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Powerful Tornado Kills Four People In Northwest Texas; Time Running Out As Oxygen Dwindles On Lost Sub; Trump Receives First Batch Of Evidence Against Him In Classified Documents Case, Including Audio Tapes. 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 22, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:0:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is making me look very short.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHNOR: Didn't they say we have to walk to that mark too?

MATTINGLY: Oh, yes. I feel like we're doing well though.

HARLOW: Yes. Are we doing well?

MATTINGLY: OK. No. We're going to walk -- oh, is this -- is this better for you guys?

HARLOW: Oh yes. Wait. You're so --

(CROSSTALK)

MATTINGLY: Here we go. We totally dominant.

HARLOW: With these holograms.

MATTINGLY: This hologram thing. Also, he's very tall. Very good.

HARLOW: I can't wait to watch him tonight.

MATTINGLY: Tonight. Great job, Poppy.

HARLOW: "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts now.

MATTINGLY: Have a Good morning, guys.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, it's a race against time to rescue the five men on the missing submersible somewhere in the North Atlantic as oxygen on the vehicle is quickly running out. We just learned a remote vehicle is now on the ocean floor looking for any signs. The latest next.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A big morning at the White House. President Biden rolling out the red carpet for India's Prime Minister. Modi's tour of Washington includes a state dinner and is also facing criticism from the President's own party.

SIDNER: And deadly tornado tears through Texas bringing devastating winds, heavy rain and some hail. We're taking a look at the devastation as the threat for severe storms continues. These major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Happening right now, the extensive search in the North Atlantic Ocean is growing even more urgent as experts believe the missing Titan submersible is nearly or maybe even already out of oxygen. Several vessels are now playing a major role in the search including Coast Guard and research vessels. A Canadian Navy defense ship and underwater remote-operated vehicles. One of those ROVs has now reached the seafloor.

CNN has now learned that there were several safety concerns with the OceanGate sub. They include concerns about the thickness of the submersibles haul and previous battery issues. Industry leaders previously expressed unease about the company's experimental approach. One travel firm accused OceanGate of not having a seaworthy vessel. All of this comes as a former subcontractor who worked with OceanGate says the Titans low-tech features were by design.

He claims the company used off the shelf items to cut down on research and development as well as cost. And says the construction materials and design choices were considered controversial at the time it was built.

CNN has also learned that OceanGate CEO and Titan pilot Stockton Rush said, "I've broken some rules but to build the now missing submersible." CNN Senior National Correspondent Miguel Marquez is in St. John's Newfoundland. Miguel, what are you learning about the search this morning? We know there is now a vessel on the sea floor.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Significant that they're down there. That will help them at least get eyes on the seafloor. But remember, it is pitch black down there. There is no ping, no beacon coming from the sub itself. A titan sub itself. I spoke to one person who's done that dive said that there is a beacon external to the sub, but it apparently is not working.

The other way that they send communications or emergency communications is from the sub itself. But it appears all comms are down on that sub. So, the only way they're going to find it is to hear that banging or some sort of noise that the individuals inside if they are alive would be making which they think they might have beyond to or to get a visual sense of it. And that means getting subs down approximately to where they believe it would have descended once it lost power an hour and 45 were lost contact, an hour and 45 minutes into the dive that they were doing.

There's a second sub. A French sub ROV as well. A remote operated vehicle that can reach those depths that has just entered the water in the last few hours. It takes about eight hours to get to that depth. So that one is on the way as well. So they would likely establish a grid pattern on the seafloor, trying to figure out where exactly that sub is.

The other thing that's happening the ship behind me here, the Atlantic Kingfisher is we understand meant to take the salvage gear that's sitting at the airport. The St. John's Airport, this navy salvage gear that can bring up things basically tow things from the bottom of the ocean, that great, great depth far greater than we're talking about here. That is going to make its way down here later today onto this vessel and then it will head to the search area.

And it should be there in the next 20, 24 hours or so. The air. The air is of great concern to everybody because they don't know how much air they have. The 96 hours they talked about has elapsed at this point. But people who know P.H. Nargeolet, he's very experienced with these things would say his very first thing from the very first minute would be conserve oxygen. Everybody stay calm, everybody sleep and conserve as much oxygen as possible.

[09:05:07]

Search and rescue still treating this very much as a search and rescue. They are going to assume they are alive until they can definitively say otherwise. Sara?

SIDNER: Miguel Marquez, great reporting out there. Thank you for all that. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also, this morning, an astronaut and acquaintance of two of the people on board the Titan is hoping for a miracle. And speaking to CNN, Per Wimmer says that he himself had previously signed on for trips on that Titan twice before but both of those were ultimately canceled. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PER WIMMER, ADVENTURER: Yes, I still have hope. I remain optimistic positive and hoping for a miracle here, at least until it's proven otherwise. I know that the adventurers on board, I experienced, very experienced, so they would no doubt know what it means to slow down take it easy. And use as little oxygen as possible and therefore extend the potential timeline as much as possible.

If you are stuck down, you're going to be stuck with somebody who knows how the whole thing operates, et cetera. So having Stockton as a pilot, knowing the ins and outs of how this submersible works is a good thing in this context. Both Hamish and Stockton are very accomplished adventures. Hamish has got three Guinness World Records to his name. He is a very accomplished aviator. He has been diving a lot before and he's just a really nice guy.

And therefore, he's -- and he's also a very accomplished businessman. So, he would know to keep his cool. I know. But you can only imagine how stressful and difficult and mentally challenging it must be to sit there in a -- in that can stock, have a fire down underneath the water, must be very terrifying. This particular submersible has done a lot of dive down into the Caribbean. And also, during the other seasons, it has been up and down to the Titanic. And if these banging sounds that we've been hearing recently come from the submersible, which I believe is the case, then that means it hasn't imploded, and therefore there hasn't been a structural fault with it. But it must have been some sort of mechanical fault that just makes them unable to come back up to the surface.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Yes. It's important to hear from all of these people with any of this experience, Sara. And as also -- Per Wimmer made a good point. If you are going to be in such a crisis, horrific situation, like they may be down there, if they're still alive, there's no better people than you would want to be stuck down there within the CEO of the company who built this vessel. And people like P.H. Nargeole which we've heard over and over again, is so experienced in these situations.

SIDNER: So, you've got two people that are very experienced, you've got the owner, and then you've got two people who are on there as basically tourists. But it did strike me though, the word he used that they're in this tin can in the middle of the ocean. And that is kind of the size of it when you compare it to how big the ocean is.

All right. I want to give you a look at what would happen in a typical voyage. These are the explorers that are missing. The five people that are on the Titan submersible. Now you can only spend about 10 to 11 hours on the sub during the trek to the Titan. Now this animation shows how the mission should go. A two-hour journey to the ocean floor. You see that submersible going down they're reaching a depth of more than 12,000 feet.

At that depth, the vessel is only able to stay in touch with the ship at the surface via short text messages. Once the sub reaches the bottom, the people on board have roughly four hours to survey and you see that there, the shipwreck followed by another two-hour trek back to the surface. But we know this mission did not go as planned. On Sunday, the Titan lost all communication with its surface ship after an hour and 45 minutes.

It is not clear exactly what depths the Titan had reached. So let's take a look at what is inside of this submersible. It is 22-feet long. It is roughly the size of a minivan. So it could hold up to five people and you see them in there. The vessel is made of carbon fiber and titanium to withstand the pressure at those depths. There is a small toilet in there, but there aren't any actual seats.

I want to give you a view of what it would look like if you're inside from OceanGate. And this is how -- you can see there's really hardly any room for people to stretch out and all five people sort of sit cross legged to conserve space. And the Coast Guard has said, they only have a limited ration of food and water because again, they're only supposed to be down there for about 11 hours.

This is the outside of the submersible and running out of oxygen very, very quickly. They're also breathing out carbon dioxide. Here's how one Royal Navy Diver described the problem. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN RAMSEY, FORMER ROYAL NAVY CAPTAIN (via telephone): And you need some form of capability to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Otherwise, you get a carbon dioxide buildup and that ends up being the thing that takes life.

[09:10:10]

So, on submarines that I've operated on, there's always carbon dioxide absorption units which deal with this. And when I looked on the YouTube footage of the submersible, I couldn't see anything major enough to deal with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: OK. So, this minivan-sized vessel is battery powered, but it is dealing with some serious temperature concerns. It's barely above freezing right here on the ocean floor. Roughly 33 degrees which could lead to hypothermia because there is no heating inside of that vessel. One expert went as far to say, a visit to the Titanic is like visiting another planet. Kate?

BOLDUAN: And there's how the search for them on that very, very, very big planet. Joining us now for much more on the search efforts is Tim Taylor. An expert in deep-water searches and CEO of Tiburon Subsea. Tim, it's good to have you back on as we talk about what we're dealing with here. The Coast Guard this morning said that a remote-operated vehicle and ROV has reached the ocean floor and begun searching the area for the -- for the Titan. What does this offer?

TIM TAYLOR, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TIBURON SUBSEA: Well, it's the first time in four days that since this happened, that they've actually been on the bottom looking, which is where they should have been four days ago. This should have been a redundant vehicle onboard the ship I believe. I asked the question why we carry them on any vessel that we work off of. We have the ability to rescue our gear.

Not (INAUDIBLE) people. So, I'm -- it's a -- it's -- it needs to be -- they need to be on the bottom right now with that ROV searching as much as they can. And it's a debris field. So they're looking for an item that's the size of probably a lot of pieces that are sitting on the bottom. So, it's a -- it's -- they got to put the time in as fast as they can.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. I mean, you know, can't overstate as fast -- how fast they need to be moving at this point, four days in. There is another ROV that we're told is that we've learned is on the way, the Magellan. It's on a friendship and what we've learned about them, what I've been reading about the Magellan it's it is unique in many regards. But in one regard, specifically, this is the ROV that was used to map the entire Titanic site.

Does that make a significant difference in what they're dealing with here? TAYLOR: Well, of course. There are different classes of ROVs. There are working class and there are inspection class. Inspections are basically cameras, maybe a little bit of manipulator arm, but a working class can actually go down a twist cut, turn it. They have different payloads they can attach to the -- to the system that can function. They're used extensively in deep water oil and gas. They go down and they actually weld and twist wrenches and valves and things of that nature.

So, it's a much heavier machine, probably run off a dynamic positioning ship, basically a ship that can stay right over the site with thrusters and not move, allow the vehicle to be lowered down to the -- to the bottom on a giant steel cable and a winch. And then from there, it drives around on its own tether to search with sonar and with video imagery, et cetera. But it's a working-class vehicle.

It has the muscle to actually perform some tasks down there. And that may be needed in this case.

BOLDUAN: That's a great point. I want to play for you in -- with regard to the search and the challenges that they're facing. I'm going to play for you the assessment from the chair of the British Titanic Society. He spoke with my colleague Christine Romans earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SCOTT-BEDDARD, CHAIR, BRITISH TITANIC SOCIETY: The most frustrating thing is that it took 73 years to find the wreck of Titanic, even the bow section at over 400 feet in size. This little submersible is only five percent size of that. And the chances of finding her in an area -- well, literally the size of the state of Connecticut, which is about 10 times the size of London here in the U.K. Slim at best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Is that where you put the chances on this as the search continues, Tim?

TAYLOR: I don't. I think we are focused on what we need to be focused on. Yes, the search area if they're floating is besides, you know, knowing what now, however you want to put it. That's just natural as search areas. As time goes on search areas get larger, but more than likely, in my experience, if there's a failure of this nature at depth, that submersible is going to be somewhere near that area.

OK? Maybe drifted down a little bit. It might have been semi buoyant. It could have -- it could have moved with the one noncurrent but it'll catch on something. It will -- it will not move that much.

[09:15:03]

So, I would be focusing on this area. And now, they have limited resources, limited time. So, you have to make choices, that's where I'd be. I don't think they're looking across the whole, you know, the two states worth of area, but it's still a monumental task. They still have to cover a lot of ground. And they still have to, you know, work in a field of wreckage that gives them multiple targets.

If it's just -- they're out there in the sand someplace, they can run their sonar around and probably pick up a target and run right to it. They're going to multiple targets. Hopefully they have the Titanic map and they -- and their operators that know exactly where they are and what they're looking for. So, they can eliminate some with the already advanced data we have on the wreck site. This is probably the most sterile (INAUDIBLE) in the world. So --

BOLDUAN: You know, that's actually brings me back to conversations you and I had years ago, which was one of the complicating factors in the southern Indian Ocean about what the problem was they're looking for MH370. Is that was a part of the ocean that had not been mapped and in this is completely the opposite. Maybe the most mapped area, which I find so fascinating. It's great to see you again. Tim, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Ahead. Extreme weather. A Tornado rips through parts of Texas, destroying nearly an entire town. Four people are dead and several others are injured there. The latest on recovery efforts.

Plus, new information about the evidence Special Counsel Jack Smith has in the classified documents case against former President Trump. And an attack overnight on a bridge in Ukraine that connects Kherson and Crimea. Who's responsible?

Plus, why Western officials are concerned about how the offensive -- the counter-offensive is going. We have new CNN reporting.

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[09:20:55]

BOLDUAN: For the first time, former President Donald Trump is getting a look at what evidence the Justice Department has against him in the classified documents case. And the new court filing just in, indicates and investigators collected multiple audio recordings of Donald Trump. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has this new reporting. She's joining us now. Katelyn, given this, what more are we learning about DOJ's case now?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Kate, this is something that is happening pretty fast, really early after an indictment, and it is something that has to happen. But it really is quite shocking how quickly the Justice Department is moving and prepared for this case. So, they're handing over the evidence that they've gathered. At this point, it's the unclassified evidence.

So not the classified stuff that's charged in these retention counts against Donald Trump. Those serious charges of the mishandling of national security records. But it's things like recorded interviews, plural, that Trump gave to different people, non-government entities, interviews he was giving with his own consent that we're being recorded. Including that moment in Bedminster in July of 2021 when he had that Iran document and was talking about it to others in the room. We also are knowing from this court filing that the things that his team is getting will show who the witnesses are in this case. Who has testified to the grand jury? They're going to get grand jury transcripts. Eventually, potentially they'll be getting information about who has immunity deals, who's been cooperating. They also now have a full extent of his codefendant Walt Nauta's interview with the FBI.

His grand jury testimony as well as surveillance footage, CCTV footage. So that all went to the Trump defense team yesterday, and the court -- and the Justice Department is certifying they've handed that over, there's going to be more evidence that Trump's team is going to have and they're just going to have to assess how strong this evidence is, as they prepare for trial.

And Kate, all of this information that's being handed over. Remember, there's already a court order that says Donald Trump can't share it publicly or on social media or with any others.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's great point. Good to see you, Katelyn. Good reporting as always. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. On a raider this morning. Tropical Storm Bret is turning in the Caribbean with winds nearing a hurricane strength. Bret has winds of 70 miles per hour and is about 20 -- 200, excuse me, miles east of Barbados right now. It is expected to slam the Leeward Islands with heavy winds and rain later today and then hopefully weekend. Meteorologist the storms likely will dissipate over the central Caribbean Sea this weekend.

All right this hour. The National Transportation Safety Board begins a two-day investigative hearing on the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The hearing comes one day after residents voiced their frustrations and concerns at a public meeting held by the NTSB.

A preliminary NTSB report on the February incident found that a wheel bearing failed moments before 38 train cars derailed including 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that then ignited in a toxic plume.

A former FBI analyst in Kansas City, Missouri will spend nearly four years in prison for taking and keeping classified documents. Prosecutors say Kendra Kingsbury removed 386 classified records during her 12 years at the FBI and kept them at her home. Some of the documents contain extremely sensitive information related to national defense. Kate?

BOLDUAN: We're also tracking weather. Still a violent and deadly tornado ripped through Northwest Texas overnight. At least four people had been recorded reported killed in this. The twister hit the small town of Matador which is about 280 miles from Dallas. A local official told CNN that her own home is "completely gone."

CNN's Rosa Flores joins us now. She's tracking this. I mean, Rosa, you just got another update on the situation from local officials. What did they say? ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, good morning. Yes. Official We'll say that everyone in this small town has been accounted for and they say that the death toll grew from three to four after one individual died in the hospital and that about 10 people are injured.

[09:25:12]

Now here's what we know about this. So, this tornado happened in Matador, Texas it's a very small town of about 600 individuals. This tornado hit at 8:00 p.m. local time yesterday.

We have drone footage that shows the destruction. And in that drone footage, you can tell that some of those structures in this town are down to piles of rubble. You see an R.V. turned on its side. Now law enforcement and crews from as far as Wichita Falls, Texas and Dallas and been responding to help and assist now even though officials say that everyone is accounted for in this small town, the search continues because officials say that they're worried that someone passing through this town could have been caught in the twister. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. JOHNNY BURES, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: -- for all the town, folks. But did we have any of us passing through Matador when the storm hit. And so that's what we're really double checking just to make sure that everyone's accounted for, that everything is clear. Before we can move on to recovery and rebuilding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, Kate, this was one of about 10 tornadoes in the region. And right now, there are more than 300,000 people without power in the states of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana and hear this, there's more severe weather in this region. So, we're not out of the woods yet. Kate?

FLORES: That's for sure. Rosa Flores. Thank you. Sara?

SIDNER: The sky is falling huge chunks of ice slamming down on concert goers last night in Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater. Fans had little time to react as hail up to the size of tennis balls pummeled the famed music venue. The concert was canceled, but dozens of people were injured as they were pelted with those chunks of ice. It came so quickly that some people rushed to take shelter wherever they could like under a table. As you see there.

At least seven people even needed to go to the hospital. Injuries range from cuts to broken bones. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. And if you ever been to Red Rocks, I mean, that's -- the beauty of it is that there's really no -- it's all outdoors. There's no really weird -- where they really kind of "hide" which is so terrifying about it. Wild.

Still ahead for us. New moves in the urgent search for the missing sub. We're going to take a look at the growing number of assets that are now in the water and in the air with more on the way.

Plus, we're about to see President Biden welcome India's Prime Minister to the White House. This is just the third state visit of President Biden's presidency. It has a huge -- it has huge implications, of course, as India is now the world's most populous country. Hugely important to the United States and in tackling any global challenge. The visit though already facing scrutiny/. More on that ahead.

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