Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Beijing Says United States Provoking China By Engaging With Taiwan; Israeli Police Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque A Second Time; Ukraine: Russia Keeps The Pressure On Bakhmut; Britain To Use A Barge To House Asylum Seekers; 50 Million People Still Under Threat for Severe Storms; Invitation Debuts 'Queen Camilla" Title. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired April 06, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:54]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (on camera): Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. Message received.

VAUSE (voice over): China deploys an aircraft carrier strike group of Taiwan's coast, as the island's democratically elected leader meets with the U.S. House speaker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Occasional shelling, but nothing coming on this position, yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Ben Wedeman, reporting from the frontline trenches of Ukraine's grinding war with Russia. And consort no more. The wife of King Charles will officially be called Queen Camilla.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE (on camera): A Chinese aircraft carrier strike group has been spotted off the south east coast of Taiwan. The timing and location sending a clear message from Beijing. As Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives meets with the leader of Taiwan.

McCarthy-led a bipartisan group of lawmakers met with Tsai Ing-wen at the Reagan Presidential Library Wednesday in California. The first time a leader of Taiwan and a U.S. House Speaker are being face to face on American soil.

Beijing denounced this landmark visit, said, Washington was hollowing out the one-China principle, the bedrock of U.S.-China relations, which recognizes the mainland communist government in Beijing as the only legitimate government of all of China.

The White House tried to downplay the historic nature of this meeting, and urged China not to overreact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: These transits by high-level Taiwanese authorities are nothing new. They're private, they're unofficial, but they've been going on for years.

Beijing should not use the transit as an excuse to take any actions to ratchet up tensions, to further push at changing the status quo.

VAUSE (voice over): The high-profile meeting is seen as a sign of solidarity between two Democratic allies in defiance of threats from China.

McCarthy called President Tsai, a great friend to America. Taiwanese leader delivered an urgent warning.

TSAI ING-WEN, PRESIDENT OF TAIWAN (through translator): In a discussion with congressional leaders this morning, I reiterated Taiwan's commitment to defending the peaceful status quo.

However, it is no secret that today, the peace that we have maintained, and the democracy which have worked hard to build are facing unprecedented challenges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE (on camera): And now just on the heels of the Taiwanese president visiting the United States, bipartisan group of U.S. House lawmakers, write in Taipei a short time ago.

CNN's Steven Jiang, joins me now live from Beijing with more on this.

OK. So, we know what the sort of the short-term reaction will be from Beijing. There will be outrage, there'll be some kind of military action, some kind of display of military might. What is the medium to long term consequences though?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (on camera): That's a good question. But I think the stark contrast you mentioned in terms of the reaction so far to this meeting between Speaker McCarthy and Tsai Ing-wen, compared to what happened last year, when the then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. That is important.

Remember, that visit triggered days of very intense military drills around the island, with the Chinese firing missiles over Taiwan. They even practicing a blockade of some sort -- not to mention substantially increasing the number of war planes and warships they dispatched to -- around Taiwan, versus this time.

As you mentioned, there is that passage of the aircraft carrier, but that was announced, you know, a little while ago, and there is also some sort of civilian maritime authorities plan to conduct patrol and inspection operations in the Taiwan Strait, ostensively, in that illegal dredging activities.

Now, this is a very stark contrast. And your right, John. So far, their responses have been largely rhetorical and very predictable in terms of blasting Tsai Ing-wen, but also, of course, blasting U.S. politicians with ulterior motives, and calling them troublemakers.

[00:05:02]

But I think, this is -- because of several factors. One, this visit by Tsai Ing-wen and her meetings in the U.S. relatively low key and by design, according to U.S. and the Taiwanese officials we talk to.

And two, I think, perhaps, more importantly is this visit by Tsai Ing- wen actually coinciding with several very high-profile and very important visits here in China by several VIP guests.

One, of course, is former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, from the -- from the island's opposition KMT, which traditionally is more pro- Beijing and wants to foster closer, warmer ties with Beijing.

Remember, Ma actually met with Xi Jinping in a historic meeting back in 2015 in Singapore as the heads of their respective political party, and there is actually a presidential election going on in Taiwan next January.

So, I think Beijing is very mindful of that. Every time they launch some sort of war mongering rhetoric, and not to mention these large- scale military drills, they tend to backfire.

And also remember, there is this very anticipated visit by French president Macron, along with European Commission President von der Leyen, here in China as well, at a time when this relationship between China and E.U. is very critical with Taiwan increasingly becoming a thorny issue as well, especially in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

So, I think the timing of these high-profile visits here in China may explain China's relative -- relatively muted response to the Taiwan president's visit to the U.S. so far.

But as you -- as you pointed out, never say never, we may see more robust reaction from the Chinese once Ma Ying-jeou, as well as Macron and von der Leyen leave China.

But so far, this is a fairly restrained response, John?

VAUSE: We'll see what happens. Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang, there at CNN bureau chief in Beijing. We appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, tensions rise and China continues to build what is already the world's largest navy, U.S. is focusing on deterrence. Part of that is military might. Fleets of submarines and ships to try and keep the peace.

CNN's Will Ripley has an exclusive behind the scenes look aboard one of the U.S. Navy's most advanced submarines. He takes us for a deep dive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Our journey begins in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the bustling hub of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Covering almost half the world. 100 million square miles. 1,500 aircraft and around 200 ships. Including more than half of the Navy's nuclear-powered submarines.

Today, we're getting an exclusive look inside the USS Mississippi, one of the most powerful warships on the planet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- guys -- welcome aboard.

RIPLEY: With a crew of around 140 people.

Rear Admiral Jeff Jablon is commander of the Pacific fleet submarine force, facing new powerful threats in the hotly contested Indo- Pacific.

RIPLEY (on camera): Are you concerned about what China's Navy is doing particularly in the South China Sea and around Taiwan?

REAR ADMIRAL JEFF JABLON, COMMANDER, UNITED STATES PACIFIC FLEET SUBMARINE FORCE: I am concerned. you know in today's world, we are facing two nuclear peer adversaries, where we've never had that before.

The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Union Russia was our peer adversary.

We're now facing China which has expanded and modernized their nuclear capabilities.

RIPLEY (voice over): The Mississippi is one of 49 fast attack submarines in the U.S. Naval fleet. The fleet also has 14 larger submarines, carrying nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.

The U.S., U.K. and Australia's newly announced AUKUS partnership will send nuclear-powered submarines to Perth, potentially challenging China's ambitions for the region.

Beijing now has the world's largest navy, but U.S. submarines have the world's most advanced technology, a key advantage in underwater warfare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mississippi is ready to dive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dive! Dive!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dive! Dive!

RIPLEY: The sub is capable of diving deep and fast, descending hundreds of feet in a matter of seconds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three hundred feet.

RIPLEY: At angles of up to 25 degrees. Even standing up can be a challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 400 feet. RIPLEY: Traveling underwater makes the submarine almost impossible to detect. The nuclear reactor is so quiet, the sub submarine makes less noise than a whale. In the dark depths of the ocean, there is no light to navigate.

The team relies on highly sensitive sonar.

JABLON: While the ocean environment is very unforgiving. So, there are a lot of challenges that prevent a submarine from hearing another submarine or another surface ship.

And you've got to be able to understand those different challenges.

RIPLEY (on camera): The USS Mississippi, like all of America's nuclear submarines, can't essentially sustain itself under the water for weeks or even months at a time because of the nuclear reactor that powers them.

They breathe, recirculated air, and purified water.

The only thing that they need to actually get resupplied with is food for the crew members. And that means that they get used to spending a very long time not only without sunshine and blue skies, but also without regular communication or conversations with their families.

[00:10:04]

RIPLEY (voice over): The food on submarines is surprisingly good. But spending months under water can be tough.

No mobile phones allowed. Outside communication only possible on e- mails. Sailors have to look after each other.

RIPLEY (on camera): What most surprised you about life working on a submarine?

STEVEN WONG, CREW MEMBER, USS MISSISSIPPI: Honestly, what surprised me the most was like the people. How close you get with each other. These kinds of the shared hardships you share with each other end up with a really strong bond.

RIPLEY: The crew relies on that bond, carrying out complicated dangerous tasks inside the torpedo room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

RIPLEY: Technicians practice loading high precision weapons capable of taking out other submarines and ships.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: End warning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Understanding warning.

RIPLEY: At the back of the sub, Jack O'Brien works with a team of technical engineers.

Do you ever get bored on a sub?

JACK O'BRIEN, CREW MEMBER, USS MISSISSIPPI: No, no. Absolutely not. Every day I come in, thinking I know what I'm -- thinking I know exactly what's going to happen, what I got to do.

RIPLEY: Rear Admiral Jablon says deterrence is the key objective. Even winning a war against an increasingly powerful China would likely result in devastating losses for both sides.

JABLON: I'm confident that should we be called upon to fight, and hopefully, that will never happen, that we would win.

RIPLEY: Submarines like the USS Mississippi are constantly preparing for war. Ready at a moment's notice for whatever the future holds.

Will Ripley, CNN, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Now to Jerusalem, where is ready, police stormed one of Islam's holiest sites, not once, but twice on Wednesday. And the fallout has been immense at this very sensitive time, with Jewish people celebrating Passover and Muslims marking Ramadan.

These images posted online so the scene inside the al-Aqsa mosque during the second raid. Armed Israeli officers deployed stun grenades and ordered worshipers to leave immediately.

Police said in a statement that dozens of juveniles, some of them masks, had thrown fireworks and stones, tried to barricade themselves inside the mosque. And police help worshipers' exit.

Palestinian Red Crescent says 18 people were wounded during both incidents.

U.N. special coordinator for Middle East peace, said he's appalled by the clashes and arrest of some 350 people, mostly Palestinians.

Actions that also drew widespread condemnation from around the Arab and Muslim world.

Jordan has called for an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOSSAM ZAKI, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL, ARAB LEAGUE: The Israeli government is bent on inflaming the situation. Whenever it has issues in the domestic scene, it reflects immediately on the Palestinians, and that's exactly what's happening now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Carrie Keller-Lynn is a political correspondent for The Times of Israel. She is with us this hour from New York.

Thank you for taking time on this (INAUDIBLE) say tonight. CARRIE KELLER-LYNN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Of course.

VAUSE: So, the Palestinian authority prime minister, he released a statement about the raid of al-Aqsa mosque. You've read in part, "What is happening in Jerusalem is a major crime. Israel does not want to learn from history, that al-Aqsa is for the Palestinians and for all Arabs and Muslims, and that storming it sparked a revolution against the occupation."

I guess the point here is that there have been clashes before between Palestinians and Israeli police in this area known as the Temple Mount or al-Haram al-Sharif.

But sending police into the mosque, firing stun grenades and using batons to beat worshipers inside the mosque, seem seen this to a whole new level -- a whole new dangerous level.

KELLER-LYNN: This is absolutely a very disturbing scene, I would say, both in terms of what the police alleged could have happened.

Had the raid not occurred, the police said that the worshipers were fortifying themselves within the sacred holy place along with stones, with fireworks, which were ultimately launched against the police in order to, perhaps, attack Jewish worshippers the following day. Reminding, of course, that Jewish worshippers were planning to come consecrate the upcoming Passover holiday on Wednesday before it started this evening.

What we saw in terms of the police forces reacting as strongly as they did very, very harsh videos to watch. But really, I think, speaking to the fact of how scarred people are about this time, this critical time being Ramadan, Passover and the convergence of Easter coming that only two years ago, conflicts on the Temple Mount, ultimately, were the catalyst for an 11-day conflict between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

So, this is definitely top of mind people, and a very strong response kind of with that at the forefront of Israeli consciousness.

VAUSE: Yes. And, in so many ways, we've seen the elements of that, once again, sort of playing out. We've had the rocket fire from Hamas -- from Gaza, into southern Israel.

We've seen the IDF to carry out military strikes in Gaza on Hamas targets.

KELLER-LYNN: Yes.

[00:15:01]

VAUSE: So, is it certainty that were heading in that direction? Is there an off ramp here?

KELLER-LYNN: I think certainty is very hard to say. But what we're seeing that is particularly concerning is the involvement of other international players.

There were a lot of efforts before in the lead up to Ramadan season for Israel, as well as its local neighbors, Egypt, and Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, mediated by the U.S. to some extent to really think about quelling these tensions.

Of course, the new government that's headed by Benjamin Netanyahu is -- has been headed by security figures, who not necessarily have been quieting, but rather raising the tensions.

VAUSE: And he's put out a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Israel is committed to maintaining freedom of worship, free access to all religions and the status quo on the Temple Mount, and will not allow violent extremists to change this."

Many critics, meaning, opponents of the prime minister may ask if that statement applies if something's most senior ministers within his coalition government.

KELLER-LYNN: Right, we have a police minister, who was indicted 15 times for charges, including incitement to violence and racism and support of a Jewish terrorist group.

And we have a finance minister, who's also a second minister in our defense ministry, who said that he supports wiping off Palestinian community off the map, as well as says that there's no such thing as Palestinian people.

So, we have this very difficult security situation, as well as the security Cabinet within Israel, which hasn't met since February. And like I said, the defense minister, it's unclear whether he's not in the position.

So, we do have a very, I think, very problematic security situation within the Israeli government itself moving into the situation, and difficult to say how to deal with external challenges when balancing so many within the coalition itself that's supposed to be governing against them,

VAUSE: And just quickly, to wrap this up, how does this all play into the tensions between the Palestinians and the Israelis, with the internal divisions and the mass protests, which have taken place for weeks now across Israel over, you know, the reform of the judiciary there?

KELLER-LYNN: I'd say in three main ways. The first way is that, really, the government's critical mass, weight of attention has been placed on judicial reform. Its plan to dramatically neuter judiciary power, and instead increase political power with almost unchecked and unfettered. That has been the government's sole focus, and as such, has really de-escalated its emphasis on security, even leading to this critical time.

Again, we talked about what you said, extremists in the Israeli government. This would be far-right parties that have come to power through Netanyahu, since the election in November. They are part of this government, because this is the coalition that was possible for Netanyahu. So, these politics obviously play a role with these figures in power in such secure -- sensitive security settings.

And then, obviously, you have all the international pressure as well, that's been playing on the Israeli government and also interfering with its own ability to orchestrate scenarios such that it could defend against this, this kind of outcome.

VAUSE: Carrie, thank you for being with us. We really appreciate it. Thank you.

KELLER-LYNN: Thank you.

VAUSE: The new U.S. ambassador of Moscow has received a dressing down by the Russian president, who said relations with Washington are now in deep crisis.

He went on to say, U.S. support for the 2014 Maidan Revolution in Ukraine was to blame for the current conflict.

And later, during a meeting of Russia's security council, Putin made the baseless claim that Western intelligence services may be involved in recent terrorist attacks inside Russia.

White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby had this response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: So, from the early days of this war, we have been providing intelligence and information support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to enable them to better defend themselves.

We do not enable nor do we encourage the Ukrainians to strike outside of Ukraine. And I really just -- I'm going to leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Ukrainian troops are coming under increasingly heavy attack from Russian forces trying to take complete control of the city of Bakhmut. One Ukrainian soldier has told CNN, heavy fighting is underway in the city center, that all roads in and out of Bakhmut are under Russian fire.

President Zelenskyy is now suggesting a pull-out from Bakhmut is possible, but only to read a route of Ukrainian troops, which he added is less likely if Ukraine's allies speed up ammunition deliveries.

Over the last few months, it's obvious that neither Ukraine or Russia has the firepower to decisively end this war.

Both sides have dug in what seems to be a semi-permanent network of deep trenches across the eastern front. A grim reminder of the trench warfare from a long time since passed. Here is CNN's Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice over): In the trenches, the deeper you dig, the better. The front lines in the open plains of eastern Ukraine are a zigzag of earthworks. In this area, positions have been static for a while.

[00:20:07]

Oleksy (ph), from the first tank brigade has been here for six months.

Sometimes, it's quiet, he says, and sometimes it's loud.

Sometimes they, the Russians, tried to break through. So far, they haven't succeeded.

WEDEMAN: OK, I want to get down. OK. we are told that Russian lines are just one kilometer. From here, we're hearing occasional shelling, but nothing coming on this position, yet.

This soldier also named Oleksy (ph), peers through binoculars across no man's land. But only briefly to avoid drawing sniper fire.

To be honest, at first, I was scared, he says. But humans can get used to everything.

They're yet to get used to one threat hovering overhead.

All right, we've now taken cover because the soldiers say there is a drone flying over in the area, which they tell us occasionally drop grenades on their trenches.

But not this time.

To the rear, Sergeant Oleg, checks that his Soviet-era T-64 tanks are in good working order.

It's like an old car, easy to repair, Oleg tells me. With new cars, you have to take them to the mechanic. These are like a simple tractor.

But these tractors may soon be replaced by newer models. He says some of his comrades are in Poland being trained to use German-made Leopard tanks.

Spring has arrived in these parts, and with it, growing anticipation of a Ukrainian offensive new more modern weapons than these old hoax could make all the difference.

Back in the trenches, all is quiet, but as we leave, a drone appears above us.

Then, our ride out arrives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come, come within 30 seconds. WEDEMAN: 30 seconds, OK.

Then, artillery, no time to waste.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: When we come back here on CNN, widespread criticism of Britain's latest attempts to discourage asylum seekers from crossing the English Channel.

Hundreds were held on a small unseaworthy barge. That one right there.

And this jewelry, causing a wealth of legal trouble for Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro. We'll explain the multiple investigations he is facing.

And later, another day of severe weather across the United States. It's not over yet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:25:10]

VAUSE: Britain says it's least a barge to house of some asylum seekers. It's received a barrage of criticism as well.

Here is the barge right now. It will be docked in southern England accommodate about 500 asylum seekers, while their claims are processed.

The government says this is in fact a cost saving measure. Because U.K. is facing a massive influx of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats and doesn't have the budget to pay for all of this.

Human rights group are condemning the decision as cruel. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, says his government doesn't have much of a choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RISHI SUNAK, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: We can't have a situation we are collectively spending 6 million pounds a day on hotels for illegal asylum seekers.

We're bringing forward alternative sites like indeed the barge that we've announced today that will save us money and indeed reduce pressure on hotels all part of our plan to stop the boat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The barge is called Bibby Stockholm. Will house asylum seekers for at least 18 months. The government says it's exploring to use other patches as well. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had a brush with the law Wednesday. He arrived at a federal police station in Brasilia on Wednesday to answer questions about millions of dollars in jewelry he received from Saudi Arabia when he was president.

As Stefano Pozzebon explains, like his friend Donald Trump in the United States, Bolsonaro is not letting legal trouble get in the way of his future presidential ambitions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: A Trump ally and a former president. Jair Bolsonaro, summoned by federal police as part of a criminal investigation into his actions while in office.

After a three month stay in the United States, where he was hailed by Donald Trump himself.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A very, very popular in Brazil, the former president of Brazil, President Bolsonaro.

POZZEBON: He's returned home last week met with cheers from supporters on the plane and outside the airports.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so happy with Bolzonaro's return.

POZZEBON: When asked who will be elected president in 2026, his son Eduardo said these.

EDUARDO BOLSONARO, CONGRESSMAN, RIO DE ANEIRO: If we have integrity in our elections, for sure, I guess, Bolsonaro. Or maybe even before.

POZZEBON: But his political future hangs in the balance, as Bolsonaro is the subject of 16 different investigations. From keeping and not declaring $3.2 million worth of luxury jewelry gifted to him and his wife as heads of state by Saudi Arabia, to much more consequential allegations. like whether he incited the January 8th riots in Brasilia.

Bolsonaro says he has done nothing wrong and no charges have been filed against him.

Bolsonaro, nickname, Trump of the Tropics knows how to rile up his base.

JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER PRESIDENT, BRAZIL (through translator): There are certain themes in Brazil that cannot be spoken. One of them is the vaccine.

They keep saying science, science, science. What I say, freedom, freedom, freedom.

POZZEBON: But also like Trump, legal rules now stand in the way of a possible comeback.

What do you think would be not being able to run for presidency for the Bolsonaro brand?

BRUNO BOGHOSSIAN, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, FOLHA DE S. PAULO: His allies try to argue that Bolsonaro wouldn't be to hurt if that happen, because people would see that it was an injustice from the Supreme Court or from the Electoral Court.

That's something that comes out of every populace playbook.

POZZEBON: For some of his supporters, the Bolsonaro represents has already outgrown the politician.

FREDSON BATISTA, BOLSONARO SUPPORTER (through translator): If it's not him, there will be another one. There will be 1000s, millions.

POZZEBON: He could pass the baton to one of his sons, or the former first lady.

The Bolsonaro's own Liberal Party is betting on as a possible candidate, if her husband is barred from running. A challenge for anyone trying to fill his shoes.

BOGHOSSIAN: There's no one else to challenge him in the exact same outfit that he uses right now.

POZZEBON: Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Brasilia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, the monster storm with a light show led more than a million households and businesses in the dark. Detail is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Look at that, a stunning moment. Lightning striking Toronto's landmark CN Tower early Wednesday. According to local reports, more than a million people across Ontario and Quebec lost power, from thunderstorms as well as freezing rain. You don't see that every day.

[00:32:04]

After another day of extreme weather in the United States, more than 50 million people from Texas to New York are still under threat of severe storms.

At least five people were killed after a possible tornado tore through Southeastern Missouri early Wednesday. The state's governor says during a phone call with the U.S. president, Joe Biden offered to do anything he could to help.

And then there's dramatic video as a tornado whipped through a field in Iowa. More than 320 storms were reported across the U.S. on Tuesday and Wednesday.

With details on all of them, CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz is with us now from the weather center. Maybe not all of them, but the big ones, at least.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, exactly, John. And thankfully, the severe weather threat is starting to taper back a bit, so that is very relieving for many of us across the Plains and the Ohio Valley.

Now, holding onto the chance of a few stronger storms back down into South Texas, and that's our focus, really, this morning and into the overnight hours in this morning.

You'll see a few orange boxes. Those are severe thunderstorm warnings. They go for a few more minutes where we're seeing hail and half-dollar size cover the ground in Martindale.

Also not only the threat for hail and wind. Those are our biggest concerns, but flooding of some of our bigger threats here. So you'll see that from Buffalo to Houston, Nashville, Jackson, Pittsburgh all included and the marginal risk thankfully, starting to taper back a bit as we roll into the day on Thursday.

So overnight and early morning, where we'll be dealing with some of the stronger storms across South Texas right up into parts of the Tennessee Valley.

But again, it's the flooding concern that we're focused on. Thursday morning, 10 a.m., that heavy rain really starting to come down down in San Antonio, as well as Austin.

Houston grabbing onto some of the heavy rain through Friday morning, and unfortunately, it lags through the day on Friday. Then finally, rolling into Saturday, it will start to taper back a bit.

But flash flood risk in place from Alexandria, Louisiana, back down into Houston, Austin, San Antonio included. And flood watches, still in place through about seven o'clock central time down across parts of Texas and Louisiana and right on up through the Tennessee Valley for today, mostly through the morning for the Tennessee Valley in early afternoon.

but these areas are already saturated, and we're adding more rain on top of it. Another two to possibly six inches of rain. That swath there through Texas, right on up into Southern Arkansas and right on down into Louisiana.

Keep in mind, it only takes six inches of water to lift you off the ground, and it also takes six inches of water to kind of lose control of your vehicle. About two feet of water to lift your car off the ground and take you down the roadway.

So turn around, find a different route. John, it's one of the best advice I can give you to save your life.

VAUSE: It's simple advice, but it's very, very good advice and sensible, too. Thanks, Britley.

Still to come, Buckingham Palace about to send out the official invites, the coronation of King Charles III. One world leader already sending his regrets and his wife.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Mark your calendars if you have not already. One month away now from the coronation of Britain's King Charles III, but one world leader will not be there.

The White House has confirmed U.S. President Joe Biden will be a no- show. First lady Jill Biden will lead the U.S. delegation.

The invitations are ready to send out, featuring the first public reference to current Queen Consort Camilla as just Queen Camilla, a title she'll hold after the coronation.

And Buckingham Palace has also revealed Prince George will serve as a page during the ceremony, walking behind the king, along with Camilla's grandchildren.

Sally Bedell Smith is a CNN royal commentator and widely published author. Her latest book is "George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy."

Sally, thank you for taking the time to be with us.

SALLY BEDELL SMITH, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: You're welcome. It's a pleasure to be here.

VAUSE: Just in time for something interesting to talk to about this coronation. Here come the official invites: "To the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla."

A lot of people talking about this because notably, Camilla is no longer referred to as "queen consort." But the word "consort" was there simply because it refers to the wife of the reigning monarch, as opposed to Queen Elizabeth, no consort, who ascended to the throne, basically, through blood. She was born into royalty. She took over. She was the power of the throne.

So why take this word "consort" out of the official invitation?

SMITH: Well, it also started back when Camilla and Charles were married in 2005, and everybody was so sensitive about the residual feelings for Diana that they -- they announced that their intention wasn't when, in due course, when Charles became king, that she would be a princess consort. And there is no such thing as a princess consort.

But it was done to sort of placate people who might feel in -- in a negative way about Camilla.

And it wasn't really until the late Queen Elizabeth II marked her 70 years on the throne, when she issued a statement that said that it was her sincere wish that, when her son became king, that Camilla be known as queen consort, which is not really a title.

But it was -- it was the queen's, really, fairly clever effort to smooth over, to kind of dispel the idea of a princess consort and have people start to think about Camilla as a queen consort.

VAUSE: Titles are important within the royal family, because it's -- you know, it's all that symbolism, and that's what the royal family represents.

So if you look on the -- you know, the website, the Twitter feed of the royal family, the latest photo is out with the happy couple referred to as the king and the queen consort.

If you go to the U.K. government's coronation website, it refers to Camilla as queen consort at least four or five times there.

And, you know it's worth noting that even now that Queen Elizabeth has passed on, she's referred to as "Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth," no longer "Her Majesty, the Queen."

[00:40:04]

So these things, you know, these things change. And even Diana, she was never born into royalty, so she was Diana, Princess of Wales. You know, there -- she was never really Princess Diana. That was incorrect.

SMITH: So no, there was. You're absolutely right.

VAUSE: Is there some kind of risk here of public scorn because, as you mentioned, Queen Elizabeth specifically said she wanted Camilla to be referred to as queen consort.

By going against the wishes of Queen Elizabeth, who still, I imagine, is remarkably popular, you know, within the U.K. -- and do they run some sort of backlash here among the public by not honoring her wishes?

SMITH: I really don't think so. Because I think what she was literally trying to do was get rid of the whole notion of a princess consort, and I don't think that she meant that Camilla should be officially referred to as the queen consort.

She is, as -- as a practical matter, she is the queen consort, as were her predecessors, but her actual title is Queen Camilla. And they have specified now that that is going to be in effect following the coronation.

So I don't interpret that in the least as going against the wishes of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

And Camilla will be not only the -- she will not only be Queen Camilla, she will be known as the queen, even though Queen Elizabeth II, for 70 years, was known as the queen, and Queen Elizabeth II. Getting back to your question, I don't see this, in any way, as a -- as a -- as a contradiction of what the queen was saying back in February a year ago.

VAUSE: The fact is that Camilla has had a sort of very dramatic rise in the opinion polls. She's much more likable now than she was 10 or 20 years ago. How much does that play to -- they can actually do this now with the public.

SMITH: Oh, I think the public will have -- will accept it. You have to bear in mind that when she married Prince Charles, she was in her late fifties. She's now turning 76 years old this summer.

And she has really stepped up. She has taken on all sorts of duties in the -- in the later years of her life, and she's worked very hard. And she has shown herself through all of her various charities and for the support that she has given to her husband, now the king.

I think people have a lot of respect and even admiration for what she has done.

VAUSE: Absolutely. It's a changing time, and the royals actually proving they may be able to change with them, as well.

Sally Bedell Smith, thank you so much for being with us.

SMITH: You're welcome. My pleasure.

VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. I'll be back with a lot more news at the top of the hour. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is up next in 17 minutes and 20 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:29]

(WORLD SPORT)