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U.S. Fed Expected To Announce 3/4 Percent Point Rate Hike; China's Recovery From COVID Lockdowns Remains Sluggish; White House Announces Presidential Trip To Saudi Arabia; Historic Heat Wave Hits Europe; Sri Lanka Economic Crisis; K-Pop Superstars BTS Taking a Break; Texas Police Kill Gunman Who Shot at Summer Camp; Alabama Police Kill Man Trying to Enter Elementary School. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 15, 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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[02:00:24]

PAUL NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton. Just ahead for us. The global economic crisis. Sluggish numbers out of China today and in the U.S. all eyes on the Federal Reserve as it prepares to take major action to curb soaring inflation.

A pivotal moment for Ukraine. Its president warns that without more weapons from the West, Russia could take even more territory.

Plus, after first dodging questions, the Biden administration now says the president will visit Saudi Arabia, a reversal of his campaign pledge to make that kingdom a pariah.

And we begin with new evidence from the world's two largest economies of just how tough times are right now. China reporting a sluggish recovery from its strict COVID lockdowns. Factory output is up retail and car sales remain weak.

Now, in the U.S. meantime, soaring inflation has the Federal Reserve poised to raise interest rates about three quarters of a percentage point. And that would be the biggest hike since 1994. CNN's Clare Sebastian is live for us this hour in London. But we begin with Steven Jiang in Beijing who's just been looking at those economic numbers out of China. You know, this really was not an a report to become enthusiastic about at all.

What kind of challenges they lay out ahead for this economy which as you pointed out, is still going through those COVID lock downs?

I'm not sure that we have Steven. Steven, just wait right there. We're going to look at your audio. We're going to go now to Clare Sebastian. Clare, in terms of what is upcoming today for the fed, what they're trying to do as we said as damping inflation. I mean, how did we get there? In some cases, we're at double digit inflation. CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Paula. This is a really critical point, it's to look at what exactly what kind of inflation the Fed is actually dealing with here. Because what this started last year was really sort of demand driven that snapback of demand that led to the massive growth we saw in advanced economies as they came back from the pandemic. Cupled with some supply issues.

We saw supply chains like semiconductors were snowed, had trouble coming back from the pandemic. That led to shortages in some areas, particularly the car market. But now add to that, the kind of shocks that we're seeing from the war in Ukraine, the blockaded ports are giving rise to quite significant food inflation, energy inflation in the U.S., it was a 35 percent in May. So that was a significant contributor to the latest inflation report. So, when President Biden said this is, you know, Putin's gas on -- Putin's tax on food and gas, he really has a point there.

But if we look at inflation over the last year or so, you can see that it really started before the war in Ukraine. That really about a year ago, inflation was already at five percent in the U.S. So this has been brewing since the economy started coming back from the pandemic. The conundrum here, though, is that this is coupled with some fragility. The U.S. still looking fairly resilient, the labor market is strong, corporate America is pretty strong.

Some economists saying that we could be looking at a recession towards the end of next year, but there's fragility in the rest of the world in Europe, in the U.K., in certain parts of Asia, of course, with China as well. The World Bank warning about the risk of stagflation and it's into this environment that the Fed and potentially other central banks are looking to raise rates. That is really the conundrum here.

But in terms of the fed, a lot of people feel that they were late to start if they end up doing a three quarter percent rate rise today, like many in our -- predicting like the sort of rumor was spread earlier this week then many will feel that that's simply just catching up for lost time, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. And what's interesting here, too, is how other central banks will react. I mean, Clare, I have to ask you, in terms of the economies in Europe there, it is a mixed picture, but recovery seems to have been a little bit slower. And now you know, even looking at the U.K., while you have this soaring inflation, you still have wages that are not just keeping up with inflation, they're not rising at all. They're decreasing.

SEBASTIAN: In real terms they are decreasing, Paula. They are rising and sort of absolute times but if you look at them, sort of, you know, in the context of the inflation that we're seeing in the U.K. which was nine percent in the last reading then they are not rising.

[02:05:00]

SEBASTIAN: The U.K. is facing a serious cost of living crisis which is a major political headache frankly for the conservative, the ruling party here, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. And this is a conundrum for the Bank of England that is making its next rate decision on Thursday. It is looking at doing its fifth consecutive rate rise, that would take rates to a 13-year high. But it is doing so into this very fragile economy.

Economic growth just declined according to data that we got on Monday. So, they're facing, in some ways similar conundrum to the Fed, how to raise rates, how to normalize monetary policy and bring down inflation without tipping the economy into a recession, perhaps even more so in the U.K. because the economy is looking more fragile.

NEWTON: Yes, absolutely. And, Steven, I think we have you now. We were saying that the Chinese numbers were in fact not -- they weren't as bad as they could have been, but still quite worrying for the months to come. What did they point to in terms of being some of the problems facing the economy there?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Paula, you know, these government -- official government economic data of course is always viewed with a grain of salt by many economists around the world, does point to this partial recovery in this economy despite the ongoing lock downs across China, including in Shanghai in May. Industrial output for example, unexpectedly grew by zero sub 0.7 percent compared to a drop of nearly three percent back in April.

And I think that's probably because of the resumption and ramping up of production in many cities, especially in Shanghai, where the government has ordered factories to basically set up these manufacturing bubbles, forcing workers to live and work in their factories, and in some cases sleeping on factory floors to keep the production lines going. But when you look at other numbers, retail sales, for example, remain very weak dropping by 6.7 percent even though that was a slight improvement from April which saw a decline that for more than 11 percent.

But that's again, not surprising, when you have millions of consumers being locked in their homes especially in wealthy places like Shanghai. And many people have said, even when they're freed from -- released from quarantine, they're not going to a bench shop or have these revenge shopping because many remains -- remain very concerned about the future of the economy and therefore their future income.

And then I think another set of figures many people pay attention to now is unemployment. Officially nationwide is stands just shy of six percent, fairly stable. But when you zoom in to look at the unemployment rate among the young people aged between 16 and 24, that number actually creeping up to 18.4 percent in May at a time when the government says it's going to see its largest number of college graduates in the coming weeks and months.

Ten million of them will be flooding this already very depressed -- very depressed job market. And that obviously, is very alarming for a government, very concerned about social stability. So, all of that is really painting this picture of a very challenging and -- or if not very bleak kind of prospect in the foreseeable future, which, of course, is why many people are thinking the government's goal of trying to achieve positive growth for the second quarter, that only has a few weeks left, increasingly out of reach, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. And it is interesting that you point out that there isn't a heck of a lot of transparency with these numbers. So, you -- we do have to take them with a grain of salt. Steven Jiang for us in Beijing and our Clare Sebastian in London. Thanks to you both.

All right. Let's talk more about this with Ryan Patel. He's a senior fellow for the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. And good to see you, Ryan. You and I didn't talk about long ago. So much has changed in a little bit more than two weeks on the economic front. We have to start with the Fed, right? It's making its interest rate decision. A half percent we know is already baked in.

But it almost seems as if the market -- the market is pushing the Fed to say you need to do more. Three quarters of a percent, maybe even a full percent to hammer inflation.

RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW AT DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY: Well, well, you are being nice by saying being pushed. I think it's being shoving in the direction of point-seven- five basis points or seven-five basis points or more. I think what's changed in the last time you and I spoke to now is the market, you know, overheating, overreacting or whatever you want to say, it's not as stable.

When you have the CPI report not looking great in for the recent inflation report even higher. So, from what's changed from the last time we spoke is that it isn't stable, but it didn't, you know, nothing stable came out in the last two weeks and actually went the opposite direction. And now is shoving the Fed to make a decision or more importantly daring the Fed to say well, what are you going to do to stop it?

NEWTON: And as you said daring the Fed, they almost want to make sure that whatever is done kind of takes care of inflation once and for all, especially when some of the indicators are pointing to double digits. I want to ask you though, do you sense more of a fundamental shift here. You know, we have been used to these low interest rates, low inflation. Most times robust growth most times.

[02:10:04]

NEWTON: Some years you put up with a little bit more or a little bit less than others. It seems to have been gone now and you have people now talking that a recovery here from a recession might take longer. Never mind the fact that a recession is already a fait accompli.

PATEL: Yes. I think the recovery, unfortunately, will be longer. And it's not just -- I mean, obviously, inflation is a piece of it, you know, the global recovery will be longer which we're all interconnected. And I know, you've heard me say this, that can't be underestimated, right? You got, you know, Shanghai being closed for two months, the busiest port in the world. This is all going to have some kind of an impact and to ignore it is not right. I think the other thing that you mentioned, you're right, you know, everyone is so used, you know, and we used to the last couple years, three percent, two percent interest rates. I mean, four to five percent I'm not saying that I want to four to five percent interest rate, but that was what normal was. Five percent, right? Is there now. If we hit the eight percent, nine percent and more obviously, it's not where we want to go.

But yes, I think the ability to stabilize is going to have to go with some aggressive actions. And that's where I think the Fed will not just lead with the meeting tomorrow. It will actually go in and be able to do even further.

NEWTON: Yes. Which is extraordinary because right now, the Fed didn't even have anything higher than a half percent on the table. And this is going to be quite a meeting and just to see how much they have to backtrack. You know, you mentioned China still struggling with COVID. How much of a risk, do they still pose to the global economy? I know that they realize the risk to their own economy, they're already talked about quite a bit of stimulus. But do you think that's still a global risk at this point?

PATEL: I mean, I can tell you this, China will do everything in its power to aggressively put in policy measures to get that economy back up and running. I mean, I say this it's because, you know, they're suggested to be GDP growth at two to three percent. The real estate in China was already kind of hurting before COVID, or was in shambles or they need capitalization. So they have to jumpstart it.

And the reason they are putting that much pressure on the market and to the consumers to jumpstart it. Well, what do you -- what happens in the number two economy is feeling that pressure, you're going to feel it. The rest of the countries are going to feel it because they've got to get their act in order as well as again, two months of lockdown. I mean, you're taking 12 -- do you have 10 months of income or GDP growth?

I mean, that's really hard -- it's already hard to do it in 12 months. Now you can try to do in 10 months. It's a big task.

NEWTON: Yes. Big task seems like the kind of words that a lot of bankers and economists are talking about right now. Ryan Patel, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

PATEL: Thank you, Paula.

NEWTON: Now, given the economic and security priorities at hand right now, the White House made it official announcing President Joe Biden will visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank in July. The Saudi stop on this trip is reviving controversies though as a candidate, the president vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah over human rights abuses and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

But now Mr. Biden is expected to meet with the man accused of authorizing that murder. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A White House official defended the trip earlier on CNN. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: The president does not set aside human rights concerns with leaders all around the world. Routinely, he brings up our values and our foreign policy and our commitment to human and civil rights. And I suspect he will do that clearly on this trip as well.

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NEWTON: Terry Strada is the national chair for 9/11 Families United. Her husband died in the north tower on that fateful day. And Terry, I want to start by acknowledging your loss. I'm sure two decades have not diminished the grief and the pain, especially because, Terry, the political issues seem to still be the same. We are dealing with an issue of Joe Biden really going back on his promise as to what was going to happen with the Saudis here.

And yet there are other Americans saying, look, we acknowledge what happened at 9/11. But we take President Biden's word that we have economic and national interests, and that means we can't ignore the Saudi Kingdom.

TERRY STRADA, NATIONAL CHAIR, 9/11 FAMILIES UNITED: Yes, well, I'm kind of in the middle, I guess, because I believe we can do both. He -- if he's going to take this trip, which I cannot stop, then I need to sit here and tell the president until everyone that will listen how important it is that when he sits down with the crown prince that he demands accountability and transparency for the role that their kingdom played in the 9/11 attacks.

NEWTON: Do you -- have you had any assurances that that may happen? We had John Kirby, spokesperson that said look, we always talk about human rights. Have you had any assurances? It hasn't worked so far.

[02:15:01]

STRADA: Right. The only signal I've gotten is from the press secretary when she tells the media that they are going to discuss all of our concerns. So, I am hoping that we are part of that all of our concerns. This is something that the president, you know, he made a commitment to the 9/11 families that he would give us the evidence. But that's only half of it. Now that we have all of these new thousands of pages that have just recently come out right before his trip, he needs to have a very hard discussion with the crown prince. That is his job.

It needs to go leader to leader now on the responsibility and the accountability for the role that his agents played in killing our loved ones.

NEWTON: I want to remind our audience now of what President Biden has said on the campaign trail. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After a cold blooded murder of a journalist, giving the crown prince of Saudi Arabia the benefit of the doubt.

I think it was a flat out murder. And I think we should have nailed it as that. We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price and make them in fact the pariah that they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Strong words there about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and yet President Biden is still going to Saudi Arabia. Do you feel betrayed by this? Because he spoke a certain way and so forcefully during the campaign?

STRADA: Yes, but unfortunately, things have changed in the world, haven't they? We find ourselves, you know, in a socioeconomic position that I don't think we anticipated being in. So, in light of what's going on and he's going to go there. What I feel or my opinion doesn't really matter. What matters is that he is going to have this meeting. And since he is then he needs to make sure that 9/11 and the responsibility that the kingdom has for it is a top priority.

NEWTON: And what would you like to see come out of that? If he does speak to them about this and speaks forcefully, what would be some of the takeaways that you'd like to see?

STRADA: I'd like to see a full transparency and a full accounting of the role that the Kingdom played. All the evidence that we have that is strongly pointing to them, and supports that they put in the support network that met and greeted these 19 hijackers before they came here or in order for them to come here and set up the attacks. We need to learn everything about that in order to protect ourselves going forward.

So really, our national security interests are at play here. And that's why the president needs to really take this very seriously. And to not let the kingdom evade any of the hard questions and let's get to the bottom of everything. And if we're going to have a reset on this relationship, it needs to be based on the truth and not lies.

NEWTON: We did learn though the truth about what happened to Jamal Khashoggi, it hasn't seemed to change anything.

STRADA: Jamal Khashoggi, I feel very badly about that. And I agree with the family and all of that. My issue is the murder of 3000 people killed on American soil, on September 11th. To me, that is what needs to come out -- come to light now. We have the evidence, and the kingdom can no longer deny it. So they are still living a lie in our case. And that's what needs to change. We have to base the entire relationship with them based on truth, not lies. And unfortunately, we don't have that yet from the kingdom.

NEWTON: You know, this controversy is now extending to the sport of golf, that new league live golf bought and paid for by the Saudi money is in your opinion, sports washing. And it is being used as if to absolve the kingdom of some of these atrocities. You have and the 9/11 families have expressed to golfers themselves in a very personal way, notably to Phil Mickelson. They -- you believe that this is outrageous that they're doing this.

But do you now feel that with the president being there with MBS, that he may be also giving these golfers cover.

STRADA: Oh, I hope not. I know, I don't think so at all. I think the president understands completely the level of depravity that the kingdom has, you know, shown this country. And that he's going to go over there and be tough with them, and that we're going to finally have a president that speaks to them about terrorism financing and sets up some very hard parameters on that.

We have to get very tough on that, because we're not safe as long as there's well-funded terrorist organizations that the kingdom is funding. I don't think he's giving the players cover at all. I think he's going -- I'm hoping he's going to go over there and listen to what we're asking him to do. And as far as the players go, you know, they know what they're doing. They know they're complicit now with the kingdom.

And I feel very badly about that. I'm very angry and yes, insulted by all of it. But we need to have strong president to give us very strong lead on making the kingdom, you know, account for everything that they've done.

[02:20:08]

NEWTON: OK. Terry Strada, the national chair for 9/11 Families United. Thanks so much.

STRADA: OK. Thank you.

NEWTON: The war in Ukraine is now at a pivotal moment, that assessment sources say comes from western intelligence and military officials who believe the critical stage could determine the long-term outcome of Russia's invasion. On the ground in eastern Ukraine, meantime, fierce fighting rages on in the Kharkiv region and Severodonetsk where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is experiencing painful losses.

He says it's vital for the Ukrainian military to stay in the Donbas region. And he's now pleading for much more help which would include modern anti-missile weapons systems to fight Russia's aggression. That help could come soon. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will lead a working group of nearly 50 nations to discuss the crisis in the hours ahead with U.S. expecting announcements of weapons and equipment purchases for Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Even though Russia has fewer and fewer missiles with each passing day, Ukraine's need for such systems remains because Russia still has enough soviet types of missiles even more dangerous. There are many times less precise and therefore threaten civilian objects in ordinary residential buildings much more.

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NEWTON: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now live from Kyiv. And Salma, what's at stake given the way things are playing out in the East right now?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, let's start with this western intelligence assessment of the battleground. They see that the most likely scenario here and if you look at the battlefield, it does appear that way is that President Putin will solidify the games in the east. That it is all but a foregone conclusion essentially that the Donbas will fall, that it will be extremely difficult to regain the territories that were lost, that were taken by Russian forces in places like Mariupol and Berdiansk and along this eastern flank.

That Moscow's troops will solidify those games and use that area as a staging ground as a launchpad to push further into Ukraine. That President Putin's appetite for Ukrainian territory is only just beginning here. So, what Western officials are going to be doing and you have this all important meeting with -- led by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of course and among with -- alongside up to 50 other countries, a working group.

And they are expected to announce a package but there's a balancing act here. In some ways, there has to be the acceptance that the Ukrainian military is outmanned. It is outgunned, it is facing a much more superior military force that this is a war that could drag out for many more months, if not years. That President Putin's ambitions are so much larger than just the east of the country.

So, they need to prop up a military that is failing. Remember, President Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian military is losing 100 to 200 soldiers every single day. And this is among the most experienced Ukrainian forces. So, you need these western allies to prop up this much weaker military force in what could be a very long conflict, that dragged out conflict that could see President Putin trying to move further into Ukraine.

And you have this balancing act of what types of weapons need to be provided. Ukraine says it's only received 10 percent of the weapons it's requested. But some of those weapons, Paula, the United States is simply not willing to give them. Those are particularly the ones that are very long-range weapons because of the fear that those could strike within Russia, that that could escalate the conflict.

So, you have also the promise of weapons, maybe not everything that Ukraine requested. But that's also going to take weeks to start to make changes on the battlefield. I'm going to give you an example. These HIMARS, these long-range rockets that were promised by the United States a couple of weeks ago, they can hit positions up to 80 kilometers away, that could make a difference on the ground.

But it takes three weeks to train soldiers on them and then they have to be brought here. So, there's going to be a very tough discussion here about how you sustain in the long term on offensive against President Putin who is determined to march on it seems.

NEWTON: All right. 9:24 a.m. yhere in Kyiv as we await to get more news about the Eastern Front there in Ukraine. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, thank you. The engines were on, the cabin crew on board but at the last minute, a court halted the U.K.'s first deportation flight to Rwanda. Reaction to the ruling and what's next for the controversial policy.

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[02:26:52]

NEWTON: So, the first flight of a controversial deportation plan by the U.K. was grounded at the 11th hour. The plane you see it there was on the tarmac, engines on, the cabin crew was seen boarding but then the European Court of Human Rights intervened. A ruling from the court led to the remaining asylum seekers being removed from the flight. The court ordered the U.K. not to deport them for the time being as legal proceedings play out.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now live from Paris where you've been following this story closely, Nada. And yes, 11th hour, it was dramatic. I am confused, though, as to where this leaves us now. And quite frankly, who has legal standing at this point?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, that is the key question. It's been a matter of debate for the government of course. The European Court of Human Rights issuing that last-minute order up to the British government calling for that one individual out of -- I believed seven on that flight to be taken off the list. Now we of course understand no flight -- that the flight didn't take place. No passengers, no asylum seekers were on board.

But there is a real question over the jurisdiction the European Court of Human Rights has over the U.K .on this right now. At this stage, the British government, the U.K. is still party to the European Court of Human Rights to that convention. But the Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked just yesterday in the morning whether this might be the time for British -- for Britain to consider perhaps withdrawing from the European Convention of Human Rights in order to give it the freedom to set its own rules.

Now the prime minister didn't rule this out. He didn't address it directly. But he did say that it might be necessary to change some laws along the way. And that all the options were under constant review. So, this will certainly be a focus for the government over the coming days and weeks. But as I said, the European Court of Human Rights intervention, 11th hour, the last minute really was the key there to grinding the flight.

That was set to take off last night to Rwanda. They were previously believed to be more than 100 asylum seekers notified that they would -- they would be deported. That figure has been dwindling down over the last few days, down to single figures just yesterday. Now the European Court of Human Rights intervened on behalf of one individual, an Iraqi National. They said (INAUDIBLE) more time for the legal proceedings and refused to take place on the domestic front.

But that was crucial in allowing lawyers to submit last-minute applications on behalf of the remaining six asylum seekers on that flight, which eventually did not take off. Now we have had a reaction from the government. The Home Secretary, Priti Patel said she was disappointed that the European Court of Human Rights intervenes despite the fact that we've already had legal challenges against this like in the U.K.

That flight was upheld by the high court. So that is the reaction from the government. They believe that this policy is an important policy in order to stop the dangerous illegal crossings that we're seeing from Northern France into the U.K. to disrupt people smuggling rings and to prevent the deaths that we're seeing on the channel time and time again. But we've heard criticism across the board from rights groups, from advocacy groups supporting asylum seekers saying that this isn't the way.

[02:30:04]

BASHIR: There must be another option. We've heard from the UN's refugee agency, describing the policy as unlawful. Human Rights watch pointing to what they described as an appalling human rights record in Rwanda. The Church of England has even come out to describe the policy as immoral. Now, the Rwandan government has said that it stands ready to receive asylum seekers and has called on critics to give the program a chance.

But for the asylum seekers that we've been speaking to at the camps in Northern France, this isn't a deterrence. They do still hope to make the crossing over the channel into the UK. And in fact, UK media has been reporting over the last few days that we are still seeing those crossings happen. And as we head into summer, as the weather becomes better in the skies, become clearer, we are expecting to see those figures continue to go up, that it would typically be the case. Paula.

NEWTON: OK. Nada Bashir for us in Paris. Thank you so much.

Now there is no other way to say it. It's hot in Europe. We will have the details of an extreme heat wave, coming up.

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Right around the world, heat waves are producing destructive and sometimes deadly conditions. Officials in the U.S. State of Texas warn residents should stay indoors and hydrated. They say, current temperatures could be fatal to people who are not prepared.

Meantime, after the hottest march on record, India and Pakistan are dealing with more record-breaking heat. Pakistan's climate ministry says, the country went really from winter straight to summer without getting any spring at all. Spain, meantime, is enduring its earliest heat wave in more than 40 years. Temperatures are reaching more than 40 degrees Celsius in some areas. Forecasters warn the weather system could then move on to France and the UK in the coming days. CNN Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri takes a look at this forecast. And you and I have talked about this before, right? This heat, it's not just some kind of statistical anomaly that we, you know, that we look at and wonder. It can be dangerous.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. It is among the deadliest weather events and it absolutely happens very quickly, especially when you have this multi-day event set up where you're getting very little relief into the overnight hours. So, your body's natural ability to cool itself down and kind of get that overnight reprieve doesn't really happen with this, sort of, a setup.

We've got southerly flow coming right out of Northern Africa, which really transports significantly hotter air northward. And as you noted just a few minutes ago here, this heat is going to want to expand farther and farther towards the North over the next several days. And we've already been going on eight days until the month of June here where temps had exceeded 30 degrees in Madrid.

So, it's been unusually warm for an extended period. And you'll notice we're running not just a few degrees above average, but as much as 15 degrees above average. 42 degrees Celsius, remarkable heat here.

[02:35:00]

It is really deadly if you spend an extended amount of time outdoors. And of course, exert yourself in these conditions. And you'll notice the month of May, you kind of noted here Paula a few moments ago, places such as Pakistan and into India had seen the hottest March on record. Well, the hottest May since the 1960s had taken place in the last 30 days across portions of Spain. Temps there climbing up to 42 degrees last month as well.

And notice, heat covers here for warnings are in place from the Northern tier of Spain all the way towards the far-end southern reaches as well where really extreme temperatures are going to be in place. And we're talking about an afternoon reading of 41 degrees in Madrid. And important to note, just a couple of months ago here, this region had actually been somewhat unsettled. It had been cool. It had been dreary coming into the month of March and April. And the May brought an excessive heat, and now, of course, June brings historic heat yet again.

And notice, Paris climbs up to 31 degrees. London at 27. And it really just kind of expands beyond this into, say, Friday and Saturday where the hottest weather in about two years' time is expected to take shape across Northwestern Europe.

In fact, look at London, by Friday afternoon, we're forecasting a high of 34 degrees. Karachi into Pakistan has a high-temperature forecast of 32 degrees. It speaks to the severity of what's happening here as it relates to heat as the temps just gradually climb up into these record values.

The last time it was this warm in London, we have to go back to August of 2020. And notice at least we do come right back down to reality this time next week. But that is an extended period for their standard tier to see temps climb up before summer even officially gets underway there across the Northern hemisphere. Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, and such a good point. It is officially not summer yet. Pedram, thanks. Appreciate the forecast.

Now, the war in Ukraine, as we've been discussing in recent weeks is worsening. An already dire global food crisis. And now, a further 1.7 million people in South Sudan could be at risk of starvation with the World Food Programme announcing it needs to suspend some of its aid to the country. The decision comes as the WFP grapples with severe funding shortages. Conflict, climate change, and soaring food prices have already left more than half of South Sudan's population with food and security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEYINKA BADEJO-SANOGO, WFP ACTING COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR SOUTH SUDAN: We are particularly concerned with these cuts. Especially because these cuts are happening at the start of the lean season when families have completely exhausted any food reserves. And are likely to continue to suffer acute levels of hunger as the lean season deepens.

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NEWTON: Now, in Sri Lanka, meantime, food is becoming so hard to come by. The government is giving its workers an extra day off to grow it themselves. About one million public-sector employees will have every Friday off for the next three months. The government says the goal is to give them time to grow food in their backyards or elsewhere.

Sri Lanka is fighting its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948 which has seen the cost of food and fuel skyrocket. Government workers are also getting Fridays off because the fuel prices make it so expensive and difficult to commute.

Now, a sad day for the BTS armies. Superstars BTS say they are taking a break. What we are learning about their solo projects, coming up.

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[02:40:00]

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NEWTON: OK. K-Pop sensation BTS say they aren't blowing up the group like dynamite. They're just simply taking a break, right? While the massively popular boyband made the announcement during their ninth- anniversary celebration. And, they were very careful to call this a hiatus.

CNN's Blake Essig joins us now live from Tokyo. Blake, that looked like a therapy session instead of celebrating nine years. Really, they just laid it all out. And unfortunately, have really disappointed the masses.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, there's no question, Paula. Look, I have two young daughters and BTS is constantly heard in our house, in the car, and as a result, at night while I'm sleeping but I am not going to lie to you, I am going to miss them a little bit. It's definitely the end of an era, at least in part, in the BTS army that includes tens of millions of fans worldwide are understandably devastated by the news.

And while it isn't going to be easy, you know, for the sadness of this group to subside, given the news, the group offered several reasons for the decision to go on the so-called hiatus. Including a lack of individual growth and the inability to pursue solo projects, fueled by the unrealistic demands created by the K-pop and idle system to keep producing music.

Now, that all being said, the band's management company, HYBE, which saw its stock price in the Korean exchange fall by more than 26 percent today. Following the announcement released a statement clarifying that the group would continue to work together as well as individually while acknowledging their fans. The band admitted that the dynamic of the group had changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. And that it's been a long and exhausting process to try to find their identity. Take a listen.

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RM, BTS MEMBER (through translator): Right now, we've lost our direction. And I just want to take some time to think. And then return. But that just feels rude to our fans and like I'm letting down their expectations.

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ESSIG: Now, although it wasn't given as a reason for the group decision to at least temporarily part ways. All South Korean men ages 18 to 30 are required to serve in the military for about two years to guard against North Korean. Band member Jin, who's 29 years old, is due to serve in the military at the end of this year with two other band members expected to serve by next year. And whatever the reason, BTS is taking a break. And now, Paula, I have a few more hours to mentally prepare before my kids come home from school and I have to break this news about the band to them. So, wish me luck.

NEWTON: Better you than me, Blake. Better you than me. My condolences to all. Blake Essig for us in Tokyo. Thank you.

And I want to thank all of you for joining us. I'm Paula Newton. World Sport is next. And then standby for my colleague Isa Soares. She'll be back with much more news live from London in about 15 minutes. You are watching CNN.

[02:45:00]

LEMON: As promised an update now on today's key primary election races. Back with us at the magic wall, Mr. John King.

John, hello again. You're watching the numbers come in. What's the latest?

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS: And I'm watching something, Don, it seems eerily familiar. Nevada, the polls close at 10:00 in the East. I'm going to pull up the senate primary. Those are lists of candidates. What do you notice about this map? Still no votes. No votes. I could show you the governor's primary, still no votes. In the 2020 presidential election, remember election night was Tuesday, just like this primary night. It was Friday before we called Nevada in 2020. Let's hope it doesn't take that long to count the votes this time. But these are key primaries.

This is the senate primary, Donald Trump-endorsed Adam Laxalt. He's a big lie proponent. Trying to run -- to win the senate nomination in a seat. Republicans think they can pick up in the fall. And that senate race in Nevada, Don, could be one of those two or three to decide which party controls the senate come January. But nothing yet in Nevada in any of those races. Republicans also think they can pick a couple of house seats.

So, let's move over to South Carolina which is where we've been watching all night. Two grudge -- two Trump grudge matches on the ballot in South Carolina. One of them is right here in the 7th district, Russell Fry is Trump's candidate. Why? Because the incumbent Tom Rice voted to impeach Donald Trump. Tom Rice says, he's proud of that vote. He says he stands by that vote. That he's prepared to be retired if necessary. Well, we're not there yet. We're still counting votes. But not only is Russell Fry way ahead, 51 percent to 25 percent, if you round up. The 51 is important. You got to be above 50, Don. 50 plus one to avoid a runoff in the State of South Carolina. That's the 7th district.

Now, let's move down to the 1st district. Nancy Mace, again, this is a much closer race. She is the incumbent. Donald Trump wants her defeated as well. He endorsed Katie Arrington because Nancy Mace, early on especially said some harsh things about Donald Trump and January 6th. She's at 53 percent -- 45 percent. Sorry, I just moved over to the next district by accident there, I'll come back to it here. 53-45 and about 77 percent and so still counting. But again, Nancy Mace above 50. That would mean she's the candidate if she holds that lead, Don.

LEMON: All right. John King, thank you. Appreciate it, sir.

A gunman in Texas shooting at a summer camp filled with 250 children and staff. A man trying to forcibly get into an elementary school in Alabama. Both stopped by quick action from law enforcement. Those stories are next.

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[02:50:00]

He's in. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell indicating today he's a yes vote on the bipartisan gun package senators have been negotiating for weeks now if the bill lines up with the framework announced on Sunday. It's something Americans have been demanding since a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas killing 19 children and two teachers.

And unfortunately, there have been more incidents of gunmen targeting children since that massacre. But thankfully those incidents were stopped by police officers who acted quickly. CNN's Josh Campbell has the story now.

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JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Parents in Texas just grateful to hold their children after police rushed to a North Texas sports fieldhouse where a summer camp was being held and shot a gunman threatening the camp. Police in Duncanville, Texas near Dallas said they exchanged gunfire with a man who opened fire at the camp on Monday where some 250 children, age four to 14 and staff were present, some hiding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had texted me and said, mom, I think someone has entered the fieldhouse with a gun.

CAMPBELL (voiceover): When the gunman entered the building, police say, camp counsellors began moving the children to a safe area and locking doors.

AUTUMN HARRIS, SUMMER CAMPER: We went in a room and then we heard shooting. And then we got scared and everybody started crying. They just told us to stay quiet. And we were in the men's room. So, there were showers in there so we hid in the showers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was praying to God just so nothing would happen.

CAMPBELL (voiceover): Police shot and killed the gunman. No children, staff, or officers were hurt according to officials.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Upon hearing that gunshot, they did what they were trained to do. The counsellors, they moved the kids to a safe area and began locking the doors. The suspect went to a classroom, was unable to get inside, and did fire one round inside the classroom where there were children inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no hesitation. No hesitation whatsoever. We're thankful for their training. That they do exactly what they're trained to do.

CAMPBELL (voiceover): In Alabama, just last week, a man was shot and killed by a school resource officer after police say he attempted to enter an elementary school where 34 children were attending a summer literacy camp. Law enforcement said, he was also trying to forcibly enter a patrol vehicle and was killed after an altercation with the officer at the school.

SHERIFF JONATHON HORTON, ETOWAH COUNTY, ALABAMA: He went straight to the threat, he confronted it, and he dealt with it. And it ended in, unfortunately, the death of the suspect. But that's the safest alternative to keep that threat out of that school.

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CAMPBELL (on camera): And, Don, it's been three weeks since that deadly shooting in Uvalde, Texas. And there are still several questions that law enforcement hasn't answered about their response on that day. Particularly, these reports that they were treating the situation as a barricaded subject rather than an active shooter. Compare that with these two examples we just brought you from Alabama and the Dallas area, those are how law enforcement is supposed to respond. To go towards the sound of gunfire to try to stop a threat.

Of course, it's also worth pointing out that in the case of the Dallas suburb camp incident, it's not just police who were being applauded for their response but authorities also praising the camp counsellors for quickly springing into action. Trying to get those kids to safety as the shots rang out. Don.

LEMON: Josh Campbell, thank you very much.

Primary election results are coming in. John King is back at the magic wall and he's got the latest numbers, right after this.

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[02:55:00]

It is primary election night in America. Polls just closing in Nevada. We're also getting results in from South Carolina where Trump's election lie is front and center in key races one day after a dramatic day of testimony on Capitol Hill and the January 6th Committee is out tonight promising much more to come. We're going to tell you about that in just a moment.

But first, we want to get the primary results. CNN's John King at the magic wall and Kyung Lah is in North Las Vegas for us. They both join us now.

Kyung, good evening to you. You're at a tabulation center where all the voters are coming -- the votes are coming in, I should say. We have been waiting for some results now. Are you seeing any? What are you seeing?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we're seeing, and I'm going to have my cameraman, Bob Malloy (ph), just take a quick look over my shoulder. You see these carts and the boxes that are on top of them. These are actually cartridges that are coming in from the various polling centers, vote centers, and then they will go to the people sitting at the various long tables where they will be -- all that data will be uploaded and then sent to the elections board over in Clark County. And then that will be tabulated and then we're going to start seeing the results.

So, these are the very, very first, just in the last 60 seconds or so, Don, that we -- that are starting to come in.

[03:00:00]