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Flight Delays And Cancellations Snarl Travel For Millions; Heavy Rains, Thunderstorms Threaten Travel And Celebrations; Trump Staffer Faces Scrutiny Following Explosive Testimony; IVF Patients, Doctors Worry The Reversal Of Roe V. Wade Could Also Impact Embryos; Outgunned Ukrainian Hold The Line Near Slovyansk; Trump Could Announce Presidential Run As Soon As This Month. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired July 02, 2022 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:59:48]

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hello, and thank you for joining me. I'm Ryan Nobles, in today for Fredricka Whitfield.

Millions of Americans are buckling up for busy Fourth of July holiday.

NOBLES (voice-over): Right now, huge lines are greeting travelers at airports across the United States. Airlines are predicting pre pandemic numbers of passengers this weekend. But cancellations and delays are creating frustrating bottlenecks for many.

It's even busier on America's highways. AAA predicting an all-time record. 42 million people are taking a road trip this weekend.

CNN's Nadia Romero is Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. That's the world's busiest airport on a normal day.

Nadia, how are the travelers doing there?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, well, we have a lot more agents out airport operations, and TSA agents. And so, they're helping those travelers make their way from outside parking, checking in their luggage, then, making their way to TSA -- different TSA areas. Pre-check, clear and standard.

And that's where we saw the longest lines earlier today. So, definitely a backup behind me where you check in your baggage, and you ask the gate agents and questions here. But the longest lines were at TSA.

That's cleared up now that we've surpassed that morning rush, and we're in this like afternoon lull period right now.

But we are seeing plenty of cancelations. And if you at the cancelations for yesterday, and today, we're at more than 1,100. Right now, there are about 550 cancelations today alone. 2,200 flights delayed. And as you know, when one flights delayed or canceled, it has this ripple effect or this domino effect, not just here in Atlanta, but all across the world, because of how important and how busy this airport is.

But we spoke with one young traveler who was so wise. His parents told me, you want to interview him because he knows exactly what to do to get through the airport safely and early. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER BENTER, TRAVELING FOR THE JULY FOURTH HOLIDAY: We left at around 4:00 and got here at 5:00. And yes, the lines are a lot longer than they usually are. I think that it's good to leave early. And so, you can make sure you have everything and be prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: Yes, leave early, be prepared. Right. Words of wisdom coming from a 13-year-old kid who is on his way to a family vacation.

I spoke with a woman who was on her way to Belize, to be with her in- laws, for a nice tropical vacation.

One man we interviewed is heading back to California, the first time he's traveling since the pandemic started. And that's why TSA is telling us that they (INAUDIBLE) they saw some 2.5 million people going through their security checkpoints just yesterday. And Ryan, that's the highest number since before the pandemic -- since February 2020.

So, people are getting out there, they're traveling even though prices for gas, and hotels, and airfare are all up dramatically compared to last year.

NOBLES: Nadia Romero, live from Atlanta. Nadia, thank you so much for that report.

Severe storms are also expected to disrupt some Fourth of July travel plans and celebrations. Let's go now to meteorologist Karen Maginnis. She is monitoring the developments. And Karen, what's it look like out there?

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Yes, we have our fair share of showers and some thunderstorms getting more developed as we go into the afternoon.

And if you live in the northeast along that I-95 corridor, watch out for the potential for severe weather. So, a very active weather map. And that doesn't just mean on the ground, but also if you're flying.

Now, we heard about the cancelations. This map is not representing cancelations, this is weather related. You can see, we don't really have any designated areas where we do have airport delays.

But going into this afternoon and this evening, kind of a different story. And areas from Atlanta probably volume, probably the development of those thunderstorms, but also Raleigh, Washington, D.C. In New York, Boston, you're looking at some much maybe moderate delays expected there, Chicago, Minneapolis as well, and Kansas City could see some fairly significant delays.

Now, we've got another hiccup and that is this tropical storm that formed off the coast of South Carolina and near Myrtle Beach, now doesn't look very good. But we've got some deep convection to the south. But this is expected to move off towards the northeast. But don't be compelled to think you can just go swimming in the water and everything will be fine. Because a rip current is going to be a real problem along these coastal areas.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms across the southeast late in the day from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, New York, before it starts to move out. I will say there does seem to be some improvement, especially as we go into Sunday. And then, it looks like even more improvement by Monday.

That's not to rule out all these thunderstorms, but definitely a problem along the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. Also, for sections of Dakotas and into Montana.

How about temperatures? All right, you have to be aware of that. Go to the desert southwest, we've got triple digits expected there. Lots of 90s across Dallas, and Midland, and Odessa, Atlanta.

We'll see temperatures near just about normal. It's going to be very muggy with those thunderstorms. Look at Chicago, soaring to 84 degrees. Looks pretty nice.

All right. You're thinking about going to the airport, a major airport. And coming up for Sunday, delays for Atlanta, Raleigh, In Memphis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Denver, Albuquerque.

[12:05:03]

MAGINNIS: Those are forecast delays. They are not necessarily representing and don't represent the cancelations. But nonetheless, weather will impact a lot of these areas coming up for Sunday. And it looks like it will be major problem for thunderstorms.

And Ryan, I hope everyone does have a safe Fourth. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. But we'll stay on top of the weather and give you updates. Back to you.

NOBLES: Great. Karen, we appreciate it. Thank you so much.

And now to the insurrection investigation. A new information that appears to corroborate some of the stunning details from Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony this week before the January 6 committee.

The former aide to Mark Meadows testified about the then-President Trump's intense anger when his secret security detail refused to take into the Capitol on January 6. And sources tell us that the Secret Service -- sources from the Secret Service, I should say, tells CNN that versions of the story have been circulating inside the agency over the past year.

CNN crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz joins us now to talk more about this.

So, Katelyn, what have we learned about what was going on within the Secret Service shortly after what happened on January 6th?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER (on camera): Well, Ryan, I want to walk through what happened over this past week, before we get to exactly what we're learning now, because the bottom line here is the Cassidy Hutchinson went under oath, testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday about what she witnessed in the White House. And that story is holding up. We are finding ways to corroborate it through sources.

So, what happened over the past week? Hutchinson went on Capitol Hill and she testified that a White House Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato, told her that on January 6th, Donald Trump was so irate about not being able to join rioters at the Capitol or go to Capitol Hill that he grabbed at the steering wheel of the presidential SUV and lunged at an agent in the car with him.

That is what she heard. That's what she testified to. And also she noted when she was testifying that the agent that he supposedly lunged at was in the room when she heard this story and did not correct her, whenever she was learning about it.

So, after her testimony, there has been some of these details disputed. That a secret service official denied to CNN that Trump lunged, that she had been told this story in this effort to discredit her. But there has not been any issue taken with the idea that Trump really wanted to go to Capitol Hill.

But now, now, we are learning that in the months after January 6th, the story that Cassidy Hutchinson has been retelling this week, that story was circulating among the Secret Service and two Secret Service sources told our Noah Gray at CNN that Trump was angry.

He wanted to go to the Capitol on January 6th, he was berating agents protecting him. He even lunged over a seat in the presidential SUV. So, what we are hearing is that, that story was out there at the time. And it is in line with what Cassidy Hutchinson testified to under oath on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

NOBLES: Of course, Katelyn, there was a lot more than Hutchinson testified to that day. How significant is her testimony for the investigation writ large?

POLANTZ: Right. Ryan, I spent this week talking to defense attorneys, former prosecutors, even a former defense attorney for Donald Trump in the White House, in the Mueller investigation. And the overwhelming response after Cassidy Hutchinson testified was this is different than what the president the former president has faced before. That he does have legal exposure now because of some of the things that Cassidy Hutchison testified to, specifically the idea that she recounted that he had been warned. That he had been warned that rioters could be violent, that they could be armed, and that it could be illegal if he endorsed or condone their behavior, especially going to Capitol Hill.

And those facts that she has put out there, those have not been disputed in any of these statements that we've seen since her testimony trying to discredit her. Ryan?

NOBLES: Katelyn, you and I have been covering this together from the very beginning. I don't think there's any doubt that there's been a market turn in the perception of Trump -- Donald Trump's criminal exposure after her testimony on Tuesday.

Even some of the greatest spec -- skeptics seem to be changing their mind about that.

Excellent reporting, as always. Katelyn, thank you so much.

Hutchinson, of course, testified that former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato is the person who told her about Trump lashing out at his security detail that day.

Now, members of the January 6 Select Committee have invited Ornato to share his side of the story under oath.

And CNN is Tom Foreman has more on concerns that are being raised now about his credibility.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER AIDE TO TRUMP CHIEF OF STAFF MARK MEADOWS: The president said something to the effect of I'm the effing president. Take me up to the Capitol now.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cassidy Hutchinson story of then-President Trump lunging at Secret Service agents January 6th, spurred a quick denial from the man she says told her the tale -- Tony Ornato.

[12:10:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to the Secret Service source, Ornato was saying that this did not happen.

FOREMAN: So, who is Tony Ornato? As a high-ranking Secret Service agent, Ornato protected presidents for years. But under Team Trump, he was given leave to be elevated to a new, unusual and powerful role, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.

There, he oversaw 1,000s of employees and worked so closely with the president that the Washington Post identified him as one of several people tied to the Secret Service facing criticism for appearing to embrace Trump's political agenda.

Some colleagues are also speaking up. A former communications director for Trump, and now a CNN commentator says she warned Ornato of potential problems before this chaotic clash with protesters at the White House in 2020. Only to have Ornato, deny the conversation ever occurred.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN COMMENTATOR (on camera): He is someone I don't -- I know to have been dishonest in the past.

FOREMAN: Ornato also disputed talking about moving Vice President Mike Pence from the Capitol during the January 6 attack. Spurring another colleague to tweet, "Tony Ornato sure it seems to deny conversations he's apparently had. Those of us who worked with Tony know where his loyalties lie."

For now, Trump is defending Ornato and his service.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This are great people, they have devoted their lives to it.

FOREMAN: And blasting the hearing.

TRUMP: And I think they will very embarrassed by it, because it makes them sound terrible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

FOREMAN: But the January 6 committee, which has spoken with Ornato does not seem as impressed from one member --

REP. STEPHANIE MURPHY (D-FL): Mr. Ornato did not have as clear of memories from this period of time, as I would say, Miss Hutchinson did.

FOREMAN: And from another, there seems to be a major thread here. "Tony Ornato likes to lie.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: CNN has reached out to Ornato for any reply to these claims. So far, the only response has come from the Secret Service. Saying, he is willing to sit under oath and answer questions. We'll just have to see if that actually happens.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

NOBLES: Tom, thank you.

Still ahead, officials in Akron, Ohio, planned to release body cam footage in connection with the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old black man.

NOBLES (voice-over): We'll have the details in a live report.

And later, former President Donald Trump could be close to announcing a presidential run for 2024, like, really close. Hear what he's been telling associates and when the announcement could come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:16:42]

NOBLES: Officials in Akron, Ohio say they are cancelling most of this weekend's July 4th celebrations after a police chase earlier in the week ended with the officer involved shooting of Jayland Walker, a 25- year-old black man.

The Akron mayor said it is not time for a city-led celebration. CNN's Polo Sandoval is following these developments. So, polo, what is the latest in this investigation?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Ryan, today I had an opportunity to actually speak to Ken Abbarno, he's one of the attorneys that representing the Walker family.

And he told me that he recently had an opportunity to be able to see himself some of that body camera video of Monday shooting. And he told me that what he saw could best be described as indescribable and unspeakable, at least the event that he saw take place there.

Akron police officials immediately released details about that shooting earlier this week, painting a clearer picture of what they say transpired. Saying that their officers just after midnight on Monday attempted to traffic stop the driver of that vehicle who they believe to be Jayland Walker, then fled.

And at one point, officers reported that there was -- that there was a firearm that was discharged from that vehicle. And eventually, that's when they say Walker then attempted to flee on foot.

And this is key. According to investigators that reported that the actions by the suspect and their words caused officers to perceive that he pose a threat. And that's when prompted several Akron police officers to open fire, shooting and killing Walker.

Now, preliminary autopsy results, according to the family attorney showing as many as 60 wounds on Walker's body. However, it is still too soon to tell. If those are all bullet wounds. A coroner will eventually have to calculate those are entry and exit wounds or perhaps sustained by other means.

So, at this point, they're not quite ready to say that, that amounts to 60 times being shot. But that same time, this investigation is still in its preliminary stages.

The attorney saying recently that the family is certainly not just grieving but also calling for accountability from the police department as they investigate the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH ABBARNO, LAWYER FOR JAYLAND WALKER'S FAMILY: He was shot for a traffic violation. We're here to find out how, we're here to find out why, and here to hold those accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: That accountability is key. Now, I can also tell you that the attorney told me that base on just the select portions of the video that were shown to him as recent as yesterday, it did not appear that Walker was armed at the time of the shooting.

All of that is going to be part of this investigation. Police officials here on the ground have said that it is their plan to release some of that video to the public tomorrow afternoon. That will be a key piece of this investigation.

And we'll also paint, at least, a clear picture of what transpired. But in the meantime, this shooting certainly sending shockwaves through this community in Ohio. As you mentioned a while ago, city officials even going as far as to cancel many of those Fourth of July events that were scheduled for this weekend.

The mayor of Akron saying that the time is perhaps not appropriate for a city-led celebration. So, that gives you an idea of how the community is responding to the shooting as police officials promising that they're looking into this. If the officers involved are in the administrative leave, while the family demanding for accountability and justice, Ryan.

[12:20:06]

NOBLES: All right, Polo Sandoval live for us in Akron, Ohio. Polo, thank you so much.

NOBLES (voice-over): In New York, a man suspected of fatally shooting a mother while she pushed her 3-month-old in a stroller this week, has been arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Police have identified the woman is 20-year-old Azsia Johnson and said the baby was not wounded in the shooting.

Authorities believe 22-year-old Isaac Argro allegedly target Johnson while she was walking and shot her at point blank range.

And coming up, as the coronavirus pandemic evolves, should the COVID guidelines we have followed for years change as well? We'll discuss this after the break.

[12:25:14]

NOBLES (on camera): The coronavirus pandemic has been a numbers game since the beginning. But as the virus has evolved over the last 2--1/2 years, these well-known numbers have largely stayed the same.

And my next guests say that's a problem. Let's me -- let me bring in Jessica Malaty Rivera, an infectious disease epidemiologist and senior advisor at the Pandemic Prevention Institute. And Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at George Mason University.

As someone who just got over COVID and went through the whole five- day, 10-day, back and forth, test not -- test -- the whole thing. This is going to speak to me. So, I'm so glad to have you guys here to walk through this with me.

Jessica, let's start with you. I'm sorry, I'm going to start with Saskia. First, less than six feet apart for 15 minutes equals a close contact, is that still the case?

DR. SASKIA POPESCU, EPIDEMMIOLOGIST AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: Really, what this is about is contact tracing and identifying those at highest risk for a high risk exposure essentially. So, we know that people in close proximity for a long duration of time are going to have a higher risk of acquiring COVID- 19.

So, for the sake of contact tracing, this allows us to identify those people that really should quarantine because they had a higher risk exposure. The problem though with that definition is that it seems very finite, very absolute.

And the truth is that there is no invisible wall at six feet, and 15 minutes where the disease risk suddenly, totally goes away.

So, really, we need to explain this as a risk. That being the highest risk, but if you're still in the same room as another person for 14 minutes, and seven feet, it could still be risky.

NOBLES: Right.

OK. So, Jessica, now, I'm going to go to you. Two doses equals fully vaccinated. Does that still hold?

JESSICA MALATY RIVERA, SENIOR ADVISOR, PANDEMIC PREVENTION INSTITUTE: Yes, again, there's a lot of nuance that's missing here. And I think what fully vaccinated carries is this sense of completion. And it's an appropriate way to categorize many of the vaccines that we've been vaccinated against. But in the context of a pandemic that is still ongoing and a virus that is continuing to evolve and creating more challenges including reinfection, we might need to reconsider this. Up to date, doesn't have the same kind of sense of completion. And unfortunately, fully vaccinated is kind of a sentiment that people carry of I'm -- I've done my part, and I'm done. I might even be done with the pandemic.

And it's also informing decisions to get boosters, which are sadly, not up to par. Less than 50 percent of the eligible population in the United States has had a booster dose and I think it's in large part due to this definition of fully vaccinated.

NOBLES: So, just following up on that, how many boosters should we have at this point? I've had the third -- the first booster, I guess, at what point do you need to get that second booster?

RIVERA: That's a great question. So, the second booster right now is only available to those who are 50 and older or those who are 12 and older and are immunocompromised. There is of course, I'm sure you've seen the circulating headlines of more Omicron-focused booster that are coming possibly in the fall. But right now, the general population is only encouraged to get one booster.

NOBLES: OK, great. Saskia, now, to you. Five days equals the end of isolation. Is that true?

POPESCU: I think that that's a really interesting proxy for us to test people. As Jessica and I probably have said time and time again online, it's really not a great concept to say you're either infectious or not infectious with no testing.

So, five days was a strategy for those who are fully vaccinated, and more likely to stop viral shedding and be infectious within that timeframe.

But the truth is that this binary thinking helps us identify those at highest risk. But it doesn't inherently mean that risk itself is binary, meaning, it's a spectrum.

So, at five days, you should test. If you are negative, that's a good indicator that you're likely at the tail end of being able to spread it. But that doesn't mean there is zero risk to those around you, which is why the CDC says even if you can leave isolation at five days, still wear a mask for 10.

The issue that we're really seeing is that so much of this guidance was developed around Omicron -- I'm sorry, around Delta. And with Omicron, we are seeing that people can still and do shed after five days.

So, I really recommend that people consider their symptoms, those are a high risk around them. And to still wear that mask at 10 days, but make sure that you're testing on day five and day six. And if you're still positive, that could be a pretty big indicator. You're still infectious.

NOBLES: Yes, that is exactly what happened to me. I felt much better at day five, took the test on day six with the hope of coming back to work, but was still positive.

So, I stayed out for the full 10 days.

So, Saskia, you say black and white, yes or no, thinking when it comes to COVID guidelines really does a disservice. Explain what you mean by that.

POPESCU: We've really tried to make everything binary and an attempt to make it easy for people to make decisions. And unfortunately, we've actually made it harder for them because they don't realize that infectious disease risk is nuanced. It's a spectrum. It's not matter of being exposed or not exposed.

[12:30:02]

You can have a higher risk exposure or a lower risk exposure, but you still need to be informed. And especially when it comes to making a decision about staying home with isolation, it's not so much, oh, I've hit five days, I'm suddenly not able to spread it. So I think when we make this guidance, the effort really was to try and make it easy on the public, make it easy for contact tracing. But in that attempt to simplify it, we've not given people the tools to make critical decisions and really risk match decisions. So, understanding that exposure and vaccination status isn't just binary, there's much more information that's needed to make that decision is really, really important. And right now more than ever, as people feel over COVID, we need to ensure that they understand that there's a spectrum to this, that there's little nuanced details that they should understand so they can make informed decisions.

NOBLES: And Jessica, a lot of the communication, and you guys have touched on this a little bit, is based on guidelines that were built with data from the Delta surge. How do people find info about the strains that the people are sick with now?

RIVERA: Right, so there's a number of places where people can get that information. I mean, the CDC still is reporting on the new variants, the Omicron, the sub variants BA.4 and BA.5. The unfortunate thing is that the guidance is not changing as fast as the virus and the guidance seems to be like Saskia said, pretty black and white and pretty binary.

And unfortunately, when you change guidance, as fast as this, you know, the circumstances are changing, it can cause issues of trust being broken and trust as a determinants of health is already something that's quite fragile here in the United States, given the sense, given the fact that we have not prioritized good public health communication and given the fact that there have been so many confusing messages from officials and from public health groups.

NOBLES: Well, as someone who avoided it for two and a half years and just got nailed with it, I can tell you that it is real. It is not fun. I am double vaccinated and boosted but it was still an unpleasant experience. So we should all still be doing everything we can to avoid it and spreading it to other people. Terrific advice from both of you, Jessica Malaty Rivera and Saskia Popescu, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.

And the uncertainty in the wake of the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade isn't just tied to abortion. There are also women and families who go through fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization and have frozen embryos. Now those families and doctors worried that they could be the next target. CNN's Amara Walker has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARLEE GILBERT, IN VITRO FERTILIZATION PATIENT: She's always awake, always wanting to see what's going now.

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Karlee Gilbert, her twins are a gift from God and science.

(on camera): You wanted a family? How badly did you want it?

GILBERT: So bad, so bad. WALKER (voice-over): A nearly four-year long struggle with infertility led this hospice nurse to in vitro fertilization, a medical treatment where eggs and sperm are joined in a laboratory dish. The embryo was then implanted into a woman's uterus.

GILBERT: I saw just how hard it is for families to be started. I don't take my girls for granted whatsoever.

WALKER (voice-over): She says it was a dark and lonely journey after a three failed embryo transfers, she began to lose hope.

GILBERT: Got on medication because I did feel just so depressed that I couldn't have what other people were getting.

WALKER (voice-over): But this past March 30-year-old Gilbert got what she wanted from her fourth embryo transfer to healthy babies, Adeline (ph) and Ashby (ph), even with her dreams realized Gilbert has a new worry now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court triggering abortion bans or restrictions in multiple states, including Mississippi, Gilbert's home state, which is moving to ban abortions in nearly all cases. She wonders what all this means for her frozen embryos in storage in Texas, when it's new law stating life begins at fertilization takes effect.

GILBERT: I mean, embryos can be transferred, is that going to affect that?

WALKER (voice-over): Dr. Preston Perry is Gilbert's reproductive endocrinologist. He has fertility practices in Mississippi and Louisiana. He says his patients are petrified.

DR. PRESTON PARRY, REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGIST: Whether they can do IVF, whether someone will regulate whether they can get their embryos, how they will be able to choose the embryos for transferring?

WALKER (voice-over): Dr. Perry also worries about the potential impact on his career.

PARRY: That basically doctors could be charged with murder if an embryo fails to develop.

WALKER (voice-over): Their valid concerns, says Seema Mohapatra, a law professor and bioethics expert at Southern Methodist University. Mohapatra expect some states to pass fetal personhood laws giving legal rights of people to an embryo in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling. Destroying an embryo she warns could be considered homicide.

SEEMA MOHAPATRA, PROFESSOR IN HEALTH LAW, SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY: If we end up in a place where there are states that define an embryo as potential life, then -- and there's restrictions on discarding them, then you would have to actually implant them in order to not, you know, quote, kill them.

[12:35:00]

WALKER (voice-over): One round of IVF could result in multiple embryos which can be frozen. Some embryos that are not viable or are genetically abnormal are discarded to increase the chances of a successful pregnancy. Mohapatra says fetal personhood laws will potentially determine how embryos are used.

MOHAPATRA: So we're going to see this kind of fertility tourists, where we are going to see that people are going that have stored embryos are going to try to move the embryos because of this uncertainty and fear that they wouldn't have control of what to do with their embryos that they would have to implant them or that they couldn't discard them.

PARRY: They're adorable.

WALKER (voice-over): For Dr. Parry, meeting his patients babies like Gilbert's twins for the first time is the best part of his job. He and Gilbert hope that the scientific process of building families will not be sacrificed as the abortion battles raged on.

PARRY: My sole job is bringing kids into this world. That's the most pro-life type of setting that you can imagine. It is really scary to see how far this pendulum may swing. We don't know when it will stop.

GILBERT: I just felt like everybody should have the opportunity to be able to start their families and live the dream that we all dreamed to be.

Amara Walker, CNN, Madison, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: And still ahead, Russia's offensive continues in eastern Ukraine putting more pressure on city still held by Ukrainian forces. We will have a report from the frontlines just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:34]

NOBLES: In Ukraine, Russia is pressing ahead with its grinding offensive in the East in the city of Slovyansk is within striking distance of Russian heavy weapons. Its mayor has already urged residents to evacuate. As Phil Black reports, Ukrainian defenders are outgunned as they push back against Russian forces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These Ukrainian fighters know it won't be long now. The Russians are getting closer, firing heavy ammunitions into this dense forest every day.

Vladimir (ph) shows us where cluster bombs and much bigger rounds have fallen close to their camp, incoming fire booms steadily nearby as Mykhailo (ph) proudly shows us, the advance the antitank weapons provided by western allies. They were hugely effective earlier in the war, but they're not the weapons Ukraine needs most for this fight in the east. You can hear, Mykhailo (ph) says, every one of our heavy shots, they make 10 or 20. It's because we lack artillery. Outgunned by the Russians, outnumbered too.

Of course, they're coming, Maksym (ph) says, and there are many more of them than us.

The fighters positioned in this forest a short distance from Russian lines, are all volunteers who signed up when the war started. For weeks, they've been waiting, ready to carry out one job, to attack any Russian convoys trying their luck at a nearby road.

(on camera): If, when, the Russians decide to move through and take this territory, it is unlikely these soldiers will ever see them, not up close, they will just feel more of the same. Heavy weapons, artillery, the rocket fire, the big heavy weapons Russia was using to drive Ukrainian forces back steadily, slowly, across this region.

(voice-over): Russia's big weapons don't just fall in the forest. Slovyansk, a key city in the Donbas is now within easy range. Here, Russia artillery destroyed a local business. Six people outside a supermarket in Bustov (ph) were injured when cluster bombs dropped around them.

Bomblets also scattered around this apartment complex, killing a man and a pet, terrifying many more people.

Valentina (ph) says the explosions blew debris over her bed. Every night, she tries to block out the noise of war with a pillow.

In Bakhmut, southeast of Slovyansk, explosions even greater in number and power, tearing apart peoples' homes as they huddle beneath them in basements.

(on camera): The Russian advance in Bakhmut is only a short drive from this road, almost every home still has someone living in it, almost every home has felt Russian firepower. But the people here are still reluctant to leave.

(voice-over): Marina (ph) feels she has nowhere to go, with the strain of staying is unbearable. She says, we don't have gas, we don't have power, we don't have water, but we only want the shooting to stop.

In the Donbas, Russia's unmatched artillery is an unstoppable force, with losing (ph) and no concern of civilian suffering. It is steadily overpowering Ukraine's defenses.

Phil Black, CNN, the Donbas, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: Phil, thank you and a quick programming note, join Fareed Zakaria as he investigates the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. This CNN special report begins tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

[12:44:24] And coming up, former President Donald Trump could be close to announcing a presidential run in 2024. Hear what he has been telling associates and when the announcement could come.

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NOBLES: Donald Trump is telling allies he's eager to launch his 2024 presidential run, and a decision could come as soon as this month. New CNN reporting reveals the former president is anxiously mulling when to announces their White House bed after a series of damaging revelations have been brought to light by the January 6th Committee investigating his role in the insurrection. CNN reporter Gabby Orr joins us with us more on this. So Gabby, what are you learning about the President's plans?

GABBY ORR, CNN REPORTER: Well, Ryan, President Trump has been asking advisers for months now when he should announce a presidential bid for another term. And he's now closer than ever to making that announcement possibly within the next month, our sources tell us. Trump has been asking advisers when he should do this, when would be the most opportune moment. And I'm told that there's really three factors at play here that have brought him to this sort of being on the brink of announcing.

The first as you mentioned is the string of revelations we've heard from the January 6th Committee. Trump and his advisors have been taken it back by some of the testimony, some of the revelations, and how damaging it has potentially been. And so he wants to sort of shift the narrative back to him by getting out there drawing attention to a presidential campaign and amplifying his earned media and time on television.

[12:50:18]

The second reason my colleague Melanie Zanona heard is that this would be a field clearing exercise of sorts. He wants to put his potential Republican rivals on notice. And that especially applies to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has really become sort of a hero among cultural conservatives over the past year, and may even be seen inside Trump's orbit as a preferable alternative to the former president himself.

And third Ryan, former President Trump feels that this is an opportune moment to jump in. We've seen President Joe Biden struggle with some pretty dismal polling numbers. Many, many voters do not favor currently the direction of the country. And so he feels like right now voters are hungry for change, and that, you know, their pocketbooks and their concerns about their pocketbooks would triumph over concerns about his personality. Ryan?

NOBLES: So Gabby, there you lay out a compelling case why this would be good for Donald Trump. I wonder what his fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives in the United States Senate who are hoping to win back both of those chambers feel about an announcement like that before the midterms? Could this give Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy a bit of anxiety to have the former president already out there as a candidate?

ORR: It absolutely could. And that's exactly what we're hearing from our sources on Capitol Hill. This has caught a lot of Republicans off guard primarily because Trump has been shifting up the date of a possible announcement over and over the past couple of months. I was initially told several months ago by my sources in his orbit that he was eyeing a post midterm announcement sometime in late November, maybe even early next year, that has gradually moved up to post Labor Day. So a few months before the November election, and now obviously, he's considering announcing this month which would catch a lot of Republicans off guard.

NOBLES: Gabby Orr great reporting. Thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it. And we'll be right back.

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[12:56:55]

NOBLES: Despite the administration's efforts to ease inflation, price prices are still on the rise and it's pushing more Americans to rely on their credit cards and in turn racking up debt. CNN's Evan McMorris -Santoro has more.

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EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On your worst day, how much debt were you in?

LAVELL NEAL, CONSUMER: We were at about $120,000 in debt with credit cards.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: And you finished paying it off when?

NEAL: Officially it was in March of 2022.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): In some ways, Lavell Neil is living a common American summer. The darkest days of the pandemic had a financial silver lining, government relief checks and staying home made it easier to walk the long road to financial freedom.

NEAL: We were able to take the money, the extra monies that we were getting and just pour it into paying off our debt.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): But the stimulus checks are gone. And life is more or less back to normal. And now inflation not seen in 40 years is gnawing away at the foundations of a life without credit card debt.

NEAL: We put a little extra aside, just in case especially for gas. So what we do is the monies that we were putting toward our debt since we're newly out of debt, the money that we were putting aside for that, we do take portions of that for the inflation prices.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): But more and more Americans aren't so lucky. Inflation has risen faster than wages for many people and fed efforts to tamp down on it are in part aimed at slowing wage growth. Lavell got out of debt in part due to the pandemic and in part due to a debt management plan. He worked out with GreenPath Financial Wellness, a national nonprofit credit counseling firm, based in the Detroit area. Omari Haller (ph) spent five years at GreenPath helping people here achieve financial independence. This moment is a scary one for a lot of people, he says.

OMARI HALLER (ph), GREENPATH: I can certainly understand how someone might feel that, that the moment where they felt like there was some relief coming with these supplemental checks that the government issued versus the sudden tight squeeze of inflation, I can understand how that will make you feel pretty helpless.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): The numbers show more families are reaching for the plastic these days. Fed data released earlier this month showed revolving credit, a measure of debt that mostly includes credit cards, reaching record highs in April. Now that's not necessarily bad experts say. But Kristen Holt, President and CEO of GreenPath, works with people who are often overwhelmed by credit cards. And she's seeing signs that's coming again.

KRISTEN HOLT, CEO, GREENPATH CREDIT COUNSELING: People who called us in 2021, on average had about $10,000 in credit card debt. So people on average calling us this month it's at $14,000.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): That's significant. That's a lot of money.

HOLT: Yes, so it's like -- it's 40 percent higher than it was last year like that to me is like, holy cow.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Kristen says in this financial environment, credit card debt is a compounding problem. Today, families who struggled before the pandemic may be struggling again. But Kristen worries the credit crunch could expand into families who thought they had control of their debt.

[13:00:03]

HOLT: These are not costs that are super easy to cut, you know, just putting less gas in your car will only get you so far.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): Right.

(voice-over): Evan McMorris -Santoro, CNN, Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)