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CNN International: U.S. Border Cities Prepare for Massive Influx of Migrants; New Climate Summit Getting Underway in Berlin; U.S.: 100,000 Russians Killed or Wounded Since December. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 02, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Recently, DeSantis' prospective rivals for the Republican nomination for president, Donald Trump and Chris Christie, have slammed DeSantis' maneuvers against Disney. Trump saying on his social media website that DeSantis was being, quote, absolutely destroyed by Disney. Political analysts say this fight symbolizes DeSantis' willingness to put culture wars front and center on the Republican agenda and is a reflection of his swagger.

CAPUTO: He's grown into the office and the exercise of power, the likes of which we hadn't seen in a state. Not only did he take on Disney, which used to be kind of a sacred cow, you didn't really mess with Disney as a governor.

TODD: Another example of Ron DeSantis' growing ability to wield power in his state, Florida lawmakers have just passed a measure that allows him to run for president without quitting his job as governor. That changes the law in Florida which previously required candidates for higher office to give up their current posts. DeSantis is expected to officially declare that he's running for president in the coming days.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Up next, several border cities are preparing for an influx of migrants with just days until the pandemic era immigration policy is set to expire. More on that just ahead.

And envoys from around the world are arriving for a new summit on climate change. We're live in Berlin for you.

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FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you are just joining us, let's me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is warning Congress the U.S. could reach its debt limit as soon as June 1. [04:35:02]

Yellen's letter warned that if Congress doesn't act, it could harm American families and the global economy.

And more than 11,000 Hollywood writers are going on strike for the first time since 2007. The strike was announced after the Writers Guild and studios failed to reach an agreement hours before a midnight deadline.

Now there is a looming crisis at America's southern border where thousands of migrants are gathering across at least four northern cities in Mexico. Officials and advocates say more than 36,000 migrants are now sleeping in shelters and on the streets. They are waiting for May 11 when the pandemic era restrictions known as Title 42 expire in the U.S. and even more migrants are expected to make their way to border cities. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is following the developments from Washington.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, in just over a week, Title 42 that pandemic era border restriction that allowed U.S. border officials to rapidly expel migrants crossing into the United States, it's set to expire. And U.S. officials as well as local officials along the U.S./Mexico border, they are already bracing for what is expected to be a surge in migrants following the expiration of that authority.

And already you are seeing some cities along that U.S./Mexico border beginning to prepare for that surge. The city of El Paso, Texas as well as the city of Brownsville, Texas both of them issuing states of emergency. In El Paso, that will allow them to set up temporary shelters to deal with the expected influx of migrants.

And that's because we know that there are already thousands of migrants in northern Mexico that are waiting for Title 42 to expire in order to cross into or attempt to cross into the United States. 9,000 believed to be in Tijuana, 10,000 to 12,000 in the city of Juarez, Reynosa 16,000 and 1,500 in Matamoros.

A DHS official told CNN that several border detention facilities along the US-Mexico border are already overcapacity. And in recent weeks we have seen 7,000 daily encounters of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. And again, all of that with the expectation that those numbers are going to go up once Title 42 expires.

Now, U.S. officials here in Washington, they have been preparing for months for the expiration of that pandemic era policy. They are preparing a new asylum rule that they are expected to roll out in the coming week or so that would bar migrants who travel through other countries from applying for asylum in the United States. They are also looking at expediting the asylum screening program and adding resources to the border. But those additional resources including some that the Department of Homeland Security reprogrammed for other programs to dedicate it to the border. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas says even that won't be enough.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: While the department is frugally utilizing the limited funding Congress has provided to prepare for the post Title 42 environment, this notification of repurposing existing funds is only a fraction of what we will ultimately need. But we can't do everything that we need to do until Congress provides the needed resources and reforms. We call on Congress to provide the resources we need to continue our work.

DIAMOND: And what you hear there from Secretary of Homeland Security is not only a call on Congress to issue new funding to the department to help with this surge of migrants that's expected at the southern border and also of course, a call to reform the immigration system. A decades old system that officials say makes the problems at the border that much worse.

But what you're also hearing is an acknowledgment that those first few weeks following the expiration of Title 42 could potentially seriously strain the U.S. immigration system.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Washington.

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FOSTER: New York City set to give out 500 Apple AirTags to fight auto theft by allowing residents to track their vehicles. The move comes after a surge in a theft of Kia, Honda and Hyundai models. That was driven in part by TikTok challenge videos which showed how certain cars could be started without keys. Certain automobiles lack basic auto theft prevention technology, specifically electronic engine immobilizers.

Environmental groups are suing U.S. the authorities over the launch of SpaceX's massive Starship rocket last month. The rocket lifted off from Texas, spewing debris for miles before exploding over the Gulf of Mexico four minutes into flight. The groups argue that the Federal Aviation Administration failed to adequately investigate the potential harm the launch or a mishap could do to the surrounding areas.

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A new round of talks aimed the solving the climate crisis is getting under way right now in Berlin. Envoys from dozens of countries are attending the Petersburg climate dialogue. The two-day summit is meant to lay out some of the groundwork for the COP 28 conference in Dubai later this year. And the U.S. Secretary-General is scheduled to speak right about now. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is covering this live from the German capital. Do you expect progress this time -- Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Max. Well, that's going to be the big question here. And it's actually the German foreign minister who's speaking right now. You can see behind me -- I'm going to get out of your way for just a second here. That Annalena Baerbock is currently giving her speech. And we were actually able to speak to the German foreign minister a little bit before she went on stage here as she is speaking right now.

And she did say that the Germans do have a pretty ambitious agenda. Because obviously, say that essentially the Petersburg climate dialogue is what is going to set the stage for the main COP 28 meeting, which of course is going to happen later this year in the United Arab Emirates. And she said that there's really several things that are on the agenda.

On the one hand, it's for the rich nations of the world to put up a lot of money for the poor nations of the world to be able to deal with climate change and be able to finance dealing with climate change. Then of course also, investing in renewable energy for poorer countries as well.

One of the interesting things that Annalena Baerbock said before she went on stage here, and before she went inside the venue, she said she believes that one of the things that need to happen at the main COP 28 meeting later this year, is for there to be a real target for the amount of renewable energy that the world wants to produce. She says that something that she believes is key to just combating and to stop climate change.

Of course, the big target that the nations have, that many nations around the world, is to limit the amount of global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade. She says right now she believes most countries are failing. In fact, most people would say that most countries are feeling to cut carbon emissions and to also try and not have the climate change happen that quickly. So, clearly a very ambitious agenda that's on the agenda here. And certainly, you see that the Germans are trying to push this forward as fast as possible -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Fred in Berlin, thank you.

Still ahead, a Russian freight train derailment and on fire across the border from Ukraine. The local governor blames an explosive device.

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FOSTER: Newly declassified U.S. intelligence shows more than 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war on Ukraine since December. Including 20,000 killed in action. But the White House says it has no plan to share Ukrainian casualty figures. CNN's Scott McLean joins us now with more. I mean, it is a very high figure but not entirely unexpected.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we should first off take this with somewhat of a grain of salt because this is based on U.S. intelligence. So, we don't know what kind of intelligence. We don't know how reliable it might be. But still, it is a massive number considering since the start of the year. The U.S. says that killed or wounded on the Russian side is more than 100,000, 20,000 killed in the line of fire on the front lines. And the U.S. also says that nearly half of those were Wagner fighters whom we know have been doing a good chunk of the fighting in Bakhmut. That important town, symbolically important town that the Russians have put so much effort in trying to take, so far with no success -- or with limited success I should say.

It is also interesting to note the huge gap -- it's almost comical the gap between this U.S. estimate and the number of casualties that the head of Wagner says that they have lost which is just 94. Something that John Kirby the national security official calls ludicrous. He also said that he won't be releasing any Ukrainian estimated casualties because the U.S. doesn't want to do anything, in his words, to make it harder for them.

FOSTER: And tell us about the Russian freight train that exploded.

MCLEAN: Yes, so this was in the Bryansk region. The governor there says that this was an IED placed on, what he says, was a civilian cargo train carrying building supplies, carrying oil products, things like that. But what's interesting is the location here. Bryansk region borders Belarus, it borders the northern part of Ukraine.

And even just today the governor said that overnight there was Ukrainian shelling on the border. Over the weekend there was shelling, he says, that killed four civilians there. The Ukrainians also say that drone strikes on Kyiv have originated in Bryansk and the Ukrainians have also launched their own drone strikes into that region. Something that is extremely rare for them to admit.

And of course, we've seen throughout the course of the war that there have been plenty of mysterious explosions on Russian soil. But in cases like this, I mean, the Ukrainians haven't said anything about it and it seems like both sides have their own reasons for downplaying it. The Ukrainians don't really want to provoke any kind of response. And of course, the Russians really don't want to acknowledge that there is war taking place on their own soil right now.

FOSTER: OK, Scott, thank you.

The Celtics and 76ers kicked off their second round series in the NBA playoffs with a nailbiter. We'll have the highlights from Monday night's action coming up.

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FOSTER: Four days and counting until the coronation of Britain's King Charles III. Buckingham Palace says more than 2,200 people will attend the service this Saturday at Westminster Abbey. The guest list includes about 100 heads of state, politicians, Nobel Prize winners, religious leaders, as well as community and charity workers.

We've also learned that King Charles will wear clothing worn by previous monarchs at past coronations including a sword belt and a glove worn by his grandfather, King George VI. The palace says the items are being reused in the interests of sustainability and efficiency. And be sure to watch CNN this Saturday. I'll be joining Christiane and also Anderson for the live coverage of the coronation of King Charles. That's Saturday May 6 starting at 10:00 a.m. in London, 5:00 a.m. Eastern. Now to the NBA playoffs and two second round games on Monday night. In

the East, it was a nailbiter between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics in the first game of their series. Philadelphia's James Harden scored 45 points, including seven three pointers. And the 6ers got a big win on the road, 119-150.

And in the West, the Denver Nuggets took a 2-0 lead in their series against the Phoenix Suns. Denver's two-time league MVP, Nikola Jokic, finished with 39 points and 16 rebounds. In the Nuggets one game two 97-87

Now to hockey where the New Jersey Devils are moving on to the second round after defeating the New York Rangers. Michael McCloud opened the scoring in the second period with a shorthanded goal. That's all the Devils needed as New York never found the back of the net. New Jersey would add three more goals to seal the victory. The Devils now head to Raleigh for game one with the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.

An announcement sure to cause some bittersweet emotions from Aerosmith fans. The legendary rockers have announced their farewell tour.

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STEVEN TYLER, AEROSMITH: Spend my life on this sweet surrender ...

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FOSTER: After spending 50 years walking this way, Steven Tyler and company are ready to strut off into the sunset. 40 dates have been announced for their final north American tour with special guest the Black Crows. Aerosmith says it's not good-bye, it is peace out.

If you're fond of the latest in feline fashion, look no further than the Met Gala in New York. This year's dress code was a tribute to the designer Karl Lagerfeld. Rapper Doja Cat chose to dress up as Lagerfeld's beloved cat dressed up as his cat Choupette. To be outdone, Oscar-winner Jared Leto went full feline, eventually swapping the catsuit for a monochromatic look with a studded cape.

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And rapper Lil Nas X showed up wearing nothing but a metallic thong. His face and body covered with sparkling silver paint, frosty crystals and pearls. Not everyone went cat crazy though, Pedro Pascal from the HBO hit "The Last of Us," war a custom red and black look by Valentino. His costar Bella Ramsey chosen an elegant Tom Brown suit emblazoned with pearls.

WNBA star Brittney Griner and her wife Cherelle were also there. Griner has just begun speaking publicly after spending nearly 10 months in a Russian prison.

And tennis legend Serena Williams announced just before the gala that she is expecting her second child.

A piece of artwork can be food for a hungry onlooker. That's all happened in at least South Korea. When an art student removed a banana duct taped to a museum wall as part of an exhibition and then ate it. Then taped the peel back to the wall. He told the authorities he was hungry. The peel was later replaced by a museum -- by the museum with a fresh banana. The iconic artwork called "Comedian" became one of the art world's biggest viral moment when it sold for $120,000 in 2019. So, critics went to banana.

Good news for those who are looking for a chocolate fix in the morning. Kit Kat cereal has been hitting U.S. supermarket shelves this month. The breakfast food whose squares resemble the classic chocolate bar launched in Europe in March. The move by General Mills comes as other companies are innovating their cereals too. It comes as demand softened from, you know, a bit of down, the pandemic, when millions of people were working from home.

Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. "EARLY START" with Christine Romans is up next.

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