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First Lady Jill Biden Makes Surprise Visit To Ukraine; President Biden Holds Virtual Meeting With Zelenskyy And G7 Leaders; 60 Feared Dead After Russian Airstrike On School Shelter; Officials Investigating Deaths Of Three Americans At Bahamas Resort; Senate To Vote On Bill Protecting Abortion This Week; New Video Released In Alabama Manhunt Case; Officials: Police Officer Stabbed In Jerusalem. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 08, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:24]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me, and Happy Mother's Day. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with this breaking news. First Lady Jill Biden today making a surprise visit to Ukraine on this Mother's Day. She has crossed the border from Slovakia where she had been on an official visit. Part of her four-day trip to Eastern Europe.

There was this emotional moment today when she met with Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenskyy who has not made a public appearance since the start of the war in February. See right there, exchange of flowers.

Arlette Saenz is at the White House and CNN's Kate Bennett is traveling with the first lady and joins us from Slovakia.

So, Kate, let me go to you. What do we need to know about this visit?

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're back in Slovakia tonight. But earlier today we made that surprise trip with the first lady into Uzhhorod, Ukraine which is in the south western corner of the country, about 15-minute drive from the Slovakian border. And the biggest surprise of all besides this trip on Mother's Day was, as you said, the appearance of First Lady Olena Zelenska who came out of hiding to meet with the first lady.

The two women have exchanged correspondence over the last several months and meeting today was a big deal. Not only this is a first lady going into an active warzone. The United States first lady going into an active warzone, but this is also the wife of the president of Ukraine who has tried to keep under cover. The public has not seen her. So the two women together especially on Mother's Day, as Dr. Biden said, it was important to correspond and to meet with her on Mother's Day to express support from America for Ukraine.

Now the two women held a bilateral behind closed doors for about a half an hour or so that the press didn't get to see. But I'm told they talked about especially mental health. The first lady of Ukraine is particularly concerned about the citizens of her country, the children, the families, the soldiers who are involved in this bloody invasion by Russia of their homeland. She wonders what will happen to them mentally, emotionally after this war does end.

Of course, Dr. Biden, a big proponent of mental health, of children, education. So this was something the two women conversed about for quite some time. It was emotional. There were kids. This is a former school that has been turned into temporary housing for families that have been displaced by the war. So imagine your local high school all of a sudden becomes sort of a small apartment for people who no longer have homes.

The two first ladies did an arts and crafts project. They were very close. You could tell there was a connection. Dr. Biden's entire trip has been about women, mothers and children. This was the culmination. Tomorrow she wraps it up here in Bratislava, Slovakia and heads back to Washington.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: A surprise visit to the rest of the world, but clearly a welcome visit there to the first lady of Ukraine.

Arlette, to you now at the White House. President Biden meantime held a virtual meeting with G7 leaders over the crisis in Ukraine. So what more can you tell us about that meeting.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the purpose of this meeting, Fred, was really twofold. President Biden and G7 leaders expressing their support and solidarity with Ukraine but also discussing their commitment to further punishing Russia through sanctions. If you take a look at this photo of the meeting, the president held the call from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. It lasted a little over an hour.

If you look really closely there, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was actually in the room in Ukraine with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as the leaders all held this phone call. The U.S. and allies said that they would further provide military and economic assistance to Ukraine. In a statement released after the call, they said that there would be more financial aid going to the country in the coming weeks.

But they also talked about the need to ramp up those sanctions against Russia. The U.S. today rolling out a new package of sanctions that in part target three Russian state-run TV stations. It bans U.S. advertising on those stations. Additionally, it's prohibiting the U.S. provided management and consulting services to companies as well as imposing export controls on the industrial sector and ramping up visa restrictions on more than 2500 Russians and Belarusians.

Now also in the G7 statement that was released after the call, the U.S. and allied countries committed to phasing out Russian gas and energy. Of course, the U.S. has already banned Russian energy imports. But that is noteworthy as the European countries are much more reliant on Russian oil and energy compared to the United States. Additionally today, the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and other

officials traveled to Kyiv after they had left the embassy there back in mid-February.

[14:05:06]

Just another sign of support with Ukraine, especially as Russia is expected to celebrate Victory Day tomorrow. The U.S. and its allies trying to reinforce to Ukraine and show their unwavering support for the country amid this war.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz and Kate Bennett, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

So the first lady's visit happening amid horrific new violence brought on by Russia's onslaught. Ukrainian officials say at least 60 people are feared dead after a Russian air strike hit a school in the Luhansk region. That school had been acting as a shelter for nearly 100 people. This latest heinous attack on civilians comes on Ukraine's Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation held in honor of those who lost their lives during World War II. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offering these sobering remarks on this sacred day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translator): This year we say never again differently. We hear never again differently. It sounds painful, cruel, without an exclamation, but with a question mark you say never again, tell Ukraine about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Scott McLean is in Lviv covering this latest round of events there.

So, Scott, what more are you learning about the attack at that school?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. Yes. So those 90 people according to a local military official were sheltering inside that school because most of the rest of the village had been bombed out and it was one of the last remaining good places to actually shelter there, and our colleagues actually managed to get to that area to speak with some of the survivors from this village of Bilohorivka.

And what they're saying is absolutely incredible. One man said that it was just all at once, like clicking a light switch. The lights went out. All three of the floors collapsed on top of them and they just simply could not understand what was going on. Another man said that he was one of the first ones out of that building. He was sort of chucking bricks to the side to try to get out with the help of some other villagers who had run over quickly to try to help with getting people out from under there.

He also said that among the people who were sheltering there, elderly people and children. And one of the men whose head was visibly bandaged, visibly injured, said that a slab of concrete had come down on him in addition to some other rocks and when he got out of that -- from under that school, he said he felt like a drunk man just completely, completely lost.

So at last word, there were 27 people who managed to survive. But it's very likely, according to local officials, that 60 people did not get out because even though search and rescue is ongoing, just given the state of things, they say that it is extremely unlikely that there is anyone still alive underneath all that rubble.

And just a little bit of context here, Fredricka. This village Bilohorivka is about seven miles or so west of the frontlines. It's taken some heavy shelling in recent weeks as the Russians tried to push through that frontline, break through the Ukrainian frontlines. There was an evacuation about two weeks ago that successfully managed to get roughly 50 people out including some children, but clearly not everyone took the opportunity or could take the opportunity to get out then.

WHITFIELD: So sad. All right. Scott McLean, thank you so much.

Let's talk more about all this. Let's bring in Kim Dozier, she's a CNN global affairs analyst and correspondent for "TIME."

So, Kim, as we just, you know, heard Ukraine continues to accuse Russia of not keeping its word on evacuations, and it's not just an accusation, I mean, there's the evidence, right? I mean, does anyone believe that Russia is going to respect any other calls for evacuation when continued examples of atrocities like this continue to happen? Russia targets places where there are civilians. Not by mistake, it seems, but knowingly, intentionally.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Fred, it seems that in their frustration that they're not going to be able to deliver any big victory in terms of a territorial area seized in eastern Ukraine to Vladimir Putin in time for Victory Day, they seem to be doubling down on this practice that we have seen from the beginning of this conflict of hitting anywhere that might hurt the Ukrainians and hopefully in Russia's eyes, make them withdraw. Heedless and some Ukrainian officials say intentionally hitting civilian targets.

Now that is going to be a difficult one to prove. It's going to be something that we see playing out years from now likely in war crimes trials. But it is devastating and painful to watch.

[14:10:00]

And it's one of the reasons why when the International Red Cross and other organizations are able to organize a route out of some of these embattled areas, the people just don't trust Russia enough to leave.

WHITFIELD: Right. I mean, there's no confusion on why that's the case. You know? They keep getting targeted as these evacuation corridors are set up for them or circumstances.

So you made reference to tomorrow. This is Russia's, you know, annual Victory Day, the day they commemorate the victory over Nazi, Germany. But here's what the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on CNN earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: They have nothing to celebrate tomorrow. They have not succeeded in defeating the Ukrainians. They have not succeeded in dividing the world or dividing NATO, and they have only succeeded in isolating themselves internationally and becoming a pariah state around the globe. So what they're celebrating tomorrow is their own lack of success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So for weeks now, you know, the world has been wondering what might Vladimir Putin do tomorrow to mark that day. So what are the expectations?

DOZIER: Well, that lack of success is one of the reasons that Ukrainian officials have said quite openly that they are afraid Vladimir Putin might do anything from declaring officially a war on them and a nationwide conscription of his 144 million strong population to using a nuclear or other weapon of mass destruction.

But what is most likely is that he is going to use this as a day of propaganda to shore up support for this conflict inside his country as people are beginning to feel the bite of sanctions and from what we know from the little polling that you can do inside Russia, it does seem that a large amount of the population is buying into Putin's narrative that this isn't about Russian aggression against Ukraine.

That it is about NATO fighting Russia through the Ukrainian people. As crazy as that sounds, when you repeat disinformation enough, the population can sometimes believe it. That seems to be what's happening here.

WHITFIELD: And we heard, you know, President Zelenskyy just a moment ago say, you know, by hearing the phrase never again for Ukrainians, well, that's, you know, painful and cruel, because of Russia's continued onslaught. He has called out the West for not having the conviction to stand behind those words. He's gotten the attention, you know, of the global community. And I wonder if he's getting the attention of the global community when he makes that statement.

DOZIER: Well, he certainly does have everyone's attention, and what he's also doing is rubbing the salts in the wound of a lot of guilt. The British foreign secretary was quite blunt about it. She said the U.S., the West, we all should have done something much sooner. We should have done more to counter Russia. And U.S. officials have also told that to me privately, that they wished they'd understood how this might go.

But let's remember, the U.S., Europe, they didn't think this war would last that long. They thought it would be a quick decapitation strike and we wouldn't see this grinding nightmare that is killing not just so many troops but taking so many civilian lives as well. And that is the horror that has opened up, and the meetings, the visits by people like Jill Biden keep the attention on the crisis.

That I think U.S. and Western officials understand is the thing they have to do going forward. They have to show Vladimir Putin that this time they're not going to let him get away with it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kim Dozier, thanks so much.

All right. Coming up, a disturbing mystery in the Bahamas. Police are investigating the deaths of three American tourists. Details straight ahead.

Plus new twist in the manhunt for the Alabama corrections officer and inmate who have now been missing more than a week. We'll talk with the former detective about the case and the intensifying search.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:18:37]

WHITFIELD: An investigation is underway after three American tourists were found dead at a Sandals Resort in the Bahamas. Officials say two men and a woman died of unknown causes Friday at the Sandals Emerald Bay Resort on Great Exuma Island. A fourth American, a woman, was also airlifted to a hospital in Nassau. The Royal Bahamas Police Force tells CNN that no signs of trauma were found on the bodies.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me now.

So, Polo, any closer to finding out what happened?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, this story is as mysterious as it is heartbreaking. These are two American couples that were vacationing in the Bahamas and now three people are dead and that fourth woman, as you point out, is hospitalized. And I just spoke to Commissioner Paul Rolle of the Royal Bahamas Police, asking if they're any closer to establishing possible causes of death.

He says that not at this point. Autopsies will have to be performed in order to find that out but then there's another key, at least a key finding so far that is really important here. No signs of trauma, and that basically rules out the possibility of foul play. So really, though, at the same time, it deepens the mystery here. According to the commissioner, he told me his investigators were sent out there Friday morning after the body of a man was found in one of the villas there at Emerald Bay Sandals Resort in Exuma. And a short time later the bodies of two other people were found in a separate villa, a man and a woman.

And what's puzzling here is that officials say that there were signs that that couple had apparently signs of convulsion before they died.

[14:20:08]

But what also deepens the mystery is that those two people had turned to a local medical facility after reporting feeling vomiting and that they were nauseated the day before they were actually found dead. And then there was a fourth person. That woman that was located in that first villa that is being -- that was hospitalized, and according to officials is still being treated this hour.

So there are still a lot missing here. And investigators say there are still a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of finding out what happened to these two couples. Now in terms of the Sandals Resort, they immediately put out a statement over the weekend basically saying that a health emergency was initially reported and following their protocols, they immediately alerted emergency medical professionals and relevant local authorities. Sandals went on to write that they're currently supporting both the investigation and also the families of those guests in every way possible during the course of this investigation.

The other big question here, identities. Where were these couples traveling from? I reached back out to authorities this morning. They are saying that they expect to release those identities tomorrow after they officially identify them and notify the next of kin. But for now, they continue to work with the U.S. embassy there in the Bahamas as well as the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism to try to find out more.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder, Polo, have they rules anything out? Are they willing to say publicly they've ruled anything out? Because there have been some other recent mysterious incidents at other resort locations, not necessarily in the Bahamas, but in other places, and illnesses and deaths have been linked to things from extermination, pest extermination, you know, around properties to alcohol in the mini bottles in some of the hotel rooms.

SANDOVAL: Right.

WHITFIELD: I'm not talking about in the Bahamas but in other places.

SANDOVAL: Correct.

WHITFIELD: So has there been any correlation made to any similar circumstances or have authorities ruled out any of those other things?

SANDOVAL: It's a really important question. And automatically your mind does go to those other previous non=related incidents that we have seen in other hotels with issues either with the facilities like fumigation or issues with carbon monoxide poisoning, for example, and other situations. And that's certainly a question that will be brought up in this particular case here. Was it perhaps an issue with the facilities?

We do know that health officials there on the ground are looking into that as a possibility, but they have not said that that is specifically what they believe was involved here. So the next 24 or 48 hours or so will certainly be crucial in the investigation as we try to find out if perhaps it was something like that.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Mysterious and scary, indeed. All right, Polo Sandoval, thanks so much. All right, still ahead, on this very unique Mother's Day, protests

have erupted in response to the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft that would overturn Roe v. Wade as the battle for abortion rights takes on a slew of potential new challenges. We'll discuss straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:27:19]

WHITFIELD: On this Mother's Day the fight for a woman's right to choose taking center stage. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling for a vote this week to pass a national law countering an expected Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand poised to cast her vote and speaking to CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): It's bone-chilling because it's taking away women's right for life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Our right to be a full citizen. Our right. And the point I made that you played, you know, America's men need to wake up. They are literally -- they have to imagine what it would be like for 10 months to have zero bodily autonomy, to not know what's going to happen to your body, whether you're going to survive a pregnancy, whether you will be forever changed medically.

These are the consequences of bringing a pregnancy to full term. And so when women make that decision to have a baby, it is a joyful decision that they are making. But if you take away that right and require forced pregnancies, you are literally undermining their basic civil rights, their basic human rights, and their ability to decide what happens to their body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I'm joined now by Gretchen Borchelt. She is the vice president for Reproductive Rights and Health for the National Women's Law Center.

So good to see you, Gretchen. Welcome. So you just heard Senator -- great. You just heard Senator Gillibrand who says a reversal of Roe v. Wade is a multifaceted issue of privacy and multigenerational fight as well. Gillibrand, you know, went as far as saying women are being treated like half citizens. What are your thoughts?

GRETCHEN BORCHELT, VICE PRESIDENT FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND HEALTH, NATIONAL WOMEN'S LAW CENTER: Yes. I mean, I think Senator Gillibrand is capturing the shockwaves that have really reverberated throughout the nation. People are just devastated that the court is poised to overturn Roe vs. Wade and decimate our legal right to abortion. It's outrageous, it's irresponsible, it's shocking.

Right now it's still a draft. So people need to be reassured that abortion right now is still legal in the United States. But if this draft becomes the final decision of the court, it is going to be stunning and devastating. And the Supreme Court will have taken away a fundamental constitutional right that we have relied on for nearly 50 years. It will be the first time that the court is taking away a right rather than expanding rights.

And that's going to have a devastating impact on access to abortion, but it's not going to stop there. This is a court that is dedicated to rolling back rights and particularly for people who already face barriers and oppression in this country. They're going to feel it the most.

[l4:30:01]

WHITFIELD: Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said on ABC today that, you know, following any bans of abortions, states will put more programs into place such as increasing adoption and health services.

Mississippi's governor is sharing this view. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TATE REEVES (R), MISSISSIPPI: What I can tell you is what we're trying to do in Mississippi is we're trying to provide those potential expectant mothers the resources that they need so that they can go to a full term pregnancy if they choose to keep that child, then that's a great outcome. We want to make sure we provide them the resources they need.

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R), ARKANSAS: You have to provide services. I believe we want to increase the services for maternal health, to increase the services for adoption services as well. So we want to invest in those areas that will help those women with very difficult circumstances of the pregnancy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Okay. So how do those thoughts sit with you?

BORCHELT: Well, I just think it's completely disingenuous for politicians to claim they care about women and families, or maternal health, and then in the same breath attempt to limit access to abortion.

And Mississippi is a great example of that. Mississippi is the state that's restricted abortion. It's banning abortion, and that's the case before the court, and Mississippi completely fails to provide the support that pregnant and parenting people need to thrive.

It is the only state that doesn't have any equal pay law. It doesn't have laws that ensure people can have paid family leave. It has no reasonable protections for people who are pregnant in the workplace. And it has one of the worst gender gaps in the country, and it is the state with the highest infant mortality rate.

And so, to say they want to help women and families and they're going to have those protections in place is just a lie. Those protections don't exist. Their priority is to ban abortion and take that right away from people in their state. They don't care about protecting or supporting them if they have that child.

WHITFIELD: So the House already voted without any Republicans voting in favor of codifying a women's right to choose. The Senate, you know, will vote this week even though it may not pass. Do you agree with senator Schumer who says it's important to at the very least get a record on how and where lawmakers stand?

BORCHELT: Yes. That's right. We all need to speak out. We all need to show up.

This is partly a narrative battle. We need to talk about why abortion matters, about how important it is not just for abortion to be technically legal, but to be affordable and available and supported in our communities.

And so we need everyone. We need people speaking out, talking about this. You can change hearts and minds by just talking to people in your circle, your family, your friends on social media. We need people to keep showing up. We need them out on the streets already there's been an outpouring and there will be more activations in the weeks and months ahead.

We need people to be talking to their elected officials from the local level to the state level to the federal level in Congress. They should be saying we expect you to protect and expand access to abortion. What is your plan? What are you doing in this moment? What are you doing over the long hall?

That's the thing. If we lose this right, we are going to have to fight for decades to get it back. It is not something that we're going to get back overnight, and so we need people to be showing up for years and years and years and not turn away from this but to keep the pressure on.

WHITFIELD: So, Gretchen, do you think it's going to be a box issue this midterm elections, November?

BORCHELT: I think you're going to see an outpouring of people who are outraged and want to make sure that their elected officials represent their values. And we know overwhelmingly that 7 in 10 people in this country want abortion to be legal.

So, yes, people are going to turn out and make their voices heard. It's up to elected officials to respond and represent their constituents correctly.

WHITFIELD: Gretchen Borchelt, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate you joining us.

Still ahead, it's been over a week since an Alabama corrections officer and inmate went missing. Still little is known about their movements and officials say they are back to square one in their investigation. More on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:39:08]

WHITFIELD: All right. More than a week after an Alabama corrections officer and an inmate went missing and investigators released video showing Vicki White at a hotel the night before the escape. Surveillance video appears to show Vicki White at a concierge counter, at the Quality Inn Hotel, only a short distance away from where the get away vehicle was parked.

The car authorities say the pair used to escape was later found abandoned on a road in Williamson County, Tennessee. It was discovered the same day of the escape and towed to a nearby lot. They at least got across state lines.

I want to bring in now Chris Anderson for more on this manhunt. He's the co-host of "Reasonable Doubt" on Investigation Discovery. He's also a retired homicide detective with the Birmingham Police Department and led their fugitive unit.

[14:40:01]

So, you know a lot and can share as much as you can with us. He's joining us from Alabama.

Sergeant Anderson, good to see you.

CHRIS ANDERSON, CO-HOST, "REASONABLE DOUBT", INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY: Good to see you, too. Happy Mother's Day to all your viewers.

WHITFIELD: Oh, thank you so much. Thank you.

So, break it down and be honest with us. If authorities say they are back to square one in the search, one week after this escape, what do they really mean?

ANDERSON: The Marshal Service, when they say they're back to square one, they're starting the entire investigation over. Maybe not from -- from square one, that means re-interviewing witnesses, re-interviewing inmates and interviewing anyone -- re-interviewing anyone that was involved in the initial portions of the investigation.

WHITFIELD: So the sheriff said this week, and acknowledged there was a special relationship between these two both sharing last name White, no relation. And if that is the case, when it goes back to re- interviewing people, perhaps looking at more closely at videotape like this in-house surveillance videotape, what might they be able to glean from this special relationship, and how it might even help determine where they may want to go next or what their potential goal is in the end?

ANDERSON: Right. So going back and starting this investigation back over is going to allow investigators to rehash some of the information that may have been missed in the beginning, and, you know, I kind of hate to hear the word special relationship between Vicki White and this escapee. It makes things extremely hard, because number one, that puts a lot of people in danger. She broke one of the cardinal rules in corrections. That is, she

developed a relationship with an inmate. Very, very, very dangerous. It makes you do things that you wouldn't normally do.

WHITFIELD: Right. And it also means --

ANDERSON: And things we can't do in law enforcement.

WHITFIELD: Right. It also means if they're saying it's a special relationship, people observed that and knew that. A lot of people knew it or observed it along the way. Maybe they didn't anticipate a breakout like this, but it also means asking, again, what made you think there was a special relationship here? What is it that you saw? And I guess that will also help them extrapolate whether -- how far back any kind of planning may have gone.

ANDERSON: Right. You know, it opens the doors to so many things, because before I went into law enforcement, I was in corrections, and one thing that I know about inmates, inmates know almost everything there is no know that's secretive about what happens within their facilities.

Going back and starting this investigation over will allow the officers and these investigators to start re-interviewing, especially those inmates. They knew -- they probably didn't know to the extent of how the relationship went, but someone within that facility knew that these two had this relationship.

WHITFIELD: Okay. But what's the incentive for other inmates, perhaps or other corrections folks to now reveal more about what they knew when it can kind of incriminate them to a degree of having never said anything prior to the breakout?

ANDERSON: So, yeah, you know, most of the inmates will probably try to get a lighter sentence or move to a different facility. You know, the explanations or reasons, their reasons for not giving that information will run the gamut.

We could spend an entire interview talking about that, but you still have to take that information. You have to vet it, of course. But it has to be taken into consideration because it can't be disregarded.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Okay. So when you think about Vicki White, the corrections officer who was a veteran of some 17 years on the day that she was to be celebrated for a retirement, it turns out she or at least surveillance tapes shows she and the inmate got out.

She helped perhaps purchase or arrange this get away vehicle that is orange which they found later, abandoned, maybe that videotape shows her in surveillance trying to figure out a good hotel or something to get, and then sold her home.

So, in other words, she has given up a lot to be part of this team of escape. What are your thoughts or concerns about her well being now, now a week after the escape? ANDERSON: Listen. Make no mistake about this. This is a very, very

dangerous case. Not only for law enforcement and the public at large, but it's a dangerous case for Vicki White also.

[14:45:04]

Even though she made a conscious decision to orchestrate the escape, you know, she still is in grave, grave danger, because Casey's attorneys recently came out and spoke about his mental health issues. And they talked about how he is a different person when he's on his medication, but when he's off, he's a very, very dangerous person.

Being off the medication, he could decide at any point that Vicki will eventually get him captured and he could take her life and even go and exact revenge on the family members who he threatened prior to -- during his initial arrest. This is a very, very dangerous case for everyone that's involved, including Vicki White.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my.

All right. Sergeant Chris Anderson, appreciate your expertise. Thank you so much.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And this quick programming note. CNN's original series "NOMAD WITH CARLTON MCCOY" continues with Carlton's first trip to South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is Gwangjang market. It's one of the oldest markets in Korea. It started with different types of clothing, textile. A lot of wholesalers started the market. And naturally grew out to be a lot of food stalls.

CARLTON MCCOY: This is incredible. I think we're going to eat good. What's that home wrecker over there? Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that's Sundae, I'm getting it.

MCCOY: What's this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sundae is a blood sausage.

MCCOY: I love this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yeah.

MCCOY: Can we get some booze?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. OK.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old are you? MCCOY: I'm getting ready to go. How old am I?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

MCCOY: Thirty-seven.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-seven.

MCCOY: Is that how much you decide how much you eat and drink?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, in Korea, the first conversations start with how old are you?

MCCOY: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because Korea has a social hierarchy. You have to respect the elders. So --

MCCOY: How old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-eight.

MCCOY: Okay. So I can't disrespect you is what you're saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Age matters. All right. Catch an all new episode of "NOMAD WITH CARLTON MCCOY" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:51:39]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. We've got some breaking news out of Israel.

A police officer has been stabbed in Jerusalem at one of the gates to the old city according to Israeli authorities.

CNN's Hadas Gold is in Jerusalem and she's following the developments for us.

Hadas, what are you learning?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, we understand this took place at the main entrance usually used to reach the holy sites of Jerusalem. It's often a tense flash point we've seen clashes erupt in this area before. We know tonight Israeli police say a 19-year-old Palestinian approached say they Israeli border police. They're posted with a knife.

They say when police began approaching him for questioning, he stabbed one of the officers in the upper body. The officers they say then responded with live fire. The officer is in moderate condition and the attacker is in serious condition. Both were evacuated to hospitals for further treatment. This comes, though, on the same day as the two suspects in the

terrorist attack from Thursday night in the city of Elad were caught after a three-day manhunt. That attack taking place where they say the suspects used both a rifle and ax killing three people, injuring four more, three of them very critically injured.

After a three-day long massive manhunt that involved roadblocks, police helicopters, drones, they even used DNA technology, the two suspects were caught in the wooded areas not far from where this incident took place.

So, a very tense time. It's been a tense month and a half for so in Israel and across the west bank. This was the sixth attack targeting Israelis since late march. At least 18 people have been killed.

As result of those attacks, Israeli forces had hey increased their raids in what they say are counterterrorism operations in the West Bank killing more than two dozen Palestinians. And Israeli officials tell me that they do expect the potential violence to continue -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Hadas Gold, keep us posted. Thank you so much for the update

All right. Coming up, extreme heat across the country from Texas to the Northeast. At least 200 records could be tied or set. The latest forecast straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: Nearly 13 million people are under a red flag warning as record breaking heat barrels across the country. At least 200 records are expected to be set or tied as the heat continues expanding, bringing threats of possible wildfires.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Tom Sater.

Tom, this is pretty severe.

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. This is not good. You know, Fredricka, for years scientists have been saying get ready for things to start happening earlier and earlier when it come to the seasons.

We saw it with tornadoes. It would peak now, May, June, but in March there were 219, an all-time record. The hits keep on coming in April.

The fire threat is expanding. And this is weeks ahead of schedule. New Mexico has the second largest fire in their history, continuing to rage. They've already as of last month saw a year's worth of acreage scorched. We have fires into Colorado where records yesterday in Denver, Colorado Springs, a number of them.

Temperatures, 10, 20, even 30 degrees warmer than they should be. This is early. It's not that it's extreme heat, but it's happening earlier in the season. So, even for Amarillo, the earliest they've ever hit, 100 degrees, and it's going to build. Large dome of high pressure.

When you have high pressure, expanded, compresses the air. So, the air heats up. We're looking at these records all the way up to the Canadian border. They're going to be breaking records, too. But it's a long duration heat wave, again, earlier than it should be.