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One World with Zain Asher
Car Collides at Front Gates of Downing Street; Rwandan Genocide Suspect Captured; Wagner Leader Says His Forces Are Pulling Out from Bakhmut; DeSantis Announces White House Bid; More Than 300,000 Flee Sudan Due to Conflict; Hospital Discharges Boy Shot by Police in Mississippi. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired May 25, 2023 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone I'm Zain Asher in New York and this is One World. We just have some breaking news right now. Into CNN, London's
Metropolitan Police say that one arrest has been made after a car collided into the front gates of Downing Street. Once again, one arrest has been
made after a car collided with the front gates of Downing Street. You're looking at live pictures here. That, I believe, is the car we just saw a
moment ago.
Police officers -- armed police officers milling around there. We know that one arrest has been made, as I mentioned. You're looking at barriers. This,
of course, is where the Prime Minister and the Cabinet convene. So, this is serious news right now.
I want to go straight now to Salma Abdelaziz in London for us. Salma, I know we're just getting details at this point, but what more do we know
about what happened here and whether or not it was intentional?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, as you mentioned, this is breaking news. So, bear with me because we are only getting these details right now.
What we do understand is as you mentioned, one arrest made no injuries after a car collided into the front gates of Downing Street. You have those
images playing there. I'm going to read you the statement, the full statement from the Westminster police.
At around 16:20, so, 4:20, a car collided with the gates of Downing Street on Whitehall. Armed officers arrested a man at the scene on suspicion of
criminal damage and dangerous driving. There are no reports of any injuries. Inquiries are ongoing.
There's a couple of things I want to point out in this statement just right off the bat here on suspicion of criminal damage in dangerous driving.
We're still trying to understand the motivations, but this begins to give you an indication of what police believe is behind this ramming or this
accidental drive into those gates. That is dangerous driving, being the key phrase in that statement.
I know again, you're playing those pictures just from my experience as a journalist. Those barricades that you see all around are always generally
up. You have to go around them as a journalist, show your press pass at those gates to ever be allowed inside. The police are very careful to not
allow even cars to park in front of those gates. Anytime you're being dropped off, you have to do it from a further point. You can't be dropped
off right in front of those gates, of course.
So, to imagine a car like that maneuvering into that place, hitting those gates, it's difficult to imagine that it was entirely accidental but again
I'm going to point to that phrase in this statement from Westminster Police, dangerous driving. You can imagine, of course, we are talking about
the Prime Minister's residence and offices. This is a highly secure location, a highly important location, it is next to Whitehall, it is a
stone's throw away from Parliament. It is in central London, right in the heart of the most important buildings in this country.
So, always a heavy security presence, always a heavy police presence, and all of that right now is gonna be scrambling, moving to try to figure out
what took place. Already we know one man arrested, again, no injuries, but scrambling to try to figure out what took place to secure that site. Again,
I can't overemphasize the importance of this. We are talking about Downing Street. We are talking about the Prime Minister's office and residents.
Yes, this occurred at the gates, not at the actual building of course, at the gates, but it is absolutely going to be a matter of huge concern to
security forces.
ASHER: Yeah, absolutely. As you mentioned though we still don't technically know whether or not it was intentional. Of course, this is just breaking
news right into CNN here but as you point out very significant, nonetheless, given that it is, of course, the Prime Minister's residence
and there, we are looking at live pictures right now of that car we believe ramming into the gates of Downing Street on Whitehall. Salma Abdelaziz,
live for us there, thank you so much.
All right. Justice will be done no matter how long it takes, those words from the Chief Prosecutor of a U.N. Tribunal after the arrest of one of the
world's most wanted fugitives, Kayishema is accused of horrific crimes in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. He was captured Wednesday in South Africa
after decades on the run.
[12:05:00]
The tribunal alleges that Kayishema orchestrated the killing of more than 2000 Tutsis who were seeking refuge in a Catholic church during the
genocide. An estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates were killed over a period of 90 days.
CNN's David McKenzie joins us live now from Johannesburg in South Africa. David, when you think about who Kayishema actually was and what he has been
accused of here. I mean, this idea of sort of instigating or facilitating, rather, the murder of up to 2000 people, including innocent people who
sought refuge in a church. Just walk us through that.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the awful allegations and one of the most notorious moments in a very terrible few
months in Rwanda during the genocide, where, as you say, more than 800,000 people were killed by their countrymen. And what happened in the Nyange
Church is that there were people fleeing, seeking refuge in that church.
Women, elderly, children, and Kayishema, who was the Police Chief or the Police Inspector at the time in that zone, in fact, locked them in,
allegedly. He then got gasoline, poured it on the church, and him and his followers, according to the indictment, then torched that church. Not
everyone was killed, so then they got heavy machinery, according to U.N. investigators, and flattened that church with people inside.
These horrible, evil acts, it must be said, have been really front and center, of course, for those victims and their families for many, many
years. Now, on Wednesday, in Pahl in the Western Cape, he was arrested by elite South African Police, as well, as U.N. investigators. I spoke to the
Chief Prosecutor of the tribunal. He said they used modern techniques like phone tapping, intelligence.
They had at least 20 members of the police intelligence here in South Africa over the past year working with them to tighten the net. And he said
that this man was not only leading and ordering acts of extreme violence, but was actually taking part in them himself. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGE BRAMMERTZ, CHIEF PROSECUTOR, IRMCT: This case definitely symbolized also the brutality of what happened during 100 days in Rwanda, where
thousands of people, 10,000 of people who were teachers, police officer, normal citizens from one day to the next became mass murders. And he is
definitely one among them and definitely one of the worst cases. So we are, of course, extremely satisfied that after this intensive work, our team, we
got him arrested.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: So, then he will be arraigned in court on Friday in Cape Town. And then the difficult process of where he will actually be tried because
the Rwandan war crimes genocide tribunal, excuse me, wrapped up some years ago. This group of investigators have been searching for those still
implicated in the Yugoslav conflict and in the Rwandan genocide. There are several people, senior people implicated still, that this is certainly one
of the most significant arrests in many years when it comes to the Rwandan Genocide, Zain.
ASHER: When you think about it, early next year will mark 30 years since the Rwandan Genocide. Just walk us through what this arrest means for so
many of the family members of the victims who have been waiting decades for this kind of justice and accountability.
MCKENZIE: Well, it would be hugely important. In fact, the Chief Prosecutor told me that just last month he was in Rwanda speaking to relatives of
those killed in those events near the Nyange Church and he didn't have good news for them now -- then, but he does now. And he said, of course, never
bring their loved ones back.
The sheer scale of what happened in Rwanda is just awful. And I've been there many times and seen the memorials, many of them very raw and still
show the bodies in quicklime in the schools and churches where people sheltered and then were killed by authorities and their neighbors in some
cases. The scars of such a monumental event are still very raw in Rwanda itself, but certainly today and the Rwandese government has lauded this
arrest will be at least one element in closing the chapter in these awful events, Zain.
ASHER: And as you mentioned, he is sort of one of the most prominent instigators in terms of enabling the genocide to take place with the murder
of 2000 people, essentially. But there are many others that are still on the run. Just walk us through how this arrest might possibly lead to the
capture of other fugitives, as well.
[12:10:00]
MCKENZIE: I think what is really important in this arrest is the cooperation that came from the South African government over the past year.
The prosecutor, Zain, did complain openly at the U.N. Security Council, even when South Africa was a temporary member of the council at the U.N.,
saying they weren't getting cooperation from the South Africans. That all changed, according to my sources, around a year ago when the South African
President formed a task force and they've been working very, very closely together.
I think that's symbolic move to show that it's important to cooperate, assist and help prosecute these outstanding war crimes, no matter where
they occur, is an important and powerful symbol and definitely a positive move, say the U.N., by the South African government and its President.
There are more than 1,200 fugitives, according to the Rwandan prosecutor for the genocide, that are still at large. Half of them roughly are on the
African continent, according to the Rwandan prosecutor, half of them in the U.S. and Europe. And so, there's still a long way to go for justice, but
this is an important milestone, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Dave McKenzie, live for us there, thank you so much. Now to Ukraine, where there was a new barrage of Russian air raids on Wednesday
night. Ukraine's President says major cities, including the capital, Kyiv, were targeted by a total of 36 Iranian-made attack drones. But he says none
of the drones reached their targets. And in eastern Ukraine, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group says his forces will withdraw from Bakhmut
by next Thursday and hand it over to Russia's regular forces. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more.
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Zain. Well, this potentially could be quite a big development. Of course, we know that the battle for
Bakhmut has been extremely bloody and really has been the most intense here in the war in Ukraine over the past couple of months, in fact, one of the
most intense here in Europe since the end of World War II. And there have been a lot of people who have been quite shocked, quite frankly, about some
of the tactics that Wagner has used in many cases, using its fighters to charge Ukrainian positions, in some cases also recruiting people out of
prison to do that.
So, the Ukrainians today are telling us that, as of right now, they can't confirm that this pullout of Wagner forces -- this complete pullout of
Bakhmut is really happening. But they do acknowledge that, if it is happening, it could be a big chance for them. In fact, the Eastern grouping
of the Ukrainian armed forces said, yes, Wagner was the more efficient force fighting on the ground in Bakhmut, but they say that's a large part
because of those brutal tactics that the mercenaries were employing.
There is that video, of course, of Yevgeny Prigozhin going around Bakhmut, which Wagner says is from this morning, where he goes to some of the
fighters and he congratulates them and he tells them that Wagner will be pulling out, but he also says that they are going to be resting,
replenishing and regrouping and then waiting for new orders. So, it certainly seems as though while Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner
mercenaries might be getting off the battlefield in Ukraine for now that certainly, he is vowing to come back, Zain.
ASHER: Japan is reeling after a rare instance of deadly gun violence that happened earlier today in Nakano City. Police received a call about a
stabbing. When they arrived, authorities say a gunman opened fire with what looked like a hunting rifle, killing two officers and injuring another
person. A woman was also killed. At last report, the gunman was still barricaded inside the building.
Gun violence, of course, very rare in Japan, and obtaining firearms, obtaining weapons, is very difficult. In 2018, only nine people were killed
by guns. Compare that to the United States, where more than 39,000 people died from gun violence that same year.
The first ever attempt to launch a U.S. presidential campaign via Twitter audio feed was less than a resounding success. Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis announced his White House bid in a Twitter Spaces interview with Elon Musk, but numerous glitches and delays marred the announcement,
overshadowing his message. Jessica Dean has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORREPONDENT: Technical glitches plaguing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' presidential announcement.
UNKNOWN: It keeps crashing?
ELON MUSK, CEO, TWITTER: I think we've got just a massive number of people online, so it's sort of restraining, somewhat.
DEAN (voice-over): The start of the audio-only event on Twitter Spaces suffered disrupted audio and repeatedly kicked users out.
UNKNOWN: Fox News will not crash during this interview.
DEAN: DeSantis afterward going on Fox News, spinning the glitchy rollout this way.
[12:15:00]
RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: We had a huge audience. It did. It was the biggest they'd ever had. It did break the Twitter Space.
DEAN (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump slamming it on Truth Social posting, quote, is the DeSantis launch fatal? Yes. It took some 20
minutes for Elon Musk and team to sort out the glitches.
DESANTIS: I am running for President of the United States to lead our great American combat.
DEAN: While not mentioning him by name, DeSantis also took a veiled jab at Donald Trump.
DESANTIS: We must end the culture of losing that has infected the Republican Party in recent years.
DEAN: Back on Fox, DeSantis announced his day one plan if elected president, firing the FBI Director.
DESANTIS: I would not keep Chris Ray as Director. I think the DOJ and FBI have lost their way. I think that they've been weaponized against Americans
who think like me and you.
DEAN: DeSantis, who signed a six-week abortion ban in Florida earlier this year, offering this view on the issue. I think that there's a - there's
role for both the federal and the states.
DEAN: And while it remains to be seen if Trump will appear on the first two debate stages, DeSantis said, count him in.
DESANTIS: I think we should debate. I think the people want to hear it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Jessica Dean reporting there. All right, still to come, innocent victims caught in a deadly power struggle between two generals in Sudan.
Now, thousands are fleeing that country. Their stories, when we come back. And tributes pour in as the music world celebrates a life of rock legend,
the life, rather, of rock legend, Tina Turner. And later, it's being called an artificial intelligence miracle. Paralyzed Man is now able to walk
again, thanks to new technology.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the numbers are too high and he promises to bring them down. He's talking about legal migration. New
data shows the level of net migration to the U.K. reached record levels last year. The numbers were triggered by a series of unprecedented world
events and the lifting of Covid restrictions, according to the Office for National Statistics. The main drivers were people coming from non-EU
countries for work and study and people arriving from Hong Kong and Ukraine.
U.N. says the conflict in Sudan has displaced more than a million people internally as fresh fighting erupts between the two roaring factions
despite several ceasefires.
[12:20:00]
More than 300,000 people have fled to neighboring countries. CNN's Larry Madowo visited refugees in Chad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The kids cry constantly. The adults look weary of war. The pained faces here are a reminder of the horrors that
drove them out of Sudan. At this refugee camp across the border in Chad, sadness stalks almost everyone. As fighting intensified in Sudan's western
Darfur region, they had to run or risk getting killed. Kubra Abdallah left so suddenly that her son got lost in the chaos.
KOUBRA ABDULLAH, SUDANESE REFUGEE IN CHAD (through translator): My brother is still back there.
I heard he was injured. I was forced to come to Chad to seek safety.
MADOWO: Would you go back to Sudan?
ABDULLAH: No, no. The only reason I will go back is to bring my child and my brother here. There has been too much insecurity for too long.
MADOWO (voice-over): Because of decades of conflict in Sudan, many of these refugees had already been internally displaced several times. Mastiura
Ishakh is 22, but hasn't known a permanent home for most of her life.
MASTIURA ISHAKH, SUDANESE REFUGEE IN CHAD (through translator): I'm worried about all the people we left behind, especially my mother who could not
cross the border. I keep asking myself how I can get into Chad.
MADOWO: I noticed there are mostly women and children here. Where are the men from Sudan?
ISHAKH: The men told us to take the children and cross the border so they can stay behind to defend themselves and our property if necessary.
MADOWO (voice-over): The U.N.'s refugee agency says close to 90 percent of new arrivals in Chad from Sudan are women and children. Many, so
traumatized that they will need a lot of support to heal.
MADOWO (on-camera): We had expected to meet refugees as they arrived in the border town of Kufron, right across from Sudan, but just before we arrived,
it was hit by a rocket. That is why refugees are being moved away from border towns to places like this in Gaga.
MADOWO (voice-over): CNN traveled with USAID Administrator Samantha Power to Eastern Chad. The U.S. is giving more than $100 million to support the
over one million people displaced by the war across Sudan and in neighboring countries.
SAMANTHA POWER, USAID ADMINISTRATOR: We met one woman whose eyes had been gouged basically with somebody just attacking her and she's seeking medical
care here in Chad. Horrific violence which triggers for so many of these people, also memories of previous horrific violence.
MADOWO: It's a full circle moment for her. She was in Chad in 2004 writing in "The New Yorker" about Sudanese civilians fleeing the Janjaweed militia
in Darfur.
POWER: You talk to them, you feel like you're in a time warp, because they're describing Janjaweed coming in with their knives and their
machetes, killing people, raping women.
MADOWO: Is it surreal for you being here, hearing these stories, when you heard them 20 years ago as a reporter?
POWER: Well, I feel lucky this time at least to be working at USAID, a big development humanitarian agency, at least there's something I can do. But
fundamentally there is no substitute for the root causes getting addressed, for these two warring generals to put their own power grabs aside and put
the interests of these people who are fleeing sometimes for the fifth time in their lives.
MADOWO: Chad, one of the world's poorest countries, had about 400,000 Sudanese refugees before this latest surge.
PATRICE AHOUANSOU, DEPUTY REPRESENTATIVE, UNHCR Chad: We need to collectively, you know, work with all the actors in support to the
government of Chad to ensure that, you know, resources are mobilized to address the urgent needs of the refugees.
MADOWO (voice-over): These are the innocent victims of a deadly power struggle in Sudan. The poor and most vulnerable, who have nowhere to go,
just another chapter in a life of hardship. Larry Madowo, CNN, Gaga (ph), Chad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, still to come here on One World, three years ago George Floyd's death became a global symbol of racial injustice that hasn't
actually led to meaningful change. We'll take a look straight ahead on the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Hello and welcome back to One World. Breaking news just into CNN. As we brought to you at the top of the show, London's Metropolitan Police say
that at least one arrest has been made after a car collided into the front gates of Downing Street. One arrest has been made after a car collided into
the front gates of Downing Street. Downing Street being, of course, where the Prime Minister resides, where the Prime Minister and his Cabinet
convene.
Let's go straight now to Salma Abdelaziz, joining us live now from London. So, Salma, at this point, obviously, details still just coming into us.
This happened about an hour or so ago. We know that he has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and also dangerous driving as well, where it's
still not clear whether this was intentional, though. Walk us through that.
ABDELAZIZ: Well, I think we've just gotten more information by seeing this video that was broadcast on the BBC. It shows this white vehicle that you
see and what I believe are these live images right now, that white sedan essentially driving into that road that leads straight to the gates of
Downing Street. You can see it crossing very slowly, I have to say, across traffic, almost waiting for people to pass before it arrives at the gates
or near the gates, slows even more, and then it sort of obstructed the view --the view is obstructed but then it appears to come right to those gates.
I emphasize how slow this vehicle is driving. I emphasize that it appeared to essentially slow for traffic at some points. I emphasize that it slowed
even further before getting to those gates. I say all this because it matches what we're hearing from Westminster police, which is that their
primary concern here seems to be dangerous driving, not something more malicious.
And of course, we've also heard from this statement that there are no injuries, that this one person has been arrested again on suspicion of
dangerous driving. But again, just looking at those live images or these pictures rather from moments ago, it doesn't appear that that gate has been
damaged seriously in any way, although of course part of what of the arrest is the suspicion of criminal damage.
So, there may potentially be some damage, but nothing there that seems to have threatened the security of the gates, if you will. But of course, this
is a highly sensitive area. We are talking about the Prime Minister's residence and offices. We are talking, of course, about an area in London -
- central London that is highly secure, right next to Whitehall, a stone's throw away from the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. This is one
of the most heavily fortified, heavily policed, heavily cordoned areas in central London.
[12:30:00]
And those images you see, again, of those gates, that's typical. You see those barricades. You always see those gates. Just from my experience as a
journalist, when you walk up to those gates, you have to show your press pass. Police are very careful to make sure no vehicles even park near those
gates. So if a vehicle is dropping you off, they ask for that vehicle to be far away from those gates. So, there is of course going to be a sense of
worry and concern.
I know that we saw in those images that the car was being searched, it was being looked into. Again, police say inquiries are ongoing, but it seems
from now, from these pictures, police are very much in control of this situation. And again, the primary concern here, being dangerous driving,
indicates that potentially this was not more malicious, more concerning than that, but of course it will be treated with a great deal of
seriousness.
ASHER: And we're actually looking at, I don't think these images are live, but we're looking at images of the area. They are live, I'm just being
told. The area, in and around Whitehall and the streets look eerily quiet. I mean when you think about Whitehall, Salma, on a sort of normal, I don't
know, Thursday afternoon, this would have happened at around 4:30 or so in the early evening local time in London. A lot of civil servants would have
been leaving. You think about how busy Whitehall normally is. You've got The Mall close to it, you've got Trafalgar Square, you've got Big Ben. I
mean this is an area that is usually very busy and to see it so eerily quiet -- is actually quite, is something to behold, certainly.
ADBELAZIZ: Absolutely, and I have to emphasize it's a warm day in London, that means people would be busy, it's absolutely rush hour. This is a
gridlocked area of London most days. It is packed with tourists, it is packed with people trying to get where they're going.
Again, you've mentioned just the number of locations, the number of primary locations there from Parliament to Big Ben, to Westminster Abbey, to
Whitehall, to Downing Street. All of these locations are just in that one tiny corner of London if you will, and it is absolutely an area that is
bustling. But what you can expect the police have done right now is cordoned off and locked off that area. They are going to take absolutely
every precaution here to make sure that that area is secure.
You cannot over-emphasize the importance of this. We are talking, of course, about the Prime Minister's residence and offices, but I do again
want to emphasize what we saw in those images from the BBC so that we don't overplay what's occurring here. Those images that were played on the BBC
where we saw again that white sedan, that white vehicle rolling from the street, leading to those gates right in front of Downing Street. And again
I say rolling because it was going at a very slow pace. It appeared at points to slow down to allow traffic to pass before it arrived at the
gates. It slowed even further.
Yes, of course, police would be scrambling. Yes, of course, police would be worried. Yes, of course, they're going to lock down and cordon this area
but it is very much a situation that appears to be under control. And again, I point to that statement, dangerous driving being the primary
concern not something more malicious here and just from looking at those pictures right now, it does not appear that that gate sustained any serious
damage or any damage that we can see. So, very much, the residents, 10 Downing Street itself, which is behind those gates, is secure.
ASHER: All right, Salma Abdelaziz, live for us there, thank you so much. An 11-year-old boy shot by police in the U.S. State of Mississippi is out of
the hospital and on the mend at home.
Aderriene Murry's mother says that police showed up at the family home because of a domestic disturbance when the boy was leaving the apartment,
as the officer ordered, he was shot. The family is calling for the officer to be fired and face charges. They held a rally earlier at the Indianola
City Hall to demand justice.
CNN's Nick Valencia is following the story from Atlanta, joins us live now. Nick, this story is unbelievable. So essentially, you have a domestic
dispute at home involving a woman and her, sort of ex-partner, who comes over essentially in the middle of the night. And the little boy is really
worried about his mom, so he calls police. Police arrive at the house, and they end up shooting the little boy. Just explain to us how this happens.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, the headline is shocking in and of itself. The 11-year-old called police for help and ends up being the
victim in this case. The family really doesn't know what different, anything he could have done to keep from getting shot. In fact, they say
after he was shot, he asked his mom, what did I do wrong? Why was I shot?
The family is calling this morning for a full, independent and transparent investigation into this office -officer, into the police department. They
want him held accountable for this. And earlier today, they did hold a sit- in at the local city hall there to call for that accountability. All of this, of course, unfolded on Saturday at about four in the morning when the
mother tells me, that the father of one of her children arrived at the house and he was irate. And she was fearing so much for her safety.
[12:35:00]
But she actually said she snuck a cell phone to Aderriene, her 11-year-old, to tell him to call 911, so she can get some help. He did just that. And as
he was coming out of the house, the officer arrived there, she said, very aggressively, had the gun drawn already at the front of the door, told
everybody to come out of the house, and as he comes around the corner from a hallway into the living room, the mother said, the police officer opened
fire, shooting him once in the chest.
Now, Aderriene, he's a small child. He suffered some significant injuries, lacerated liver, fractured ribs. He developed a collapsed lung. He was in
the ICU for several days before eventually being released from the hospital where he's recovering. And according to the mother, she said all of this
unfolded in about one to two minutes.
She says, though, as well, that this was caught on body cameras. So, we did reach out to the police department to try to get access to that. The family
has not seen that video. They do want to see it, as well.
The police never got back to us, Zain. But the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation did tell us that they are not going to release that video
because of an ongoing investigation. And just very quickly, the status of the officer, he's been placed on paid administrative leave by the Board of
Aldermen. The family being very clear though that they want this officer charged and fired, Zain.
ASHER: I mean, just the fact that the little boy is okay. We are all certainly so grateful for that. Nick Valencia, live for us, thank you so
much. Nine minutes and 29 seconds. It's the grim but unmistakable symbol for police brutality in America that sparked global outrage, demands for
change as well, and a powerful racist, racial justice movement.
Three years ago today, a white police officer in Minneapolis pinned his knee to the neck of an unarmed black man while he lay on the ground gasping
for air and begging for his life. George Floyd's murder was caught on video and it marked one of the most high-profile fatal encounters involving black
Americans at the hands of those who pledged to serve and to protect.
Derek Chauvin and three other officers who failed to stop him are all now in prison. But since that infamous day there have been countless other
cases of deadly police violence under very questionable circumstances involving black men and women. Tyre Nichols, Jayland Walker, Daunte Wright,
just to name a few.
So, where do things stand now? According to my next guest, a backlash has crushed America's racial reckoning. Time now for my conversation with Ibram
X. Kendi. He's the Founder and Director for the Anti-Racist Research at Boston University and the best-selling author of "How to Raise an Anti-
Racist".
Ibram, thank you so much for being with us.
IBRAM X. KENDI, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR ANTI-RACIST RESEARCH: Thank you, very much.
ASHER: So, like a lot of black people in this country, it took me months, and I mean months, to heal from watching the video of George Floyd being
murdered. The one sort of silver lining that I guess was supposed to come out of it is that after his death, everybody in this country, everybody was
talking about the importance of black economic empowerment, the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, the importance of corporations
dedicating 15 percent of their shelf space for black-owned businesses.
Fast forward three years, it almost seems as though the pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction. Now, we're talking about possible book
bans with books from Amanda Gorman. We're talking about sort of limiting African-American studies in places like Florida. We're talking about the
NAACP issuing a travel advisory for black people going to certain states.
Why? Why has it -- I don't want to say backfired, but why has the pendulum swung so far in the opposite direction?
KENDI: Well, after the murder of George Floyd, and when so many people in the United States and even around the world, who of course were at home,
and because of the pandemic, and all commonly were able to see this horrific video at the same time, it became apparent to people that racism,
that racist violence, that police violence was the problem. And it was hard to deny looking at what happened to George Floyd.
And what's happened in the last three years is there's been a very concerted effort to change what the problem is, to change the problem from
being racism to being those people who are fighting against racism.
ASHER: To being woke-ism, essentially.
KENDI: Precisely. That anti-racism, that woke-ism, that critical race theory, that those who are expressing racial equality, that those who are
trying to prevent another person from being murdered like George Floyd know they're the problem.
[12:40:00]
And I think that's where we're at today.
ASHER: I think one of the things that really worries me is that, you know, obviously as you point out, the circumstances that really led to the sort
of racial reckoning in 2020, you think about what it took. It took a video, right, there had to be a video and eyewitnesses on top of that of white
police officer kneeling on a black man's neck for nine minutes that the whole world saw and obviously nobody could avoid it because it was in the
middle of pandemic and everybody was home, everybody was forced to watch it.
Fast forward three years, you know, after that sort of collective trauma among all Americans, after people, you know, really went out and tried to
fight for change by protesting in the streets and then on the other side of that, not seeing that much change as a result of that, I'm worried that for
there to be that kind of collective action, it's going to take so much more. It's going to take something so much worse. I don't even know what
could be worse than somebody kneeling on another person's neck for nine minutes. But the bar now becomes that much higher. That's what I'm worried
about. What are your thoughts on that?
KENDI: I think, indeed, it makes sense to be worried that if we, if human beings could not come together after George Floyd's murder.
ASHER: Right, George Floyd wasn't enough.
KENDI: Exactly, to abolish racism, then indeed, what is it gonna take? And what I'm hoping is that people stop actually being inflamed by the most
spectacular, gruesome murders of black people and instead start looking around in their communities and seeing racial disparity, seeing that black
people are more likely to be impoverished, more likely to be killed by police, more likely to be dying of cancer and heart disease, and see those
everyday injustices as a problem. And the way that we go about doing that is people actually no longer seeing black people as a problem.
ASHER: Ibram X. Kendi, thank you so much. I'm glad that we could have this conversation today to at least honor George Floyd's life and let's hope
that there is more change on the horizon. Ibram, thank you so much. We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: That is Pop Star Lizzo taking a moment to honor rock and roll legend Tina Turner. Turner died Wednesday at the age of 83.
LIZZO, SINGER-PERFORMER: There could be no rock `n roll without Tina Turner. There could be no rock `n roll without Tina Turner. There could be
no rock `n roll without Tina Turner.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Tributes to the woman called the Queen of Rock and Roll have been pouring in. Beyonce said, Turner paved the way for black female artists,
and Former U.S. President Barack Obama said that Turner was a star whose light will never fade.
Fans have been laying flowers and posting notes outside of Turner's home in Switzerland. Turner was one of the few artists in history to be inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Turner's life was full of both triumph and tragedy, but out of that adversity was born a musical legacy
will never die as CNN's Anderson Cooper reports.
[12:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): She was known as the "Queen of Rock `n Roll". And while she was most certainly music royalty, Tina Turner
in her 83 years became so much more. Pioneer. Icon. Survivor.
Born Anna Mae Bullock, she first performed at age 17 when she was passed the microphone at an Ike Turner concert. The two would go on to write hit
singles and get married. It was Ike who suggested she change her stage name to Tina.
While the relationship soared professionally, privately it descended into physical and emotional abuse. Tina Turner spoke to Larry King about it in
1997.
TINA TURNER, QUEEN OF ROCK `N ROLL: I had had a lot of violence. Houses burned, cars shot into the lowest that you can think of in terms of
violence.
COOPER: Finally in 1976, Tina left Ike and filed for divorce. A single mom, in debt, she fought her way back into stardom. In 1984, she released
"What's Love Got to Do With It", which spent three weeks at number one and earned her three Grammys. In 1985, she burst into Hollywood, starring
opposite Mel Gibson and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The movie's soundtrack launched another hit for Turner, "We Don't Need Another Hero".
Throughout the 1980s and early 90s came a slew of unforgettable songs that solidified Tina Turner's place in rock history. But it was her unflinching
memoir, "I, Tina", which was made into the Academy Award nominated film, "What's Love Got to Do With It", that elevated Turner to a whole new level.
LARRY KING, AMERICAN TV HOST: Do you realize that you are a feminist hero in America? Heroine?
TURNER: Your wife just told me that.
KING: No, do you realize that?
TURNER: I'm beginning to. You see, it wasn't something that I planned. I kind of see it as a gift because of the life I lived. It had a meaning. And
I think that the meaning was all of what is happening now. I think that if I had not given the story to the world, maybe my life would not be as it
is, I believe.
COOPER: Tina Turner continued to perform and write, continued to love. In 2013, she married her longtime boyfriend, Erwin Bach. She spoke about
meeting him in the 2021 documentary, "Tina".
TURNER: He was younger, he was 30 years old at the time. The prettiest face, I mean, you cannot, it was like saying, where did he come from? He
was really so good looking. My heart went boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And it means that a soul has met.
COOPER: A soul has met. Tina Turner's family released a statement that said she died peacefully after a long illness and with her passing, the world
loses a music legend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[12:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: An amazing scientific breakthrough. A paralyzed man can now walk after brain and spine implants. Gert-Jan Oskam can't -- couldn't stand up
or walk after a severe spinal cord injury, but he underwent a procedure that put electrodes into his brain. The implants collect brain signals,
which is then passed on to a computer, which then sends a message to his spinal cord electrodes. This allows him to walk and stand.
Joining me live now with more on this is CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, this is huge. This is a miracle essentially.
The stuff of science fiction. Just explain to us how this device actually worked and how he was actually able to walk again because essentially, this
device connected his thoughts and intentions with his physical ability to walk.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Zain. This is really quite amazing, what these Swiss researchers have done. Mr. Oskam is
their first study subject. There will be more study participants, there will be more. And he's 40 years old. He became paralyzed in a motorbike
accident years ago.
And just like you said, they created basically a root, a neural route between his brain and his spinal cord, and which wasn't there before
because of the accident. And so, they put a device in his brain, they actually implanted a device in his brain, and then they connected it to
what's in his backpack which is sort of the processor of all of this. And so, that's why he is able to walk.
Now, you know, unfortunately, I think people who are suffering paralysis or who know someone who is -- see this and think can I get this that's
unfortunately not the case, this is still in study stages, one thing the doctors want to do, Zain, is they want to make this more compact than, you
know, what we see in the video, Zain.
ASHER: So, how long will it take for this to be able to, because, you know, this is such a miracle, as you mentioned many people who are paralyzed,
would be watching this and thinking, gosh, you know, how long until this is available, you know more widespread. What would be the timeline on
something like that?
COHEN: Right, Zain. I'm going to answer that by talking about another study. This was a study that was done with patients who went to the
University of Louisville in Kentucky in the United States.
[12:55:00]
This is five years ago. Five years ago, I watched a woman who was paralyzed walk, just like we're watching Mr. Oskam walk now. That was five years ago
and we don't see any of this technology on the market. The University of Louisville folks use something, you know, somewhat different, but they both
had, you know, sort of very similar results, and other groups have had these results, too.
So, this is not to say it will never become available, but these kinds of things, you know, tend to take years before they just go out on the market.
Zain.
ASHER: And just walk us through, I guess, the quality of his ability to walk. I'm talking about Mr. Oskam, now. What does he rely on? Does he rely
on a Zimmer frame? What does he rely on to actually be able to walk at this point?
COHEN: So, he certainly relies on assistance. You know, we can see in the video that he has a walker. We can see that he is not walking the way
people typically walk. He can't walk for miles and miles, but he can go quite far. And so it's, what it requires is for him to wear that apparatus.
And it's not something that can go on for very long, but it is still quite amazing that he can do what he can do.
ASHER: Right, Elizabeth Cohen, live for us there. Thank you so much, we appreciate it. Thank you for watching One World. I'm Zain Asher. Amanpour
is up next. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
