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Finland and Sweden Both Joining NATO; Turkey Having Second Thoughts of Accepting Finland and Sweden to NATO; Russian Troops Used Incendiary Bombs; Hate Crime Killed 10 People in Buffalo; Red Flags Ignored by Authorities. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 16, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church.

Happening this hour, debate in Finland's parliament ahead of a vote on joining NATO. We are live in Helsinki as well as Istanbul with a look at why Turkey is not yet on board.

Plus, we're learning chilling new details about the gunman in Saturday's racially motivated attack in Buffalo including a previous run-in with law enforcement just last year.

And North Korea is battling its first reported COVID outbreak. We will look at what South Korea is offering.

UNKNOWN: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. We begin with a seismic shift for European security as Russia faces the consequences of its war in Ukraine. On Sunday, Finland's government formally announced that it intends to join NATO. Hours later, Sweden's ruling party followed suit. Right now, Finnish lawmakers are gathering in Helsinki to consider the issue.

Parliament is widely expected to endorse the decision, from there NATO leaders have said the approval process could move very quickly. Sunday's announcement marks an historic policy change for two countries that have remained neutral for decades and it's likely to anger Russian President Vladimir Putin, who long considered NATO expansion a threat to Russia.

Well, CNN's Clare Sebastian is standing by in London with a closer look at Russia's reaction. But first, let's go to international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson who joins us live from Helsinki.

Good to see you, Nic. So the Finnish parliament about to consider this issue this hour, and then a vote will come on whether to join NATO, presumably that is a forgone conclusion. And how does the process move on from here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It is a forgone conclusion, and the president yesterday, President Sauli Niinisto when he spoke at a joint press conference with the prime minister noted not only that this is an historic moment in Finnish politics and Finnish life, but also democracy and the fact that the public here have had debate, the politicians have had debate.

Really, what we are going to see unfold in parliament is the completion of that democratic process, that the conversations in parliament are expected to last as long in essence as there are politicians that want to debate it. That it is very much expected to be a yes vote, possibly today, possibly tomorrow.

More than 100 members of the par -- more than 180 members of the parliament, 200 members total are expected to vote in favor of joining NATO. There are some, perhaps, 10 also parliamentarians who have said that they would be voting against if all of choose to speak, and potentially that would draw the process a little longer, that the conclusion, as you say, is a forgone conclusion at this time, as well.

Here outside the Finnish president's residence, he will be meeting with Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, Susan and Reed (Ph), and other senators and a couple of other senators well, they were in Sweden yesterday meeting here today to continue conversations.

We know that President Biden had a conversation just recently with President Niinisto as well, outlining the United States' support for Finland's accession to NATO, so perhaps furthering those discussions there in a few minutes here. We know as well that Sweden is following very much a similar process at the moment.

The Social Democrat Party, the ruling party yesterday saying they are in favor of the country joining NATO, the parliament there will be discussing it as well. But these votes very much expected in the coming -- in the coming days very shortly, and not quite possible to say precisely when, but very soon.

CHURCH: Of course. And Clare, you are there in London. But we want you to look at Russian reaction to this, of course, Vladimir Putin has threatened retaliation. So, what might that look like?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's pretty unclear at the moment, Rosemary, what kind of retaliation he could be talking about. The foreign ministry has said that it could be military, technical or some other, they said kind of retaliation.

[03:05:05]

So far, we've seen Russia cut off electricity supplies to Finland. Not officially of course linking that to its potential NATO accession, but that shows the kind of, sort of economic or hybrid retaliation we could be talking about.

Reuters is also reporting this morning that the Finnish emergency preparedness committee is preparing for a potential cut off of gas supply from Russia. So, you see this sort of areas where they could exact leverage. I was just watching a segment on Russian state TV where they talked about the economist costs to Finland and Sweden if they joined NATO, not only ramping up defense spending which Russian TV says would take money away from social spending.

But also, in terms of losing a sort of privilege position when it comes to trade with Russia, but interesting to note that the president of Finland and President Putin held a phone call on Saturday. President Putin according to the Finnish side was fairly calm, he said that rejecting these years of neutrality would be a mistake. It would negatively affect Finnish/Russia relations.

But of course, we don't know exactly what kind of decisions are being taken under that calm exterior. And we know that the NATO expansion is an extremely sore point for President Putin and one of the reasons on the face of it that he launched this conflict in Ukraine.

CHURCH: I mean, that's the irony in all of this, isn't it? Clare Sebastian, Nic Robertson, many thanks to both of you for bringing us up-to-date on the situation. We'll continue to watch it.

And of course, many NATO countries have voiced support for Finnish and Swedish bids, but Turkey could play spoiler here and is in fact. Turkish officials have accused those countries of aiding Kurdish groups Ankara views as terrorists, and the Turks want export bans on Turkey lifted. NATO secretary general express optimism on Sunday that the Turkish government will come around. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Turkey has indicated that their intention is not to block membership, and therefore, I am confident that we will be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesn't delay the membership or the accession process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And for the latest on Turkey's reaction, CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live in Istanbul. She joins us now. So, Jomana, I mean, is Turkey likely to come around on this. What exactly is Turkey trying to do here, what's its end goal?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I mean, Rosemary, I think everyone was really surprised, many of Turkey's allies were shocked really by the statement initially made by President Erdogan on Friday saying, look, that they don't view Sweden and Finland joining NATO as something positive, that they don't view this bid positively.

But and over the weekend, I think we got a bit more clarity on Turkey's position, Rosemary, and where this might be headed. Turkish officials have clarified that this is not closing the door, that this is not a firm no but they have concerns that need to address that they want security guarantees.

And you know, as you mentioned earlier, this is about several issues relating to Kurdish militant groups, essentially saying that Turkish officials accused Sweden and Finland and other Nordic countries of harboring members of the PKK, that terrorist organization according to the U.S., the E.U. and Turkey.

And another issue that Turkey has, Rosemary, is arming and supporting the YPG, that is the Syrian Kurdish militia in northeastern Syria, which this has been a contentious issue between NATO countries and Turkey for a very long time. It's strained relations between these NATO countries because of the support they provided to the YPG, the Syrian Kurdish fighters, which Turkey considers to be the same group as the PKK.

So, what they are saying is they want to see an end to the support to these groups, and also, and lift, as you mentioned on the ban on military experts, some other restrictions that were put in place on Turkey's defense industry. And we know that the Turkish foreign minister met with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts over the weekend. Discussions are taking place and they are trying to work through this.

And there seems to be a consensus, Rosemary, as we're heard from U.S. officials and as you heard there from the secretary general of NATO and others, basically saying that they believe that they can work through this and that Turkey is not going to end of the day block the membership of Sweden and Finland.

But interestingly, Rosemary, some analysts and experts also say that while Turkey might have some legitimate concerns and issues that need to be addressed.

[03:09:57]

This is also about Turkey and its president asserting itself as a key member of NATO wanting a seat at the table with -- when decisions are being made and really not wanted to be taken for granted.

CHURCH: All right. Jomana Karadsheh joining us live from Istanbul. We will, of course, continue to watch this. I appreciate it.

Well, new video appears to show Russia using incendiary weapons at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Now, the date isn't clear, incendiary munitions can be fired in grad rockets and they are made to ignite fuel, ammunition, and wood on fire. Its reported hundreds of Ukrainian troops, many of them wounded, are still holding out in Azovstal, refusing to surrender.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia is focusing artillery and troops in the area around Severodonetsk. A Ukrainian official said Sunday the Russians fired at a hospital there. There are reports the Ukrainians have pulled back from a nearby town, but Ukraine's military says the Russians have suffered significant losses in their assault on the east.

And Ukrainian forces reached the border with Russia near Kharkiv, putting down a blue and yellow stake.

CNN's Sam Kiley has more on the fighting in the east from Kramatorsk.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the third month of the Russian invasion, the war created here in Ukraine by Vladimir Putin approaches, the fighting continues to be intense here in the east with a particular concentration of action around the northern city of Severodonetsk.

That is against the backdrop of significant losses by the Russians around the city of Kharkiv. Also in the north, up close to the Russian border but with the increasing focus on events here in Kramatorsk with the strong sense that the Russians may be trying to concentrate their efforts now on one or two axis of advance, thereby dialing down their level of ambition.

But of course, down in the far south of the operational area or effectively around the city of Kherson, there's no sign at all of the Russians reducing their efforts there, and that is because Kherson sits at the headwaters, effectively of a canal system that delivers fresh water into the Crimean Peninsula which was illegally annexed by Russia after their 2014 invasion.

So, it clearly the pressure is continuing from Russia, but there is an increasing sense among Ukrainians that particularly with these new weapons coming in from NATO allies, that they will be able to get much more on the front foot, and then of course the question is, where do they stop? As far as President Zelenskyy is concerned, they will not stop until they have driven the Russians out of their country entirely.

Sam Kiley, CNN, in Kramatorsk.

CHURCH: All right. I want to bring up these live images now coming to us from Finland's capital Helsinki. Lawmakers are preparing to vote on whether to end decades of formal neutrality and apply for membership in NATO.

The measure is expected to pass despite threats from Russia. According to a Kremlin statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart that joining the block would be a, quote, "mistake." Finland already trains regularly with NATO, though joining the alliance would more than double the border Russia shares with its members.

Again, lawmakers in Finland are voting on whether to apply to join NATO. They're actually debating now. They will vote later and we'll bring you those results as soon as they are in.

Well coming up next, we are getting troubling new details on the Buffalo shooting suspect as authorities look into his background. That's just ahead.

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CHURCH: Deadly gun violence erupted again in the U.S. Sunday, a day after a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. California authorities say one person is dead and four others critically wounded after a gunman open fire at a church in Laguna woods. A suspect believed to be an Asian man in his 60s is in custody. Authorities say he was stopped before law enforcement arrived, thanks to some extraordinary actions by churchgoers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF HALLOCK, UNDERSHERIFF, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We believe a group of churchgoers detained him and hogtied his legs with an extension cord and confiscated at least two weapons from him. He was detained when the deputies arrived. That group of churchgoers displayed what we believe exceptional heroism and bravery in intervening -- or intervening to stop the suspect. They undoubtedly prevented additional injuries and fatalities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The shooting took place during a lunch reception honoring the former pastor of a Taiwanese congregation that uses the church for its worship services. In Buffalo, New York, authorities believe the gunman in a mass shooting at a supermarket was motivated by hate.

An official says the 18-year-old suspect told authorities he was targeting the black immunity. Now investigators are reviewing a 180- page manifesto posted online and attributed to the suspect, which appears to lay out detailed planning for the attack. New York's attorney general spoke about the importance of uniting and healing the devastated community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL: I held in my arms a young lady who worked the tops, who was so afraid that she was about to die who witness the bloodshed.

MAYOR BYRON BROWN, BUFFALO, NEW YORK: We're heartbroken. Many people with tears in their eyes. Families that have lost loved ones. I'm telling the community to grieve, but let's stay strong, let's stay together and let's get through this as a community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:20:07]

CHURCH: We're also learning more about the 10 people killed in Saturday's shooting, including 77-year-old Pearl Young. The long-time substitute teacher is being described as a true pillar in the community.

And details are emerging about the Buffalo suspect's background, including a disturbing incident last year just before he graduated from high school.

CNN's Brian Todd has more. BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police and FBI officials have been at

the home of Payton Gendron's parents on the street in Conklin, New York behind me collecting evidence and other items that they'll need for the investigation into this case. As we put together some new information on the background of this alleged shooter.

We do know from the police commissioner in Buffalo, Joseph Gramaglia, he told CNN earlier today that last June, June of 2021 that this suspect, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, made what he called a generalized threat when he attended Susquehanna Valley Central High School, not far from here. That was in June of 2021.

The police commissioner said that that threat was not racial in nature, but he said that state police then took the suspect in for a mental evaluation that the suspect was held for about a day and a half, and then released. And remember that was about a year ago, in June of 2021. State police also confirming that at that time they took, what was that a 17-year-old person in for a mental health evaluation, but they didn't give any more details than that.

We're also getting some other new information about the suspect. I talk to the owner of a place called the reliable market here in Conklin who confirmed to me that the suspect, Payton Gendron worked there for about three or four months, that he left about three months ago on his own accord on good terms giving two weeks' notice, that he worked in the deli counter and a couple of other places in the store.

He was known as a very quiet young man by that owner but the owner didn't have much else to say about him. That's the kind of picture that we are getting in this neighborhood from neighbors who say that they are shocked because they told us that they believe the parents are nice and friendly people and responsible people.

The mother is known to take daily walks around the neighborhood, and be a fairly friendly person. But they too describe this alleged shooter, Payton Gendron, as being a very quiet young man. One neighbor told me that whenever you spoke to Payton, you'd be lucky to get one or two words out of him.

They didn't have a whole lot to say about the young man, other than that he was known to on occasion help an older lady next door to them take out her trash every week but, again, piecing together more details as we go on this alleged shooter in buffalo. The owner of that store where he worked did tell me, quote, "he'll probably pay a huge price for this as he should."

Brian Todd, CNN, Conklin, New York.

CHURCH: And earlier I spoke with Mathew Littman, executive director of 97 Percent, a group working to reduce gun violence and I asked him about the latest deadly shootings in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATHEW LITTMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 97 PERCENT: It is scary. I think what's happening here, Rosemary, we have gun sales in the United States were huge before the pandemic. They have increased tremendously since the pandemic started. So, we have hundreds of millions of guns in this country, and as you talked about, your correspondent talked about before, we have all these conspiracy theories, all this hate propping up.

And the combination of people who maybe should not have a gun. And all of this hatred is what we're seeing now in this rising gun violence. And it's not even to mention that two thirds of the deaths from guns in a yearly basis are people who commit -- that commit suicide from the gun.

So, most of the gun deaths in this country are suicides, and then we see all these terrible mass shootings as well, and the numbers are going up, not down.

CHURCH: Yes. I mean, it's just a tragic situation, isn't it, to watch unfold? The Buffalo shooting suspect, only 18 years old, allegedly a white supremacist radicalized online, and casing out that supermarket before he's attacked, targeting a predominantly black neighborhood.

Authorities say he was motivated by racism, buying into racist conspiracy theories, and allegedly posting that 108-page manifesto online. How should the U.S. be dealing with this type of online radicalization? What more needs to be done to take some of this material down? Is that even possible?

LITTMAN: Well, Rosemary, I would say that that's not my area. My area that we focus on is gun violence and what to do about gun violence, and we talk specifically and bringing people together, and gun owners and people who don't own a gun because mostly, even gun owners and non-gun owners feel the same way about gun issues. Studies show that all the time.

So, if you want to talk about Buffalo, and so do I. Last year, this person threatened to shut up a school. Right? And what could've happened in Buffalo us they have what's called the red flag law New York. Are you familiar with that term?

[03:25:02]

CHURCH: Yes.

LITTMAN: OK. So that means that the state, the police or the school could have petitioned the court to take away the person's gun and they did not. And that's a law that exist but people don't use enough. Gun owners favor red flag laws, non-gun owners favor red flag laws, and we need to use the laws like that that we have in place to prevent people like this from being able to have a gun and do something like this.

There's a law in New York that could have helped in a case like this and it was not used.

CHURCH: And why do you think it wasn't used?

LITTMAN; Well, people -- it's great question, Rosemary. I'm glad you asked. Because people don't know that these laws are on the books in many states. I mean, last year there was a shooting, I believe it was in Indiana which had a reg flag law which could have been used and it was not, and now they've changed those laws in Indiana and made it so that more people know they exist.

In New York, often, and even in California, where I am, people don't know that this exists, and that certain things are possible with existing gun laws. Red flag laws are favored by two-thirds of gun owners, for example, and almost 84 percent of all Americans favor red flag laws, in many cases that would be helpful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And that was Mathew Littman, executor director of 97 percent joining me last hour.

Well North Korea won't say exactly how many of its citizens have COVID-19, but Kim Jong-un is sending the military to help with a soaring number of so-called fever cases. Those details in a live report from the region after the break.

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CHURCH: Well, China is planning for life to return to normal in Shanghai next month. Local officials declare the city's COVID outbreak under control just a short time ago.

[03:30:04]

Shanghai 25 million residents have grown frustrated by more than six weeks --

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: -- the city's COVID outbreak under control just a short time ago. Shanghai's 25 million residents have grown frustrated by more than six weeks in lockdown.

Meanwhile, China's neighbor, North Korea is ramping up efforts to fight hundreds of thousands of what it calls, fever cases. State media says Kim Jong-un has ordered the military to help stabilize the country's medicine supply.

And we have CNN's Anna Coren following China's COVID situation from Hong Kong. But let's start with Blake Essig who is monitoring North Korea from Tokyo. So Blake, what more are you learning about the COVID situation in North Korea? What sort of numbers are we talking about here?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, the COVID crisis in North Korea is getting worse by the day, Rosemary, since the country identified or admitted its first ever case of COVID-19 last week. Fever cases in North Korea have been surging with nearly 400,000 new cases reported yesterday.

According to state run media, KCNA, the outbreak started in late April and has since resulted in more than 1.2 million cases of the so-called fever cases, more than 560,000 people are still being isolated with symptoms, and 50 people, so far, have died.

Although it is unclear if those fever cases or deaths were caused by COVID-19, and the reason for that uncertainty -- and the reason why we are calling these cases fever cases instead of COVID cases, is because the level of testing is extremely low and the vast majority of those people showing symptoms in all likelihood have not been tested.

According to the World Health Organization since the pandemic began more than two years ago through the end of March only 64,000 people had been tested out of a population of more than 25 million people.

And to make matters worse, experts are saying that the country lacks significant healthcare infrastructure and is unlikely able to be treating large numbers of patients, it also is likely that none of the country's 25 million people have been vaccinated.

North Korea hasn't secured any vaccines through organizations like COVAX despite being eligible. Now, it's worth noting that South Korea has offered to provide vaccines, medical supplies, and personnel to help North Korea fight this outbreak. But so far, North Korea hasn't asked for assistance and is unclear whether or not they will take South Korea up on its offer to provide aid.

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, who has been pictured by KCNA visiting pharmacies in Pyongyang while wearing a mask, has recently declared a major national emergency ordered all those cities nationwide to be locked down, and has since said that the current outbreak is the greatest turmoil to hit North Korea since its founding more than 70 years ago, Rosemary.

CHURCH: We will, of course continue to watch this. So, I want to bring in Anna Coren now from Hong Kong for more on China's COVID situation. So, Anna, after more than six weeks in lockdown, which is just incredible, Shanghai residents are now looking forward to getting back to some level of normalcy next month, though. So, what is the latest on this?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, that's certainly what the government is telling people, that they've got these three stages that they are going to get to Shanghai back to some level of normalcy. People are not buying it.

I've spoken to residents in Shanghai who have been locked up for more than -- than seven weeks. Most people in Shanghai, 25 million have been locked up for seven weeks, others locked up even before that official lockdown and they say we just don't trust the government and we certainly don't trust their timeline.

But, the Shanghai authorities have said they have these three-stage plan, which will allow for supermarkets, for restaurants, for shopping malls to reopen, but as I say, people are very skeptical, Rosemary.

I should also add that on Sunday they recorded 938 cases in Shanghai. That's the first time that it's dropped below a thousand since late March. Now it's not just Shanghai that is under full lockdown. There are dozens of cities around China that are either in full lockdown or partial lockdown.

Beijing has managed to escape at being the capital. It recorded 54 cases on Sunday and yet restrictions seem to be tightening there. There are people speaking of this soft lockdown in certain districts where public transport has been stopped there, encouraging people to work from home.

We have to remember that Beijing has really been through so many rounds of mass testing and authorities, have only just announced another three rounds of mass testing this week for about 20 million people. Those people have already gone through 15 tests in just the last few weeks.

So, so really this is just taking an enormous toll, Rosemary. I should also just mention that the Asian Football Federation Cup, which is due to be hosted by China in June and July of next year has been canceled by the Chinese government.

[03:35:08]

They have given up rights to host it. That's how long they think the pandemic is going to affect China, Rosemary.

CHURCH: That is extraordinary, isn't it? Anna Coren and Blake Essig, thank you both for joining us with those live updates. I appreciate it.

Well just ahead, voters in Lebanon went to the polls in parliamentary elections for the first time since the country's economic collapse. We will have a report from Beirut. We're back in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Voters in Lebanon went to the polls Sunday in a high-stakes parliamentary election, the first since a 2019 popular uprising against the country's ruling elite. Several new political groups rose out of that movement to compete with the establishment parties, but despite widespread discontent with Lebanon's political class and an economy in shambles some fear voter turnout was still too low.

CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The lines were long Sunday morning at Beirut's Khaled Bin Walid School as women waited to vote in Lebanon's parliamentary elections. Yafida (Ph) didn't mind that wait.

"We've have hit rock bottom," she says. Like so many here, Yafida (Ph) hopes the voters will somehow be able to throw off a political elite that has mismanaged and looted Lebanon for decades, depriving its people of the most basic opportunities.

"All of our children have immigrated," Samira (Ph) tells me after voting. Only my husband and I are still here," yet the elite still have the money and resources to win the votes in a system described by one analysts as a procedural democracy on paper and autocracy in practice.

[03:39:56]

JAD WEHBEH, BEIRUT RESIDENT: I think it's going to be an uphill battle. it's going to take time. It's not going to happen this year, and it's not going to happen, probably, in four years, but I think we need to show a model that Beirut can change. And if Beirut can change, everybody else can change as well.

WEDEMAN: Voting has ended in Lebanon's 2022 parliamentary elections, and they are now preparing to count the votes. It's still early, but the expectations are that the turnout will be lower than when it was in 2018. Why?

Well, many of the people we spoke to attributed it to the fact that the Lebanese economy is effectively collapsed. The GDP is half of what it was three years ago. Inflation is running at more than 200 percent. The Lebanese lira has lost more than 90 percent of its value against the dollar. And four out of five Lebanese have fallen into poverty.

And also, many people are angry at the fact that not far from here on the 4th of August, 2020, the Beirut port blast happened killing more than 200, wounding thousands but still no one within the government has been held accountable. The feeling of many Lebanese is that not only have the political elite, the people that ruled this country for decades, failed them, the entire political system has failed them as well.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, African Voices Changemakers is next. And for those here in the U.S. and Canada, I'll be right back with more news in just a moment.

[03:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A powerful performance there from Wynonna Judd singing a new song called River of Time written by her mother Naomi Judd. Crowds came to remember Naomi at a public celebration on Sunday. The biggest stars of country and southern gospel music performed tributes to the music icon who died by suicide in April at the age of 76.

Fans help fill the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville along with appearances from Oprah, Morgan Freeman, and Reese Witherspoon. Wynonna Judd announced she still plans on going on the road and performing this year for what meant to be a reunion tour with her mother.

John Fetterman, the favorite to win Pennsylvania's Democratic U.S. Senate race has announced that he's recovering after suffering a stroke. He was hospitalized on Friday and was forced to cancel campaign events days before the Democratic primary this week. In a statement, Fetterman said he is on his way to a full recovery and released this video statement on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GISELE BARRETO FETTERMAN, JOHN FETTERMAN'S WIFE: Hey, everybody. It's John and Giselle. And as you can see, we hit a little bump on the campaign trail.

JOHN FETTERMAN (D), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: Yes. It was on Friday, I just wasn't feeling very well, so I decided, you know, I needed to get checked out so I went to the hospital.

G. FETTERMAN: I made you get checked out.

J. FETTERMAN: Yes.

G. FETTERMAN: -- because I was right, as always.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: If Fetterman wins, he will face-off against the Republican nominee in the midterm elections in November.

Well, vaccine misinformation got people killed in the United States. That is one take away from a new study that found better vaccination rates could have prevented half of COVID deaths since the vaccines became available.

It concluded that 319,000 lives could have been saved between January 2021 and April 2022 if peak vaccination rates were sustained across the country. Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that the U.S. needs to keep alert and that the pandemic is not over yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We're starting to see surges of cases, so protection against initial infection, we know wanes and we know with this highly transmissible variant of Omicron it's a sub lineage of Omicron, it's clearly surging now in multiple states. We've got to make sure that we don't make a decision, which would be a wrong decision, that we are completely finished with COVID-19. We are not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Dr. Eric Topol is a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, and he joins me now from La Joya in California. Thank you, doctor, for being with us. ERIC TOPOL, PROFESSOR, MOLECULAR MEDICINE, SCRIPPS RESEARCH: Thank you, Rosemary, and good to be with you.

CHURCH: Thank you. So according to the web site for Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. is approaching one million COVID deaths and as we just heard from Dr. Fauci, COVID isn't over yet with surges in cases in many U.S. states due to waning immunity, and Dr. Fauci says that's why more Americans need to get vaccinated and boosted.

So, how do you achieve that when there's still a lot of misinformation out there that is stopping people from getting their shots, particularly those critical boosters?

TOPOL: Well, critical is the word, I think. We didn't as a country, make this message so clear, you know, back last fall when the booster campaign really got its start. And for people who have not had a booster and are just relying on their infection immunity, it will do nothing to protect them from these Omicron variants that we face today.

They are accounting for a major new wave. So, we have to make a much strong effort to convince the people that the boosters are essential. And of course, as Dr. Fauci pointed out, too, that even the primary vaccination, we are only at two-thirds of Americans, and we should be far greater. And especially in those people who are of advanced age.

[03:50:00]

CHURCH: Yes, and I mean, that's the problem, and then trying to convince people that they need to do this. And of course, this surge in COVID cases are resulting in rising hospitalizations. Is it inevitable that mortality will rise, too in the weeks and months ahead if more people don't get their eligible shots?

TOPOL: Well, I think as you mentioned with the one million deaths, to think that a few hundred thousand of these were fully preventable has we had proper vaccinations and boosters in this country, at least that many. And so, we're going to see a rise in deaths because right now we are seeing a 20 percent or greater hospitalization increase.

It's nothing like what we've seen with the monstrous Omicron wave, but it's still on its way up. And we may well get to 40 or 50,000 hospitalizations before this current BA.2 and BA.2 got 121 wave is finish with us, and of course, that doesn't mean that the pandemic is finished even at that point.

CHURCH: And doctor, the U.S. is now seeing more than 100,000 reported COVID cases per day, but many people are taking the home tests and not getting counted in that tally, so could those infections be significantly higher, do you think?

TOPOL: Not only significant, I would say we are at least 500,000 new cases a day, because of what you said, Rosemary, and that means that we are at the biggest wave of the whole pandemic in terms of spread, infectiousness, except for the Omicron wave in January. So, this is a really under the radar wave, but if you talked to people

in communities throughout the country, the transmission rates are exceptionally high. And that's of course why we're still under rise with hospitalizations, too.

CHURCH: And of course, the problem is, I mean certainly from where I live, you see that people are much more relaxed, people aren't wearing their masks anymore, and people are not as worried they don't feel as threatened by Omicron and the sub variants, so how do you convince people that we are in a dangerous stage yet again.

TOPOL: All right. So, I wrote about the capitulation, which is basically we have this notion, which is promulgated by the CDC and our government that we need to live with COVID and of course that's the case in many other countries around the world, when in fact we don't have to live with it like it is now because it's really inducing a lot of harm.

And so, that's why instead of the idea that we should, as you say, stop with all our mitigation measures that do have an effect, that do help us, but also invest in the things that we need to come up with vaccines that are far more protective, nasal vaccines that will block transmission, much better pills and a whole, you know, host of medications beyond just relying on the current Paxlovid, so we can do so much more to overtake the virus and really put the pandemic behind us but we're not doing that.

CHURCH: Yes, it's very unfortunate, isn't it? Dr. Eric Topol, always a pleasure to talk with you and get your perspective on these matters. I appreciate it.

TOPOL: Thanks so much.

CHURCH: Well, a cold front moving across the U.S. is causing severe thunderstorm conditions for the northeast, damaging winds, hail and even tornadoes are a risk as the system moves east. About 90 million Americans could be impacted by this severe weather.

So, let's turn to our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri who joins me with more. That's a lot coming towards people. Talk to us about what you are seeing.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's the most densely populated corner in the U.S., Rosemary. So, that's the area of the northeastern U.S. where this front is later to arrive sometime within the next 8 to 12 or so hours, and once it does here, the storm system really begins to make its presence felt around that.

So again, major cities including New York, Boston as far as Washington, and certainly Philadelphia as well, the main threat along the line of storms is going to be straight line winds kicking up say 65 and maybe 70 miles per hour at times, also very heavy rainfall, so a brief period there for flooding potential in place and large hail. Those are the primary threats.

Isolated threat in place for a few tornadoes scattered about this region and that is a level three in orange. On a scale of one to five, a level three that includes areas as far as Syracuse, as far as southeast Richmond and Virginia.

Again, in this area, about a 5 percent chance of any area within 25 miles of a point you could see a tornado possible. So, again, small enough risks but in placed in a very densely populated region. Last couple of weeks, five tornadoes scattered about the eastern half of the United States, but you'll notice the wide coverage of wind and hail report and that is what we expect around the northeastern United States when it comes to the reports over the next 24 or so hours.

[03:54:51]

Now the big story beyond this is going to be the significant ramp up of temperatures around the large area of the southern United States. In fact, from Monday through Saturday, upwards of 150 record temperatures could be seen from as far west as Arizona, and eventually as far east as portions of the Delmarva and areas of New England as well.

Temperatures around the low and (Inaudible) state have been excessive here the last couple of days and we do expect them to climb right back up again to more in line of what you would see in July and maybe August, closing in on the triple digit mark across the Dallas metro area later this week.

Now, I want to talk about the fires quickly because across the state of Colorado, a new fire to tell you about. This is the High Park fire, but the entirety of the state here dealing with drought conditions, but the High Park fire about 1,100 acres consumed, 10 percent containment. One of several fires around the western United States of course that is burning very quickly has resulted to dry conditions, Rosie.

CHURCH: Unbelievable, isn't it? Pedram Javaheri, many thanks for bringing us up-to-date on all of that. I appreciate it.

Well, world number men's tennis player Novak Djokovic achieved another career milestone over the weekend becoming just the fifth man to reach 1,080 ATP tour victories. He did it by beating Norway's Casper Ruud in the Italian Open semifinals on Saturday. And then for good measure, he went on to win the tournament on Sunday, not dropping a single set along the way. It is the first title for Djokovic since winning the Paris Masters in November.

Well, the final 14 are now set for the NBA playoffs. The Boston Celtics crushed the defending champs, the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday 109 to 81. Grant Williams put up a career high 27 points as the Celtics advanced to the eastern conference finals.

Second seed Boston will face the top seed, Miami Heat with game one set for Tuesday in Miami, and the Dallas Mavericks shutdown the Phoenix Suns with a dominant victory, 123 to 90. Luka Doncic put on a show with 35 points and 10 rebounds. The Mavs led by as many as 46 points as they advanced to the western conference finals. Dallas will take on the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday in San Francisco. And thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm

Rosemary Church. CNN Newsroom with Isa Soares is next.

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