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At This Hour

Russian Strikes Hit Kyiv And Other Ukrainian Cities; UVA Shooting Suspect Faced Disciplinary Action Before Attack; Airlines To Pay More Than $400 Million In Refunds To Passengers. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired November 15, 2022 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Looking overseas right now, Russian airstrikes are targeting Kyiv again. The mayor says the missiles hit two residential buildings today. And Ukrainian officials also say that around 100 missiles have been fired against Ukraine today, including the cities of Lviv and Kharkiv. At the same time, President Zelenskyy is now outlining to G20 leaders his conditions for peace in this long and deadly war. Sam Kiley is live in Ukraine for us at this hour so, Sam, what is the latest with these airstrikes?

[11:35:14]

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just in the last hour or so, President Zelenskyy, Kate, has said that there have been 85 missile impacts across the country. Now that in terms of these swarm-type attacks is a record. The last was the beginning of October, and that was 84. He also said that they're anticipating perhaps 20 more, imploring his countrymen to -- and women and children to get into shelters to take shelter. That is a message that is going out from Mykolaiv in the south, right through to Sumy and Kharkiv in the north, and way out in Lviv in the West.

And that is because all of those locations have seen impacts. They've seen a lot of incoming. And they also say that they've shot down the vast majority of these missiles, which the government at the moment describing as cruise missiles. They were at least in the early salvos, cruise missiles we understand fired from aircraft but of course, they also -- the Russians have them capable of being launched out of the Black Sea. And then they have the Iranian-made loitering drone missiles which have been very effective in overwhelming in just -- in sheer numbers the infrastructure to defend the country.

But the targets have overwhelmingly been the electrical infrastructure. 30 percent of the internet has been knocked out. A huge number of cities, not this one, the Kryvyi Rih, where the lights are still on, but a lot of other cities, Kate, had been very badly affected. And this is on top, of course, the damage that the Russians have done in the past to try and break the back of Ukraine as winter approaches, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Sam, how would you sum up what Zelenskyy is laying out as his plan for peace in this long war?

KILEY: Well, he's made it very, very clear, essentially, that he wants the Russians out of his country and his people back in it. And that is, to sum up, his terms -- he had a 10-point plan in which he said that negotiations would not be entertained until Russian forces had withdrawn entirely from every bit of Ukrainian territory. And indeed, he was also demanding reparations. That is going to be highly controversial.

BOLDUAN: It sure is. It's good to see you, Sam. Thank you so much for that.

So, also at the G20, President Biden is urging world leaders to unite against Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine. The leaders are meeting for the first time in person since the start of the invasion. And unlike the smaller G7, the G 20 includes countries like India, China, and Saudi Arabia, whose positions on the war have not been so clear. MJ Lee is live in Indonesia at this summit with more on this. MJ, what is the appeal that President Biden is making to world leaders there?

MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, there's no question that no other single issue has loomed larger over the G20 Summit than the ongoing war in Ukraine. And heading into the kickoff to the summit today, senior U.S. officials had noted that most G20 member countries have condemned the war. So, there was definitely a recognition that there have been a handful of countries that are G20 members who haven't always been sort of fully or openly critical of the war. They are some of the countries you just mentioned, like China, like India, Saudi Arabia, even the host country, Indonesia to some extent, so that has certainly been a complicating factor. But really President Biden's key overarching goal in coming to the summit has been trying to sort of elevate that collective global voice of condemnation against this -- against this war.

Now, one dynamic that is worth noting, of course, is that Vladimir Putin was not in attendance. Russia, of course, is a member country. He ended up ultimately sending his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instead. So, ultimately, President Biden and other foreign leaders ended up discussing Vladimir Putin and the very war that he started and is engaged in, except just not in his presence, Kate.

BOLDUAN: MJ, it's good to see you. Thank you.

So, the University of Virginia is still in shock and now mourning the loss of three football players all killed in a shooting by a fellow student. The warning signs about the suspect and the latest on the investigation next.

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[11:44:10]

BOLDUAN: We are learning more details now about the shooting suspect who allegedly shot and killed three University of Virginia football players on Sunday night. The university is now saying that the suspect was facing disciplinary action at the school before that attack. Joe Johns is live in Charlottesville for us. He joins me now. Joe, what's the latest that you heard on this investigation?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Kate, University has a police department. That police department has a threat assessment team and the threat assessment team had this suspect, 22-year-old Chris Jones on the radar even before the shooting happened. We know that they started investigating him because of a hazing situation we're told. And then they came across information almost rumors, perhaps that he had a gun but no one had seen the gun.

[11:45:00]

Later, the threat assessment team came up with information that he had come into contact with the Virginia state criminal justice system because of a concealed weapons charge. They went to Chris Jones apparently to ask him about that. He refused to cooperate in the investigation and that is when we're told they moved to disciplinary proceedings. So, WTVR, one of the CNN affiliates here, asked the father of Chris Jones about the entire situation. And one of the things he told them is it Chris Jones apparently was having problems with some people at school, but he didn't specify who those people were. Listen.

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CHRIS JONES SR., SUSPECT'S FATHER: He was really paranoid when I -- when I talked to him about something. He wouldn't tell me everything. He said some people was picking on him or whatever. He didn't know how to handle it so I just told him, no, just don't go to school, don't pay them no mind. Do what you got to do. Come on I want you to have one more year. What happened? Why did I have to get this far? He could have called me.

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JOHNS: Now, Chris Jones is facing three counts of murder and three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Kate, back to you.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And we're looking right now on screen, faces of those three football players who are now dead and their families grieving and mourning and trying to understand why. It's good to see you, Joe, thank you very much for bringing us that.

So, the man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their San Francisco home. He's going to be making his initial appearance in federal court this afternoon. David DePape is facing multiple charges including assault, attempted murder, and attempted kidnapping. If convicted, he faces between 13 years to life in prison. Police say DePape broke into Pelosi's home last month eventually attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer, injuries he is still recovering from today. And just this morning, FBI Director Chris Wray warned lawmakers of a "dangerous trend of anti-government extremism that poses a significant threat to the United States."

Also happening right now, dozens of families of the victims of the Christmas parade attack are speaking in a Wisconsin courtroom. This is happening during the sentencing hearing of Darrell Brooks. A jury convicted brooks of 6 counts of intentional homicide for driving his car, you'll remember, though that Christmas parade route. Adrienne Broaddus is watching this for us. She joins me now. Adrienne, what's been happening in court?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, some families or people who have given their victim impact statements say even though this parade crash happened nearly a year ago, it still feels like yesterday. I want to warn our viewers we're going to take you inside of the courtroom and some of the things you will hear are different when compared to what was presented at trial. Some of this information is new because we are hearing for the first time in some cases from the people who were impacted. Take a listen.

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BILL MITCHELL, INJURED IN CHRISTMAS PARADE ATTACK: Who can have a clear conscious after over running over kids like speed bumps and killing six people? I would suggest someone without a conscience. He doesn't ask for forgiveness. He doesn't admit to do anything wrong. There's never his fault.

JESSICA GONZALEZ, VICTIM OF CHRISTMAS PARADE ATTACK: What does it feel like to attend a funeral of a child your age? I hate that my kids know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are many holes left in our community but our community has grown stronger and we all have each other. You, however, will have no one. You will have no one in a cell where you belong for the rest of your life.

SHERI SPARKS, MOTHER OF CHRISTMAS PARADE VICTIMS TUCKER AND JACKSON SPARKS (voiceover): I wish I would have known then that the hug he gave me before I went to sit down was the last hug I would ever get from him. I would have held onto him a lot longer. Do you have any idea how gut-wrenching it is to have to explain to your 12-year-old son that his little brother isn't going to make it? His injuries are too extensive for his little body to come back from and that he won't be coming home with us over again.

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BROADDUS: And the final verse -- voice excuse me, you heard from what Sheri Sparks. Her other son who was 12 at the time, Tucker, survived. She was able to identify him that day by the shoes he wore. He was lying among other bodies with his shoe sticking out underneath a blanket. His body had been tossed because of the impact of the vehicle. That's what she described today, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Adrienne, thank you so much. That hearing and that sentencing, that continues as we speak. Thank you so much, Adrienne. We'll be right back.

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[11:54:05]

BOLDUAN: Airlines paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds to passengers now. The payouts are for canceled or changed flights dating back to the start of the pandemic. Pete Muntean has all the details on this and much more. Pete, what's this all about?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Kate, this is a big consumer advocacy crackdown by the federal government. The Department of Transportation is forcing six airlines to pay passengers money that they were owed when their flights were canceled or significantly delayed. We're talking $600 million in refunds in total from six different airlines to these passengers.

On top of that, the Department of Transportation is also leaving huge fines against these airlines, totaling more than $7 million, mostly foreign carriers. But notable at the top of the list there, the only U.S. carrier on this list, ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines forced to pay $2.2 million in federal fines. The list goes on, Aeromexico, Avianca.

[11:55:00]

I want you to listen now to transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg who says he simply wishes this wouldn't have to come to this because passengers simply want to get to where they're going and get the money back that they're owed.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Our overall objective is to make sure passengers get their money back. This really shouldn't be happening in the first place. It shouldn't take an enforcement action from the U.S. Department of Transportation to get airlines to pay refunds that they're required to pay.

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MUNTEAN: This is coming ahead of the big Thanksgiving rush, Kate. We're only eight days away from that. The Department of Transportation has rolled out a new dashboard so you can see what you are owed if your flight is canceled or delayed. Hope we don't have another meltdown this holiday season like we saw over the summer over and over again.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. It's good to see you, Pete. Thank you so much. I know you remember that all too well.

Thanks, everyone for watching. I'm Kate Bolduan. "INSIDE POLITICS" with John King starts after this break.

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