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Russian Air Strike Kills 2, Wounds 31 at Dnipro Medical Facility; No Deal on Debt as Negotiations Scramble to Avoid Default; Suspect in Wrong-Driveway Killing Indicted for Murder; AAA: Airports Could See Busiest Travel Season Since 2005; Family Wants Officer Who Shot 11-Year-Old Boy Fired & Charged. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired May 26, 2023 - 15:00   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: Russia launches yet another airstrike into Ukraine, this one hitting a hospital and the damage there is significant. Our team in Dnipro getting a firsthand look at the destruction and the victims. We're going to tell you why local officials say the death toll could have been even worse.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And an investigation into the death of a Navy SEAL following "Hell Week" leads to calls for a major overhaul for the elite but grueling training program. We have some stunning findings to share with you.

SCIUTTO: A particularly busy 24 hours in Ukraine. The latest reports we're getting are of explosions in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol. Deposed city officials saying a social - in a social media post that there were strikes on the occupied steel plant there. This comes after Russian strikes inside Ukraine - Ukrainian-controlled territory - on a psychiatric hospital in Dnipro early today.

That attack killed at least two people, injured 31 others. You could see a video here from the scene showing the fire, but also just the rubble of that medical facility following the strike. Ukraine's president, Zelenskyy, has called it an attack by terrorists.

CNN's Sam Kiley, he's in Dnipro, Ukraine.

Sam, you've been watching this closely since it happened there. Do you have any updates on the number of victims from the strike and what kind of weapon was used for this?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, we've just come from the site where we left investigators shining torches at - just as on to rubble as it was being picked up and taken away in dump trucks, because the Ukrainians, once they - once something like this has occurred, they like to clean it up with incredible rapidity.

But they are still investigating in detail what kind of a warhead this was that delivered such devastation on this psychiatric hospital and burning down a veterinary clinic next door. What we do know, though, is that eight of the injured, of the casualties, were doctors and it could have been a great deal or worse, the local authorities saying, Jim. Saying it's nothing short of a miracle, because at 10:30 this morning, when the missile or whatever it was, struck the building, the medical staff were actually in the middle of a handover between shifts. So the numbers of staff on duty and therefore the numbers of patients were less than would otherwise have been the case.

So a happy fluke meant that - and I use the word carefully - only two people were killed. It's only a term that's applicable in these civilian strikes that we've seen against not least Dnipro where in the past more than a dozen have been killed and several dozen around the country in these cruise missile strikes against residential areas. And this, Jim, was not only a residential area, but it was a medical clinic.

Now, the Russians might say that that was an accident. But according to the World Health Organization, nearly a thousand medical facilities, staff and other infrastructure associated with the health services have been attacked by Russia over the last year, Jim. And as we saw in Syria, a similar pattern was established there with the deliberate targeting of hospitals, Jim.

SCIUTTO: No question. It's a feature and not a bug in Russia's continuing invasion of Ukraine.

Sam Kiley there in Dnipro, Ukraine in the eastern part of the country.

With me here now is Mark Kimmitt. He's a CNN Military Analyst, retired Brigadier General, former Assistant Secretary of State for Political- Military Affairs under George W. Bush.

Good to have you on, sir.

MARK KIMMITT, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: There's a lot going on in Ukraine and I just want to bring up the full map here because what we've seen just in the last 24 hours, so you have this Russian strike on Dnipro, a medical facility here. We're learning now of a Ukrainian strike on Mariupol here in recently occupied Russian territory. You also had a Ukrainian strike across the border in Russia. You had Ukrainian strike on a Russian ship here in the Sea of Azov.

What does that indicate to you, especially as there's been so much anticipation of a Russian - of a Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia?

KIMMITT: Well, this would be a typical military tactic. If you knew a counteroffensive was coming, you would do everything you can to conduct a spoiling attack.

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And a series of spoiling attack prevent the counteroffensive forces from coming together, building up their logistics, getting ready for that fight.

SCIUTTO: Now, that's Russia. So trying to counter what Ukraine ...

KIMMITT: Exactly.

SCIUTTO: ... might be doing.

KIMMITT: Yes.

SCIUTTO: So let's talk about what we're seeing Ukraine, it appears, doing. One strike I mentioned on Krasnodar, that in Russian territory. We also have this attack on a Russian ship. This is the scene of the explosion from far away. Here's where that took place, just over in Berdyans'k.

And you're also seeing additional Russian - rather, I should say Ukrainian - strikes in this part of the country here. Does that indicate to you an increased force tempo there that might be preceding a ground movement?

KIMMITT: Yes, I think the Ukrainians primarily are trying to give signals about where they think they may attack. But in fact, I hope that that's an element of surprise on the part of the Ukrainians, that's probably the last place they would attack.

Look, this is the most logical place to attack. Down here to Kherson ...

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KIMMITT: ... over to the water, cut the land bridge, separate the two. It's the closest attack of all. You can see the Russians building up around Kherson.

SCIUTTO: Right.

KIMMITT: So let's hope that that's a - perhaps, a bluff on the part of the Ukrainians that that's not really where they're going to attack.

SCIUTTO: We've heard a lot that in recent weeks, Russia has created multiple lines of defense here in the East, dug-in positions to make it very difficult for Ukrainian forces to break through. Do they have a similar array of defenses down here?

KIMMITT: They're developing that now.

SCIUTTO: Mm-hm.

KIMMITT: And the key issue is breakthrough. To get a successful counterattack, you have to punch through their front lines.

SCIUTTO: Right.

KIMMITT: And if they have a series of lines, which we call defense in depth, that's going to slow them down and potentially lead them to being attacked by the Russians from the flanks. SCIUTTO: If you were planning such an attack and let's say these are your front lines here and again, you've got some multiple layers. What equipment - because we've talked a lot about the equipment that the West ...

KIMMITT: Yes.

SCIUTTO: ... has been supplying Ukraine in recent weeks and months, advanced Leopard and M1 Abrams tanks, armored personnel carriers to get the ground forces into position, plus longer range weapons like the Storm Shadow so you can strike Russian positions further behind lines.

What combination of things would you put into play if you were in charge of this counter-offensive?

KIMMITT: Well, the most important thing is on those front line forces, they need to have a lot of ammunition. So you're going to have to have the logistics up front. But other things that people don't think about, you need to have bridge crossing equipment, because there is a lot of water between Kherson and Berdyans'k if that's where they would attack.

You need to have anti-tank mines. They have what they call RAM, basically types of mines that you either drop from airplanes or you shoot from cannons that will protect your flanks so that as you're trying to push through, you're not attacked by the Russians on those flanks.

So there's a lot of equipment that they would have that isn't normally thought about, more artillery, specialized artillery, bridge-laying equipment. That's all part of a counter-offensive.

SCIUTTO: And as you advance, of course, you don't want to be in a situation where you're surrounded by Russian forces.

KIMMITT: Indeed.

SCIUTTO: Gen. Kimmitt, we'll continue to watch the developments on the ground there. Thanks very much. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Another major headline we're following this afternoon, not much sand left in the hourglass on a debt ceiling deal. We don't know exactly when the Treasury Department is going to run out of sufficient funds to pay all of the federal government's bills. But the Treasury Secretary says it could come as soon as June 1st, just six days from today, if Congress and the White House don't reach an agreement.

Let's get some White House perspective now with CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

Jeremy, it is a holiday weekend here in Washington. A lot of lawmakers have already headed home, but yet President Biden is confident that a deal will be reached.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, he has been trying to express that confidence all throughout this process, calling himself a congenital optimist, at the same time also warning of the disastrous consequences of default. What I can tell you, Boris, is that sources familiar with the negotiations say that they are moving closer to a deal, but they're simply not there yet.

And that gap could be a lot in the sense that we know that even small details, even the last remaining sticking points sometimes can take a lot of time for both of these sides to get there. What we do know is that a potential deal has emerged in terms of spending caps and debt ceiling, raising the debt ceiling for two years in exchange for spending caps of that same amount of time.

But even that part of the deal has yet to be closed because negotiators say no part of the deal is final until the entire deal is finalized. And these negotiations, they are continuing today, virtually primarily between the two negotiating teams as they try and work through some of these sticking points, including work requirements, for example.

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And the fact that that is one of the remaining issues is also why you're hearing some frustration from House Democrats who are warning the White House not to take their votes for granted. And ultimately, the White House can use those frustrations as a key leverage point in these negotiations, as they continue to emphasize to Republicans that any deal that happens here needs to be bipartisan and therefore the White House is going to need to be able to sell that to their caucus. Boris?

SANCHEZ: We should also point out President Biden himself also leaving town, not going too far, though. He's spending the weekend in Camp David.

Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for the reporting.

Let's get perspective from Capitol Hill now with CNN's Melanie Zanona.

DIAMOND: Thanks, guys.

SANCHEZ: Melanie, some Democrats refuse to vote for any compromise that attaches work requirements to Social Security safety net benefits. But we heard from a Republican Congressman, Garret Graves, he's been leading other negotiations on behalf of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy say hell no to the idea of dropping those requirements. How does this get resolved in time?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Boris, that is the million- dollar question right now. As you mentioned, work requirements has been one of the chief sticking points, really from the beginning of these talks and still now, even as negotiators are starting to make progress in other key areas.

But what you have is that Republicans feel emboldened. They have been demanding tougher work requirements for social safety net programs. They say that is an absolute must have for them. It is a red line. They are still pushing for it. But as Jeremy was mentioning, the White House is also digging in against that. And that is because Democrats here up on Capitol Hill have made crystal clear that they cannot support a deal that has work requirements in it. And in fact, there's a closed-door conference meeting yesterday where a number of them stood up and said, do not take us for granted. You need our votes, but there is no guarantee that we're going to support something even if it has the President's blessing.

And it's important to keep in mind that any bipartisan deal is going to require votes from both sides of the aisle, especially because Speaker Kevin McCarthy has his right flank that he has to worry about.

A number of conservatives also saying that they're not ready to support really any form of compromise, but especially if it doesn't have things like work requirements and strict spending cuts. So that's where we are in these negotiations night now.

Patrick McHenry, he's a Republican congressman who's been in these negotiations, framed it as we are on the brink, either things are all going to come together or all going to fall apart. So a lot of work to do and just not a lot of time to get it done, Boris.

SANCHEZ: And as you're speaking, Melanie, we're watching the Dow - it was hovering around 300 points up earlier in the day, now it's up about 350 points. So there is optimism, at least, on Wall Street that something will get done.

Melanie Zanona from Capitol Hill, Jim?

SCIUTTO: If only that optimism came true. Well, this is just in to CNN, a New York man who allegedly shot and killed a woman after a friend just turned into the wrong driveway has now been indicted for murder.

CNN's Brynn Gingras, she been covering.

Brynn, walk us through the details again, if folks don't remember, of course, here is a picture of the victim. I mean, it was a case of a mistake here and this guy opened fire.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, horrible tragic case in Washington County, Jim. The grand jury listening to the evidence in this case returning an indictment on three separate charges against Kevin Monahan, a 65-year-old resident of Washington County. Those charges are second-degree murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.

And yes, if you remember, this happened just last month in a very rural area of Upstate New York where Kaylin Gillis, the victim there, was in a car with her boyfriend, with other friends and they were using GPS trying to find a neighbor, a friend of theirs home for a party when they mistakenly turned up the driveway, according to police, of Kevin Monahan.

And when they realized their mistake, police say they started to turn around and that's when they say Monahan fired two shots from his shotgun, one of them hitting Gillis as they were trying to turn around in that driveway.

And we know that Gillis died just a short time later. If you also remember, as we've been following this case, Monahan says that he believes he was being menaced because there were loud noises from those cars and the other vehicles that were with that pack of friends.

So we'll see how this continues to play out. But that 20-year-old dead died next to her boyfriend. She was 20 years old, was going to move to Florida and study marine biology, just a horrible tragic case. This is the next step in the process and we'll continue to follow it, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Twenty-year-old, just turned down the wrong driveway.

Brynn Gingras, thanks so much.

GINGRAS: Right.

SCIUTTO: Boris?

SANCHEZ: Coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, a never-before-seen FBI file has revealed a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth in the 1980s during her royal visit to the United States. We have details on that.

Plus, the attorney for an 11-year-old boy shot by police after he called 911 asking for help. Well, that attorney is now demanding accountability, insisting there's no way an officer could have mistaken the child for an adult. We're going to tell you what the family is asking for.

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And imagine the door to your plane opening in the middle of the air. That's exactly what happened on this flight. What we're learning about the passenger who pried it open. Stay with us.

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SCIUTTO: Fasten your seat belts for what is expected to be a very busy holiday travel weekend. It is the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day. Millions of people already on the move. AAA says this could be the busiest Memorial Day weekend at airports since 2005 with more than 3.4 million people expected to fly.

CNN's Pete Muntean has more on how airlines are preparing for the surge.

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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It is the start of a summer of tests for air travel, with the Transportation Security Administration planning to screen 10 million passengers between Thursday and Monday. The world's busiest airport in Atlanta will be even busier than normal, with officials there anticipating 300,000 passengers a day.

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MAYOR ANDRE DICKENS (D), ATLANTA: Many of us are still trying to make up for the time we lost during the pandemic.

DAVID PEKORSKE, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: From TSA's perspective, we are ready.

NICHOLAS CALIO, CEO, AIRLINES FOR AMERICA: We are up over, finally over pre-pandemic levels.

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MUNTEAN (voice-over): Delta Airlines says holiday weekend ticket sales are up 17 percent from last year. American Airlines says it alone will serve 2.9 million passengers. United Airlines says this will be the busiest Memorial Day holiday in more than a decade.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: This weekend will be a test of the system.

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MUNTEAN (voice-over): Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says flight cancellations are down after last summer's repeated meltdowns. Airlines insist they are right-sized, operating fewer flights on larger airplanes and right-staffed.

A CNN analysis shows the industry has hired nearly 48,000 new workers in the last year.

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BUTTIGIEG: We're doing everything we can to press airlines to deliver that service. And if there is an issue, we have your back.

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MUNTEAN (voice-over): Though airlines worry it's the federal government that could cause delays. Two in 10 air-traffic controller jobs are empty. That's 3,000 positions nationwide.

This week, back-to-back staffing issues in Denver forced the FAA to slow flights. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby calls air-traffic control shortages his number one concern.

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SCOTT KIRBY, CEO, UNITED AIRLINES: That doesn't just impact those flights. That bleeds over to the whole system for the rest of the day.

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MUNTEAN (voice-over): For now, the FAA has opened up 169 new more efficient flight routes up and down the East Coast, even limiting space launches to off-peak times.

For passengers, all that matters is getting where they want to go, knowing one snag could slow the start of summer.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If things run smoothly, people do their job sufficiently, then it's a great trip.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pack your patience. Come prepared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get home without a hitch.

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SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Pete Muntean for that report.

Now, to a story about a different kind of trip, one that Queen Elizabeth II made decades ago that's getting some new attention today. In newly released documents, the FBI reveals there was an assassination threat against the monarch during her visit to the United States back in 1983.

CNN's Scott McLean has the details live from London.

So Scott, what was the threat exactly and how seriously was it taken at the time?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Boris. Remember that 1983, this was the time when the Irish Republican Army was in the midst of a three decades long terror campaign to try to get Northern Ireland reunited with the Republic of Ireland. And these documents show that the FBI was on high alert when it came to British royalty visiting the United States.

So one of these memos, the one that you mentioned, shows that there was a very loose plan reported of someone wanting to assassinate the Queen. Someone had called in saying that a patron at a well-known Irish Republican bar in San Francisco, who said that his daughter had been killed by a rubber bullet in Northern Ireland "claimed that he was going to attempt to harm Queen Elizabeth" and would do this either by dropping some object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto The Royal Yacht Britannia when it sails underneath or would attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth when she visited Yosemite National Park.

Now, it doesn't give more details than that and it's not really clear what exactly the follow up was. It's important to keep in mind, though, that this was marked priority rather than immediate, which would have been treated much more urgently.

And by the time that it gets to the FBI, it's also fifth hand information. It's also interesting to note from these - the same set of documents that even more benign protests were treated very seriously. They actually had FBI informants inside of them, Boris.

SANCHEZ: A fascinating chapter in history. Scott McLean, thank you so much. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Coming up next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, we are learning new details about the officer who shot an 11 year old boy after that boy called help from 911.

And the death of a Navy SEAL following "Hell Week" has prompted a complete overhaul of the elite and grueling training program. We're going to tell you what that study found.

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SANCHEZ: Today, the mother of an 11-year-old boy who was shot by police in Mississippi is speaking out. Aderrien Murry was shot in the chest at his home early Saturday morning after he called 911 for help.

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NAKALA MURRY, SHOOTING VICTIM'S MOTHER: He was like, I don't want to die. That's what he was saying while he was - I was on the ground, I said, you're not going to die, baby. Was he expecting the kid to come around the corner? I don't know. But there's protocol when kids are around. I want to see him fired.

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SANCHEZ: The officer involved in the shooting, Greg Capers, is now on paid administrative leave.

Let's go to CNN's Nick Valencia who's been tracking the latest in this investigation for us.

So Nick, what happens next?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, the family has now filed a written notice with the intent to file a lawsuit against the city as well as the Indianola Police Department. The attorney for the family, Carlos Moore, telling me that there's just no way a reasonably trained officer could have made this mistake, saying that 11 -year-old Aderrien Murry came within an inch of losing his life.

And a new photo of him shows the extent of his injuries. We want to show that to you. It has a bandage over the hole in his chest, where he was shot in the chest by that responding police officer.