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Russia Bombs School With 90 Civilians Inside; Most Vulnerable Evacuated From Azovstal; Afghan Women Ordered To Cover Head To Toe; Philippines Vote Pits Marcos Jr. Against Robredo; Jill Biden Meets With Ukrainian Refugees In Romania And Slovakia; White House Warns Of 100 Million COVID-19 Cases This Fall And Winter; Record Heat Predicted From Texas To New York. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired May 08, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Straight to our lead story: Ukrainian officials say 60 people are most likely dead after Russian forces bombed a school in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. Video shows the building reduced to little more than a smoking pile of debris.

The regional governor says around 90 people were sheltering inside when the bomb hit; 30 were rescued from the rubble. So far two bodies have been recovered and the governor says they are unlikely to find more survivors.

Some hopeful developments in Mariupol. Ukrainian officials say all women, children and elderly people have now been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant. Many were trapped inside the plant for weeks under relentless shelling. And food, water and medicine were in short supply.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that they are now focused on evacuating the wounded and medics still trapped at the plant, as well as civilians stuck in other areas around Mariupol.

To the west, Ukraine's military says Russia fired six cruise missiles on Odessa. So far no casualties have been reported but strikes on historic cities like Odessa almost inevitably lead to other collateral damage. Ukraine's president says nearly 200 cultural heritage sites have been damaged so far during the war. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Every day of this war, the Russian army does something that is beyond words. But every next day, it does something that makes you feel it in a new way.

Today, the invaders launched a missile strike at Odessa, a city where almost every street has something memorable, something historical. But for the Russian army, it does not matter. They would only kill and destroy. Odessa, Kharkiv region, Donbas, they do not care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And we have CNN correspondents across the region covering the conflict from every angle. Isa Soares is in Lviv, Nic Robertson is in Helsinki.

Isa, let's start with that horrific bombing of the school.

What more do we know?

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: We've been hearing the last few minutes from an official from the Luhansk region. And what they have been telling us is that 60 people that were, of course, sheltering inside that school are feared dead.

We're hearing from an official in the last few minutes. The official also telling us that 90 people were sheltering inside the school when that bomb was dropped by Russians on that school. Of those, 30 people were rescued and of those 30, seven were injured.

This, of course, just the latest act of brutality at the hands of Russia. To put it into context for our viewers, that town of Luhansk, about 10 kilometers from the front lines, where we have seen intense fighting and shelling really in the last few days, the back and forth, the push and pull of the battle has been incredibly intense.

A Luhansk official said they have seen artillery fire, airstrikes but Ukrainian troops, he says, are holding on. But horrific scenes as we look at this footage, as people sheltered really from the airstrikes in this small town in Luhansk. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: And there have been some developments on the ongoing efforts to evacuate people from that steel plant in Mariupol and as well as the city itself. Bring us up to speed.

SOARES: Yes, look, after with what has been two months or so of just horrors and brutality that we've seen in the city of Mariupol, particularly inside the Azovstal steel plant, we're now learning that all the women and the children as well as the elderly now have been evacuated from Azovstal steel plant.

They were trapped there for so long, seeing no sunlight, running out of water and food as well as medicine was also in short supply. But look, what is not clear at this stage, and I think you touched on this, is what happens next to those still inside, the wounded soldiers and the remainder of civilians outside the city.

We know that President Zelenskyy as of the last 24 hours or so was working for a diplomatic solution to try to see if they could obviously evacuate the soldiers. But obviously at this stage we do not know. Of course, what we have seen really the impacts of this war being felt not just on the front lines.

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SOARES: But really just reverberating far beyond what we've seen in the east in the weeks since Russia invaded on February 24th, millions, of course, have had to really lift their lives totally upended. More than 13 million people have had to flee their homes, nearly 6 million have fled the country entirely.

Another 7.7 million have had to relocate to a different part of Ukraine. And as the conflict drags on, now in the third month, the relief of escape is starting to yield to the heartache of displacement, millions watching from afar, as their homes are destroyed, and unsure when, if ever, they be able to return and rebuild. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I desperately want to go home. I wake up every morning and feel like it is a nightmare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Joining me now is Jason Phillips, the director of the International Rescue Committee's team in Poland. He joins me from Warsaw.

Good morning, Jason. We're now 70 days into this war. Give us a sense of what you and your teams have been seeing and hearing where you are.

JASON PHILLIPS, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Thank you very much for having me. I think the first thing that I would highlight is really just, as you said, the magnitude of the crisis.

Just a few days ago, we put out a press release, in effect marking the arrival of 2 million Ukrainian third country nationals in to Poland. Even in the last few days, that number, depending on the sources, is up to 3.3 million.

And this is having the impact of cities like myself here, where I'm sitting in Warsaw, seeing their populations increase by 15 percent, 20 percent or more overnight.

The second thing we're looking at as well now is, when we talk about populations of this size and these numbers, is that we must definitely begin to plan for and expect, as one of your stories just said, a protracted nature to this displacement.

People have a grave desire to go home. They would like to stay close by the neighborhood when they can, to be able to reunite with families.

But what they will go home to and the fears that may still exist do not necessarily present themselves now as an opportunity for immediate return.

And then the third thing I would find is that --

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PHILLIPS: yes, sorry, go ahead.

SOARES: Go ahead, finish your thought.

PHILLIPS: I would just say, finally, the requirements for assistance and safety here in Poland over the next few months will likely increase and need greater support as the volunteer-led effort here begins to wane a bit under the expected stresses that are taking place.

SOARES: I have been speaking to people who have been returning home, like you were saying. We've heard President Joe Biden ask Congress for $33 billion in additional new aid, new funding for Ukraine.

Does that spending, does that aid spending go far enough?

PHILLIPS: I think it depends on where it is going to be available for, right?

I mean, I can't speak as much myself in terms of the incredible needs that exist on the side of the border where you are in Ukraine. I can say, in Poland, definitely we're still looking at one of the largest refugee and most fluid refugee environments that we have in the world today.

And whatever resources are being provided now, as strong as they are, particularly on the front lines of Polish government, civil society, the private sector stepping up, there will be needs for increased resources over a sustained period of time in order to ensure that this population gets the protection and the assistance that it needs.

SOARES: And in the last few weeks or so, we've been reporting on and seeing attacks on grain storage sites in Ukraine.

What is the kind of knock-on effect for organizations like yours?

PHILLIPS: I think the effect, again, since I'm on the Poland side, speaking to that side is, you know, it just takes one missile strike, as you said, whether it is on a grain silo, whether it is on a train station, even though the conflict may be concentrated in the east and south now, to retard people from coming home, if you will.

Even if one is from Kyiv, that fear persists and acts as a deterrent, even when there is otherwise strong desires to reunite with family and come back and be part of Ukraine again.

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SOARES: Jason Phillips joining us from Warsaw, thanks very much for taking the time to speak to us. Appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: Thank you for having me.

SOARES: And if you would like to help, go to cnn.com/impact. There you will find several ways that you can help.

That does it for me from Lviv. I'll send it back to Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Thanks so much.

And so as the fighting in Ukraine rages on, Russia is preparing to celebrate its traditional victory day on Monday. That is when Moscow holds a huge military parade to mark the Soviets' victory in World War II, what Russians call the great patriotic war.

This video is of a rehearsal on Saturday. Officials say warplanes will perform a flyover in a formation that looks like the letter Z, which has become a prowar symbol of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

And President Zelenskyy released this emotional message to mark VE Day in Europe. And he's standing amid the rubble and bombed out buildings in a video, saying the commemoration is different this year. Here he is.

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ZELENSKYY (through translator): The fear. 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)

BRUNHUBER: Western leaders will keep an eye on President Putin Monday for any possible announcements about Ukraine. Analysts speculate that he may use the occasion to announce a mobilization or to formally declare war.

But one journalist who reported from Moscow for decades doesn't count on that. He spoke to CNN earlier. Here he is.

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DAVID SATTER, JOURNALIST: I am not expecting to see something all that traumatic, because I think he's got enough common sense not to let a show like this dictate his war strategy.

They've been saying that there is not going to be any declaration of war. There's not going to be any mass mobilization. And the situation on the ground suggests to me, that's probably the case.

But this is a very important symbolic holiday for Russians. And they'll find some way to stoke patriotic fervor and to rally people around this disastrous war that is costing so many lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Next hour, Kimberly Dozier will offer more perspective on Russia's victory day.

And tune in on Monday to see the victory day parade in Russia. We'll have live coverage as troops and officials gather. That is 7:00 am in London and the parade is expected to get underway an hour later.

Yet another setback for women's rights in Afghanistan. Just ahead, what the Taliban is threatening to do if women aren't covered head to toe. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: In Afghanistan, the Taliban are cracking down even more on freedoms for women. A decree issued Saturday requires women to cover themselves head to toe, including their faces, whenever they appear in public.

It is the latest blow to women's rights under Afghanistan's hard line Islamist rulers. So let's take a look back at some of the rollbacks the Taliban have implemented against women.

In December of last year, they banned women from taking long distance road trips in Afghanistan on their own, requiring the man or a male relative accompany them.

Back in November, Taliban issued guidelines to broadcasters that prohibited all dramas, soap operas and entertainment shows featuring women. Female news presenters must also now wear head scarves on screen.

And despite early promises that women would maintain their rights to education, girls' high schools were shut in March. In January U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres appealed to the Taliban leadership to recognize and protect the fundamental human rights for women and girls.

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ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: As I appeal to the international community to step up support for the people of Afghanistan, I make an equally urgent plea to the Taliban leadership, to recognize and protect fundamental human rights and, in particular, the rights of women and girls.

No country can thrive while denying the rights of all of its population.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: For more on this latest development, I'm joined by Pashtana Durrani. She's the founder and executive director of LEARN in Afghanistan, an NGO dedicated especially to girls' education.

Thanks so much for being here with us. When they seized control of the country, the Taliban had promised that they had learned lessons from the last time they were in power in the '90s and wouldn't pursue some of the same policies.

But this latest one definitely harkens back to those dark days. I know when you travel around the countryside, burqas are commonplace.

But in the cities, you see women often just wearing a head scarf.

So what do you think this latest law signals?

PASHTANA DURRANI, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEARN: Thank you so much for having me. I personally think the way we look at it, it is the last nail in the coffin for women basically in Afghanistan because there is nothing left in Afghanistan to ban, to control, when it comes to women.

They have already stopped women from going to workplace. They have already stopped them from going to jobs, from pursuing an education, from pursuing -- from traveling from one place to another.

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DURRANI: They are already at another extreme level that has never happened in the past 20 years. And now the last thing that was remaining was this one wave in the urban centers. And they are just doing this.

And the second wave, second angle that could be looked at, as a political scientist is the fact that this is one of two stamps that the Taliban pull every one or two months to grab the world's attention, because everyone is looking at Ukraine.

And they just want to make sure that everyone is still watching them, even if it is negative light. It still makes them put -- give them attention that they need right now.

BRUNHUBER: But to what end?

I mean, how would that help them?

Because, as you say, that would just be negative publicity and go against what they were saying, promising that they would, you know, continue with women's development or at least not curtail it to the level that they have done, as you have sort of eloquently listed there.

DURRANI: Do you really think the Taliban will stand whatever they have said up until now?

They have never stood on a single thing that they have promised. They are still murdering people in Afghanistan, abusing human rights. Women are able to do whatever they want (INAUDIBLE).

Today you see that this country (INAUDIBLE) for only 50 percent of Afghanistan and the 50 percent of Afghanistan is being self- (INAUDIBLE), is being limited to their houses, it is being banned from education, it's being banned from working.

Do you really think the Taliban are promising what they believe in or what they preach?

They actually let their own daughters go to school while girls in Afghanistan cannot go to school. They themselves can travel, their women can travel in Qatar and Pakistan, while the women of Afghanistan cannot even be escorted from one district to another.

So I don't believe what they say. What they say and do are not the same things. They are not definitely following what they preach.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. And it comes to more than just issues facing women. Millions of Afghans face starvation. The statistic here, some 95 percent of households face food security issues. And a lot of that is tied to the economic crisis, which definitely affects women and girls maybe even more.

DURRANI: And let's look at it, like why are the Taliban so keen on following the real issues of girls' education so much, that they are more focused on this while the country is, at that time, the people are dying?

Why are they not focusing on those main issues?

When they wanted to be the rulers, that is actually what a government agency does, provide services. They are not following up on electricity, water supplies, civic system development.

Their only focus is how to make sure that they control women in their eyes and this clearly shows that they are making sure that they suffocate women to the extent where women will hate them for the rest of eternity. Because they are literally using the women of Afghanistan as political pawns in their own political play.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, it must be especially frustrating because you would imagine that the international community might be able to put more pressure on the Taliban to change. But as you alluded to earlier, the world's attention is largely focused on Ukraine right now.

DURRANI: Honestly, I have cried so much my tears have dried. I have cried so much. And it just breaks my heart, the fact that Taliban can openly have an office in Qatar, they can openly travel back and forth, the world is willing to talk to them, while the women of Afghanistan suffer, while the women of Afghanistan cannot go to school.

And Taliban are the ones who made all this happen and no one is even questioning them.

BRUNHUBER: Well, I know you still have family there and I'm certainly hoping that they are able to get through what is going on in that country, which is extremely troubling. Thank you so much for speaking with us, Pashtana Durrani. Really appreciate it.

Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur has made history by winning this year's Madrid Open. She is the first woman from an Arab or African country to win a WTA 1000 tournament. That's the highest tier, below the four grand slams.

She beat American Jessica Pegula to claim the Madrid title. Currently, she's ranked 10th in the world but she is projected to rise to number seven, following that win.

Voters in the Philippines go to the polls in less than 24 hours in a presidential election that pits the son of the country's notorious former dictator against a candidate with roots in the movement that opposed his father.

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BRUNHUBER: Front-runner Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has led in every opinion poll. He faces Leni Robredo, who, narrowly, defeated him in the vice presidential race in 2016. A human rights activist, she has links to the People Power uprising in 1986 that ousted Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Other candidates include the former professional boxer, Manny Pacquiao, and the mayor of Manila and a former police general.

Former Brazilian president, Lula de Silva, throwing his hat back in the ring for president. He launched his campaign with a rally on Saturday, in Sao Paulo. Lula is the front-runner against the incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, who has faced blistering criticism over his handling of the COVID pandemic, among other things.

Lula has been convicted on corruption and money laundering charges, which barred him from running against Bolsonaro in 2018. But a supreme court judge annulled those charges last year. The first round of the election, scheduled to take place October 2nd.

The death toll has risen to 32 in Friday's explosion at a popular hotel in Cuba, with 19 people, still, missing. A gas leak, thought to be the cause of the blast at Havana's historic Hotel Saratoga. Early reports indicate, a child and a pregnant woman, were among the fatalities. Many victims were hotel employees. Rescue teams, still searching the rubble for any survivors.

BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. And for our international viewers, "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" is next. But if you are joining us from North America, the news continues after a break. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States and Canada. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Ukrainian officials confirm some 60 people were most likely killed Saturday in a Russian airstrike on a school. It is close to the front lines in Eastern Ukraine and just about everybody in town, about 90 people, were believed to be sheltering inside when it was hit. About 30 people are reported rescued.

In Odessa, Ukraine's military says Russia fired six cruise missiles at the city on Saturday. No casualties reported but black smoke could be seen in various places.

And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join Joe Biden and other G7 leaders in a virtual meeting later today. The focus will be on sanctions against Russia and shoring up international support for Ukraine. Nic Robertson is following this story for us from Helsinki, Finland.

So what is likely to come out of this meeting and how significant is it in the context of the victory day in Russia tomorrow?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: In Europe, it is the 77th anniversary of VE Day, when the Nazis surrendered. And that is the day that Europe typically celebrates the end of World War II.

Victory day in Russia comes a day later and typically a time when Putin will tell a narrative of how the Soviets were so significant in defeating Nazism and is expected to try to spin a message of victory in Ukraine.

And the White House is saying that just isn't the case. So it is not a coincidence this G7 leaders meeting is happening. President Zelenskyy will address it. And he is expected to give an assessment of how the war in Ukraine is going but, also, you know, as he always does in these situations, ask for more military help, more equipment to fight the Russians.

And that is very much what President Biden hopes to achieve, a continuity, a continuation, an ongoing effort to make sure that there is that support, that military support for Ukraine, humanitarian support as well.

The British government just announced a $1.6 billion military security assistance for Ukraine on top of the $1.85 billion assistance that has already been given. So I think that this is going to be the narrative that comes out of the G7, that continuing support for Ukraine, the necessity of giving Ukraine what it needs in this fight against Russia.

And thereby undermining whatever Putin might choose to say tomorrow about how the war in Ukraine is going.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and, since you are in Finland, I wanted to ask you, because, there in Finland, there are fears of Russian aggression prompting that country to now consider joining NATO. So there is a deadline looming.

What is the latest on those efforts?

ROBERTSON: It has been an absolutely remarkable shift in opinion here in Finland. Going back to when Russia invaded Ukraine, almost sort of to that day, that marked a massive swing in public support here for NATO.

There has always been an underlying support for NATO; Finland is part of the European Union. But really they saw Russia as now being increasingly risk-taking, potentially aggressive. So the majority of people here now support in joining NATO.

And in the coming days, by the end of this week, it will become clear which way Finland is going. And the expectation, the very high expectation is that the parliament, after hearing from the president and the prime minister speak, will almost undoubtedly move to request to join NATO.

It would be shocking at this stage if they were not to do that. That is the absolute expectation. So by Thursday this week, it might become very clear.

BRUNHUBER: Obviously, we'll be following that story throughout the week. Nic Robertson, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

U.S. first lady Jill Biden is in Eastern Europe meeting with Ukrainian refugees. Right now she's in Slovakia. On Saturday, she visited a school in Romania and heard heartbreaking stories from women and children who fled the war. This school in Bucharest opened its doors to refugee students after Russia's invasion began in February.

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BRUNHUBER: Ms. Biden, also an educator, credits teachers for supporting the refugees.

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DR. JILL BIDEN, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: As a teacher, I so appreciated what that one teacher did, by saying, I'm a teacher, we're going to organize this, we're going to get it together.

And I think really, in a lot of ways, the teachers are the glue that helped these kids deal with their trauma and deal with the emotion and helped give them a sense of normalcy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Ms. Biden's trip is timed around Mother's Day, an occasion that will obviously feel vastly different for the Ukrainian mothers and children who fled their homes.

Imagine fleeing the war in Ukraine and finding refugees in a multimillion-dollar Italian villa. That happened to one Ukrainian family. Barbie Nadeau spoke with them and the woman who opened up their home. Barbie joins us now live.

Take us through the story.

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This is a family that had a connection obviously. Italy had the largest Ukrainian population community before the war. So many people who are coming here do have connections.

And this particular woman, who opened up her home to her housekeeper's grandchildren and daughter. They were living under a Caravaggio painting. And it doesn't take away their stress or worries about the war. But let look at what their life is like here in Rome.

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NADEAU (voice-over): Ukrainian Olga Kolkovska (ph) never imagined her daughter and grandchildren would be living with her, where she works as a housekeeper, in one of the most expensive villas in the world, here, in the heart of Rome.

Olga (ph) tells us her family was doing well in her home country. They had a house, cars, money to live. They were doing so well, she tells us. Now everything is broken.

Now they live in the Villa Aurora, complete with an original ceiling mural painted by Caravaggio. It is, currently, inhabited by Texas born Rita Carpenter, who became Princess Rita Carpenter Boncompagni Ludovisi after marrying an Italian aristocrat.

This villa, with its masterpieces, is scheduled to be auctioned off in June though, twice before, no one had deep enough pockets to hit the nearly half a billion dollar minimum opening bid. Olga has worked here for the last 14 years and when bombs started dropping near Kyiv where her daughter and family lived, there was only one option.

RITA BONCOMPAGNI LUDOVISI, OWNER, VILLA AURORA: Olga (ph) and I discussed it. And as things were becoming more and more dangerous, she said -- I said, you'd better get them out of there now. They're bombing there.

NADEAU (voice-over): The trip out of Ukraine was harrowing, Olga's (ph) daughter, Mariia Brateshevska says. They left with only the clothes on their back and the raw fear for their father, who stayed behind.

They joined more than 107,000 Ukrainians, who have come to Italy since the beginning of the war. Maria has kept the worst details from her youngest children, who are just 6 and 7.

But Oleksandr (ph), who celebrated his 16th birthday last week in Rome, is old enough to hear the truth. Alexander shows us what's left of his high school, which was bombed, on a photo the director sent him.

NADEAU: Is this your school?

OLEKSANDR (PH): Yes, this is the door. We go inside there, through this door. My classroom inside. NADEAU (voice-over): Since arriving in Rome on March 8, the children

have started school, where they're learning Italian, as they settle into Olga's (ph) apartment inside the villa.

LUDOVISI: Imagine what they have gone through, having their lives disrupted and turned upside down. And their father, still being there and their grandfather being there. It is just -- it's heartbreaking. I mean, it really is.

NADEAU (voice-over): Mariia doesn't know when or if she and her family will be able to go back.

MARIIA BRATESHEVSKA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: We cannot have plans. Of course, all of our plans crushed.

NADEAU (voice-over): But they found relative peace with the princess in this breathtaking villa -- at least, for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NADEAU: And you know, when you look at the strife this family has gone through, all the beauty in the world won't take away their fear and concern for their father and grandfather.

This villa is being auctioned off as part of an inheritance dispute. But we're told that the princess can stay there along with the housekeeper and her family, even if it is auctioned off.

BRUNHUBER: Thanks so much, Barbie Nadeau in Rome.

Coming up, U.S. COVID numbers are beginning to tick back up. We'll look at why health officials say more funding will be critical in fighting the surges down the road.

And the era of cheap money, it was nice while it lasted. We'll look at how rising interest rates have home buyers downsizing their dreams.

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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is investigating a COVID outbreak on a cruise ship. The Carnival Spirit left Miami April 17th, docked in Seattle on Tuesday. The agency says it isn't allowed to say how many passengers or crew tested positive. But the CDC and Carnival say there were no severe cases.

Meanwhile, the White House is warning the U.S. could see 100 million COVID infections this fall and winter and stressing the importance of vaccines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: The consequences here are quite catastrophic if we do not get funding.

I mean, my goodness. We're not going to have vaccines for the American people. We're going to run out of treatments for the American people. We're not going to have diagnostic testing. It's a pretty bad situation. I think Congress is going to step up and do the right thing. They have to.

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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. is inching ever closer to a million lives lost to COVID-19. On Friday, Dr. Jonathan Reiner tweeted that it would take 58 days to read the names of all those we've lost. He spoke with Pamela Brown and explained what the number represents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: These aren't just numbers, although the numbers are staggering. There are seven states in this country that have fewer people than that one million number. But these are our parents and our children and our partners. It's been estimated that over 175,000 children in this country have lost either a parent or an in-home caregiver.

So the survivors will have to deal and suffer with the consequences, you know, well, into the future.

[04:45:00]

REINER: It didn't need to be this bad. It didn't need to be nearly this bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: He also says what continues to haunt him is the notion that we've become numb to a million lives lost.

U.S. economy's turbulent ride shows little signs of calming down. On the one hand, Friday was the worst start for the stock market in more than 80 years. On the other hand, new job growth data came in stronger than expected.

But there's no denying the fact that we're still dealing with the highest inflation in more than four decades. And the Federal Reserve's response to that is the largest single interest rate hike in 20-plus years.

Meanwhile, Americans have their lowest public view of the nation's economy in more than a decade. CNN's Camila Bernal is Los Angeles looking at the impact on home buyers.

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CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is now more expensive to borrow. So if you are buying a home, this means that you are either going to have to increase your budget, spend more money or you are going to have a lot less options on the market.

We're all going to see this increase in interest rates when it comes to your credit cards, your car loans, your student loans. But the most tangible way of looking at this is interest rates.

The last week of April, the average for a 30-year fixed interest rate was 5.1 percent. But when you look at, say, last November, that was below 3 percent. It makes a huge difference and it means a lot of money for people looking to buy a home.

I talked to Alexa Jensen. She's a first-time home buyer here in Los Angeles. She is about to get married. She wants to start a family. They have been looking for about a year. And at this point they have put in 16 offers with no luck. Here is what she told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXA JENSEN, FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER: With the new interest rate hikes, we don't really know what our bottom line is anymore. That's a moving target.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Experts say it is a stressful process for the buyer, the seller and the real estate agent. I talked to someone who has been in the business for over 20 years and here is his perspective on that increase in interest rates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPHIR ADAR, MANAGER, COMPASS, BEVERLY HILLS AND HOLLYWOOD: It means that the affordability index goes down. And that means they can afford less in a property, right. So we're literally having buyers right now who have to adjust what they're looking for if they want to get into the market right now.

BERNAL: They no longer can afford --

ADAR: They cannot afford what they used to be able to afford.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And keep in mind that home prices in 2021 increased by 16.9 percent. Home prices are high. And then you add in the higher interest rates and it makes it extremely difficult for people looking to buy a home -- Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Pro-choice advocates made their voices heard outside the U.S. Supreme Court Saturday following the leak of a draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the U.S. CNN's Joe Johns was there in Washington and has the story.

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JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It was die-hard pro- abortion protesters that showed up on this rainy Saturday.

Demonstrations picked up here in D.C. after the leak of that draft opinion, indicating the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States.

While the numbers of protesters were few, there's every indication authorities are prepared for larger demonstrations in the coming days as evidenced by the fencing that goes all the way around the building, the same kind of fencing that was put up around the United States Capitol after January 6th, also around the White House at certain times during the Trump administration.

There's also an indication we will see more activity in the legislature of the United States. The Senate is prepared to vote next week on the issue of abortion -- Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Police in Alabama admit that they are getting discouraged as their hunt for a missing prisoner and the corrections officer believed to have helped him escape is now in its second week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): These are the new images of the squad car Vicky White was driving when she left the Lauderdale County jail, along with accused murderer Casey White.

She was supposedly taking him to a mental health evaluation but the pair disappeared. Investigators released pictures showing what they may look like with altered appearances. Casey White has easily identifiable tattoos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Coming up here, temperatures are reaching historic highs in the Midwest. So when relief will come?

[04:50:00]

BRUNHUBER: A live report from the CNN Weather Center up next.

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BRUNHUBER: If you are traveling throughout the midwestern United States this Mother's Day weekend, you will experience a record heat wave. Temperatures will average 15 to 20 degrees above normal in some places. And several records were set on Saturday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

[04:55:00]

BRUNHUBER: That wraps this hour. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in just a moment.