elected president, he can make this whole case go away, right?
SAMPLE: Yes, the federal classified documents case, he can absolutely make it go away. If he's the president, he'll have the ability to basically shut
the case down. And if the case somehow miraculously were to proceed, he would then have the ability to pardon himself. That right does not exist
for the New York State case or the Georgia State case.
However, the question, at least with the Georgia state case is, whether or not Fanni Willis can get that case to trial before the election, because it
would be virtually impossible to try the Georgia case while Mr. Trump was in the White House, that would be very, very difficult. But the two state
cases, he can't pardon himself, the federal cases he could.
NEWTON: Although, the one in Georgia is also, as you point out, going very slowly. OK. To get to what went on in this state case today in New York.
Stunning, riveting testimony. I wouldn't say it was bombshells, though. It is information many voters have already had in front of them about this
alleged affair.
I want to ask you, though, how relevant you actually found the testimony. Does it help the prosecution's case, do you believe?
SAMPLE: I think there were aspects of it that helped the prosecution's case. You're right to set -- to note that, in a sense, let's remember, this
case is ultimately -- the charges in the case are about the falsification of documents relate -- and business records related to the cover up of the
underlying allegation of an affair.
But what was -- and so, Stormy Daniels doesn't have a whole lot of information to offer in that regard. But what she did offer today that was
helpful for the prosecution was a stunning level of detail. An exactitude of memory, if you will, right down to the patterns on the floor tiles or
the gold nail clippers in Mr. Trump's bathroom at his hotel room in Lake Tahoe.
Mr. Trump has denied categorically that he ever had any interactions with her beyond the one golf outing related photo that they took, and she did a
thorough job and the prosecutors, attorneys did a thorough job of detailing all the ways in which that's just categorically not credible. His denial,
they're not credible.
She had all sorts of very private phone numbers, including for his personal assistant who had verified earlier, Rhona Graff that she, Stormy Daniels,
had been at Trump Tower subsequent to that golf tournament. She talked about meeting him in Los Angeles. She talked about taking phone calls from
Mr. Trump on a regular basis, in which she would then put the phone on speaker phone.
And so, there are additional witnesses to those calls, i.e., if Mr. Trump were to take the stand, as he has threatened to do, and I think it's almost
inconceivable that he will. But if he were to take the stand Stormy Daniels had not testified, then you'd be face -- the jury would be hearing his
denials that all of this ever happened. And they would not have heard, as an initial matter, Stormy Daniels' version. And I think that aspect,
despite the lurid details and the salaciousness, and frankly, some aspects of her testimony that clearly irritated Judge Merchan and that were
favorable for the defense, the net result of today was favorable for the prosecution for sure.
NEWTON: And yet, may also open up issues I'd imagine on appeal. Before I let you go, I do want to ask you about, if you're the defense right now and
you come back at cross-examination on Thursday, do you think there is more to be done here? Because at the end of the day, you're still trying to hit
her credibility, but she also has to be able to speak to the crime. She has not been able to speak to the actual crime that Donald Trump is accused of.
SAMPLE: Sure. I think that's the right question, Paula. I think that they will continue to hammer her credibility. I think that they are trying to
defend not only Mr. Trump in this case, but his reputation. And there were some things today that were not favorable for him on a reputation level.
They'll try and rehabilitate him a little bit by attacking her.
But if you are correct that most of this case relies on other witnesses and other documentary evidence. And the prosecution's pattern has been
basically a kind of one day of star witness testimony and then the next day, it's relatively pedestrian important but dry documentary evidence
brought in by unknown individuals, to the public that is, who can introduce custodial processes with evidence and can get that evidence into the
record.
[18:15:00]
I think that the defense attorneys will definitely emphasize the fact that Stormy Daniels, it is a fact, at this point, that she was paid $130,000.
That doesn't mean the defense will point out that she has anything to say about whether or not there was a coverup or whether it was to influence the
results of the 2016 election.
Although, her point today that she made in her testimony that Mr. Trump was unconcerned in the aftermath of the alleged sexual encounter that for many
years, up until the time he was running for office, when he suddenly became very, very concerned of it, especially in the aftermath of the Access
Hollywood tape, that is a favorable fact for the prosecution.
NEWTON: Yes, points to a coverup because of the campaign, not because he wanted to keep it from his family necessarily. Professor James Sample, that
was quite a legal brief. You have lucky students there and we are lucky to have your expertise. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
SAMPLE: Thank you.
NEWTON: And we want to turn now to the other developing story we've been covering today, the war in Gaza. The U.S. has finished building a pier that
is meant to help the Palestinian territory receive more aid.
Now, while the new sea route could open soon, another key land crossing is closed this hour. On Tuesday, the Israeli military seized control of the
Rafah Crossing from the Palestinian side. Israel has shut down the critical aid route, which connects Egypt with Gaza.
Meantime, Hamas says it is negotiating -- its negotiating teams have, in fact, arrived in Cairo for talks on a ceasefire deal in exchange for the
release of more hostages. Jeremy Diamond has more now from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israeli tanks rolling into Rafah for the first time early this morning, crushing the last remaining
signs of Palestinian control over Gaza's lifeline to the outside world.
The Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt now firmly under Israeli control. For now, that means nothing in or out at this critical crossing point for
humanitarian aid, fuel, and medical evacuations.
As plumes of smoke rise over the area, the Israeli prime minister touting the operation as a play to bolster Israeli leverage in ceasefire talks with
Hamas, which put a new proposal on the table hours before Israeli tanks rolled into Rafah.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Military pressure on Hamas is a necessary condition for the return of our hostages.
The Hamas proposal yesterday was intended to torpedo the entry of our forces into Rafah. It did not happen.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israeli air and artillery strikes began pummeling Eastern Rafah late Monday night. Hospital officials say 23 people,
including six children, were killed in the overnight assault. Others were left shaken by what they saw.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I am 69 years old and I haven't seen in my life shelling and bombing like this. I have witnessed many wars
in my life and I haven't seen a war like this one.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Things could soon get worse. Israeli officials are threatening to expand military operations deeper into Rafah, where more
than a million Palestinians currently live.
ANTONIO GUTERESS, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: A full-scale assault on Rafah would be a human catastrophe. Countless more civilian casualties. Countless
more families forced to flee.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Thousands are already fleeing what was once the last refuge in Gaza for this coastal area, the Israeli military calls a
humanitarian zone, setting up makeshift shelters with tarp sheets and thin planks of wood.
This woman has just arrived with her grandchildren after a sleepless night in Rafah, displaced once again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We saw death with our own eyes. Airstrikes forced us to leave. We roamed in the streets like nomads.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Humanitarian aid officials warn this area isn't equipped to handle the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of people who
could soon be forced to leave Rafah. After seven months of war, ceasefire negotiations offer the only hope of a way out.
Jeremy Diamonds, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND (voice-over): Now, as you can imagine, humanitarian organizations are sounding the alarm about how an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah could
affect children. More than half a million children are currently sheltering in the city.
Many are already, you'll remember, refugees from other parts of Gaza. And really have nowhere to go at this hour. Save the Children warned Monday
that evacuation plans aren't feasible for many, saying that time had "run out to protect children in Rafah."
Janti Soeripto is the president and CEO of Save the Children U.S. And I thank you for joining us. You know, the snapshot your organization gives of
the situation is certainly grave. What more pressure do you believe the U.S. and allies can apply to Israel at this hour when they continue to say
that they will go on with their incursion into Rafah unless there's some kind of a ceasefire deal?
[18:20:00]
JANTI SOERIPTO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, SAVE THE CHILDREN U.S.: Yes. Thank you, Paula. Look, you know, we've been sounding this alarm for many, many weeks
now. I was in Gaza five weeks ago myself. I saw Al-Mawasi. I went to Deir al-Balah. I've seen situation in Rafah. There is no way that evacuating
over a million people to where exactly is actually a feasible plan.
So, we think it is already the worst situation for children anywhere in the world. So, how much worse can it get? I mean, I've been wondering that
myself for these past months. Every time I thought it couldn't get worse, it actually did get worse. And an incursion into Rafah would certainly be
absolutely horrific. It would be catastrophic. Thousands more -- more thousands of children could die. And that with already famine looming
large, particularly over the north of Gaza, humanitarians are really at a loss here as to what to do.
We are asking the U.S. government and any of the other international players who have an influence to actually bear more leverage on the Israeli
government and frankly, on all parties to stop the violence, to release the hostages, to allow us unfettered access,
NEWTON: You know, I'm glad that you mentioned all parties. I mean, we do have to point out as well that Hamas, just a couple of days ago, sent
rockets to Kerem Shalom, a border area that the U.S. had put pressure on Israel to open so that more supplies could get in there. Four Israeli
soldiers have been killed.
Now, the U.S. administration does say that that border crossing hopefully will open tomorrow. We wait and see.
You mentioned Al-Mawasi. Now, the IDF, again, just said in the last few hours that is has facilitated the building of field hospitals, tents, an
increase of water, food, and supplies. I'm just quoting them now. Are you saying you don't believe that that's in place at this hour and people will
get there and have no way to sustain themselves?
SOERIPTO: Look, I was there five weeks ago. My team on the ground. And we're still there, we're still trying to do our operations as best as we
can. Have -- look, everything, there's a shortage. There's not enough water, food, shelter. It's been hard to actually bring shelter in and fuel
and clean water and food. So, yes, it has dripped in over these last weeks.
On Sunday, I think, the Rafah Crossing and the Kerem Shalom Crossing were close. So, as far as I know, since Sunday, nothing has come through. And
before that, as we know -- because we've all become sort of experts on counting trucks, apparently -- we know that there was -- it was inevitably
-- unbelievably inadequate what was coming through.
So, even if some additional supplies have come in, I would be incredibly surprised. I would doubt very much that is anywhere near adequate for the
numbers of people we're talking about here.
NEWTON: OK. And the region we're talking about is actually close to -- in proximity to the coast. Now, we also heard from the U.S. government today
that this pier has been finished. They couldn't move in any aid just because of weather, but they promised to do so in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Do you see that as being more of a solution?
SOERIPTO: Look, again, of course -- look, at this point in time, we will take anything, any opportunity to get more aid in if it is substantive
enough and if it doesn't endanger, risk children and families, even more, which we think airdrops did do.
This pier could help. There is an additional volume promised out of that pier that we think is, you know, substantive enough. But again, it is only
additional to road crossings and not instead of. In the end, the simplest way to get more adequate aid in to all the people in Gaza is to stop the
violence and to open the border crossings and let the trucks in. Because there's thousands of trucks waiting in Arish, on the Egyptian side, to go
in.
NEWTON: And right now, on the Gaza side of things, Israel says it controls that entry. The Israeli defense minister directly linked the operation, the
military operation to ceasefire talks. How carefully do you think everything hangs on those ceasefire talks right now? And when I say
everything, I mean saving children's lives at this hour.
SOERIPTO: Saving children's lives absolutely hangs on ceasefire talks, and we've been saying that for months, and so have every other operational
agency in Gaza have said the same. We need the violence to stop from all parties. We need hostages released, and we need humanitarian agencies be
allowed to do their work safely and securely and at scale.
[18:25:00]
NEWTON: Safely and securely and at scale. Before I let you go, in terms of -- because you are Save the Children and you try -- take care of families
and children. In terms of the conditions that children are in right now, how much do you worry, not just about their nutrition, but also access to
medical care?
I mean, you and I both know, right, we're talking about injuries from airstrikes that are one thing. Parents just go through normal things, an
ear infection, strep throat. Things still happen to children on the ground, even if it's not that they're hit by an airstrike.
SOERIPTO: No, and there's sadly thousands of children who are actually hit by shrapnel and rubble and are buried under rubble and whatnot. But yes,
when I was there five weeks ago, you could see it. I mean, there were kids everywhere. And you could see many of them had some sort of illness or
injury.
There was coughing. They had rashes. There's no hygiene. There was only one toilet for 600 people. I mean, all of these things add up. And if there's
not enough simple, basic medicine available, even simple things can turn into more serious things very quickly, particularly for young children.
NEWTON: Janti Soeripto, thank you so much. We will leave it there for now and certainly hope that some of those aid crossings open in the next few
hours. Hopefully. Appreciate it.
SOERIPTO: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, your up-to-the-minute global weather forecast is just ahead.
Plus, tourists in Japan are taking advantage of the weaker yen, and they're snapping up bargains. Richard Quest is in Osaka, Japan, and we'll be along
to discuss.
Plus, gamer no brainer, Nintendo hinting that a next generation Switch console may be on its way. The latest on when Switch 2 might make its
debut.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And a warm welcome back to "First Move." It was a tepid Tuesday on Wall Street, and that tops today's "Money Move." The Dow and the S&P both
edging higher, as you can see there. The Dow, in fact, rose for a fifth straight session, and the Nasdaq finished little change.
Now, in corporate news, shares of Disney fell sharply. The entertainment giant's revenue last quarter fell short of estimates. It also gave
disappointing guidance for its current quarter.
Apple meantime edged higher. The tech giant announcing new and improved iPads. Apple says the tablets will be powerful enough to handle artificial
intelligence tasks.
And exercise bike maker Peloton rallied on reports that it could be bought out by a private equity firm.
[18:30:00]
Asian markets close mostly higher. South Korea outperforming, rising more than 2 percent. The Japanese Nikkei also a winner, up 1.5 percent.
Now, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been touring global capitals with the goal of, of course, boosting trade. His job has been made easier,
though, by the weaker yen, which is making Japanese exports cheaper. The weak yen also helping to boost the buying power of foreign visitors in
Japan.
One of those visitors, drumroll please, our very own Richard Quest. I thought you'd never show up. My goodness, I miss you. It is good to see
you, Richard, especially on an economic story.
You and I are the only two who probably remember Japan in the '90s and what the yen was like then. So, please, do tell. How has the economic
environment there changed?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: In the '90s, and I go back to the '80s and the Plaza and Louisville Accords. Yes, good morning to you, Paula,
from Osaka in Japan, where it is breakfast time. And you join me at my morning breakfast table, where I'm going to be talking and giving you an
idea of the yen.
Now, the yen has dramatically devalued over the last few months and that is both a plus and a minus as you're well aware for the Japanese economy. Take
this knife that I bought yesterday. Look at this. It's Sakai, which is the famous knife place just up the road.
Sakai sells knives. And when you look at this particular knife -- by the way, that's not blood that happens to be jam, strawberry jam. When you look
at this knife, you realize that the cost of this splendid knife has actually reduced dramatically over the last six months.
This knife would have cost about $230 at the beginning of -- middle of last year. Now, this knife is costing just about $194. Now, if you extrapolate
that across the totality of the economy, you start to see that this knife and the way the yen has moved is taking dramatic slices out of the way
things are going. You're getting a nice, clean cut, Paula. But at the same time, it has an effect on the way the Japanese economy will perform. The
knife is an example of what's actually happening in the economy.
Here in Japan, there is growth. It's not that great. Unemployment's coming down. Interest rates will remain fairly low for the foreseeable future. And
it is a situation that's likely to get worse as the U.S. raises rates.
NEWTON: Now, Richard, I'm going to just comment that that knife is very sharp, although, you did a very good job with it, which means you can make
me dinner. So, we have that on the record that you're capable.
Before you go, I do want to ask you about, we used to hear so much about deflation in Japan. I'd imagine that is not the word on the street these
days.
QUEST: You know, the specter of deflation in Japan is so haunting, long lasting, that it's something they never want to go through again. The
Japanese Central Bank has pretty much said that deflation is not an issue. But there's no question that -- yes, bear in mind, you'll remember this,
Paula, you'll remember that they spent so much time trying to boost inflation, trying to -- they borrowed so much.
Now, we have this fascinating example of the Japanese Central Bank intervening, and in the last 24 hours, making it quite clear that they will
intervene again and again if necessary. Because in this country, basically, Osaka behind me, it's nearly 7 percent, the general region is 7 percent of
the Japanese economy.
Take this region, extrapolate the exports, realize that automotives and computers is the industry, and you start to see why the yen, deflation,
interest rates, the current Japanese prime ministers run around the is all so significant and tied together.
NEWTON: Indeed. It has been lovely having a little breakfast break with you, my Richard Quest. Like I said, you're good with that knife, so you'll
be making me dinner. Just please put a date down, and we will see you right back here, of course, after you do your reporting there from Japan.
Richard, really good to see you. Take care. Good reporting.
Here it is. How are you going to get that back to the United States? I can't wait to hear about this.
QUEST: In my checked luggage.
NEWTON: Yes, yes.
QUEST: In my checked luggage before somebody says -- and I will be declaring it. I'll be declaring it. It's a magnificent piece of work. You
should see the craftsmanship on this.
NEWTON: I know.
QUEST: Now, I just got to make sure I don't sever a digit.
NEWTON: Yes. Oh, that's why that scared me. But like I said, you're good for it, Richard. You're quite talented. There you go. Richard Quest for us
in Osaka. Thanks so much. And we'll be right back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:38:18]
NEWTON: Now, returning to one of our top stories, the war between Israel and Hamas. The U.S. has finished building a pier that's meant to help Gaza
receive more aid. On Tuesday, the Israeli military seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing. Israel has shut down the critical
aid route, which connects Egypt with Gaza.
Hamas, meantime, says its negotiating team has now arrived in Cairo. Israel says the last proposal is "far from meeting its demands, but will engage in
more talks."
Meantime, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says more than 14,000 children have been killed since October. And for those who have survived, thousands
don't have family to care for them. Jomana Karadsheh visited one orphaned child receiving medical care in Doha after becoming injured in an Israeli
airstrike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Darin giggles and shrieks at the same time. The pain from bending her knees is
just too much.
You promised you won't make me cry today, she tells the nurse.
Months of these physical therapy sessions after multiple surgeries has gotten her back up on her feet. Starting to walk again as she turned 11.
Last time we saw Darin, she was lying injured, unconscious in a hospital bed in Gaza last October. She and her brother Kinan had just survived an
Israeli airstrike. Kinan was quiet and confused, barely able to open his eyes. Their great aunt was by their bedside trying to shield them from the
most crushing of news.
[18:40:00]
DARIN ELBAYYA, PARENTS KILLED IN GAZA (through translator): For the first time now, I feel that I am an orphan. In the morning when I go to school,
mom and dad are not there to give them a kiss before I leave.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Darin and Kinan now know they were the only ones who survived that airstrike. Their mom, dad, and eight-year-old brother,
Walid, are gone. Their grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, 70 loved ones, all perished that October day.
The children made it out to Gaza (ph) for medical treatment. They have new friends, they go to school, they play and laugh. But beneath this veneer of
normalcy is the pain they share with nearly 20,000 Palestinian children the U.N. estimates have lost their parents in this war.
Five-year-old Kinan seems oblivious to it all, but sometimes his aunt says he pretends he's on the phone to his parents.
They laugh, they smile, but they also cry, Yusra (ph) tells us. Sometimes I can't be strong anymore. I hug Darin and we cry. Then I pull myself
together and tell her we have to be strong and get through this.
Yusra (ph), separated from her own family in Gaza, has not left their side since October. She's become their everything. They now call her tata or
grandma. Not a day goes by for Darin without thinking of her parents and all those she's lost. She interrupts her interview several times to look
through their photos. It's what she does when she misses them.
ELBAYYA (through translator): I miss mom's cooking, I miss mom, my dad and my brother. Dad made me my own princess themed room. Mom used to spoil me.
When I was little and war would come, it would last a few days. But this war was unlike any other war, God chose to take the people we love, the
good people.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): On a call to her injured uncle in Gaza, Darin breaks down begging anyone to get him and his family out. She has to
protect them, she says. It's that all-consuming fear of losing those she has left.
ELBAYYA (through translator): I wish I could go back to Gaza, but what will be left in Gaza? Destruction, people are all in tents. Gaza in no longer
Gaza. It is now a city of ghosts.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): For now, she's finding her own way of dealing with grief.
ELBAYYA (through translator): I am not sad that was family was killed, because they are happy in heaven. They are not dead, they are alive. We
don't see them but they see us.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Doha.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, Ukraine says it has foiled a Russian plot to assassinate Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Two colonels, in fact, have been arrested. Both have
been charged with treason and are accused of working with Russia's State Security Service. One was also charged with preparing a terrorist act.
Now, the two colonels were members of a unit responsible for protecting President Zelenskyy and other top officials.
Stay with "First Move." We will be right back with more news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:46:01]
NEWTON: It's been seven long years since Nintendo released the Switch. Now, the gaming console remains a big profit driver for the company. It's used
by millions of gamers playing popular titles including, yes, "Super Mario Brothers," "Endless Ocean," and "Princess Peach." I'm just naming a few
there. There have been upgrades to the Switch over the years.
But for the first time Tuesday, Nintendo is hinting that a whole new console is coming our way. A formal announcement is expected by March next
year. Switch could use a reboot. Nintendo is projecting sales of more than 13 million Switch units this year, but that's lower than in past years.
Nintendo is also warning that overall company profits are expected to fall 39 percent over the next fiscal year.
Stephen Totilo joins us now to discuss the state of Switch and its importance to the gaming industry. He is the gaming reporter for the
Substack newsletter, Game File. Good for you to join us and explain all of this to us.
So, I get the fact that they need a new console, but this is a long time in coming. This success guaranteed here, because it almost seems as if other
companies, other games might leapfrog them in a way in terms of popularity.
STEPHEN TOTILO, REPORTER, GAME FILE: Hi, thanks for having me on. And it's not guaranteed. Nintendo's been around a long time and they've been around
a long enough time to get overconfident at times. Everybody remembers the Wii. Do you remember the Wii U that came after? It was a disaster. It only
sold 14 million, maybe even 13 million units. The Switch followed that and has sold 10 times as many. Sometimes these console makers get a little
ahead of themselves, a little full of themselves, think that they're not going to have to worry about competition and somebody out maneuvers them.
But Nintendo's in a pretty good spot. They're in a good spot because they're not just about hardware, they're about software. And they're kind
of slowing things down with software this year, focusing on remakes, repackaging older games, so that they can get their top game development
studios ready for what's probably going to be a killer lineup when the new Switch launches.
NEWTON: When we talk about a killer lineup though, some people will want to play the old games on the new Switch console. Is that something that we
know about yet, as Nintendo said, that they'll be able to do that?
TOTILO: No, backwards compatibility is very important to people, particularly families, because you've bought games for your kids. You want
to know that those kid -- games for your kids are still going to be playable on the new machine. Obviously, Nintendo sells to a lot of
families.
All Nintendo has said so far is that their Nintendo account, which is an online account that you sign up for in order to play Switch games online,
in order to be able to purchase and download games from their digital store, will also work on the new system. Does that mean you'll carry over
your "Animal Crossing" progress and even the game to the new machine? We don't know. Nintendo will definitely say before the new device comes out.
They have been -- they have had their systems work as -- with prior systems in the past. Backwards compatibility is not anathema to Nintendo. But we'll
see if they do it. Some of it is, can the new hardware Run or emulate the older hardware? Sometimes easier said than done. We'll see.
NEWTON: You'd assume it's a simple thing, but I know sometimes that gets very complicated. What do you believe, though, can, you know, keep Nintendo
and give it -- or continue to have it -- have that competitive edge? You know, this is a very competitive landscape right now.
TOTILO: It is a competitive landscape. It is also a landscape that where a lot of companies in the industry are really struggling. The cost to develop
games is spiraling out of control. We're seeing a record number of layoffs in the games industry. As great as the quality of video games are right
now, because the craft has never been higher, I think, there's amazing games coming out every week, a lot of big companies are struggling to
figure out how to make the most out of that.
There are a lot of them are designed to fund these large so-called triple A game development projects that can cost $200 billion or more. Nintendo,
they don't really reveal their budgets. But it's clear, they've always been able to get by with maybe smaller budgets, but a greater burst of
creativity, part of the company's heritage and why they are regarded still as one of, if not the preeminent game maker in the industry.
Nintendo's games are always top of the line, top quality, top class, they will be top sellers when they come out for the new system.
[18:50:00]
It's really about getting people excited for the new unit. They got people excited for the Switch because people love that concept of, oh, I can take
my portable games, but I can also take them home. I can put them on the TV. I guess a good question to wonder about the Switch 2 is, would it be enough
for the system to do that again with better graphics or does it need some new wow factor? And if so, what would that be? Nintendo's hard to predict.
So, we don't really know what they're going to do.
NEWTON: Yes, and given the lead time that they have to have, it'll be interesting to see exactly what they do come up with. As you said, a lot of
investment there and a lot of time to try and come up with that console, that new thing that'll work.
TOTILO: That's right.
NEWTON: Stephen Totilo for us. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
TOTILO: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, coming up for us, can Dortmund succeed in their quest for Champions League glory? Don Riddell is next. You'll find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Dortmund heading to London's Wembley Stadium for this year's Champions League final after eliminating, yes, Perry Saint Germain. Don
Riddell joins me now. Bit of a stunner here obviously for PSG fans.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes. Hey, Paula. I mean, it was a great game. Very exciting. Lots of chances. Absolutely devastating for the PSG team and
their fans.
We should really begin by celebrating and talking about the winners, but I think we just have to talk about PSG first because in this game, they
absolutely dominated the possession. They peppered the Dortmund goal with shots. They had 31 shots to Dortmund 6. And would you believe, they hit the
frame of the goal four times. And in the first leg, they hit the frame of the goal twice.
So, they hit the woodwork six times over two legs. They just couldn't get the ball to go in. And they must now be thinking they are absolutely cursed
in the Champions League. This is the one they really want. This is the tournament that their category owners have spent millions and millions and
millions of dollars trying to win, and they just can't do it. So, they're out. And heartbreak yet again for Paris Saint Germain.
On the other hand, what an amazing result for Borussia Dortmund, who have had a miserable season in the German Bundesliga. They're fifth in their
domestic league, they were given no chance in the Champions League this season. And yet, here they are in the final for the first time since 2013.
This was the decisive goal, a header from the unmarked Mats Hummels. They scored one on the night, winning 2-0 on aggregate. It sends Borussia
Dortmund back to the final since -- for the first time since 2013.
And it was almost preordained. Because the last time they were in the final, it was also at London's Wembley Stadium. On that occasion, they
played their big German rivals Bayern Munich for the title, and they might do so again because Bayern are playing in the other semifinal against Real
Madrid tomorrow.
NEWTON: Listen, I have 20 seconds. The big star on PSG, what about him now?
[18:55:00]
RIDDELL: Kylian Mbappe. Well, everybody expects him to leave likely to Real Madrid. He's got one more big game for Paris. They're going to be playing
in the French Cup. They've already wrapped up the league title, which they always do. But for sure, his time in Paris ending in bitter disappointment.
NEWTON: Yes, absolutely. It was definitely one that he and his teammates wanted. Don Riddell, really good to see you. Appreciate that. Thanks so
much.
RIDDELL: Yes.
NEWTON: And that about wraps up our show. I want to thank everyone for joining us here on "First Move." CNN continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
