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One World with Zain Asher

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Conducts First News Conference After Returning To Work Following Cancer Surgery; President Biden To Sanction Four People Accused Of Violence Or Intimidation In The West Bank; European Farmers Protest As E.U. Leaders Hold A Summit In Brussels; U.S. Prosecutors Expected To Soon Wrap Up Case Against Jennifer Crumbley, The Mother Of Michigan School Shooter Ethan Crumbley; New Quinnipiac University Survey Shows President Biden With A Six-Point Lead Over Former President Trump. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired February 01, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: "I did not handle this right." Contrition from U.S Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in his first news conference since

returning to work following cancer surgery. ONE WORLD starts right now. Secretary Austin in the last hour telling reporters that he apologized to

President Biden for not immediately telling him about his cancer diagnosis. He says his first instinct was to keep it private.

Also ahead, details you have to see to believe. New evidence in the case against the mother of a mass shooter. And later, a story resilience. I'll

speak with a mother who survived the harrowing attack on October 7th. Now, she's turning her trauma into an act of service.

Hello everyone, live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today, you are watching ONE WORLD. The U.S. Defense Secretary says that he

apologized to the President for not disclosing his hospitalization. Of course, we're talking about Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Last year,

he was treated for prostate cancer, then hospitalized for complications. Austin's condition was not disclosed to the media, President Biden, or the

administration.

That raised concerns about transparency and communication within the administration. In his first news conference since the beginning in

hospital, Austin told reporters that he should have done things differently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: But I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right. I did not handle this right. I should have

told the President about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. And I take full responsibility. I apologize

to my teammates and to the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN's Oren Liebermann is tracking this story for us from the Pentagon. Oren, you actually got to ask the Secretary a question about a

30-day review and transparency that we can expect to see from it. He deflected on a lot of the specific questions asked of him, saying that this

is still under review. What more can we learn, do you think, from that review once it's finalized?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that review will look at how this whole process works out, or at least how it should work out.

The policies, procedures and crucially in this case, the notifications around when there is a transfer of authority from the Defense Secretary to

the Deputy Secretary of Defense, including who finds out what's the reasoning for that transfer, because that was fundamentally lacking in this

process.

Now, that review itself is due in just a few days here, about a week or so from now, and I asked Austin, is he going to make that public? He said he

would commit to making as much of it public as he could, knowing that some of it relates to what are essentially the classified procedures for how the

transfer responsibility is done.

So, not a firm, committal answer there, but at least committing to revealing or shedding light on some part of this, because that's been one

of the key questions. How did this whole process fall apart so much over the course of the past month or so? And it was exactly one month ago that

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin went to the hospital for complications from the surgery to treat prostate cancer.

It's worth noting, and we saw this right at the top of the show, that as he entered the Pentagon briefing room, he was moving slowly, he was limping,

he seemed to speak just a little bit quieter. He apologized. He said he apologized directly to President Joe Biden in a phone call.

When he was asked, has he ever considered resigning, was there any talk of his resignation, he said there has not been. He also said that there was no

order ever given by him or his staff to keep this quiet or keep it hidden in any way.

There are questions about discussions amongst his staff. He deflected there again to that 30-day review saying that the review would essentially reveal

more of that.

So, we'll certainly wait to see what we can learn about it. It's also worth noting that he spoke about public notification here and how that will play

out in the future. He then pivoted to Iran. There were quite a few questions about that and the deadly strike the killed three U.S. soldiers

in Jordan a few days ago.

He said, they, referring to the militias there, have a lot of capabilities, I have a lot more. So, Bianna, being very clear there, as has the

President, there will be a U.S. response coming.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, that is pending. Also, important to note that he, at least today, did not say that he's expecting the resignation of his Deputy

or his immediate staff, as well.

[12:05:00]

Of course, we do wish the Secretary a speedy recovery. Pentagon Correspondent, Oren Liebermann, thank you.

Well, as Oren just mentioned during the same press conference, Austin also addressed escalation in the Middle East. U.S. intelligence officials say

that they see signs that Iran is worried that things are beginning to spin out of control.

Now, it comes as the U.S. steps up its campaign to stop the Iranian-backed Houthis from attacking ships in the Red Sea. The U.S. hit a Houthi drone

launch site early Thursday, and there is talk in Washington about whether the time has come to really punish Iran for backing militants across the

region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN CRENSHAW, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: It is not out of the question to hit inside of Iran. Like, you know, you hear some people clutch their pearls

and say, well, you're going to start World War III. That's not necessarily true. The World War III doomsdayers have always been wrong. They were wrong

about Russia. They've been wrong about the Cold War. They've been wrong about this, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTIN: The President will not tolerate attacks on American troops, and neither will I. This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East. We will

continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region. But we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests, and our

people. And we will respond when we choose, where we choose, and how we choose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: For some military analysis of the conflict with the Houthis, we're joined now by Major John Spencer from the Modern War Institute at

West Point and CNN Military Analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Welcome both of you. General Hertling, let me start with you because as we have reported, U.S. intelligence suggesting that Iran did not anticipate

the strike over the weekend that killed three U.S. service members. That having been said, just on Tuesday, the Houthis launched a cruise missile

that was shot down just as it came within one mile of a U.S. destroyer.

Typically, they're shot down at about an eight-mile range. So, the brazenness of some of these axes of, and proxies of Iran continues to grow.

What do you think a proper U.S. response should look like?

MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I'm not going to go into that, Bianna, to be honest with you, because there are all kinds of scenarios

that might have different contingencies and different courses of actions. Having been involved in sessions in the past when key leaders are trying to

determine exactly what they should do, there are things that we don't know right now in terms of the political action.

But the first thing I'd like to say is, you know, to comment on Congressman Crenshaw's comments a minute ago, you know, what's been interesting over

the last couple of decades in the United States, the military element of power has been the first one relied upon by the politicians.

And I think what the current administration is doing is attempting to ensure we don't get into another war by using the other elements of

national power, which are diplomacy, information, and the use of the economy.

I think we're tracking very closely what Iran is thinking, what their intelligence or what we're gathering from intelligence in the area. They

have had conversations with Iraq. They've had those kinds of conversations in the past. They also know that many of their popular military forces, the

PMFs, are somewhat free-floating electrons. They do what they want to do with the support of Iran. But those elements sometimes get Iran into a lot

of trouble in terms of diplomacy.

So, I think the Biden administration is attempting to measure the right kind of strike against the various PMS and the Houthi rebels and the other

factors that are trying to attack U.S. soldiers in the region. And they're considering how you balance the very fine edge between making sure people

are deterred -- organizations are deterred from attacking the United States versus starting a World War III as Congressman Crenshaw sort of pooh-pooh.

He is not a national security intellect in my view. And for him to say something like that just shows how little he knows about the diplomatic arm

of national power.

GOLODRYGA: And it's worth noting that a U.S. response likely, it appears, will not just be a one-and-done, that it could come in a laddered phase and

it could occur over a span of weeks.

Major Spencer, the Secretary was also asked about the ongoing war in Gaza and said that from his perception and from what he has spoken with his

counterpart in Israel about Israel is complying with what it said would be a less intense fight in Gaza, more tailored and narrow in scope. The IDF is

confirming that its operations do continue. In Khan Younis, what is your assessment of the situation right now?

[12:10:00]

And do you see, and from what you do see, is Israel actually narrowing in scope it's fighting there?

HERTLING: Absolutely. I mean, I think that they have narrowed their scope to a more refined geographic area. Even in Khan Younis, they've handed out

their maps even, which is historic. In many areas that have been cleared of major Hamas military capability like northern Gaza can transition into

other phases of the operation. So, a hundred percent -- but the operation continues to clear that Hamas military capabilities and to bring Israel's

hostages to include babies home.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and we do know that the Hamas fighters do appear to be regrouping in northern Gaza, just as Israel had been pulling out as well,

giving just a sense of how fraught this situation and this battle continues to be.

General, I want you to talk to our viewers about something you touched on last night with Kaitlan Collins, and that is your take on the IDF raid of a

hospital in the West Bank. We had IDF troops coming in under the guise of patients and staff, doctors, nurses, what have you -- and killed three

members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Both terror groups have claimed that they do work for them or were part of their group. That having been said, you see problems on both sides here.

Explain why.

HERTLING: Yeah, I do, Bianna. First of all, when you're talking about the laws of land warfare or the application of various principles or protocols

of the Geneva Convention, there are certain things that you don't do.

First of all, you don't use public facilities like a hospital or a church or a school as your basis of operation. That is what Hamas is doing

specifically as part of their strategy to pull Israeli forces into those locations.

But the other thing you don't do, and this gets to the Israeli actions, you don't use disguises or the appearance of being a doctor or a rabbi or an

imam or any kind of religious figure when you're carrying weapons. That's not allowed on the battlefield. It violates the laws of land warfare in the

Geneva Convention protocols.

So, what you're seeing in this particular case is Israeli soldiers using disguises to go into a prohibited facility. So, both sides are at fault in

this particular -- at fault in violating the laws of armed warfare.

But one thing that you always have to come back to, and that's the right of self-defense. What Israel is doing, even though they're doing it improperly

in my view, is saying, hey, there's the potential for future terrorist attacks to be launched from this hospital inside of the West Bank, so we

want to prevent it. The way they did it is questionable.

But again, the lawyers will have to determine what's right and what's wrong. The problem is when you're dealing with terrorist groups like Hamas,

like the IJU -- the Islamic Jihad Union, and other organizations like those, sometimes you have to beat them at their own game. And I think

that's what Israel was trying to do, right or wrong.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, ultimately these cases are adjudicated by the International Criminal Court, a body that Israel is not a signatory of, nor

is the United States. This differs from the International Court of Justice. Obviously, that court had been -- yes, go ahead.

HERTLING: And neither is Hamas or the Islamic Jihad Union. Neither.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. Major Spencer and General Hertling, so much more to talk about. We'll discuss Ukraine after we come back from the break. Thank you.

And turning to Ukraine, a huge shakeup in that country's leadership.

The man who led the Ukrainian military against the Russian invasion is now out of a job. Two sources tell CNN, the Ukraine's President Volodymyr

Zelensky has fired Army Chief Valery Zaluzhny. A rift between the two reportedly began after last year's major counteroffensive failed.

And then in a magazine interview last fall with "The Economist", Zaluzhny described the war with Russia as a stalemate. The official word of his

firing is expected later this week.

Well, whoever takes over will have a bit more funding to work with. The European Union just approved a new aid package worth nearly $54 billion.

President Zelensky thanked the 27 member states for the unanimous decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRANIAN PRESIDENT: This is a clear signal that Ukraine will withstand and that Europe will withstand. The E.U. has proven

that its work matters and its -- promises work for the interests of the entire Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: This comes at a crucial time for the country. Ukrainian forces are facing a renewed Russian assault and U.S. aid is dwindling amid on-

going battles in Washington.

[12:15:00]

One U.S. diplomat says Ukraine will turn things around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTORIA NULAND, U.S. UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Even as Ukraine strengthens its defenses, Mr. Putin is going to get some nice

surprises on the battlefield and that Ukraine will make some very strong success this year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Not very subtle there from Victoria Nuland. Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Kyiv with the details. What are these surprises she's referring

to, Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the surprises might have happened overnight, Bianna, with the Ukrainians

apparently conducting a raid on a Russian warship using unmanned seaborne drones. There was some dramatic video that came out of these drones

apparently attacking the ship -- the ship trying to fire back. You could see the machine gun rounds land in the water, but the Ukrainians are

saying, that the ship was sunk in the end.

Now, that operation was apparently conducted by Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency and the head of that agency, Kyrylo Budanov, he's one

of those who's being talked about as a possible successor to the current commanding general, Valerii Zaluzhny. I was able to sit down with Kyrylo

Budanov and asked him what exactly the Ukrainians need in the short term to bring the fight to the Russians. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRYLO BUDANOV, HEAD OF UKRAINIAN DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE (through translator): We're confident that the United States will fulfill the

commitment it has made to our society. We really need this aid. Shells are one of the most decisive factors in this war. It's about quantity, not so

much the quality as the quantity.

Next there are assault aircraft. These are aircraft of the type that the United States has, like the A-10 Thunderbolt II and so on. This is what can

really help inflict a military defeat. The main event of the battlefield will start happening sometime in the spring or early summer. What we have

now, this situation will not change much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: So, essentially what Kyrylo Budanov is saying there is that despite the fact that the Russians are currently pushing on Ukrainian

positions in various parts of the front line, and I've seen that myself, the onslaught that the Russians are bringing, because of the fact that they

have more artillery shells, he believes that the Russians will be exhausted come spring and then it will be the Ukrainians' turn to attack, Bianna.

One of the things that he did say is, obviously, they will need a lot of shells, a lot of help to do that. Certainly today's decision by the

European Union to give Ukraine more military aid and give them military aid over several years is definitely something that's going to be a big help to

the Ukrainians. Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: No doubt about that. Fred Pleitgen, thank you. Well, let's get the military perspective on these developments. I want to bring back Major

John Spencer and Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Major Spencer, let me start with you. So, still a delay in terms of funding and some $60 billion in aid from the United States held up in Congress. But

we got some good news for Ukraine in the European Union, committing to over $50 billion over four years. Ukraine has been desperately in need for

artillery ammunition. How significant is this new round of funding for the country?

HERTLING: I mean, it's vital to allow Ukraine to continue to defend itself. And if it doesn't come, Ukraine will continue to fight, but Putin

will have basically succeeded in his calculation that the American population would wane in his support for Ukraine and for Europe in general.

GOLODRYGA: General, I want to ask you about the change of guard here at Ukraine's top command on the field. Valerii Zaluzhny, there have been

rumors that he would be out. There had been a growing rift between him and President Zelensky despite his popularity. And among the two candidates

that have been rumored to succeed him, as we heard from Fred's piece.

The first is The Defense Intelligence Director Kyrylo Budanov, he's 38 years old. He has kept Russia at its heels, specifically in the Black Sea

there and around Crimea. But he's known to be a risk-taker and behind some of the strikes that have gone deep inside Russia that have raised some

eyebrows, even in Washington.

So, he's one option and the other is Oleksandr Syrskyi, who's the current commander of Ukrainian Land Forces. You know both of these men well in

terms of their work. Who do you think would be better suited, given where the country stands right now and some of the exhaustion we're seeing from

Western support?

HERTLING: Yeah, this is a hard issue to discuss, Bianna. I do know General Zaluzhny. I met him very briefly when I was in Ukraine back in 2012. He was

a young colonel at the time. I don't know Boganov. He's an intelligence officer. And as you and Fred both said, he's extremely young.

In his early 40s, he has been in the intelligence community his entire time as a general. He's risen through the ranks from brigadier to lieutenant

general over a three year period of time. He is very good at targeting and using intelligence to find key targets and help launch attacks against --

launch strikes against them.

[12:20:00]

That does not necessarily translate into someone who's a maneuverist or someone who can operate on the battlefield. Syrskyi, probably, in my view,

would be the much better candidate if in fact, Zaluzhny is going to be replaced because he is a land combat operator. He's seen the fight at a

close up and personal. He is not a target here, although he does look at the way they can attack Russia.

And what you're seeing now, if I can go back to that $50 billion or 50 billion Euro aid package equivalent of U.S. $54 billion, it's fascinating

because what you're seeing is not only the Europeans support Ukraine over the long term, over three years, which is a signal to Russia, but it's

going to be more than just military supplies that they're going to get. It's going to help Ukraine's economic and financial situation, as well.

Those are all critical things.

So, you see, potentially, a change of command after Zaluzhny's been in the fight for close to three years. That's probably a good idea. Get some fresh

ideas. But I would think that the land commander would be the first choice and allow Budanov to continue his targeting and his intelligence

collection.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, perhaps fresh leadership, fresh round of funding could be a huge boost to morale for troops, as well. Also, an important angle there.

Major Spencer and Lieutenant General Hertling, thank you so much for helping us out today on two very big stories we've been following.

Well, CNN has learned that President Biden will sanction four people accused of violence or intimidation in the West Bank. Settler violence has

been on the rise since the October 7th terror attacks.

The executive order sanctioning the four unnamed people will block the individual's property in the United States and prohibit Americans from

contributing money to them. It is expected to be signed later today. President Biden has been under increased pressure to call for a ceasefire

in Gaza, though he has so far refused to do so.

Well, just ahead for us on ONE WORLD, angry farmers are stepping up their protests across Europe. This is the scene in Brussels, but some calm may be

about to return to France. We'll explain.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: You're looking at the scene in the Belgian capital where European farmers have been protesting as E.U. leaders hold a summit in

Brussels.

[12:25:00]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Angry farmers have been lighting fires and setting off fireworks near the E.U. parliament building. Demonstrations have been

spreading across Europe and that's because farmers in several countries are upset over regulations and rising costs impacting their livelihoods. But it

looks like there's some progress being made in France with the government unveiling new measures to help the farming industry.

Let's get right to Melissa Bell in Paris with more. We heard from President Macron. What did he say to address this on-going issue?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've been hearing are the very latest concessions, Bianna, that the French

government is willing to make, in a substantial package for livestock farmers.

At least, 150 million euros that will be unblocked in tax subsidies, help with taxes, and other social benefits to try and get them through these

difficult times. And it appears to have worked, certainly insofar as the two main farmers unions here in France are concerned.

They've told farmers that it's now time to keep up the movement, keep up the pressure on the governments, try and get more, but to leave those

roadblocks that we'd seen progressively move closer and closer to the French capital, getting so close yesterday that they got to the line that

had been fixed by Paris police, who'd vowed that no tractors would enter the French capital.

And so, we wait to see if the farmers will heed that call and leave the barrages, the roadblocks that they'd set up around the country. But

certainly this is a movement, as you say, that has grown, that has spread so much so that what we saw today was not just the farmers make themselves

heard in Brussels, they even managed to force the issue onto the European leaders agenda.

They've been meeting to talk about Ukraine, as you were discussing a moment ago. In the end, they're having to talk also about what relief they can

bring at a European level to farmers, partly Bianna, because a lot of the anger that we're seeing from Poland through Germany, the Netherlands,

France, Portugal, Spain -- is aimed at the E.U.

What European farmers are saying is that they are not only suffering from efforts made by national governments to help fight against food inflation

that we've seen over the last couple of years, but also from European red tape, environmental laws, that make it hard for them to function and

impossible, they say, for them to compete, especially when the E.U. allows cheap imports, for instance, of Ukrainian grain, as it has been since the

beginning of the Russian invasion.

So, they feel they're constrained by rules that don't apply to others, but their products are made to compete. That's essentially what their beef is.

And it appears that European leaders are beginning to hear them.

Remember that there are European elections coming up in just a few months, and everyone's going to be keeping a close eye to see what this important

constituency of voters is going to do. Will that protest continue to grow? Or on the contrary, will these concessions will begin, will they finally

begin to take some of the wind out of the sails of the farmers movement? Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Melissa Bell, you've been covering it all, so well for us and it will continue as well. Thank you. Coming up for us, she lived through

the massacre at the Nova Music Festival. Her brother and his girlfriend sadly were among those killed. Next, a survivor of the October 7th attacks

in Israel shares her story.

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[12:30:00]

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GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to ONE WORLD, I'm Bianna Golodryga. An Israeli mother who survived Hamas' brutal attack on the Nova Music Festival is now

using her personal experience to help others suffering unimaginable grief.

Jenny Sividia's younger brother and his girlfriend were killed in the October 7th assault. Not long after he died, Jenny began volunteering at a

healing center that offers support groups for loved ones of the victims. And this week she is in Georgia where the governor has just signed into law

a historic bill that defines anti-Semitism.

Time now for The Exchange and Jenny Sividia joins me. Jenny, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us after the unimaginable that you

experienced. Next week will mark four months since the October 7th attacks, and it is just stunning that we continue to hear more and more details

about what those victims like yourself experienced.

We are so sorry about the loss of your brother Shlomi and his girlfriend Lily. Can you walk us back to that day and talk about your experience

there, how you managed to survive and when you knew, sadly, that your brother did not?

JENNY SIVIDIA, NOVA MUSIC D=FESTIVAL ATTACK SURVIVOR: Yeah. So, at around 6:30 A.M. when Hamas started to shoot missiles, shortly after that, Lily

and Shlomi decided to go back home. And we haven't heard from them since then.

Lily's body was identified four days later. Shlomi's body was identified six days later. And they were actually butchered on their way back home.

Shlomi is the father of two little sons. Lily is the mom of twins -- six- year-old twins. Shlomi works as a senior software engineer in an American company named Service Now. And Lily is a molecular biology manager at M.I.

Protein, both great minds that were killed during the October 7th.

GOLODRYGA: I just -- unimaginable loss. And you described that split-second decision that you and your boyfriend and other concert-goers had to make in

that moment when you knew that this wasn't fireworks, when you knew this wasn't just a rocket that is typically, you know, you have these types of

attacks and rockets launched into Israel from time to time.

You knew that this was something more than that. And you and your boyfriend decided to run away. Many others, like your brother and Lily, got in their

cars and tried to drive home and sadly, those were the victims who were in large part murdered that day. You described something like out of a movie,

Jenny. You're hiding in bushes and in orchards. When were you finally safe?

[12:35:00]

SIVIDIA: Well, finally, about six hours after it all started, we got to a force of police, women, and men that took us out of the battlefield, not to

a safe place, but a safer place. It was a police station in Ofakim, and from there we got back home to my parents' house and started to look for

Shlomi and Lily.

But safe is, you know, it's a relative word. Like, I don't feel safe till today. I don't feel safe cause of the anti-Semitism that is going around. I

don't feel safe knowing that what happened on October 7th is being denied. People don't acknowledge what happened and for me, I don't feel safe

knowing that although what happened, people still don't believe us.

It's like safety is a luxury at this point for people like yourself in a country now at war where you have over a hundred hostages remaining in

Gaza. The bombardment there continues and no end in sight. I should also note and tell our viewers a little bit about the heroic things and actions

you took that day. You and your boyfriend got in and out of your car.

You rescued and saved about 13 people and drove them to safety. And now you're on a mission to tie and I say that safety there it is again. I mean,

I throw that word out is such a luxury but you did save their lives that day and now you've made it a point to travel and talk about not only the

reality of that day but of your brother's legacy and in memory and to it to make sure that those did not die in vain who had lost their lives. Why is

it important for you to travel all over the country to have these conversations?

SIVIDIA: Actually, I'm here as a part of a project, "Faces of October 7th", that the purpose is to fight the denial of the October 7th massacre.

I told my story in Israel, but in Israel everybody believes me. The problem is outside of Israel where people have no idea what happened and even those

who think they know what happened don't really know.

So, the only way to fight this denial is actually to bring the real stories, my story, Shlomi's story in front, so people will know we are

real. We are real victims, real families that got hurt by the attack. And by bringing the story, hopefully it will be a start -- a starting point to

fight the denial.

GOLODRYGA: It is tragic that you have to do this to convince people, and I put that in quotes, of the horrors that happened that day. But I thank you

for it because we sadly know that there are many people that will deny this ever took place. And I want to wish you all the best. May your brother and

his girlfriend's memory be a blessing. Thank you, Jenny.

SIVIDIA: Thank you very much. We appreciate your time. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Prosecutors in the U.S. are expected to soon wrap up their case against Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of Michigan school shooter Ethan

Crumbley. If you recall, both she and her husband are charged with involuntary manslaughter after their son Ethan killed four classmates at

Oxford High School back in 2021.

He was just 15 years old at the time. Well, today in court, his mother couldn't hold back her tears during police testimony describing the harm

done to one of the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY WILLIS, DETECTIVE LIEUTENANT, OAKLAND CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: She was shot in her upper torso, her abdomen, her thighs. I'm sorry, entered

left forum. The jury also saw journal entries from the shooter pleading for help just days leading up to the mass shooting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

One of the entries read, quote, "My parents won't listen to me about help or a therapist." For more on today's testimony, I want to bring in Jean

Casarez. So, Jean, we've already described and laid out to our viewers just the precedents that a case like this really has. But in terms of what we're

hearing in the courtroom, bombshell after bombshell each day, what did we hear today?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's so interesting because this is a trial. You never know what's going to happen in a trial. And the

prosecution is just about to rest their case. They've had the lead investigator on today. He has talked about those journal entries, talked

about the backpack that was of Ethan's that was found in the bathroom that had a journal that he was writing all about what he was going to do in the

mass shooting.

Of course, the gun was in that backpack. And the question is, did the parents have a legal duty? Did they have a duty? Was it gross negligence to

not ever look in his backpack when it appears as though they realized that he had some mental and emotional issues? But this case really begins with

that mass shooting at Oxford High School right after Thanksgiving in 2021.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER CRUMBLEY, MOTHER OF ETHAN CRUMBLEY: This is (BEEP) up. Like I just -- my son just ruined his life. I'm not going to see him again.

CASAREZ (voice-over): New video shows Jennifer Crumbley in the back of a police car the moment she's realized the horror of what her son has done.

It comes as the prosecution lays out their case against the mother of the 2021 Oxford High School shooter.

UNKNOWN: And has Jennifer Crumbley -- ever tell you that she'd given her son a Sig Sauer nine-millimeter handgun just four days before this poem was

created?

NICOLAS EJAK, FORMER OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL DEAN OF STUDENTS: She did not. No.

UNKNOWN: Would that have been important to you?

EJAK: Absolutely, yes.

UNKNOWN: Would that have helped complete the full picture?

EJAK: It would have and it would have completely changed the process that we followed.

CASAREZ (voice-over): A meticulous TikTok of the day of the Michigan shooting which left four students dead has been central to the trial with

previously unseen footage of the shooter's parents and their actions coming to light in court.

New footage played in court this week shows the moment Jennifer Crumbley and her husband first see their son shortly after he was arrested for the

mass shooting on November 30th, 2021.

UNKNOWN: Why?

UNKNOWN: I love you. I love you.

CASAREZ (voice-over): The prosecution has pieced together the timeline in court. At 7:46 A.M., James Crumbley drops their son off at Oxford High

School. At 9:04 A.M., his wife arrives at work.

[12:45:00]

At 9:31, she receives a message from the Oxford High School counselor. There is an issue with her son. He's been drawing on a math worksheet, a

figure, a gun, bullets, blood. My life is useless. She messages her husband, call now. Emergency. He responds, my God, WTF.

At 10:06, she leaves work texting her boss, I have to go to my kid's school. Counselor just called, and this is what I'm dealing with. I'll be

back by 11.30 to 12 at the latest. She enters Oxford High with her husband at 10:39 A.M. They walk into the office of Counselor Sean Hopkins. He's

concerned about suicidal ideations and their son who is also present.

SEAN HOPKINS, OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR: My hope was that they would set a plan to get help for their son.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Jennifer Crumbley says they can't take him today. They have to go back to work. Their son leaves the Counselor's office at

10:52 to go back to class. No one checked his backpack. Not an administrator, not his parents.

UNKNOWN: At any point, did anybody request to search the backpack?

UNKNOWN: They did not.

UNKNOWN: Did you search the back of yourself?

UNKNOWN: I did not or necessary or there wasn't a rise to the occasion to do that.

CASAREZ: The shooter's parents leave school at 10:55. About two hours later, an alarming active shooter email is sent to all parents. Jennifer

Crumbley seen here hurrying out of work.

UNKNOWN: I looked outside to see what the noise was. I saw her racing out of her office, racing down the hall.

CASAREZ (voice-over): James Crumbley races home and finds their new gun missing and calls police to report their son. The empty gun box later

photographed by police. Also photographed by police, gun range targets, several BB guns and pellet guns, and an empty bottle of whiskey next to the

shooter's bed. (END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Just chilling, watching that TikTok as events unfolded. Jean Casarez, court has just returned to session now. As we noted, the

prosecution is set to wrap up. When do we expect to first hear from the defense?

CASAREZ: Well, the defense could come as soon as this witness. This is the lead investigator. I think they're now on cross-examination of that lead

investigator, and the judge may go straight into the defense case. But what is interesting here, and the judge will have to hear, I think, a motion for

a directed verdict, which the jury will have to leave.

The defense gives a very short argument about why this case does not have probable cause to go any further and the case should be over. It's for

procedural reasons. Then they go into the defense case, and the first witness could be Jennifer Crumbley. The jury has been promised she's going

to take the stand.

GOLODRYGA: So many, eager to hear from her, as well. Jean Casarez, you've been covering this for us. Thank you, really appreciate your time.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: You're watching ONE WORLD, we'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Well, the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have had an unexpected impact on a ship full of livestock. Right now, more than 14,000 sheep and

2000 cattle are stranded on the ship anchored off Western Australia. The vessel left Australia on January 5th, headed for the Middle East, but had

to return 15 days later because of fears that it could be targeted in the Red Sea.

Concerns are now growing over the welfare of the animals on board. But the Australian government hasn't decided what to do with them. It says right

now they appear to be in good health.

Well, Sierra Leone is home to nearly 5500 chimpanzees, a number that is dwindling due to poaching and deforestation. One group is putting in the

work to save this precious species. CNN's David McKenzie gives us an exclusive look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's playtime in the forest. But these orphaned primates aren't monkeying

around.

MCKENZIE: This is Skippy nibbling on my arm. You know what's happening here is they are in chimp school, basically learning how to be chimps.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Skippy is much braver than the two boys. They try their best. But like their human cousins, they sometimes just need a

cuddle. Their carer wears a mask so the chimps don't catch a human cold.

UNKNOWN: Once you get in here, you have several groups --

MCKENZIE: We're in Sierra Leone with Bala Amarasekaran, the founder of Takugama Chimp Sanctuary. He rescued his first chimp more than 30 years

ago.

BALA AMARASEKARAN, FOUNDER, TAKUGAMA CHIMP SANCTUARY: I think he started showing us the way in terms of it's not about just the chimp, it's about

the species. So, I started looking, rescued another chimp, another chimp. Mac, you good boy? Mac, what's up?

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Now, Takugama has more than a hundred rescued chimps and they manage wild chimp habitats across the country. With just

5500 Western chimpanzees left in Sierra Leone, each one is precious. Like six-month-old Siyama.

UNKNOWN: So, that was a bullet wound from when he was gotten.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): They rescued him just weeks ago, after a hunter killed his mother.

MCKENZIE: So, he still has shotgun pellets inside him?

UNKNOWN: Yes. So, he was really, really weak. As I said, he couldn't even control his head movements.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Here on the edge of Freetown, humans are the biggest threat to chimps, but perhaps not how you may think.

MCKENZIE: In the last few years, have you lost a lot of forests?

AMARASEKARAN: A lot of it. If you came here like two years ago, not a single building or any of these makeshift shelters you are seeing. Nothing

was there. Yeah, very sad that it's all going right before our eyes. I've been fighting this thing for 30 years, not 30 days.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): And time is running out. Rampant, often illegal development is destroying the forests. Sierra Leone has lost 35 percent of

its tree cover since 2000. That's about seven and a half thousand square miles, or the size of New Jersey. That's bad for chimps, and it's terrible

for us. Africa's forests are critical to fighting climate change.

AMARASEKARAN: It's no more about preserving forests or wildlife. It's about preserving humans. We are trying to leave a better place for our

children. Pull the flask out.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): At Takugama, they're doing everything they can to document and protect the extraordinary diversity of these forests. And the

wild chimps that roam here.

UNKNOWN: Yeah, yeah.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): They believe if they can save their home, it might just help save ours. David McKenzie, CNN, Western Area Forest, Sierra

Leone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Such an eye-opening, important piece from David McKenzie. Our thanks to him for bringing that to us. And finally for us, a new poll shows

Joe Biden pulling ahead of Donald Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up, driven in large measure by a growing gender gap.

[12:55:00]

The new survey by Quinnipiac University shows President Biden with a six- point lead over former President Trump. That lead is boosted predominantly by female voters, which led some conspiracy theorists to mention the Taylor

Swift effect.

Well, late-night comedians were quick to poke fun with Seth Meyers mocking some conservative hosts who have gone after Swift, who, reminder, is dating

professional football player Travis Kelce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": You cracked the case. America's never seen a popular musician go on tour, sell lots of records

and date an athlete. The signs are all there. Let me get out my white crack. Joe Biden is the 46th president. He's running for his second term.

Forty six times two is 92. Travis Kelce's number is 87. Ninety two minus 87 is five. What has five sides? The Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: I think he did it. I think he cracked the conspiracy. Our thanks to Seth Meyers for that and for making us laugh. Well, that does it

for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. "AMANPOUR" is up next.

END