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Ukraine Defense Forces Advancing; Suspicious Letters to Officials in Kansas; Crisis in South Sudan; Israeli Raid in Jenin; Stunning Victory in Golf. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 19, 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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[09:31:55]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: In Ukraine, both sides are claiming some success as fierce fighting rages on multiple fronts. President Zelenskyy says the most intense fighting is happening in the south and the east with his troops repelling, he says, Russian attacks. A Russian-backed official in the Zaporizhzhia region claims that Ukraine has taken back at least one village in that area, but Russia's ministry of defense denies that saying it has kept the Ukrainian troops at bay.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is live in the city of Zaporizhzhia with the very latest.

Ben, you are not far from where we are told some of the fiercest fighting is taking place. What is the latest?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're just about an hour away from the town of Piatihatski (ph), which is the largest town so far taken by the Ukrainians in this counteroffensive. Now, there have been these claims and counterclaims about who controls the town, but I think at this point it's fairly clear by statements coming out of the Ukrainian defense ministry that it is now in Ukrainian hands.

Now, just to put this in perspective, John, within the last week and a half or so since this counteroffensive began, the Ukrainians say they've managed to liberate eight settlements or about 44 square miles. However, if you go back to last September, when they launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region, in about the same amount of time they were able to liberate 4,600 square miles. So, clearly this offensive is getting off to a slow start. It's not clear if they're still involved in probing operations. It does appear that the Ukrainians have yet to commit the bulk of their forces to the offensive.

But what we've seen, for instance, is that the Russians are putting up a fairly solid defense. Now, what we saw over the weekend was the use by the Russians of a somewhat new tactic. They loaded up a T-54 tank with as many as five tons of explosives. It appears that they perhaps put a brick on the accelerator and just pointed it at the Ukrainian lines.

Now, about 300 yards from those lines it hit a mine and shortly afterwards it exploded. The blast, as you can probably see from this video, was massive. Now, it's not clear if the Russians were able to exploit this and actually break through the Ukrainian lines, but it does appear that this is a new tactic being used by the Russians, fairly crude in the grand scheme of things, but one that certainly is, if nothing else, quite dramatic.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, you can see it as ingenious or you could see it as a sign of weakness if the Russians have to resort to us using expensive equipment like tanks on kamikaze missions. That may not speak well to the level of defense they have.

Ben Wedeman for us in Zaporizhzhia. Keep us posted, Ben.

Rahel.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, John, authorities in Kansas trying to find out who sent dozens of suspicious letters containing a white powder.

[09:35:01]

Right now about 100 letters have been discovered. Each were sent to several state lawmakers and other public officials. Now, so far that powder has tested negative for common biological agents. This is according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigations. Two state representatives have shared the letters. Both were signed, your secret conspirer.

CNN's Rosa Flores joins us now.

Rosa, you talked to one of the lawmakers who actually received one of these letters. What did he tell you?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I spoke to Representative Stephen Owens out of Kansas and he says that this experience was terrifying. He says that this act was intentional and that it targeted Republicans.

Look, he says that the return address on the envelope was -- appeared to be from a constituent. That's the reason why he opened this letter so freely, really not thinking much of it.

Now, he says that all of the recipients of these letters have so far been Republicans. He shared a copy of this letter with CNN and he pointed to two specific sentences. He says -- he says that these two sentences could be meaningful. It says, quote, to honor your recent accomplishments, it's important not to choke on your ambitions.

Now, Owens says that this cryptic message could be a reference to the overwhelming majority of Republicans in the Kansas house and senate which overrode nine vetoes by the Democratic governor. Now, at least two of these were very controversial, one of them defined a man and a woman, and the other stated that -- that biological-born males could not participate in girls sports.

Now, authorities are not saying that this is the motive here, but Owens is not the only lawmaker who feels that he's been targeted.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOLLY BAUMGARDNER (R), KANSAS STATE SENATE: There is some message. The message is somewhat unclear, but it was intended to be threatening. Everybody has to be concerned. Everyone has to take this and any subsequent threats like this very seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, about the investigation. Kansas authorities say that they have tested some of these 100 letters that went out to officials all across that state. And they say that the powder tested negative for common biological agents.

Now, it's important to note, Rahel, that no one has been injured, no one has been arrested and that this investigation is ongoing.

SOLOMON: Yes, important context. Rosa Flores, live for us in Houston. Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny in court in Russia for a new trial on extremism charges. He could face decades more in prison.

And a heartbreaking moment for one Red Sox fan after his brother threw a foul ball back into the field. See how the team put a smile back on his face. One way was the Red Sox swept the Yankees, dominated them in a weekend series. It was embarrassing to be a Yankee fan. That boy certainly smiling soon after this.

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[09:42:33]

SOLOMON: This morning, Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny is back in a Russian court. He faces extremism charges that his team says could extend his nine-year prison sentence by 30 years. The judge in the case has denied a request from the defense team to recuse himself, although it's not clear on what grounds they asked for the recusal. The team has complained about the format of the hearing, including poor audio quality on the court's live stream.

Just days after being released from the hospital, Pope Francis leading Sunday prayers at St. Peter's Square before thousands. He thanked followers for their prayers during his ordeal. The Vatican says that the 86-year-old pontiff will keep a light schedule as he continues to recover from surgery. He is expected to meet with the leaders of Cuba and Brazil this week.

And a ceasefire in Sudan appears to be holding for a second day as intense fighting in the country's capital of Khartoum has subsided, at least for now. The truce, brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, came after at least 17 people were killed, including five children. This is after an air strike on a residential area in the city.

CNN's Nima Elbagir is in South Sudan where a humanitarian crisis expected to get worse as hundreds of thousands flee the fighting in Khartoum.

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NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is Africa's largest refugee crisis. And you can see the conditions here for yourself. The people here are being largely ignored by the world. Aid agencies are doing what they can, but it is simply not enough.

ELBAGIR (on camera): South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world. They barely have enough to feed and shelter their own returnees. And they're also being asked now to absorb fleeing Sudanese and other foreign nationals with limited support from the outside world. And it is almost impossible.

With rainy season starting, what you see here, it's only going to get worse. So many of those speaking to us say that they feel a sense of humiliation, that the message that they're receiving from the world, from the international community, is that they are not worthy of support. And until aid arrives here in meaningful quantities, it's hard to argue with that.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Rank, South Sudan.

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BERMAN: Our thanks to Nima for that.

New this morning, Palestinian officials say the death toll has risen to five in a West Bank city of Jenin, where Israeli forces carried out a raid this morning.

[09:45:05]

Israeli officials say seven of their soldiers were injured and others waited hours to be evacuated.

CNN's Hadas Gold is live in Jerusalem.

This was a chaotic night and morning, Hadas. What's the latest?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, this was supposed to be an arrest operation to arrest two wanted suspects and it escalated into something much bigger that lasted 11 hours and only wrapped up in the last hour or so. Now, this took place in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. This has

already been a hot spot for militant (ph) activity and regular Israeli military raids.

But what happened today was different. Not only because of how long it was, but because of the fierce gun battles, but also the use of new levels of weaponry from both the militants and the Israeli military.

Now, we'll start with the militants. An IED detonated under an Israeli military panther command vehicle, essentially taking out its underside. We're seeing some dramatic videos where you really see the moment that -- what looks like to be some sort of pile or something on the side of the road blows up as this vehicle goes by. We do know that's where some of the Israeli -- seven Israeli injuries are coming from.

But also from the Israelis, for the first time since really the second anti-fatah (ph), that means from the early 2000s. The Israel military used an Apache helicopter to fire on Jenin while they were trying to extract those soldiers who were stuck in several army vehicles that were rendered inoperable because of these gun battles, because of these IEDs. As we noted, soldiers were sitting there for hours waiting to be extracted. So, they brought in this Apache helicopter.

Now, the Israeli military say that they fired on open areas to provide cover for their soldiers, but to see the site of an Apache helicopter over what is a very dense urban area while these gun fights are going on, that goes to show you the level of escalation that this is reached.

Now, we know that five Palestinians were killed, at least 90 others were injured. We have the seven Israeli forces injured. We know that at least two of the Palestinians killed have been claimed by the Islamic jihad military group. But at least one of the other killed was a 15-year-old boy. And among the injured is a girl who was injured critically and a freelance photojournalist who was injured while he was covering what was happening. And from the videos we're seeing, he's very clearly wearing a press vest and a press helmet.

But this just goes to show the alarming level of escalation and violence and especially the weaponry, the IED, the Israeli military say that's something new. They say that's something alarming for them. And then to see, again, an Apache helicopter over such a dense city, that is very alarming as well.

John.

BERMAN: Hadas, you're so right to raise this. We haven't seen images like this from this area in decades. And it comes on the heels of an announcement from Israeli officials of the construction of new settlement units, Hadas. Tell us about that.

GOLD: Yes, settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are mostly considered illegal by most international communities. And is something that the U.S. and Israel have often come at loggerheads over. But keep in mind that there are settlement - settler leaders now in positions of power in this new right-wing Israeli government. So, if Benjamin Netanyahu wants to stay as prime minister, then something has to be essentially given to them. But 4,500 new settlement units were approved. The U.S. says that they are deeply troubled by this development. Awkward timing, though, because the assistant secretary, Barbara Leaf (ph), who's in charge of the Middle East, is arriving today for talks with the Israelis.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Hadas Gold, in Jerusalem. Thanks so much, Hadas.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: And coming up for us, a Florida deputy was sucked into a drainpipe while trying to rescue a man trapped in floodwaters, and survived. An unbelievable moment, all caught on camera. We'll have it for you.

And American golfer Wyndham Clark has won his first major U.S. Open, and he dedicated the win to his late mother who died of breast cancer. The words he shared after winning, coming up.

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[09:52:48]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

Now to a stunning victory at this year's U.S. Open. Wyndham Clark captured his first major championship in a nail-biting finale against Rory McIlroy at the Los Angeles country club yesterday. And while his win came on Father's Day, the Colorado native dedicated his victory to his mother, who died of breast cancer 10 years ago.

CNN's Coy Wire here with us now.

Coy, clearly a very special victory for Wyndham.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, that's right, Rahel. And Wyndham says that it was his mom, Lisa, who first put a club in his hand. She passed away when Wyndham was in college, but he's never forgotten her message to him, play big. And that's exactly what he needed to do with Rory McIlroy breathing down his neck all day long. McIlroy needing to sink a 41-foot putt for birdie on 18 to catch him, but came up just wide.

And that would put all the pressure on the 29-year-old from Denver. People rushed to the 18th hole to see if he would be able to maintain his one-stroke lead. Wyndham Clark needed to two putt to win his first Major. He got his first PGA Tour win just last month. He'd never finished better than 75th in the six majors he played in, but now Wyndham Clark is a major champion, finishing at 10 under to win the U.S. Open. Our view own Patrick Snell caught up with the champ moments after his win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WYNDHAM CLARK, 2023 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: It was like, wow, you know, I really feel my mom's presence this week more than any other week. You know, and then as I played the rounds and stuff started going my way, it - it really reminded me of her. And there was multiple time when I was out there on the golf course that, you know, I thought of my mom.

And so it's - it's just really a really special week and a lot of this is in memory of my mom.

I've always thought of myself as a star. And I've always dreamt of being one. And to finally get to the point where I feel like I'm at their level is, you know, is a dream come true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Rahel, Wyndham Clark thought about giving up golf for good when his mother passed away back when he was in college. He didn't give up. He went five years and 133 PGA Tour starts without even getting any sort of win until last month. He didn't give up and now he is rolling.

[09:55:01]

SOLOMON: And now he's a champion. Incredible to see what he's been able to do, but also really touching to see when he wins and what this all means for him.

Coy, switching gears a bit. I know that you are a father. I hope you had a good Father's Day. But also I think a lot of people can relate to this next story on Father's Day at the Boston Red Sox game. Fill us in.

WIRE: Yes. Thank you for that, Rahel.

Sometimes all you can do, as a parent, is give your kids a big ol' hug and tell them that things are going to be alright when drama unfolds. And that's exactly what happened for the Mulligan (ph) family yesterday. The Red Sox hosting the Yankees. And a fan nicely gives the ball that he caught as a foul to - to young Charlie. But the young fella throws it back onto the field, Rahel. And big brother Jack is livid. Dad puts on his cape and tries to do his best on Father's Day to make it all right. All parents out there can relate to moments like this, your child writhing in the pain of a poorly made decision. Dad explained what happened when mom got back and he needed some of those drinks that she brought. Thankfully, some team employees brought a jersey and some baseballs and turned those frowns upside down.

SOLOMON: All right, Coy Wire.

BERMAN: Every (INAUDIBLE).

SOLOMON: I thought we had - I thought we had a sound bite there. There was so much more that I was hoping to get there, Coy, but I think the pictures tell it all.

Coy, I hope you had a happy Father's Day. Great to see you.

WIRE: Thank you so much, Rahel.

BERMAN: And -- and then what happened -- and then what happened, Rahel, is the Red Sox won that game.

SOLOMON: OK.

BERMAN: And then they won another game yesterday.

SOLOMON: And so you're feeling - you're feeling pretty good.

BERMAN: They swept - there's a phrase for that in baseball. It's called sweeping the Yankees.

SOLOMON: OK. No, you don't need to rub it in John Berman.

BERMAN: The Red Sox swept - they swept the Yankees.

SOLOMON: Don't need to rub it in.

BERMAN: Just saying. So that kid was absolutely smiling by the end of the day.

SOLOMON: Oh.

BERMAN: So, everyone was feeling good.

So, progress made. That's how both China and the U.S. are describing today's meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's president Xi Jinping. The goal, to mend U.S./China relations.

And new video just released of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his aides drinking and laughing in the middle of the pandemic. Investigators now taking a closer look.

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