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Racehorse Deaths Overshadow This year's Kentucky Derby; Tiger Woods Accused Of Sexual Harassment By Ex-Girlfriend; Royal Family Volunteers After Weekend Of Celebrating King Charles' Crowning; Strong Storms And Flooding Possible In Midwest Today; Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired May 08, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:46]

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Here's a look at a few of the top stories we're following for you this morning.

We're learning more about the Texas mall shooter who killed eight people and injured several others. Police say he may be linked to far right -- far right white supremacist ideology. According to investigators, he was wearing a patch with the insignia RWDS, which is known to stand for Right Wing Death Squad, and is popular with Neo- Nazis and paramilitary groups. The shooter was killed by an off duty police officer but not before he shot and killed eight and injured several others.

In just four days, the Trump era policy that allowed certain migrants to be quickly turned away from the border will expire. Title 42's exploration is expected to worsen an already chaotic humanitarian crisis there. Right now, there are roughly 7,000 migrant encounters at the southern border each and every day. Officials say tens of thousands of them are waiting to cross in. John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Thanks, Sara. New questions this morning surrounding the health of the horses competing at America's most revered track. Mage just won the 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs capturing the first leg of the Triple Crown.

But the race was overshadowed by an unusually high number of horse deaths there in the last few weeks, including two horses that died in earlier races just on Saturday. In total, seven horses have now died at the racetrack since April 27th.

CNN's Nick Watt covering this for us this morning. And, Nick, for those of us who don't know a ton about horse racing, seven deaths since April 27. Seems like a lot. I mean, what does Churchill Downs have to say about this?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, John, last week after four horses had died, Churchill Downs called that total unacceptable, and since then, there have been three more deaths.

Now, is it unusual? Well, the track says that this toll is unusual, but people who are fighting to end horse racing, claiming that it is not safe for horses. They say that it's par for the course. They claim that 28 Horses died in total last year at Churchill Downs.

Now, after those first four deaths, the track banned a trainer who trained two of those horses, but that's two out of seven dead. So clearly that trainer is not the entire problem if the problem at all.

Now, after the seven deaths, Churchill Downs said this, despite our determination to continually improve upon the highest industry standards, there is more to be done. And we will rigorously work to understand what caused these incidents. Also adding, it's important to note that there has been no discernible pattern detected in the injuries sustained. That's them saying, it is not the track that's the problem.

Now, Patrick Battuello, who runs one of these organizations opposing horseracing called Horseracing Wrongs. He says, oh, there is a pattern. The pattern is that when you race horses, some of them will die.

Battuello points out that, you know, two horses died on Derby Day. So his point is listen, if they can't even prevent horses dying on the biggest day of the year in the racing calendar, then they just can't prevent horses dying. And this should stop. John.

BERMAN: Nick Watt, thank you so much for that report. It really casts a pall over all the pretty hats in the mint juleps. Kate?

[09:35:05]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Also new this morning, Tiger Woods is being accused of sexual harassment by his former girlfriend, Erica Herman. Herman alleges in court documents that Woods pursued a relationship with her while she worked for him as an employee at his Jupiter, Florida Restaurant. And she accuses him saying eventually deceiving her and forcing her to sign nondisclosure agreements.

CNN's Coy Wire has more on this. Coy, there's a lot in these court documents and in this fight now. What else are you learning?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Kate, this is the latest legal battle between Tiger Woods and his ex-girlfriend, Erica Herman. This lawsuit filed on Friday lays out the lengths to which Woods allegedly went to initiate the relationship and protect his privacy through a nondisclosure agreement.

According to court documents, Herman claims that Woods, quote, became disgruntled with their sexual relationship. He tricked her into leaving her home, locked her out, took her cash, pets, and personal possessions, and tried to strong arm her into signing a different NDA.

CNN has reached out to Woods' representatives for comment, but has not heard back. Herman has brought two separate complaints involving Woods this past year. The first one filed last October alleging a trust owned by Woods violated Florida law by breaking an oral tenancy agreement, Kate, that allowed her to continue living at his home. The filing states the damages are likely to be measured in excess of $30 million. As part of that suit, a trustee of Woods' trust asked the court to arbitrate her claims pursuant to the NDA she signed in 2017. But this March, she filed a lawsuit claiming that that initial 2017 NDA is no longer enforceable, in part, because of the Speak Out Act, a new federal law that invalidates arbitration clauses in sexual assault and sexual harassment cases.

Now as far as Woods' situation on the course, Kate, his future is in doubt. He withdrew from the Masters last month and his latest attempt at a comeback then underwent another ankle surgery which means he may not see him play competitively again this year as legal proceedings play out.

BOLDUAN: And they definitely are going to. Thank you, Coy. Sara?

SIDNER: The coronation celebrations continue at Windsor Castle. Royal fans were treated to a star-studded concert. See the new king. Oh, yes, he's getting down there to who else but Lionel Richie all night long. And we'll show you how the youngest royals spent the day lending a helping hand.

Also, an extreme firefight to the north. Nearly 30,000 people have been forced to leave their homes as dozens of wildfires burn out of control in Canada.

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[09:40:59]

BOLDUAN: Search and rescue operations are ongoing in Southern India right now after a tourist boat capsized. At least 22 people were killed, that included children as well. The country had been celebrating a long weekend in honor of Buddha's birthday when the accident happened.

And then in the Democratic Republic of Congo, flooding and landslides have killed nearly 400 people in the last week. Video show entire buildings have been swept away. And the homes that remain, you can see them just covered in mud.

And 30,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in Alberta, Canada because of wildfires. Officials say more than a hundred fires are still burning. And the leader of Alberta has called this situation there unprecedented. John?

BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Kate. This morning, a new wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine and the timing is just one day before Moscow holds its annual Victory Day Parade to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany.

At least one person was killed and three other injured in missile strikes in the southern port city of Odessa in Kyiv, in the capital. Five people were wounded by falling debris after Ukraine intercepted nearly three dozen drones overnight.

And then in the eastern part of the country, Moscow's assault on Bakhmut has intensified as Ukraine struggles to maintain their presence in that city.

CNN military analyst, General Wesley Clark, joins us now. He's also a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. General, thank you so much for being with us.

You look at the scope of the attacks here from Kyiv to Odessa, and then the continued assault on Bakhmut. And then you look at what the Russians are using, they're using the head drones over Kyiv. Ukrainian shot down 35 of them, they say.

And then Odessa, it's long range bombers, the TU-22 or the X-22 long range missile right here. Does the type of weaponry, the Russians are using, tell you anything about what they're up to now?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, what they are trying to do is exhaust Ukraine's air defense capacity by getting into expend missiles against these drones. And to some extent, it works, because you can't -- you can't withhold your missiles if that's what's required, especially against these high performance missiles coming off aircraft, you got to shoot.

So it is a logistics issue. It's a logistics competition between both sides. And, of course, it is -- the Russians are directing these at civilian targets, which is a war crime, I have to point out.

BERMAN: Yes, civilian targets, you know, right cross facility hit in Odessa, the city -- the main part of the city in Kyiv.

General, we're also learning, from the Russians, that they have started to evacuate people in the Zaporizhzhia region. There's this Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which people know we have that marked on the map here. But the larger region, the Russians control part of it, the Ukrainians control part of it. The Russians now removing people from the region they control. Why?

CLARK: Well, I would say that the principal reason for this is to get rid of partisan activity in advance of what they anticipate would be a Ukrainian offensive. So the only way to really do that is get all the people out and that's what they're trying to do. So they've set up zones you can't get into it unless you're a resident. And if you're a resident, you're going to be moved out. It's the Russians way of handling this.

[09:45:17]

And really, John, the sooner this offensive kicks off, the greater its likelihood for success, all other things being equal. Because the longer it delays, the more preparations like this Russia will make.

BERMAN: And, again, we talk about Bakhmut in this part of the city that the Wagner military group now its leader, Prigozhin, now claims they're staying there after he was suggesting last week, they might leave.

But back to the offensive, this Ukrainian offensive that everyone has been expecting to take place this spring. What do you read into the fact that it hasn't begun yet?

CLARK: Well, I've been waiting to make sure the forces are really trained and ready. They've got the brigades almost ready. But there's still a lot of new technology and a lot of new techniques to be worked. So we're asking a lot of the Ukrainians to bring in new soldiers, new equipment, new leadership, and roll the dice on something that's critical to the future of the country.

So every additional day, they do get stronger. Also, the weather is a factor. So there's been a lot of rain there, the fields are muddy. So you're more restricted to on road traffic ability to get through. This opens up the opportunity for greater delay and action by the Russians.

BERMAN: In this continued fighting in Bakhmut, the Ukrainians struggling to maintain the small presence they have there. Does that have any strategic value to the spring counter offensive that has yet to begin?

CLARK: Oh, absolutely, it does. Because if the Russians were to break through, they could push further in and require Ukraine to divert its counteroffensive force to block a Russian penetration.

Look, this Ukrainian defensive Bakhmut has actually been very smart. What they're using is snipers, drones, artillery, to be able to inflict maximum damage on Russian assault forces.

So just imagine each building is prepared. There are sniper positions. They know the backdoor exits. They've got drones overhead. They watch the Russians moving in. They call in the artillery. When it gets too hot to handle, they withdraw. And these positions are as best they can do, concealed from the Russians until the Russians don't see them.

So it's a game of hide and seek there in Bakhmut with the Ukrainians using minimum forces forward. And the Russians having to push mass infantry assaults to gain space. So the Ukrainians are trading each block for Russia and casualties that has a strategic impact overall, given how many resources Russia has devoted to it. So it's an effective move.

BERMAN: General Wesley Clark, thank you as always for your help. Sara.

SIDNER: After a whirlwind weekend celebrating the coronation of King Charles, royal family members have been out volunteering at community events this morning, that includes 5-year-old Prince Louis, the youngest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, who took part in his first Royal Engagement today,

CNN anchor and royal correspondent, Max Foster, joins us now for London.

Max, this was quite a celebration this weekend that you have been posting all kinds of fabulous pictures of drones making pictures in the sky, and now they're out doing something helpful. This is a tradition. Yes?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a new tradition. It's a public holiday here in the United Kingdom, and Charles wanted to use it to celebrate public service, He's asked everyone to go out and volunteer basically, including his own family.

Louis is very fast becoming the star of this family right now. Let's show you some images of Louis on his first public engagement. There he is with a wheelbarrow. He actually gets into a digger. His father shows him how to use the digger. He nearly tips over the digger, taking out the next in line to the throne. Thankfully that didn't happen because someone there to sort of correct and adjust the equipment that he was using. There he is in a digger. He actually tipped back dangerously far, and he's on his father's lap there.

But that's what today is about. Last night was about the concert. Katy Perry, the big star of the show. Also, Take That, a British band. And there was quite an emotional speech as well from the Prince of Wales, Prince William, about his father. So that was the big celebration really last night.

And then there was an appearance on U.S. TV as well. There you go. Some of the big names there. It's spectacular. I had to say that the stage there, Sara, was spectacular because it was in front of Windsor Castle but a side we don't normally see.

This is actually their private garden, shows the scale of people's gardens these days, but they can see the whole family dancing away having a good time. There's the drone.

[09:50:09]

SIDNER: Very cool looking at that. Max Foster, I really appreciate it. Thank you for all that. John.

BERMAN: I can see the king dancing there. Good thing the coronation came first. They went ahead with the event. I'm not sure they would have otherwise.

A critical meeting tomorrow at the White House as the clock ticks to a possible U.S. default on June 1st. New reporting on what congressional leaders are bringing to the table.

High alert for a new round of severe weather after at least five tornadoes and nearly 300 storm reports in the last 24 hours. We have the forecast, next.

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BOLDUAN: Communities throughout the Midwest are facing a new risk of severe weather today. The threat comes after a weekend of violent weather already including nearly 300 storm reports within the last 24 hours. Some of the most significant damage this round is being seen in Indiana where an EF-1 tornado hit a college campus.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking all of this for us. Derek, where is the biggest risk right now?

[09:55:03] DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Kate, we have a threat today with the crosshairs right between St Louis, Louisville, and into the Indianapolis region. And that really puts southern Indiana where the university saw that tornado strike yesterday. You were showing some damage images just a few minutes ago.

So those are just a recap of what we saw within the past 24 hours. But looking to today, we have our greatest threat within these areas highlighted in yellow large hail, damaging winds can't rule out a tornado. And check out those major metropolitans included in that; Indianapolis, Louisville to St. Louis, even further west towards Springfield, the ongoing thunderstorms that are moving through.

So zooming in a little closer, you can see highway 65 connecting Nashville and Louisville, those are going to bring some hefty rain showers, maybe gusts over 45 miles per hour to the Paducah Region, for instance.

We certainly have the temperatures in place, the warm humid air mass. But look what happens once we start to destabilize things in the atmosphere, we start to see a re-firing of these thunderstorms. And that is our greatest risk and we're really highlighted the potential for large hail. This hatched area, we see between Springfield and St. Louis, we could see two-inch in diameter hailstones fall from the sky. Kate.

All right. Standby to standby. Thank you so much, Derek. Sara.

SIDNER: Police are now looking into whether right wing extremism played a role in a gunman's deadly rampage out of Texas mall, as we learn more about the innocent victims kill, that's ahead.

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