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Nations Rush To Evacuate Diplomats, Citizens Amid Conflict; Active Shooter In Custody At Rose State College In Oklahoma; FAA Investigating Two Separate Fires On American Airlines Flight. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired April 24, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The race is on to get out of Sudan. U.S. diplomats and their families were airlifted from the U.S. Embassy but thousands of Americans are still in the country as it descends into violent chaos. So, what comes next?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A scary sight in the skies. Fires on two planes within days of each other, one broke out mid-air after a possible bird strike, the other during takeoff. What more are we learning about these tense flights?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And in Texas, prom night memories turn into a nightmare. At least nine teens injured after bullets start flying at a party. Just the latest in a string of mass shootings involving children. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SCIUTTO: A race to get out as foreign powers rush to evacuate their people from Sudan. The Biden administration says that U.S. special forces have now carried out a risky rescue operation, safely getting embassy staff and their families out of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. This is a photo of Secretary of State Antony Blinken monitoring that operation unfold from the White House.

As the violence escalates in that country, the U.S. government is warning an estimated 16,000 Americans remaining there, many if we look dual citizens, in a large-scale operation to evacuate the ones who want to leave is not happening for now. But the U.S. says "actively facilitating the exit of Americans in other ways."

More from the White House in a moment. But first, CNN's Sam Kiley, he's in Djibouti, where this operation originated. Sam, this seems like a global retreat.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): A global retreat, I think it's exactly the right way to put it. And if you see behind me here, we have a French Air Force, long-distance cargo plane. That has been, we understand, on about four rotations into Khartoum. The French have evacuated close to 500 people. In the distance beyond that, that is an RAF aircraft. Similarly, the British have -- they joined the Americans indeed. British Special Forces were taken in by Americans during the American evacuation of their diplomats at the beginning of the operation at the weekend, taking out about a hundred people.

Both the United States and the United Kingdom though, being criticized quite bitterly by their own citizens, for what in their words, has been something of a failure to get those other people out. The people who are not diplomats. The people who are not lucky enough to be wealthy are able to get a vehicle out to a mustering point.

Now, over in this direction here at Djibouti International Airport, down you can see what a major hub for military it has become. There are five or six Hercules and similar aircraft, the kind of flying trucks of the military world, they're parked over there. They're part of this a multinational evacuation effort that has included Special Forces from Japan, South Korea, all the way through the Middle East, Britain, France, the Netherlands, and of course, the United States.

The problem is now that with the escalating fighting in Sudan, how do you get all of those other foreign nationals out? That would be a land move. And there's no yet -- there's not any clear planning as to how they're going to manage that or even if they're going to.

SCIUTTO: Sam Kiley there, thank you. Djibouti, a major base for U.S. operations in the region. Now, let's go to the White House for the latest on the situation there. The administration's decision-making and next steps.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now. I wonder what the administration thinks happens now in particular. You've gotten the government personnel out, it's about a hundred people. But you got 16,000 U.S. citizens, many of them dual nationals, are there plans for that?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. That's the big question right now, Jim. As you said, the U.S. government estimates that there could be around 16,000 American citizens in Sudan, but the Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, said that there are dozens of Americans who have expressed an interest to the U.S. government in getting evacuated.

Now, the National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, he just briefed reporters moments ago and he said that the U.S. is actively facilitating the departure of Americans from Sudan not however with any kind of military operation. That for now appears to be off the table. But he says the U.S. is facilitating the evacuation with overhead intelligence and some other means. Listen to him just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We are actively facilitating the departure of American citizens who want to leave Sudan, as the State Department has been urging them to do for years. We have deployed U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets to support land evacuation routes, which Americans are using. And we're moving naval assets within the region to provide support. This tragic violence has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians It is unconscionable it must stop.

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[14:05:05]

DIAMOND: And Jake Sullivan also noted that it is not the norm for the U.S. military to facilitate the evacuation directly of U.S. citizens from conflict zones in the past. Noting, of course, that the situation in Afghanistan was very different with the war ending there and U.S. military already on the ground.

Now, there is an ongoing calculation -- calculus on a daily basis here from the White House in terms of what more the U.S. could do. Sullivan said that President Biden has asked for every conceivable option to help Americans get out.

For now, it appears that it -- that role is limited to overhead intelligence and also working with other countries that are having some of these land base convoys leaving Khartoum and heading to the port of Sudan.

Also naval assets being positioned there. Now, the White House says that this is a very dynamic situation here and that they are holding out hope that there could eventually be a protracted ceasefire. But they also know that there is a real risk of a protracted conflict on the ground in Sudan, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Jeremy, of course -- of course, Jake is right that the U.S. does not profess an obligation to rescue every citizen from every potentially active war zone. But that's why State Department warnings are key. Do we know if were there warnings prior to this, that U.S. citizens should try to make their way out of the country?

DIAMOND: Well, there has been a level four State Department warning in Sudan for years now that has been active. That is the level four warning that essentially tells American citizens that they should not travel to Sudan. But as Sullivan noted, U.S. citizens are still free to travel.

SCIUTTO: Right.

DIAMOND: They are not constrained by those warnings, ultimately, but certainly it was a warning that was already out there. But again, many of those citizens, some of them dual citizens, they already live in Sudan.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

DIAMOND: Their livelihoods are there as well. That's also something that the U.S. government is aware of.

SCIUTTO: That's right. It's a good point. That's their home. Jeremy Diamond at the White House, thanks so much. Boris. SANCHEZ: The countdown to the first-ever U.S. default is barreling ahead and these two people can stop it, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy. The problem is they have to work together.

McCarthy is ready to hold a vote on his plan which would raise the debt ceiling for a year but it's paired with spending cuts that would take a hatchet to Biden's domestic agenda. That is a non-starter for the White House. And Biden is refusing to negotiate.

Part of his reasoning is that the debt limit has been raised dozens of times under Republican and Democratic presidents over decades with zero conditions. Just this century, it's been raised or suspended 20 times, including three times under former President Trump and once already under Biden.

Let's take you live to Capitol Hill now with CNN's Manu Raju. Manu, this is shaping up to be a major moment for McCarthy. He's vowing that there is going to be a vote this week and that his Republican caucus is going to send the budget over to the Senate.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. And he does believe that he will eventually get the votes for that this week. At the moment though, it's unclear if they have to earn 18 votes yet because, behind the scenes over the last several days, the House Republican leadership team led by the whips operation have been reaching out to all corners of the House Republican conference to get them in line, to get 218 votes to pass the House.

That means Kevin McCarthy cannot afford to lose more than four Republican votes. If he does that, this won't pass because Democrats are opposing this measure in lockstep.

Many of them say -- agree with the White House's position saying that the debt limit should be increased without any conditions attached. But the Republicans have a lot of conditions as part of their plan, including spending cuts across the board and federal agencies, new work requirements on social safety nets programs like Medicaid, as well as key Republican priorities such as pulling back funding for the IRS as well as trying to stop President Biden's student loan forgiveness program, all part of an effort to entice conservative members to get on board.

I am told though, Boris, there have been concerns voiced behind the scenes including pulling back ethanol tax breaks, which is part of the plan. And some conservatives wanting to go further on those proposed Medicaid work requirements. But the Republican leadership is saying they are not going to change this bill as they tried to push their conference to fall in line, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Manu, even if this does pass the House as McCarthy is vowing but as you pointed out, it's a murky proposition, this is very likely dead on arrival at the Senate. So, what is Plan B? Is there a plan B?

RAJU: That is a major question because the White House has been insisting all along that there will be no plan B. In fact, I asked Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader this same question on Thursday saying what if this does pass the House? Will you change your posture? He said no. He said our position is still the same. The debt limit should be increased without any conditions whatsoever.

And he said to me clean, clean, clean. Meaning he isn't still insisting on no spending cuts at all. And that is a position that is diametrically opposite of what the House Republicans are pressing ahead with.

Kevin McCarthy is saying there will never be a clean debt ceiling increase that will pass the House, which leads to major questions about what Congress and the White House will do with the debt limit deadline now, as soon as June which could be the first ever the U.S. default if no deal is reached, Boris.

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SANCHEZ: Yes, that default cliff is just about a month or so away. Manu Raju, thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: Boris, we're tracking some breaking news just into CNN. Rose State College in Oklahoma has just tweeted that it had an active shooter situation on campus. The shooter we've learned is now in custody. CNN's Ed Lavandera is following this story for us. Ed, this is a public college not far from Oklahoma City. What are you learning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, this situation is still developing. But right now, officials in Midwest City which is just outside of Oklahoma City, just east -- just east of the city say that there is one male victim that has died and that the shooter is in custody. Within the last hour, Rose State College officials have been urging students on campus and administrators to shelter in place while police are on the scene there.

From aerial footage from that campus here in the last few minutes, we've seen a heavy police presence there on the campus. One of the aerial shots also did capture what appears the body of a person laying on the ground next to a campus building. We don't know if that's the victim or if that was the shooter that is in custody. But that is the scene that investigators there in Midwest City, Oklahoma are continuing to work on.

The headline right now as I mentioned, one person dead. The shooter they say is in custody. We're working to try to get as much information as we can on the situation. It is still an active scene but it sounds like the immediate threat of more shooting has -- is now over at this point. But so the investigation continues, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. This is becoming all too normal but we're still getting details in and we'll lean on you for that. Ed Lavandera, thank you for the latest there. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Some scary moments in the sky and now the FAA is investigating, an engine on an American Airlines Flight bursting into flames. We're going to show you what may have caused that fire and how the pilots responded to that chaos. Plus, reports of shots fired causing a panic at a basketball tournament in Texas. Ahead, we'll tell you what police say caused these chaotic moments. Stay with us.

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[14:15:17]

SCIUTTO: All right. So, imagine seeing this out of a window of a plane you're flying, in flames shooting out from under the wing. That's actually one of two frightening incidents both on board American Airlines flights in recent days. Officials say that the plane was waiting to take off from Charlotte, North Carolina when a mechanical issue, to say the least, was reported.

Then yesterday, a separate incident on board another American Airlines Flight this time in Columbus, Ohio. Authorities say a possible bird strike sparked this engine fire, you could see there after takeoff. It forced the pilot, understandably, to declare a mayday and return to the airports.

CNN's Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean joins us now. You know, Pete, it seems like just a few days ago. And it's true. We were standing over there talking about a couple of other bird strikes. But tell us exactly what happened with this Columbus flight and how serious it was.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Very serious. You know, the crew experienced this on takeoff. American Airlines flight 1958. It was on its way to Phoenix from Columbus airport in Ohio. And they experienced this really, really low. And so, that really adds a whole another layer of risk here.

Passengers heard the pulsing sound of the backfiring right engine there. They also heard it on the ground. The aviation enthusiast even captured this from the ground up as one was out on a jog. I want you to listen now to the air traffic control audio from the pilots to the tower at Columbus declaring an emergency and coming back into land.

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STEPHEN DIAL. FLIGHT CREW MEMBER: Mayday, mayday, mayday, American 1958 we've got a bird strike and engine failure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American 1958, Roger. Can you make it left traffic back to the runway?

DIAL: We need to say no for now.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: The good news here is that you know, this really was not all that significant given the fact that 737 is two engines can fly just fine on one. So, they were able to return back to the airport without much of the way of an incident. But 170 people on board, nobody injured.

You know, we have to underscore here that bird strikes, they're trending up a little bit in recent years. One of the reasons is that airplanes are getting quieter. There's a lot of efforts to help out migratory birds and conservation. There's a lot taking place to make it so that also pilots can report this easier as well, which is one of the reasons why the numbers are going up.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MUNTEAN: You know, 85 percent involve commercial airliners, really, really rare though, that it leads to an injury of anybody on board. We're talking like point one percent of all incidents.

SCIUTTO: That's -- you got to keep in mind. I always think when you hear the planes taking off at national, you could tell the difference in sound from the older ones and the newer ones.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: But I just asked you. You said it was particularly notable because it was low altitude.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Is that -- is that an airspeed issue or was it the --

MUNTEAN: Well, it's mostly an altitude issue, right?

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MUNTEAN: Like if you have -- if you have less altitude, you have fewer options.

SCIUTTO: Right.

MUNTEAN: And so, you know down low, and this is often with the case with bird strikes, they're often on takeoff and landing.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MUNTEAN: Although sometimes bird strikes are reported really, really high altitude, tens of thousands of feet in the air --

SCIUTTO: Wow.

MUNTEAN: -- which is very rare, although most of the time it's low to the ground. And so that leaves the pilots --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MUNTEAN: -- not a lot of time and not a lot of margin for error to make a quick decision to come back to the air.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I always remember that sound of Sullenberger said we're going in the Hudson, right?

MUNTEAN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: I have to get a double take on that from far -- from a traffic control.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Pete Muntean, always good to have you. Thank you.

MUNTEAN: (INAUDIBLE)

SCIUTTO: Brianna.

KEILAR: We'll never forget that. CNN Transportation Analyst Mary Schiavo is joining us now to talk more about all of this. We're not imagining it, Mary. These things are happening more. So, what are the measures that airports have been taking, and that they need to take?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST (on camera): Well, long has to do with how you think about an airport. And from last year to this year, they're up a third. So, it's really quite dramatic.

And the trending of the statistics actually tracks with the trending up of the bird populations. For example, eagles are up five times over the last 25 years and last year, there were 44 eagles strikes.

[14:20:05]

So, the statistics match the bird population. So, what airports do is they have cannons to make noise, vehicles, they have other lights and noisemakers. Some airports have tried dogs, but of course you got to get the dogs off the airport too. And so, there are lots of noisemaker things at the airport.

But the most important is how you think about your airport usage. Airports in the past years ago, there were even some airports that put wetlands around the airport, which of course attracts birds. Airports near landfills, like in New York City attract birds. So, you really have to rethink your land usage.

And airports are getting much smarter about that. They don't want wetlands. They don't want ponds around the airport. And so you really have to keep the birds away from the planes. And otherwise, these statistics are going to just keep increasing.

The good news, as Pete said, though, since the FAA kept the statistics since about 1988, 301 people have died and 298 planes had been lost. So, when you put it in perspective, through these things, there are 17,000 bird strikes last year. Even though these things happen all the time, usually people don't get hurt.

The pilots know what to do. They put the engine out. They turn off the engine with the flames. And they return to the airport.

KEILAR: How much can the engine withstand, and how much does altitude matter? Because as you look at this Columbus one, which is not far from where you are, it's really something that appears -- I mean, I think it was a bird strike, it appears to have happened pretty low, which is always a complicating factor. SCHIAVO: Yes. You know, I lived in Columbus for about 15 years. And Columbus is overrun with -- they call them Canadian geese, of course, but I always call them Ohio geese because they don't even migrate anymore. And altitude is the key, just as Pete said because most bird strikes happen under two thousand feet, under one thousand feet because that's where the birds usually live. And so, that happens on takeoff and landing.

And until you're up to altitude or as you're taking off, you need those engines, you need that speed, you need to get to altitude to be able to turn around and come back to the airport. So, that's really the key is the bird strikes happen at that point of flight that's most vulnerable, takeoff or landing. And so that's why it's so important to get the birds away from the airports because that's when the airplane is its most vulnerable.

And the FAA, by the way, studies, each one of these birds. When a plane hits a bird, what's left of the bird is called snarge. And they send it off to the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian identifies everyone. Yes. So, we know what the bird problem it really is.

KEILAR: Snarge -- you said snarge?

SCHIAVO: Snarge. They have a word for it. I don't know what's worse that this happens or you have a word for it. And the Smithsonian identifies and surprised -- not surprisingly, it's geese, vultures, owls, eagles, and that -- and what bird has hit planes or planes have hit birds over the years has changed as different populations have grown. So, it's a very interesting subject. And by studying it, hopefully, it'll become less dangerous.

KEILAR: You taught me something I did not expect to learn today, Mary. Snarge. Snarge.

SCHIAVO: Snarge.

KEILAR: Mary Schiavo, thank you so much. That was very illuminating. Boris?

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: You taught us both something. I never it. Snarge.

KEILAR: I know.

SANCHEZ: Police say a car crash in Jerusalem was a terror attack. We have the latest from the region. Meantime, here in the United States, nine people injured after a shooting at an after-prom party. We're going to go live to Texas to bring you the latest. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[14:27:59]

KEILAR: The White House says it is not safe enough to conduct an evacuation of American citizens from war-torn Sudan at this time. On Saturday, U.S. special forces safely rescued around one hundred government personnel and their families after suspending all embassy operations in Khartoum.

The team spent less than an hour on the ground. The UN Secretary- General says he has been in constant contact with Sudan's two fighting factions and warns that the violence that is continually being ignited could soon engulf the entire region if the battles do not stop.

President Biden is expected to announce his campaign for reelection as soon as tomorrow. Sources say he will make it official via video. He spent the weekend at Camp David meeting with campaign staff. Tomorrow marks four years since the president declared himself a candidate for the 2020 election.

And scary moments in the sky, and now the FAA is investigating. An engine on American Airlines -- on an American Airlines flight burst into flames after a possible bird strike. The Boeing 737 turned around and landed safely in Columbus, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG CARFAGNA, PASSENGER: It was a lot of holding -- you know hand holding. You know a lot of people closing their eyes and trying to text their loved ones and so forth like that. So. it was scary. I mean, you don't -- yes, it's not something you deal with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And in a different incident, a plane was forced to return to the gate in Charlotte, North Carolina after another fire. This one spotted under the plane's right wing just before takeoff. Pretty scary stuff, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes, I would not want to see that outside my window. Well, now to Texas. Panic erupted at a teen basketball tournament, you can see some of it there, after reports of a shooter. Parents and their children ran for the exits. This happened in the Dallas suburb of Mansfield. Police determined eventually that no shots had been fired.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us live from Dallas today. And I'd say looking at this, I have this feeling whenever I go to events, I'm sort of looking at the exits. Kind of imagining what I would do if I were to hear something I thought were gunshots. So, here are people here reacting is I suppose all of us would

LAVANDERA: Right. It's one of the stories that really just captures the sign of the times.