Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Severe Storms and Multiple Tornados Devastate Parts of Kansas and Nebraska; Ukrainian Forces Holding Territory in Eastern Regions of Donetsk and Luhansk Despite Shelling by Russian Forces; U.S. Marine Veteran Dies in Ukraine Fighting Alongside Ukrainian Forces; Chinese Government's Attempt to Enforce Zero COVID Policy Leading to Extreme Measures Affecting Millions of Chinese Residents; Moderna Files for Emergency Use Authorization for COVID Vaccine for Children between Six Months and Five Years of Age; Rapidly Rising Housing and Rental Prices Affecting Americans in Cities across U.S.; President Biden Reportedly Considering Attacking Republicans as Part of Midterm Electoral Strategy; President Biden to Attend White House Correspondents' Dinner; Customers in U.S. Confused about Current Proper Tipping Etiquette. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired April 30, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:30]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, clean up and recovery today in parts of Kansas and Nebraska after a devastated outbreak of severe storms. A total of 14 reported tornados ripping across both states Friday, creating terrifying scenes just like this one.

Wow. Those images, unbelievable. Hard to imagine it taking place, but it did, live, right in the middle of the day, right there. In Wichita, dozens of buildings were levelled. Amazingly, only a few people were injured.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar, joining me live from the Weather Center with the very latest. Allison, it seems the more recent systems of tornados, it just seems to be more outlandish than the next. Hard to believe it's happening the middle of the day, and hard to believe that they are happening in these clusters like this.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and it's a good point that you make, because April and March are both above average in terms of total numbers of tornados. So yes, it's kind of one of those things where you feel like it's Deja vu over and over again, unfortunately, for some of these communities. And it's been a very active past 24 hours. A total of 15 tornado reports, over 80 wind reports, and 60 hail reports. Keep in mind, this wasn't just small hail. You had some reports that are baseball-sized and even softball-sized hail.

One of the problems today in terms of cleanup is that you've got high wind warnings and wind advisories out, so as people are trying to move through and clean things up, they're going to have to contend with 30, 40, even 50 mile per hour wind gusts, which is going to make it a bit more difficult. The storms are still active today. We've got a couple of showers and thunderstorms ongoing this morning, but the system itself is gradually pushing out to the east. Basically, anywhere from Milwaukee all the way down to the Waco-Austin, Texas area has the potential for strongest severe thunderstorms today.

The bull's eye rally is more in this yellow area. That includes Chicago, St. Louis, even Little Rock, Arkansas. All these areas have the potential for damaging winds, some very large hail yet again today as well as tornados.

Now, while you have the showers and thunderstorms ongoing this morning, the bulk of the severe weather will hold off until the afternoon. You really need to let the sun come out, get the heating of the day going. But those storms will continue into the overnight. So if you reside along the eastern side of this red shaded area, make sure you have a way to get those emergency alerts before you go to bed tonight just in case the severe weather continues to go through the overnight hours.

Another thing, Fred, this is a multiday event. We have a secondary system on Sunday focused across Texas and Oklahoma, and then Monday, unfortunately, hitting some of the same areas that they're going to be cleaning up from the storms yesterday.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. This is like a trifecta. Thank you so much, Allison. Keep us posted.

Turning now to the developments overseas in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces holding fast amid relentless Russian shelling in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia releasing new video today that they claim shows a submarine in the black sea firing cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets. This as we're seeing exclusive new satellite images released a short time ago showing the devastation at a steel plant in Mariupol. It's where the last stand of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are hunkered down, surrounded with no escape -- with no escape route, that is, for the civilians. CNN's Scott McLean is live for us in Lviv. So Scott, these images that we are seeing are shocking.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Fredricka, we know from previous satellite images and previous estimates that some 90 percent of the infrastructure in Mariupol has been damaged or flattened in some way, and the steel plant it seems based on these new satellite pictures is even more heavily damaged, even more bombed out. These pictures show that many of the roofs have completely collapsed. Other buildings on the site of this sprawling steel factory campus are reduced to rubble.

There are also some government, some residential buildings to the east of that factory that these pictures show have also been heavily damaged, heavily destroyed.

What you cannot see from these images, though, is the destruction under the ground. Of course, there's a network of tunnels and bunkers and cellars under there where you have a large civilian population that has been sheltering there, they say with children as young as four-months-old. And you also have soldiers there who are making their last stand, trying to fend off the Russian advances there.

[10:05:00]

I spoke with the deputy commander of the Azov Regiment yesterday, which is leading the fighting in that area, who said that there are some cellars and some bunkers that have been cut off, essentially, by rubble, and they don't know if there are people down there who might be alive, who might be trapped. Yesterday, the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced an operation to evacuate people from that area, but at the end of the day, nothing came of it, and still nothing we understand, has come of it.

I asked that deputy commander yesterday, because keep in mind, that he says there are hundreds of injured soldiers under there as well. And I asked him how long they might be able to survive given their injuries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SVIATOSLAV PALAMAR, DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE AZOV REGIMENT (through translator): I'm not going to say how long we could be here, but I'm going to say that we're doing everything we can to stabilize them.

MCLEAN: Would you rather die fighting than surrender yourself to the Russians?

PALAMAR: We are not considering the terms of surrender. We are waiting only for guarantees of exit from the territory of the plant. That is, if there is no choice but captivity, we will not surrender.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: So obviously those soldiers are pushing for the women, children, and elderly to be evacuated first, but they would also like there to be some kind of a deal so that they can get out of there safely as well. But they say will not leave unless they have a weapon in their hand. They simply do not trust the Russians. I spoke to an official in the Mariupol mayor's office, though, who conceded that that is very likely long shot. It would take not only an international intervention, but perhaps even a divine one. He suggested that the Pope himself may have to drive the bus to pick up those soldiers and get them out of plant, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Truly volatile. Scott McLean, thanks so much.

All right, the mother of a former Marine killed while fighting for Ukraine is now speaking out about her son's death. Twenty-two-year-old American Willy Joseph Cancel had been working with a private military contracting firm and was fighting with an international brigade when he was killed Monday. His mother says he just wanted to do the right thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REBECCA CABRERA, MOTHER OF AN AMERICAN KILLED IN UKRAINE: That's one of the proudest days of his life when he was able to call himself a marine. And even before he left to go to Ukraine, he was proud, because he wanted to do the right thing and fight alongside the underdogs and help them with things that he thought was important. He knew they needed help. And it was just something that he felt that he could help in because he had the experience and the training and the knowledge to go and help them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: He followed his heart. On Friday, President Biden reacted to Cancel's death, calling it very sad. Cancel leaves behind a wife and a seven-month-old baby.

Let's bring in retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. He is the former commanding general for Europe and the Seventh Army and a CNN military analyst. Always good to see you. So U.S. officials say Russian forces in the east of Ukraine are learning from earlier mistakes. So how are they learning, and how are they regenerating their forces?

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, first, Fred, they are not regenerating their forces very well. They are learning some things. They have compressed their attack axis, which helps it to receive logistical support better. They've shortened their supply lines because that was one of the big things that plagued them in the first operation. They had completely surrounded the eastern boundary from the north to the south. Now they've compressed that into the Donbas and Kherson area. So it would be easier for a commander to command and control that operation and get logistics support.

However, having said that, they still don't have the capability within their soldier base, in my view, having seen soldiers train and exercise. They are going to have difficulty supporting those soldiers with aircraft. They have shown their propensity to use artillery to breach holes in the defensive line, we have seen that in the past, and then send in small forces to conduct what's called reconnaissance in force. That's the early stage. We may see that go on for a while, but truthfully, all intelligence indicators say that they have thot regenerated the forces in a way that would make them efficient or effective on the battlefield. They are just throwing bodies into this fight, which we have seen Russia do before.

WHITFIELD: So, meantime, we've discussed before how Putin is looking for victory in May, at least to declare it as such. So what will be their justification for doing so?

HERTLING: You're probably going to see a couple of things happen both on the political and the military front. They are going to try to achieve goals certainly in the Donbas, but the Ukrainian forces have been excellent in terms of repelling all of the attacks there.

[10:10:08]

You may also see the political ploy of designated Kherson oblast as another republic that has voted on its own to separate from Ukraine. That will be a false vote just like it was in Donetsk and Luhansk, but it will allow separatists to say we control this province as opposed to Ukraine.

So what I would be watching closely, first of all, is the movement in the south in the Kherson oblast, which is the province just above Crimea. They're trying, the Russians are trying to regenerate forces there. They have not been very successful in doing so. And I'd also watch their military action in the east in the so-called Donbas area, Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. I don't believe they're going to achieve a whole lot of military success. They are moving very slowly. They are about a week behind schedule in terms of their attack operations. Ukraine is showing great capability in countering those forces. And as more and more equipment gets to the Ukrainian forces in the east, especially those artillery pieces to conduct counter artillery fires, you're going to see more of a stalemate for a long time, I think.

WHITFIELD: As you talk about more equipment that is to make its way in country in Ukraine, what are you concerns about its distribution and the training of using these new assets?

HERTLING: I don't have a whole lot of counter to say anything about the training. I think the Ukrainian soldiers have shown themselves adaptable. They will be able to train very quickly and learn these devices even though they are advanced technology. What I am concerned about in the east, Fred, is the supply lines, because you not only have to get the equipment and the ammunition from the borders in the west all the way to the east, which is about 900 miles or so, but you also then have to distribute along that 150-mile front that is the Donbas. So it isn't just getting it to one location. It is then distributing it to multiple locations that are capable of firing against the Russians. That's going to be extremely challenging. Ukraine has focused primarily on the fighters, not as much on their logistics trails. So yes, that's going to be challenging in this phase of the operation. But I think we've seen them adapt to different problem sets and accomplish the mission.

WHITFIELD: So logistics, that is a big undertaking.

Meantime, we are also seeing the last few days, Russian shelling of a railway, a hub in the Donetsk region. Those rail hubs, how important, not only just for transporting civilians who are perhaps trying to get out of areas, but how might those railroads be used to answer the logistical problems of moving any kind of military might?

HERTLING: Yes, that's the intent of the Russian forces is to disrupt that supply line we were just talking about, because what we're talking about in a battle of attrition, which is what's occurring in the east now, both sides are trying to take apart the other side. And the critical piece of that is logistics.

We've been showing these PowerPoint maps on CNN for the last month- and-a-half or so. What really is important is not looking so much at the map, the PowerPoint of Ukraine, it's looking at the road junctions, the rail lines, the ability to transport equipment. And when you start showing the roads and the railroads, you'll see that it's limited, especially in the east. That's why it's cities like Izium that we heard so important about is so critically important, because there are bridges, rails, and roads going in all four directions from that city. And that's why Russia has repeatedly attempted to attack and obtain that as an objective.

You're showing a picture of a blown bridge right now. Once you lose that capability to transport equipment, it's a commander's worst nightmare because, as we've said so many times, amateur study tactics, the circles and arrows, but professionals really understand logistics. As a tanker, knowing how much it takes to supply a conventional war fighting machine like we're seeing, it takes an awful lot of logies doing the things that they need to do to get the supplies to the front.

WHITFIELD: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

HERTLING: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, China's COVID lockdown is growing even more extreme. The country's zero policy strategy is turning millions of residents into prisoners inside their own homes, mainly, literally being locked in from the outside. We'll take you there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:18:51]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back, 180 million people are now impacted by China's COVID lockdowns, and the country's zero policy measures are barely able to keep up with the spread. CNN's David Culver reports from Shanghai where he along with millions of other Chinese citizens remain under strict lockdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lockdown in China is like nowhere else on earth. Here you see a man getting swabbed for a COVID test through the fence. Using a megaphone, healthcare workers call for others to get tested. The country's zero COVID strategy turning millions into virtual prisoners across the nation.

Outside of Beijing, these residents forced to hand over their apartment keys so community workers can lock them in from the outside. For those who refuse, crews drill holes to chain the doors shut.

In northeastern Jilin Province, no need for a lock. Workers installing steel bars to keep people from leaving the building. Right now, across China, at least 27 cities are under full or partial lockdown. CNN's calculation estimating that directly impacts up to 180 million people, more than half the U.S. population.

[10:20:07]

For over two years now, China's COVID containment has become more extreme, fracturing everyday life. In Shenzhen, a city not under lockdown, babies kept off the subway. The reason, they didn't have negative COVID test results. It's now mandatory to get access to most of public life in the city. To accommodate the new rule, they've opened 24/7 testing sites.

A delayed test result had this groom in Xinjiang watching his own wedding ceremony via livestream, not allowed to enter the venue, laughing off the insanity of it all.

China's zero tolerance for any new cases comes from the top. President Xi Jinping tasked Vice Premier Sun Chunlan to oversee major outbreaks. In Shanghai, that means working with the city's most senior official, Communist Party Secretary Li Qiang. Their orders are carried out by the municipal government which runs the quarantine centers, and coordinated at local levels with thousands of communities. Those local workers are literal gate keepers, determining who goes in and out of each compound, facilitating food deliveries, and managing our health information.

In addition to very regular PCR tests, each day we're also required to do rapid antigen tests. We then upload the results to this government app, and then we take a screenshot of that and a picture of the test, and we share it publicly with our community group chat so that all our neighbors can see we're negative.

The community group chats can serve as a helpful way to source food, but always as a space to call out neighbors, sometimes becoming a witch hunt to kick out positive cases and have them sent to quarantine centers.

DALI YANG, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: It has become quite common for local authorities to say we have a wartime situation, and therefore we have to apply emergency measures, and therefore you have to simply follow orders.

CULVER: It reminds some residents of the Cultural Revolution from the 60s and 70s, a painful era of political and social chaos sparked by extreme policies. Criticism of Beijing's zero-COVID strategy is not tolerated from anyone, including the son of a Chinese billionaire who was also sent to a crowd quarantine facility in Shanghai, banned from Chinese social media after criticizing the policy, his profile with 40 million followers erased.

But not everyone is silenced. Back in Shanghai, many residents confined to their homes adding to the growing chorus of dissent. As COVID cases surge across China, millions now sentenced to lockdown, their release date, unknown.

David Culver, CNN, Shanghai.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Pretty frightening. With me now, Dr. Jeremy Faust. He is an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Doctor, so good to see you. So when you look at those measures, would you believe that it could be working, it could be slowing the spread?

DR. JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Thanks for having me. That whole picture is alarming. I don't know what they're trying to accomplish. You can right size your response to COVID at this point and see where the virus is. You can make sure that your hospitals are not being overwhelmed with demand. You can keep cases low enough where one way masking works for people. I don't think that this accomplishes what they want to accomplish. You can't get to COVID zero. That's not possible. But you can get to very low COVID levels so that your community is safe. I don't really understand why they think that this is a sustainable approach. Look, I like slowing down COVID to keep us all safe, but at the extreme, it just becomes ridiculous.

WHITFIELD: It looks like you're elevating trauma on another scale.

Let's talk about what's taking place stateside in the nation's capital, the White House Correspondents' dinner which is scheduled for tonight. And we know that Dr. Fauci has pulled out. He's not going to go. Vice President Kamala Harris recently tested positive for COVID. But we know the president of the United States will be there. He's the main event, right? We're told he will be there only about 90 minutes. He won't be there for the dinner. He will be wearing a mask when he's not speaking. Does that formula seem cautious enough in your view?

FAUST: Large events are challenging, and the president of the United States has to make a determination. What I think it's important to notice there is that it's not all or none. It's not, I'm not going to attend, or I'm going to attend and just let it all happen. I think some degree of compromise there makes some sense for the president. Wearing a mask for part of the time is better than zero and limiting your exposure. And in terms of just the overall situation there, the upside is that everybody is required to have a negative test the same day.

[10:25:01]

The downside is there are so many people attending, 3,000 when you count the guests and people working, that somebody who tested negative at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday on a rapid could pop up positive by the evening. So for large events, you have to do your testing really very close to the event, and even then there's always the risk that someone who was correctly negative, their viral loads spiked at 8:00 p.m. and they're contagious in that room. So that's why if I were going, I probably would wear a mask for part of it and maybe take a risk while I was eating.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. And this comes after that gridiron dinner, remember, in the nation's capital also. Many members of Congress, even cabinet members, did test positive following that event. So I guess people should know they're going at their own risk tonight, even with all those precautions.

FAUST: Yes. The difference there is at the gridiron there was no testing. So you really had a much higher prevalence in the room statistically. We know that people who test today, a few who test today for this event will actually come up positive, and that didn't happen at gridiron because they didn't do testing. That was a mistake.

WHITFIELD: And then they'll have to exit and not be able to attend the dinner tonight.

Let's move on to Moderna. It has filed for emergency use authorization for COVID vaccines for kids between six months and five years of age. The FDA says if approved, those young children may be able to get their COVID vaccines as early as June. But then back in January when Pfizer released their data for young kids, you came on the show to argue why you would not be getting your four-year-old daughter vaccinated if that one was approved. So what about Moderna's two-dose vaccine? Do you have any change of heart?

FAUST: Absolutely, and I think I'm the perfect person to ask this question because back when Pfizer had a two-dose series that didn't show enough effectiveness, I wasn't on board. So now we have a two- dose Moderna vaccine that does appear to be effective, so I'm very eager to get my kid vaccinated. And I think now Pfizer will have its third-dose data, and if that's positive, we can move forward.

What I was opposed in January was this idea of giving children a two- dose series that had been shown to be safe but not effective, theory that third dose coming down the pipeline worked. I think that strategy will probably work out, but it was big gamble. So now we've got Moderna that is looking good in terms of its protection. So the difference is the data, and I follow the data, so my child will be vaccinated, assuming that everything plays out the way I expect, which is that it's safe and effective.

WHITFIELD: All right, you're more hopeful.

Let's talk about something non-COVID instead. This is about the rise in hepatitis in kids. And so far, there are 18 reported cases across at least four states and dozens of cases in Europe. So how troubling is this, and what's the root? Why is this happening?

FAUST: The case reports are alarming in a sense that when you look at the CDC's report from yesterday, I believe, or the day before, a couple of these kids required liver transplants. This is an absolutely astonishing outcome. But most of the kids didn't, but still, we don't know how many more have had this. So we don't know where this is coming from. The CDC has floated the possibility that it was caused by a certain kind of virus, and adenovirus. We don't know that yet. It's still early. But ultimately, whenever you see an outbreak of anything that causes severe illness in any number of kids, it's extremely alarming even though it's still relatively rare.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, Dr. Jeremy Faust, good to see you this Saturday. Thank you so much for being with us and covering a lot of ground.

FAUST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, high demand and low supply triggering soaring home prices. Now many Americans can't afford to buy or rent. CNN spoke to families now being forced to make some very tough decisions. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:33:12]

WHITFIELD: All right, 58 percent, that's how much rent has risen on average over the last two years in places like Miami and Palm Beach. One woman seeing the rent more than double in her home of two decades, and she's not alone. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA GUILMAIN, FLORIDA RENTER: Less and less and less.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Laura Guilmain and her daughter, Carson, have 30 days to find a new home.

YURKEVICH: How many properties do you think you've explored?

GUILMAIN: Thousands, thousands.

YURKEVICH: For three years, Guilmain has been paying $2,100 a month for this three-bedroom in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. But last month, she got a letter from the landlord.

GUILMAIN: Due to unforeseen circumstances --

YURKEVICH: Her new rent, $3,200 a month. An attorney for her landlord tells CNN rising property taxes and mortgage rates are to blame.

GUILMAIN: I freaked out. We can't afford it. Can't do it.

YURKEVICH: There's a housing affordability crisis. Home prices are sky high, forcing more Americans into a competitive rental market. Guilmain, a single mom and disabled veteran, is reliant on rental assistance from Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. She already had fewer options, but now landlords looking to capitalize on rising rents are less willing to accept the strict guidelines of her rental voucher.

How critical is the HUD voucher to your existence?

GUILMAIN: That is our existence. Without it, we would be homeless.

YURKEVICH: Rents are rising across the country. Up a record nearly 20 percent on average in two years, double that in cities like Memphis, Tampa, and Riverside, California. But the Miami Palm Beach area tops them all at 58 percent, nearly three times the national average.

[10:35:03]

GUILMAIN: When there's a hurricane, it's illegal for gas stations to jack up the prices. Why is there not a cap in the state of Florida? Why am I looking at a 43 percent increase?

YURKEVICH: In fact, it's illegal in Florida to impose rent controls. Sara Espinoza is facing a 106 percent increase on her rent in Coral

Gables, Florida. For 22 years, she's called this three-bedroom home. She raised her son here. She says the $1,700 she pays in rent is below market value, but the $3,500 her new landlord is charging is out of her budget.

SARA ESPINOZA, FLORIDA RENTER: It's not reasonable at all. I guess right now everyone is just price gouging because people need somewhere to live.

YURKEVICH: She set a new budget of $2800. This week, she found an apartment right next door. But it's smaller and overbudget by $400.

How's that rationalize in your mind?

ESPINOZA: It doesn't. It doesn't rationalize at all. I just think it's very unfair. It makes me upset.

GUILMAIN: You know how many people have reached out?

YURKEVICH: For Laura and Carson, their search continues with no prospects in sight.

So where does that put you?

GUILMAIN: It puts me on the street.

YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, Miami, Florida.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And still ahead, President Biden is letting loose in private conversations about his frustrations heading into the midterms. We're live from the White House, next.

And a quick programming note. Get ready for adventure with an all new CNN original series, "Nomad with Carlton McCoy" as he searches for the true heart of a city through its food, music, art, and people. The series premiers tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. only on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:42:37]

WHITFIELD: A frustrated President Joe Biden will go on attack against the Republicans in the midterms as he tries to save struggling Democrats in the House and Senate and solidify his chances at reelection. Biden's approval ratings are low, hovering around 40 percent in the most recent polls, and he has been privately railing against people and factors that he thinks are to blame.

CNN reporter Jasmine Wright joins me now from the White House. Hello to you, Jasmine. So what is CNN learning about the president's thinking right now?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Fred, the president is going on the offensive, and he's gearing up really to fight for the midterm elections, sources tell CNN, that are shaping up to be quite an uphill battle for Democrats. And part of the strategy is, just like you said, he's going to go after Republicans.

Now, there is a risk there in that strategy, Fred, and the president, sources say, knows that very well, which is that the harder he goes after Republicans, the harder that it could be for him to be able to pass legislation bipartisan. Remember, that is something that he campaigned on. He came into office touting the ability to do that.

And of course, we know that just recently, he requested $33 billion of assistance for Ukraine as well as new money to fight the pandemic. And of course, he still has those key agenda items that he wants to pass. But still, there's an understanding here in the White House that despite that risk that is there, there is a real need for the president to do that, not only to fight for his party, the Democrats, that are shaping up to potentially suffer massive losses in this election, in this midterm election, but also to fight for himself. We know that he's battling those low approval numbers as well as any hits on the economy that he may take as Americans are dealing with that higher inflation. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And Jasmine, perhaps a little levity this evening at the White House Correspondents' dinner, and we're looking at a picture right now, of right now, an empty ballroom, but tonight it will be full. And Joe Biden will be there front and center, and perhaps like his predecessor, President Obama, he wants to show that he, too, has a bit of humor. So let's go down memory lane just for a hot second.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm a mellow sort of guy. And that's why I invited Luther, my anger translator, to join me here tonight here tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

(LAUGHTER)

[10:45:12]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on to your lily white butts.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: In our fast-changing world, traditions like the White House Correspondents' dinner are important.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, really, what is this thing? And why am I required to come to it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So that was 2015. That was supposed to be alter ego. We know Trevor Noah will be the comedic relief tonight. But what do we know about how President Biden is preparing to be the funnyman tonight?

WRIGHT: He's perfecting his speech up until the last hour. That is something that the White House said yesterday, because this speech provides him an opportunity to comedian in chief, something that he's not often able to do. Really trying to crack some jokes here. And so not only is he writing the speech, but he's getting advice from the speechwriters, his aides, also friends submitting jokes, trying to show off his humor, something that the White House has said repeatedly that he has, a vast, vast humor.

But not only is taking real steps to get the speech in order, but he's also taking precautions when it comes to COVID. We know as we saw that empty photo of the banquet hall there, and there's expected to be thousands of people here, right. So the White House says that he is going to skip the dinner portion of it. He'll be there only for about 90 minutes, and that while he's not giving speeches, as you can see on the screen here, he will likely be wearing a mask in this time that he's really on the dais, and he'll be away from people, because as we know, top White House officials have gotten COVID, including the vice president in the last few weeks. And so that is something top of mind for the White House. But they say that it is important for the president to show up tonight really to honor the free press and the First Amendment.

WHITFIELD: But then we also know he has to kind of tread a little lightly, carefully, too, verbally, because we are still in the middle of a pandemic to a degree, and then of course you've got the crisis in Ukrainian. Lots of concerns there. Jasmine Wright, thank you so much.

And be sure to join us tonight for our live coverage of the White House Correspondents dinner. The event is returning after a two-year hiatus because of COVID. And it all starts here at 7:00 p.m.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:51:52]

WHITFIELD: All right, the pandemic created a new normal for food service workers, but in the age of curbside pickup and food delivery services, how much should you be tipping? As CNN's Tom Foreman explains, that's changing.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As Stellina Pizzeria in D.C., the food has been hot and the tips steady throughout the pandemic.

Have the tips been good during the pandemic?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For sure.

FOREMAN: But now, the staff, suppliers, customers, everyone is facing a tipping point, and service workers in some places are paying the price. Just ask Isabella (ph) Sarmiento (ph), the operations manager. Tipping has grown a lot more complicated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has. You are not wrong.

(LAUGHTER)

FOREMAN: The pandemic by many accounts pushed tips to new prominence in home deliveries, at takeout stands, food trucks, and in ride sharing services, far beyond the spots where many consumers were used to seeing them. At "The New York Times," food writer Christina Morales says that's left a lot of folks wondering where to tip, when, and how much.

CHRISTINA MORALES, FOOD REPORTER, "NEW YORK TIMES": What's driving a lot of this anxiety and confusion is the fact these changes in tipping have happened so fast.

FOREMAN: She says even the social norm for tipping have become unsettled, noting one company which tracks credit card transactions found tips rose at the pandemic began, then levelled off, and now are falling amid the confusion and inflation. So should you tip at a coffee stand, a supermarket, a convenience store?

ARKUR BHALLA, CUSTOMER: I'm a good tipper.

FOREMAN: Some customers say it's simple. If someone helps you, tip. If you help yourself --

BHALLA: I was at the airport, and I grabbed a bottle of water from a convenience store, and they asked me for a tip, and I was like that's not happening.

FOREMAN: To make it all clearer, Stellina now put a 20 percent service charge on your bill. That is the tip, unless you want to add a little more.

MORALES: For me, I personally evaluate the service that I'm receiving, and I also take into account the person behind the counter, and I say how much could they possibly be making?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just understand, I think we're all trying to do what's best for the people around us.

FOREMAN: That's a good tip.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks.

(LAUGHTER)

FOREMAN: Inflation is just complicating things more as people count every dollar and try to make every dollar count on both sides of the tipping wall.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE) WHITFIELD: And this quick programming note. Stanley Tucci is back. New episodes, new food, and new discoveries. "Stanley Tucci, Searching for Italy," the new season premiers tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STANLEY TUCCI, CNN HOST: I had no idea we'd start with a lake full of sitting ducks. Actually, they're wooden decoys, and they'll encourage the real thing to drop by.

In here, OK?

OK. My host, Oliver Martini, aptly named, is by day a top businessman. In the past, he might have made doge.

[10:55:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now many ducks arrive from the north, and they stay here until March.

TUCCI: There's thousands of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Now we try to catch some, otherwise you don't eat.

TUCCI: Most of these ducks are mallards, and so numerous they're officially listed as unendangered. Obviously, these particular specimens are in quite a lot of danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, well, you can watch more of that right here on CNN tomorrow at 9:00 p.m.

Still ahead, a manhunt is underway in Alabama for an officer and an inmate who was being held on capital murder charges. The pair went missing after the officer apparently escorted the inmate to the courthouse. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)