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Daughter Of Putin Ally Killed In Car Bomb Outside Moscow; White House Launches Monkeypox Vaccination Sites At LGBTQ Events; CDC: COVID Vaccination Among Children Low As School Begins. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 21, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As for the name, Fritz, zookeepers' joke that it's apt because of Bibi, the mother's contraceptive fail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bibi's birth control is on the Fritz and that's how this little boy came to us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

MOOS (voice over): But it's no joke. Tucker, the dad has impregnated two hippos while they were using contraceptives often administered inbred.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a stud.

MOOS (voice over): No wonder Fritz is no dud; he is already a smooth talker.

Jeanne Moos CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:00:36]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with a deepening mystery in Moscow. Police there say that they have opened a murder investigation after the daughter of a prominent ally of Vladimir Putin was killed by a car bomb on the outskirts of the city.

Investigators saying, they believe the bombing was planned and an acquaintance told Russian state news that she had been driving her father's car when the explosion happened.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official implied that Ukrainian state structures were responsible for the explosion, a claim that Ukrainian authorities have denied with one senior official saying we are not a criminal state.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow for us. So Fred, where do things stand on this investigation?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka.

Well, the investigation really is still very much in the early stages. We saw investigators at that crime scene, really throughout the better part of the day and there are so many questions right now that have been raised by all of this.

First and foremost is, was Darya Dugina, who was killed in this incident, was she actually the target or was it her father, Alexander Dugin, who was the actual target and then of course the big question, who exactly it could be behind all of this? Here is the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice over): A car engulfed in a massive fireball on a highway outside Moscow. Police say the vehicle exploded and then crashed, the driver dead on the scene.

That driver was Daria Dugina, a well-known commentator and supporter of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, who was sanctioned by the United States and by the UK.

She was also the daughter of prominent right-wing ideologue, Alexander Dugin, who promotes Russian expansionism.

According to Russian state media, an explosive device detonated Saturday night setting the vehicle on fire. Russia has opened a criminal investigation. The Investigative Committee says they believe Dugina was murdered.

Taking into account the data already obtained, the investigation believes that the crime was pre-planned and of an ordered nature, a statement said. While forensic work continued, the Foreign Ministry implied that Ukraine may be behind the attack.

"If the Ukrainian trace is confirmed," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram, "Then we should talk about the policy of state terrorism implemented by the Kyiv regime."

The Ukrainians deny any involvement.

MYKHAILO PODOLAK, ADVISER TO THE HEAD OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): I emphasize that Ukraine definitely has nothing to do with this because we are not a criminal state, which the Russian Federation is and even more so, we are not a terrorist state.

PLEITGEN (voice over): But some in Russia believe Darya Dugina wasn't the actual target of the explosion, but rather her father.

Alexander Dugin, also sanctioned by the US remains highly influential in Russia, as he calls for the annexation of large parts of Ukraine. An ultra-conservative philosopher and TV personality with roots in the Orthodox Church, he is a champion of Russian expansionism, some claiming he may have influenced Vladimir Putin's decision to further invade Ukraine.

In 2014, Dugin said Russia must "Kill, kill, and kill" the people running Ukraine and that there should be no more discussion.

(ALEXANDER DUGIN speaking in foreign language.)

PLEITGEN (voice over): Darya Dugina was 29 years old when she was killed. Russian investigators say they are frantically working to find those responsible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And we do have a bit of an update from those investigators. They say that the explosive yield they believe of that bomb was equivalent to about 400 grams of TNT. They also say, Fredricka, that they found parts of what they believe to be parts of that explosive device and have sent that in for forensics as well.

And as of right now, we have not yet heard from Vladimir Putin on this matter -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, let us know when there is more. Thanks so much, Fred Pleitgen in Moscow.

And now to the rising cases of monkeypox here in the US. In New York, officials say a minor contracted the disease for the first time in that state. That brings the number of known cases in children across the country to three.

The White House is trying to stop the spread, which is predominantly affecting men who have sex with men. This weekend, it is launching a new program to provide vaccinations at large, LGBTQ events including this weekend's Pride Festival and Parade in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[15:05:10]

WHITFIELD: CNN's Dianne Gallagher is there for us. So, Dianne, what are people saying about this new vaccination effort?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Fred, for the most part, people are saying it is about time that this should have been done potentially months ago, when there were other pride related events happening at a higher degree around the country.

Charlotte typically holds its Pride Parade in the month of August. This is the first rollout of this pilot program from the Biden administration, 50,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine that they are putting at Pride Events and LGBTQ-centered events around the country.

Two thousand doses being given here at the Charlotte Pride Festival this weekend.

Now, the key, according to people that we've talked to here is making sure that they get the vaccines to the people who need them most.

Here in Mecklenburg County, roughly 40 percent or so of the number of cases in North Carolina have been recorded in this county. So, this is a high frequency area. But they also need to make sure, according to the organizations I talked to here, that they get into the people who are most deeply affected.

We're talking to Black and Brown communities within the communities of men who have sex with men and transgender people.

Now, I talked to one man who was marching in the parade today and he said the key is going where people are like, pride parades, but also beyond that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL FULLER, CHARLOTTE PRIDE PARADE ATTENDEE: They have to come up with more creative ways to reach those communities. You can't just like put something on social media and say, "All right, we've done it." They need to go to the bars, to the clubs individually, like find the tastemakers and those communities to get the information out, so then they can sort of disseminate it to the community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Now again, there are stipulations, there are restrictions and criteria for people who are eligible for this free vaccine at these events here in Charlotte. Anybody who has been exposed directly to someone who has tested positive for monkeypox, other than that, it is men who have sex with men or transgender people, and who have a list of different criteria that they may respond to within the past 90 days.

Now look, we want to be very clear about something because they don't want to worry about stigma and people being reticent to get this, so this isn't a gay disease, but they are according to officials here in Mecklenburg County, focusing on people who are most disproportionately affected by monkeypox right now to try and eradicate it or stop it from spreading further in the community -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dianne Gallagher in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thanks so much.

So, the monkey pox outbreak comes as the US is still grappling with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and with school beginning for many children, some health experts are sounding the alarm about low COVID vaccination rates.

According to the CDC, only about 60 percent of teens under 18 are fully vaccinated. But for kids under 12, that number drops dramatically, less than 19 percent.

Here now to talk about all this, a pediatrician who served on President Biden's COVID-19 Transition Task Force, Dr. Julie Morita.

Doctor, so good to see you.

So, you hear from parents all the time. Why have so many been hesitant to make sure their children are vaccinated for COVID?

DR. JULIE MORITA, PEDIATRICIAN: Hey, Fredricka, thanks so much for having me. I think the COVID vaccine is a relatively new vaccine, as opposed to

the vaccines that we've gotten for our children for decades. This is new. And so, it is appropriate for parents to have questions or concerns about the safety or the effectiveness of the vaccines, but they don't need to be concerned because we have millions and millions of doses of this vaccine that have been administered throughout the country, throughout the world and we know that they are highly effective and they are safe.

And so, it really is appropriate for people to take advantage of the back-to-school physicals, back-to-school sports exams, back-to-school vaccine drives to get their children vaccinated with COVID vaccine, too.

WHITFIELD: So, with the vaccination rates relatively low, do you worry about how COVID could spread among young people, we're talking as they enter -- reenter school.

MORITA: I am concerned because I know that millions of children have been infected with COVID, thousands have actually had the serious inflammatory syndrome that we've seen happen early -- since early in the pandemic.

We also know that over a thousand children have died. So, though it's less severe in children, it's still not mild. I mean, it is important to take this seriously. Now is a great time to be vaccinated and parents should really seek out their healthcare providers that they trust to ask the questions that they have, to make sure that they can find the vaccine and get it for their children as quickly as they can.

WHITFIELD: And then, surprisingly, it's not just COVID vaccines, but a recent CDC study found that vaccination coverage for required shots among children declined in the school year 2020 to 2021. It fell under the target level of 95 percent coverage, more -- and I'm talking about MMR, DTAP, varicella vaccines in a variety of states.

So, what does this say to you?

[15:10:09]

MORITA: Right. So, I think what you point out is that we have had -- we have seen a decline in those routine childhood vaccines to prevent against serious diseases that we really don't see that often anymore -- measles, mumps, chickenpox, whooping cough -- those kinds of diseases just are not common because we've had such high vaccine coverage levels.

What happened during the pandemic is that parents weren't able to get into the doctor offices as easily, and because of that, they may not have gotten their children well vaccinated.

The other thing is there may be a little spillover in terms of people's questions about the COVID vaccine really impacting their comfort with getting these other childhood vaccines, but as confident as I am about the COVID vaccine, I am more confident about the childhood vaccines because we've been using these for decades and these diseases are there. They're outside of the United States just waiting to come in.

And so, unless we have our children adequately vaccinated, we're at risk for more outbreaks.

WHITFIELD: Overall, exemptions for vaccinations remains low for kindergarteners, only about 2.2 percent according to the latest data from the CDC. Is that encouraging at all?

MORITA: Yes, that is encouraging because I think what that tells me too, is that is not just people choosing not to get vaccinated, that there is something that we need to make sure that we are making the vaccines as accessible as possible.

Some parents still worry about the cost of vaccines. Some parents can't actually take time off from work because they don't have paid leave. So, it's critical that people are educated to know that the vaccines for children are really free, at no cost to them and that the doctors make sure the appointments are available after hours, on weekends so people can walk in to get the vaccine, so there's really no barriers to children getting vaccinated.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Julie Morita, good to see you. Thank you so much for being with us this Sunday.

MORITA: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come, the FBI is investigating an unprecedented number of threats against its agents in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago search, how some in the Bureau are taking extra precautions, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:13]

WHITFIELD: All right, new today, Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney speaking out following her loss in Wyoming's lone House primary. She has been a frequent target of former President Trump and his allies after she voted in favor of impeachment and became the Vice Chair of the January 6 House Select Committee.

Well, today Cheney defended her choice to buck her party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): No regrets. You know, I feel sad about where my party is. I feel sad about the way that too many of my colleagues have responded to what I think is a great moral test and challenge of our time. A great -- a great moment to determine whether or not people are going to stand up on behalf of the democracy and on behalf of our Republic.

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: What does your defeat say about Trump's hold on the Republican Party?

CHENEY: So, I think one it says that that people continue to believe the lie, they continue to believe what he is saying, which is very dangerous.

I think it also tells you that large portions of our party, including the leadership of our party, both at the State level in Wyoming, as well as on a national level with the RNC is very sick.

And that, you know, we really have got to decide whether or not we're going to be a party based on substance and policy or whether we're going to remain as so many of our party are today, in the grips of a dangerous former President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Cheney has said, she is thinking about running for President in 2024, but has not yet made a decision.

All right, in the wake of the FBI's search of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, the FBI says it is investigating an unprecedented number of threats against Bureau personnel.

As CNN's Brian Todd explains, the FBI is on edge as more information about the search could be revealed this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The possible unsealing of the probable cause affidavit for the FBI's search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home raising concerns about what it could mean for the safety of FBI agents. A Justice Department lawyer telling the Judge if the affidavit is unsealed, the department would want to redact background information on the agents involved in the search.

ERIC O'NEILL, FORMER FBI COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE: If I were an FBI agent right now, I would be concerned.

TODD (voice over): If that affidavit is released, even if it is heavily redacted, could it put agents in further danger?

Former FBI counterintelligence operative, Eric O'Neill says it depends entirely on what the released information says about that search's objective.

O'NEILL: If the basis for raiding Mar-a-Lago was just to find documents, then I think there's going to be a lot of trouble in the nation. If the affidavit is unsealed, with redactions that protect witnesses, and it shows that there is something really critical that that mandated and merited the FBI raiding Mar-a-Lago, I think that people are going to give the FBI a break.

TODD (voice over): The Justice Department also warned that targets could be tipped off and witnesses could be spooked.

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: People are out there looking for who these witnesses are, and who, you know, is possibly in danger of being approached if this should come out if the affidavit is released. TODD (voice over): The possibility that the former President could

release surveillance video of the search is also worrisome to current and former agents like CNN's Josh Campbell.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: If the faces of these agents actually make it into the public domain, that could put those agents at risk because we know after the search at Mar-a-Lago, those two agents who signed Court records that were then released, they have faced unprecedented threats to their own personal security.

TODD (voice over): But the threats already made since Mar-a-Lago have been ominous and are putting FBI agents on edge. A Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly making threats on social media saying: "FBI personnel deserve to die. My only goal is to kill more of them before I drop." That's according to Court documents.

[15:20:14]

TODD (voice over): In another incident, a social media account bearing the name of Ricky Shiffer, the suspect who law enforcement says, tried to breach the FBI's Cincinnati field office before being killed in a roadside shootout, said on the night of the Mar-a-Lago search that the search was a "call to arms."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rhetoric -- this kind of violent rhetoric -- there's a war, there's a Civil War, the FBI is the enemy of the people -- this stuff activates lone wolves.

TODD (on camera): And we're hearing several FBI agents are taking extra precautions. Our Josh Campbell, a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent says he is hearing that some agents are carrying extra firepower and ammunition with them during routine field operations and doing things like circling their offices, scanning for potential threats before pulling into the parking lots.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about all of this. Now, let's bring in Greg Ehrie, he is Vice President of Law Enforcement and Analysis for the Anti-Defamation League, and a former FBI agent. So good to see you.

So, later this week on Thursday, the redacted affidavit on the search of Mar-a-Lago could be out and the former President has threatened to release surveillance video from the search and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, among others have called to defund the FBI.

So, in your view, what has this done to the rank and file of the FBI? What has life been like for members of the FBI?

GREG EHRIE, VICE PRESIDENT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ANALYSIS, ANTI- DEFAMATION LEAGUE: Well, first, thank you for having me on. And my former colleagues, when I speak with them, they feel under siege, they're not seeing that champion, speaking out for them and saying, a lawful search was conducted.

The everyday work that FBI -- the men and women of the FBI conduct is kind of being forgotten over one incident where they executed a legal search warrant, and now their lives are in danger.

They are feeling this temperature rise without anybody speaking out very, very, very strongly against it.

WHITFIELD: And the temperature has risen in a lot of different ways. A Republican congressional candidate, Carl Paladino, endorsed by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, has said that the US Attorney General, Merrick Garland should probably be executed -- and he is just one example of right-wing extremism in the 2022 primaries.

The ADL has done an analysis on these kinds of candidates winning their primaries. Are you concerned about politicians using this kind of rhetoric and it manifesting -- potentially manifesting violence?

EHRIE: Oh, absolutely, and that is exactly what it does. It is not good enough for a candidate or public leader just not to speak out, but the words they are using, and as you mentioned, our analysts and other analysts in the Intelligence Community are seeing this level of violence -- violent rhetoric come out, that we've never seen to this level.

Like you mentioned the words that are being used, "Start a Civil War," "Kill, burn. Go after families," and these public officials, some of whom are just winning offices, are not saying anything about it, or at least being seen to passively encourage it. It is just setting a match to a powder keg that is already on fire.

WHITFIELD: And what Paladino later would say, you know, he was just being facetious. I mean, in your view, it sounds like you're saying the damage is already done.

EHRIE: Words count and these are public leaders. They know what semantics are. So, while I accept the apology, I just don't understand what the imperative behind it was.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Tonight, on CNN, my colleague, Dana Bash, hosts a new CNN Special Report, "Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America." Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI CHARLIE CYTRON-WALKER, CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL: I thought I heard, a click the click of a gun. I went to the back of the room, and that is when he pulled the gun out.

JEFF COHEN, CONGREGATION MEMBER: And within a few seconds, he got up and started yelling, "I've got a bomb."

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jeff Cohen came to pray and became a hostage.

COHEN: My phone was sitting next to me, and I quickly dialed 9-1-1. BASH: People watching the livestream could hear the gunman.

GUNMAN: Hostages are surrounding me. And I am going to die.

I am going to die at the end of this, right? All right?

REPORTER: We believe there to be one individual that is holding people hostage inside Beth Israel Congregation.

BASH: The hostage standoff lasted for nearly 11 hours, while FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew DeSarno's team negotiated with the gunman.

MATTHEW DESARNO, FBI SPECIAL AGENT-IN-CHARGE: He was demanding the release of a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist who was housed nearby.

COHEN: He believed that coming in here and attacking Jews that the Jews controlled everything, so they would make it happen. Jews controlled the government, Jews controlled the banks, Jews controlled the media. He truly believed this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:25:10]

WHITFIELD: Your organization attracts hate crimes and domestic terror in America. How do we, as a country, reverse this frightening trend?

EHRIE: It is the problem of our times. We are seeing these numbers go up and up and up every year and such a compelling story told by AIC DeSarno and Rabbi Charlie.

I think it is something we need to discuss openly. Instead of trying to hide it -- I've worked domestic terrorism events for over 20 years. This is at the most heightened level I've ever seen it from both sides, the right and the left, and it is time to come together as a nation, heal this divide, because it's just getting wider.

So, I think having those public leaders speak out against this, and us having these conversations about why is this happening and why are we accepting this? Why is this becoming more normalized in our society? That's the way to start this conversation.

WHITFIELD: Greg Ehrie, so glad to see you. Thank you so much.

EHRIE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And join Dana Bash as she goes inside the fight against the world's oldest prejudice. This new CNN Special Report "Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America" begins tonight at 9:00 PM.

All right, coming up millions of Americans under Flood Watches across the Southern Plains. Some areas are expected to get eight inches of rain. We will have the latest forecast straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:30:49]

WHITFIELD: Stranded for hours, a flash flood trapped nearly 160 people Saturday at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. Park Rangers tried to evacuate the park, but the only road in and out quickly became impassable.

The tourists were forced to shelter at the parks Visitor Center. Robert and Stephanie Saavedra, and their three kids were among those stranded. They were about halfway done with their tour when evacuation started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT SAAVEDRA, TOURIST: It took us about maybe 20 to 30 minutes to get out.

STEPHANIE SAAVEDRA, TOURIST: It's the roads that are washed out and we can't pass. They don't even know about food and water for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Saavedra family says the park had food, but only for purchase and they didn't have enough to feed everyone. The tourists were finally evacuated around midnight.

And that extreme weather threat isn't done yet. It is moving from the Southwest to the Southern Plains. More than nine million people are under Flood Watches in Texas and Louisiana. Some spots could get over eight inches of rain, with significant flash flooding expected.

Meteorologist, Tom Sater is following all of this from the CNN Weather Center.

Tom, what can tell us?

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I can tell you, Fredricka, it never really works out like we want it.

We need the rain. We need weeks of it, months of it, but not all in 24 to 48 hours. And so, we've got a little bit of a problem here.

Some areas such as Louisiana and Mississippi have had too much and they've got more coming. It is areas in Texas, Oklahoma, and some areas in Arkansas where it is so dry, the rains hitting it is like concrete. So, flash flooding is going to be a big problem.

Notice this graphic area of red. This is not where it is raining. Most of the rain is to the north of this. This is available moisture, saturated with water vapor in the air and watch how it just spreads from Texas across the Gulf Coastal States.

So, this is very tropical in nature, and it is going to really feed the system for the next several days. Now, we do have a Level Three out of four and that's including parts of Dallas Metroplex and toward Northwest Louisiana. If you look at the radar, most of the rain is up in Oklahoma right

now. But if you look to the south, coming up from Mexico across the border showers and storms starting to fire up in that tropical moisture.

So, this is going to be a kind of a multiday event. Notice where the Flash Flood Watches are right now, parts of Oklahoma, Northern Dallas, and Texas and that slides over into Southern Arkansas and that is where some of the heaviest rain is, south of Little Rock, South Central Arkansas.

But when it falls on this kind of dry land, this is a bigger issue. Yes, we'll take what we can get, 93 percent of Texas is in a drought, 62 percent is in the highest two levels. And we've got this megadrought out west.

But if you look at the cities in Texas, the top five driest years on record number one in San Antonio. It's never been drier. Number two, College Station; three, San Angelo; five in Dallas.

So, we'll take this and I really think it is beneficial. Obviously, we want to feel some reservoirs and those with livestock -- farmers, cattle ranchers -- they'll take what we can get with this. It is not going to help the grasses; you know start to develop and turn green. They've got issues and they're making tough decisions. But some rain is good rain, just along I-20 here, I wouldn't be surprised if some of our Emergency Services get a little busy, and that's with flooding, the ponding of water.

I mean, no one wants to see 9-1-1 calls for evacuations or, you know, some water rescues, but this is a lot of rainfall. We're not just talking, you know, five, six, seven, eight -- we could see 10-inch totals in a few locations. Where those will be? It is a little hard to tell.

Next thing on the map is up in the Ohio Valley tomorrow. It would be nice to get some rain up in New England, Fredricka, where they need it and parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, but this is the area we'll be watching tomorrow, parts of the Ohio River Valley.

Be careful out there. It's good to have the rain. We just don't need it all today.

WHITFIELD: That's right, not all at once.

All right, Tom Sater, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, 22 million people in the Horn of Africa projected to face extreme hunger due to drought. We'll discuss it with the Executive Director of the World Food Programme after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:38:49]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. More than 20 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are

facing extreme hunger due to one of the region's worst droughts in decades according to the World Food Programme.

CNN's Sam Kiley has this report from a community that's on the brink of survival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's not a coffin he is being measured for, this is an urgent effort to keep him from the grave. His arms so thin for his age and height, he is categorized as severely acutely malnourished.

Abola (ph) needs urgent help. He is about two, but he can't walk.

He is one of six million kids across the Horn of Africa, the UN says are on the brink of starvation.

There's food for her youngest, but nothing for Hergak's (ph) other children, except for a little wheat ground into a handful of flour.

(HERGAK speaking in foreign language.)

KILEY (voice over): She says her husband died last year; she has no livestock. She survives by selling charcoal where she can, but food prices have tripled this year.

The evidence that humanity's ancestors lived here one-and-a-half million years ago, has been found in places like this. Now water, the very source of life is being measured out in coffee cups.

[15:40:12]

KILEY (voice over): And 11.6 million people across Northeastern Africa are short of water in the worst drought for 40 years.

Here in Eldoret, Northern Kenya, local officials say that at least 85 percent of animals once owned by nomadic people are dead. And the UN says one-and-a-half million head of livestock have perished in Kenya.

Now, the price of staple food like maize flour have more than doubled in many parts of Kenya, since the disruption of global food supplies by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In short, Europe's war may soon start killing people in Africa.

KILEY (on camera): This community is marginal. It's living on the brink, on the very brink of survival, but so are millions of people right across the region and critical to their long-term survival is the stability of Kenya, a country that is facing drought. It is facing massive increases in the price of fuel and food. Instability here causes chaos across the whole Horn of Africa.

KILEY (voice over): The increased banditry across the vast Marsabit County has led to dozens of murders and thousands of livestock lost in raids, and has now been met with military operations and a dawn to dusk curfew.

Around 200 machine guns and other weapons were captured in one recent police operation here, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Roadblocks screen travelers in daylight. Nomads are moving south in search of grazing into major towns like Isiolo, and they've invaded wildlife sanctuaries like buffalo springs, competing with protected and often endangered animals for food and water.

The results can be fatal. Two men were recently killed by a female elephant near here, but it is violence between humans that is putting the most traditionally stable country in the Horn of Africa at risk.

FRANK POPE, CEO, SAVE THE ELEPHANTS: Anytime you get people that are hungry without other options, you've got a security situation, and Northern Kenya is, you know, we're bordered by South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia -- all of which have had or are still in the grip of conflict that spews small arms into this ecosystem.

So, you've got a lot of weapons up here and increasing hunger. So yes, I'd say that's a security concern.

KILEY (voice over): That concern will endure as long as this landscape continues to dry out, and war in Europe chokes food supplies to Africa's most needy.

Sam Kiley, CNN in Eldoret, Northern Kenya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Powerful images and devastating results. Let's talk more about all of this the impact of this devastating crisis.

Joining us now David Beasley, he's the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme and formerly South Carolina's Governor. So, good to see you, Governor.

So, you just returned, right, from Somalia. What did you see?

DAVID BEASLEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Yes, I was just in Somalia and Northern Kenya and Ethiopia, just in the last few days. I just landed on the ground in Rome and I can tell you, it is very, very, very bad.

It is hard to believe that five years ago, there were 80 million people around the world marching to starvation, Fredricka. That number went from 80 million to 135 before COVID hit because of manmade conflict and climate shocks, then COVID comes on top of all that, and the numbers spiked from 135 to 275 million marching to starvation around the world, and that's before the Ukrainian crisis.

So, what you're seeing in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Northern Kenya is just tragic. I saw dead animals, children dying before my very own eyes. They need help and they need it now.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so the World Food Programme, how can you intersect with this? How can you make a difference? What are you able to do?

BEASLEY: Well, there's a lot we can do. We're scaling up. Thank goodness, you know, the Democrats and Republicans in Washington, they seem to be fighting on everything and can't agree on anything. But boy, when it comes to food security around the world, I've seen the leaders step up, Republicans and Democrats lay their differences aside and come together.

In fact, they just appropriated an additional $5 billion for international food security and what the American taxpayer needs to understand is that America leads in helping nations around the world, and if we did not do that, here is what would happen. You'd have famine, people dying around the world, you'd have destabilization of nations and you'd have mass migration all over the world, especially in Central and South America.

Where I was just a week ago, and by the way, Fredricka, listen to this number. In Central America, the number of people now talking about migrating because of conflict, climate, and food insecurity is five times what it was just over a year ago.

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BEASLEY: So if we don't get in there and help the people, it's not just that they will die, it is not just that they'll have destabilization, you will have mass migration and the cost is a thousand times more than going in and doing it right.

WHITFIELD: It's extraordinary. It really is. You know, you talked about grain, you know, and how the conflict in Ukraine is stopping a lot of grain. It is getting -- really worldwide, it is the breadbasket, really globally and a lot of that grain is unable to get to places like what we're seeing -- Ethiopia and Kenya and Somalia.

And while the UN says the US is buying 150,000 metric tons of grain from Ukraine for an up-coming shipment, how is it getting distributed? What can you tell us about the logistical obstacles of getting grain or any supplies that you are able to get your hands on to the people in need?

BEASLEY: Well, you know, the cost of shipping has just gone off of the roof just in the past 12 months. All prices are -- there are high shipping costs, our operational cost now is an additional $75 million more per month -- per month. So, you can imagine.

So, we were buying about 50 percent of the grains that we buy around the world from Ukraine before the war started, and Ukraine grows enough food to feed 400 million people. So, when you take that off the table, you can imagine the shock to the systems on top of already climate shocks and COVID, economic deterioration and conflict.

So, all of a sudden, you shut down the breadbasket of the world to the longest bread lines of the world, and so as you know, I've been jumping up and down, "Open the ports, open the ports, open the ports," and we've got those ships now moving. Hopefully, they'll keep moving every day, every week, and we have a

couple shifts now heading towards the Horn of Africa, really give us relief that we need inside Somalia, Ethiopia, Northern Kenya, just for example.

And we will -- we have the teams already on the ground. We already feed about 130 million people on any given day, week, or month. So, we know how to do this. We know how to scale up and if we get the funds that support the grains that we need, we will be able to avert famine and catastrophe on top catastrophe.

WHITFIELD: And while there is that movement, and you say that is very hopeful, is it still your fear that it will get worse before it gets better?

BEASLEY: Yes, there is no doubt about it. It is going to get worse.

Opening up the port really has helped to calm the commodity market. It does not solve all the problems that we're looking at in the next 12 to 24 months, but it will make a difference.

And you know, with the next six to eight months, I'm very concerned about food pricing and availability in certain ways, but because of the lack of fertilizer, and the fertilizer costs and fuel costs and droughts, we could have a food availability problem next year, and that would be unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. All right, Governor David Beasley, thank you so much for being able to take the time to talk with us today.

BEASLEY: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: A grateful groom is praising Boston Police for saving his wedding day. Here is CNN's Brynn Gingras.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was a typical summer workday for Boston PD's Harbor Unit when this Patrol Team got an unusual call.

JOSEPH MATTHEWS, BOSTON POLICE: They had a groom in distress stuck at our dock.

GINGRAS (voice over): Groom in distress. That would be Patrick Mahoney. His wedding set to begin on an island across the harbor and the boat that was supposed to get in there --

PATRICK MAHONEY, GROOM: One of the Thompson Island staff members who was also waiting for the boat came up to us and said, you know, mechanical issues. We're going to see what we can do, but we have got to figure it out.

GINGRAS (on camera): You don't have a boat.

MAHONEY: We don't have a boat.

GINGRAS: Did your face just drop?

MAHONEY: A little bit. Yes, it was like, "This isn't ideal. Not at all."

GINGRAS: And Hannah, you knew none of this was happening.

HANNAH MAHONEY, BRIDE: No. I knew something was going on because I knew they were supposed to be there at 12:30.

Twelve thirty comes around. We're getting ghosted. None of the groomsmen are getting back to us and the groom is not getting back to me.

GINGRAS (voice over): What was happening? Officer Stefanie McGrath and Joseph Matthews stepped in escorting Mahoney, his groomsmen, the DJ, even hauling the wedding flowers.

A groom no longer in distress as the Police boat turned into a bona- fide party boat.

STEFANIE MCGRATH, BOSTON POLICE: When they got on this boat, they like turned into little giddy kids. They were cheering. They were very excited to be on a police boat.

MATTHEWS: Yes, some people take limos. I've seen a horse and carriage, but I've never seen someone take a police boat to their wedding. I think we made their day. They made our day, too.

GINGRAS (voice over): Mahoney even playing a prank on his soon-to-be bride, taking this picture in handcuffs.

P. MAHONEY: I was going to send it to Hannah. I was like, "This is a bad idea."

GINGRAS (voice over): Thanks to the Harbor Unit, the wedding party reached the island with minutes to spare.

GINGRAS (on camera): Fast as you've ever driven a boat?

MATTHEWS: This boat is pretty slow; it is as fast as she could go, we got them there. Yes.

H. MAHONEY: When they were all running up with the biggest smiles on their face, like "You will never believe what just happened." So, they were all like so excited and that made, you know, any stress that I had before go away.

MATTHEWS: Congratulations.

P. MAHONEY: Thank you so much. MCGRATH: How did the rest of the night go?

MATTHEWS: It's good to get a good call for change. Sometimes you get, you know not so nice calls. It is good to help people --

GINGRAS (voice over): And making for an unforgettable moment for the newlyweds.

Brynn Gingras, CNN Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: For sure, now happily ever after.

All right a monkey at a California zoo accidentally calls 9-1-1.

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WHITFIELD: Emergency dispatchers received a call that got disconnected and then sent deputies to investigate. Well, it didn't take long for a surprised zoo staff to realize it was this Capuchin primate named Route. He was the culprit.

The South American monkey known -- or these monkeys rather, this breed known for their intelligence. Zoo staff says Route likely picked up the keeper's phone from a golf cart and got a little clever and creative and it worked and got some attention.

All right, thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta right after this.

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