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CNN International: Smoke From Nova Scotia Fires Impacts Northeast U.S.; Demolition Delayed After 9th Survivor Rescued; 11- Year-Old Aderrien Murry Speaks About His Ordeal; Russia: New Attacks in Belgorod, Krasnodar Regions; Beluga Thought to be Russian Spy Now in Swedish Waters. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired May 31, 2023 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: More than a dozen of schools will be closed in Nova Scotia today as 13 wildfires spread through the Canadian province. Eight of those fires started on Monday as the region experiences record breaking heat. More than 18,000 people have now fled their homes as the fire damages hundreds of buildings and causes huge plumes of smoke to smother the area.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So, the satellite picture from earlier today when the sun was still up, you can see the haze on the picture here.

The white down the south, this is just cloud cover, that's not smoke. But all of this up, here that's a little bit gray in tint, that is the smoke that is coming from those Nova Scotia wildfires. From Halifax all the way down to the southern tip, and then the smoke being blown back into the Northeast, especially Long Island, New York City, even into Philadelphia. And for tomorrow, we push this even further inland, across parts of New Jersey into Pennsylvania. The areas that you see here in orange will be that sickest smoke. You might even be able to smell that smoke.

So far this year, in Canada, 6.4 million acres of wild land have burned. On a normal year, if there was such a thing, an average year, about 12 times less than that should have burned by now.

Now granted, most of the smoke that we're seeing in the Northeast is from Nova Scotia. And Nova Scotia's only a small percentage, maybe 1 or 2 percent of those total acres burned. But the high pressure that's centered right there will push that smoke right into the Northeast and that will be our forecast for the next few days. It will eventually get pushed out, but there will be hazy skies, there will be sunsets that are red, sunrise is the same story.

And there will be dots on our map that are orange, which means unhealthy for sensitive groups. And you may need to stay inside. Keep your local forecast handy where the smoke is going to go, where it is going to blow, maybe down into a valley, it could even get more concentrated.

There will be some rain though, not a lot yet until Sunday, but there is rain in the forecast here in Nova Scotia. Probably a half inch, calling for somewhere the ballpark of about 10 millimeters, which does not seem like very much. But if you just get those forests that aren't burning a little damp, all of a sudden the fire spread is much slower.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Officials and Devonport, Iowa have delayed plans to demolish what's left of a collapsed apartment building after emergency workers rescued a ninth person. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank God. Praise the Lord. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Firefighters brought a woman out of the building Monday evening. And nearly two days after much of the century old apartment building suddenly collapsed.

FOSTER: Officials have thought that rescues were over and they plan to bring down the rest of the apartment building, which was deemed unsafe. The last survivor to be rescued tells her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA BROOKS, RESCUED FROM COLLAPSED BUILDING: I'm sleeping in the tub, I didn't hear nobody come in. And when I woke up, I woke up on the stetch because I heard a voice. Anybody in the building?

As the ladder came up to me to get me out of the window, I was scared. I mean, I was real scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: On Tuesday emergency workers searched for more survivors but found no signs of human activity. Residents and family members are demanding that they continue searching for their missing loved ones until everyone is accounted for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON MCDOWELL, MISSING RESIDENT BRANDEN COLVIN'S COUSIN: You all want to tear down the building and you know you've got five people still unaccounted for. Help me understand that.

MIL COLLIER, MISSING RESIDENT BRANDEN COLVIN'S COUSIN: My cousin said he had just came home at five and he's tired and when he gets up, he's going to be able to come to the family gatherings. So, like three hours or more after that, the building collapsed. And we haven't seen my cousin Brandon Colvin since then or heard anything from him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Family members have identified the 35-year-old man, who went overboard, while on a Carnival cruise ship. Ronnie Lee Peale Jr. was on his first cruise with this partner, and she woke up on Monday, she was unable to find him.

FOSTER: Peale's mother confirmed she hadn't spoken with her son either. While surveillance footage from the ship showed him going aboard early on Monday morning. His partner describes him as the life of the party. Search efforts are ongoing.

An 11-year-old Mississippi boy who called 9-1-1 only to have the police officers shoot him in the chest, is speaking now about his frightening ordeal. Aderrien Murry was hospitalized earlier this, month with multiple serious gunshot injuries.

NOBILO: The officer who shot him was responding to a domestic disturbance call at the boy's home, CNN's Nick Valencia traveled to Mississippi to speak about Aderrien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADERRIEN MURRY, 11-YEAR-OLD SHOT BY POLICE: God will do what he said.

[04:35:00]

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As he laid in his mother's arms bleeding out from a gunshot wound, 11-year-old Aderrien Murry was so convinced he was going to die. He began to pray to God and sing gospel songs.

MURRY: How can you lie? Like, I'm going to die. Tell my whole family, tell my teacher. I say I'm sorry for what I did.

VALENCIA (voice-over): On May 20, Aderrien's mom told him to call 911 for help after the father of one of her other children showed up at their Mississippi home at four in the morning. Nakala Murry said when the Indianola Police responded, she opened the door to an officer who already had his gun drawn.

MURRY: He say if you come out with you all hand up, then I came running inside the living room. And then I do not remember. I heard the big bang. And I was just holding my chest.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Indianola Police say the officer was Sergeant Greg Capers. Murry says he shot Aderrien once in the chest, seriously injuring the boy. CNN has made repeated attempts to get comment from Capers, but he has not responded.

Aderrien's mother says he developed a collapsed lung and suffered fractured ribs and a lacerated liver due to the gunshot wound. He spent days in the ICU at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, needing a ventilator to breathe.

MURRY: It came into here. Right here.

VALENCIA (voice-over): More than a week since the shooting, he is remarkably in good spirits, but says sometimes when he is alone with his thoughts for too long, he has nightmares. MURRY: Sometime, I can see myself laying inside the coffin. Sometime my thoughts on my own do was, I sometimes think people are watching me. But my main thought is me death.

NAKALA MURRY, MOTHER OF ADERRIEN: I'm so overfilled with joy to help my child be -- I don't have time to be angry. I trust in the law that they will make the right decision. You know, my main concern is my son right now.

VALENCIA (voice-over): The Murry family and their attorney, Carlos Moore, have filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Indianola, its police chief and several officers, including Capers. They're seeking $5 million in damages.

CARLOS MOORE, MURRY FAMILY ATTORNEY: If anyone who has ever been a victim of excessive force deserves to be compensated, is Aderrien Murry. He trusted the police. He called the police to come to the aid of his mother and he turns around and gets shot by the cop he called to rescue them.

VALENCIA: If that officer was here sitting right here across from you, what would you want to tell him, Aderrien?

MURRY: Why did he do it? I could have lost my life. How could you? I want you terminated for what you did to me.

VALENCIA: Sergeant Greg Capers remains on paid administrative leave. Meanwhile, there was body cam footage of this incident. And that's in the possession of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. They tell me that they're not going to release this footage until their investigation is complete.

Incidentally, earlier the Indianola Board of Alderman convened a special meeting to talk about the body cam footage. That was an executive session, no action was taken. But the mayor does tell me that he does not support the firing of sergeant Greg Capers because right now, he says, he simply doesn't have all the facts. Which include watching the body cam footage for the first-time.

Aderrien, the 11-year-old who was shot in the chest by the police, he's been very clear, he wants Capers fired. This shooting has forever changed his life. Prior to this shooting, he wanted to be a police officer. But now tells me he's too scared to be a police officer. He's too scared of them. Instead now, he wants to be a doctor. Because he credits them in part for helping save his life.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Indianola, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now for the third time in less than a year investment bank Goldman Sachs is reportedly planning to lay off more employees.

NOBILO: A source tells CNN, some 250 jobs are expected to be cut including managing directors and other senior executives. FOSTER: Goldman Sachs laid off some 3,200 people in January and more

last September. The bank is suffering for a deal making slump. Posting an 18 percent drop in first quarter profit.

Minnesota has legalized recreational marijuana for the use with adults. It's now the 23rd U.S. state and third in the Midwest to do so. The governor signed the bill into law on Tuesday. He says it also expunges nonviolent cannabis convictions in the state calling it the right move for Minnesota.

[04:40:00]

Still ahead, another day of attacks inside of Russia the day after an attempted drone strike in Moscow. The Kremlin, threatening severe retaliation.

NOBILO: Plus a whale of a spy tail. A beluga once suspected of being a Russian secret agent, swims his way to Sweden where they are now concerns for his safety.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Indigenous groups protesting in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, just hours before Brazil's Lower House of Congress approved a bill will limit new recognition of ancestral lands. The protests burned tires and clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas and water cannons. The bill has drawn criticism, not just from Indigenous groups, but also from human rights and environmental organizations. It will now head to the Senate for a vote.

FOSTER: And NATO is deploying hundreds of additional forces to Kosovo, following Monday's clashes with Serbian protesters in the northern part of the country. 30 peacekeepers from NATO's Kosovo's force, known as KFOR, were injured during those clashes. Kosovo's Prime Minister condemned the protesters, telling CNN he would not surrender his country to what he called a fascist militia. Meanwhile, Serbia's president is expressing concern for the survival and security of Serbs in Kosovo. Monday's unrest took place in the northern part of Kosovo, which is a majority Kosovo Serb area.

Now to the war in Ukraine, which may be shifting ever so slightly to the war in Russia. Authorities in Krasnodar, south of Ukraine, report a possible drone strike that caused a fire at an oil refinery. And the governor of Russia's Belgorod region says four people had been injured in new shelling there. He says residential buildings and a school have been damaged.

NOBILO: It comes the day after drones hit three residential buildings in Moscow, causing minor damage. Russian President Vladimir Putin blames Ukraine but Kyiv denies direct involvement.

[04:45:02]

FOSTER: Let's bring in CNN's Clare Sebastian, with the latest development. It does feel like there's a slight shift to the pattern here. CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly we've had an uptick

in recent weeks. And even overnight in what appears to be attacks behind Russian lines and across the border in Russia. Let's put Moscow to one side, because that was obviously very unusual, and really sort of cross the Rubicon in terms of certainly how the Russian people will view this.

But overnight we've not one but two oil refineries. A potential drone strike at one, another one saying that a drone actually crashed on its territories. Both of them are in Krasnodar, which is in southern Russia but on the border of the Black Sea. So, very close to where the was is actually happening.

Belgorod, the governor there, that region, of course, really the epicenter of the sort of cross-border attacks that we've seen. We know that it was a staging ground initially for the invasion, continues to have military importance to Russia. The governor there called it a massive strike. He said that eight apartment buildings, four homes, a school, a couple of other buildings were damaged. Four people were injured, a couple of them hospitalized. So that's significant.

Also in occupied Luhansk this morning, the pro-Russian officials there saying that five people were killed and 19 people injured in a strike using HIMARS, Americans donated weapons. So, it seems big picture that Ukraine has, you know, obviously building up to this counteroffensive. They said that they know when it's going to start. And in the lead up to that, there are signs that they are becoming bolder and that more of these sort of are shaping, softening operations seem to be happening.

NOBILO: Pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters who opposes Putin, that we've been hearing about in recent weeks, seem to be getting more organized. What can you tell us?

SEBASTIAN: So, there was a post on the Telegram channel for the Freedom of Russia Legion, which one of those groups that claimed responsibility for that really violent incursion in Belgorod just about a week ago. The first real example we've had of actual fighting happening on Russian soil. Well now they have launched what they say is a recruitment drive for drone UAV -- these unmanned aerial vehicle training. The post on Telegram is sort of laced with emojis. It seems to be slightly tongue-in-cheek. And there are not thinly veiled references to the incident in Moscow on Tuesday. The training apparently involves controlling the flight of under the influence of electronic warfare.

We know that Russia says that it averted three of its drones yesterday using electronic countermeasures, flying in difficult weather and urban conditions. So look, maybe they are trying to swell their ranks. Certainly, it seems that they also are trying to stay in the headlines.

NOBILO: Absolutely, Clare Sebastian thank you so much.

FOSTER: A beluga whale that some believe was used as a spy for Russia has entered new territory NOBILO: He is now in Swedish waters where volunteers are tracking his movements to help keep him safe. CNN's Melissa Bell has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The alleged Russian spy was first spotted off the waters of Norway in 2019. A beluga whale, apparently seeking human attention it quickly received.

Nicknamed Hvaldimir, a pun on the Norwegian for "whale" and its alleged Russian origin, the whale was found to be wearing a harness with mount for a camera, branded "Equipment of St. Petersburg."

Experts believe it may have been trained by the Russian military, which Moscow denies. Dolphins have long been used by Russian and the U.S. Navy patrolling and detecting explosives beside humans.

Since his arrival in Norway Hvaldimir has been tracked by volunteers who want to protect him.

SEBASTIAN STRAND, ONEWHALE VOLUNTEER: We fear that if he did enough damage to a salmon farm, they may be forced into considering the option of euthanizing him as we've seen with other situations in Norway. But by all means this does not mean that we think the salmon farmers have anything but goodwill towards Hvaldimir.

BELL (voice-over): And Hvaldimir as been capturing Scandinavian hearts. A whale that appears more accustomed to humans than his own kind. And now, much further south than he should be. Far from heading back to arctic waters where he might've found some of his own kind, he's headed south, all the way to the coast of Sweden -- according to the NGO OneWhale. Where waters are too warm and too populated for a whale who may have been used to spy but is now being very carefully watched himself.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still to come, NASA is set to hold a historic meeting on UFOs. And anyone can watch it online, details ahead.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Former U.S. first lady, Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia. The development comes as her husband, former President Jimmy Carter is receiving hospice care in their home in Georgia.

NOBILO: During her time in the White House and the years that followed, Ms. Carter was a fierce advocate for mental health issues. But despite her diagnosis, her family says that the 95-year-old lives happily at home with her husband.

A new study finds having a heart attack could put you at risk of accelerated cognitive decline in your later years. And that decline could eventually impair brain function, making you more vulnerable to age related diseases of the mind.

FOSTER: The study found that the most severe mental decline after a heart attack was seen in white people compared to black, and in men compared to women.

The Denver Nuggets have not played a game since sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA's Western Conference finals more than a week ago now. Now they finally know their opponent for the league finals and it is the Miami Heat. And Denver's head coach spoke highly of them on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MALONE, DENVER NUGGETS HEAD COACH: They beat Milwaukee 4-1, the team with the most wins in the NBA this year. They beat Boston 4-3 and they are up 3-0. The team that had the second most wins in the NBA this year. So, you get to the NBA finals, it's not about seeding anymore. And for those that are thinking that this is going to be an easy series, I don't even know what to say to you people.

[04:55:02]

I mean, this is going to be the biggest challenge of our lives. This is the NBA finals. Now this is -- you're trying to win the first NBA championship in franchise history and it's going to be the hardest thing that we have ever done. Which is the way it should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: It doesn't get much bigger, does it? The first two games of the NBA finals will be played in Denver, with game one set for Thursday.

NOBILO: And finally, the stories in the spotlight this hour.

Body camera video from a sheriff's deputy in south Georgia has captured a dangerous and unbelievable car crash. CNN affiliate WSB TV reports police at the scene were handling a traffic incident with a tow truck on site, when suddenly a car launched itself up the ramp of the truck and into the air.

FOSTER: Unreal. Deputies raced to help the driver after the car flipped and crashed to the ground there. The driver survived, despite flying more than 100 feet and hitting another vehicle when the car landed. So far, it's unclear if any charges will be filed.

FOSTER: I mean, what are the chances? An investigation is needed.

NASA is set to hold a historic meeting on UFOs today. And the public can watch it live online. A group of experts who spent nine months studying data on unidentified anomalous phenomena, as they call it, will discuss their findings.

NOBILO: Interesting that they've shifted to the UAP -- abbreviation instead of UFO because it is got less of a stigma after years of people being derided for a UFO interest.

The meeting also includes an opportunity for the public to ask questions. The experts will publish the report in the coming months.

And a SpaceX capsule with four people aboard is back on earth. The Crew Dragon splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City, Florida, just a few hours ago. Former astronaut Peggy Whitson and three paying passengers, spent the past week aboard the International Space Station out.

FOSTER: The mission was put together by the Houston Texas based Axiom Space, the company is hoping to spur private sector participation in space flights. They were wobbly when they came out. Didn't they?

Thanks for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Max Foster.

And I'm Bianca Nobilo. EARLY START is next right here on CNN.

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