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Staffers Kill Rare Gorilla to Save Child; Trump Honors Vets at DC Motorcycle Rally; Interview with Gary Sinise; Dangerous Surf and Flooding in Storm's Wake; Hundreds Missing, Feared Dead in Shipwrecks; Interview with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 29, 2016 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:25] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for being here.

Today, this word from the director of the Cincinnati Zoo. Heart broken. He is talking about the entire staff there at the zoo in mourning after the death of this endangered lowland gorilla. The zoo staff made the on-the-spot decision to shoot and kill this gorilla after a little boy somehow slipped into the animal's habitat.

Details now from CNN's Jessica Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day of panic and desperation at the Cincinnati Zoo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're getting that second run to the Cincinnati Zoo. And this is in a gorilla cage and a 3-year-old child has fallen in to the gorilla cage.

SCHNEIDER: A 4-year-old boy slips in to the gorilla's habitat and over a moat wall. Suddenly, Harambe, a 17-year-old 400-pound gorilla approaches the boy. His mother watches in horror as to what happens next.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy's right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Everybody back up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy loves you. I'm right here.

SCHNEIDER: The young boy screams and the urgent calls to 911 can be heard on this bystander video.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son -- SCHNEIDER: Harambe drags the boy around the moat and up a ladder for

ten minutes as the zoo's dangerous animal response team anxiously decides what to do next.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The little boy himself had already been talking about wanting to go in, go in, get in the water and his mother is like, no, you are not. No, you are not. I don't know if the screaming did or too many people hanging on the edge, if he thought -- but he pulled the boy further away from the big group.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engine 32, the gorilla has the child and dragged him around the pen.

SCHNEIDER: Officials considered the incident very threatening. Deciding Harambe must be taken down immediately.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reason that tranquilizing was not chosen is in an agitated situation, which male was, it may take while for the tranquilizer to take effect, but certainly at the incident he would be hit, he would have a dramatic response. You don't hit him and he falls over. It will take a few minutes. The child was under attack. But all sorts of things could happen in a situation like that. So, he certainly was at risk.

SCHNEIDER: They say their only option, a rifle. Harambe was shot and killed. The child was taken to Cincinnati children's hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have rescued the child. We got everybody. Children have been notified for trauma.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a sad day all the way around. The right choice was made. It was a difficult choice.

SCHNEIDER: Harambe was a western, lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species. The zoo had hoped he would eventually father other gorillas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love the zoo. It's very friendly. Everything is beautiful here. But when you see something like that and then you have the disappointment because what do you say to your grandchildren?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: That video, you just can't take your eyes off of it.

CNN's Jessica Schneider is joining us live now at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Jessica, we see some folks behind you. We know the park reopen today. How are visitors there reacting to what happened?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, Ana. The zoo opened. We have seen a stream of visitors inside the zoo itself at the gorilla world exhibit. We see a growing memorial of flowers there and a statue of a gorilla, that's all for 17-year-old Harambe. People inside sad and confused about what happened.

Outside we have seen a few people holding "justice for Harambe" signs. But officials a the zoo stress they had to take the quick action. In fact, zoo director, Thane Maynard, released a statement saying, "We are heart broken about losing Harambe, but a child's life was in danger and a quick decision had to be made by our dangerous animal response team."

Thane Maynard also said that they tried to get the gorillas out of the exhibit but only two female gorillas exited so they had to take deadly action against Harambe. The 4-year-old boy meanwhile has been released from the hospital and is home tonight -- Ana.

[18:05:03] CABRERA: Jessica Schneider, thank you. So glad to hear that little boy is OK.

On the phone with me now, animal expert Jeff Musial.

Jeff, I know you have seen the video of this gorilla and how he was treating the boy. How do you read that behavior? Was that child in serious danger?

JEFF MUSIAL, ANIMAL EXPERT (via telephone): Yes. It could go either way. Gorillas western lowland are not an aggressive species, but can be if provoked. In this situation, he didn't understand what was going on and he is used to look at behind bars outside of the moat. Next time you know there is one in there. So, he was inquisitive curious and wanted to check it out.

But then again, you are dealing with a 400-pound male silverback gorilla. And they are very, very strong creature. When it comes in the zoo, it is horrific, it's heart breaking what happened, but when it comes between a child and animal, unfortunately the zoo world the children's life over these animals.

And unfortunately, for the gorilla it is heartbreaking for this species, heartbreaking for everyone that is associated with that animal. But if you watch the video, you see him trying to look at him like he is wearing clothing. He is pulling his clothes, checking it out. He's curious. The onlookers are yelling and screaming, so it's stressing him out.

So, then he wanted to show male dominance. He will try to throw the child around a little bit and bring him back because he is curious. He doesn't want to technically hurt the child. He wants to check it out. He's curious.

CABRERA: So, you read it as him not necessarily being angry but more inquisitive as to who is this person inside of my zoo exhibit. Do you think he realized it was a person?

MUSIAL: I believe yes. They're very smart animal. Then, he wondered why is this person on the other side of the enclosure since the last 17 years of his life, he was probably never in an enclosure with a human being. So, he was wanting to check it out, but he was also feeling threatened

by the people on the other side of the barrier. So, he's like throw stuff, like male silver back will do, show some dominance and pull him over and check him out again and be inquisitive.

The biggest thing that everyone asks me is about today is why didn't they dart, why didn't they dart (INAUDIBLE) when they have that much testosterone, he is flying that high, you are going to take extra long to trigger it. I heard it said by saying that people from Cincinnati, it's not going to boom, you are shot with a dart, boom, he passes out. No, the damage that could be done and the anger levels that could increase after they hit him with the dart gun could be very, very bad for the child.

So, they had to do the smartest choice out of the two. Unfortunately, you know, we have one less gorilla in the world, United States population.

CABRERA: It does that seem like it was a no-win situation. This went on for ten minutes prior to them taking that lethal action. Ten minutes, as a parent I watch that video, we just showed a short clip of that time span. That seems like a really long time.

What do you think zoo officials were doing within that chunk of time before they decided to shoot the gorilla?

MUSIAL: What they started to do is assessing how do we handle it? It is not in anyone's mind like we want to kill this animal. They don't think first thing go and kill the gorilla. The same thing happened at a zoo in Britain a couple of years ago, where there was a male silver back and he actually took the child and guarding him from females. They were able to coach the male away and pull the child out and no one was hurt. The child had bumps and bruises.

So, I think they were trying to play it out. It wasn't a lion or tiger or something that wanted to go in for the kill. They knew he was going to be a little inquisitive. They were hoping he would check it out and the child would do something (INAUDIBLE). If he took off running they could have pulled him out without anyone losing a life and they were plotting how to do this, how can we do this without casualties whatsoever.

CABRERA: It is a situation in which you imagine and prepare for but never expect. I do know, according to the zoo officials there, this enclosure had been around. The habitat has been around since 1978. In a statement they say this is the first time anything like this happened. That anyone breached the exhibit. In fact, they say the exhibit is expected regularly but the association of zoos and aquarium and the United States Department of Agriculture and it adheres to safety guidelines.

Do you think there is anything the zoo could have done to prevent the situation?

MUSIAL: You know, if it was going to happen, it was going to happen. It could have happened 30 years ago. [18:10:02] I think personally, if it what is inspected by the zoo and

aquariums, they build these enclosures specifically so that animals cannot get out and humans cannot get in. I just think this was a freak thing that the child was able to fit through those bars. From what I heard, the mother had her hands full of other children and if you have two or three children and one goes one way, while the two are messing around, you are paying attention to the children, boom he goes through the bars.

Well, a child can fit through but adults cannot. From what I heard from different sources, they were trying to coax the child back to the bars, and at first, he was playing in the water thinking, like this is a fun thing to do. I don't think he realized he made it through an exhibit and he is in with a 400-pound male silver back gorilla.

CABRERA: So scary. Jeff Musial, thank you for joining us and offering your expertise.

MUSIAL: No problem. Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.

CABRERA: Thank you.

Ahead this hour, severe weather on this Memorial Day weekend. In fact, it turned deadly in Texas.

Also, some dangerous surf along the Carolina coast. We will have a live report coming up.

Then, Trump speaking to vets at the Rolling Thunder rally in Washington today. Plus, what Gary Sinise has to say about Trump comments on veteran John McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY SINISE, ACTOR: I reacted. I was disappointed that he would do that and include an entire generation of POWs as folks that had failed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: What the actor is doing to make sure our veterans are never forgotten.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Welcome back. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera. Thanks for staying with us.

On this Memorial Day weekend, Donald Trump spoke at a special motorcycle rally in our nation's capital. The Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally pays tribute to prisoners of war and Americans missing in action.

Scott McLean was there. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[18:15:03] SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Donald Trump talks constantly about his support for veterans, but it's not often that he gets to speak to a large crowd directly. Here today, he seemed to get a good reception.

But in many ways, this was a typical Trump stump speech. He seems to tick all the box, talking about trade, about the Second Amendment, building support for our military and, of course, veterans.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our veterans have been treated so badly in this country. You have a secretary that last week said, no, the wait time doesn't matter. Forget about wait time. I know people and I have gotten to know so many vets and we just raised almost $6 million for the vets because I didn't do a television show and I said, let's do this. And we are announcing on Tuesday all of the groups that we raised this money, we raised a tremendous amount of money because we love the vets.

MCLEAN: And that money he mentioned was raised a couple of months ago when Trump decided to skip out on a FOX News debate. But ever since then, Trump has been dogged by questions about where exactly the money went. So, as you heard, Trump is now planning a full accounting of that money on Tuesday to try to put this issue to bed.

But Trump is also facing renewed questions about comments he made last year about Senator John McCain who was a former POW. He said, I like people that weren't captured. Yesterday on CNN, former Senator Bob Dole called on Trump to apologize.

We asked today Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, whether Trump planned to do that and he said, "Not that I'm aware of" -- Ana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Scott McLean, thanks for that report.

It is official, Donald Trump and his eventual Democratic contender now have a new challenge, third party candidate Gary Johnson wrapped up the Libertarian Party presidential nomination today.

How much do Republicans have to fear from a potentially strengthened libertarian movement this year?

I'm joined by Trump supporter and national political commentator for USA Radio Networks, Scottie Nell Hughes. Also with me, CNN political commentator Tara Setmayer, a Republican who does not support Trump and has not endorsed any candidate.

So, Scottie Nell Hughes, let me start with you.

Johnson is a former Republican governor from New Mexico. He's going to be on the ballot now in all 50 states as the libertarian candidate. Could he be a spoiler to Trump in the general election like Ross Perot was back in 1992? SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I absolutely don't think so,

because when you look at the power that wanted Ross Perot to be president, those were some those who were incorporated to Mr. Trump because he's the outsider. Those folks looking for an outsider.

When you look at the Libertarian Party, many things that they say don't align with what conservatives and Republicans want, and definitely, Gary Johnson is not one that goes for it. The only reason why we're giving him any sort of attention right now or the libertarians is because you have folks that are just not happy with either candidate. But that number is minor and nothing that's really to be a worry for anyone.

CABRERA: Is it really minor though because we know that unfavorables for both Trump and Hillary Clinton outweighed favorables at this point? Tara?

TARA SETMAYER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, 44 percent of people polled in "The Washington Post" poll recently said that they would consider a third party. That's not an insignificant number.

So, but one thing I would agree with Scottie on this, that Gary Johnson, the more people get to know who he is, I don't think he has a mainstream appeal. It's a very different candidacy that Ross Perot, who had a more populist appeal than necessarily Gary Johnson.

But there are a lot of folks who are looking for an alternative. They do not like Donald Trump. They do not like Hillary Clinton. An "A.P." poll came out that 13 percent of people polled are proud of the election process this year. I mean, people are not -- they are angry. They're voting against something rather than for something.

You know, somewhere like Pennsylvania, where it's gone Democrat for many election cycles, but like 52-48 or so, perhaps a libertarian candidate that takes off a couple of percentage points, that could make a difference. But --

CABRERA: I know you are among those who don't like any of the candidates.

SETMAYER: No, the people --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: But, Tara, let me play you part of my exclusive interview I did yesterday with former Republican presidential nominee, Bob Dole. I asked Dole if Jeb Bush could fall in line with the public support of Donald Trump.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB DOLE (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE (via telephone): I believe Jeb is a man of integrity and honesty. I just hope he keeps his word when he said he would support the nominee. I know Trump didn't make it easy for him because of all of the things he said about Jeb.

But Jeb is bigger than that. I do hope to see him on board. It would mean a lot in states like Florida and Jeb has friends all over the country. So does his dad and mother and brother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Tara, you are a Republican who is still not supporting Trump as we discussed already. Does hearing those words from Bob Dole, somebody who is well-respected in the Republican Party have greater weight?

[18:20:02] SETMAYER: Listen, God bless Bob Dole. He was my commencement speaker at G.W. back in '90s. Bob Dole was a candidate for president in 1996. We liked Bob Dole. He is well respected but he's really not a major player at this point. I don't really think --

CABRERA: Who does matter?

SETMAYER: I don't really think what Bob Dole has to say will sway anyone either way. I don't think it's going to sway the Bushes either way. They are standing on principle and good for them thus far, and given the way we saw there was no love loss between Jeb Bush and Donald Trump. I think that the Bushes and Mitt Romneys and folks like that look at Donald Trump being unfit and dangerous to the presidency. I don't see how they come around. But Marco Rubio came around. So --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: That's where I was going to go next.

Now, Scottie Nell Hughes, Bob Dole tells us, you know, Trump should pick former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for his running mate. I'm curious, who you think should be Trump's running mate choice if not Gingrich?

HUGHES: Well, I think Newt is a good choice. I think he's a great option. But there are a lot of other ones that are out there. The key is, and as someone who's campaigning, and Mr. Trump has said, he's going to get somebody that complements his style. One thing I want people to realize is that when you look at Mr. Trump, he doesn't respect necessarily politicians that have been in there for decades, that have done basically nothing expect get us into debt.

He respects people that have accomplished things. And things that are business. That's why I think Senator Corker drew attention a couple of weeks ago, because he has accomplished. Senator Corker has accomplished a lot in the Senate but also in his private life, and being seen as kind of natural to throw him out there.

But I also think there are several great people on the list and as Corey Lewandowski said earlier, that it's actually -- it's a very small list right now, but I guarantee Mr. Trump is well vetting them and make sure they will complement his style and not necessarily be someone that he's going to constantly have to be worried about. CABREERA: Tara, how big of a difference does it make who he picks for

V.P.? Could that be the turning point to clinch some anti-Trump or never Trump people?

SETMAYER: Yes, for me no. But for some who are still on the fence, I think possibly because normally the vice presidential pick really is inconsequential. We kinds of make a big deal about it but it doesn't sway elections either way.

But this time around, because of Donald Trump and there is so much trepidation about him at the top of the ticket, the V.P. maybe important. I personally think that he should pick someone that's in the military, a general or someone who knows politics but also is well-respected because out there is a lot of concern about Donald Trump's position on foreign policy. It's incoherent in a lot of places, dangerous in others.

Also, he's made comments about the military, about POWs, which he is yet to apologize for that is unsettling. And also, you know, his own record with draft dodging in Vietnam and bragging about his personal exploits in his own personal Vietnam is something that I think people will find questionable and unsavory as the general election comes along. People are going to bring it out on the other side.

I think he needs to bring some gravitas and stability and picking someone from the military side.

CABRERA: All right. Scottie, I know you want to talk about this. Go for it.

HUGHES: Well, here's the thing, I don't think that Mr. Trump has to worry much about the military. I mean, from the very beginning, Veterans for a Strong Defense came out and endorsed Mr. Trump, realizing they actually said they don't believe people within the military, you have to deflect their use of military service to reflect criticism like John McCain did with those comments that came from Mr. Trump.

They actually see he is the one that will strengthen the military, as compared to the past eight years that have done nothing but weaken them with things like the sequester. And last year with the national bill of defense that Democrats voted down, which would have increased our soldiers pay.

Like wee saw today, there's an overwhelming welcome by most military organizations to Mr. Trump and to his message, because they don't sit there and take offense to one word. They actually see his overall policy, and I think that's why Mr. Trump won't have a problem with the military. Just like the Democrats have a problem possibly, say the Republicans have a problem with demographic, it's actually the Democrats that have the problems with the military and national security vote I think.

CABRERA: We'll have to leave it there. Scottie Nell Hughes and Tara Setmayer, thanks to both of you.

SETMAYER: Thank you.

HUGHES: Thank you.

CABRERA: Coming up, live here in the CNN NEWSROOM, you know him best as Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump. Next, actor Gary Sinise tells me how that role influenced his life to this day, leading him on a mission to help veterans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SINISE: Where you boys from the world?

UNIDENTIFIED MALES: Alabama, sir.

SINISE: You twins?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we are not relations, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:28:15] CABRERA: We're back live at the CNN NEWSROOM.

And I have two words that will make you smile or want ice cream, perhaps even both, Lieutenant Dan. The iconic character in "Forrest Gump" was played by actor Gary Sinise, and Sinise says the role gave him a lasting connection to servicemen and women.

And he now runs the foundation supporting military members and veterans.

So, it really is no surprise he was not okay with Donald Trump's questioning Senator John McCain's war record, writing an open letter to the candidate at the time. On this Memorial Day weekend, I had the opportunity to talk to Sinise about that and whether he thinks Trump's comments should disqualify him from being commander in chief. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SINISE: I don't know that I can say it should disqualify him. I wish he would walk it back, though. You know, I would probably think in his heart he probably regrets a little bit of saying that.

It's -- I don't see what purpose it served. Was a spontaneous thing that he happened to say at that moment and -- but he's not a guy that seems to be told what to do. So --

CABRERA: Not one to apologize, that's for sure.

SINISE: I just thought I would react and let him know I was disappointed by that. I wish he would walk that back.

CABRERA: I want to talk more about the work you are doing. I know you are currently documenting from first person accounts from World War II programs through your program "Soaring Valor", as you mentioned. You have talked to more than 180 veterans so far.

Can you share perhaps a story that has really touched you? That made you say this is why I did this?

SINISE: Well, the program that we're talking there that you see is called Soaring Valor. We fly World War II veterans to the National World War Museum, which happens to be in New Orleans. It's not here in D.C., but it's in New Orleans.

[18:30:05] And I had a great relationship with them because I narrate some material down there. I played the voice of Ernie Pyle in a movie that is in the theater at the museum called "Beyond All Boundaries," and after I went to the museum for the first time many years ago, I sent my Uncle Jack down there who was a World War II veteran, a B-17 navigator.

And they recorded him for their National Archive which they have thousands of World War II veterans recorded their oral histories on video. And after my Uncle Jack passed away I asked them if they would send me the DVD of his interview and it was very moving to me to know that I had that. And I thought about all the many families who should have, you know, the stories of their loved ones told and preserved at the National Archive there.

So I offered to start a program with the National World War II Museum called Soaring Valor. We try to get as many World War II veterans to the museum to see their national tribute that was built in their honor and also we tried to send historians around the country to record them as often as we can. And we've recorded almost 200 now. We have sent like you said about 180, 190 veterans down to the museum. We continue to do that.

It's a positive program. Obviously we're in a very short window here because the average age is 90 years old or older.

CABRERA: Right.

SINISE: We had a 100-year-old veteran on our last trip. So -- and as a matter of fact, Dick Cole, who was Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot, has been to this event twice and he is almost 102 years old. Some of them are pretty incredible. But obviously the window is tightening and for them to be able to take this trip together with their fellow veterans and see this National Museum, which I wish everyone in the country was able to see.

CABRERA: Yes.

SINISE: There's no place that you can feel the thin line between freedom and tyranny more than walking through this historical place of honor.

CABRERA: How awesome is that guy? You can find out more about the "Soaring Valor" program for veterans and how you can help at his Web site GarySiniseFoundation.org.

Still ahead here live in the CNN NEWSROOM, we are tracking a couple of treacherous weather systems. The worst may be still to come in Texas where flooding has already claimed four lives.

And then we'll take you to South Carolina where the remnants of tropical storm Bonnie are still making holiday travel and activities there extremely dangerous. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:43] CABRERA: Mandatory evacuations are underway right now in southeast Texas. Devastating floods have killed four people there and three are still missing. Among the missing is a 10-year-old boy who slipped into the swollen Bronco River was apparently swept away. This river near Houston is typically three feet deep. Right now, listen to this, it's about 13 feet deep. Hasn't even crested yet. Unfortunately, another round of rain is expected in the near future, forecast for Tuesday.

We are watching more severe weather off the coast of the Carolinas tonight where tropical depression Bonnie is still whipping up treacherous waves and causing serious flooding inland. And officials are warning surf and rip current could be life-threatening all the way to the Georgia coast. A search is now underway for a swimmer missing off of North Carolina.

Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is joining me from Ridgeland, South Carolina, where a section of Interstate-95 has been shut down because it is completely under water. Looks like it's starting to dry out just a little bit where you are. But what have you been experiencing there, Jennifer?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Ana, it has been raining all day here in Ridgeland. And so I-95 was shut down earlier this morning. It is still shut down. And you can see all of the cars lined up. They are detouring them off the interstate and having to go around. So I'll tell you that people are using I-95 to try to get to the coast. But because it's Memorial Day weekend, a lot of people trying to get to the beach, it is not happening if you are trying to travel through Ridgeland, South Carolina, to get to your destination.

Some people have been in their cars for hours trying to get around this mess. Luckily the rain has tapered off a little bit. So hopefully they will be able to open the interstate before too long. But no word yet on when exactly that will happen.

This tropical depression is being awfully stubborn as it tries to move to the north. What's happened is it's basically stalled out over sections of South Carolina. And so the rain has just been coming down nonstop. It is starting to taper off a little bit finally, Ana, so we're hoping that this will move out. But these showers could linger a little into tomorrow and then Monday looks a lot better here but quite messy up in the northeast -- Ana.

CABRERA: Not so much fun there. Jennifer Gray, thanks for the update.

Straight ahead, live in the CNN NEWSROOM, tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea. Horrific new details on a ship wrecks believed to have killed dozens of migrants just this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:41:44] CABRERA: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. At least 65 migrants have died in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea in the past week. The Italian Coast Guard says more than 12,000 have been saved but hundreds are still missing. And United Nations fears that the death toll could climb to 700 or higher.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has more now from Rome -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, hundreds of migrants and refugees are missing and feared dead in what could be the deadliest week in the Mediterranean in more than a year.

Wednesday, a fishing boat crammed with refugees and migrants capsized. Hundreds are believed to have drowned. Then Thursday, several hundred more died when their boat went down. This boat didn't even have a motor. It was towed by another vessel which is also crammed with refugees. That boat started to take on water and sank. Friday, another shipwreck, around 50 bodies were recovered but U.N. officials who interviewed survivors say many more are feared missing.

Over the past week, Italian officials say more than 14,000 people have tried to make the crossing, more than 4,000 in one day alone.

Now with the calmer seas and summer now upon us, and more people crossing the graveyard of the Mediterranean Sea is becoming is fast filling up -- Ana.

CABRERA: The pictures are tough to watch. Ben Wedeman, thank you for that report.

And after decades of hard knocks, Detroit two years ago you'll recall became the largest city in the U.S. to go bankrupt. Well, the Motor City is revving up for a comeback. And the mayor is staking his career on it. That's ahead live here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:47:27] CABRERA: Welcome back live to the CNN NEWSROOM.

In this week's "American Opportunity," Detroit. The Motor City is on the mend after becoming the largest American city ever to go bankrupt just a couple of years ago.

Our Poppy Harlow went to Detroit to talk with Mayor Mike Duggan about what exactly is the key to his city's revival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is emblematic of what many are hoping and betting will help Detroit turn around. Minority-owned small businesses. What's the significance of a place like this?

MAYOR MIKE DUGGAN (D), DETROIT: we're starting to see this more and more. We've got a nice blend of people who grew up in Detroit, particularly minority entrepreneurs, opening businesses. A blend of people from coming in from other parts of the country and it's feeling really good.

HARLOW: This is a daunting task. I have been covering the recovery of this city from pre-bankruptcy to bankruptcy now post bankruptcy for the last eight, nine years. When you became mayor, what was the number one thing you said I have to fix?

DUGGAN: Well, at the time the street lights weren't on, the buses weren't running, the ambulances weren't showing up and nobody wants to move into a town or bring a business to a town with those issues.

HARLOW: How would you assess the state of Detroit right now? Where are we at in this recovery?

DUGGAN: You know, things are getting better. And people believe in the future. So we have a long way to go. I mean, we still have 30,000 vacant houses in this city. That we have to get rid of. But two years ago we had 40,000. And so that's kind of the way that all of this is.

HARLOW: Progress.

DUGGAN: But when you are heading the wrong direction, people were moving out. Residents and businesses. Now that we're heading the right direction, you can get a house and you can get a store front and open a business far cheaper than any other major city in America. And now the entrepreneurs -- you know, entrepreneurs are rebels by nature and the extreme rebels are showing up in Detroit and they're changing the city.

HARLOW: So you have a lofty goal and that is to reverse population decline in the city, to do something that no one has been able to do for the past 60 years in Detroit. Will this year, 2016, be the year that the population doesn't decline in this city?

DUGGAN: I'm 57 years old. I was born here. And the population of Detroit has dropped every single year I have been alive. And I do believe when the Census Bureau numbers come out next May we will have reversed that six-decade decline. We got people moving in in neighborhoods all over the city. We got property values going up in neighborhoods across the city and we've got businesses like this.

[18:50:04] Restaurants in this town are opening so fast people complain they can't get to them all and it's a function that people coming back. So I do think this will be the year.

HARLOW: You do?

DUGGAN: The population of Detroit grows. I believe it's growing right now.

HARLOW: And that's so critical for the tax space. I mean, you can't do it if the people don't come back. DUGGAN: My first day in the city I said I only want to be judged on

one standard. Is the population of the city going up or going down? And I said by the end of my first term, my goal is to have it going up. So if it isn't going up next year, I guess I'd probably have a reelection problem. I'm pretty optimistic.

HARLOW: You're betting your reelection on this.

DUGGAN: And many on my management team were a little nervous about that, but now I think they feel very confident because the whole management team is focused on the same thing. We want a city -- we're competing with really good suburbs around us for residents and for businesses and now we're competing and winning.

HARLOW: So Detroit can't thrive unless its schools turn around in a dramatic way and you have a public school system on its knees right now running out of money by the end of the summer.

DUGGAN: Right.

HARLOW: How can the city turn around if that doesn't get fixed fast?

DUGGAN: It can't. Everything about reducing poverty is bringing in businesses, but getting our young people educated and have the skills to work. If you don't do both things we won't fundamentally change the trajectory of the city and so the mayor in Detroit doesn't historically have anything to do with the schools but now we kicked off a Detroit promise where with the help of some foundations here we're guaranteeing every child that graduates from a high school in Detroit has two years of community college guaranteed.

HARLOW: Paid for.

DUGGAN: Right now we have bad quality choice. We have some very bad public schools. We have some very bad charter schools. We've got some great public schools and some great charter schools. We want to create a local authority that says it doesn't matter if you're public or charter, if you're good we're going to grow you and if you're bad you either need to improve or we shut you down.

HARLOW: What's the measure for you as mayor of success or at least a turnaround for the schools?

DUGGAN: You know, everything fits together. And I've always said, the only measure that I care about, any mayor, is whether the population is going up or going down. And if more people want to come here than leave we're succeeding and right now parents with children are not coming here and we need to get to the point where as in Washington, D.C., parents with children are moving into Washington, D.C. because of the quality school options they have. I'd like to be at that level some point in Detroit.

HARLOW: So this all comes full circle, right? When you talk about bringing more businesses to Detroit, opening more places like this, that then goes into funding these kids going to college?

DUGGAN: No question about it.

HARLOW: Can't be one without the other.

DUGGAN: No question about it. And this summer we're going to hire 8,000 young people in summer jobs in all of the businesses along here have all signed up. And you think about what that means for many of these kids. They've never had a paycheck. They don't know what it means to dress at work, to talk at work and the like. By the end of the summer they have a bank account and a sense of what a particular job is like and we're just going to keep building on that.

So we've got to create paths of opportunity and that's something we're working on every day and to make sure this recovery includes everybody.

HARLOW: When you look at Detroit, it like the rest of the country is grappling with this issue of expanding income inequality and what the solutions are. What's top of mind for you when it comes to the issue of income inequality?

DUGGAN: Income inequality is a function of having good enough education and skills and having job opportunities. I'm a great believer that talent is distributed equally across this country. What isn't distributed equally is opportunity. And for our young people they aren't getting a good enough opportunity in schools to be educated and there aren't enough opportunities for jobs. And so the way we're going to fix income inequality is raise the education skills of our residents and bring in more job opportunities. There's no shortcut to it.

HARLOW: What is the number one thing you want people watching right now to think when they think of Detroit?

DUGGAN: This is going to sound strange but --

HARLOW: Give it to me.

DUGGAN: Detroiters really don't care what people outside think. We really don't.

(LAUGHTER)

DUGGAN: We've been beaten up for so long. So you ask that question --

HARLOW: I love that.

DUGGAN: You asked that question, it's a funny thought.

HARLOW: That's an honest answer.

DUGGAN: So what you have in the city is a bunch of really hardworking people who don't spend a lot of time feeling sorry for ourselves and are working on turning the city around, and I hope people who are watching us want to come be a part of it. You'll be welcomed in Detroit. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: You can see more of our series, "American Opportunity" by visiting CNNmoney.com/AmericanOpportunity.

We are back live here in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:28] CABRERA: On tonight's brand new episode of "PARTS UNKNOWN," Anthony Bourdain heads to Senegal and retraces the roots of some familiar American cuisines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, "PARTS UNKNOWN": Oh, wow.

Tonight we're having youssou, made with a local fish called choff (PH), cooked simply on the bone, wrapped in foil and steamed over the fire, served with a mignonette type sauce of onions, grilled mussels and sea urchin.

Grilled mussels, cool. Oh, that's good. Starving. I'm really hungry. So what distinguishes Senegalese cuisine from the neighbors?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we have the best food.

BOURDAIN: You've traveled to the American south.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BOURDAIN: I mean, you notice some things about the food?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Familiar.

BOURDAIN: It's -- I mean, look, shrimp and grits, OK? I mean, I've eaten shrimp and grits in Africa many times. I mean, they call it something else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. The most interesting part of American food is our contribution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Got to say that looks adventurous, but delicious. "PARTS UNKNOWN" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and then at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, how is gentrification changing America. W. Kamau Bell looks at Portland. Again that's on "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA."

Thank you for being here in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ana Cabrera, in New York. We appreciate you joining us. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and a special thank you tonight to our veterans for your service. Good night.