CNN.com - Transcripts (2024)

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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to all our viewers watching from the United States and around the world.

I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

The Princess of Wales returns to the public stage in a few hours for the first time since revealing her cancer diagnosis. We'll go live to London.

The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a ban on bump stocks, once again, allowing semi-automatic weapons to fire hundreds of rounds per minute.

And emotions run deep as family members and survivors watch as demolition begins at the site of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

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COREN: In the coming hours. Catherine, Princess of Wales, is expected to make her first public appearance since late last year. She is set to attend the Trooping the Colour events, the official celebration of the British monarch's birthday.

King Charles said he's, quote, "delighted" that the princess will be there. She's been out of the public eye since last Christmas. In March, she revealed the reason why. She's been going through chemotherapy for cancer.

Well, Anna Stewart joins us now, live from London.

And no doubt, a great deal of excitement where you are.

What can we expect to see from the Princess of Wales in the coming hours?

OK. We seem to be having a few problems there connecting with Anna.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- I'm not hearing you very well but --

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COREN: -- you can hear us --

STEWART: -- will be today, not only on the king but on the Princess of Wales, who we will be seeing the first time in months. And I think the first glimpse we will get of the princess is in the carriage essentially, as the royals will be leaving Buckingham Palace in about 2.5 hours' time as part of the royal session -- procession.

And this is all part of the king's birthday parade, often known as Trooping the Colour, because that's a big ceremonial part really of what happens here. One of the five foot guard regiments of the household division take their turn on Trooping the Colour, which is essentially showing their flag.

Now this year is a particularly important one for the Princess of Wales, given that she is also the colonel of the Irish Guards, which is why, last year, you may remember at the king's birthday parade, that she wore all green, resplendent in green. On St. Patrick's Day, she wore green as well.

So perhaps we will see another nod toward the Irish there. She will likely be with her children, Princes Georgia and Louis and Princess Charlotte in that carriage. Royal fans absolutely love seeing them all.

And then of course, the balcony scene which will happen right at the end of the event, they'll all go to Horse Guards. They'll come back, they'll get onto the balcony at Buckingham Palace, which you could probably see behind me. It's all getting rigged up. You can see a drape has been laid out.

That, of course, is where you get the royal waves. And that's where often we get some nice, silly faces from the children as well. Anna.

COREN: If you can now hear me, describe to us the reaction from the British public; in particular, to the upcoming public events of Princess Kate.

STEWART: I've got you now. That is wonderful.

The reaction has been of such shock and surprise and I think everyone's really relieved that, after all these months, they will get to see the Princess of Wales. And we already, of course, had that glimpse of her from the photos released by the palace looking remarkably well, in fact, in the woods around Windsor.

And so I think there's a sense of relief, also, a real personal touch and the statement that we had from the Princess of Wales, explaining that she has good days and bad days but she's not out of the woods yet. But that she will be starting to both work from home and appear at certain events.

Of course, it will be left up to her medical team to advise on which ones she's able to make. But I think everyone be thrilled that she's making this one in particular, because this is a big family occasion. It marks the king's official second birthday.

Monarchs always get a second one in the U.K., the second Saturday of June, because supposedly the weather is good -- as it is for now. But this is about the family. So to have the Prince of Wales reuniting with everyone on that balcony today will mean a lot for royal watchers.

COREN: We'll be discussing this over the coming hours.

Obviously, we can see you very soon, Anna Stewart in London.

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Thank you.

Well, the message from the Princess of Wales mentioned that her chemotherapy is ongoing and will be for a few more months.

She has not revealed the type of cancer she's being treated for. But the treatment may provide some clues about the severity of her illness. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, explains.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of terms being used here around Princess Catherine and just a lovely picture that we see of her there, preventative chemotherapy is the term that is often being used.

And I think a lot of people may have interpreted that as a type of chemotherapy that can prevent cancer. Some of this may just be semantics. But I think what we're talking about here specifically is something that is more commonly known as adjuvant therapy.

So this is an additional therapy in addition to the operation that she had several months ago. So different types of therapies out there. They can take several months of scheduled chemotherapy. We don't know what type of cancer. We don't know what type of therapy.

And she is totally entitled to her privacy, so we won't speculate on that. But I will tell you the types of factors that go into the consideration here. The type of cancer obviously; the types of medications that are being used; the stage of that cancer, that will all play a role in determining what, how long the therapy is likely to last.

Also what types of side effects she might have. She, in the statement, says she's not out of the woods yet and probably really means two things.

How well does the medication, the chemotherapy work?

Is it actually helping with the existing cancer?

And what are the side effects?

Good days and bad days. And you can see the list of side effects there. People get exhausted while on these medications and you can change day to day in terms of how you feel, even hour to hour.

But also like brain fog and difficulty with pain, even in the limbs, there's all sorts of things that can happen in response to chemotherapy. So that may be what she means by good days and bad days.

As you may remember, Princess Catherine, 42 years old; here is a timeline of how things progressed over the past several months.

It was the middle of January, January 16th, when she was admitted for that abdominal operation. At that point, they thought whatever they were doing was not related to cancer.

But then subsequently, we heard that, in fact, she has cancer, so they may have actually examined some of the tissue under the microscope and found, in fact, she did have cancer. And that has now led to this time period since February, where she's been undergoing chemotherapy and will likely undergo that for some time.

Again, depending on the type of cancer, that can be months, six to nine months, even, of chemotherapy, sometimes longer or shorter, depending on the specifics. But that is what we know at this point.

Again, we don't know what type of cancer, we don't know what type of therapy and we're not going to speculate on any of that. But it is good to see that picture of her. Guys, back to you.

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COREN: Sanjay Gupta reporting there.

Turning to other news now, a major ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court Friday, striking down a federal ban on bump stocks for guns. The court ruled 6-3, with conservative justices sticking together in the majority. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent that the majority's ruling, quote, "will have deadly consequences."

CNN's Paula Reid has details from Washington.

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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: On Friday, the Supreme Court struck down a ban on bump stocks. Bump stocks enable semiautomatic rifles to fire at speeds comparable to machine guns.

This was a rare regulation to result from a mass shooting in the United States. This regulation, of course, resulted from the 2017 Las Vegas shooting from a hotel that left dozens of people dead and hundreds injured.

Now Friday's decision fell along ideological lines. Justice Clarence Thomas writing for the majority that, quote, "We hold that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a machine gun because it cannot fire more than one shot by a single function of the trigger.

"And even if it could, it could not do so automatically."

Now the liberal justices joined in a fiery dissent written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote, quote, "When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.

"A bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle fires automatically more than one shot without manual reloading by a single function of the trigger, because I, like, Congress call that a machine gun, I respectfully dissent."

The ATF, which put forth this regulation originally, released a statement calling on Congress to legislate and try to restrict these bump stocks that way. But of course, it is unrealistic that, in an election year, Congress would actually be able to pass anything this sensitive.

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Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

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COREN: Joining me now is Dr. Joseph Sakran, chief medical officer with Brady, a U.S. gun violence prevention organization.

Doctor, thank you so much for joining us. Firstly, your reaction to this news.

DR. JOSEPH SAKRAN, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, BRADY: Yes.

Well, thanks for having me. The Supreme Court decision has put bump stocks -- which, by the way, enabled the deadliest mass shooting in modern history -- back on the streets.

And these accessories turn semi-automatic weapons into the functional equivalent of machine guns, which are weapons that have been severely restricted by Congress since the 1930s.

And I'll just add that the move to prohibit the sale of the use of bump stocks was done at the direction of the Trump administration with broad bipartisan support, because it was clear that the availability of such weapons could only lead to death and destruction.

So it's an absolutely disappointing decision that we saw.

COREN: As you say, bump stocks were used in that Las Vegas massacre in 2017. In the space of 11 minutes, the shooter fired more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, killing 60 people, injuring hundreds.

I mean, this device turned his semi-automatic weapons into basically machine guns.

Why would the Supreme Court justices, the majority of them, want this device back on the streets?

SAKRAN: Yes, I mean, this is frankly a hypertechnical decision that ignores the human cost of bump stocks and the reality of why they were designed and how they are used.

There's no reason whatsoever to think that Congress long ago meant to severely restrict machine guns from civilian use but to leave it open for later inventors to come up with mechanisms to evade that legal determination.

And the bottom line is that this majority opinion has inevitably put American lives in danger. The example that you give in Las Vegas is absolutely correct. I mean, 60 people dead, over 400 injured. Right.

And that's why, in the weeks following the shooting, members of Congress from both parties, local officials and even the NRA publicly recognized the need to strictly regulate bump-stock devices, even their ability to transform semi-automatic firearms into machine guns.

COREN: I mean, it would seem that the concern for public safety doesn't really seem to factor into this decision. Justice Clarence Thomas writing for the majority, he said, a bump stock does not convert a semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun any more than a shooter with a lightning-fast trigger finger does.

That doesn't even make sense to me.

SAKRAN: Yes. And I frankly think that the majority opinion ignores a reality of what the words of the court now quibbles over meant when they were written by Congress. the term that the statute uses was proposed in 1934 by the president of the National Rifle Association specifically to cover attempts to circumvent the machine gun ban.

Which is exactly what bump stocks do. And let's be clear, they pose a unique right threat to our society. The threat these deadly devices pose can turn any American gathering, whether it be a concert, a parade or a community festival, into a war zone.

And put simply, these bump stocks make semiautomatic firearms operate like machine guns.

COREN: Dr. Sakran, you, of course, are a survivor of gun violence. You were shot when you were 17. You got into medicine, became a trauma surgeon and you see gunshot wounds. You treat them on a daily basis. Explain to us the damage that bullets do to the human body.

SAKRAN: Yes.

Well, look, as you point out, my career has been inspired by being a victim at the age of 17. And it led me to becoming a trauma surgeon. And I love what I do. But one of the worst parts of my job is having

to go out and talk to these moms and dads and explain to them that their child that left that morning is never coming home again. And frankly, the majority of Americans are shielded by the destruction that bullets do to the human body, pulverizing bones, liquefying tissue.

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And we are left with a situation where the best medical treatment is prevention. And that's why we do the work that we do, to try to ensure that these patients are not showing up in our trauma centers and in our operating rooms.

COREN: Well, we thank you for the work, the incredible work that you do, Dr. Joseph Sakran.

Thank you for joining us.

SAKRAN: Happy to.

COREN: A judge in Texas has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to liquidate his personal assets.

Well, that would force him to begin paying the roughly $1.5 billion in damages he owes the Sandy Hook families. Jones had broadcast a blatant lie on his popular website, Infowars, that the massacre at the school was a hoax. The judge did offer Jones a partial win, ruling against liquidating Infowars' parent company. Jones remains defiant.

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ALEX JONES, RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY THEORIST: This is probably the end of Infowars here very, very soon, if not today, in the next few weeks or months. But it's just the beginning of my fight against tyranny.

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COREN: Twenty children were killed in the shooting in 2012.

The families also want to seize Jones' social media accounts, arguing they are a key part of his Infowars business that allow him to promote his brand.

Well now it's echoes of another mass shooting. For more than six years, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has stood as a ghostly reminder of the massacre there. Well now demolition has begun on the site where 14 students and three faculty members were killed.

As Laura Aguirre reports, the demolition is a milestone for many.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seeing everything kind of unfold, it gets very emotional.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a lot of conflicting emotions as we watch this building being torn down.

LORI ALHADEFF, ALYSSA'S MOTHER: I just keep thinking about my beautiful daughter, Alyssa, and the 16 others that were murdered.

LAURA AGUIRRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A physical reminder of the horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is coming down. Demolition began Friday morning on the school's 1200 building, where 14 students and three faculty members were killed on Valentine's Day in 2018.

ALHADEFF: When the crane hit the building, it just honestly ignited that pain even further.

AGUIRRE (voice-over): The building has been preserved exactly as it was after the shooting. Since then, survivors and family members were given private tours at their request. Various officials and lawmakers have also been inside, many working with the families to enact a number of new school safety policies.

ALHADEFF: Legislators going through that building, seeing the blood on the ground, the glass on the floor, the harm that took place.

AGUIRRE (voice-over): Among the changes since that day, the state of Florida raised the minimum age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21, increased mental health resources for students and developed a voluntary program for teachers to qualify to carry a weapon.

School officials say the demolition is expected to take several weeks. They've not yet announced what will happen to the site but many families would like to see a permanent memorial to the 17 lives lost that day -- I'm Laura Aguirre reporting.

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COREN: We have new information about the deadly toll the war in Gaza is taking on children plus why many children have been badly injured are forced to wait to be evacuated for better care.

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COREN: There are new developments along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Israel said a short time ago that it launched airstrikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah after rockets were launched from Lebanon into Israel.

Concerns were already growing over the risk of a wider war in the Middle East.

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COREN (voice-over): Dozens of rockets were fired into Israel and the Golan Heights from Lebanon on Thursday. Many were intercepted in the air. And Lebanon's national news agency says an Israeli airstrike killed two women on Thursday.

Fighting has ignited extensive fires on both sides of the border.

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COREN: Gaza officials say that since the war began in October, 15,000 children have been killed. More than 34,000 have reportedly been wounded. Our Paula Hanco*cks has the story of one child who's badly wounded in the fighting.

And we have to warn you, it contains disturbing video.

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PAULA HANco*ckS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been closed now for 5.5 weeks, not only preventing humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza but also medical cases getting out.

The World Health Organization says at least 10,000 patients in Gaza need to be evacuated.

HANco*ckS (voice-over): Hanan Aqel had gone out to buy some sweets when the airstrike hit. "I miss seeing mama," she says. "I

miss my mama and my sisters."

9-year-old Hanan has not been able to open her eyes since the strike 10 days ago. Doctors say she has 20 percent burns on her face, hands, chest and leg.

One of thousands of patients trapped inside Gaza without hope of the treatment they need. Her mother says, "She tells me I want to play.

What have I done to deserve this?" She can't sleep properly because of the pain. Her whole body hurts.

Surrounded by war for eight months, this was Hanan just hours before she was hit. They had been forced to leave their home in Rafah when the Israeli

military moved in and were sheltering in someone's garden in Al-Breej.

Hanan says, "My sister went to her grandfather and asked for one shackle for her and one for me. I went to the shop and was about to pay the man and

a missile fell. I didn't hear the whizzing, I just saw a red light."

Hanan's doctor says she was in critical condition when she arrived.

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They removed shrapnel from her face and reconstructed her nose. He says they now have no choice but to wait to transfer her out of Gaza, hoping her wounds don't get infected.

"Most children need medical transfers," he says, "for a more qualified treatment than here. We don't have the treatment, the tools; we don't have the supplies."

The Rafah crossing has been closed since May 7th, when the Israeli military took control. Egypt says it will not open the crossing until the Israeli military withdraws for security reasons. One Egyptian soldier was killed last month in fighting along the border.

Israel says they will not hand over control of the crossing to Palestinian authorities, fearing Hamas would use the area to smuggle in weapons.

DR. RIK PEEPERKORN, REPRESENTATIVE FOR WEST BANK AND GAZA, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The Rafah crossing should be reopened as quickly as possible or there should be an alternative. We have no estimation at the moment how many of the patients, which should have left, actually have already passed away.

HANco*ckS (voice-over): Khloud Al-Sharqi says she was displaced three times while pregnant. Her baby, Malak, born four days earlier, has a heart defect, spending most of her young life in an incubator.

"The doctors did what was necessary," she says, "but they said that she must be transferred out of Gaza quickly."

She adds, "One of the doctors told me not to have high hopes. That sentence is so difficult to hear."

Malak is not the only baby desperately needing medical treatment outside of Gaza. Her doctor confirms if these children do not get treatment, they are

likely to die. Ali Darwish has a broken spine, ribs and leg after an airstrike hit his house, killing his siblings, his aunt says. Without

urgent specialized treatment outside of Gaza, she has been told by doctors he may be paralyzed. For these children, escaping Gaza may be their only

hope for the future.

HANco*ckS: With Israel and Egypt both blaming each other for the Rafah crossing still being closed, time is literally running out for the more severe cases in Gaza -- Paula Hanco*cks, CNN, Tel Aviv.

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COREN: The two day Ukraine peace conference is set to begin in Switzerland in a few hours. And nearly 100 countries and organizations will take part, including leaders from Germany, France, the U.K. and Canada. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Russia was not invited to the summit.

And China declined to attend.

Russian president Vladimir Putin dismisses the conference as a, quote, "ploy to divert everyone's attention."

He says, Russia will only end the war if Kyiv surrenders regions claimed by Moscow and abandons its bid to join NATO.

At the meeting in Switzerland, leaders are showing support for Ukraine at the G7 summit, now in its third and final day in Italy. CNN's MJ Lee has more.

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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. President Joe Biden and his fellow world leaders showing a united front of support for Ukraine this week at the 50th G7

Summit and sending a collective message to Vladimir Putin.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He cannot wait us out. He cannot divide us. And we'll be with Ukraine until they prevail in this war.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Thanks to every American heart. That does not betray freedom and supports us.

LEE (voice-over): In their final day of working meetings on Friday, the group focused on ways of kneecapping China's economic dominance as well as

Beijing's support for Russia's defense industrial base.

BIDEN: We discussed our shared concern about countries like China resupplying Russia with materials they need for their war machine.

LEE (voice-over): Other top items on their agenda, the situation in the Middle East and climate change. The leaders of the world's richest seven

nations also graced by a historic visit from Pope Francis. The pontiff attending the G7 Summit for a session focused on artificial intelligence.

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): It's up to each to make good use of it. And it's up to politics to create the conditions whereby this good use is

possible and fruitful.

LEE (voice-over): The pope himself has been the subject of so-called deep fakes like these viral images from last year featuring him in a white

puffer jacket. The world leaders hoping to make headway on ways of regulating the proliferation of A.I. technology in responsible and ethical

ways.

Biden meeting with the pope separately on the sidelines of the summit. The private audience marking at least the fifth time the two men have met.

Their last sit down in 2021 at the Vatican around that year's G20 gathering.

BIDEN: The most significant warrior for peace I've ever met.

LEE (voice-over): A devout Catholic, Biden has credited the pope for bringing him comfort and solace after one of the toughest moments of his

life, the death of his son, Beau.

The president reflecting years later on his family's private visit with Pope Francis in 2015, just months after Beau's passing.

BIDEN: He knew what a man he was, and it had such a cathartic impact on his children, and my wife, and our family that it meant a great deal. He's

everything I learned about Catholicism from the time I was a kid going from grade school through high school.

LEE: One dynamic that made this year's G7 so unique is that, if you look at the roster of the G7 leaders attending this year, President Biden included, a number of them are facing elections back home and almost all of them are facing very serious political challenges back at home.

But one senior official I talked to today said that the U.S. presidential election actually didn't come up, at least explicitly, in the working sessions that they were a part of. And another official said that president Trump and the possibility of a second Trump term also did not come up as far as they were aware.

But certainly there was a recognition among the leaders in southern Italy this week that the makeup of the G7 could look very different next year. And that certainly could have ramifications for all of the work that they did this week -- MJ Lee, CNN, in Bari, Italy.

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COREN: Preparations are getting underway for the first debate of the U.S. presidential race. Less than two weeks from now on June 27th, President Biden will square off against Republican rival Donald Trump at the CNN Studios in Atlanta.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on how Trump is approaching the run-up to that encounter, including celebrating his birthday in Florida.

But we start with Arlette Saenz, who has the latest on how Biden is preparing.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden has spent much of the past two weeks traveling abroad, meeting with world leaders in France and Italy. But back here at home, his debate prep has gotten underway.

Leading those debate preparations is what former White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, who led Bidens prep back in 2020 and also led debate prep for Hillary Clinton when she faced off against Trump in 2016.

Now a campaign official says the president won't have as much time to devote to debate prep as he did in that 2020 race. They expect that the most intense sessions of debate preparation will come in the days leading into June 27.

In fact, the president is expected to spend a few days at Camp David in the coming weeks. But there have been some debate preparation sessions so far. And a source does that in those sessions, the president has really been focused on trying to find ways to hold Trump accountable in this debate.

Some of the areas where he really wants to draw a contrast and criticize Trump are related to reproductive rights and also Trump's calls for political violence or trying to undermine democratic institutions.

The ultimate goal, advisers say, is trying to paint Trump as chaotic and divisive while presenting Biden as a steady and wiser alternative. One campaign official said that President Biden has been much punchier in his remarks, in his speeches about Trump on the campaign trail.

And they expect that will continue into this debate. Of course, Biden and Trump have faced off twice before back in 2020. So Biden at least understands a little bit of the style that Trump uses on the debate stage.

Now in addition to debate preparations, President Biden is also focused on raising major cash for his campaign. He is here in Los Angeles, where he will be attending a fundraiser with former president Barack Obama, Julia Roberts and George Clooney. Really to try to tap in to some of that star power in this campaign.

So far, the campaign has not said how much they raised. But a similar event between Biden, Obama and Clinton brought in $26 million.

So the campaign is hoping to bring in another big haul here in Los Angeles with this fundraiser as they are trying to keep that cash advantage over Donald Trump -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, Los Angeles.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former president Donald Trump, celebrating his 78th birthday with a room full of supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. While he didn't shy away from the fact that he was 78, he did manage not to attack Joe Biden for his age, just a few years older than Donald Trump.

We should be clear that if he were to win, Donald Trump would be the oldest person to accept or be sworn in as president in history.

That is something Donald Trump himself is a acutely aware of. But again, why he has continued to avoid the topic of age while insulting Joe Biden, take a listen.

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TRUMP: We have a president who has no clue what the hell is going on, just look at him yesterday, look at him the day before in Europe. He doesn't where the hell he is.

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HOLMES: Trump also talked at length about that debate that's happening in two weeks. He will be on the stage with Joe Biden. We did learn that while he was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, he held a, quote- unquote, "policy session" with senior advisers as well as two senators, Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Marco Rubio of Florida.

While they are saying this is not debate prep, they really want to stress that this is something that will, they acknowledge, help him prepare for the debate. Of the topics that they talked about, democracy, also how to answer questions about January 6 and the riots on January 6, Donald Trump's involvement in that.

And his later conversations and remarks about how he would pardon those involved in the January 6th attack -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

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COREN: Trump and his team are not happy about the prosecution's new request for a gag order in his classified documents case.

Trump's attorneys wrote, "In Jack Smith's most recent shocking display of overreach and disregard for the Constitution, the special counsel's office asks the court to enter an unconstitutional gag order as one of the release conditions on the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election."

Prosecutors say Trump has falsely claimed he narrowly escaped death when FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago in 2022, even though he was in New York at the time. They say claims like that invite threats and harassment against law enforcement.

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But a former federal judge told CNN earlier that gag orders can be hard to enforce.

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SHIRA SCHEINDLIN, FORMER U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE: I was a very practical judge.

I would look at Trump's team and I would say, can you assure me that he will stop saying that the FBI is trying to kill him and that Joe Biden is trying to kill him?

That's the essence of this. If he would agree to not say that, there's no need for a gag order because gag orders are hard to enforce and hard to decide who decides whether they've been violated. And they do create problems. They can be vague in their language. I understand that.

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COREN: Prosecutors had already asked for a gag order last month but the judge denied that request, saying they needed to fully confer with Trump's attorneys first.

Record heat, drought and heavy rains impacting millions across China.

When we come back, how unrelenting extreme weather events could impact the food supply of one of the worlds most populous countries.

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COREN: Record-breaking rains, unrelenting flooding and now climbing temperatures across much of the U.S.

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COREN: Turning now to China where multiple types of extreme weather events are raising food security concerns. That could impact one of the world's most populous countries. Our Kristie Lu Stout has the details. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rushing floodwaters in southern China. Drought and extreme heat to the north. It is no wonder some

people feel their fate is in the hands of the gods.

These villagers in Shandong Province are praying for rain. Their farmlands are part of a precious food bowl for China, helping to feed millions across

this vast country. But the hot, dry weather has left little water for crops. It's so hot and dry across parts of China's north, east, and central

areas, the government has issued an emergency alert across seven provinces.

This farmer in Shanxi says authorities have supplied him with medication for heat stroke as he presses on with his work.

I need to drink 15 to 16 bottles of water a day, he says.

Spring in China was the hottest on record. That has now given way to a scorching summer. In the capital Beijing, the temperature is predicted to

reach 39 degrees Celsius, 102 Fahrenheit by Monday and Tuesday, that's almost 10 degrees Celsius over the average temperature for this time of

year. And while drought grips many parts of China, torrential rain lashes the south.

In Fujian Province, the wet weather has caused landslides. The landslides have been powerful, this local official says. With heights exceeding 20

meters, we closed the road on June 11th.

The rain appears related to the seasonal monsoon pattern, but climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and intense and bringing different but equally dangerous challenges to people across the same country -- Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.

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COREN: Euro 2024 is off to a sensational start. Just ahead, details of the opening match between host country Germany and Scotland. Stay with us.

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COREN: The United States cricket team has advanced from the group stage to the final eight of the T20 Cricket World Cup. The tournament co-host just needed to avoid a loss in their match against Ireland to progress.

After heavy rains in Florida, where it was scheduled to take place, the playing ground was declared unfit and the contest was abandoned.

On the way to the Super Eight, the team won its first ever T20 World Cup match against Canada and claimed a famous upset against world cricket power Pakistan. They'll face South Africa next in Antigua on June 19th.

Football dreams were made and broken in Munich on Friday as the Euro 2024 got off to an exciting start, with host Germany's decisive 5-1 victory against Scotland. Fred Pleitgen was there to catch the action.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was exactly the start to the Euros that both the Germans wanted and the German national team wanted as well.

After a beautiful opening ceremony for the Euro 2024. Team Germany absolutely thrashed team Scotland. In fact, suffocating the Scottish side. After the first half, the Scots were already down by three goals and down a man who got sent off after a red card.

The Germans then putting on another two goals in the second half. The only thing really tarnishing their result was that own goal by Antonio Rudiger. In total, though, there was some very beautiful football that the Germans played on the attack almost the entire time. Beautiful combinations as well.

And a lot of the young German players, like Jamal Musiala, definitely shining and getting a very good result. However, for the organizers of this tournament, what is almost more important is the fact that everything went peaceful and that, in many ways, it was a very European festival.

You look inside Munich, the vibe was very good. The Scottish fans were very good. Everybody was happy. The German fans very happy (INAUDIBLE) as well?

[03:55:00]

But the Scottish fans were also great, right?

Yes. It was a good festival. They loved it. In Munich, it was a celebration. People that we spoke to after the game absolutely happy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Germans really good, really, really good. We enjoyed that. Even just really welcome in the city of Munich. Like there's not anywhere you can go and (INAUDIBLE) by a (INAUDIBLE).

PLEITGEN: So you're not sad about the game?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, the football is always (INAUDIBLE) about --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's much more, they say. Almost like a basketball type of football. But (INAUDIBLE).

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PLEITGEN: You think there's a chance Germany could win the Euros -- ?

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really, really yes. We will win it. Let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PLEITGEN: As far as the organizers of this tournament are concerned, they said the most important things for them were obviously that security would be OK.

But then also that the vibe would be good. And that's certainly something that was seen on display in Munich as the Euro 2024 is now underway -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Munich, Germany.

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COREN: Before we go, a hungry bear wandered into a home in Sierra Madre, California, on Thursday and tried to get away with some frozen chicken until police intervened and scared the bear into dropping the pilfered poultry.

Homeowner Laurie Duvall (ph) said the bear had been polite, adding, "I respect them but I don't want them around. They should be more in the wild and not living off what's in the refrigerator."

That certainly does make sense.

Well, thank you so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong, I will be back with more news after the short break. Stay with us.