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First Trip as President for Biden to Asia; Russia Torches Villages near Kharkiv; First Funeral for Buffalo Massacre Victims; U.S. First Lady Jill Biden on Latin America Tour; Australia Votes; U.S. Formula Maker Increases Output. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 21, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And a warm welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, Joe Biden's goal in Asia: to rebuild economic ties across the region.

Plus, surrender at a steel plant in Mariupol. Ukrainian fighters ordered to stop defending the city and Russia claiming hundreds of soldiers are now in their custody.

And as the push to charge an alleged grocery store gunman with a hate crime grows, Buffalo begins reflecting on the lives lost in that deadly mass shooting.

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NEWTON: And we begin in Seoul, South Korea, where, right now, Joe Biden is holding talks with his newly inaugurated South Korean counterpart on his debut trip to Asia as U.S. President.

Now earlier Mr. Biden participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the national cemetery. He wore white gloves in a show of respect to the Koreans who died to protect his country.

Mr. Biden is now at the Korean ministry of national defense for his meeting. We're expecting them to give remarks sometime this hour. On Friday the president said the region will prove to be critical in the years and decades to come.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're standing at an inflection point in history, where the decisions we make today will have far reaching impacts on the world we leave to our children tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NEWTON: On the agenda of Mr. Biden's meeting with South Korea's leader, is, of course, the continued nuclear threat posed by Pyongyang.

We also learned Beijing is holding military drills in the South China Sea during his visit there. Now the U.S. says North Korea could conduct a missile test while the president is in the region. But even with those issues the war in Ukraine is still, of course, on the mind of Mr. Biden.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Putin's brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine has further spotlighted the need to secure our critical supply chains so that our economy -- our economic and our national security are not dependent on countries that don't share our values.

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NEWTON: And covering this visit we have Paula Hancocks and Kevin Liptak, both live from Seoul.

We begin with you, Kevin. This is an ambitious Asia trip. Some say he should have made the trip earlier and conversely there's a lot of issues at play here, not just the war in Ukraine but domestically.

Why did he feel now was the time to get this done?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think certainly the president would have liked to come to Asia a little earlier in his presidency. Both of his predecessors came here in their first years of office.

But he was somewhat hampered by coronavirus restrictions, then by Afghanistan and now it's the war in Ukraine being waged by Russia. But the president is here now on a mission to demonstrate he does continue to hold this region as a very high priority of his presidency.

And he's said that, both as a candidate and president, that he thinks the defining challenge of the next century will be competing with China, both economically and militarily.

And while that's not officially the point of his visit here, that is certainly the unspoken theme of each of his stops along the way, first here in South Korea and then tomorrow when he heads to Japan.

The president is meeting with the South Korean president now behind closed doors, the People's House, they're calling it. He is expected to talk about North Korea. That is certainly the issue looming over this visit.

North Korea could test either an underground nuclear or a long-range missile while the president is in the region. But the president's aides are very clear, and they made this point this morning when talking to them, that's not the only issue President Biden wants to talk about with his new South Korean counterpart.

He really wants to expand this relationship beyond just security issues related to North Korea into a much more fulsome alliance related to trade, technology, economics and other security issues in the Indo Pacific. And he has found I think a willing partner in President Yoon.

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LIPTAK: He's talked about positioning South Korea in a more robust way on the global stage. And so that's something we do expect him to be talking about behind the scenes.

This is their first meeting face to face, where they'll be able to talk about substantive issues. And that's something the president takes seriously as he's developing these interpersonal relationships.

Oftentimes these meetings run very long because he's developing this chemistry, really. And that's something really kind of unique to President Biden. He holds that in such high regard.

And they do have some commonalities between the two of them, these two leaders. So it'll be interesting to see, when we see them come out for this press conference later, how that chemistry has evolved over the course of this meeting today, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, he's certainly a president that takes great pride in his relationships.

Paula Hancocks for us, you've been following the path of this rookie president, is what he is now. And yet arguably this is the most important foreign relationship he has, trying to forge it and all it means in the defense posture.

And all the politics that play in South Korea as well, will that factor in?

Or given the threat from North Korea and the economic challenges, will he be able to come from a position of strengthen forge this relationship with the U.S.?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was interesting what Kevin was saying about what President Biden wanted from this relationship. And that's the fact he wanted it to be more comprehensive, not just be the security partnership.

And it's exactly what President Yoon or campaigning to be President Yoon was saying just months ago, saying he wanted to change the relationship between the U.S. and South Korea, to make it stronger, to bring it into talk about trade, economics and security ties, not just the military aspect.

So really it does appear as both sides here are moving toward the same goal of extending this relationship into something far more than just the military side of it. Of course, you do have 28,500 U.S. troops or thereabout stationed here in South Korea. So that's obviously going to be one of the main factors.

But President Yoon has said consistently he wants far more than that. As you said, it has been very fractious during the campaign here. It certainly was a campaign of a fair bit of mudslinging from both sides, to be fair.

And President Yoon has come in at a fairly low approval rating as well. It was a election where the victor, which was President Yoon, really only won by far less than 1 percent. So it was the closest election in history.

So he understands and he's said this publicly in his inauguration speech, this is a very polarized country at this point. And he said he understands he has to work toward uniting the two. He's certainly not alone in that quest.

This is something President Biden needs to work on, something many leaders in the world are finding at the moment, this polarization within their own countries.

But certainly, when it comes to North Korea, neither side, the U.S. nor South Korean intelligence agencies, have pulled back from their assessment that North Korea is close to a missile test and potentially to a seventh underground nuclear test.

Now that would change the conversation clearly between these two leaders. But it will also be very high on the agenda, how they will deal with North Korea, how they could hope to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.

Both sides have said they're willing to talk to the leader, Kim Jong- un, under the right circumstances. There's been no response to that. Both sides have also said they're willing to help with any assistance North Korea needs in its COVID outbreak.

It announced just over a week ago it had a COVID outbreak in Pyongyang. Again, no response to that.

NEWTON: Both countries said they're willing to help with that COVID outbreak. Paula Hancocks there in Seoul, appreciate it.

Joining me now from Washington, D.C., is Yun Sun, a senior fellow and codirector of the East Asia program and director of the China program at the Stimson Center.

As we wait to see how this Asia visit unfolds, he's finally getting there. But given Russia's military aggression, a lot has changed strategically in just a matter of months.

How do you think this might affect everyone's posture in general in the region, whether it has to do with North Korea or even China's emboldened foreign policy stance?

YUN SUN, STIMSON CENTER: That's a great question. I think both countries in the region, especially U.S. allies and partners.

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SUN: The biggest question is to what extent the United States will be distracted.

So for this trip, I think it's really important for the United States to reassure our allies and partners that the U.S. can walk and chew gum at the same time.

So the U.S. does not have to be bogged down in Europe and U.S. can still maintain commitment and credibility in the Indo Pacific region and especially in the West Pacific, where China's growing threat is become increasingly present problem.

NEWTON: And to remind everyone, you know, in the Obama years, we had the pivot to Asia even. And things have changed so much since then. The U.S. continues to warn North Korea could conduct a missile test during the visit.

The U.N. has been in such close contact with China this week.

What influence does China have over North Korea's actions?

And even if they have influence, will they use it?

SUN: Well, by their treaty, China and North Korea are still allies. They have a mutual defense clause in their treaty. And in terms of economic relations and trade, China is pretty much the sole provider of trade and economic assistance of North Korea.

So by that, you could deduct that China has more influence over North Korea than any other country in the whole world. But whether China will use that influence is a completely different matter.

First off, the Chinese find less incentive or zero or no incentive to help the United States with Western countries on the issue of North Korea. Instead, China is more willing to hold North Korea as strategic leverage for future negotiation and bargain with the United States.

Secondly, we know North Korea has maintained a moratorium on their nuclear tests and ballistic missile tests. And the Chinese argument has been North Korea should be rewarded for their refrained -- refrained from provocation from conducting nuclear tests.

And so far, such reciprocity or reward in the form of beefing up sanctions in North Korea has not happened. Therefore, the Chinese almost see certain legitimacy or reasonable ground for North Korea to engage in provocations.

NEWTON: Before I let you go, the quad of Australia, India, the United States, Japan, how much do you think they'll be able to strengthen that alliance?

SUN: I think the arrangement, the quad arrangement, which is a security architecture, but I wouldn't call it security alliance just yet because the mutual defense is not yet present for the quad arrangement. I would say the quad has been doing well in supply chain arrangements and also regional security discussion.

With India, most people would question, in this position and whether India is truly on our side because if you look at India's ambivalence toward Russia and the Russian war with Ukraine, some people would question where does India really stand on this issue.

But I would like to remind people, quad is focused on the Indo Pacific region. And the primary focus being China. On the issue of China, India doesn't have much of a difference of opinion with the United States, because both India and China see -- both India and the United States see China as a growing threat to their national security.

So I would say on the issue of India, although we might have diverging perceptions and diverging views on issue of Russia, U.S. and India pretty much on the same page on the issue of China.

NEWTON: Listen, you've done a great job in setting the table for us on what really will be a very eventful trip in the next few days. Yun Sun, joining us from Washington, appreciate it.

SUN: Thank you.

NEWTON: Turning now to the war in Ukraine and the situation at the steel plant in Mariupol. Russia claims more than 530 Ukrainian forces surrendered on Friday after the Ukrainian commander there ordered his fighters to stop defending the city.

Now CNN cannot confirm if all Ukrainians have left the massive industrial site. Russia says hundreds of those soldiers are now being held at a former penal territory of Ukraine.

Even as Russian troops withdraw from Kharkiv, they continue to shell villages they once occupied. On Friday one of those towns was hit with incendiary munitions. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has our report.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): Putin would choke the light and life out of here. We are driving into the smoke of an incendiary munitions attack we're told here against this civilian village. Homes, fields, even the air itself torched.

Vera says she saw it falling from the sky and her neighbor hit.

VERA, TSYRKUNY RESIDENT (through translator): Phosphorus or bright sparks of some kind were flying. That's a fire. Before that, a bomb landed there. It blew up three houses, I think.

WALSH (voice-over): The incendiary munition, which burns hot through everything in its path came after heavy normal shelling, which makes you question like so much here exactly why Russia needed to heat fire on top of heavy explosive.

It hit just 10 minutes ago, this man says, pointing the way. Some left bewildered, others in the first moments of shock.

Valentina is very matter of fact, as she describes what happened to Viktor in her neighbor's house.

VALENTINA, TSYRKUNY RESIDENT (through translator): There was an explosion, smoke all around. He climbed into the attic to see if it was on fire. Immediately, there was another explosion in the yard. I shouted, Viktor. He's not there. I go to the attic, he's not there.

WALSH (voice-over): she shows us the courtyard where a dead man lies, a large hole in his chest and air torn off. She points to the body just behind the tree and then says who he is.

VALENTINA (through translator): He's my husband.

WALSH (voice-over): Viktor had Russia check on their neighbor's home. Russia occupied here for weeks and as it retreats, these tiny corners of green aware it visits its anger. Up the road toward Russia's last positions before the border, the shells land even closer.

Natalia's husband died in shelling weeks ago and their house is like almost everything here ruined.

NATALIA, CHERKASKI TYSHKY RESIDENT: I have no strength or patience left after my husband was torn to pieces. You must understand how hard it is.

WALSH (voice-over): For the weeks we're in here was occupied, she lived across the street from an enormous Russian base. Our guides from Ukrainian Rapid Response Unit are cautious fighting is intensifying up the road and they know the Russians got comfortable here.

Their base even needed this aircraft warning device up high to tell Russian jets it was friendly.

WALSH: This is their problem each time they move forward. Here they are in what was once a Russian position and look, look all around you, impossible to know who's really in control of this area with a fight happening just on the other side of the hill.

WALSH (voice-over): The smell of corpses among the pines, under every footstep the threat of mines.

WALSH: Everywhere you look, foxholes, ammunition boxes, clearly a significant Russian base here. They're calling it a little of town using this forest as cover but clearly hit really hard.

WALSH (voice-over): The tomb of the unknown Russian soldiers; this says ghoulish relics here where it once buzzed with the brutish, clumsy task of besieging a city, smoldering in the trees here but swallowed in that tall silence -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN.

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NEWTON: And our thanks to Nick Paton Walsh there for that report from the Kharkiv region in Ukraine. Coming up for us, Buffalo begins the heart-wrenching task of burying

victims of the racist massacre that left 10 people dead.

Plus, Australians spent the day in making their choices that will determine the country's next leader. We'll have latest in the report right after the break.

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NEWTON: The U.S. Justice Department says it will use every legal tool it has to combat hate crimes in the country as the investigation into the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, moves forward now.

The news came as the heartbreaking work of laying the victims to rest has begun. CNN's Brian Todd is in Buffalo, where the community is remembering the lives of those lost to hate.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An outpouring of support at the first funeral in Buffalo in the weak of Saturday's supermarket shooting. One of the 10 victims, Heyward Patterson, a church deacon and jitney driver, was honored by friends, parishioners and the community.

GERALD SLACK JR., FRIEND OF BUFFALO SHOOTING VICTIM: When Patterson got shot, he was actually loading groceries into the back of a vehicle, helping somebody else.

TODD: Another friend says the community is angry but --

Can you forgive this gunman?

GENEVA SMITH-JOHNSON, FRIEND OF BUFFALO SHOOTING VICTIMS: I have to.

TODD: Some people would argue you don't have to.

JOHNSON: Yes, yes. Well, I'm a Christian. You have to. It's mandatory for us.

TODD: The Buffalo suspect's racism was evident during a previous visit to the store, according to an employee who survived the shooting.

ROSE WYSOCKI, TOPS STORE PRODUCE MANAGER: He told me I looked like I didn't belong there. I said what do you mean by that?

You look like you belong in the suburbs store. Then under his breath I could hear him say just another -- lover. I thought you're just rude.

TODD: Another employee who survived told CNN she called 911 and the operator scolded her for whispering.

LATISHA ROGERS, TOPS STORE ASSISTANT OFFICE MANAGER: I gave her the address and said please send help. There's a person in the store shooting. She proceeded to tell me, what, I can't hear you?

Why are you whispering?

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ROGERS: You don't have to whisper. They can't hear you.

TODD: She dropped her phone and said she was disconnected.

ROGERS: I laid down flat on the floor and got against the counter praying he didn't see me and during this whole time, it's just constant just shooting. He won't stop. It's constantly going.

And as I hear him getting closer, I just pressed myself like trying to be as flat as I can on the ground and up against the counter praying to God he wouldn't see me.

TODD: Now in addition to the profound grief that this community is feeling, as you can see here with this mural, there is also the potential for economic fallout.

Several people in this community told us that it took local leaders years to get this Tops Store established in this neighborhood right here. And after it did, other businesses like local banks and other businesses followed right after that.

They're now worried that even after this Tops store reopens as promised, that the economic viability of this neighborhood could really take a nosedive -- Brian Todd, CNN, Buffalo, New York.

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NEWTON: The U.S. state of Oklahoma could soon have the strictest abortion laws in the nation, essentially banning all abortions with very few exceptions. The bill now needs to be approved by Oklahoma's Republican governor.

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GOV. KEVIN STITT (R-OK): We believe life begins at conception and we're going to protect life in Oklahoma.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republican Governor Kevin Stitt not mincing his words, making good on his promise to make Oklahoma the most anti-abortion state in the country.

Oklahoma lawmakers passing a bill on Thursday that would ban abortions at fertilization, making it one of the nation's most far-reaching abortion prohibition prohibitions, adding to a growing number of Republican leaning states advancing strict measures in anticipation of the Supreme Court overturning Roe versus Wade. WENDI STEARMAN (R-OK), STATE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE: This bill does not preclude any other programs seeking to help women and children in difficult times. What this bill does is protect life.

KAFANOV (voice-over): The bill sparked immediate pushback from state Democrats.

CYNDI MUNSON (D), OKLAHOMA STATE HOUSE: People will die. Women will die because they cannot access a procedure that they need to save their own life. And it will be on our conscience.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Vice President Kamala Harris calling it the latest in a series of blatant attacks on women by extremist legislators while on Thursday offering a grim preview of a post-Roe America.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It represents a threat not just to women but all Americans. At its core, this is about our future at a nation. About whether we live in a country where the government can interfere in personal decisions.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Oklahoma's bill would ban abortions at any stage of pregnancy. Unless it was a result of rape, sexual assault or incest but only if those crimes had been reported to law enforcement.

While there are exceptions for medical emergencies, it effectively prohibits almost all abortions in the state. It relies on private citizens for enforcement, allowing them to sue any individual who knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or reimbursing the costs through insurance or otherwise.

RABIA MUQADCAM, SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY, CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: This law was designed to bring frivolous and harassing lawsuits. It's basically an all-access pass to the courthouse to bring a lawsuit against somebody for something that you think may be taking place.

KAFANOV (voice-over): The bill now heads to Governor Stitt's desk, who has promised to sign any legislation that limits abortion. Just last month, he signed a bill modeled after a Texas legislation that prohibits abortions as early as six weeks, before many women even know they're pregnant.

The measure does allow for exceptions in medical emergencies.

STITT: Other states can do things differently but we're going to stand for life in the state of Oklahoma.

KAFANOV: Here in rural Oklahoma, women are already severely limited in terms of their options of access to abortion. There are only four clinics in this entire state that offer abortion services. Two of them stopped provided abortions earlier this month.

Once Governor Stitt signs this bill into law, this near total abortion ban, it goes into effect immediately and that's when the other two clinics will cease providing abortions, leaving Oklahoma women with no options in the state -- Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Oklahoma.

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NEWTON: Coming up, while her husband is in South Korea, U.S. first lady Jill Biden is on the road as well with her own diplomacy. The latest on her Latin American tour just ahead.

And in the coming hours, one of these two men will likely know whether he'll be the next Australian prime minister for the next three years. The latest in a live report.

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NEWTON: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States. I'm Paula Newton.

Returning now to South Korea, where we're waiting to hear from President Biden and the South Korean president after the two leaders wrapped up their talks in Seoul. You see it there. We're waiting and standing by. They'll be making remarks and hopefully taking some questions from the media.

They'll also be discussing provocations by North Korea and are expected to focus much of the meeting -- to focus on that. The U.S. State Department says there are still concerns Pyongyang may conduct a missile launch while Mr. Biden is in the region.

If that were to happen, the president and his South Korean counterpart have made plans over how they would jointly respond.

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NEWTON: Mr. Biden isn't the only White House resident traveling internationally this weekend. U.S. first lady Jill Biden touched down in Panama Friday for the second leg of her Latin American tour. She met with Panama's first lady before heading to a school for children with disabilities.

She'll then travel to Costa Rica and push ahead to the U.S. hosted Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles next month.

Now a setback for the Biden administration. A federal judge in Louisiana has blocked it from ending a Trump-era restriction on immigration called Title 42. Now it's a measure instituted during the pandemic that allows authorities to turn migrants away at the border.

Last month the CDC announced plans to end it because of the availability of vaccines and other COVID fighting tools. The White House says they will appeal that ruling. Officials are still counting votes in Pennsylvania's Republican Senate

primary. And Trump endorsed TV personality, Mehmet Oz, is still holding onto the slimmest of leads over former hedge fund executive, David McCormick.

Now there's less than half of a percentage point difference between them, meaning the race is likely headed to an automatic recount. Whoever wins the Republican primary will face John Fetterman this fall in the general election.

Australians have just a few more hours to go to the polls and choose the party that will lead their country for the next three years. Incumbent prime minister Scott Morrison is seeking re-election for his center right coalition government.

And his biggest opponent is the Labor Party, headed by the party veteran, Anthony Albanese. We want to get the latest now from CNN's Anna Coren.

And I know you've been watching this closely and you've been speaking to voters, who were supporters of Scott Morrison and his coalition, and have been really turned off now.

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Look, the coalitions, which is the Liberal National Party, has been in power for 19 of the past 25 years. And, look, traditionally they have a strong economic record.

Australia has done exceptionally well during the pandemic. You know, people have managed to get on with their lives relatively unscathed. Well, now, however, inflation is biting. Cost of living is going up. Fuel prices are going up.

But it's not just, you know, people feeling it in the pocket. Generally, Paula, people have just had enough of Scott Morrison and his government. He himself has been in power since 2018 after a leadership spill within the coalition. He won the election in 2019.

That was described as a miracle because the polls suggested he would lose. He's now looking for a second miracle. But he is deeply unpopular among the electorate. And he is trailing in the polls. Let's take a listen to what he had to say a little bit earlier after he cast his vote.

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SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: What I know is each and every day I've approached this job with a great sense of responsibility. On every day, I've sought to do it with a great sense of humility out of respect for the Australian people, who I serve.

And I'm seeking that support because I know this country is facing some strong and difficult and challenging times.

And what Australia needs is someone who knows how to manage money, knows how to deal with our national security interests, knows how to be able to move forward and secure that strong economy because a strong economy means a stronger future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Now Paula, Australia is undoubtedly going to be facing some tough economic headwinds. But voters do not care. They are looking perhaps to the Labor Party. Anthony Albanese has been a deputy leader under a previous Labor government. He's somebody who's been there in the Labor landscape for a very long time.

He's not overly popular, either. But he is the best of a bad bunch. That is the way people have explained it to me.

He's also got a really interesting story. He's the son of a single mother. He's the first person of his family who went to university. He is of the middle working class of Australia and he really is much more empathetic than what Scott Morrison is perceived to be.

So Anthony Albanese, when he spoke after casting his ballot, he said, I want to unite the country. If I become prime minister, I want to bring Australia together, because it's been exceptionally divisive, you know. And it has been. So from the people that I've spoken to, Paula, who have been diehard liberal voters all their life.

[02:40:00]

COREN: They say for the first time they're going to vote Labor. Other people are sick of the two-party system and they're going to be voting independent. But there really is this swing against the current government.

NEWTON: We'll get a sense how people feel. Voting is compulsory in Australia. Anna Coren, thanks so much.

The U.S. will soon get a much needed delivery of baby formula thanks to suppliers abroad and military aircraft. Details on the ongoing nationwide shortage ahead.

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NEWTON: The Biden administration is enlisting the help of the U.S. military to address the nationwide shortage of baby formula. The White House says the military aircraft will soon transport the first pallets of Nestle formula from Europe to the United States.

[02:45:00]

NEWTON: Meantime the second largest infant formula maker in the United States says it has increased manufacturing now by 35 percent. This, of course, is in response to a recall by the top manufacturer in the U.S., Abbott Nutrition. And that happened back in February. Officials say this was the catalyst for the baby formula crisis. Some troubling news from the White House COVID czar. Dr. Ashish Jha

says he believes COVID cases are being substantially undercounted due to home tests. That means cases could be even higher than the more than 100,000 average daily cases recorded by Johns Hopkins University.

Infections have more than doubled in the past month and are trending up in all but three states. Recent data from the CDC shows people who are unvaccinated are at risk of dying from COVID 17 times higher than those fully vaccinated with a booster.

Unvaccinated people, meantime, were also about twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19 in March and April than unvaccinated (sic) people.

Now the spread of the monkeypox virus is raising concerns around the world. According to the World Health Organization, there are at least 80 confirmed cases now of the disease and 50 suspected cases worldwide.

On Friday, Sweden and Germany reported their first cases. And officials in New York City say one person is being treated as presumptive positive for monkeypox. The WHO says the reported outbreaks are atypical, in fact, as they're occurring in areas where the disease isn't normally found.

And they're in. Boeing's Starliner spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station Friday. The unmanned test mission has been beset with technical issues, including two failed launch attempts.

But third time proved a charm and Boeing is hoping their shuttles can ferry astronauts to the space station by the end of the year.

And we'll be right back with more news in a moment.

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NEWTON: Smack talk between two high profile coaches is reaching heights we have not seen before. CNN's Tom Foreman has the details.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even on the field, the hits in college football don't come any harder. Legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban accusing other schools of recruiting amateur athletes with professional level money.

NICK SABAN, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA FOOTBALL COACH: Every player on their team made a deal for name, image and likeness. We didn't buy one player. Jackson State paid a guy a million last year. Nobody did anything about it.

FOREMAN: Jackson State coach Deion Sanders said that's a lie. I don't even make a million.

Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher denied the claim, too, and then let Saban have it.

JIMBO FISHER, HEAD COACH, TEXAS A&M: We built him up to be the czar of football, go dig into his past or anybody that's ever coached with him. You can find out anything you want to find out, what he does and how he does it. And it's despicable.

FOREMAN: At the center of the fight is a Supreme Court ruling less than a year ago allowing student athletes to make money by licensing their names, images and likenesses.

Some insiders say that decision was quickly embraced by alumni groups, boosters and others who saw a way to build financial inducement packages to lure athletes.

Those collectives are now believed to be funneling millions into the hunt for top players, according to Andrew Brant, a specialist in sports law at Villanova.

ANDREW BRANDT, MOORAD CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SPORTS LAW: Become a way to induce players to come to campus in a way that was allowed, quote- unquote and no one is enforcing it. States aren't, the NCAA is not, the schools aren't. So it's the Wild West.

FOREMAN: He and other sports analysts note the change has upended recruiting strategies, especially for powerful schools that previously seemed to get anyone they wanted.

DAN WETZEL, NATIONAL COLUMNIST, YAHOO! SPORTS: Nick Saban's upset because kids went to Texas A&M instead of Alabama.

FISHER: Some people think they're God.

FOREMAN: The Southeastern Football Conference has reprimanded both Fisher and Saban and the Alabama coach says he's sorry for starting the whole mess.

SABAN: I should have never really singled anybody out. You know, that was a mistake and I really apologize for that part of it.

FOREMAN: Of course we reached out to Saban and Fisher to see if there's anything else they want to say. There may be a lot more said before football starts in about three months. Because this is such a thorny and complicated issue, it's almost certain that there will be more penalty flags thrown before the first kickoff -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: OK, thank you for your company.

[02:55:00]

NEWTON: We're awaiting President Biden and his counterpart. You see the live podium in Seoul. They will be addressing the media after the meeting. Of course, top of mind is North Korea and how to move beyond deterrence into diplomacy with the country. We'll bring you much more of that.

My colleague Kim Brunhuber will pick things up, as we await the press conference from Seoul, South Korea. We'll be right back in a moment.