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Sources: Biden Admin To Send 1,500 Troops To Southern Border; U.S. Tracking Another Mysterious Balloon, Says It Poses No Threat; Video Shows Road To Bakhmut Littered With Abandoned Tanks. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired May 02, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Preparing for the surge. President Biden boosting the U.S. military presence along the southern border now. He plans to send 1500 regular troops in anticipation of an influx of migrants. We're going to take you live to the streets of El Paso, Texas. A city there already under a state of emergency.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, a stabbing spree. Three stabbings in less than a week, two people are dead as a small California college town grapples with a wave of violent crime and police are pleading for the public's help.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: The Treasury Secretary warning the U.S. could default by June one if there's no deal on the debt ceiling. Could the meeting between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy help avert a potential disaster? We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SCIUTTO: A major move today from the White House amid growing concerns of a massive influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Sources tell CNN President Biden making plans to send an additional 1500 active-duty troops to America's southern border. This comes as the administration prepares for the end of the Title 42 immigration program which allowed the U.S. to bar migrants or at least delay them during the pandemic.

CNN reporter Priscilla Alvarez joins us now live. Now, Priscilla, we should note that when President Trump sent active-duty military to the border, there was a great deal of outrage here. Now, we see President Biden taking a similar move, what first is the administration preparing for next week when Title 42 ends?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (on camera): Jim, the bottom line is that the White House is preparing for an influx of migrants next week when that COVID era restriction known as Title 42 expires. And it will expire because that is also when the Coronavirus public health emergency ends, which is the basis of this authority.

Now, as you mentioned, the federal government and the previous administration has taken this action before, to send troops to the border when they anticipate there will be a surge of migrants. And we know that there are currently 2500 National Guard troops that are already there. And the White House said that they're essentially there to free up resources for Border Patrol agents.

So, some of what the (INAUDIBLE) do includes, for example, ground- based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support. They are not going to be interacting with migrants. And the White House press secretary also making clear moments ago that they plan to still maintain the safe and humanly -- humane processing of migrants.

But all of this really coming to a head, Jim, next week as they see already that numbers are climbing. A Homeland Security Official tells me that they have more than 22,000 people in CBP custody. They are at 7500 daily encounters. So, all these numbers really starting to climb and indicate where things are headed.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And you might -- you might say the Title 42 -- Title 42 was artificially extended for some time given the initial motivation for doing it. So, let's talk about what can we compare to what President Biden is doing now as you know it 1500 active-duty troops, but not at the border locking arms, you know, pointing guns at they're doing a support role. Is that similar -- are those similar circumstances restrictions to how they operated when President Trump made such a decision?

ALVAREZ: Yes, they have. And operationally, this is typically what happens. National Guard troops or troops come in and they help from afar, essentially helping tell Border Patrol where they may see activity, where they may need assistance so that border patrol agents can process or arrest those who are trying to evade capture.

So, the two are really working together. And as I mentioned earlier, there are already currently around 2500 National Guard troops on the ground, Jim.

SCIUTTO: All right, Priscilla, thanks so much. Let's go to the border now where our Rosa Flores has been in El Paso. We were talking last hour about just how many folks on the streets of the city right now. There's just not enough room in the shelters for all the people. What are those numbers like?

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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You know, Jim, it's difficult to tell because these shelters are overflowing. I want to show you around. If you look behind me, you'll see that this entire street is lined with migrants. And also, if you look to my side over here, this alley, also packed with migrants. Look on the other side and you'll also see how there are migrants all around this block.

The priest that works out of this church says that he has never seen anything like this. He has called it a crisis. Now, as we know, the Biden administration has been preparing for the lifting of Title 42 on May 11.

This, of course, is a surge before May 11. From talking to migrants and also community leaders and officials on both sides of the border, I can tell you that there are thousands of more migrants in northern Mexican cities that are very frustrated. They're losing patience because a lot of them have been waiting for the lifting of Title 42 and so they've just decided to cross over the border.

According to officials, about 22,000 migrants are in CBP custody right now along the U.S.-Mexico border. I can tell you that CBP has about 72 hours to legally process those migrants. Processing is really just a fancy word for immigration agents determining if those migrants are admissible into the United States or if they will be expelled, that they will be deported or they might be processed and released into communities like this one. That's why you see some of these populations here.

But, Jim, the other thing I should add, some of these individuals simply crossed the border illegally. That is the reality. That's what the priest here says and other community leaders say.

They know that these are mixed-status individuals. Some of them have little manila folders with all of the documents that were processed by the federal government. Others lost their patience and cross the border illegally, Jim.

SCIUTTO: You -- but you make a good distinction there because not every case can be dealt with greater security at the border because the law as it stands, allows for folks to have those applications considered. Something to be debated going forward. Rosa Flores, thanks so much. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Now, to another major headline we're following. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. will be out of cash in less than a month and that it's going to cause Americans "severe hardship." The good news is the solution is easy or should be.

Anyway, Congress and the White House just have to raise the debt ceiling. They've done it dozens of times over the decades, regardless of which party is in charge. The bad news is that this time, Republicans and Democrats are playing a very dangerous game of chicken and they may be putting all their eggs in one basket with a high- stakes meeting between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy next week.

Let's take you now live to Capitol Hill and CNN's Melanie Zanona who's been tracking all the latest developments for us. Melanie, since this meeting was announced yesterday, it seems like both sides have just dug in their heels.

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, you're absolutely right. And despite learning that we now may be facing a June first deadline for a debt default, both sides are actually hardening their positions instead of softening them. Over on the Democratic side, you had Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reiterating his calls to pass a clean debt ceiling hike without any conditions attached, saying we don't have the luxury of time here. And Republicans, meanwhile saying well, that's why Biden should have agreed to sit down with Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House much earlier. But there is at least one rank-and-file Democrat who disagrees with his party's position. Take a listen.

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SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): It's unsustainable, the direction we're going now with 31 and a half trillion. And then basically saying that, well, we're going to do is not talk about it. But then come back and talk about it. Why not talk about it now, make sure that we have an agreement, that this is something we all can -- are concerned about?

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ZANONA: That was Senator Joe Manchin who might be up for reelection next year in a red state, so he might have some of his own political calculations there. But so far, Democrats are standing firm in their position. And in fact, in the House, the Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries took early procedural steps today to eventually potentially force a floor vote on a clean debt ceiling hike, but they would need the support of Republicans and they just aren't there yet. So, all eyes are on this high-stakes meeting between Biden and McCarthy next week. And the stakes couldn't be higher, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, as that X date of June first approaches. Melanie Zanona live from Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

Let's pivot now and get the White House perspective from CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, President Biden inviting Republicans over one week from today. As Melanie noted, the stakes very, very high for this meeting.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Very high, Boris. And in many ways yesterday, the reality of what could possibly happen here and the stakes are really shifted yesterday with this new June one deadline, but in so many other ways, absolutely nothing has changed. And that's because if you look at both the position of Republicans on Capitol Hill and of the White House, there really is no shift in that position.

We heard from the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre just moments ago, who once again urged Republicans to uphold their constitutional duty and pass a clean debt ceiling bill. Listen to her just moments ago.

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KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Threatening to default and crash the economy unless the president agrees with Speaker McCarthy's entire agenda isn't just unreasonable, it's dangerous.

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DIAMOND: And Karine Jean-Pierre also said that President Biden is going to urge these congressional leaders to avoid default, but at the same time, reiterating his position -- the White House's position that they will not negotiate over default. They will not negotiate over this debt ceiling bill. And so that puts the White House and House Republicans in the same place that they were before we learned of this new June one deadline, which is essentially there is no overlap between these two positions.

So, what's going to happen here? The White House feels like they do have the political ground as it relates to this. They are going to continue to insist that it is Congress's constitutional duty to raise this. They're going to point to the fact that Republicans have previously approved clean debt ceiling increases.

But ultimately something is going to have to move. And the big question is whether or not next week, that meeting between President Biden and the four congressional leaders, if that can lead to any kind of sense that look, we're going to maybe be willing to do some kind of clean debt ceiling talk about spending on the side. That is where the White House is leaning right now. But we will see if and when that is possible next week, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And, Jeremy, if there is no breakthrough, the results could be devastating to the U.S. economy. And -- yes, we don't want to see that. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. Jessica?

DEAN: Well, the keyboards are quiet but the picket lines are not.

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DEAN: For the first time in 16 years, the Writers Guild of America is on strike. That means 11,000 union members are now demanding better compensation, especially for work on streaming services. The film and TV writers are going up against the biggest names in the business, Netflix, Amazon, Paramount Universal, and Warner Brothers Discovery which is CNN's parent company.

And the strike is bringing production on many TV shows just to a halt. We got confirmation, Jimmy Kimmel Live and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air reruns for now. Here's Colbert last night.

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STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, THE LATE NIGHT SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT: These are our writers. These people, these are our writers and I'll stick myself in there because I'm WGA too. And they're so important to our show. The writers' demands are not unreasonable.

I'm a member of The Guild. I support collective bargaining. This nation owes so much to unions. Unions are the reason we have weekends. And by extension, why we have TGI Fridays.

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DEAN: CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is at one of the picket lines in New York. Vanessa, walk us through what the issues are these key issues for the Writers Guild. VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): That's right. Well, we are on the picket line here in New York City outside of Peacock. I want to step aside so my cameraman can show you what's going on. I'm going walk -- (AUDIO GAP) here are the size of the writers' room. The studios want less writers in the writers' room. The writers want more writers in the writers' room.

Also, the employment length, how long writers are on different shows. Also, they -- the writers want regulation around artificial intelligence. And finally, residuals. Residuals around streaming services.

I want to flip around here very quickly and introduce you to one of the writers who's on the picket line today. This is Karen, she's a writer. Tell me why you're out here today.

KAREN DICONCETTO, MEMBER, WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA: I am here for a fairer contract. I have been a member of the W -- the WGA West, Writers Guild of America since 2009. And when I started in the business, you can make a living as a writer, and you can have a good life. And the streaming model has made it increasingly harder for writers to make a living and it's unsustainable.

And you know, one of the things that we've been talking about a lot is that it's basically like the streaming services are treating union members like it's a gig economy. So, it's got all of that uncertainty. And like I said before, it feels really unsustainable. I mean, we need to get a fair contract.

YURKEVICH: Thank you, Karen. I'll let you get back to the line here. Now, from the studio's perspective, they say that they have made proposals for increased compensation, increase residuals for streaming, and they say they're actually willing to go higher.

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But it's that key issue about the amount of writers in the writers' room that is really stopping the two sides from coming together. As you mentioned, Jessica, the last strike in 2007, 15 years ago, people here on the picket line say they are willing to stick it out as long as it takes to get the fair contract that they believe they deserve. Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, this could go on a while. Vanessa Yurkevich for us with the picket line there in New York City, thank you so much. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, students and staff at UC Davis are on edge after three people were stabbed near that campus. Two of those victims, they've died. We will have the latest on the investigation of what's behind all this.

Plus, just months after the U.S. shot down a balloon off the Carolina coast, the Pentagon says it's tracking another balloon, this time flying over parts of Hawaii. What we know about it? That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SCIUTTO: Well, the U.S. military is now tracking another balloon close to U.S. airspace. This one flying over parts of Hawaii.

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You'll remember, the military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast earlier this year after it flew over a large swath of the continental United States. That one determined to be a threat. This one in a different category.

CNN's Alex Marquardt to walk us through what we know about this one, this particular balloon, and how it's different from ones we've seen before.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is unmanned according to the Pentagon. It was spotted off the coast of Hawaii on Friday, flying around 36,000 feet, which is around the same altitude that commercial aviation flies. It is unmanned. the Pentagon believes that it is not being maneuvered or directed by any kind of foreign power or adversary, so it's not clear where it comes from.

A source did tell us that it does not appear to be emitting signals, which would indicate that it is likely not doing any kind of spying. Now, a spokesman for the Pentagon said that it did not pass over any kind of military or sensitive sites and it did not pose any threat, a military threat, or a threat to people on the ground. So, that's why they took this decision to not shoot it down.

SCIUTTO: Right.

MARQUARDT: But, Jim, in the wake of the famous spy balloon that was shot down in February, the Pentagon changed their parameters. They changed their filters for what they're looking for in the sky.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MARQUARDT: So, they're seeing a lot more these days. And you'll remember that after the balloon was shot down in February --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MARQUARDT: -- there were three more objects that President Biden ordered shot down. Those he said at the time could have been threats --

SCIUTTO: Were not threats.

MARQUARDT: Well, they could have been -- they could have made complications for planes. And it was not clear whether or not they were carrying out any kind of surveillance. So, to be sure, he said they decided to shoot it down.

In this case, I'm told it is now out of Hawaiian airspace, out of Hawaiian territorial waters. The Pentagon, they say they're going to keep watching this along with the FAA. SCIUTTO: Now, this is one of the problems because in the wake of the first balloon, and this is a video of that one, much more of a threat. We knew that that was a surveillance balloon from China is that, as you tighten that net, in effect, you catch a lot more stuff. And a lot of stuff you catches is not actually problematic, but you're using resources to respond to.

I suppose what's happening in Hawaii now is where they're look -- they're looking. They're like, OK, we're OK with this one. We don't need to set up a jet in effect.

MARQUARDT: Right.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MARQUARDT: We're going to keep watching it. We're going to watch it float away from American airspace. Of course, a distinct possibility that it's some kind of academic research.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MARQUARDT: It could be a weather balloon. There's a lot of stuff up there.

SCIUTTO: Let's hope it's not a cube science project, in this case. Alex Marquardt, clearly something though, that the U.S. military is much more concerned about than it was just a few months ago. Boris.

SANCHEZ: We're getting a new look at a video geolocated by CNN of the road that leads to the embattled city of Bakhmut in Ukraine. You can see the road is lined with debris, abandoned vehicles, and tanks. Bakhmut has been the site of a horrific and brutal battle that has gone on for months.

Also, today, the U.S. is saying that Russia's winter offensive may have backfired. Its forces have suffered more than 100,000 casualties just since December, a number that the Kremlin is now disputing. This comes ahead of an expected counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces that could begin at any moment.

Let's take you now live to Ukraine and CNN's Nick Paton Walsh was there for us. Nick, there are some genuine doubts as to how well Russia is going to be able to defend the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): And some of this essentially, based on their performance over the past year and some signals we've been hearing from Russian officials about their concern about unexpected attacks in various parts of Zaporizhzhia. Now, certainly, it's fair to say we've seen Russia dig extraordinary defenses around Zaporizhzhia where many believe the counteroffensive is going to be launched by Ukraine.

That's the area that essentially connects occupied parts of Ukraine that are near Russia and the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, a vital land corridor essentially that if Kyiv was able to cut, that could be a strategic blow for Moscow of pretty significant proportions.

A lot of probing appears to have been happening there. If you listen to Russian officials talking about the shelling they've been seeing often quite targeted towards the Russian infrastructure around there. What we don't know is how effective Russia's planning has been to try and hold off a Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has frankly received billions of dollars of U.S. and NATO weaponry, training, and probably intelligence assistance as well.

Remember, a U.S. official speaking to Congress recently said they'd been helping train Ukraine to launch "a surprise attack." So, there are a lot of unknowns about Russia's ability to have recovered its extraordinary losses over the past year and be ready for this long- expected attack. But there's been one very old signal we've seen from Bakhmut, that symbolic city that Russia has basically thrown everything at can at over the winter.

The Russian military mercenary head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who's led the fighters fighting for Bakhmut over that winter, over the weekend said if they didn't get enough artillery shells from the Russian Ministry of Defense, he might have to start pulling back his troops or his soldiers or militants from that particular area. An odd signal to send frankly.

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We know the infighting in the Kremlin has been happening quite a lot, but an odd signal to send just ahead of this Ukrainian counteroffensive, perhaps suggesting that things are not still quite right in Russia's military command, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, there's disagreements between the Wagner group and the Russian Ministry of Defense revealing the frustrations coming from the Kremlin at the lack of progress in Bakhmut. I also wanted to get your thoughts, Nick, on this figure, 100,000 Russian casualties in just the last few months. The Kremlin disputing it.

PATON WALSH: Yes. I mean, look, the Kremlin have said they have absolutely no way of knowing how Washington was able to pull this number together. I have to say hearing it is absolutely catastrophic numbers suggesting you know, possibly if you do very bad maths that one in 500 military-age males in Russia may somehow have been wounded or killed in Ukraine since December.

Now, we don't know where the U.S. got this number from. They say it's from intelligence that has been downgraded and therefore made public. It also says that 20,000 have indeed been killed, and half of those are Wagner serving probably in the area of Bakhmut where we know the Wagner has mostly been deployed.

So, it's difficult to know exactly what the methodology behind these numbers were. Whether it's to do with the number of wounded. They would have expected to see compared to how NATO would function in their casualty evacuation operations but we do know that Russia has been particularly bad at getting its wounded to survive. So, a lot we don't really know about this number. One thing that's very clear about it, though, is it is startling, it certainly reflects some degree a reality of Russia's appalling management of its forces over the winter. They've thrown everything they can at Bakhmut.

I've spoken to Russian convicts who were recruited directly by the Ministry of Defense, they said, who were in hospitals in Russia. I'm being told they'd have to go back wounded to serve at the front lines. So, they've really done everything they possibly can to try and take Bakhmut, they failed. And that's certainly I think, reflected in the catastrophic numbers that we're hearing from the Pentagon. Quite what their methodology is behind them, we don't know, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Not only does it reflect Russian incompetence, but also the courage of the Ukrainian forces fighting in that city. Nick Paton Walsh live from Zaporizhzhia, thank you so much. Jessica, over to you.

DEAN: Turned away. A New Jersey Muslim Mayor alleges he was blocked from attending a White House celebration to mark the end of Ramadan. Ahead, how the administration is responding?

Plus, a father in southern Florida lucky to be alive after rip currents swept them from the shore. See their harrowing rescue. That's ahead.

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