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Probe Launched into Titan Disaster; Tim Taylor is Interviewed about the Titan Accident; John Herbst is Interviewed about Russia; San Antonio Officers Charged with Murder. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired June 26, 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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[09:31:54]
KATE BOLDUAN CNN ANCHOR: So, the U.S. Coast Guard has launched an investigation into what exactly happened to the Titan sub, an underwater voyage that turned into a deadly disaster. Yesterday, the Coast Guard announced what's called a marine board of investigation. Its highest level of probe. The effort will include collecting debris from the sea floor, conducting interviews and also reviewing voice recordings that are available. All of it will be used to determine what caused the tragedy and also offer possible recommendations for further action.
CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Newfoundland with more on all of this.
Miguel, this is not the only investigation that's happening at the very same time. How will all of these pros work together?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a lot of investigating, Kate. At least six investigations, four different countries, the TSB, the transportation Safety Board, the Canadian agency, will probably be doing the heaviest lifting. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the British and the French Marine Accident Agencies, they'll be involved. And then the RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police here, sort of the national police, will look for any possible criminal activity or concerns with this investigation across all those investigations. All of them will be sort of managed by international norms and laws so that they can all sort of cooperate together.
But, in the meantime, the Polar Prince that took the Titan out to sea, it is now ported in its home port, at its home dock, the Horizon Maritime. It was across the harbor at a coast guard dock for the weekend while they were doing some investigating.
The wife of Mr. Dawood and his son, the wife and mother of two people who died on that Titan, spoke out about the last time she saw them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE DAWOOD, LOST HUSBAND AND SON IN TITAN IMPLOSION: We just hugged and joked, actually, because Shahzada was so excited to go down. He was like a little child. He had this --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lifelong dream of his to do?
DAWOOD: Yes, absolutely. He had this ability of child-like excitement. So they both were so excited.
It was supposed to be Shahzada and I going down. And then I stepped back and gave the space to Suleman because he really wanted to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Now, we know the Canadian Transportation Safety Board spoke to family members that were on the Polar Prince this weekend, as well as crew, as well as took data, everything they could, whether it's video, sound or computer data from that mission so that they could begin their investigation and most likely share that with other agencies around the world.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: Yes. Miguel, thank you so much for putting that all together. Really appreciate it.
Many investigations.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
BOLDUAN: The Coast Guard saying their main goal is to try to get some answers for these families.
SIDNER: And the families so deserve it.
All right, joining us now to talk about the recovery work is underwater explorer and CEO of Tiburon Subsea Tim Taylor.
[09:35:03]
Thank you so much for joining us.
What is this investigation going to look like? We know that they've been scouring the bottom of the sea to try and get some of these pieces, or at least map some of these pieces to try to figure it out. What happens next?
TIM TAYLOR, UNDERWATER EXPLORER, CEO OF TIBURON SUBSEA: Well, they're going to -- they're going to -- highly unlikely that they're going to be able to recover every little piece as if this was a plane crash terrestrially (ph) and put it back together. So, they're going to have to rely on imagery and technology. I'm not sure what payloads are loaded on the - on the boats that are out there, but they especially payloads like light armor, which is a laser scanning, as well as high definition 4K imagery cameras. Not all ROVs are set up with that. So, it's kind of a specialty item. So, if they can put those assets on these ROVs, they can actually scan the debris area and do photogrammetry work basically with enough high definition image and enough scans they can reconstruct the whole thing in a - in a digital world. And so they can then start piecing things together in a digital augmented reality or reality type thing and see if they can - they can get any clues.
SIDNER: You know, the industry, you know, sort of regulates itself. I mean that was reflected in some of the papers that people had to sign. Does that need to change? I realize that usually this is explorers or it's scientists doing this, but this has turned into now an industry where people, regular folks, are going down in these submersibles. Do you think that there should be a regulatory agency for this?
TAYLOR: Well, I think that just an overreaction at this particular time for an industry, we need to be careful. The industry has self- regulated and for 50 years. In the '70s there were lots of accidents, so they solved that with some really, really good methods and practices within the industry and had a stellar record.
This is an example of someone step aside those processes and certifications. And (INAUDIBLE) the way I look at this, it is a consumer affairs problem now. A consumer -- consumer protection. So, someone has taken a technology and is marketing it as a ride. They're using organizations to help sell those rides. And people believe that it's all been vetted and safe because people that are selling it to their members or to their - to their clientele base or whoever these adventure people are there, they have to be aware that if they are helping third-party vendors take advantage of their clients or members, an you're going to -- there's some responsibility here.
So, I really don't think it's an industry thing as much as it's a consumer's affair and protection issue. But, again, you've got multiple countries, multiple jurisdictions, multiple rules. And then the high seas are kind of a wild, wild west. So --
SIDNER: Yes, truth in advertising you're saying is something that, you know, people need to understand what they're getting themselves into.
Tim Taylor, thank you so much for break that down for us. Appreciate you coming on.
TAYLOR: Yes.
SIDNER: John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, 90 million people across the United States are under severe weather threats. Authorities say at least one person was killed when tornadoes and severe storms hit southern Indiana and several southern states as well. Video shows a funnel cloud from a tornado tearing through buildings. You can see it spinning out debris there. The local fire chief says at least 75 homes near Indianapolis were damaged.
Today in Pittsburgh, the penalty phase begins for the man convicted of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. The attack left 11 worshipers dead in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018. The jury found the killer guilty of all 63 counts against him, including 22 capital charges. That jury will now decide whether the killer should be sentenced to death. Brittney Griner has been named as a starter in the WNBA all-star game.
Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She has averaged more than 19 points and six rebounds per game this year. She spent 300 days jailed in Russia and missed all of last season. She was freed in December in a prisoner swap. The all-star game will be in Las Vegas on July 15th.
Sara.
SIDNER: Good for her.
All right, Russia may have avoided an insurrection over the weekend, but now questions are being raised about whether the revolt has weakened President Vladimir Putin's grip on power and what impact this will have on the war in Ukraine. We'll explore that coming up.
Also, three San Antonio police officers now charged with murder. What led up to the fatal shooting. We'll have that in a minute.
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[09:44:07]
BOLDUAN: This morning the European Union agreed to add $3.8 billion to its Ukraine military aid fund as Ukrainian officials are calling on the block to help accelerate Russia's defeat. And in his first address -- first address since the chaos unfolded on Russian streets over the weekend, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said the longer the invasion of Ukraine continues, the more Russia risks violence and instability within its own borders.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translator): The longer Russian aggression lasts, the more degradation it causes in Russia itself. One of the manifestations of this degradation is that Russian aggression is gradually returning to its home harbor.
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BOLDUAN: And joining us now is a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Ambassador John Herbst.
Ambassador, thank you so much for coming back in.
What do you take from this address, this statement coming from President Zelenskyy, kind of after this weekend of chaos?
[09:45:06]
JOHN HERBST, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Well, I think he has a point. The tensions that led to this insurrection in Ukraine -- excuse me, in Russia -- in Russia, has been building since the successful Ukrainian counteroffensive last year. And Putin speaks as if the war in Ukraine is a war -- this existential war for Russia, when it's a war of choice for Putin. And more and more people in Russia are coming to understand that. And more and more people in Russia are frustrated by the dreadful performance of Moscow's military. So, Zelenskyy has a point.
BOLDUAN: Ambassador, you said this weekend that what happened in Russia is not a 24-hour blip. If it is not, what is it?
HERBST: It's a sign that this war is a dreadful thing. Obviously not just for Ukraine, but also for Russia. Russian soldiers are dying in ridiculous ways to satisfy the whim of a leader. And Prigozhin began to point this out indirectly back in the fall, and increasingly directly, especially in the address he gave just before he launched this coup. And one of the reasons why Prigozhin is popular in Russia is that people see that what he's saying is right and he is speaking on those issues, truth to power, although, of course, we know that Prigozhin himself is a rogue.
BOLDUAN: One of the big questions -- one of many big questions in this moment is what happens to Prigozhin. He hasn't been seen. He hasn't confirmed that this deal really has been struck that he's agreed to. Do you think he is out of the -- out of the -- out of -- you can say out of the game in terms of the -- you know, the Russian fight in Ukraine. What happens to him?
HERBST: I think that Prigozhin right now has been neutralized, at least for the moment, as a political force against Putin. I suspect he is on his way or in Belarus. Many people speculate that Putin will have to deal with Prigozhin in his own way, meaning liquidate him physically, but that's a danger for Putin because Prigozhin has a real legitimacy in Russia. And that's why Putin decided to make this deal, a deal that makes Putin, in fact, look very weak because within, you know, 12 hours of saying that Prigozhin was committing treason, he had agreed to the dropping of charges against Prigozhin, and to his safe passage to another country.
And, again, I think Putin did that because, one, he wasn't sure that his military would rise to the challenge of stopping Prigozhin, and, two, because, again, he realized Prigozhin has a certain popularity in Russia.
BOLDUAN: Yes, and we see that in the videos coming out just from Saturday of people cheering in the streets as Prigozhin himself -- this is one of the final images of Prigozhin as people were going up to his vehicle to shake his hand as he was -- as he was driving through.
Ambassador, thank you, as always, for your time.
HERBST: Thank you.
BOLDUAN: John.
BERMAN: Yes, where is he now, though? That's one of the questions we need answered.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
BERMAN: All right, why three police officers in Texas are being charged with murder. The swift response by the city's police chief.
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[09:52:17]
BERMAN: This morning, three San Antonio police officers are charged with murder. This comes less than 24 hours - less than 24 hours after they fatally shot a woman when they responded to a call where she was having an apparent mental health crisis. Now we do want to warn you that this video is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so if we have all this evidence.
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. Hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You ain't got no warrant.
(INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch out.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey. Hey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: The three officers were suspended without pay as the investigation continues. San Antonio's police chief says deadly force was not needed.
CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller is with us now.
John, what's the latest from there?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, the officers were fired very rapidly. I think, you know, we're cueing off what we saw in Louisville, Kentucky, after the - after the beating of an unarmed man there. And police chiefs are getting the idea that these aren't things that you need to let simmer for a long time before being able to look at the video and assess what happened and whether it - whether or not it's within policy. And clearly this was not.
BERMAN: Because there's the distinction - they can make a distinction in terms of their employment between whether it was in policy and whether or not it was criminal. The criminal charges are separate from that, yes, John?
MILLER: That's right. And the police chief, Phil McManus, who is a very experienced police chief. He was chief in Minneapolis. He was chief in Dayton. He was -- he came out of the Washington, D.C., Police Department, graduate of the FBI's National Executive Institute and the Harvard School. So, he's - he's a guy with great depth who is taking the cue from moving quickly on something like this because, John, when you look at this, their job is, we have an emotionally unhinged woman who's going through some kind of mental crisis who's run into the house. That gives them some kind of containment.
There's a sergeant on the scene there. You see him firing the weapon. The sergeant's the one who is typically trained to slow these things down and bring other resources, crisis negotiators, mental health personnels, so on to the scene while they have that containment. And instead, what you see, it rapidly escalates. And you have to step back and say, from a law enforcement perspective, why? Why not deescalate. Why let it move so fast in the wrong direction when they had her inside the residence.
[09:55:04]
BERMAN: I expect they will try to address those questions as part of their defense.
John Miller, great to have you on this morning. Thank you so much.
Sara.
SIDNER: Thanks, John.
Coming up, Ukraine now saying it's making gains on the battlefield in the wake of the failed revolt in Russia. How big of an impact could the rebellion have on that war.
And after a suspected tornado tore through Indiana Sunday causing death and destruction, millions more in the United States are now under a severe weather threat. More on the forecast ahead.
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BOLDUAN: Where is the Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin? The man who led the attempted revolt in Russia hasn't been seen in days, though the Kremlin says he agreed to escape to exile in Belarus.
[10:00:05]
SIDNER: Russians cheered as - in the streets as Wagner mercenaries made
