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Ukrainian Forces Signal Shaping Operations For Counteroffensive; Border Cities Not Seeing Huge Migrant Surge After End Of Title 42; Ron DeSantis Holds Multiple Campaign Events In Iowa; President Biden Speaks At Howard University Commencement Ceremony; Biden Administration Looking For High Value Russians To Use In Prisoner Swap; North Carolina Governor Vetoes 12-Week Ban, Faces Likely Override; Oklahoma Governor Threatens Funding For State's PBS Network; Elon Musk Taps Linda Yaccarino As Next Twitter CEO. Aired 7- 8p ET

Aired May 13, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:46]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin this hour with remarkable new insights into Ukraine's president and his desire to hit Russia on its home soil. Citing the recently leaked classified documents, the "Washington Post" says President Zelenskyy has suggested bold attacks behind closed doors including blowing up a pipeline and attempting to occupy Russian border villages to gain leverage over Moscow in talks.

The "Post" points out the meetings where Zelenskyy made such suggestions happened months ago. Still, it says the Pentagon did not dispute the authenticity of the leaked materials. This comes as we're getting new signs that the long-awaited Ukrainian counter offensive could be getting underway soon. Sources tell CNN, Ukraine has begun shaping operations, and CNN's Sam Kiley has more details on that.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There have been signs, I think, very clearly now that there are shaping operations that are going on ahead of a summer offensive by Ukraine to try to recapture this territory that was taken by the Russians both in 2014 and more recently last year.

What we've seen is psychological operations. A blizzard of disinformation being published particularly on video platforms. We've seen a counter attack going in around Bakhmut with significant gains made there by the Ukrainians after months of grinding warfare. And we've seen repeated statements from government officials here saying that an offensive is imminent.

Now all of that is designed to wear upon the minds of the Russian soldiers. On top of that, of course, we've also seen longer range missiles used against the town of Luhansk with a number of people being reported to have been injured there. The Russians, of course, have counter attacked to some extent. They killed two recently in a bombardment of a town in the east of the country. But more broadly, we are seeing more of these longer-range attacks

possibly involving Ukrainian-made or even ultimately British-made cruise missiles reaching behind the main frontline elements, going after the logistics chain and ultimately breaking that logistics chain is part of the effort to break the will of the Russian soldiers -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Sam Kiley, thanks for that.

President Zelenskyy spent Saturday outside Ukraine trying to shore up support from European allies. He just tweeted a short time ago, saying that he is now in Germany, and he posted on social media, quote, "Already in Berlin. Weapons, powerful package, air defense, reconstruction, E.U. NATO security." Earlier he traveled to Italy to meet with the country's president, prime minister, and Pope Francis at the Vatican.

After a 40-minute discussion with the Pope, Zelenskyy said he's grateful for his, quote, "personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians." Zelenskyy says he asked the Pope to condemn Russia's crimes in Ukraine arguing there could be no equality between victim and aggressor.

Now to the U.S.-Mexico border, and images that will surprise many. Some border communities say they've yet to see the massive surge in migrants many were expecting. That's despite the end of Title 42, the pandemic-era policy that allowed for the quick expulsion of the migrants coming to the border.

The long lines of people waiting to enter the U.S. they have appeared to have tapered off dramatically at least for the moment. The Biden administration is vowing tougher consequences for migrants who tried to enter the country illegally. U.S. officials fear the situation could still become a crisis with tens of thousands reportedly waiting in northern Mexico to cross into the U.S.

Let's go to El Paso, Texas, right now, CNN's Polo Sandoval.

Polo, there might be some cause for some cautious optimism here in terms of what we're seeing so far. What can you tell us?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is concern here on the ground, too, Jim, that there is a possibility that they could see an increase in the number of daily encounters with migrants, which, of course, with federal authorities that number according to a senior CBP official that cited in a recently filed federal court document that number still holds at about 9,000 daily encounters.

[19:05:04]

There's concern that that could make it up to 14,000. Obviously still very busy here in El Paso in other ways. But there's also the other number that's important to talk about. That's the total number of people that are still in CBP custody. About 23,000. That number suggested those facilities themselves that processed these migrants, these asylum seekers, they're either at or far above capacity. So it's certainly not business as usual here. The concern, though, is

that some of the many asylum seekers just across the border, beyond those very loud train tracks, that some of those asylum seekers could decide to make a go at it and actually cross into the U.S. illegally and that has the potential to increase the numbers.

But really, in terms of the shelters here in El Paso, one official, one of them told me that the number is, quote, "manageable" at the moment. So they're really taking this time to focus on those that are already here. Make sure that they have all the resources available to them and the information they need before they continue their journey.

And time and time again, I just was speaking to a new mother a short while ago, just before you came to us, Jim. She tells me that it is her goal to make it to New York City. And that continues to be the top destination for many of the people I've heard from. Add to that Denver, Chicago, Washington, D.C., of course. And that is a number that's going to continue to climb. The asylum seekers turning to the cities as a temporary home during the duration of the proceedings.

ACOSTA: All right. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much for that update. We appreciate it.

Earlier today I spoke to a member of Congress who represents a long stretch of the Texas border with Mexico. Republican Tony Gonzales says both parties need to work together in confronting a border crisis that is only getting worse. Here is some of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): Next up is how do we in a bipartisan manner visit it? And look, we just had -- just earlier this week, there was a migrant child that died in HHS custody. This is only the second time in the history of our country where we had someone die in custody. We all should be outraged with this. Once again not about the finger- pointing but just how do we protect people, regardless of their legal status?

So I'm committed to doing that. I'm also working on legislation. I think work visas makes a lot of sense. And you'll see kind of me build a coalition, if you will, of folks that want to tackle that. But I need the White House's help. I'd love to sit down and have a conversation. Once again, less of the finger-pointing. More of how do we get America back on track and out of this crisis situation.

ACOSTA: And I've seen you said that you don't want to see migrants shipped to other parts of the country, but as you know, your own Republican governor has done just that. Are you calling -- I mean, to get to this bipartisan spirit that you say you'd like to see, are you calling on folks like the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, other Republican leaders to stop busing migrants to cities and states across the country?

GONZALES: What I'm seeing is at the local and the state level, communities are just so overwhelmed, they're trying to get the folks out of their city. And they don't -- honestly they don't care where they go. Of course, people have sprinkled politics in there and they've sent them to Martha's Vineyard and the vice president's front door and other places, but I mean, look at the city of El Paso.

The mayor of El Paso is getting them out as fast as he can. I'd like for us to get away from that. I mean, you know, these people that are coming over, they shouldn't be political pawns, if you will, but they need to get their day in court and if they do not qualify for asylum because many of them don't, they're here for economic purposes, they're not seeking asylum. I also think, what about the people that are fleeing political and religious persecution? Those folks that do have legal claims are getting roped up in this as well.

So you have to separate the politics from the policy. I'm committed to doing that. I think now is an opportunity for us to get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Congressman Gonzales also said that thousands of migrants in the U.S. are being taken off the street and placed in overcrowded processing centers. We'll stay on top of this and bring you the latest as it comes in, as Title 42 comes to an end.

Still ahead, he's not officially a presidential candidate but Florida's governor looked and sounded like one today in Iowa. His message to fellow Republicans, and without naming him, former President Donald Trump.

Plus, Twitter has a new CEO. What we know about the executive taking over for Elon Musk and the role Musk will still play at the polarizing platform. And later, could the most watched PBS station in the U.S. soon be watched by no one? Why the governor of Oklahoma is threatening the home of shows like "Sesame Street"?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:13:43]

ACOSTA: Iowa almost saw dueling GOP campaign rallies tonight. But bad weather and tornado warnings spoiled Donald Trump's plans to rally his supporters in Des Moines. In the eastern and western parts of the state, there were better conditions for Ron DeSantis both in terms of weather and politics.

CNN's Steve Contorno joins us from Sioux Center.

You know, Steve, DeSantis was able to get there into the state. And even though he hasn't formally declared himself a candidate for 2024, he's picking up some Iowa endorsements. And it looked like he was drawing some decent -- I mean, maybe that's just the press all around him there but he had some folks to talk to there while he was out there on the campaign trail.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. 37 state lawmakers endorsed Governor DeSantis ahead of his trip to Iowa. Really it's a sign that he is showing, that he is really building, laying the groundwork for a campaign here even though he is not a candidate yet. And there are other signs that 2024 decision is looming. There were signs that said DeSantis 2024 on them.

There was a pledge that was handed out that I am going to support DeSantis in the upcoming caucuses. So you're seeing those signals. He did a lot of retail politicking which, you know, telling his supporters that's been lacking from his recent travel. But here in Iowa, he signed autographs.

[19:15:01]

He took photos with people. He even flipped pork chops on a grill. So all the sort of stuff that you would expect a presidential candidate would be doing. But when it came time for him to talk, he largely avoided any discussion of his political future. He stuck mostly to discussing his recent activity in Florida, the way he has pushed through a very conservative agenda here.

Except toward the end when he started to hint at the looming political battles ahead and he issued this warning to Republicans about 2024.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: If we make 2024 election a referendum on Joe Biden and his failures, and if we provide a positive alternative for the future of this country, Republicans will win across the board. If we do not do that, if we get distracted, if we focus the election on the past, or on other side issues, then I think the Democrats are going to beat us again and I think it will be very difficult to recover from that defeat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Clearly there, DeSantis is talking about Donald Trump without directly mentioning him by name. And that has been a trend that we have seen from the governor. He is not mixing it up with former President Donald Trump yet.

Trump meanwhile of course has been talking about DeSantis quite a bit. He has mentioned him in a lot of his Truth Social posts. He mentioned him in the town hall with CNN this week. However, he didn't get a chance to trade barbs with him today in Iowa because, as you mentioned, Jim, there was a lot of storm activity in Des Moines where he was expected to hold an event and he had to cancel today.

ACOSTA: All right. Steve Contorno, there's plenty of days to campaign ahead. No question about it. All right. Steve, get used to being on those highways in Iowa. You'll have a lot of time doing that. Steve, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

From your neighborhood high school to colleges and universities around the country, graduation ceremonies are underway. And today, President Biden delivered the commencement speech at Howard University in Washington. Howard is the alma mater of Vice President Kamala Harris and one of America's top historically black colleges. And CNN's Arlette Saenz is over at the White House for us. She has

more on today's address.

Arlette, without ever naming the former president, the president drew some sharp contrasts between himself and Donald Trump and his remarks. It was pretty obvious who he was talking about today. What can you tell us?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was, Jim. President Biden was delivering this commencement address. But so many of the president's remarks really had similar tones of a campaign speech as he urged the graduates to consider that the battle for the soul of the nation is not yet complete.

Now President Biden never once mentioned former President Donald Trump, his predecessor, by name. But he did reference various characteristics and moments from his predecessor's presidency. He talked about people who tried to stoke division in this country, those who tried to cling on to power. And he also referenced those clashes down in Charlottesville which was really one of the animating forces that made Joe Biden run for president back in 2020.

And he specifically referenced those comments from the former president when he said that they were very fine people on both sides. The president warned that there are still sinister forces operating this country that are really trying to threaten progress and including racial progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fearless progress toward justice often meets ferocious pushback. The oldest and most sinister of forces. That's because hate never goes away. It generally hides under the rocks. And when it's given oxygen, it comes out from under that rock. And that's why we know this truth as well. Silence is complicity. It cannot remain silent. We have to live through this battle for the soul of the nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now while the president was speaking, there were some silent protesters who stood up holding some signs that talked about issues relating to black voters. Of course, black voters were a key constituency for President Biden in the 2020 campaign and he would need those very same voters to help reelect him to the White House. So it's important that he went to one of the most prominent historically black college and universities in the country today to deliver that message at that commencement address.

ACOSTA: And Arlette, we also heard the president this morning talking about the ongoing stalemate over the debt ceiling. What did he say about that?

SAENZ: Yes, the president said that meetings are still underway. But he also noted, it's hard to tell how much progress they will be making. Take a listen to what the president told reporters a bit earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can we ask about the debt ceiling talk, Mr. President?

BIDEN: We'll know more in the next two days. Is that what you asked?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes. How are debt ceiling talks going right now?

BIDEN: Well, I think they're moving along. It's hard to tell. We have not reached the crunch point yet but there's real discussion about some changes. But we're not there yet.

(CROSSTALK)

[19:20:12]

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How confident are you that a debt deal will be made before June 1?

BIDEN: Has to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now the president was initially supposed to meet with congressional leaders here at the White House yesterday. But they decided to postpone those talks to allow the conversations to continue on the staff level. Aides from both sides said that that did signal some type of progress. The leaders -- the president and congressional leaders are expected to meet at some point early next week.

But they are certainly facing a major crunch time as that so-called X date of June 1st for a date for a possible default to occur is very quickly approaching.

ACOSTA: All right. It certainly is. Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

And we have new reporting on the Biden administration's hunt for high- value Russians to potentially trade in a prisoner swap. What does this mean for wrongfully detained Americans prisoners like Evan Gershkovich? We'll discuss with someone who is calling for the journalist's release, who knows what this is all about for families. That's coming up next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:20]

ACOSTA: Sources tell CNN the Biden administration is searching for high-value Russians that they could use in a potential prisoner swap. They are approaching allied countries who have Russian spies in custody to gauge whether they'd be willing to make a trade as part of a larger prisoner swap. The U.S. is trying to work a deal to return detained Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.

And I want to discuss this now with Diane Foley. Her son, journalist James Foley, was abducted in Syria in 2012 and horrifically and publicly beheaded by ISIS terrorists in 2014. She founded the Foley Legacy Foundation, has made it her mission to pressure politicians to prioritize Americans held overseas.

Diane, I was covering President Obama back in 2014 when this happened to your son. I will never forget it for the rest of my life. My heart goes out to you. But what do you make of this new strategy by the Biden administration to try to get something done in Evan's case and Paul's case?

DIANE FOLEY, MOTHER OF SLAIN JOURNALIST JAMES FOLEY: I am so grateful. This is a sea change in terms of prioritization. So I'm just very, very grateful that the administration is taking this very seriously. Evan, just like Paul, and we know of 53 other public cases, innocent U.S. nationals. Just targeted and taken hostage around the world. And I know that's just the tip of the iceberg. So I'm very concerned about it and grateful that this administration is taking it very seriously.

ACOSTA: And Diane, a bipartisan group of lawmakers penned a letter to detained journalist Evan Gershkovich, condemning his detention in Russia and vowing to continue advocating for his release. You know, as you know, it's hard to find any common ground between Democrats and Republicans up on Capitol Hill these days. But this I have to say this is encouraging. Don't you agree?

FOLEY: Oh, incredibly so. I mean, we've been working hard in Congress. And we're really starting to identify some definite champions. And thank God, this international hostage-taking is really a very nonpartisan issue. This is about Americans who need help from our government to get home. To be freed from an unlawful detention or a true kidnapping. So very encouraging to have Congress speak out.

ACOSTA: Yes. Absolutely. And in your opinion, what -- I mean, what is the U.S. government, the Biden administration, are they missing anything here that they could be doing?

FOLEY: Well, to be honest, the Foley Foundation has been concerned about this because our research is showing that the current hostage enterprise which was set up after Jim and the other five plus Americans were killed in 2014, '15 was really narrowly focused on hostage-taking by criminals, terrorists or pirates. Now 90 percent of captors of U.S. nationals are state actors.

So the Foley Foundation is calling for a comprehensive review of the current hostage enterprise. It's obvious that the decisions have to be made at the executive branch. So the current enterprise really does not allow for that. So the one thing we can do is really continue to take this seriously and re-evaluate how we bring our people home and what a national security issue it is becoming.

ACOSTA: And journalists take such huge risks going into hotspots around the world like war zones, other dangerous places. I mean, I know Jim's work I'm sure meant so much to you. Why is this work so important, in your view? And Evan's work?

FOLEY: Well, without Evan and Jim, Stephen Sotloff, Luke Summers, so many others who have gone before us, parts of the world like Ukraine, Syria, would be true blackholes. A lot of groups are not going to send their staffers in. So often it's freelancers who do this work. Evan was there because he was one of those brave ones who knew how dangerous it was getting but thought that Russia would consider him immune.

[19:30:00]

Because he was a staff journalist with "The Wall Street Journal." So this is a huge affront on our country by Russia, very concerning, because normally, you know, countries like Russia will have some respect for journalists in country. So, it is very concerning on all fronts.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right, Diane Foley, we appreciate your time very much. All the best to you and thanks so much for what you do.

FOLEY: Thank you.

ACOSTA: We appreciate it.

FOLEY: Take care. Bye.

ACOSTA: You too.

Voters in Turkey will head to the polls tomorrow in an election that could end the two-decade rule of President Erdogan.

Analysts are predicting a tight race between Erdogan and the main opposition candidate. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote, it would trigger a second runoff election later this month.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has more on the impact that this election could have on the world stage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Turkey closed down this waterway to Russian warships when the war in Ukraine started and it is through here at the Bosphorus Strait that Ukrainian grain now flows to the world.

It was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ultimate balancing act, a stand some describe as pro-Ukrainian without being anti-Russian that allowed him to play mediator and helped broker a key grain deal between Turkey's warring Black Sea neighbors allowing Ukrainian grain exports and helping to avert a global hunger crisis.

Over the years, Turkish foreign policy has come to resemble the country's president. It is combative with a personal touch. Erdogan has carved out a central role for himself and his country on the world stage. He meted out soft power with Turkish soap operas and launched a spree of diplomatic missions in capitals long ignored by the West.

Erdogan backed that with large investments in a growing defense industry that's made Turkey one of the world's top drone manufacturers.

This key NATO member has had an uneasy alliance with its Western partners. Erdogan's leveraged NATO membership for domestically important issues, most recently, he has held up Sweden's accession to NATO in an attempt to secure cooperation from the Nordic nation on groups Turkey considers terrorists.

Turkey's ongoing economic crisis has forced some diplomatic U-turns that were once unthinkable. Erdogan mended ties with oil rich regional foes, bringing in billions of dollars of investment and much needed hard currency.

Turkish foreign policy under Erdogan has been full of dramatic twists and turns, crises that may at times have been exacerbated by the President's personality. But at the heart of these disagreements with allies are national interests that will remain unchanged, no matter who emerges victorious in these most consequential of elections for a country that wields power and influence far beyond its borders.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Good shows like "Sesame Street," "Clifford the Big Red Dog" and "Mr. Rogers" will soon go off the air in Oklahoma. We will explain governor, his crusade there against the most watched PBS station in the US and an Oklahoma State Senator is here to react to all of that. We'll talk to that person in just a few moments. Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:24]

ACOSTA: A battle over abortion is brewing in North Carolina. Today, Democratic Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a 12-week ban that recently passed the Republican controlled legislature. A large crowd of supporters gathered in Raleigh and cheered on the governor as he announced the veto this morning.

Cooper called on Republicans to protect women's reproductive health. With a supermajority in the State Assembly, Republicans could override his veto.

TV screens on PBS channels could soon go dark in Oklahoma. The governor has vetoed crucial state funding claiming the network "doesn't line up with Oklahoma's values."

Republican governor, Kevin Stitt is accusing PBS of "indoctrinating children with LGBTQ inclusive content." And joining us now to talk about this is Oklahoma Democratic State Senator, Carri Hicks. PBS is home to kid-friendly shows like "Sesame Street" and "Clifford

the Big Red Dog." Senator, what type of programs is the governor against? Is he citing programs by name? What's going on?

CARRI HICKS (D), OKLAHOMA STATE SENATOR: Well, thank you so much for having me.

So far, he hasn't cited any programs by name, but you know, what we know in Oklahoma is that this -- OETA has provided quality programming since 1956. So generations of Oklahomans have enjoyed a variety of programs ranging from "Curious George" to "This Old House."

And so when I think about generations of Oklahomans moving forward missing out on that quality programming, it's very concerning to me.

ACOSTA: Well, a spokesperson for PBS responded saying this: "The threat to funding puts Oklahoma families at risk of losing access to the local free content they trust to help kids reach their full potential."

I mean, what are your concerns about how this might affect communities across Oklahoma communities of color, lower earning families? Because I mean, I know this having worked in television for a long time, you go to some far-flung places in this country, they may not have cable. Folks may not have a satellite dish and they rely on, you know, their antenna on their TV, people may not realize this and watch the local PBS station for this kind of content, for "Sesame Street" and that sort of thing.

HICKS: Exactly. And that's exactly my lived experience. I grew up in rural Oklahoma. PBS and OETA is the only statewide broadcasting network that serves all 77 counties in the state of Oklahoma and I have fond memories of coming home after school and watching math programming, "Square One," "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" and when I think about again our current students losing that quality programming, it makes me very concerned.

[19:40:10]

I have three children, and we obviously raised them on PBS Kids. And so I think, it is a real -- unfortunately, it's become very political, and those who lose out are Oklahomans.

ACOSTA: And there seems to be sort of an Own the Libs arms race in the Republican Party right now. You see Ron DeSantis doing this down in Florida with Disney, is that essentially what the governor of Oklahoma is doing right now? He is trying to, you know, sort of open up his own salvo in the culture wars.

HICKS: You know, what I do know is that 80 percent of Oklahomans agree with me. We've had hundreds of constituents call, e-mail right to our offices and encouraging us to override this veto.

This measure passed with bipartisan support, unanimous out of our House of Representatives, which has 101 members, and so I am not quite sure what the governor is doing other than picking a fight with 80 percent of Oklahomans.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you about this, because PBS, if I'm not mistaken, also carries the state's emergency alerts for severe weather, that sort of thing. I mean, could cutting this funding for PBS in Oklahoma, could it result in stations not being able to broadcast those kinds of severe weather alerts?

Because I know, you know, I've traveled Oklahoma. I know how the severe weather issue there. I mean, that is something that everybody relies on in Oklahoma. The local broadcast telling people to take cover when there's a tornado or that kind of a storm system coming through their community.

HICKS: Absolutely. We're actually under an advisory right now. So --

ACOSTA: Oh, wow. Okay.

HICKS: But last year, yes, the path between FEMA and obviously, our cellular service providers to every corner of the state of Oklahoma is housed in this PBS network. And last year alone, they sent out over 200 Emergency Alerts.

And so when you think about residing in Tornado Alley, every minute counts, and so I'm really concerned about how we would move forward with our emergency response if this particular pathway was severed.

ACOSTA: I mean, what do you think? Is there any way out of this? Is there any kind of a compromise? Any kind of a plea with the governor that you think you might try here?

HICKS: There is always a way --

ACOSTA: How are you going to get out of this? I mean, do you think that it really could happen?

HICKS: There is always a way forward.

ACOSTA: Could these PBS stations really go dark in Oklahoma?

HICKS: Well, you know, if the governor has his way, that veto will stand and it will be effective July 1. What we have then is a 12-month timeframe.

And so the legislature could decide to override that veto, and we do have a veto-proof majority right now who supported that measure in its first stage. So, I'm hopeful that my colleagues across the island, across the rotunda in both chambers will stand up to the governor and basically stand up for the constituents in the state of Oklahoma who have asked us to override this veto.

ACOSTA: All right, well, we will stay on top of this and keep in touch with you. You can let us know how things go down there in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

State Senator Carri Hicks, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it. HICKS: Thank you so much.

ACOSTA: All right, is Wendy's done with humans taking orders at the drive-thru? What the fast-food chain is saying about plans to use artificial intelligence for drivers to get their Baconator and other classics there at the eatery.

We will talk about that in a couple of moments. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:02]

ACOSTA: Elon Musk has finally tapped a new Twitter CEO months after he vowed to step down from the leadership role. Its longtime media executive, Linda Yaccarino. She was most recently chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. She is joining Twitter as it deals with an exodus of advertisers and users.

CNN's Jon Sarlin joins us now. Jon, what more do we know about Twitter's new CEO?

JON SARLIN, CNN PRODUCER: Well, as you said she was head of advertising for NBCUniversal, and she saw around 2,000 people at Universal. Well, that is less than the 1,500 people she will oversee at Twitter. That's because Twitter instituted massive layoffs when Elon Musk took over, around 80 percent of its workforce and the hiring of Yaccarino, an ad sales executive is a clear sign that Elon Musk recognizes that Twitter is at its core, an advertising company, right?

You know, when Elon Musk took over, the financials of the company, we don't know as much about it, but when he took it over, around 90 percent of its revenue came from advertising. That's what most social media sites like Facebook and Google have similar business models.

Well, there was an advertising -- you know, a fleeing of advertisers when Elon Musk took over and so now, it will be Linda Yaccarino's job to woo those advertisers back into the site.

ACOSTA: Yes, she has got a tough task ahead of her and she also has to contend with the fact that Elon Musk is still going to be in the picture somewhat, but Jon, let me ask you, you know, when these CEOs says -- I mean, the fast-food chain is working with Google to create an AI chatbot specifically designed for taking orders at the drive- thru?

I mean, I always worry as it stands now, is my order going to be correct going through the drive-thru? God bless the folks who are in the drive-thru, 99 percent of the time, it goes great, but how is Wendy's going to make this work? I mean, I just -- you know, I'm a little concerned here.

[19:50:00]

SARLIN: Well, they are piloting it out. So in Columbus starting in June, if you want a frosty, you might have to enunciate clearly because they are partnering with Google to use AI at drive-thrus, which they say make up around 75 to 80 percent of their business. The CEO of Wendy's talked to Jim Cramer. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD PENEGOR, WENDY'S CEO: We're really working with them on generative voice AI and trying to figure out how do we create a better experience in our restaurants first and foremost for our employees? How do we get our employees better positioned to work on the grill, make great food, make it fast, accurate? Get it out the door with a smile and really take out that slowest point in the order process, you know ordering at the speaker box?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SARLIN: You know, Jim, it's interesting there where he mentioned that this will help employees and obviously when you hear a headline about a company using AI in some manner like this, you start to think about the jobs, right? Someone right now, a human is doing that job.

And throughout many industries, CEOs are looking at this rapid increase in AI technology and seeing how it can help their bottom line by replacing human capital with robots and with AI.

So Wendy's is test piloting this out and the CEO is making a point to say this will help workers, this will free them to work on other things instead of taking orders.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll see if the AI chatbot in the drive-thru knows how to tell customers, "Ma'am, this is a Wendy's." I guess, we'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

Jon Sarlin, thanks so much. Appreciate it and check out Jon's show "Nightcap" on cnn.com. New episodes drop every Thursday at 4:00 PM Eastern.

There's a new Eurovision winner. Just moments ago, Sweden's Loreen, won the Song Contest for the second time. The finale was held in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine, which would have traditionally had the hosting duties as last year's winner.

The show paid tribute to those displaced by war, but its broadcasters rejected a request by Ukraine's president to address the show's enormous audience.

Coming up, Brittney Griner makes her return to the WNBA for her first competitive game after spending nearly 300 days in Russian custody. What she is saying about being back on the court.

And a heads up for tomorrow night, Sarah Sidner investigates how the once thriving city of San Francisco became tarnished by surging rates of crime, drug use, and homelessness. Tune in to a new episode of "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper. That's tomorrow at eight right here on CNN.

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ACOSTA: Recovery efforts are underway in Texas after a deadly tornado hit a small town near the southern border. This video shows the twister's aftermath in Laguna Heights. Nearly 100-mile-per-hour winds hurled chunks of twisted metal and scattered debris for miles earlier this morning. At least one person is dead and nearly a dozen more are hurt.

For the first time in almost two years, Brittney Griner was back in action on the basketball court. The Phoenix Mercury star received a standing ovation during her much anticipated return to the WNBA last night.

Griner, of course, missed the entire 2022 season while she was detained in Russia. She finished with 10 points and three rebounds in the preseason game against the LA Sparks.

Afterwards, she said she felt a little bit rusty, but was just happy to be there. We were happy to see you there as well.

A heavy penalty to pay for two men who admitted to cheating during a fishing tournament by stuffing lead weights into their fish. An Ohio judge sentenced the men to 10 days in jail and their fishing licenses are suspended for three years. They must forfeit their boat worth about $130,000.00. Wow.

Each man must pay a $2,500.00 fine as well. If the fishermen had not been caught tipping the scales at last September's competition, their prize would have been worth nearly $30,000.00.

Bad Bunny was spotted in the Midwest recently, but not the Grammy Award winning Latin artist. This one is a menacing rabbit terrorizing a small city in Iowa, even biting some of the residents.

CNN's Jeanne Moos got the rabbit's tale for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Beware of bunny -- ANNOUNCER: Once upon a time, there lived a rabbit.

MOOS (voice over): No, not Peter Rabbit. We're talking about a menacing rabbit that lives in the small city of Perry, Iowa, a black bunny, a bad bunny, a bunny caught lunging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey --

MOOS (voice over): At someone who was perhaps expecting the cuddly kind of rabbit.

Ramona Rustan also encountered it.

RAMONA RUSTAN, RESIDENT BITTEN BY BUNNY: It just jumped up and bites me and I'm like, oh my gosh, I just got bit by a bunny. MOOS (voice over): A Perry Police report shows it also been a 13-year-

old who, who then had to have rabies shots. It chased another resident from her car to her door. No wonder it's been compared to the Dracula of bunnies, "Bunnicula," a vampire rabid with fangs.

Bunnies have long been bad mouthed in movies depicted as mutant rabbits, able to decapitate a knight in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." But cooler heads prevailed when Perry Police lured the bad bunny into a cage and took it to the city's water treatment plant where it was released. Neither hide nor hair of the rabbit has been seen since.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What devil creatures? What unknown terror?

MOOS (voice over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

BUGS BUNNY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: And that's all folks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: It's only a flesh wound, folks.

All right, that's the news reporting from Washington. I'm Jim Acosta. Thanks so much for joining me here this evening in the nation's capital. I'll see you again tomorrow night starting at five o'clock Eastern.

"The 2010s" is up next. Stay tuned for that. Have a good night, everybody.

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