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CNN International: Russia Holding Annual WWII Victory Day Celebrations; Video and Witness Accounts Show How Texas Shooting Unfolded; Thousand of Migrants at Border as Title-42 Set to end; At Least 13 Killed as Israel Strikes Terrorist in Gaza. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 09, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Russia is making every effort to make it looks like a Victory Day as we have seen them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the second Victory Day that has taken place since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 152,000 migrants are waiting in northern Mexican states for the lifting of Title 42.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The borders are closed today and the borders will be closed after Title 42 expires.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: American air travelers deserve better and that's what we're going to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here to enforce passenger rights and hold airlines accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It is Tuesday, May 9th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 11:00 a.m. in Moscow where the Kremlin has kicked off celebrations for Victory Day. A national holiday marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. But those celebrations were overshadowed by Russia's own war on Ukraine.

Whilst Moscow holds its annual parade to showcase Russia's military might, several regions across the country scaled back events amid security concerns and a lack of military equipment. And in just the last hour we've heard from President Vladimir Putin. He said he wants a peaceful future and claimed true war is being waged against his country.

NOBILO: Even as it marks Victory Day or perhaps especially, Russia has not stopped its attacks on Ukraine. The Ukrainian air force says it intercepted 23 out of 25 cruise missiles, with an official in Kyiv saying 15 were destroyed over the city today.

But more aid is headed to Ukraine ahead of the looming counteroffensive. The U.S. set to announce a $1.2 billion package as early as today including drones, ammunition and air defense missiles. The package is geared toward the country's medium to long term security needs.

FOSTER: CNN's Clare Sebastian following all of this for us in London. And international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is live in eastern Ukraine. Is there a sense of tension around this momentous day there, Nic? Let's go to Clare.

NOBILO: Just while we're fixing those communication issues. As Max said, Clare, this is a momentous day in Russia. We also don't get to hear Vladimir Putin speak that often, so when he does, a lot of people are trying to extrapolate where his strategy might be heading or any hints that we can. What did you make of his speech?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it was barely ten minutes long and he squeezed in the normal lines that you hear in his stump speech, his justifications for the war in Ukraine. Interestingly a relatively small portion of it actually spent referring to the Second World War which this entire day is about.

He said that the West is gunning for global supremacy. They want to destroy Russia. They're promoting Russia-phobia. All kinds of things that were used to hearing about it. Even they're destroying family values, things that make you a human being. He even squeezed in what seemed to be one of his traditional denials of Ukrainian sovereignty. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The Ukrainian nation has become hostage to a coup which led to a criminal regime led by its Western masters. It has become a pawn to their cruel and selfish plans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Ukraine is a pawn of the West. We've heard this from Putin before. Obviously, that makes Russia's setbacks in Ukraine a little less humiliating. Given that Russia continues to refer to the West arming Ukraine and all of that. This comes of course just six days after several drones hit the Kremlin just steps from where he was making that speech. There may have been a sort of a sort of vailed reference to the anxiety and the security in Russia around that. At the top of the speech, he said that a true war has been unleashed against our motherland. Russia has propelled international terrorism. You know, I think they do feel a sense of insecurity, part of the

justification for the war in Ukraine all along is that Russia is under siege. The West is trying to destroy Russia and they are in a sense defending their own interests in Ukraine.

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But I think what you've got from the speech is, A, nothing new and "B" a sense that he's just not backing down. He's going to continue to try to gloss over the setbacks in Ukraine. Justify it before his people and keep going with this fight.

FOSTER: OK, let's try to speak to Nic again. Nic, just describe the atmosphere on that side of the border as these commemorations are marked in Moscow.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, you can probably hear the air raid warning sirens going off right now. This is a common occurrence here. Everyone who lives in this area of eastern Ukraine is well used to it and most people shrug and carry on, although there have been heavy explosions not so far away after we heard an aircraft flying over.

So, I think, you know, when are you in the east of Ukraine, you really see and relatively close to Bakhmut, you really understand that this is a potential inflection point in this war. Because the Ukrainians are watching every Russian move on this frontline so closely. Extra close around the time of victory parade. Because they know that Putin wants to score a success in Bakhmut, that they believe he would like nothing better than to be able to say, and we're taking the city.

Why? Because he has done so badly about taking any large Ukrainian city or town since the frontlines effectively became frozen along here almost a year or so ago -- a little more than a year ago in the early stages of the war.

And from the Russian perspective, they are watching so closely because they want to see where and when and how Ukrainians launched this much anticipated counteroffensive. So, I think perhaps historically we'll be able to look back at this day and see how both sides have been able to evaluate how -- evaluate what's gone on the frontline and therefore what their next moves are going to be.

Is this the moment when the Ukrainians watch what the Russians have done at moment of high tension and then decide therefore about how they'll make their next moves in the counteroffensive. Knowing that the counteroffensive is a complicated protracted and psychological war with the Russians at times as well. Sort of stringing out their supply line, zapping troop morale who are sort of all the time wondering when the big push is going to come.

So, here today the expectation is that there could be quite heavy fighting along the front and you can certainly hear those distant explosions and as I say, fighter aircraft in the sky, bombs falling -- that's what it sounds like -- and of course the air raid sirens going off. It's an up-tempo version of normal life here. FOSTER: OK, Nic, in eastern Ukraine, thank you. And Clare here in the

studio.

Now in Texas, authorities have now identified all of the people killed in the mass shooting on Saturday. Amongst the eight victims were a Korean American couple, their three-year-old son and two young sisters from a different family.

NOBILO: Another victim was this young engineer who had moved to the U.S. five years ago to pursue her master's degree. One official says that she was just a few days away from turning 28. Meantime, authorities are still piecing together details about the attack.

FOSTER: They're looking into the gunman's social media posts which suggest he had embraced white supremacy. Investigators are trying to determine if those extremists' views incited him to carry out the rampage. CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on how that shooting unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Around 3:30 Saturday afternoon, dash cam video captures a silver Dodge Challenger moving through the Allen outlet mall parking lot. A gunman emerges from the car. The rapid pop, pop, pop of gunfire stuns unsuspecting shoppers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We heard like a bunch of shots but we thought it was firecrackers at first.

LAVANDERA: At 3:36, an Allen police officer at the mall on an unrelated call, here's those shots and responds.

POLICE OFFICER: Are you getting more ambulances on this event?

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The shooter strikes the first victims next to H&M clothing store. Based on witness interviews and videos from the scene, CNN has tracked the approximate path the gunman followed as he made his way through the outlet mall moving north along storefronts before turning left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was this guy dressed in all black wearing a vest, has an assault rifle and he's just shooting at people.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Just a few stores away and in the gunman's path, shoppers rushed to get away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I turned around, then I saw two ladies rushing towards me and then one was like, someone shooting, someone shooting. And then right behind her on the other side, right in front of the K&Y, I saw the guy was -- he had -- he held his neck like this and was like blood just dripping down.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The gunman continues moving north along the building. At the corner Bill McLean is inside this cosmetic store and hears the distinct sounds of gunfire getting closer and closer. BILL MCLEAN, WITNESS TO THE SHOOTING: So, we basically turned and

watched and as we were watching the shooter goes right across. He's not running but he is kind of in a deliberate assault type move. And a few moments later we saw a police officer come across in front of us like he was in pursuit of the individual.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Witnesses describe the gunman dressed in a ballistic jacket and a vest carrying extra ammunition.

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A senior law enforcement source tells CNN, in that clothing they found the insignia RWDS which authorities believe stands for "right wing death squad."

POLICE: We have multiple upon multiple patients --

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The gunman now turns the corner making his way west continuing to fire at shoppers, scrambling to make sense of the chaos.

POLICE: We have reports of multiple victims.

One victim that we have report of is going to be at Francesca's with a gunshot wound to the chest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was literally just shooting his gun in any direction.

LAVANDERA: At this point, the shooter has moved several hundred yards through the parking lot. The Allen police officer has closed in, shooting and killing the suspect in front of Fatburger restaurant. Inside, Tiffany Gibson can't believe the ordeal is over. Witnesses tell CNN this picture was taken at 3:40 p.m., roughly ten minutes after the gunman started the deadly rampage.

LAVANDERA: So, you -- the man that was shooting is there on the ground?

TIFFANY GIBSON, WITNESS: Yes, the police shot him. They shot him. The picture that I showed it's multiple -- he had multiple -- they shot him in the head and chest and stuff. And he was laying on his back.

LAVANDERA: Did you see this person? Were they walking around the parking lot? What were they doing?

GIBSON: I just saw the aftermath.

LAVANDERA: What goes through your mind when you hear that shooting all of a sudden?

GIBSON: I've never witnessed anything like this, this is very traumatic for me.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): At 4:22, Allen police warn residents to stay away from the outlet mall in a tweet saying, there's a, quote, active investigation.

It's now around 5:14 p.m., shoppers who have been hiding in stores are escorted out of the outlet mall by authorities with their hands in the air. It's not until 6:53 p.m. that Allen police tweet: There's no longer an active threat.

LAVANDERA: There are still six victims hospitalized and we are told that three of those survivors are in critical condition. Meantime, the makeshift memorial here outside the outlet mall continues to grow where people come to reflect on this senseless tragedy.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Allen, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Just days after that shooting a committee in the Texas state legislature has voted to advance a gun safety bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representative Burrows.

STATE REP. DUSTIN BURROWS (R-TX): No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representative Canales.

STATE REP. TERRY CANALES (D-TX): 100 percent aye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representative Dorazio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: With an 8-5 vote the bill moved out of the committee on Monday and will now be heard on the House floor. The measure seeks to raise the age of buying semiautomatic weapons from 18 to 21.

NOBILO: And the bill probably won't be passed by the entire Texas House. But the fact that lawmakers will even consider it is a small victory for gun control advocates in the state.

FOSTER: Also in Texas, U.S. authorities will launch an enforcement operation tied to migrants who have been illegally crossing the border. The move comes as the policy known as Title 42 set to expire on Thursday.

NOBILO: U.S. border agents have used it for more than three years expelling hundreds of thousands of migrants over fears that they could increase the spread of COVID-19. And it runs out -- as it runs out, U.S. border towns are bracing for a massive influx of migrants. Our Rosa Flores reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tension on the border escalating as an SUV in Brownsville, Texas, plows are a crowd killing eight migrants, unclear if it was intentional. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The SUV ran a red light, lost control, flipped on its side, and struck a total of 18 individuals.

FLORES (voice-over): The incident comes just days before the controversial expiration of the pandemic era immigration rule known as Title 42. Border communities across the U.S.-Mexico border already seeing a spike in migration, according to community leaders. In Brownsville, one respite center went from receiving up to 300 migrants per day two weeks ago, to 1,000. In McAllen, from 150 to 400. In Laredo, from 50 to 250 during the same time period.

Twenty-five thousand migrants are in immigration custody, according to a Homeland Security official, and total migrant encounters on the U.S. southern border now surpasses 8,000 per day.

And this is the scene by the border wall in El Paso, where hundreds of people are waiting to turn themselves into immigration authorities. A flow that's expected to spike once Title 42 expires Thursday.

And thousands more are already living on El Paso city streets.

TIMOTHY FERRERA, PASTOR: This is ground zero for the immigration.

FLORES (voice-over): Pastor Timothy Ferrera has been delivering between 900 and 1,100 warm meals a day, as migrants here rely on the kindness of strangers for everything.

CHIEF RAUL ORTIZ, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: With respect to the DOD personnel.

FLORES: Border patrol chief Raul Ortiz says the 1,500 active-duty troops deployed by the Biden administration to assist with administrative tasks are headed to El Paso for now.

ORTIZ: I'm going to be able to reallocate those to some of the other sectors that require some additional capacity. So, we're going to be able to balance that out, we've got a plan.

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FLORES (voice-over): Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the administration's border policies are not to blame.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We urge Congress to fix our broken immigration system, and until then, we will do everything that we can.

FLORES (voice-over): While Washington squabbles about who is at fault, it's border churches and nonprofits who are left helping fill in the gaps.

FLORES: I'm outside a shelter in El Paso that is over capacity and I learned from a source that federal government data shows that 152,000 migrants are waiting in northern Mexican states for the lifting of Title 42. And that the top three states in Mexico are Chihuahua, with about 60,000 migrants that the cross the border from El Paso here where I am. The state of Tamaulipas with 35,000. That's across the border from the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. And the state of Coahuila, with 25,000. that's the state in between.

And here is why this context is important. Because border patrol facilities for processing on the U.S. southern border are already over capacity. NGO shelters are already over capacity. That's why you see a lot of the individuals here on the streets. And the big question is, what is going to happen once Title 42 lifts. I don't know. No one who I've talked to knows.

Rosa Flores, CNN, El Paso.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Meanwhile, some New York suburbs are lashing out at New York City Mayor Eric Adams' plan to transport migrants to their counties as Title 42 is set to end. Two counties declared a state of emergency on Monday over the mayor's proposed move. Rockland County officials say the plan will put more lives at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED DAY, ROCKLAND COUNTY EXECUTIVE: We will make every effort to ensure that this plan does not go forward in Rockland County. The mayor is engaging in human trafficking of the worst kind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The standoff comes after Mayor Adams announced over the weekend New York City will transport willing migrants to neighboring counties. This office -- or his office, rather, released a statement on Monday saying they need other elected officials around the state and country to do their part.

Now in the coming hours U.S. President Joe Biden will be meeting with top Congressional leaders including House Speaker McCarthy to try to resolve the debt ceiling standoff. But the White House reiterates that President Biden's stance hasn't changed and that Congress must raise the debt limit without conditions to avoid a catastrophic default.

NOBILO: A top official also tells CNN there is no plan "B" if Congress fails to act. CNN's Manu Raju has more on the high stakes meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Biden and congressional leaders set to meet at the White House on Tuesday in what is a high stakes meeting ahead of a potential debt default. Potentially the first ever U.S. debt default as soon as the first of June. And there is no way out of this standoff right now between Republicans on Capitol Hill and the White House.

The White House has said for months that they don't want to even negotiate any sort of deal to raise the debt limit. They said the debt limit just needs to be raised and ensure that the U.S. does not default on all of its obligations. But the Republicans have said the opposite. There needs to be

significant negotiations and significant spending cuts to try to begin to rein in the more than $31 trillion in debt that the U.S. has accumulated. And they have already passed a bill in the House just in the last couple of weeks that would impose a slew of spending cuts and try to rein in some of the Biden administration policies. Something that is a nonstarter in the Democratic-led Senate.

So, what will happen after the meeting on Tuesday? Will the president agreed that there needed to be some level of negotiation and that he and Kevin McCarthy should sit down. That is uncertain. The White House is indicating that he will reiterate his same position to raise the national debt limit. McCarthy has also said all along that he will simply not just raise the national debt limit. Saying that clean debt ceiling increase simply will not pass his House -- pass the House that is, controlled by his party.

On the Senate Republican side, Mitch McConnell has also signaled that he is not going to deviate from McCarthy's position. He said he's not going to cut a deal with Joe Biden. Something he said simply will not pass the Republican led House. So, he says that the real way forward is for Biden to negotiate a deal with McCarthy.

But even if they were to begin to negotiate, there is just not much time in order to get a deal together, get it through the House and Senate before the potential debt default could occur in just a matter of a few weeks. So, just a lot of questions and uncertainty about what could be a calamitous economic event if no deal is reached. The borrowing limit is not increased and if the U.S. begins to default on its debt.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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NOBILO: Israel launches a series of deadly airstrikes it says targeted kingpin terrorists. But authorities in Gaza say several women and children are also among the dead. Details and a response from Jerusalem coming up ahead.

FOSTER: Plus, closing arguments in the civil rape case against Donald Trump who did not show up in court but his lawyer had plenty to say.

NOBILO: Also, the Biden administration wants to make it harder for airline delays to fly under the radar. We'll have details on the new rules that they're planning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: In Serbia's capital, a massive rally against gun violence after two deadly mass shootings stunned the country last week. Thousands of protesters demanded the resignation of public officials, as well as a ban on violent content in the media. FOSTER: Serbia has deeply entrenched gun culture that many have been

calling for change after last week's tragedies, which included the country's first school shooting in recent memory. The president has promised tougher gun control measures in an effort to prevent further attacks.

[04:25:00]

NOBILO: There's new intelligence suggesting Iran's Revolutionary Guard was able to smuggle weapons and military equipment into Syria using aid convoys as cover. Sources familiar with the intel say that Iran took advantage of the humanitarian efforts following February's massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The weapons are believed to be destined for Iranian proxy groups in Syria, to attack U.S. forces. Those groups have been the targets of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in recent weeks.

FOSTER: A hospital administrator in Gaza say at least 13 people were killed in early morning airstrikes by Israel and killing several women and children. Israel says the attacks targeted what had it calls kingpin terrorists or Islamic Jihad. And came in retaliation for the group's incessant aggression. Islamic Jihad claims the attack killed three of its top leaders and their families.

FOSTER: Israel acknowledges some collateral in the strikes but says that its only target was Islamic Jihad. Our Hadas Gold joins us now from southern Israel. Hadas, obviously the authorities might be describing it as collateral, but tell us more about what we know. Apparently three commanders of the Islamic Jihad killed but also women and children.

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianca, so to also tell you where I am, I'm in southern Israel in front of what's an Israeli military iron dome battery. There are batteries like this all-over southern Israel and they are ready to go because they are -- the Israeli military is expecting some sort of response from Gaza. And it is these batteries behind me that will launch interceptors that will hopefully intercept the incoming rocket fire from Gaza.

Now these airstrikes came as a surprise. They came in the middle of the night around 2:00 a.m. The Israeli military saying that it was targeting senior Islamic Jihad members. The Islamic Jihad, the militant group, the Iranian backed militants' group in Gaza. Confirming that three of its senior commanders were killed. Among them also the commander in chief of the al-Quds Brigade, who Islamic Jihad said had been wanted for 20 years. They said that he had had five assassination attempts on him in the past.

But as you noted, along with those killed allegedly are also members of their families which include women and at least four children. We know in total, including those commanders, 13 people were killed and 20 were wounded as a result of these airstrikes.

The Israeli military also saying that it targeted at least ten other Islamic Jihad sites. These are things like weapons manufacturing sites, rocket launching areas as well. Now the Israeli military saying that this that this came specifically

in response to the more than 100 rockets that were fired by Islamic Jihad last week. The came in response to the death of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli prison. He was a former Islamic Jihad spokesperson. He died after an 86-day long hunger strike. And after that initial 100 or so rockets or so were fired from Gaza into Israel, Israel did respond with some airstrikes, but there was no major damage, no militants were killed in any way. And there was actually protests from the right wing in the Israeli government saying -- some of them even boycotted votes in the Parliament, saying there should have been a stronger response. And that apparently came last night with these airstrikes.

Now the question will be, what will the response be. The funerals for those killed are ongoing right now as we speak in Gaza. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad said that there will be a response. Saying that there will even be a united response.

But the real question will be, is whether Hamas will get involved in this response. Hamas runs the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military always says nothing happens there without Hamas' approval. But if Hamas does choose to get involved in any sort of response, this will turn into a much bigger conflict.

Keep in mind that last August there was a similar sort of a smaller scale confrontation between the Israeli military and Islamic Jihad in August that lasted about two to three days. Hamas then express their support but stayed on the sidelines. It's not clear whether that will be the same situation here today. It's been quiet so far, but a response is expected. The Israeli military are calling up reservists and telling residents who are in this area to stay near their shelters -- Bianca, Max.

NOBILO: Hadas Gold live in Jerusalem, thank you for giving us that update on what is a very tense situation.

FOSTER: Now the civil rape case against Donald Trump will soon be in the hands of a jury. We'll have details on the closing arguments coming up.

NOBILO: And did convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh lie about his house keeper's death or is he lying now saying that he lied about it. Coming up, the latest legal tangle with millions of dollars at stake.

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