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At Least 4 Hurt In "Massive Strike" In Belgorod & Alleged Drone Strike Ignites Fire At Russian Oil Refinery; CA Governor Weighs Options After Manson Murderer Wins Parole; Senate Dems Ask Biden Admin To Look At Airline Seats. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired May 31, 2023 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We look forward to seeing what happens next on the case. A potential indictment looming of the former president by the special counsel.
Elliot Williams, always a pleasure to have you.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Thanks, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
Jim?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Coming up, Russia reeling from attacks on its own soil. What the U.S. and Ukraine are now saying about it. We'll be live in Kyiv next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: We're following the latest attacks inside Russian territory, a new development in this war. Local officials call it "massive strikes" that left four injured just in the last 24 hours. It happened in the Belgorod region, just on the Ukrainian border.
[14:35:00]
It comes on the heels of an overnight fire at a Russian oil refinery, allegedly from a drone attack.
This morning, White House national security official, John Kirby, disavowed U.S. support for any Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN: We give them equipment, we give them training, we give them advice and counsel. Heck, we even do tabletop exercises with them to help them plan out what they're going to do.
But ultimately, President Zelenskyy and his military commanders decide what they're going to do from a military perspective. And they decide what they're going to do with equipment that has been provided to them and that they now own.
All that said, we have been very clear with the Ukrainians, privately and we've certainly have been clear publicly, that we do not support attacks inside Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us from Kyiv.
Fred, regardless of the U.S. position of strikes on Russia, we're seeing them more and more, right, particularly in the last several days and, particularly, in advance of this highly anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.
When you speak to Ukrainian officials and you watch their public comments here, they're not exactly denying it.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, you're absolutely right, they're not exactly denying it. In fact, they are quite coy about it.
And today, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, he came out and he once again didn't admit that the Ukrainians were behind any of these things, but he also warned the Russian population that the intensity of such strikes was going to increase and the number was going to increase as well.
The message there is obviously very clear, the war is coming to the Russians.
If you look at the Kremlin, they are also saying they're quite concerned about the situation.
In fact, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Vladimir Putin, earlier today, said that they found the situation, especially down in Belgorod, alarming.
Now of course, the Russians are saying the reason for that is that civilians are being hit there. You talk about some of the casualties that happened, that large strike that happened in that border region, and we are looking where exactly that is. It's in a village called Shebekino, which is right on the border.
But one of the things we have to keep in mind about that region as well, Jim, as we both know, is that there is a large concentration of Russian military in and around the Belgorod region.
The town itself is a huge hub for the Russian military. The border area was also one of the main staging areas for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both the initial one and also the subsequent ones, when they tried to roll into the Kharkiv area.
So certainly, there's a good amount of Russian military there. And therefore it's probably no coincidence so many of those strikes are happening in that area itself.
You mentioned earlier those hits on the oil refinery that happened in Krasnodar. That's obviously something that would be very important for the Ukraine's to try to take some of that fuel away from the Russians.
But in total, if we look at that border area, it is a very, very long border and those attacks are happening in a lot of places, down in the south and across Krasnodar, in Belgorod and further north in the Bryansk region where the Russians say there was a big drone attack.
So certainly you can feel the Russians definitely coming under a lot of pressure on that border -- Jim?
SCIUTTO: We already reported, a number of days ago, they began shaping operations, as they're known, to prepare attacks, to prepare the battlefield for this expected ground counteroffensive.
When you speak to Ukrainian officials, do they connect these attack inside Russian territory as part of those shaping operations?
PLEITGEN: It's a very important question. Quite frankly, yes, they absolutely do. They do, do that.
In fact, another adviser to Ukraine's presidency told in an interview just a couple of days ago, he said, look, precursors are already going on. They're necessary, he says, to try to make that offensive as effective as possible.
And he did say, when you see attacks, those are probably connected to the counteroffensive -- Jim?
SCIUTTO: Lots to expect. Lots to look for.
Fred Pleitgen, in Kyiv, thanks so much.
Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Jailed Russian opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, was back in court in Moscow today. His request for more time to review and access documents in his extremism case denied. The court says Navalny's official trial will be starting next week.
He's serving a nine-year jail term at a maximum-security prison that is east of Moscow after being convicted of large-scale fraud last year.
His daughter recently told CNN that Russian authorities were depriving her father of food. His team has also reported that he's been experiencing severe stomach issues in prison.
If convicted again, Navalny says he could face 30 years in prison.
Boris?
SANCHEZ: A former follower of Charles Manson and a convicted murderer is set to be released, but a legal battle still lies ahead. We have details on that.
[14:39:42]
And it's not a scene from a "Fast and Furious" movie but it sure looks like it. Why this car went airborne. An important lesson officials hope that drivers will learn, next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Here's a look at some of the headlines we are following this hour.
Multiple arrests in California stemming from a shocking attack on three U.S. Marines Friday night. The Orange County Sheriff's Department says five minors now face charges of assault with a deadly weapon.
No guns and knives. The weapons were the feet of that mob, used as the victim lay on the ground. Police believe the fight started over a dispute about setting off fireworks.
Also, new details on the houseboat that sank Sunday in Italy's Lake Maggiore. Officials say all the passengers on board were currently or formerly tied to the Israeli and Italian intelligence networks.
[14:44:59]
With 23 passengers, the charter boat was at over capacity when it capsized after an apparent waterspout struck nearby. Some managed to swim ashore, four were rescued by nearby boats. Four people, though, died in the accident.
And finally, police body cam video from Georgia. Goodness. As an officer was investigating a highway crash, his camera caught a driver in the opposite lane as he drove up the ramp of a tow truck, full speed, launching Hollywood-style into oncoming traffic. The driver survived, thankfully, but does have serious injuries.
Boris?
SANCHEZ: Former Manson family member, Leslie Van Houten, is the closest she has ever been to getting out of prison after an appellate court effectively overruled California Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to deny her parole for a fifth time.
The court said the now-73-year-old is not a threat and entitled to release.
She's been in prison for more than 50 years for taking part in the 1971 murders of a supermarket executive and his wife.
CNN national correspondent, Natasha Chen, is live for us.
Natasha, what makes the court think she's no longer a threat to society? NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, the court, in
its brief, explained that, in recent risk assessments done every few years since 2007, they found that there is low risk for her to commit future violence.
They also say that she's taken tests and her scores are below the threshold commonly used to identify anti-social or psychopathic behavior.
In addition to that, she's got a clean disciplinary record, for the most part, for the -- like you said, 50 years, participating in councils and organizations within the prison system, getting herself a master's degree.
And she's also been well spoken and given thoughtful answers according to the board during parole hearings.
Here is part of the brief where the appellate court talks about Gavin Newsom's refusal to accept:
"The governor's refusal to except Van Houghton's explanation amounts to unsupported intuition, fails to account for the decades of therapy, self-help programming, and reflection Van Houghton has undergone in the past 50 years."
This brief also quotes Van Houten from her recent risk assessment in 2018 where she talks about how sorry she is for having taken part in the murders of the LaBianca's.
She says, quote, "I feel it's very important that I not try to forget what happened. Learning to live with what I did is important. In my head, I had it like we were going to war."
And she's referring to going to war because she explained that Manson, at the time, was under the belief they were about to witness a worldwide race war.
And that these killings would spark a revolution, that she was under the influence of LSD and, of course, these beliefs that she now says she's very ashamed of following.
Now there will be a 30-day period after which the State Supreme Court can review this case. And that is where Governor Newsom and the attorney general could file a petition for the State Supreme Court to take another look at this -- Boris?
SANCHEZ: An infamous case still drawing enormous amounts of attention.
Natasha Chen, thank you so much for that.
Brianna?
KEILAR: Coming up, uncomfortable and downright unsafe? The new call from lawmakers to the Biden administration to look into these cramped seats on airplanes, next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
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[14:53:01]
KEILAR: Flying can be uncomfortable, a little like being packed into a sardine can. Now two Senate Democrats are asking the Biden administration to take another look at airline seat sizes to see if they are too small.
Senators Tammy Duckworth and Baldwin are reintroducing a bill to have the FAA to hold airline evacuations tests.
CNN aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean, is here.
OK, it's not just about discomfort. It's a safety issue.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It is a safety issue. Let's get down to what it means. Smaller seats means more people onboard a plane. More people on a plane makes it harder for the airlines to evacuate a plane if something terrible happens.
But I just spoke to Senator Tammy Duckworth about this. She said it's all about safety.
Although, we shouldn't skirt around it. The unintended outcome of this could be a federal regulation that makes it so the airlines can't make seats any smaller on a commercial airliner.
Let's just go back in history here. Back in the 1960s, the regular seat size, the pitch, which is the distance between your seat -- it's the leg room -- and your knee was about 35 inches. Today, on average, it's about 31 inches.
Although, people have gotten a lot bigger. According to the CDC, men have gotten taller by an inch. They have gained on average 30 pounds.
So this really --
KEILAR: That's a lot for anybody.
MUNTEAN: That's true.
(LAUGHTER)
MUNTEAN: And it causes -- it really sort of calls into question this need for there to be a regulation.
So the FAA, back in 2019, tested this to see if there is a safety issue with airlines cramming on more and more seats on a commercial airliner.
But this is the issue that Duckworth says. It simply doesn't reflect the average population. In these tests, there was nobody younger than 18, nobody older than 60, no kids, no car seats, no carry-on bags even.
KEILAR: Wow, really? MUNTEAN: Can you imagine that? And the airlines --
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: That's not realistic at all.
MUNTEAN: So this is what it comes down to. And the Senators say that there should essentially be a re-do of these tests to reflect real- world conditions here in 2023.
[14:55:07]
This is what Senator Duckworth told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): It is very much long overdue. The standards the FAA is using was set in the 1960s. The fact of the matter is air travel has changed a lot since the '60s.
There are a lot of folks on board, for example, with carry-on luggage because we can't many people can't check their luggage anymore because it's an additional fee. The FAA doesn't test -- do these tests where they include carry-on luggage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: No comment from the FAA on this.
Of course, the airlines would love to be able to cram more seats onboard an airplane.
But there's an interesting opening here for Congress to essentially set the priorities of the FAA. There is no permanent administrator at the FAA right now. It's going through its reauthorization period, where Congress essentially decides how much the FAA gets. So we'll see here.
There could be a lot of support for this. And the FAA could be called on the carpet here and have to re-do these tests.
KEILAR: Who doesn't like to stretch out a little as well?
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: Pete Muntean, thank you.
MUNTEAN: Thanks.
KEILAR: Boris?
SANCHEZ: Still to come, officials in Iowa say they are looking into whether to keep up the search for survivors at the site of a collapsed apartment building. We're going to speak to an expert about the hope of still finding someone alive, next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
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