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5 Killed, Including An 8-Year-Old, In Texas Mass Shooting; 20M+ Under Threat For Severe Storms Across The Southeast; Yosemite National Park Closes Over Fears Of Extensive Flooding; Rescue Operation Ends Following Deadly Missile Strike In Ukraine; Commercial Ship Carrying More Than 1,800 Evacuees From Sudan Arrives In Jeddah; Migrant Surge; Biden Meets With Top Donors As Fundraising Marathon Starts; Family Of Accused Pentagon Leaker Issues Statement; Pence Testimony Raises Speculation Of Jan 6 Investigation Nearing An End; NBA Playoffs; NFL Draft. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 29, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:58]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A desperate man hunt is under way in Texas, a gunman killing five people including an 8-year-old and police are racing to a house in Cleveland, Texas overnight on reports of an active shooter.

At least three others were wounded in a brutal attack. And now the search is on for the suspect who took off before police arrived on the scene.

CNN's Ryan Young is following this breaking story for us. So tell us what we know thus far, this is taking place in a house. Does this mean that everyone knew each other, meaning the suspect and the victims?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears they were neighbors. And in fact, they were talking to him across the street. He had a gun, and apparently he's been firing in that yard, according to the sheriff, many times. They asked him to stop shooting because it was disturbing the baby inside the home.

At some point apparently he became angry and then actually went inside the home and started shooting. He shot five people, according to the sheriff's department, including an 8-year-old.

One of the details about this that stands out that is quite scary is the fact that two of the women who were killed seemed like they were covering younger children. Three other children survived this.

When you think about this desperate search right now, the sheriff's department does tell us they do have an ID from the man who's involved in the shooting. They talked to his wife. They believe he is about 12 miles away from the shooting scene in a wooded area. They're chasing him down. But take a listen to the sheriff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF GREG CAPERS, SAN JACINTO COUNTY, TEXAS: When they got here, they found four people deceased inside of the residence. There was an 8-year-old that had been shot. Everybody that was shot was shot from the neck up almost execution style.

We know him by name. Date of birth. We got his Mexican consulate card. Plus there was a ring doorbell on the victim's house that we actually captured him coming up to the front door with the weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, clearly, this is troubling but you hear that, the ring doorbell that they had there, being shot almost execution style, the kids who were also in that home who survived were covered in blood.

There were ten people in that home, and then you think about the five others shot execution style including that 5-year-old (SIC), obviously a desperate search. Hopefully we'll get more details as the day goes along because an active man search is going on right now.

WHITFIELD: Terribly sad but probably not on the run for very long --

YOUNG: Hopefully not.

WHITFIELD: -- given the images and the ID that they already have.

All right. Thanks so much, Ryan Young. Appreciate that.

All right. Right now, millions of people across the U.S. are under threats of severe storms, and much of the areas at risk are already dealing with widespread flooding. From Minneapolis to Iowa, dozens of rivers are in major flood stage. And rapid snow melt is causing a slow-moving swell of flooding in the Mississippi River which is bursting at its banks, in some communities.

And the same storm system that brought golf ball-sized hail to Texas is now pushing into the southeast threatening more than 20 million people, with strong winds, heavy rain, and the possibility of tornados across Georgia and Florida. It's everywhere -- severe conditions.

As CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here with more on this.

So Allison, I mean these are several systems, right.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We have three really separate low pressure systems that we're keeping an eye on. The one that's in the Midwest, there's a secondary one in the northeast, and then the third one that is really focused across the Gulf Coast region and that's where we really have our best chance for severe storms today.

Here's a look at the live radar. You can see that first wave just now starting to slide into the Tampa area but a large cluster of storms are behind it. As this continues to push east we do anticipate some severe thunderstorm warnings as we go throughout the rest of the day. And yes even the potential for large hail and tornadoes, also exist, mainly for this area you see here.

So really from New Orleans over to Charleston and then back down through Miami for today in terms of the main focus. But that's just the southern edge.

[11:04:54]

CHINCHAR: There's two different waves that are coming in. That first one that we showed that is arriving now will continue through the afternoon hours. But then a secondary wave that rolls in late tonight and continues into the overnight hours.

Then there's off to the northern side, where we also have some very heavy rain, especially across the northeast. States like New York and Pennsylvania could also pick up several inches of rain.

So two different days, two different systems, and two different areas of concern in terms of flooding. Today, the focus for flooding is going to be in the southeast, especially across Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Tomorrow, the focus for flooding becomes more of the northeast, states like Maine, New York, over across portions of Pennsylvania where several inches of rain, could fall, too.

Then tomorrow, we do still have the potential for severe storms as well. Still talking about hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes, but we notice a lot of that shifting farther east and even south.

So for tomorrow, it's really two separate areas. You're looking at basically from Dover, Delaware down to around Savannah, Georgia and then that secondary zone that is down across central and southern portions of Florida.

But really, Fred, the threats for both of those areas will still be the same, and most of it, at least in the Florida portion, should be at least done by the latter half of the day.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much for the warning because people need to be aware and pay attention to all the severities taking place.

Thanks so much, Allison Chinchar.

And of course, who can forget the many feet, upwards of 18 feet of snow this past winter, inundating California's mountains including the Sierra Nevada? Well now that snow pack is melting and it's triggering concerns of big, potentially dangerous flooding, and lost tourism.

Right now, most of California's Yosemite National Park is closed in preparation for what's expected to be massive flooding. And you can see water already rising earlier this week, right there.

It comes just as the park's busiest season is supposed to get started. Yosemite getting hit hard, multiple times. Last month Yosemite was closed because of the snow. And now again because of flood-causing melt.

Let's bring in Scott Gediman. He is a park ranger and spokesman for Yosemite National Park. All right. Scott, You're up in Yosemite Meadows along the Merced River. You're joining us by phone. Describe what you're seeing right now.

SCOTT GEDIMAN, PARK RANGER/SPOKESMAN, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (via telephone): Hi. Good morning and thank you for having me on. It is a beautiful day here in Yosemite. The Merced River is just about at flood stage.

The way the flood cycle works, or the melt cycle, is we get our highest flows from about 2:00 in the morning until about 5:00, so we're seeing the Merced River just raging, and just right up at about flood stage.

And we're doing well. We're done some closures before. So we have a lot of the visitors out of the flood prone areas but we just got a lot of water and the water falls are going like I've never seen them before.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. And we were looking at some of the pictures from Wednesday. I mean it looks beautiful, striking, everything that the people who have booked, you know, perhaps months or even a year in advance, want to see, and many of them appreciate what is happening.

But some tourists might be saying, wait a minute, this is nature, I want to see this right now. Why did you close the park?

GEDIMAN: Safety is our number one concern. And just one small correction, if I will. Yosemite National Park remains open. We closed the eastern portion of Yosemite Valley and this is where a lot of the campgrounds, hotels and things like that are, because it is in the low-lying area.

What happens when we get to the flood stage like this, we have water literally filling up camp grounds and hotels, employee housing. So we've asked the visitors to leave yesterday.

We've instituted a temporary closure in just a small portion of the park through Wednesday, and we're expecting it to be around flood stage today, come up to flood stage overnight tonight into tomorrow and then dissipate as we're looking at cooler temperatures coming in.

So again, giving (ph) safety of the park visitors and the employees is our driving concern. The water falls is spectacular, and anyone who is disappointed, we certainly understand that, but I can assure everybody the water falls will be going for a while, and there's plenty of opportunity to see beautiful Yosemite National Park which belongs to the American people.

WHITFIELD: It's gorgeous. Ok. So for clarity, it is not all closed. There are portions of it that are closed because of the concerns of the flooding. So back in 1997 the park, you know, also experienced massive flooding,

after a big snow melt, you know, combined with drought. Thousands were trap and the park was closed for what, almost three months. Were there any lessons learned from that that are now being applied?

GEDIMAN: Excellent question and thanks so much. Yes, I was here back in 1997, and the big lesson that we learned was we had a lot of facilities right next to the river. We had campsites, cabins, lodging, things like that.

[11:09:50]

GEDIMAN: So after the '97 flood, we had about $160 million in damage. We built everything back but we built it back further away from the river. We were able to shore up some areas. And so what we're seeing now, you know, I've been out and about the last few days, I've seen a lot of the benefits of that, because a lot of areas that would have flooded before '97 are not flooding now.

So we certainly have the flood concerns but it was the opportunity to build back, and build back further away from the river, and protect these areas that is really yielding the great results that we're seeing today.

WHITFIELD: Wow, I mean nature is just gorgeous, and on full display. But you know, we all understand, there's some parts that are just too dangerous to take in for now.

Ranger Scott Gediman, thank you so much. Glad you could be with us.

GEDIMAN: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. In Ukraine, Russia unleashes another deadly attack. This time, at least 23 people are killed. The latest on the search and rescue efforts. We're live in Ukraine, next.

Plus, President Biden makes it official, launching his re-election bid. What's behind new polling showing the majority of Americans polled don't want him or Donald Trump to be president in 2024. We'll discuss.

[11:11:05]

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WHITFIELD: The search for survivors has now ended after a Russian missile attack hit an apartment building in central Ukraine. The attack killed at least 23 people including six children. It's believed to be the deadliest strike on civilians since January. And it damaged more than 10 apartment units and other civilian targets.

CNN's Nic Robertson is on the scene. So, Nic I mean is there a search and rescue effort still under way?

NIC ROBERTSOHN, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: No, it's ended. And it has been a grim ending particularly for those people who have relatives that they were trying to get confirmation about what had happened to them.

The final death toll is now 25, the two added today, not found, their bodies not recovered. The firefighters saying the intensity and ferocity of that missile strike, was just so hot, that there are two bodies -- people unaccounted for, missing, that they just cannot find.

Among the dead, as you said, six of them were children. I'm going to step out of the way. There is a floral tribute that is being laid here for a lot of people. And you can see some girl here coming up, a lady here coming up laying some flowers.

But a lot of toys and that's because there were so many children that were killed -- an 8-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl, a 14-year-old girl, a 1 1/2-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy.

But this is a story here now of grief, of a community coming together, of people coming to pay their respects, but it's also a story of rebuilding.

Take a look over here, these are apartments just across from the one that was destroyed by the missile. People repairing them. Putting the windows back in. This 30 hours or so now, after the missile strike, and the repair work, really under way here.

In the background, you can see the big trucks, hauling out the concrete. But really, this is the last phases of the mission here. The fire brigade, the firefighters have pulled out, after so many hours of hard work. They've done everything that they can. The police forensic DNA team, they've loaded their equipment into their vans.

This is now about the community coming together to show their support and love and try to put their lives back in order. But it's been harrowing. People we've been talking to here just cannot believe that so many of their friends, 25 of them, that they won't see them anymore, that in the middle of the night, they were gone, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Horrible. All right. Nic Robertson in Ukraine. Thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

All right. Now to Sudan, where there was a desperate scramble, as thousands tried to escape the violence between warring military factions. The U.N. says more than 50,000 people have already fled to neighboring countries.

You're seeing new video of some 1,800 people who made it to Saudi Arabia by ship earlier today. Some U.S. nationals who made it out of the country tell CNN that food and fresh water are beginning to run out in Sudan.

The White House maintains there are no plans to help evacuate Americans trapped in that country.

CNN's Larry has more by phone from a Saudi evacuation ship on the Red Sea. Larry, tell me how this evacuation is taking place.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Fred, this is one of several ships that the Saudi Royal Navy have been running almost a shuttle service between Port Sudan and the Red Sea and here in Saudi Arabia.

So far they have evacuated almost 5,000 people. One of those ships you mentioned brought in about 1,800 just this morning. The Saudi government said that it has brought in more (INAUDIBLE) here in Jeddah and then eventually they get (INAUDIBLE) to go to wherever it is that they need to go.

So we are on one of these ships, the SMS Al-Zaria (ph) that is halfway through on our way to Port Sudan, picking up even more people.

They have endured so much already to be at Port Sudan because that's about 500 miles away from capital Khartoum, and (INAUDIBLE) -- 12 hour journey. But with the war (AUDIO GAP) it took 36 hours to get to Port Sudan and then there the wait (INAUDIBLE) if we get on one of these ships to get to Jeddah from here.

WHITFIELD: And Larry, who gets to get on the ship? Only Saudi nationals? Or people from other countries?

MADOWO: Most of the people that the Saudi Navy is evacuating are not Saudi nationals. Out of the 1,800 people that arrived in this morning ship, there were only maybe 20 Saudis.

[11:19:54]

MADOWO: Most of them most came from countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. They have air lifted -- they have evacuated Canadians, Americans, British, Chinese, people from every corner of the world.

And they have been running this as ship service. Saudi Arabia is a key diplomatic player in Sudan. It's part of what is called the Quad. That include the U.K., the U.S., Saudi Arabia itself and the United Arab Emirates.

However none of the Sudanese people are getting on the ships unless these Sudanese people are dual nationals for the U.S., the U.K. or somewhere in Europe.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it's an extraordinary effort. Larry Madowo, I'm so glad you're able to be with us on the phone. We're going to connect with you a little bit later because again, thousands of people who have been in Sudan are trying to flee.

In some cases, their countries are sponsoring their evacuations. In others, we're seeing right here, like the Saudi ship, is offering assistance to people from various countries trying to get out of Sudan. Thanks so much, Larry.

All right, one Texas town is now declaring a state of emergency over the recent surge of illegal border crossings there. Details what this may signal for other border cities now that COVID era restrictions are set to expire in less than two weeks.

[11:21:14] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

The Texas border town of Brownsville is declaring a state of emergency over the recent influx of migrants. City officials say some 15,000 asylum seekers have crossed the border illegally in the last week or so. And the uptick comes as Title 42 is set to expire on May 11th.

That's the pandemic border rule that allowed successive administrations to quickly expel migrants to Mexico.

Meanwhile, New York Mayor Eric Adams is calling on FEMA to stop sending federal funding to cities that are bussing migrants to New York. Governors from Texas and Arizona began sending buses full of asylum seekers to northeastern cities like New York and Washington, D.C. last year, an action they say was meant to send a message to the Biden administration and Democratic cities that border states are bearing too much of a burden from the migrant crisis.

New York alone has received more than 50,000 migrants since last spring. And the city's overtaxed shelter system is struggling to keep up.

Polo Sandoval is following this from New York.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, So New York City officials are closely watching the situation down on the southern border. You just shared with viewers the pictures out of Brownsville. That is certainly concerning.

And it is fueling concerns that any potential surge on the southern border will certainly affect us here some 2,000 miles to the northeast, with a possible increase in the number of migrants that New York City has released.

When you look back at the last year of this migrant crisis, some 58,000 have arrived here in New York City. But the number that is especially important is the next one. Some 36,000 are still currently in the city's care, which has amounted to a massive tab for the city of New York.

Roughly $870 million that it has already spent in the last year of New York City's migrant crisis, and if projections are right, and if the trends continue of about 200 migrants a day that are arriving in New York City, then we are likely to see, according to the city, about $1.4 billion in spending, just to address the asylum seeker crisis here in New York.

And this is really increasing the pressure, I think, for officials to turn to the Biden administration. We have seen since last year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams become highly critical of the Biden administration's handling of the situation. The mayor saying that it is, quote, decimating the foundation of the city.

And he feels that not only Republicans in congress, but also the Democrat in the White House, has turned their back on New York City again. This, according to Eric Adams.

Now, we have reached out to the White House for comment, but basically what we're seeing now is the city council, and of course, the mayor of New York, calling on the president of the United States, to enact any possible executive action to increase the number of U.S. CIS personnel that processes the work authorizations, so these thousands of migrants that have been in unemployment limbo can finally get to work legally, not to mention also to potential TPS expansion, to include Central America, Venezuela, and even Sudan most recently.

So there are a lot of dynamics in play. This is certainly going to become an important story to watch into the summer, as we already begin to experience that influx of migrants in the south, and it is likely going to translate to an increase here.

The question is, will the city of New York receive millions in funding from federal officials to help it address the issue.

WHITFIELD: All right. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Fred.

All right. The 2024 fundraising marathon is already in full swing for President Biden. But what do voters think about a seconds term in the Oval Office? We have new polling, next.

[11:29:05]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

President Biden is meeting with top donors in Washington, D.C., as his re-election campaign officially kicks off. The president announced his bid for a second term earlier this week, now setting the stage for a potential rematch against Donald Trump.

But take a look at these numbers. A new NBC News poll finds a large majority, a majority of voters do not want Biden or Trump to run again.

Joining me right now is CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. He's also senior editor for "The Atlantic". So good to see you, Ron.

So you additionally have a piece out this week with the headline, "Joe Biden isn't popular, but that might not matter in 2024." Why not?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well look, you know, Biden is looking at a lot of numbers that historically have been red warning lights on the dashboard for an incumbent president.

I mean his approval rating is stuck at 45 percent or below, lately it's been closer to 40 percent. And polls like that NBC survey, three quarters or more of Americans describe the economy in negative terms and as that poll showed, a preponderate majority of Americans say they do not want him to run again. And you know, historically those kinds of assessments have all been

head winds for an incumbent president, and they will still be a head wind for Joe Biden in 2024.

But the thing is, Fred, all of those conditions, all of those numbers, were also present in 2022, I mean voters said the same things about Biden in 2022, and Democrats did unexpectedly well, especially in the swing states likely to decide 2024, because an unusually large percentage of voters who said they were dissatisfied with Biden or disenchanted with the economy voted for Democrats anyway, because they view the Republican alternative as too extreme and unacceptable.

[11:34:59]

BROWNSTEIN: And that is the dynamic that is, you know, allowing Democrats to have a relative degree of calm as they look at what historically have been pretty ominous numbers for an incumbent president.

WHITFIELD: So is it possible that keeping in mind the approval rating, or you know, slash disapproval ratings, this will kind of shape or reshape how the Biden re-election campaign moves forward?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes look, I mean they are dealing with this reality, and you can see, part of their emphasis is that they are spending a lot of time around the country touting what they are able to do the first two years in particular -- this trinity of bills -- the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the bipartisan semiconductor bill and the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act which is spurring a surge of investment in new manufacturing and other facilities around the country.

They're going to spend a lot of time doing that. They're going to spend a lot of time advertising eventually in the swing states in an effort to bring up his approval rating.

But they are also going to spend as you saw in that announcement video, a lot of effort on reprising the message of 2022 that Republicans are a threat -- the MAGA Republicans are a threat to your rights, to your values and to democracy itself.

I mean it is very telling. I mean the dynamic that is described in 2022, this PBS/NPR/Marist poll that came out this week, that showed pretty low approval ratings for Biden, nonetheless showed that voters who somewhat disapproved of him, three quarters of them said they did not want a second Donald Trump presidency.

And that is the dynamic that helped Democrats so much in 2022, and it is still highly critical to Joe Biden's prospects in 2024.

WHITFIELD: And then how about for, you know, 0progressives, you know, who may be lukewarm about another four years of the Biden administration? How does Biden appeal to them? And I mean I guess there is no feeling that Trump is necessarily trying to appeal to them, either, but as far as, you know Biden's re-election campaign, how does he appeal to the progressives? BROWNSTEIN: Well look, Biden is counting on Republicans to solve the

problem, the enthusiasm problem he has, particularly with younger Democrats. You know, he's never been that popular among young voters.

One of the reasons his approval ratings are so low is that they are far below what you would expect for a Democratic president among younger voters but these are voters who by and large reject the Trump stamp, the Trump era GOP, clearly as a threat to their values, and even to their identities. It's the most diverse generation ever. It's the most generation ever. It is the most -- the generation most likely to identify as someone in the LBGTQ spectrum.

And so in many ways, Biden is hoping that either Trump or DeSantis, who is kind of running as Trumpism without Trump, will generate the enthusiasm that he has only limited ability to do on those younger voters.

He is focusing his efforts pretty clearly, and you look at how he spends his time and his messaging, he is focusing his effort on the blue collar, older white voters particularly in those three key Midwest states, Rust Belt states -- Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, talking about creating blue collar manufacturing jobs, talking about the (INAUDIBLE) Social Security and Medicare, talking about lowering drug prices and insulin costs.

That's Biden's focus and I think he is counting on the Republicans to do the other part of his job and mobilize that part of the Democratic coalition which, by the way, will be a significantly larger share of the electorate in 2024 than they were in '20 because so much of Generation Z is aging into the voting pool.

WHITFIELD: And you know, in that same NBC News poll, voters apparently think Biden should not run, nearly half of them say age is a major factor. Biden is already the oldest president in U.S. History. He will shall 82 if sworn in for a second term.

I mean there's -- you know, age is a constant. You know, but even with the two, you know, party front-runners, they're both, you know, not young. But is that really going to be a, you know, a hiccup? Is that how voters will make a decision ultimately?

BROWNSTEIN: That was very diplomatic, Fred, describing them as not young. Look, I mean it is clearly a hesitation for many voters sometimes. Democratic pollsters will tell you that.

I think if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, the race is overwhelmingly a binary choice for voters about whether or not they would entrust the power, the control of the federal government again to Donald Trump, particularly if he is facing multiple criminal indictments.

I mean the challenge Republicans face, and again, that NPR/PBS/Marist poll last week, 63 percent of Republicans said they wanted a second Trump term, even if he is convicted of a crime. Three-quarters of independents, three-quarters of young voters, three-quarters of people of color, and four-fifths of college educated whites said in contrast they don't want a second Trump presidency especially if he is convicted of a crime. That is the Republican challenge.

[11:39:54]

BROWNSTEIN: If it is against -- and so if it is against Trump, I do not think that Biden's age is going to be a huge factor. I think Trump is going to be the pivot of the race for most voters. If it is against someone else, I think it does become more relevant.

But again, even in that circumstance, I think the lines are so sharply drawn in American politics, there are very few voters, there are very few states that are in play. Possibly as far as four to six that will decide the next president and within those states which are closely balanced, it's literally only a handful of neighborhoods. So they are fighting at the margins, regardless of who the nominees are on either side.

WHITFIELD: All right. All fascinating and we're still in the beginning stages. So lots to come.

BROWNSTEIN: More to go.

WHITFIELD: Stay tuned. All right. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Prosecutors want the accused Pentagon leaker to be held in jail without bond as they warned he has a history of violent threats and owns an arsenal of weapons. More on that right after this.

[11:40:48]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right.

The family of accused Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira has issued a statement supporting their son as more troubling evidence surfaces. Prosecutors in Massachusetts are now urging a federal magistrate to hold him in jail without bond.

They say the National Guardsman charged with posting highly classified documents to social media has a history of violent threats and owns an arsenal of weapons.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: 21-year-old Jack Teixeira in custody, after appearing in court for his detention hearing. Prosecutors portrayed the suspected leaker of classified documents as a risk to flee. Incapable of the trust he promised to uphold as a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

"There is no integrity in Teixeira's character because there can be none when there is such a profound breach of trust," said Nadine Pellegrini, from the U.S. Attorney's office.

In a dumpster at Teixeira's home, authorities found a tablet, a laptop and an X-Box, they have all been smashed. Prosecutors said it was a way of stopping them from fully understanding the seriousness and scale of Teixeira's conduct.

BRIG. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: The Department is looking not only at our intelligence processes and procedures as it relates to security or sensitive information and who has that information, but also looking at the process by which we clear and vet individuals for security clearances. And that work is ongoing.

LIEBERMANN: Authorities say he had an arsenal of weapons just feet from his bed, including rifles, AR, and AK style weapons and a bazooka. His room decked out in military camo and paraphernalia.

In a recent online chat uncovered by investigators, Teixeira said he would kill an expletive ton of people because it would be culling the weak minded.

And that he wanted to make an assassination van, he also asked another user what type of rifle would be good to conduct a shooting in a crowded urban or suburban environment.

Teixeira's lawyers argue in court he poses no danger and is not unique in collecting weapons, some people are car guise, some people like boats and some people like guns, his attorney said in court defending his client as the Pentagon defended the process that led here.

The leaked documents have exposed classified U.S. intel, including about the war in Ukraine. Documents have revealed the limitations of Ukraine's air defenses, and man power. While also detailing Russia's efforts to recruit more troops to plug its military's ranks.

Valuable info, the prosecutors say, other countries would covet. And authorities warn Teixeira may still have more sensitive intelligence hidden away and could still be capable of causing extraordinary damage to U.S. national security.

Teixeira remains in custody at this point. The judge did not rule on whether he would be kept in custody yet. That ruling expected soon. But the judge may have given an indication which way he was leaning when he said he found the prosecution's evidence, quote, "fairly compelling".

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this week, former Vice President Mike Pence testified for more than five hours before a grand jury investigating the January 6th attack. So could this be an indication of the special counsel investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, is nearing a decision on possible charges?

With me now to discuss Michael Zeldin. He is a former federal prosecutor. So good to see you, Michael.

First off, talk about the significance of having a pivotal figure like former Vice President Mike Pence testifying before a grand jury in a case involving the actions and words of the president that he served.

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, it is significant, assuming Pence was forthcoming. He was in there for a long time. We hope that what he was saying in there was forthright and truthful, and not hiding behind, "I don't remember", which we saw a lot of in previous testimony by other people.

If he is forthright, and you know, inclusive about everything he should have knowledge of, then he should be able to help the prosecutors prove knowledge and intent and the state of mind of Donald Trump.

Because he is reported to have had direct conversations with Trump, not only about whether the effort to prevent the certification in Congress which he was entrusted to do, was illegal, but whether the whole big lie, and effort on the part of the president to prevent this certification, the defrauding of the government was something that Trump calculated, did with knowledge and intent of its illegality.

[11:49:53]

ZELDIN: That's what Pence is at the heart of. And if he can tell us that, if he can tell the prosecutors that then it takes them a long way toward proving their conspiracy with intent to defraud.

WHITFIELD: So what are some of the questions you think might be asked of Pence?

ZELDIN: Well, you want to know what the president told him on January 6th when they had that telephone call where he allegedly called him some pretty derogatory names. We want to know about the Oval Office meeting that Pence was at where Trump was talking about the big lie.

We want to know about Pence's conversations with Eastman and others who were running the false elector scheme. So you want to ask him, what did you know about that? What did the president say to you? What did you know about the president's knowledge of the illegality of this scheme?

It's those types of questions that I think are foremost in prosecutors' minds.

WHITFIELD: So having a star witness like Pence, former vice president, you know, testify before the grand jury, is that an indicator that a decision is soon to come on possible charges, you know, the save the best for last kind of strategy?

ZELDIN: Yes. It seems that Mark Meadows and Mike Pence are the two key witnesses in the hub of this inquiry. And again, if they're both forthcoming and they can give the prosecutors the knowledge and information that they need, then we know we're somewhere in the seventh or eighth inning of this investigation, I would think. WHITFIELD: All right. Michael Zeldin, we'll leave it there for now.

Thanks so much.

ZELDIN: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

[11:51:34]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The stars were shining in Hollywood as the Lakers knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies to advance in the NBA playoffs, but not a peep from the Grizzlies' Dylan Brooks after calling Lebron James old -- ouch.

CNN's Carolyn Manno has more.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, after the performance in Game 5 on Wednesday that left something to be desired, Lakers superstar Lebron James that vowed he would be better in Game 6. And he delivered on that promise.

King James coming out hot in front of his home crowd, he made 7 of his first 8 shots punctuated by this monster slam late in the first half.

Lebron had 16 points in the first half alone, that is one more than his total for all of game 5. He would finish with 22 for the game as the Lakers put the pedal down in the second half w/inning by 40 to close out their first playoff series at home in 11 years.

So the question is will King James face the Kings or will he face the defending champs? The Kings/Warriors series coming down to a winner take all game 7 tomorrow afternoon in Sacramento.

And after losing three straight, the Kings bounce back in a big way against (INAUDIBLE) company. Sacramento building a double-digit lead in the second quarter and the warriors never got within five for the rest of the game.

The Kings win it 118-99, the final there. The playoffs continuing tonight on our sister channel TNT with the top-seeded Denver Nuggets hosting the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant. That should be aa very compelling series.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak making his presence felt in Game 6 against Florida with one of the most incredible goals you'll ever see. Steering a path between his legs going top shelf for the score but it was the Panthers, Fred, earning that nickname of the Cardiac Cats in this one.

These two teams went shot for shot, finding the back of the net for a combined seven goals in a wild third period.

Florida scoring the last three unanswered to grab the 7-5 win and even that series at three games apiece as the series shifts back to Boston for a decisive game 7 on Sunday.

Three more teams will have a chance to close out their respective series tonight. That actually starts at 7:00 Eastern over on TBS.

And finally for you this morning, Fred. Kentucky quarterback Will Levis was supposed to be a night that he would never forget on Thursday, but his name was never called at the NFL draft. He didn't have to wait long though to find a new team on Friday. The Tennessee Titans trading up to grab him with the number 33 overall pick. He could be one of those steals that we always talk about in the draft.

According to ESPN, there was a 92 percent chance he would have been picked in the top ten. So with him falling, he could be one of those success stories that you hear about as the draft wraps up this afternoon and it's exciting all the way to the very last pick, as you know, which is known as Mr. Irrelevant.

But last year's selection Fred turned out to be anything but irrelevant. That was San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy who led his team to within one game of the Super Bowl.

So those fairytale stories do exist. We'll see what happens with Will Levis in Tennessee but for now, he can study under Ryan Tannehill and I'm sure there's no shortage of motivation after what happened at the draft, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Always lots of nice surprises. Carolyn Manno, thanks so much.

And this quick programming note.

As the United Kingdom prepares to crown King Charles III, what does this moment mean in the modern world? "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

Hello again everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm FREDERICKA WITFIELD.

And we're following breaking news out of Texas where authorities are searching for a gunman suspected of killing five people, including an 8-year-old.

Police responded to reports of an active shooter at a house in Cleveland, Texas overnight. At least three others were wounded in the shooting. The suspect fled the scene before police arrived, leading to today's desperate manhunt.

[11:59:59]

WHITFIELD: CNN's Ryan Young is following this story for us. So give us an idea. I mean the sequence of events. It's just horrible the outcome.

YOUNG: Not only is it horrible but when you think about how horrific this shooting was and where they found some of these --