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Russia Launches Rare Daytime Attack On Kyiv After Weekend Of Strikes; Search & Rescue Operations Partially Collapsed Apartments In Iowa; Biden Lays Wreath At Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired May 29, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Question about whether he was negotiating with Republicans on the debt ceiling something that throughout this process he had insisted he wouldn't do. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President, you said at the beginning that the debt ceiling was not negotiable, isn't that what you've just done here and --

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You guys, look, we're not negotiating the debt ceiling. Here's the deal. They passed, they said, they're going to, they pass the debt ceiling. And they said they'd only do it on condition that had have all these cuts in it. I said, I'm not going to do that. You pass the debt ceiling, period. I'll negotiate with you on the cuts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, even as some Democrats are saying that the President gave a bit too much, he thinks that they will ultimately see that he didn't give as much as he could have potentially in this agreement. Now throughout the day, White House officials are expected to be briefing lawmakers even holding some one on one calls with Democrats as they're trying to get more support with that June 5th deadline quickly approaching.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Arlette Saenz at the White House, Lauren Fox on the Hill Keep us posted as the counting continues. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so here's some of what is in the bill that everyone now will be reading and soon be voting on. It does suspend the debt limit through January of 2025, which is critical, as it saves the country from having this fight again until after the 2024 election.

It also caps nondefense spending but allows for a 1 percent increase in 2025. Neither Social Security nor Medicare will be affected by this. The deal tightens work requirements. This was a big sticking point for Republicans. These are for work requirements for programs meant to help families in need. Right now adults without children who are between the ages of 18 and up, they need to work at least 20 hours a week to receive food stamps regularly. This plan increases that age from 49 on the top side to 55 under this agreement.

The deal also claws back $30 billion in unused COVID-19 funds. And it also cuts new spending on the IRS. Congress approved about $80 billion in new funding for the IRS last year. This plan now reduces that by 20 billion over 10 years. John?

BERMAN: All right, Kate.

So retaliation for the onslaught of Russian strikes on Kyiv will happen very soon. That is according this morning to one Ukrainian military official.

You can hear the booms there. That is over Kyiv this morning as Ukraine says it shot down 11 ballistic missiles in a rare daytime attack. The video shows the moment debris from one of those intercepted missiles fell from the sky barely missing a bus and bringing another car to a stop there.

Officials describe this weekend's bombardment as one of the largest attacks against the capital to date. CNN's Sam Kiley is in eastern Ukraine, a nighttime attack, Sam, and then this rare daytime attack with the ballistic missiles give us the latest.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we have seen these daytime attacks before but not for quite a while and certainly not against Kyiv. Southern cities such as Kherson in jersey quite regularly with some pretty severe casual casualties. But that's mostly from artillery. These latest attacks where were they scan their surface to surface or air to surface missiles.

They're among the more potent weapons in the Russian armory. And clearly a new intent or a renewed attempt, I should say, to go after the civilian population because of course, schoolchildren are out, people are going about their daily business.

Kyiv is a city that is in many ways returned to semi normal life. Following the beginning of the war more than a year ago now they have learned to live with the overnight bombardments which marked last night the 16th day this month that Kyiv has become under focused attack in an attempt to overwhelm its air defenses ahead of the anticipated summer offensive.

And now we've got this series of attacks 11 very substantial missiles, all of them mercifully shot down by Kyiv's air defenses, whilst the Ukrainians continue to threaten this new summer offensive. John?

BERMAN: And we did mention that the Ukrainians threatened retaliation for this. And I asked this, Sam because look, we've seen these drone attacks and other attacks in Belgorod over the Russian border inside Russia for some time. What seems to be a little bit new are these claims we're hearing from Russian officials in some of the occupy areas, areas where the Russians now are under some kind of control like Mariupol and Berdyansk. They say the Ukrainians are now striking those cities. What's going on there?

KILEY: There's no question. And indeed with a bit of a nudge and a wink the Ukrainians are now starting to take responsibility naming for the first time the British supplied Storm Shadow missile, cruise missile, that has very significant covert capabilities as being the result or causing the results of a series of explosions in the South.

Both the towns of Berdyansk and Mariupol, of course very important logistics bases, all of them inside occupied Ukrainian territory for the Russians to prosecute their operations up here in the east and of course of London -- the whole southern front too.

[11:05:35]

So it is very clear now that in the early days of this offensive, the shaping operations in terms of attacks, particularly against Russia, and logistics, bases, ammunition dumps, even railways are now part of that ongoing Ukrainian strategy. John?

BERMAN: All right, Sam Kiley, obviously this is something to watch very closely in the days ahead. Thank you so much for being there. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Let's turn to Iowa right now, where we are getting new details this morning about a terrifying partial apartment collapse in Davenport. And officials say that there are no known individuals currently trapped in the wreckage, which is very good news. And that is heartening considering what this six-storey apartment building looks like now. CNN Adrienne Broaddus, she's on this. She's joining us now.

Adrienne, that is some good news to hear that from officials as you reported last hour. But that still -- this -- but still they are continuing the search, however.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are continuing to search. But Kate the news is what so many had hoped to hear the fire chief saying to their knowledge, no one is trapped inside of the building. In all, at least eight people were rescued. The eighth rescue came overnight.

Investigators telling us that man was transported to the hospital. Other people were injured and there were other rescues. We're hearing from folks who survived. And this morning, all they can say is they're so thankful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL STEPHENSON, RESCUED FRIEND AFTER IOWA APARTMENT COLLAPSE: I just think God that I was able to make it out of there. You know, there was like big explosion, like a bomb. And the bomb pushed me to the side, it pushed me to the side actually went in and grabbed him and get him out of there. Get him to safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: So those are the stories that we are starting to hear. We're also learning there was a warning before this collapse, a partial collapse, we should say numerous complaints made by the tenants. We also learned the city came out and inspected that building. And I ordered the owners of the property to do some repair work and they were working on the exterior of the building.

Meanwhile, the building according to the fire chief is structurally unsound. And that is the biggest challenge right now because crews are still in the area working but it's not safe for those first responders because of the instability of the structure. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Adrienne, thank you for the update. John?

BERMAN: All right, Kate. The sun will travel season. It has begun. Coming up, how the FAA is coping with the surge of Memorial Day travelers. And police discover seven children have been living in deplorable conditions, their parents are now under arrest and facing multiple charges.

And we are the champions, we will rock you, Bohemian Rhapsody, the list of hit songs by Queen it goes on and on and it is all for sale. How much it will cost you to buy all of this?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:10:17]

BERMAN: You were looking at live pictures from Arlington National Cemetery. You can see the President and Vice President with the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arriving. They will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is the annual Memorial Day commemoration, a time to honor and remember those who have given their lives in service to the nation.

BOLDUAN: And it's such a solemn ceremony and such an important one. This is the third time President Biden is taking part in this. It's important also moment for every American to stop and honor those who have served our nation. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BAND PLAYING)

[11:16:08]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wreath ceremony is now complete. The Memorial Day observance will begin momentarily. Please move to your seats.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: You are watching the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense leave the ceremony surrounding the Tomb of the Unknown as they are headed into the amphitheater where there will be a service to mark Memorial Day. You're looking at live pictures there as they enter. This, of course, is the day, Kate, to honor those who have given their lives in service to the nation.

BOLDUAN: And is as -- is said at Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where we just saw the wreath laying ceremony with the President. It is such a powerful symbol of service and sacrifice of memory of honor.

And that will continue now with what will be as we've seen some -- as we've covered so many times together before it's always a beautiful and moving and poignant ceremony to hear from all of the speakers during this upcoming program that we're going to be watching.

BERMAN: We'll hear from the President just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:22:00]

BOLDUAN: Memorial Day weekend is breaking records. The TSA screened more than 2.7 million people at airports across the country on Friday, the busiest day yet this year. Now, despite the crowds, the FAA appears to be keeping up with all of this demand relatively few flight delays and cancelations so far.

Let's get back over to Pete Muntean. He's at Reagan National Airport for us. So if this is where we are right now, Pete, does this tell us something does -- is this a great foreshadowing of what summer travel is going to look like?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It shows that the airlines kept their promise by staffing up to try and keep the system from being too brittle as it was last year, Kate. But it also shows that they cannot let their guard down because so many people are traveling 2.72 million people flew on Friday.

That's the highest number we have seen since the 2020 downturn in air travel. It's bigger than the same day in 2019. In fact, we've seen that over and over again this week.

You know, so this is really being celebrated by passengers also by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who showed off that the cancelation rate going into this weekend has been about 1 percent which is a lot lower when you think back to last Memorial Day when airlines canceled about 2,700 flights in total, kicked off those cascading meltdowns all summer long between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Airlines canceled about 55,000 flights nationwide.

The good news here is that through this first wave of travel and now the second wave is everyone comes starts -- starts coming home all at once, the cancelations have been pretty low, only about 600 cancelations nationwide since Thursday. We're seeing only about 60 so far today.

So, so far, so good. We will see if airlines can keep it together as people start coming home. Today is going to be a pretty busy day according to the Transportation Security Administration expecting about 2.6 million people at airports nationwide. Also a really busy day on the roads.

Remember, Memorial Day is much more of a driving holiday and AAA anticipated more than 30 million people driving 50 miles or more. The worst time to travel right now is right this moment between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. AAA says. So try and leave a little bit later if you can, although really depends on what metro area you're in.

I-95 between Richmond and D.C. here, that's one of the worst stretches everyone kind of knows that if you're on the East Coast. And traffic they're going to be four times the norm.

So you should try and put it up if you can. Even AAA says wait until Tuesday, even Wednesday. Although that's only if you're not working Memorial Day for some labor day for you and I, Kate.

BOLDUAN: It's like you're just trying to troll us at this point, Pete, with your just fantastical ideas of when we can all go back to work, but we still love you and you are amazing. Thank you so much.

MUNTEAN: I know.

BOLDUAN: John, I actually think this is now Pete's new brand which is keeping together people which I love that he says the airlines need to do.

[11:25:02]

BERMAN: I just love that he's trying to like make fetch happen for Wednesday. Like Pete Muntean is desperately trying to make the Memorial Day travel day be the Wednesday after Memorial Day.

BOLDUAN: Keep hope alive. OK.

BERMAN: I'm with Pete on this, right.

So as the summer travel season begins, so too does the summer swim season which I know will just, Kate, because you are such a strong swimmer. For the third straight year though, there is a shortage of lifeguards. In New York City only about 480 lifeguards are ready for the beginning of the season.

But the city has set a goal of 1,400. So they're like a third of the way there. CNN's Polo Sandoval is that Rockaway Beach in New York. I see people there surfing behind you, you know, what's going on with the lifeguard shortage, Polo?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, you know, we've seen this time and time again, John. And this is an issue of life and death in terms of lifeguards shortage. That is because the chances of drowning dramatically increase if you are -- you don't have that watchful eye of a lifeguard.

Here at this particular beach, it is really just for surfing. In fact, there was -- there were two young ladies that were in the water show while ago authorities with a whistle reminded them not to get in the water. Not far from here, though we are seeing some families coming together on the issue of staffing lifeguard positions has really been a persistent problem for several years ago -- several years now. A spokesperson for the American Lifeguard Association estimated that about half of America's pools, public pools, could be impacted either by closing or with a reduction in hours. And as you'll hear from him, there have been some initiatives from some municipalities to try to boost their lifeguard numbers, but they're falling short.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WYATT WERNETH, AMERICAN LIFEGUARD ASSOCIATION: Well, I'm seeing a lot of creative incentive with sign on bonuses up to $3,000, you know, to qualify, but I don't think that's enough. I think that, you know, we lost a lot of interests with the young ones going to be influencers, the pandemic hit, they got another job with retail, and restaurants. I think something needs to change. If we focused on perhaps, you know, the fire services or the EMS services managing them that might help out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: It really is interesting, that last point that he's making, which is really developed those career paths for younger people who hope to be first responders to be recruited and to become lifeguards. Now, just a few yards away from us, we can see some of those lifeguards on duty right now in terms of this particular beach.

Yes, again, is exclusively for surfing because of those dangerous rip tides. So authorities right now recommending in other parts of the country, do your research. If you usually expect the lifeguard to be on duty at the beaches that you frequent, make sure that they're there or relocate. And if not, assign somebody to watch the water to watch you while you're out on the water for safety reasons. John, back to you.

BERMAN: All right, Polo, Polo Sandoval at Rockaway Beach. Thanks so much. Kate?

[11:27:50]

BOLDUAN: So there's a political shakeup that's happening in Texas right now, the Republican state attorney general impeached by his own party and also he's temporarily at least temporarily suspended this morning. What is next as he is fighting for a political lifeline right now we'll be back.

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