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Negotiators Race To Reach Deal Before June 5 Deadline; Ukraine's Military Releases "Take Back What's Ours" Rallying Cry Video; Turkey Voters To Head Back To The Polls In Key Runoff Election; Officials Hope To Avoid Last Summer's Travel Fiasco; FBI Reveals 1983 Plan To Kill Queen Elizabeth II During U.S. Visit; Notorious SEALs Program Faces Overhaul After Candidate's Death; DeSantis Raises $8.2M In First 24 Hours After Launching Campaign. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired May 27, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

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[13:00:24]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Progress. That's the word on Capitol Hill today as the White House and House Republicans tried to reach a deal to raise America's debt limit. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy saying he feels closer to a deal today than he has before. But not everyone in his party is as optimistic.

One top Republican negotiator warning that the deal is still teetering on the brink and could fall apart entirely.

Meanwhile, the national deficit continues to soar to new heights. And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says there are only eight days remaining to pay America's bills. CNN's Alayna Treene and Priscilla Alvarez are covering all the angles for us. Alayna, you first. Speaker McCarthy sounding pretty confident. But is everyone on board with him?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, we'll see about that. But yes, you're right, Fred. He came in to the Capitol this morning and told reporters that he's feeling optimistic and that he's feeling like -- he feels better than he has for several days. Now he thinks progress has been made. And that really, they're just focused on a few remaining sticking points for this deal. Now I am told, according to sources involved in these talks that the goal is to have a deal announced by the end of today.

We'll see if they can get there. We have some new reporting as well about really what the outstanding issue -- the issues are. One of them is a provision to impose new work requirements on some social safety net programs. I'm told that they made some progress on that and negotiations last night. Another sticking point is on domestic spending cuts. That's remained a big issue that both sides have tried to work out.

And we're going to see today whether they, you know, really close in on that and can find a way to compromise there. And then another issue that they're still working on as well is permitting reform. Garret Graves, he is a Republican congressman and a key negotiator in these talks. It's something that he cares a lot about. And I'm told that that's another thing that they're continuing to work out.

So, we're going to see these talks continue. And also, I spoke with Kevin McCarthy this morning, and I was asking you about the timeline for what we should -- when we should expect this deal. He said that he wants to give members 72 hours to review bill tax once the deal is in place. And then potentially vote as soon as Tuesday on a bell. He also said that he thinks he could get the majority of his Republican members behind. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I feel closer to an agreement now than I did a long time before. I -- because I see progress. But listen, this is not easy in any shape or form. And if that doesn't back us away from it.

We never agreed to anything until everything's agreed to.

TREENE: Are you confident you can get your full conference behind this deal?

MCCARTHY: Do you ever think you're going to get every single member to vote for it? I didn't get every single member to vote for the first one. I didn't get every single member to vote for me for speaker. So, I think you're raising the bar a little high.

TREENE: What about the majority? The majority?

MCCARTHY: I don't -- I don't think I'm going to have a problem --

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, Fred, we are here in the Capitol. We're waiting to see what more comes of these talks. These Republican negotiations and how speaker Kevin McCarthy is meeting currently virtually with the White House from here inside the Capitol. And we'll keep you updated on what we learned more from us.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alayna. And Priscilla from the White House. What are you hearing?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden said it himself just yesterday on his way to Camp David saying that the deal was, "very close." So, there is a sense of optimism from the White House, as you heard there from Alayna. White House negotiators have been on the phone and meeting virtually with Hill negotiators to work out some of those sticking points.

Primarily especially those work requirements for social safety net programs. We heard from a White House spokesperson who said that, "The White House is standing against this cruel and senseless trade off." And when asked about this, just yesterday, President Biden said he boughs to no one. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, what do you -- what do you tell Democrats who say that they don't want you to bow on the work requirements? What's your position?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't bow to anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: So, of course, that is part of the negotiations today as they race against the clock to come to an agreement. Recall that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had previously said that they could run out of cash by early June, as early as June 1st. That was revised yesterday to now June 5th. So, there is a clear and firm date here that all negotiators are working up against. And it's not just reaching an agreement.

As you heard earlier, it is also getting the bill text together. Having members of Congress review that then a house floor vote, then the Senate.

[13:00:01]

So, as you can see there, very short amount of time for a lot of measures and steps that still needs to be taken. And then too, especially on these work requirements is whether Democrats will get on board and House Democrats. They have also expressed some frustration with the White House bending to those requirements. So, how that shakes out today will be important and something we'll be looking out for.

And of course, Fred, as always is the case, nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.

WHITFIELD: All right. Priscilla Alvarez at the White House, Alayna Treene on Capitol Hill, thanks to both of you.

All right. On to Ukraine today and this rallying cry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It's a motivational clip that was posted on social media by the head of Ukraine's armed forces. It's intensifying speculation about a major counteroffensive in Ukraine. And there are also reports today of explosions in the Russian occupied cities of Mariupol and Berdiansk. That's the same port city where earlier in the week Ukraine says it sank a Russian warship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in the capital of Kyiv for us. Fred, what can you tell us about these explosions?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: HI there, Fredricka. Well, they're -- certainly, those explosions do seem to be significant. But there's also a lot of speculation about whether or not that counter offensive by the Ukrainians could be inching somewhat closer. And I think that video that you were just showing there certainly is something that a lot of people are talking about here in Ukraine.

I was talking about internationally as well, because you have what seems to be those Ukrainian soldiers gearing up there for battle saying we need to take back or we will start taking back what is ours. Showcasing some of that Western military equipment that they've gotten including the U.S.-supplied HIMARS, including U.S.-supplied Howitzers, German-supplied main battle tanks.

And because that video was posted by Ukraine's top general Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, there are questions about whether or not that counteroffensive might be inching closer. Also, in light of the fact that you have had these strikes. And, you know, one of the things that we need to make clear is that those two places that continue to be hit, Berdiansk and Mariupol are extremely important for the Russian logistics in their war in Ukraine.

Both of them have substantial ports, and both of them are substantial staging areas for the Russian military here in Ukraine. There have been the strikes on Berdiansk, long-distance strikes are some who say it could be those Storm Shadow cruise missiles that have been supplied by the Brits that are doing that damage. And today, we're hearing reports about more possible strikes and explosions in the town of Mariupol. That also an extremely important logistics hub for the Russians as well.

So, it certainly seems as though still unclear whether that counteroffensive could be in the works, whether these are shaping operations, but certainly seems to be the case that the Russians are under pressure in their rear echelon and those very important logistics hubs for them, Fedricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Fred, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region said a short time ago that shelling there killed one person, injured several more today. What do we know about that?

PLEITGEN: Yes. That's also one of those places where there's really been a lot going on over the -- over the last week and a little more, as well. And right now, you have that shelling that the Russians are saying -- cross-border shelling that came from Ukraine. You, of course, had that raid that took place this past week by those anti- Putin Russian groups that went on to Russian territory and see some of that territory for a little while.

The Ukrainian saying that had nothing to do with that. The Russians blaming that on Kyiv. But it certainly just show that the Russians seem to be vulnerable there. And it's certainly also seems to show now that the Russians are having difficulty coming to terms with the situation that they also feel under pressure in that region of Russia as well. You have that shelling today, you had some UAV, some drones that were hovering over that area dropping munitions as well over this past week. So certainly, an uneasy time for the Russians in that area. It could also be a distraction. It could be part of that counter offensive looming. It could be the Ukrainians probing the Russian -- probing the Russian defenses, making the Russians possibly also put more forces into that area. Really unclear. But right now, there seems to be a lot of movement in those frontline areas in those border areas.

And certainly, there, like in Mariupol and Berdiansk, not an easy time for the Russians right now and it certainly seems that right now they are really on the backfoot in those areas, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Kyiv. Thanks so much.

Meantime, in Turkey, voters are set to go back to the polls tomorrow in a crucial runoff election. As CNN's Nada Bashir explains the country's president is facing his toughest challenge in years.

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Well, it's just a matter of hours before polls open here in Turkey. And over the last few days, we've seen both the incumbent A.K. Party and the opposition Nation Alliance stepping up their campaigns, hopeful that they will be able to sway enough voters to declare a victory on Sunday.

[13:10:10]

Now President Erdogan's party was successful in securing 49.5 percent of the vote in the first round two weeks ago. Just shy of that 50 percent plus one threshold to declare a victory. And in fact, in the last week, we've seen the leader of the Nationalist Party which came third in the first round of the election. Sinan Oan pledging his support for President Erdogan. So certainly, the A.K. Party are hopeful that this may mark a shift that they may be able to get those extra votes to get them over that threshold.

But it's important to note that members of their party which came in third place in the first round, securing some five percent of the overall vote have also pledged their support for Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The opposition leader who was heading up an alliance of six opposition parties from various ends of the political spectrum. They are still hopeful that their voters will show up on Sunday and they'll be able to bring an end to President Erdogan's more than two decades in office here in Turkey and mark a significant political shift for the country.

Now, of course, for whoever is declared the next president of Turkey, there are some significant challenges ahead, not least the economy. This is a country which is facing a severe cost of living crisis. We've seen rising inflation, many criticizing Erdogan for his unorthodox monetary policies for that. And of course, a weakened lira. And then there is the aftermath of the devastating February earthquake.

More than 50,000 people killed, millions of people displaced, still homeless, and there is a massive rebuild effort underway in the country's southeast. And then of course, Turkey is a key global player and that will be a big focus for whoever is declared and the next president. It is a key regional power broker, a NATO ally, and could potentially play a decisive role in any efforts to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Nada Bashir, CNN, Istanbul.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Nada.

All right. Coming up. His family says he came within an inch of losing his life. The calls for justice after an 11-year-old Mississippi boy is shot by police.

And later, actor Tom Hanks gets an honorary degree from Harvard. Hear his advice to the class of 2023.

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[13:16:28]

WHITFIELD: A Mississippi family is planning to sue their local police department and city after an officer shot their 11-year-old son in the chest. The Indianola Police Department was responding to a domestic disparate disturbance call made by a Aderrien Murry. On behalf of his mother, Darien is recovering from the injury but came within an inch from losing his life according to the family's attorney.

CNN Correspondent Nick Valencia has the latest on the investigation.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Murray Family has now filed paperwork or written notice to file a lawsuit against the city of Indianola as well as the Indianola Police Department. Family attorney Carlos Moore telling me that there's no way a reasonably trained officer could have made such a tragic mistake. Saying 11-year-old Aderrien Murry came within an inch of losing his life. And a new photo of his -- that shows the extent of his injuries with a bandage covering the hole in his chest where he was shot by responding police officer.

The family telling me that all of this unfolded last Saturday at about 4:00 in the morning when Nakala Murry, the mother of Aderrien tells me that the father of another one of her children showed up at her house unannounced and he was irate. She was so scared for her safety. She says she was able to sneak away momentarily and hand a cellphone to an 11-year-old Aderrien who was asleep in his bed at the time of this incident.

And that's exactly what Aderrien did. He called 911 on behalf of his mother. And when the responding officer showed up, officer Greg Caper, Nakala Murry says that Capers had his gun drawn, ordered everyone out of the house, and that's when a Aderrien came around the corner from a hallway into the living room and Nakala Murry says she heard one gunshot. That shot being fired into the chest of 11-year-old Aderrien Murry.

A family attorney telling me that there's really nothing that Aderrien could have done differently to avoid being shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CARLOS MOORE, MURRY FAMILY ATTORNEY: This young black boy did everything right. I mean, everything right. He's a good student. He obeyed his mom's request for him to call the police for her assistance. He called the police and his grandmother. And then when the officer showed up and say come out with your hands up, he obeyed the officer's request and he still get shot. If nobody could have been mistaken for the adult. The adult was over six-feet tall.

This young man, this 11-year-old child was about four-feet-ten.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The incident was captured on body camera but the family says they have not seen that yet. And police are referring all questions about anything involving this case to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation who's told us that they won't be releasing the body cam footage because of an ongoing investigation. We've made repeated attempts to reach out to the police department as well as Officer Greg Capers but have not heard back.

The family adamant that they want this officer fired and charged.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And coming up. What a difference a year makes. The good news facing holiday travelers this Memorial Day weekend.

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[13:23:31]

WHITFIELD: All right. Here we are at the Memorial Day weekend. And a record number of people are heading out of town to celebrate. AAA expects more than 42 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from their homes. TSA is expecting to screen a record 10 million passengers between Thursday and Monday. And Friday's checkpoint volume was the highest in the last 3-1/2 years with an estimated 2.7 million fliers.

Plus, more than 37 million people are expected to hit the road this weekend. AAA says that's up six percent from a year ago.

We're keeping an eye on all of this with CNN's Isabel Rosales in Atlanta at the world's busiest airport. And CNN's Mike Valerio in Los Angeles above. Hundreds of drivers on the 405 Freeway. Isabel, you first. Those lines look long, but they are moving. That's good.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Fred, and that is certainly the good news. It sort of comes in waves. The length of the wait to get into this main security checkpoint. Right now, yes, sure. There's quite a few people here but you can still see all that empty space there within the security checkpoint. Earlier this morning, that line was wrapped pass off camera. Pass the atrium. So, it's really hit or miss by the hour.

But as you mentioned, it's moving quick. It seems like people are getting in and out maybe within half an hour here. The TSA, Fred, said that on Friday, the day that they were expecting to be the busiest for this holiday weekend that they screened 98 -- nearly 98,000 passengers here at Hartsfield-Jackson.

[13:25:06]

Marking the third busiest day ever for this airport and on Thursday, kind of a similar look to it with 95,000 passengers. I want to bring up now an overall look at how the skies are doing in the U.S. Here's FlightAware's misery map. And you can see a lot of green there. Things are going smooth. Now the totals for today, total cancellations, a little bit over 500, and delays just over 1000.

That sounds like a lot. But in the midst of all the 1000s of flights happening in the U.S. every day, that's minor. That's a minor bump in the road there. I did speak earlier this morning here with travelers who experienced major frustrations, just getting to security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA CLARK, TRAVELING WITH YOUNG DAUGHTERS: Our shuttle was late, our dropping off our car late. And we got here late. And then there's immense lines. But everybody seems to be cool. So, that's a positive.

ROSALES: So next year, Memorial Day weekend, will you be traveling during the same time?

CLARK: No, not even kind of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And Fred, we remember this summer travel fiasco of last year. Thousands of flight disruptions. Experts are really looking at this summer and specifically this weekend as a test for the airlines. The airports and also the FAA which is down 3000 air traffic controllers. We did speak with an expert who's cautiously optimistic is how he's describing it. And that's due to thousands of new employees that the airlines have hired.

Also, they have trimmed down flights to make up for that shortage and are using bigger airplanes to meet that higher demand. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Yes. And people walking behind you, walking with real purpose. They are on the move. All right. Thank you so much, Isabel. So, Mike, where you are in your vantage point, you're seeing the traffic that's flowing. That's the 405. Is this is particularly busy time this weekend?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we're in surprisingly good shape. Federica and we are expecting things to be especially busy as we cross over noon today. You know, it's just before 10:30. And as we Zoom in on the traffic that's going towards the beach, to give you an idea of what it's like on a normal day. Just imagine every single person in Orlando, Florida. Getting in their individual car and then hitting the freeway. That is what a normal day is like here in the Sepulveda Pass on I-4 -- on the 405. The busiest Interstate in the country. So, AAA is telling us we're back, baby. This is the return of the Memorial Day road trip. We're expecting more than 37 million Americans to be hitting the roads. But that is just slightly underneath pre-pandemic levels in 2019. But if you are going to be one of the people who is setting out on their own great American road trip, we have some tips. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG SHUPE, SPOKESMAN, AAA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Definitely inspect that vehicle before you take that long road trip. Check your tire tread and inflation. Make sure your battery has a good charge. Make sure your fluid levels are topped off. During this Memorial Day weekend, AAA anticipates coming to the roadside rescue of more than 460,000 stranded drivers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: OK. So, we got to talk about gas prices, of course. They are still historically high, but they're coming down the national average as of this morning $3.58. Last year, if you remember, the average was $4.60. It hit a record of $5.00 the national average in June of last year. So, you know, when we were talking to AAA about how come when -- we're talking about the roads, we have not been able to surpass pre- pandemic levels.

They're still saying that because gas prices are relatively high, we're dealing with inflation. That could be the reason why as far as the roads are concerned, we're not surpassing that 2019 level. But we're going to keep an eye on the interstate behind us. How things are going throughout the center of Los Angeles throughout the day. We'll check back in with you in about another hour.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. If anything, just all the indicators are people just want to get out. They just want to get out and see and do. They are. All right. Mike Valerio, Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.

Al; right. So, the holiday weekend is putting airlines to the test ahead of an anticipated busy summer travel season. And so far, it is off to a much smoother start than last Memorial Day when thousands of flights got canceled if you recall. As CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean reports. Transportation officials are course correcting to avoid last year's debacle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A summer of tests for air travel is already up to a record setting start. From Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are ready.

MUNTEAN: To Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are looking at a very busy weekend here at LAX.

[13:30:00]

MUNTEAN (voice-over): With the Transportation Security Administration screening 2.66 million people at airports nationwide on Thursday, the highest number since before the pandemic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just tried to prepare as much as I could with what I can control.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the airport is really busy. But otherwise, it has been relatively easy.

MUNTEAN: A smooth start after airlines cancelled 2,700 flights last Memorial Day weekend, kicking off a summer of more than 55,000 cancellations.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: This weekend will be a test of the system.

MUNTEAN: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is putting pressure on airlines, which insists they are right sized and right staffed, hiring 48,000 workers in the last year, according to a CNN analysis.

BUTTIGIEG: We're doing everything we can to press airlines to deliver that service. If there's an issue, we have your back.

MUNTEAN: Though airlines worry delays could come from the federal government, which is short 3,000 air traffic controllers.

This week, back-to-back staffing issues in denver forced the FAA to slow flights.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby calls air traffic control shortages his number-one concern.

SCOTT KIRBY, CEO, UNITED AIRLINES: That doesn't just impact those flights. That bleeds over to the whole system for the rest of the day.

MUNTEAN: For now, the FAA has opened up 169 new more-efficient flight routes up and down the east coast.

From its command center in Virginia, the agency is monitoring storms in Florida, warning of delays in Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as the rest of Memorial Day Weekend, it's looking pretty good.

MUNTEAN (on camera): Still pretty busy here at Reagan National Airport.

Despite all of this demand, travel site, Hopper, says air fare has gone down by 26 percent in the last year. The average domestic round- trip ticket this weekend, $273.

But get this, international air fare has jumped by 50 percent. The average international round-trip this weekend, $1,300.

The big tip from travel experts, try to book the first flight out if you can that minimizes your chance of cancellations or delays.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come, a stunning plot revealed 40 years later. Details on an FBI report showing Queen Elizabeth was the target of an assassination plot during a trip to the U.S.

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[13:36:24]

WHITFIELD: A trip Queen Elizabeth II made decades ago is getting new attention after a stunning revelation. In newly released documents, the FBI is revealing for the first time an assassination threat against the monarch when she visited the U.S. back in 1983.

CNN's Scott McLean has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At that time in 1983, the Irish Republican Army, the IRA, was in the midst of a three- decades-long terror campaign to try to get Northern Ireland reunited with the Republic of Ireland.

In the United States, newly released documents show the FBI was on high alert for anyone who may have been sympathetic to that cause, especially around royal visits to the U.S.

One memo, in particular, describes a caller who said that a patron at a well-known Irish Republican bar in San Francisco, who said that his daughter had been killed by a rubber bullet in Northern Ireland, quote, "claimed he was going to attempt to harm Queen Elizabeth."

And would do this either by dropping some object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the royal yacht "Britannia" when it sails underneath or would attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth when she visited Yosemite National Park.

The memo doesn't give more detail than that. And it's not clear what kind of follow up there was.

It's also important to keep in mind that this memo was marked "priority" rather than "immediate," which would have been taken much more seriously.

Also, by the time it actually gets to the FBI, this is now fifth-hand information.

But the bureau was not wrong to be concerned, especially considering, in 1979, Louis Mountbatten was killed when a bomb planted on his fishing boat exploded. And of course, the IRA was keen to target anything associated with the British state.

The documents also showed that even more benign protests were followed closely by the FBI, which had informants inside some of the local protest groups.

One memo describes an Irish diaspora group, which was planning to distribute free beer at a protest of the state dinner, something they said could have added a dangerous dimension to the events planned.

Now, that same memo also makes it clear that the FBI wasn't just worried about the safety of the queen, it was also worried about any potential incidents that could have been embarrassing to the queen or then-President Ronald Reagan.

Scott McLean, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, I want to talk more about all this with CNN law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore. He's also a retired supervisory special agent for the FBI.

Steve, so great to see you.

Why do you think we're learning about --

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: -- all this now?

MOORE: I think it was probably declassified after the queen's death. I don't know why, in particular, that it was chosen to be released, but it probably had a timeline that expired with the queen's life.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I had a feeling it had something to do with that, too.

So these documents don't tell us if anyone was arrested in this plan. Does that suggest anything to you about any action the FBI might have taken?

MOORE: You know, I don't even know where the FBI would have started to find this person.

These types of threats or these types of potential threats come in all the time on different events, different visitors to the United States.

This one, in particular, was kind of vague in that it was a policeman in a bar talking to some guy weeks ago. So it's going to be very hard to locate that person.

[13:40:02]

The other issues on that, though the FBI did take it seriously, it was vague in manner. I mean, dropping something onto the "Britannia," well, the "Britannia" looks like about a half-scale "Queen Mary." It's a large steel ship. So the chances of anybody being harmed by that are kind of small.

They did send it out, as the reporter said, with an "immediate" precedence on the teletype, which meant they were doing something, at least notifying people immediately.

WHITFIELD: The queen's cousin, as we saw in that report, Louis Mountbatten, was assassinated in 1979 after a bomb was planted in his fishing boat. How might that factor into security preparations?

MOORE: Well, certainly, the Irish Republican Army, at that point, were very forward leaning. They were really violent at that point.

But you have to look at Lord Mountbatten's situation. He was 12 miles from a known enclave of Irish Republican Army soldiers in Ireland. And he had left his boat unattended the night before and they were easily able to get on board and set the explosives.

So what would have changed, obviously, is there would be no access to the "Britannia." There would be no access to any ships that would be docked near it, if any were allowed to dock near it.

This appears to be a case where normal precautions that are usually taken would probably overcome any threat mentioned by this person. The standard things you would do would cover what he was threatening to do.

WHITFIELD: Did you find anything exceptional from these documents?

MOORE: What I found exceptional was the fact that they would take something this vague and take some concrete steps, like blocking off the Golden Gate Bridge to pedestrian access, things like that. They did take it very seriously.

The other thing that's kind of behind the scenes here is the queen isn't going to travel without members of MI6 or Scotland Yard with her. They were probably liaising very carefully with the FBI.

I've got to tell you, in my years working terrorism with them, the British authorities, because of "The Troubles" in Ireland, were especially adept at protection of the queen and protection of royals.

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Moore, thank you so much for being with us.

MOORE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still to come, his rollout may have had its fair share of glitches, but that didn't stop the money from rolling in. What Ron DeSantis' early fundraising numbers could say about the future of his campaign.

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[13:47:43]

WHITFIELD: Last year, Navy SEAL candidate, Kyle Mullen, died just a few hours after completing the grueling training selection course known as "Hell Week." A new report discovered lapses that contributed to his death, prompting an overhaul of the SEALs' notoriously brutal process.

Oren Liebermann has details from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Navy SEALs selection and training course is designed to be one of the most grueling, demanding courses in the entire military.

Only the most capable of the candidates in that course are supposed to get through with a very high attrition rate.

Yet, despite the demands of the course, an investigation into the entire training course after the death of a SEAL candidate last year found there was improper, inadequate medical oversight, as the candidates are going through this exhausted and often ill.

In fact, the investigation, which was released late this week, found there was medical oversight that was poorly organized, poorly integrated and poorly led.

This all came about after the death of 24-year-old SEAL candidate, Kyle Mullen, after he had completed "Hell Week" in February of last year. He had gotten through the most difficult phase of the course, again, known as "Hell Week." He even had a final medical checkup.

He died eight hours after the conclusion of the course because of improper medical oversight.

He had been suffering from respiratory difficulties. He had taken oxygen a few times during "Hell Week." None of that information went to those who checked him out for that final medical check.

Beyond that, in addition, the personnel who were assigned to check on him in the hours after "Hell Week" didn't have the proper training and didn't have the authority or the knowledge to know what to look for or the authority to do anything about it.

It was because of that, that a bacterial pneumonia infection he was suffering from wasn't identified and wasn't cared for.

In fact, according to the Navy investigation, he was coughing up a red/orange fluid. He was bloated. His skin was turning blue, according to that investigation. And he didn't get the medical care he needed.

Following the investigation and following his death, the Navy has revamped some of the medical procedures in this course.

During "Hell Week," there are now evaluations every 24 hours, including after the conclusion of "Hell Week."

[13:49:59] The recovery facility is now right next to the medical clinic there after "Hell Week," so there's a much closer examination there. And there are more qualified medical staff on hand throughout "Hell Week" and beyond.

In addition, there is a greater screening for performance-enhancing drugs. The investigation found there was a concern about that. So they've enhanced the efforts there -- Victor and Amara?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Oren Liebermann, thanks so much. I'll take it.

All right, coming up, as the clock continues to tick in the debate ceiling debate, CNN is learning new details on the key issues negotiators remain at odds over. Live to Capitol Hill in minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:01]

WHITFIELD: All right, in the presidential race for 2024, a campaign spokesperson for Ron DeSantis says the Florida governor has raised more than $8 million within the first 24 hours of launching his presidential bid.

DeSantis threw his hat into the ring earlier this week on Twitter, but the campaign launch got off to a rather glitchy start after technical issues delayed his announcement.

Joining us right now, Nancy Ancrum, the editorial page editor for "The Miami Herald."

Nancy, so great to see you.

So these are early fundraising numbers. And I wanted to know, is $8 million a lot in the last 24 hours?

And if you look at some of the recent reports involving some of his competition, Trump's fundraising, $4.1 million online, within weeks of his announcement, according to an online donation processer, which is often used by the GOP.

And then Nikki Haley, she has raised some $11 million over six weeks, according to her campaign. So is this pretty impressive for Ron DeSantis, $8 million in 24 hours?

NANCY ANCRUM, EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR, "THE MIAMI HERALD": Well, a couple of things. That number would have been much higher had they not had the technical difficulties.

You have to remember that the first part of his Twitter announcement, which flamed out, there were 600,000 listeners. By the time they returned and had worked out the glitches, there were only 150,000. So I would say that the $8 million is impressive. We also have to remember that he has at least $110,000 stashed from

his re-election campaign and from fundraising from earlier this year. So he is sitting on quite a large pot of campaign fuel.

WHITFIELD: So what's the response from the Florida voters? Is this a barometer of just how popular he really is?

ANCRUM: We have to remember that he did win re-election by a landslide.

As far as the reaction of Florida voters, I think Florida voters are as divided on this issue as on every other issue that this governor has brought up and has, in many ways, enshrined in law, his culture wars, his war against Disney, how he handled Covid.

He has taken, in less than four years, this purple, progressive state, a swing state, and turned it into a pretty solid red one.

WHITFIELD: And he's pretty emboldened, isn't he? Because now DeSantis is directly attacking Trump in interviews, calling him fiscally irresponsible, bashing his Covid and immigration policies, which, up until now, DeSantis has not been doing because he benefitted from the relationship with Trump.

So what's happening now, this kind of about face?

ANCRUM: Well, he has freed himself with this announcement that he is in the race.

He had been very oblique in his criticism of Trump in the past. For instance, he did say in his announcement, I will build and finish the border wall. The implication is that Trump did not, that Trump failed.

When Trump was arrested, when Trump was indicted for the hush money payments, he said, again, rather obliquely and snarkily, at least criticizing the charges, he said, but -- and I'm paraphrasing -- I really don't know what it's like to pay hush money to a porn star.

And now we will see DeSantis unleashed.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

So even with the potential economic threat that has been posed now with, last week, Disney announcing that it is scrapping plans to build a $1 billion complex in Florida, costing the state thousands of jobs.

Disney and DeSantis have been feuding over legislation that restricts the teaching of sexual orientation, gender identity in schools. And it appears DeSantis is losing this battle, is he not?

[13:59:45]

ANCRUM: Well, there have been -- this will be decided by the courts. But if you take him at his word, if you take the name of his PAC at its word, he will not back down. He does not bluff and he boldly rages forward. This is the DeSantis that we in Florida know. And this is the DeSantis

that I can only imagine will present himself across the nation.