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One World with Zain Asher
Noon deadline To Turn Over Info On Deportation Flights; Zelenskyy And Trump Spoke By Phone; Kherson Residents Hunted From Above By Russian Drones; Fury Towards Netanyahu After Israeli Airstrikes In Gaza; Turkish Police Arrest Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu; Affordable Egg Alternatives Amid Rising Prices; Suni Williams Hometown Celebrates Her Return To Earth; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired March 19, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:28]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Time's up. The deadline for the Justice Department to provide details on deportation flights is upon us. The second
hour of ONE WORLD starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I never did defy a court order.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: And you wouldn't in the future?
TRUMP: No, you can't do that. However, we have bad judges. We have very bad judges. And these are judges that shouldn't be allowed. I think they -- I
think at a certain point, you have to start looking at, what do you do when you have a rogue judge?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The Trump administration has now been put on notice, but will they follow the rules? American voters say, they're not so sure.
Also ahead, new details on the pivotal call between Trump and Zelenskyy. The American president says it was, quote, very much on track.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAYA BUTLER, NEEDHAM RESIDENT: It's like so cool that she's a part of our town and like everybody knows her across the entire country. And I'm so
proud to have gone to her school.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Girl power. Astronaut Suni Williams gets a warm welcome home from the town where she grew up.
All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. My colleague, Bianna Golodryga, is off today. You are watching ONE WORLD.
A U.S. federal judge is demanding answers from the Justice Department with a noon deadline that ended just moments ago. What happens next could
provide insight into just how far President Donald Trump is willing to go to extend his executive authority. And we're already seeing signs of a
legal fight brewing.
The Justice Department is now trying to delay releasing deportation flight information and says the judge is, quote, continuing to beat a dead horse.
It is the third request from the judge who wants to know whether the Trump administration knowingly violated his deportation order over the weekend.
We'll bring you details on that in a moment.
But now we're heading -- we're hearing that Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has now just finished a phone call with U.S. president Donald
Trump. It lasted about an hour. And it was their first known talk since that explosive face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office a few weeks back.
The U.S. president says it was, quote, a very good telephone call. Mr. Trump saying this phone call was very much based on yesterday's call with
Putin. And now U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is talking about a possible face-to-face meeting between the two.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: My best bet would be that it's likely to happen. They have a -- they have a great rapport together. They had a great
rapport in the first Trump administration. It was on display yesterday. This was really a very positive, very proactive, outcome-oriented call. And
that's who President Trump is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Before his own phone call with President Trump, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called today's prisoner swap with Russia, quote, one of
the largest exchanges. A hundred and seventy five servicemen have been exchanged on both sides, that's according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
It says it's also returning 22 badly wounded Ukrainian soldiers as a, quote, goodwill gesture.
Let's go to Washington where we find CNN's Alex Marquardt. So this call between Zelenskyy and Trump has just wrapped up. It lasted about an hour.
Trump is saying that it was, quote, a very good call. What details do we have on what exactly the two discussed, Alex?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, more broadly, Zain, I think this is certainly an effort by the Americans and the
Ukrainians to get this relationship back on track. Obviously, things went really off the rails after that meeting in the Oval Office.
And so, since then, the Ukrainians have been trying to play nice, immediately agreeing to that U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, for a full
ceasefire, I should note. And this is also the U.S. approach of essentially these two tracks, the U.S. talking with the Russians and talking with the
Ukrainians and trying to bridge the gap and bring both sides together.
So we saw that very important call with Vladimir Putin yesterday which was around two hours long. Today's, we understand, with President Zelensky was
about half that amount of time.
Luckily for the Ukrainians, this does appear to have gone quite well. We do have President Trump saying that he had a very good call with President
Zelenskyy.
Of course, the main priority for the Americans has been to get this ceasefire in place, a ceasefire in place, in order to then be able to talk
about the much more difficult thornier issues about a longer-term peace deal where, frankly, the Ukrainians and the Russians are still very much at
odds in terms of territorial concessions, what troops will be on the ground, the size of the Ukrainian military. Those conditions, those issues
go on and on and on.
[12:05:14]
But this is a little bit of what President Trump had to say following his call with President Zelenskyy, which, again, he called very good. He said,
just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. It lasted approximately one hour. Much of the discussion was based
on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs.
That last part is very interesting, Zain, because the Russians have made clear that if there is to be peace with the Ukrainians, they do not want to
see Ukraine getting military aid from the Europeans and the Americans. They don't want to see them getting intelligence support. That is something
they made clear in their statement made after the Putin call. That is nowhere in the American readout of the call.
And I think we need to remind our viewers that the U.S. was pushing for a full ceasefire, for the fighting to stop completely all along the front
line, all across the Black Sea. But what Putin got Trump to agree on was much smaller, much narrower than that. Really, the main headline here is
that the White House settled for a much smaller ceasefire.
So what we're seeing now, in effect, and it will be tested, is that the Ukrainians and the Russians have agreed to an energy and infrastructure
ceasefire. So just energy and infrastructure facilities that will not be targeted by either side. But that doesn't mean that the fighting will stop.
It doesn't mean that Russia will stop bombing civilian centers and cities all across Ukraine.
So this is much, much smaller than the U.S. wanted. They are trying to sell this as a win, but they are acknowledging that there is a lot of work to be
done. And we heard the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, saying that technical teams, so that's sort of lower level, expert level teams, will be
sent out from the U.S. and from Russia to Saudi Arabia in the coming days to further these discussions.
But it's clear that the Russians have a lot of conditions that they have before they agree to any kind of broader ceasefire, let alone a final peace
deal, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Alexander Marquardt live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Let's turn back to our other top story that we're following this hour, the deadline for the Justice Department to present more details of
the deportations that took place over the weekend were supposed to be seven minutes ago, but we're just learning it actually has just been extended.
Let's bring in CNN's Katelyn Polantz joining us live now in Washington.
So it's been extended. So the Trump administration has more time to provide the additional information about what took place over the weekend. But how
likely is it that they will actually abide by this court order, Katelyn?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the judge is giving them a couple options here. And, Zain, to zero in on what's
happening in this case, there's a fight over whether the Justice Department, the Trump administration, is willing to disclose more
information about these flights that took migrants out of the country on Saturday.
The judge is saying, you need to answer my questions, times the plane took off. If people on those planes, before the judge issued a written order
were subject to a presidential proclamation that is now being stopped by the courts as potentially illegal.
And so the Justice Department, they don't want to provide the information. That's what they're fighting against. They're ratcheting up the tension by
saying that the judge is trying to micromanage them, that they shouldn't have to listen to him because he's overstepping his authority as someone in
the court system whenever the president is the person deciding to deport migrants.
So they're fighting over whether things should be disclosed. And the judge is now saying, OK, I'll give you 24 more hours to think about it. If you
want to invoke some sort of protection on that information, saying it's state secrets or it's classified information, do it. And you can tell me
that and keep the information secret or else, you need to provide a little bit more detail.
And the judge even reminded the Justice Department that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been out there talking about these flights. And there are
details about them that's publicly available.
The big picture here though, Zain, is that this is a very tenuous time for the separation of powers. Is the Justice Department and the Trump
administration going to follow the judge's orders when he says, give me information or don't let those flights take off or turn those flights
around? Is there a bigger issue here? Or does the administration continue to follow the judge's orders? Zain?
ASHER: We'll see what happens. Katelyn Polantz, live for us there. Thank you.
So, what exactly do the American people think about this clash between the American president and the judiciary? Our chief data analyst, Harry Enten,
is here.
Harry, this is a rare issue where it simply does not matter which party you support. Take us through what Americans are thinking here.
[12:10:08]
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes. There are certain issues in which the American public is divided. They are not, not divided on this
particular one.
Let's take a look here. Trump should follow the court rulings. Look at this. Uniformity amongst the American public. Here, we're talking about 84
percent of all adults, 92 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of independents, 79 percent of Republicans.
You rarely ever see this in the American public. In fact, I went back and looked to try and find a similar number to this. And this is actually more
folks who agree on this issue than had a favorable view of Mother Teresa in the United States. There are more folks who agree on this issue than have a
favorable view of George Washington on this issue.
So the bottom line is, the American people absolutely believe that Trump should follow the court orders. No doubt about it across political lines.
Of course, should he and will he are two different questions, right? So this really gets at sort of the heart of the issue.
Will Trump follow court orders when the courts go against him? Only 42 percent of Americans are confident that he will. Look at this. The
majority, 58 percent are not confident. And this was before the latest clash, but it seems to be the American people might have had an idea of
what was coming because at this particular point, who knows exactly what Donald Trump will do?
But the bottom line is 58 percent of Americans are not confident that he will follow the court orders. That is the majority opinion. And, of course,
part of this is the general belief that Donald Trump has exceeded his authority already as president.
Has Trump exceeded his authority as president? Already, 57 percent of Americans say yes on this particular issue, compared to just 40 percent who
say no. It's going to be very interesting, Zain, to see what happens with the polling after this particular issue.
But the bottom line is going against the court is not a political winner for Donald Trump. There are other things that might be. Folks like him on
immigration, but when it comes to courts, he should follow their orders. That is the clear majority opinion amongst the American public, even more
popular, as I said at the top, than Mother Teresa.
ASHER: That is -- that is remarkable. That is a remarkable statistic. All right. Harry Enten, life for us there. Thank you so much.
ENTEN: Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Meantime, the president appears to be shrugging off a rare rebuke by the Supreme Court Justice Chief -- Chief Justice, rather, on
Tuesday. Without mentioning Trump by name, Justice John Roberts said, impeaching federal judges is not an appropriate response to disagreeing
with their rulings.
Earlier, Trump said the judge who issued the deportation order over the weekend was a radical left lunatic and demanded his removal. He then
doubled down on that and also acknowledged Robert's remark, but he said, he didn't think it applied to him. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, he didn't mention my name in the statement. I just saw it quickly. He didn't mention my name.
INGRAHAM: No.
TRUMP: But many people have called for his impeachment, the impeachment of this judge. We had a judge, I would call him a rogue judge. You can call
him whatever you want. I know nothing about him.
That's not for a local judge to be making that determination. And I thought it was terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. With more on all this, we wanted to speak to someone who has sat on the bench and made controversial rulings. We are joined live now
by former Florida judge Jeff Swartz. He's a professor at the Thomas Cooley School of Law. Thank you so much for being with us.
We'll see what happens with this deadline in terms of the Trump administration and the Justice Department providing additional information
about the deportation flights we saw over the weekend.
But when you have a president who continues to defy court orders. Just explain what that means in the context of a potential constitutional
crisis.
JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER FLORIDA JUDGE: Again, we have three branches of government. All of them are equal and a check and a balance against the
other. When the president of the United States takes over the executive branch, that's where he belongs.
When he invades the province of Congress, which he has also done, he's now broken down one of the guardrails against his taking more power than he
should have.
The courts right now remain to be the last remaining guardrail against authoritarianism. And this is -- these are fights that Donald Trump and his
minions are creating simply for the purpose of trying to overcome that guardrail.
When a judge's order is openly defied, and this is an open defiance that's going on right now, it must be met with enforcement. This is a situation
where he's poking the bear and finding out whether he can wake the bear up. And the bear has to wake up and say, this is enough. There has to be some
way to stop you.
And one of the ways that Boasberg, who's the judge in the -- in the case involving the people that were sent to El Salvador, is to be able to say,
who was the person who pulled the trigger? Who said, don't do what the judge says to do? And that person I want to see. And that person is going
to tell me why. And if I don't think it's a good enough reason, that person's going to sit in jail until my order is obeyed.
[12:15:20]
ASHER: When you have Chief Justice Roberts, for example, essentially rebuking the U.S. president because he called for the impeachment of the
judge that you mentioned, Judge Boasberg there, I mean, how rare is it to see the judicial branch clashing so publicly, so openly with the executive
branch in this country?
SWARTZ: Well, I will say that Justice -- the Chief Justice is, in fact, what we call an institutionalist. He is going to protect his institution
and that is the courts. He's done that before with Mr. Trump, when Mr. Trump was criticizing judges way back in 2015 and '16, and in fact told
him, don't do that. We don't do that. We don't have Republican judges. We don't have democratic judges. We just have judges. Stop attacking judges on
their politics.
I think that at this point, he has driven two judges on the Supreme Court from being kind of farther to the right than they are right now and created
an institutionalist branch of that court. That is, the chief justice and Justice Coney Barrett have now established themselves as basically the
power brokers in that court.
They're going to decide whether or not they're going to defend the institution or they're going to play politics. And I think that this is a
danger sign for the Trump administration and a hopeful sign for those of us who are observers of the court.
ASHER: When you think about what happened over the weekend with those deportation claims taken off, essentially defying the court order, what are
the consequences when you have people being detained or outright removed from the country without due process, without judicial review?
I mean, how does that reshape a nation do you think?
SWARTZ: Well, first of all, the Alien Enemies Act or statute, which is what they're using to deport these people, does call for judicial review right
in the statute itself. They've ignored that. When someone like Stephen Miller steps out front of the White House and says, the courts have no
right to tell the president what to do in this situation, it's right in the statute they're attempting to use.
I saw stories this morning of three people who are not gang members, who were forcibly tattooed and because they had tattoos, they were sent out of
the country to Venezuela. They're not criminals.
That's why there's a right of every individual who is going to be deported under this act to have judicial review of what the basis of that is. And
what has happened here is a complete breakdown and due process and equal protection of those who are now sitting in El Salvador jails, which are
just from what we've been able to see, a death trap and have not been heard.
And the administration doesn't have that power. And it doesn't have that power in so many ways. And as a result of which, I don't know how the judge
rules other than to say, bring those people back and hold your hearings. And if you want to deport them, you can deport them. But you don't have the
right to incarcerate them in a foreign country rather than send them back to their place of origin.
ASHER: And so in terms of this deadline, that was imposed for the Trump administration, the Justice Department, to essentially provide more
information about what took place over the weekend, the deadline was initially at 12:00 noon. It has been extended. They're giving the Trump
administration a few more options.
Just explain to us, what are the consequences if the Trump administration, again, refuses to comply with this deadline to supply additional
information.
SWARTZ: When a lawyer would tell me that you're beating a dead horse, something doesn't exist, we can't get to it, those kinds of things, when I
was on the bench, that was a signal to me that you're defying me, you're just trying to find an excuse not to comply.
And what's going to happen is the first people that are going to suffer the consequences are the lawyers. If there's a determination -- excuse me. If
there's a determination, then in fact, he can get -- these people can get that information, the judge is going to find them in contempt to court.
And then he's going to try to find out who's telling them to say those things. And he will work his way up the ladder till he gets as high as he
can and he will punish them. And the punishment, generally speaking, is what's known as direct or indirect civil contempt.
It is not a conviction of a crime. The judge has the right to incarcerate people, to persuade them, to cooperate and obey a court order. And a
perfect example of that is a woman who refused to tell the court where her daughter was maybe 30 years ago and said, I'm not going to tell you. And
sat in jail in District of Columbia jail for two and a half years until they finally realized they weren't going to persuade her to disclose the
place where her daughter was living at that time.
[12:20:29]
This is, you have the key to the jailhouse door if you comply with my order. If you don't, you're going to stay put. These things can be applied
to the people that are involved in this particular situation.
ASHER: All right. Former state judge, Jeff Swartz, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Still to come, hunted by drones, the harrowing conditions Ukrainians are living under as Russia's war drags on.
And enough is enough. That's the message these protesters are sending Israel's government after fresh airstrikes on Gaza. We'll take a look at
whether they can actually make any difference.
And later, the price of eggs remains way too high. A food scientist gives us tips on some tasty breakfast alternatives.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Kherson is a Ukrainian city on the front lines of the war. It remains eerily quiet on the streets out of fear of what lurks above.
Residents say, they're being hunted and terrorized by Russian drones and then mocked on Russian social media. Clarissa Ward has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the streets of Kherson, anyone is fair game. Every day, swarms of Russian
drones glide across the river on a deadly hunt that locals have dubbed, a human safari. They target the old and the young, men and women. Flying low,
they taunt and terrorize their prey.
A man crosses himself, preparing for the worst before the drone buzzes on. Others are not so fortunate.
Russian social media is awash with these videos, complete with heavy metal soundtracks and gloating comments. But to the people of Kherson, this is
anything but a game.
WARD: So this is the central square here in Kherson. And you can see it is eerily deserted. Just a few people out on the streets. It was raining and
cloudy earlier, which means sometimes more people go out because that's not good weather for flying drones.
[12:25:06]
But now again, just a handful of people, all the stores you can see over there are basically boarded up.
WARD (voice-over): The one supermarket open is heavily fortified. For Kherson residents, the simplest daily errand is the riskiest part of the
day. Some can't even get to the supermarket. We drive to meet volunteers from the local administration.
WARD: So we're heading now to the eastern outskirts of the city. This is one of the most dangerous parts of the city, and they're getting ready to
distribute some aid. They have to do it quickly and efficiently to ensure that they don't get seen by the drones.
WARD (voice-over): The area is very exposed. We're told to hide our body armor under our coats.
OK. So we've just arrived. At this point, you can see they're starting to distribute the aid.
WARD (voice-over): Beleaguered residents emerge from their homes where they live largely stranded. They grab supplies for neighbors who need help.
They've lived through Russian occupation, then liberation, now this.
Yna and her granddaughter tell me that life is so hard here. But there's no time to be afraid. She goes to collect her box of supplies.
WARD: So I told her that she's very strong. And she said, everybody here is very strong. We have to be.
WARD (voice-over): A man sets about repairing the roof of his home, undeterred by the near certain prospect of future attacks.
WARD: So they're saying that they have heard from the army that Russian drones have taken off from the other side of the river. So they're telling
us to move on now.
WARD (voice-over): We speed through the roads back to a safer part of the city. Nowhere in Kherson is really safe.
The local hospital is surrounded by sandbag barriers.
WARD: He says, they hit here quite a lot. That's why there's all these protections outside.
WARD (voice-over): Across Kherson region, there were more than 2,000 drone launches just last week. The aftermath of that staggering statistic,
clearly seen here.
Alayna Shegreyba (ph) says she and her friend were walking home from work when they were hunted.
We were two women, all made up without hats, carrying flowers and wearing white jackets, she tells us. They could see we were women, not soldiers.
It's just horror.
In another room, 19-year-old Boris (ph) is recovering from lung and leg injuries after the minibus he was traveling in was hit by a drone. Two
people were killed and eight wounded.
They are Russians. What can I say? He tells us. They're animals. Nothing else to say.
WARD: Pretty much every room in this entire ward has someone in it who has been injured or maimed by a drone. The doctor says, they have 28 drone
injuries that they are treating at the moment.
This is just one of three hospitals that serve this city. And he said the number has just been going up and up since last August.
WARD (voice-over): We steadily received 90 to 100 patients injured in drone attacks a month, he says. And there were 20 attacks in one week on the
hospital's generators.
Russia has frequently targeted Ukraine's power infrastructure in this war. Rarely has it so flagrantly pursued civilians.
We can call it a hunt for civilians, Mayor Roman Mrochko explains. The Russians send fresh drone units to Kherson region, and they trained by
attacking ordinary people with drones, then send these units to Donetsk and Lugansk. Then they send another new unit here to continue the human safari.
WARD: What can you really do to protect people here?
There's no panacea to fully cover the city because the Russians are developing their technologies, he says. There's no jammer that can fully
close the sky.
WARD (voice-over): And so the people of Kherson suffer on. As outside powers bargain for an end to this war, nowhere are Russia's intentions felt
so intimately.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Kherson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: CNN has reached out to Russian authorities for comment on Ukraine's allegations that Moscow has deliberately targeted Ukrainian civilians. We
haven't received a response as of yet.
We'll right back after this short break with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:20]
ASHER: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher.
Israeli protesters are venting their anger at the government and their prime minister today. Demonstrators gathered near a Jerusalem highway and
outside the Israeli parliament just days after Prime Minister Netanyahu green lit a fresh wave of new airstrikes on Gaza, shattering a fragile
ceasefire with Hamas.
The attacks killed 400 people Tuesday and more than a dozen overnight. Some protesters are accusing Israeli prime minister of waging war for political
power.
For Mr. Netanyahu, the resumption of airstrikes has helped shore up his shaky coalition amid his ongoing corruption trial. He was scheduled to
testify Tuesday in that trial, but it got canceled because of military strikes in Gaza.
For now, Mr. Netanyahu is doubling down and blaming Hamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Israel does not target Palestinian civilians. We target Hamas terrorists. And when these
terrorists embed themselves in civilian areas, when they use civilians as human shields, they are the ones who are responsible for all unintended
casualties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Israel says it has now launched a ground offensive in Gaza recapturing a key area.
Time now for The Exchange. Joining us live now is H.A. Hellyer, a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and
Security Studies. Thank you so much for being with us.
So, obviously, the ceasefire has, of course, been completely shattered. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is saying that one of the reasons why he
resumed the war in Gaza was simply because there was no progress being made in ceasefire talks.
Just explain, A, that rationale to us and also, B, what other political factors might have been at play here as well.
[12:35:07]
H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY STUDIES: Well, thank you for having me on your
program.
First, that's not really the rationale when it comes to the shattering, as you put it, of the ceasefire. The ceasefire plan had phase one, phase two
and phase three to it.
When it came to phase one, that was fulfilled and phase two was supposed to take place thereafter. Details on phase two were supposed to be negotiated
and Netanyahu failed to actually begin any negotiation on phase two by the requisite time, according to the plan, and also failed to withdraw from the
Philadelphi Corridor, which was part of phase one.
So there were numerous breaches that took place just in phase one on the Israeli side, including, by the way, around 100 people who had been killed
in Gaza Palestinians by Israeli fire.
Then the phase two was supposed to have begun. Israelis did not want to go to phase two. They wanted to create a new phase two where there wouldn't be
a withdrawal. Phase two was meant to include an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the beginning of a permanent ceasefire.
They did not do this. They instead suggested some sort of bridging proposal. A bridging proposal was only a bridging proposal of the name
because what it really meant was the extension of a pause in hostilities in exchange for a hostage prisoner releases, but no actual continuation to a
permanent ceasefire and then to the war, which is what phase two is all about. Phase three was supposed to be about the day after and
reconstruction and so on.
So I think what you've seen, very clearly, everything I've just told you, by the way, is documented in the Israeli press itself. It's been done
really in the open over the past month. There was no subterfuge in this regard. It wasn't done secretly. It was actually pretty clear.
So I think it's important to frame what's happened over the last couple of days. There was no impending threat in order to resume hostilities in this
nature. There was no need to collapse the ceasefire at all.
But unfortunately, this is what Netanyahu has decided. There are, of course, political considerations on the ground in Israel right now. He's
facing different trials and investigations. As you mentioned, this coalition is shaky. It wasn't so shaky that it couldn't have withstood this
particular pressure.
But, of course, with the return to war, the far right has become even more strong within his cabinet because Itamar Ben-Gvir has now returned to the
cabinet, as he said he would do if Israel returned to war.
I also remind your viewers that when it came to the beginning of phase one, there were many in the cabinet that were very unhappy about phase one even
happening in the first place. So we've now seen the outcome, I think, of the contradictions, a contradiction that really could not have and only
taken place because Tel Aviv felt forced to go into phase one by the Trump administration. The Trump administration has now given it the green light
to simply resume the war.
ASHER: Yes. And we'll see how Hamas responds. I mean, obviously, they have at least 24 Israeli living hostages in their custody. That is pretty much
the only card that they have to play. We'll see what Hamas does in response to the resumption of war.
H.A. Hellyer, do stand by because I do want to update our viewers on political unrest in Turkey, and then I can ask you a question on the back
of that. Take a listen.
What you're seeing here is student protesters clashing with police after Istanbul Mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested. People are out on the streets
despite a ban on all public demonstrations. Around 100 other people linked to Imamoglu were also taken into custody in relation to a corruption and
terrorism investigation.
The Republican People's Party or CHP was set to nominate the mayor as its presidential candidate in the coming days. He's widely seen by the
opposition as the best hope of unseating President Erdogan in the next election.
So, H.A. Hellyer, let me bring you back in to talk about what's happening here. Imamoglu says that he is going to fight back. And, obviously, people
are viewing his rest through a political lens, of course, because he is likely going to be the opposition candidate to Erdogan.
But just explain to us, when he talks about fighting back, what real options does he actually have at this point?
[12:40:59]
HELLYER: So, I'd also remind your viewers that this didn't happen simply out of the blue. What you had yesterday as well was Imamoglu's degree being
nullified by Istanbul University, which, you know, was also about, or was perceived to at least be about his eligibility for running for the
presidency later on.
In terms of fighting back, Turkey's certainly had a lot of challenges over the past decade with regards to his judiciary and so forth. But I think
that Imamoglu is going to challenge this in the courts. I'm sure that his forces and his partners in the opposition are going to do the same.
And the question will be, how much room there's going to be for him in political life, given the array of opposition to him as well that seems to
be quite evidently taking pass right now.
ASHER: And just in terms of where things stand with Erdogan, I mean, obviously presidential elections are currently scheduled in Turkey for
2028. You think about the fact that Erdogan has -- is already in his second term. He served as prime minister before that.
Technically, he's not supposed to be allowed to run again, unless he changes the constitution somehow or calls for early elections, as I
understand it, before his terms end.
Just explain to us -- explain to us what options Erdogan has at his disposal in order to run again.
HELLYER: Well, I mean, there are different routes that he could take if he wanted to. And all of it really depends on how much strength he thinks he's
-- he thinks that he's got among parliament, among the assembly.
Because, of course, if he wanted to try to move for an amendment to the constitution, then he can try to do that. There are different options. And
we've seen over the past 20 years, Erdogan has been very deaf in going through the system and going around the system and also changing the
system, but with popular or at least with parliamentary approval.
And I don't think that it's beyond the realm of possibility that he might try to go for another term. Of course, he may not do that. He may decide
that actually it's time to hand over to a new generation from within his cadres, thinking about succession planning and so on.
And keeping in mind, we're in 2025, the presidential elections are for another three years, and a lot can happen between now and then.
ASHER: All right. H.A. Hellyer, thank you so much for joining us. Live for us there. Appreciate it.
All right. The parents of missing U.S. college student, Sudiksha Konanki, have spoken out for the first time since her disappearance. The 20-year-old
was last seen on March 6th in the Dominican Republic.
Sudiksha's father asked people to pray for his daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUBBARAYUDU KONANKI, FATHER OF SUDIKSHA: It is with deep sadness and heavy and heavy -- Nana. And heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the
fact that our daughter has drowned. This is incredibly difficult for us to process.
We kindly ask you to keep our daughter in your prayers. We still have two young children to care for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: It was really difficult to watch, just overcome with so much emotion. You saw his mother crying there while her dad spoke.
Meantime, a judge in the Dominican Republic, on Tuesday, granted a request for freedom for Joshua Riibe. Investigators believe he was the last person
to see Sudiksha Konanki alive nearly two weeks ago.
We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:39]
ASHER: The price of eggs has risen, excuse me, dramatically in recent years across the U.S. Some restaurants have imposed surges charges on egg-based
dishes, bringing even more attention to the escalating costs.
CNN's Meg Tirrell has been investigating some egg alternatives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So we've all seen the price of eggs is going through the roof. They're now more than $5 a dozen and continuing
to rise, unfortunately, as bird flu keeps sweeping through the country.
So we're here with cookbook author and scientist, Kanchan Koya, who is going to show us some egg alternatives. What do we have here?
KANCHAN KOYA, COOKBOOK AUTHOR AND SCIENTIST: So first up, we have a commercial egg substitute that is actually made with mung beans, believe it
or not. The thing is, they're not so inexpensive, so they might be a good option if you're looking for a plant-based alternative, but not necessarily
the most cost-effective.
TIRRELL: OK. I'm going to try this one. Is this tofu?
KOYA: So this is a tofu scramble, which people often resort to as an egg alternative. It's really a blank canvas. You can add spices and herbs for
flavor, sauteed veggies. But again, not necessarily cheaper than eggs, but a great plant-based option.
TIRRELL: You do have one favorite that is less expensive. Tell us about that.
KOYA: I do. We are going to make eggs with chickpeas. So to make our chickpea omelette, we start with some chickpea flour. So chickpea flour has
protein, although not complete protein like an egg, but still good plant- based protein, and fiber, which is totally missing in eggs.
And all you do is mix the chickpea flour with water to create the egg batter. The key is to let it sit for about 10 minutes so that the chickpea
flour can hydrate well with the water and create a smooth, kind of creamy texture, which is what people love about eggs.
TIRRELL: Mm-hmm.
KOYA: So we're going to start with a little bit of oil. I'm just using olive oil to which I'm adding some sliced red onions. We're going to add a
little bit of salt and a little bit of black salt.
TIRRELL: Oh.
KOYA: So black salt is a Himalayan salt that is rich in sulfur compounds that mimics the flavor of eggs.
TIRRELL: Oh, so black salt is really not black.
KOYA: No, no, it's not.
TIRRELL: Don't be alarmed if you order some black salt and it's gray.
KOYA: Yes, exactly.
TIRRELL: OK.
KOYA: So our onions have softened. And to that, we are adding some red pepper and a little bit of spinach, because greens are always essential in
my books.
And then to make this look like eggs and also have some more health benefits, we're going to add a little bit of turmeric. I'm also going to
add a little bit of smoked paprika. So now, we're going to pour in our chickpea batter.
And then you want it to cook for about five minutes until it's nice and set. Just sprinkling some mild cheddar on top, any cheese that you like
would do. And we're going to finish this now in the broiler, in the oven so that it gets nice and golden brown on top.
TIRRELL: That looks good.
KOYA: And we sprinkle it with a little bit of parsley. Are we ready to taste?
TIRRELL: Yes.
KOYA: I like to serve it with a little bit of Greek yogurt.
TIRRELL: That smells good.
KOYA: I know, right?
TIRRELL: Well, it doesn't exactly taste like eggs, but it is really, really yummy. Yes.
KOYA: Almost more like a pancake maybe.
TIRRELL: Yes.
KOYA: Like a savory pancake.
TIRRELL: It feels like it'll be satiating.
KOYA: Absolutely. So the reason people love eggs for breakfast is because they are very satiating and they keep you full until lunch. And the protein
and fiber in this chickpea omelet is going to do exactly the same thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[12:50:02]
ASHER: The world of long distance running will soon see a new contestant. A Chinese robot is set to run a half marathon in Beijing.
The humanoid robot has been training and undergoing testing for next month's competition, which is open to companies around the world. Both
robots and humans will race, but on different tracks for safety. Upgrades to the robot's older version have helped increase its speed and stability.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WEI JIAXING, BEIJING HUMANOID ROBOT INNOVATION CENTER (through translator): Its highest speed is 12 kilometers per hour. Considering the stability and
endurance of the robot when running outdoors, we may slightly reduce the speed, but we are still very confident that it can complete the half
marathon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: So far, two dozen robotic firms have signed up to run in the half marathon.
All right. Still ahead, she is the pride of Needham, Massachusetts. Here is future astronaut Suni Williams in high school. Her hometown is celebrating
her safe return to Earth. More ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. After a picture-perfect splashdown, the hometown of astronaut, Suni Williams, could not be more proud. People in Needham,
Massachusetts say they've been both excited and anxious for her return to Earth. CNN-affiliate WBZ reporter Brandon Truitt has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRANDON TRUITT, WBZ-TV REPORTER: What a unifying experience for people across the country to watch this, especially for those who gathered here.
Now, Suni hasn't lived in Needham in years, but her legacy runs deep and there's a lot of pride here.
(CHANTING "USA")
TRUITT (voice-over): There wasn't an inch of free space in the common room. People standing shoulder to shoulder in the Needham restaurant watching
history unfold.
The hometown girl, Suni Williams, back on earth after that eight-day trip. turned into a nine month mission. The drinks were flowing, a life sized
Williams cutout was perfect for taking pictures, but the impact of this moment on young girls is as if Suni was writing her legacy on those
watching eyes.
PRIYA BUTLER, NEEDHAM RESIDENT: We all kind of feel relieved that she's like safe and, yes, we're so excited to see her again.
J. BUTLER: Like so cool that she's a part of our town and like everybody knows her across the entire country. And I'm so proud she have gone to our
school.
TRUITT (voice-over): Sisters Jaya and Priya Butler both attended the elementary school in Suni's name. Relics submissions passed line the
hallways. The inspiration on full display.
[12:55:03]
KIANA BRUNSON, PRINCIPAL, SUNITA WILLIAMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: I think it's really great for kids to see that someone who grew up in this community
graduated from Needham public schools can go on to become someone so successful.
DONNA ZAMBITO, HIGH SCHOOL CLASSMATE: Just to show support and that we're happy for her safe return.
TRUITT (voice-over): Even members of Williams' graduating class of 1983 turned out, describing her as funny, smart, and athletic. The work of one
woman impacting generations.
ZAMBITO: It is so exciting and we're so proud to have a classmate that is so successful and did something so amazing.
P. BUTLER: At like our school, we're all really proud of her and we're just happy that she's back so she can like visit us again.
TRUITT: Almost every kid I talked to said, they've met Williams. She visits the school often making an impact in space and in the classroom too.
In Needham, Brandon Truitt, WBZ News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. That does it for today's edition of ONE WORLD. I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
