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Near Collision In Taiwan Strait; Mark Milley Comments On Ukraine; Apple To Make Big Announcement; Prince Harry Testifies Tomorrow; Heat Beats Nuggets. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 05, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:16]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for sticking with us on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Our top story this morning, it was the sonic boom heard across the capital. Listen.

(VIDEO TAPE)

SIDNER: That was U.S. fighter jets going supersonic, racing to intercept an unresponsive, private plane after it crossed over parts of Washington, D.C. This morning, the NTSB is investigating after that plane ultimately crashed in Virginia. No one on board that aircraft survived. Why the plane veered so far off course, and what caused the crash still under investigation.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: China is accusing the United States of initiating what became a dangerous confrontation at sea. It happened in the Taiwan Strait where the U.S. was conducting a joint exercise with Canada Saturday. The U.S. Navy released video of what went down of a Chinese warship cutting in front of a U.S. Navy destroyer.

We're going to show you the moment that the China - the moment of what we're talking about here. This is the moment the two warships nearly collided. We're freezing the video so you can just see how close the two vessels really got. The Pentagon says it was within 150 yards, forcing the U.S. ship to abruptly slow down to avoid a direct hit.

CNN's Anna Coren joins us from Hong Kong, tracking the very latest on this.

And, Ana, despite what the Chinese are saying about this, walk us through what happened.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this happened, Kate, on Saturday. The USS Chung-Hoon and Canada's HMCS Montreal, they were transiting through the Taiwan Strait when this Chinese vessel cut in, in front of the U.S. destroyer, carrying out what U.S. officials say was an unsafe maneuver within 150 yards. The U.S. destroyer, as you said, had to slow down to avoid a collision. We can see that from the video released by the U.S. Navy.

It is no surprise, China is blaming the United States. Within hours of the incident, China's defense minister accused the U.S. of provocation and creating chaos in the region.

And this was reiterated by China's ministry of foreign affairs just a few hours ago.

Kate, some analysts believe it is the first time that such a close encounter has occurred during a U.S. Navy transit of the Taiwan Strait.

BOLDUAN: Anna, the tension between the U.S. and China was also on full display at a conference in Singapore this weekend. There were hopes that the defense secretary, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would meet with his Chinese counterpart. What happened there?

COREN: Yes, there were high hopes of a meeting, Kate, but it didn't happen. All they got was a - was a very awkward handshake. And the reason for that was a private meeting was rejected by the Chinese.

But the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, he had firm words for China, saying Washington would not accept coercion and bullying of allies and partners and warned the Chinese military against unprofessional intercepts by its warplanes over the South China Sea. If you remember, there was that close encounter with, you know, a Chinese jet and a U.S. jet just two weeks ago.

But despite these near-misses and the rhetoric, the Biden administration, Kate, is still hopeful that, you know, President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping may meet up in the near future.

BOLDUAN: Yes, the national security adviser already suggesting that without really a timetable to lay out on that meeting quite yet.

Good to see you, Anna. Thank you.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, a new CNN interview with America's top military officer, General Mark Milley, the retiring chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley is in Normandy to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the D-day landing in France.

Obviously the war in Ukraine is the top concern for him. This as Russia is claiming it has stopped a, quote, large scale attack by Ukraine forces on the front lines in southeastern Ukraine. Ukraine says it has no information on that attack.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is with General Milley in Normandy.

Oren, what did the general say to you? OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, we had a chance to

sit down with General Mark Milley for quite some time and talked about a number of different topics. Not only Ukraine, but also China, as well as some domestic issues. Of course it is Ukraine that took up the bulk of the conversation here.

And our question was about, what are the expectations of this counteroffensive. And it's certainly appropriate here that we're celebrating D-day and commemorating D-day, because this was the counteroffensive that liberated essentially Europe from Nazi rule. So, we asked about the anticipation for the counteroffensive in Ukraine. What did he expect? Did he believe Ukraine was ready? He said they are as prepared as they were going to be.

But when we asked, will this be a success and how do you know if it will be a success, he was very careful here with his answer.

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GEN. MARK MILLEY, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: So, I think that's too early to tell what outcomes are going to happen.

[09:35:01]

I think the Ukrainians are very well prepared. As you know very well, the United States and other allied countries in Europe and really around the world have provided training and ammunition and advice, intelligence, et cetera, to the Ukrainians.

We're supporting them. They're in a war that's an existential threat for the very survival of Ukraine and has greater meaning to the rest of the world for -- for Europe, really for the United States, but also for the globe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: We also asked about the attacks we have seen in Russia. Do these lead to or could they lead to an escalation with Russia. He said, look, certainly it's possible that Russia could decide to escalate. The question is, how do they do so and where do they choose to carry out that escalation.

If it's within Ukraine, if the war itself and the fighting remains within Ukraine, then this is something the U.S. watches very closely and discusses frequently how to deal with. If the escalation comes outside of Ukraine, against the west or NATO, that would put all of this in an entirely different ballgame he says.

John.

BERMAN: Oren, you mentioned you talked about China as well. Obviously this comes on the heels of another close encounter between the U.S. and Chinese militaries. What did the general say about that?

LIEBERMANN: It does. And he emphasized here the need of communication and dialogue, especially between the militaries here. CIA Director Bill Burns just visited China recently. There's a senior state official right now. But a lot of the military communications have been curtailed, especially as we see more aggressive encounters between the U.S. and the Chinese militaries.

For General Mark Milley it's important to maintain those open lines of communication, even if there is tension, because that is what he says is important to make sure that the competition that we see between Beijing and Washington doesn't veer into conflict.

John.

BERMAN: Oren Liebermann, in lovely Normandy. Thanks so much for being with us this morning. A fascinating discussion you had.

Sara.

SIDNER: In just a matter of hours, Apple is set to shake up the teach world and beyond with one of its biggest announcements in years. The company is unveiling a headset that is said to feature a mixed reality, offering both virtual and augmented reality.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans is joining us now.

I hope I'm not aged out of all this. I sort of feel like I might be, but -

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I can see you with a VR headset.

SIDNER: Absolutely not. But can you - can you break down what this is exactly?

ROMANS: Sure. And we'll know for sure in about three or four hours, right, when they get this underway. But what's expected is a $3,000 product called either Reality I or Reality Pro, that's according to "Bloomberg News." It's dubbed a mixed reality headset. So it's AR and VR. And it's -- biggest launch since the Apple Watch in 2015.

So, there's a lot of anticipation. When you look at the headlines you can see everyone's wondering what this product is going to be and whether there will be, you know, fast adoption of this thing.

And what will you use it for? There will be apps for gaming and fitness and meditation, access to like Facetime and messages and Safari. An outward facing display to show, you know, eye movement and expression.

So, a little different than some of the other products that are on the market out there. But it remains to be seen whether it changes this space and has wide adoption or not. But we'll know for sure in just a few hours.

And I think what a lot of people want to know is what Tim Cook says about artificial intelligence and what their play will be in that - in that, you know, arms race, really, in Silicon Valley.

SIDNER: Yes. Yes. $3,000, that is pretty high.

All right, this is another really big story that caught a lot of people off guard. Two major insurance companies saying they're going to halt policy sales in the entire state of California.

ROMANS: Yes. Yes.

SIDNER: What is this all about?

ROMANS: So this is new property insurance, right? So Allstate and State Farm. And there are some big risks that make it not feasible for them to be writing these new policies. Among those, wildfires, a rise in construction costs, higher reinsurance premiums. We know that last year AIG already stopped writing policies on multimillion dollar homes because the cost of rebuilding something from a wildfire, just too much.

So, existing policyholders will be, you know, will be serviced, but they will not be writing new policies in California.

SIDNER: This could have a -- be a game changer for how much things cost potentially.

ROMANS: Absolutely. And it reflects how much things cost, actually, in the high cost of inflation and also climate change and climate risk in California in particular.

SIDNER: Wow, that's big.

ROMANS: Yes.

SIDNER: All right, Christine Romans, thank you so much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

SIDNER: Appreciate it.

Kate.

BERMAN: You can call me anything.

SIDNER: Oh, John.

BERMAN: He is only 13 but he is already a sensation. A young golfer takes a big swing at a record today.

And then the primary suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway is ready to be delivered. When he is expected to be in U.S. custody.

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[09:44:00]

BERMAN: We are learning this morning that the prime suspect in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, Joran van der Sloot, will temporarily be transferred to U.S. custody on Thursday. He's currently in prison in Peru. He will stand trial in the U.S. on

fraud and extortion charges. He's accused of trying to sell false information to Holloway's family. She was last seen alive with him and two other men in Aruba in 2005.

This morning human rights activists say at least 90 people were arrested in protests across Russia for demanding Alexei Navalny be freed from prison. Yesterday was the detained Russian political decedent's 47th birthday. He is serving a nine-year sentence and could face another 35 years if he is convicted of extremism charges.

Floodwaters have forced hundreds of people from homes in northwestern Ecuador. Heavy rains fell for more than 12 hours over the weekend. That caused six rivers - six - to overflow. Some people climbed to rooftops and clung to balconies to escape the high water.

Sara.

SIDNER: Prince Harry is back in London this morning and set to testify tomorrow in the U.K. phone hacking trial against the publisher of "The Daily Mirror."

[09:45:07]

He and dozens of other high-profile figures are suing Mirror Group Newspapers, accusing the company of illegally obtaining private information by hacking into their phones and using other illicit means.

CNN's Nada Bashir is in London with more on this for us this morning.

Nada, there is a lot of evidence in this case. What are you expecting to hear?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Absolutely. A lot of evidence, a lot of claimants in the case. But when it comes to Prince Harry's claim, his attorneys have submitted some 147 articles dating back from the 1990s into around 2011, which they say demonstrate that illegal means were used to solicit personal, private details around Prince Harry's life, including conversations and arguments with his brother, Prince William, the details around his long term relationship with former girlfriend Chelsea Davy (ph), as well as his whereabouts when it came to school activities and his activities and engagements during his military training in Sandhurst.

Now, 147 articles have been submitted. A this stage, only around 33 are being considered. This is a three-day hearing at the high court. They allege that illegal means were used to get this private information, including crucially phone hacking but also the interception of Prince Harry's voicemails, as well as private investigators used by Mirror Group Newspapers to get this information on these notable figures.

Of course, it has to be remembered that there are more than 100 claimants in the case, but Prince Harry has been selected among four representative claimants who are due to give evidence tomorrow in court.

SIDNER: He flew back to the U.K. for this particular thing. This is such a personal incident for him, such a personal case for him, isn't it?

BASHIR: It is deeply personal. Of course, we have learned from his lawyers in court today that he flew back on Sunday evening. There seems to have been some frustration, some annoyance from the defense lawyers, (INAUDIBLE) potentially the judge that Prince Harry wasn't present for the first day of court proceedings today, but he is due to give evidence tomorrow.

And he has been very, very vocal about his feelings on the media and the intrusion of the media, not only in his personal life, but that of his wife, Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex, and, of course, of his late mother, Princess Diana. He has spoken very openly about this.

We have heard about his feeling towards the media in his book "Spare," and in his Netflix documentary alongside his wife. He aims to reshape the landscape of the media industry. However, of course, he is going to be facing some pretty intense questioning in the courts tomorrow.

SIDNER: Nada Bashir, thank you so much, live there from London for us.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, the stunning fourth quarter comeback of the Heat over the Nuggets in Denver. The very latest on the NBA finals. We'll bring that to you.

And a car with two children inside caught fire outside of a Florida mall. What police say their mother was doing while the children were being rescued.

We'll be back.

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[09:52:09]

BOLDUAN: Game three of the NBA finals is Wednesday after a thrilling win by the Miami Heat last night to even up the series. The Heat rallying late to beat the Nuggets in game two.

Let's get over to Coy Wire because I want to hear it not how I describe it but how you describe it. Did the Heat win this or did the Nuggets lose this one?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Great question. The Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, he said that the Heat outworked them. You know, they just found a way to get-r-done in the end, unlike John Berman's Boston Celtics.

Sorry, John, too soon?

But the Heat are the ultimate underdogs. They don't just have a chip on their shoulder, they have the whole potato.

BOLDUAN: We don't have a camera, by the way, Coy.

WIRE: Hey, look, these Miami Heat players, they have a lot of heart, and an epic fourth quarter comeback in rally in game two. The Nuggets stole the show early, though. They were on a 33-9 run. And watch Max Strus here.

He whacks Jamal Murray on the head, but Murray still would throw down - here we go, that steal from Murray. Watch Max Strus come in, whacks him in the head. Murray still dunks on him and then he tells Strus to get on up out of here.

But how about Nicola Jokic in this one too. He's like a 285 pound runaway walrus rambling his way to 41 points, joining LeBron and Larry Bird as the only players with 500 points, 200 rebounds and 150 assists in a single post season.

But here come the Heat. Undrafted and unlikely heroes rising again like Duncan Robinson, mean mugging (ph), scoring all 10 of his points in the fourth. And after the game one loss, Jimmy Butler said that they needed to pressure the rim, attack more, Bam Adebayo says, message delivered.

The Nuggets, they did have a chance to tie it with 15 seconds to go. No time-out called. Murray's shot doesn't drop in.

Miami scored 36 in the fourth quarter to win 111-108, pulling off their seventh double-digit comeback this post season. That ties them for the most in any single playoffs in the last quarter century.

Here's Jimmy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY BUTLER, MIAMI HEAT FORWARD: We're not worried about what anybody thinks. We're so focused in on what we do well and who do well and who we are as a group that, at the end of the day, that's what we fall back on. Make or miss shots. We're going to be who we are because we're not worried about anybody else. That's how it's been all year long and that's not going to change. So, that's what I think it is. I think it's the I don't give a damn factor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: I like that factor.

Now, Kate, listen to this story. Just when you start to feel like you're really doing things in life, hitting your stride, right, someone like this will come along and you get served a big ol' piece of humble pie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JADEN SOONG: I'm Jaden Soong. I'm seven years old, and I play golf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now Jaden Soong was already smashing the golf ball at just seven years old. Well now he's all grown up. Just 13 years old but he's a teen phenom.

[09:55:00]

Thirty-six holes and a top five finish away from becoming the youngest golfer ever to earn a spot in next week's U.S. Open. Jaden is a five- foot two 115 pounder blasting the golf ball, though, 280 years off the tee. For perspective, his favorite player, Tiger Woods, averaged 310 yards of the tee just two years ago.

The U.S. Opens at Los Angeles Country Club, 30 miles from where Jaden lives in Burbank. And he's all set to qualify later today. If he doesn't, though, he says it's already been a dream, Kate, because I got to miss school today while I go there to try to qualify for the U.S. Open. Sweet stuff.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and he's got a few more years that he can pull it off if he wants to.

But, John, can you come in on this. Did you - can we go back to basketball for a second. Did you call him a run - that one - that one big player, did you call him a runaway walrus? Is that what you said?

WIRE: Yes. Nikola Jokic is a fascinating creature to me. He's seven feet tall, 285 pounds. He's got the ultimate dad bod, but he can't be stopped. Like, he doesn't look like he's going to be able to do it but he does it.

BOLDUAN: But like a walrus? Like, there is so many other animals. I just - I don't know.

BERMAN: They don't have feet, first of all.

BOLDUAN: First - yes, exactly. You're anatomically incorrect.

WIRE: I mean, watch Jokic. He looks like a baby giraffe out there. He looks so uncoordinated, but he is incredible. A two-time league MVP. Maybe he should have been a third time.

BOLDUAN: I don't even know what to say anymore.

BERMAN: I am at a loss. I'm at a total loss.

BOLDUAN: I am at a loss, except I always love it when Coy Wire dazzles us.

BERMAN: I mean how does a walrus shoot a jump shot. I'm just saying? Carefully.

BOLDUAN: I mean I've -

WIRE: Like this. Watch him.

BERMAN: All right.

WIRE: He looks like a walrus.

BOLDUAN: Lobs it over his head. Coy, I can't wait to play basketball with you.

WIRE: We'll do it.

BOLDUAN: I will never play football with you, but I would definitely try to play you in basketball.

It's good to see you, buddy. Thank you.

John, please, take it and run.

BERMAN: We should note that game two - we don't know. Well, OK, I'm not going to say that.

BOLDUAN: Oh, we have a Stanley Cup finals.

BERMAN: Yes, they're still going on.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Here we go.

BERMAN: First responders say a plane crash in Virginia left a crater in the ground and very few recognizable pieces. We are learning new information about why fighter jets were scrambled to intercept it.

And Russia's defense ministry claims it foiled a large scale attack from Ukrainian forces. So, is this the beginning of a long-awaited counteroffensive.

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