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Republican Hopefuls Converge on Iowa for Annual GOP Roast and Ride Event; Rail Disaster Leaves More Than 270 People Dead; U.S. and China Exchange Tough Words at Conference. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 04, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:03]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you really -- yes, you really see the spirit of Regios (ph) in the food, in your food, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like resilient and it's creative and it's innovative and it's diverse, and you go, oh my gosh, where am I? You're in Nuevo Leon. People will be like, wow, this is amazing. But it's really a product of the people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Totally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of the people's spirit here, I think, in this state.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay. Salud.

LAILA HARRAK, CNN ANCHOR: -- party's nomination for the president of the United States descend on an Iowa fundraiser with one notable exception.

The end of rescue efforts at the site of one of India's worst train crashes, the chilling account from a survivor.

And the U.S. and China exchanged tough words at an Asia security summit. We have expert analysis for you from Singapore.

The Republican race for the White House looked like a motorcycle rally on Saturday, while that's former Vice President Mike Pence leading a long column of riders to the Iowa fairgrounds. The high-profile roast and ride event is hosted each year by Republican Senator Joni Ernst while Pence says he'll announce his candidacy on Wednesday and was in Iowa this weekend to begin laying the groundwork. It's a crucial early state for presidential politics and this year's gathering attracted every major Republican hopeful, that is, except Donald Trump.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is there and has our report.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Republican voters in Iowa who will have the first say in the presidential race next year got an early glimpse of their options in this campaign. Former President Donald Trump the only major candidate not in the state on Saturday as several others attended Senator Joni Ernst's roast and ride. It's an annual political event featuring barbecue, motorcycle riding, and a side of politics. These candidates were making their case to why they can be the best alternative to Donald Trump and be the best option for Republicans to win back the White House.

Here's a sense of their argument that they offered to voters at this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've got to start doing this in a way that we can win a general election. It's time for a new generational leader. We've got to leave the baggage and the negativity behind. We've got a country to save.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Here's the thing. You can't do any of it if you don't win. There is no substitute for victory. And we need to dispense with the culture of losing that has beset the Republican party in recent years. Iowa shows it can be done. Florida shows it can be done. We had red waves in 2022. The rest of the country, not so much.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): I am running because I believe America can do for anyone what she has done for me. We've got to restore hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So many different faces, many different backgrounds. But most of these Republican candidates essentially singing from the same songbook, trying to make the case for why they are the best to win back the White House for Republicans and confront Donald Trump in a one-on-one competition as this race intensifies.

Now, there is no doubt the person hanging over this race more than anyone is Donald Trump. He decided not to come. He was invited to this. Senator Joni Ernst said she made the invitation but he simply does not like to be in the same room with other candidates. We will see, of course, in the months to come if that indeed was a mistake, that these candidates will be coming back to Iowa, which opens this process early next winter. This campaign right now as summer approaches is rapidly intensifying.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Des Moines.

HARRAK: A 66-year-old veteran from New Hampshire is accused of threatening to kill a U.S. senator. According to the U.S. attorney's office, Brian Landry called a senator's district office and left a voicemail. The voicemail allegedly said, quote, I'm a veteran sniper, and unless you change your ways, I got my scope pointed in your direction and I'm coming to get you. He then called the senator a dead man walking, and then called the senator a couple of expletives.

Landry appeared in court on Friday and did not enter a plea. The New Hampshire man is charged with threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a U.S. official. He has been ordered to request a mental and physical evaluation from the Veterans Administration. Investigators did not identify the targeted senator by name.

Authorities in India say they have identified the cause of the country's worst train crash in decades. According to the railway minister, it was the result of a change in the electronic signaling system.

[03:05:00]

The minister also says the people responsible have been identified, but he didn't provide further details. Authorities are now clearing the wreckage and have ended their search for survivors.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now for more on these developments. Kristie, what's the latest on the search for the missing?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Laila, well, work is still under way to clear the wreckage, to find the missing and we do have a revision in the death toll after this train crash in India. It's been revised down to 275 from 288. An official says that there was a mistake in counting some bodies twice.

Now, this remains India's worst train accident more than two decades. Early reports are now blaming a change in electronic interlocking. And I want show you this, fresh aerial footage, drone video of the scene of the crash. This was filmed earlier today on Sunday and it is harrowing. It shows you the wreckage of the trains, some turned on their sides, some completely upside down.

Excavators and cranes are on site to move the coaches off the tracks. Workers have been there non-stop to clear and repair the tracks. And, of course, you have the recovery teams are trying to locate the missing. But there is little hope in finding any survivors on this day. It's believed that dead bodies are still inside the train, so the death toll is expected to rise.

This tragedy took place around 7:00 P.M. local time on Friday. It was when one high-speed passenger train collided into an already derailed passenger train. Both trains derailed, and then a third train, a freight train, slammed into those derailed coaches. We've been monitoring and collecting survivor accounts and they are heartbreaking. I want you to listen to this. This is from a 55-year- old mother who witnessed her daughter die before her eyes. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOSHIDA DAS, TRAIN CRASH SURVIVOR: As we kept rolling, my daughter got stuck there and my daughter got buried under bulky iron in front of my eyes. I managed to stand in the corner, but I was hit in the head by some iron rod or something. I thought about how to get my daughter out from underneath the iron but didn't know how to move such heavy iron. My daughter kept crying and died right in front of my eyes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOUT: Just a heart-piercing account there.

Now, earlier on Saturday, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, he visited the scene of the disaster. And on Twitter, he shared this. Let's bring up his statement for you. He said, took stock of the situation at the site of the tragedy in Odisha. Words can't capture my deep sorrow. We stand committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected. I laud all those working around the clock, on the ground, and helping out in relief work.

A makeshift morgue has just been set up for family members in Odisha to identify their missing relatives. We have video of that. And you look at this moment. This basically sums up the tragedy and the aftermath of one of India's worst train accidents in recent history, as you have a community searching for the remains of their lost loved ones, a community searching for answers. Back to you, Laila.

HARRAK: A community searching for answers. Kristie Lu Stout reporting, thank you.

Earlier, CNN spoke with a man who survived the horrific crash. Asuman says he was sitting toward the back of one of the trains when it suddenly came to a stop. He described what he saw and how he reacted after the collision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANSHUMAN PUROHIT, TRAIN CRASH SURVIVOR: What was visible to us where the one or two coaches that had derailed on the other train while the main impact was still about 500 meters away from us. So, we got set to work with the victims there, you know, trying to help them, trying to give them water, carry some of the very seriously injured or dead bodies out of the cars and up to safer zones.

About an hour or so, you know, when I realized that while I've heard ambulances and the sirens coming, I didn't see any relief workers coming to this side of the train, that's when I sensed that there was something else that might have occurred, which was even more devastating than what I was seeing. And that's when I ran towards the front part of the train.

And it was chaos. It was something that I really cannot describe. I saw coaches on top of coaches. The engines, you would have seen the pictures, you know, we -- about four storeys in terms of height. It was lying on a couple of other coaches. There were lots of bodies with unimaginable injuries on them. I saw a head without a body. I saw skulls crushed in. I saw bodies completely crushed by the metal, amputees.

[03:10:04]

It was horrifying, to be very honest.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRAK: Well, emergency crews are finding more victims from a deadly Russian strike in Ukraine. We'll have the latest on the recovery operation where many of the victims are said to be children.

Plus, Ukrainian military recruits polish up their fighting skills ahead of deployment to the frontlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRAK: Ukraine says the casualty toll is growing from a Russian strike near the city of Dnipro. Officials now say the body of a two- year-old girl has been recovered from a building damaged in Saturday's attack, while the number of wounded has grown to at least 22 people, including 5 children. The strike damaged multiple homes and gas pipelines.

Ukraine says its air defenses made a clean sweep in the skies near Kyiv overnight. Initial reports indicate Ukraine shot down all the Russian missiles headed toward the capital, where air raid sirens still went off.

[03:15:06]

And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is dropping more hints about the looming counteroffensive. He told The Wall Street Journal Ukraine is ready for it, and he said he strongly believes it will be successful.

CNN's Scott McLean joins us now live from London with more. Scott, President Zelenskyy declaring Ukraine ready for that counteroffensive.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, President Zelenskyy has been hinting for weeks and weeks that this long-awaited counteroffensive is coming. Obviously, he doesn't want to broadcast the dates, but, recently, he actually said that his team had decided on what the dates would be. He obviously just doesn't want to give those out to the world. And so in this interview, he reiterated that he is ready. He didn't say when, but he did say this. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: So, in terms of those certain things that they would like to have, he hinted at what they might be. First off, Patriot air defense systems. Ukrainians already have two Patriot air defense battery systems, but he's suggested that they would need 50 in order to adequately protect the country because there are certain types of Russian missiles that existing air defenses just cannot deal with. He said that, look, this kind of a system would deprive Russia of its ability to intimidate millions of Ukrainians who are trying to go about their business.

He also renewed his appeal for modern western fighter jets, saying, imagine you are a soldier on the front line and you don't have a roof over your head, a roof meaning jets, and an air defense system to actually protect you. And he said, why not give those?

Recently, U.S. defense officials have said that modern fighter jets, F-16s, that's more of a long-term goal, a long-term project to have for Ukraine. In the meantime, though, it seems like there are tanks and ammunition that seems to be the priority that will make a bigger difference when it comes to the counteroffensive.

One other thing that came out of this interview, Laila, that I wanted to mention is Trump was asked about the political situation in the United States, and he said, broadly speaking, the Biden administration has been more helpful to Ukraine than the Trump administration, but also pointed out that, look, the full-scale invasion wasn't happening under Trump's watch.

He said that he didn't know what Trump would have done had Trump been in office, but he said that, look, he doesn't understand Trump's comments about ending the war in 24 hours, about bringing Putin and Zelenskyy to the table and ending the war. Because he could have done that while he was in office, because, of course, this conflict has been going on for years and years. It's just when Trump was in office, it was sort of frozen in time.

He also said that he is worried about change more broadly, because, of course, right now things are good in terms of getting equipment, getting support from the U.S. He said any change, things could get better, they could also get worse, though, Laila.

HARRAK: And, Scott, what are you learning about the strikes near the city of Dnipro?

MCLEAN: Yes. So, we don't have a ton of information. But as you mentioned, they have been searching through the rubble of these two two-storey residential buildings. We know the number of injured has increased from 20 at last count, now up to 22. And, unfortunately, local officials there have reported that they have brought out the body of a two-year-old little girl, a two-year-old little toddler.

I should also mention, Laila, that we have seen a series of explosions in Russian-held territory in Ukraine as well, cities like Berdiansk and Melitopol, as well, where there have been these explosions confirmed by both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. We have seen those kind of strikes last week, and for a while now. And while the counteroffensive may not have officially begun, military analysts suggest that these types of strikes deep inside of Russian-held territory is part of a Ukrainian-shaping campaign to try to hit fuel depots, the ammunition dumps, things like that, to shape the battlefield for this looming counteroffensive. Laila?

HARRAK: Scott McLean reporting, thank you so much for your continued coverage, Scott.

Well, as the start of the counteroffensive remains elusive, the preparations for it are very real for Ukrainian recruits. Sam Kiley met some of them while they were training for future battles. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESONDENT (voice over): These are new recruits training. They could be on the frontline in a couple of weeks in a couple of weeks.

[03:20:00]

In training, mistakes are harmless.

And what happened to you?

MAKSIM, UKRAINIAN RECRUIT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

KILEY: How long have you been doing this training?

MAKSIM: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

KILEY: What do you think about the coming offensive? Do you want to get involved? You're not worried?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

KILEY: These are young men, they have been having quite a lot of fun running around in the woods and sometimes things get funny. But, ultimately, this business is deadly serious.

These recruits could be weeks away from combat. Pretend war turning to this, where death is all too real.

Wounded Veteran Colonel Oleksandr Piskun runs the training.

COL. OLEKSANDR PISKUN, UKRAINIAN NATIONAL GUARD: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

KILEY: That experience is hard-won. Oleksandr came face-to-face with a Russian who shot him in Bakhmut last week.

What would you say to young volunteers or conscripts joining now?

OLEKSANDR, UKRAINIAN ARMY MEMBER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

IHOR, UKRAINIAN ARMY MEMBER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

KILEY: Colonel Piskun knows that this will not be his last memorial service. This military cemetery has space to grow. Soldiers are confronted with grim truth here that many young men are forever entombed in this parade of graves.

Sam Kiley, CNN in Kryvyi Rih.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRAK: China's defense minister says a conflict with the U.S. would be a disaster for the world. We'll hear his tough message for Washington and get expert analysis from the security conference in Singapore where he spoke.

Plus, the risk of a disastrous government default is officially over for now. We'll tell you what President Biden said as he signed the all-important legislation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:25:00]

HARRAK: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Laila Harrak and you're watching CNN Newsroom.

More now on one of our top stories this hour. Officials in India say the country's worst train crash in decades was likely caused by a change in the railway's electronic signaling system. Authorities are now clearing the wreckage after ending their search for survivors.

CNN's Ivan Watson is at the site of the crash, and he joins us now live with more. Ivan, I understand you just arrived. Just share with us your first impressions.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, sure. This is a massive disaster zone because, by the government's count, there were at least 21 railway cars from three different trains that were knocked off the track.

So, I'm just going to try to zoom in and just show you kind of one stretch of the tracks where the recovery effort is under way. You've got heavy machinery there digging. You also have hundreds of workers who are doing heavy manual labor in ferocious heat and humidity right now. I cannot stress enough how difficult that is. In an effort to, as government officials say, try to get the trains back running through this area by as soon as Wednesday morning.

Now, at least one slight bit of positive news is that the authorities revised the casualty figures for what some officials have described as one of the worst train accidents India has seen in 100 years, down to at least 275 people killed and more than 1,000 wounded, some 100 people who require critical care.

In this ferocious heat, our team has seen workers quite literally carrying railway -- railroad beams by hand to lay them back down here. The hope for any survivors has dwindled to almost nothing at this point. And instead, the focus is on helping the survivors. The government has announced the equivalent of 500,000 rupees to the family of each victim who passed away in this terrible disaster. That's a bit more than $6,000 and around $1,200, the equivalent, to every person wounded in this terrible incident. And it happened Friday night after sunset where the collision ultimately involved two passenger trains and a cargo train that all collided in this area.

So, the area of wreckage, of railroad cars that are overturned, it goes over several hundred meters here in every direction, just to give you a sense of how huge of a disaster zone this is. The railroads are kind of the lifeblood of transport and transit for this massive country, the world's most populous nation. More than 13 million people move around by rail every day here. But India also has, tragically, a history of deadly accidents as well. And this appears to be going down in recent history as perhaps the deadliest. The government has vowed to bring those responsible to justice. Laila?

HARRAK: And, Ivan, we had some chilling accounts earlier from survivors who said -- they saw dismembered bodies.

[03:30:00]

Do we believe that there are still bodies trapped in carriages behind you?

WATSON: There may be underneath some of these massive railroad cars. So, that is one of the challenges here. I mean, just to -- some villagers here that our team spoke with, after the accident, which stunned them, this is a rural, not highly developed part of Eastern India, Odisha State. They said that they sent their wives away because they didn't want them to see the sheer number of victims that were laying alongside these tracks.

So, it was a devastating image and there are still awful, awful stories of family members still searching for their loved ones. And, I mean, just to bring this home, even the government had to revise the death toll because they double counted some of the victims. That's the sheer number of amount of loss of life here. They had to bring in doctors, medical workers and medicine from the capital to help the overstretched hospitals deal with the sheer numbers of people here.

And if you see over my shoulder, I mean, in this twisted wreckage, you may be able to see some of the railway cars. Some of them would have had seats, tickets for perhaps 70 people in each car. But it's well known that they could have been packed far more, with far more people than that. And there is some speculation that there would have been more people on the passenger trains because it's summer, it's vacation time for people to move around. And then recall this happened after dark, just adding to the fear and perhaps part of why the operators were not able to see when they slammed into derailed train cars when this all took place, terribly, on Friday night.

HARRAK: Terrifying. Ivan Watson reporting from Eastern India, Ivan, thank you so much.

Now, as the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs exchange tough words at a security conference in Singapore, the Pentagon is reporting another disturbing encounter between the two countries. They say a Chinese military ship came close to colliding with a U.S. destroyer Saturday in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is calling for China to respect the freedom of navigation.

But China's defense minister said U.S. naval vessels are here for provocation. Li Shangfu spoke to the conference and demanded that mutual respect should prevail over bullying and hegemony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LI SHANGFU, CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER: China/U.S. is more than a bilateral relationship and has its global significance. The international community looks for some stable relationship and is concerned about any potential conflict or confrontation. It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the U.S. will be an unbearable disaster for the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRAK: Joining me now from Singapore, Ravi Agrawal is the editor-in- chief for Foreign Policy Magazine, he's also a former CNN New Delhi Bureau Chief. Ravi, welcome back to CNN. It's so good to have you with us.

Interesting place to be, where you are right now, and another meeting, I understand, where U.S./Sino relations dominate.

RAVI AGRAWAL, MANAGING EDITOR, FOREIGN POLICY: Yes, it really is. I think this is a very significant weekend here in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue. The U.S./china relationship in many ways has been the biggest part, the sort of the dominant part of the conversation here in the 2.5 days of this conference. We've seen big speeches from Defense Secretary Austin and the United States and his Chinese counterpart, the Chinese defense minister, Li Shangfu, both whom, in a sense, have spoken at each other rather than with each other.

On the U.S. side, there were moves to try and arrange a meeting but China rejected a chance to have a bilateral meeting between the leaders. That was referred to in their respective speeches. Secretary Austin said that it would be much more useful to go beyond just a handshake at dinner and have substantive dialogue.

But the Chinese, in response, have been saying for quite a while that they need certain conditions to be in place before they meet, and chief among those is the fact that General Li has been sanctioned by the United States for his role in some weapons purchases from Russia several years ago. But also because I think the Chinese say that they're not pleased with America's tone and tenor when it comes to issues such as Taiwan and other disagreements that the two sides have.

HARRAK: Ravi, is it a missed opportunity in terms of this whole lack of official contact between officials, especially the U.S. and China military?

[03:35:00]

Is that a source of worry for the region? What are you hearing? What are people telling you there?

AGRAWAL: It is certainly a source of worry. And that is something that I think you hear from both sides behind the scenes, but you certainly hear from every other country that is represented here at the Shangri-La Dialogue and those that aren't.

Nobody actually wants to see the United States and China be at a place where they are not on talking terms, be at a place where tensions are high, and let alone where the two sides might sleepwalk into a conflict. Dialogue would at the very least provide some off-ramps or allow the two sides to diffuse tensions.

I mean, just in the last few days, we've seen an incident on the Taiwan Strait where United States and Canada were conducting a joint exercise, which was well within their rights to do so, in international waters. The Chinese were unhappy about that exercise, and they had a boat go dangerously close to a USS boat. And so that is something that could have easily gone awry if either side had tried to escalate or shoot at each other.

Again, what would help is more dialogue, more open lines of communication. And over the last few months, there have just been increasing worries that there is very little communication between diplomats on both sides.

HARRAK: So, are there any other attempts to engage that we know of?

AGRAWAL: There are. There are some areas and avenues that I think remain open. I think on climate change, for example, Secretary John Kerry, the former secretary of state, now climate envoy, has told me in interviews that he does have an open line to his counterpart in China, the energy and climate envoy there.

There are some areas where those kinds of communications are open. But the more general ones -- and this, to be clear, is not a technical issue. It's not like the capabilities of calling each other don't exist. They exist. But there are too many problems on both sides where they don't want to be seen to be talking to each other.

That is something that has come up again and again at this conference, where I think the American side has been at pains to say, talk to us, pick up the phone. The Chinese side has been more reticent there, in a sense, using talking as a bargaining chip. What the Chinese instead and today in General Li's speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue made very clear that they resent bloc politics on America's part. They resent what they see as a return to cold war-era dynamics, a great power competition. They don't think that that is an effective way of navigating world politics, and they've made that very clear to the United States.

HARRAK: Ravi Agrawal, thank you so much for speaking to us. Good catching up with you, thank you.

AGRAWAL: My pleasure.

HARRAK: The epic battle over the debt limit officially ended on Saturday with U.S. President Joe Biden signing the just passed bill into law. In a statement on Twitter, the president said the new law, quote, prevents a first-ever default while reducing the deficit, safeguarding Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and fulfilling our sacred obligation to our veterans.

We get now more from CNN's Priscilla Alvarez at the White House.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden on Saturday signing the debt ceiling deal into law, averting a first-ever default. That signature came on the heels of President Biden's address from the Oval Office on Friday. The setting itself was significant as it underscored the moment for this White House, which, for the last several weeks, was operating under the threat of a potential default just days away that could have catastrophic economic consequences, consequences that President Biden himself nodded to in his address and really underscoring the bipartisanship over the last several weeks.

Of course, this deal was the outcome of painstaking negotiations between the White House negotiators and Republican negotiators. And President Biden acknowledged that there were concessions on both sides and that not everyone got what they wanted. But he commended House Speaker McCarthy in those remarks, saying that he was involved in good faith negotiations, but president Biden also taking the opportunity to underscore bipartisanship and unity.

Now of course, with this deal signed into law now suspends the debt limit until early 2025, taking the threat of default off the table just days away from when the U.S. Treasury would have defaulted.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, the White House.

HARRAK: Former U.S. President Donald Trump is facing several criminal investigations even as he tries to make a case for a second term in office. We don't yet know if he will face charges but we're getting more details about how those investigations are proceeding.

[03:40:02]

CNN Politics Reporter Jeremy Herb has the latest.

JEREMY HERB, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: We've learned key developments in two of the investigations into former president Donald Trump, first, in Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe into Trump's handling of classified documents.

Sources tell CNN that Trump's lawyers were unable to locate a classified Pentagon document about plans for a possible strike on Iran, a document where Trump was recorded on tape claiming was in his possession in 2021.

The special counsel subpoenaed Trump for that document in March, not long after one of his aides in that meeting, Margo Martin, appeared before the grand jury. While, Trump's lawyers provided some documents in response to the subpoena, they could not locate the classified document that Trump was referring to on tape. It's unclear whether that document might have already been returned to the government, if it's still missing or whether it was even in Trump's possession in 2021. Importantly, though, Trump on the tape appears to acknowledge that a document was still classified.

Now, in Georgia, the Fulton County district attorney is seeking information from two firms hired by the Trump campaign tasked with investigating claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election. Both of those firms found allegations of voter fraud to be false or offered information to the Trump campaign that refuted Trump's claims of election fraud. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Her efforts to obtain information from these research firms comes as she's eyeing potential racketeering charges in her investigation. The firms could help establish a pattern of failed attempts by the Trump campaign to find voter fraud after the 2020 election. Willis is expected to announce in August whether anyone will face charges as part of her investigation.

CNN, Jeremy Herb, New York.

HARRAK: Still to come, conflicting reports emerge after a rare shooting along Israel's border with Egypt leaves four people dead. We'll head to Jerusalem for the details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

HARRAK: Three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian security officer are dead in a shooting incident. It happened on Saturday on the Israeli side of the border. The Israel defense forces say an Egyptian police officer crossed the border and killed two Israeli border guards, triggering a manhunt that left the attacker and another Israeli soldier dead. Egypt says their officer crossed the border in pursuit of drug smugglers and was killed in an ensuing gunfight.

Let's get you more on this story now. Let's head to CNN's Hadas Gold live in Jerusalem for you. How unusual this is incident?

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This is an incredibly unusual incident, the likes of which Israel and Egypt hasn't seen in likely more than a decade. This is a very long border between Israel and Egypt along the Sinai Peninsula. And while there are often reports of drug smuggling there, something like this where three Israeli soldiers and an Egyptian security officer have been killed, that has not been seen in a very long time.

Now, what we understand happened from Israeli side is that this is morning, after two Israeli soldiers at a rather desolate outpost along the border, when they didn't respond to a check-in, that's when it triggered a check-in from other soldiers. And that's when they discovered the bodies of these two soldiers. That triggered a manhunt, which then ended in the shoot-out between more soldiers and the Egyptian security officer, killing the security officer and a third soldier.

Israeli officials say that this Egyptian security officer crossed the border, and we actually do have an image, I want to show you, of the crossing, where it appears the security officer crossed. This is an emergency small square where people can cross back and forth. You can see that it's opened there. Now, Israeli media saying that it was only secured with zip ties and that this Egyptian security officer cut the zip ties to come in.

Now, also according to the Israeli military, the IDF, those two soldiers who were initially killed, they did not even fire their weapons. So, that means, essentially, there was potentially no shoot- out between them and the Egyptian security officer.

Now, the Egyptian military is saying that this security officer was chasing drug smuggling agents and during the chase, he breached the security barrier and exchanged fire.

Now, Egypt and Israel have a peace treaty. They often work together on security issues. And it's clear from official statements we're seeing from both sides that neither side wants this to turn into a bigger international incident. The minister of defense, the Israeli minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, has already spoken with the Egyptian minister of defense. And the Israeli Defense Forces' chief spokesperson actually called this a very unusual incident that does not represent the relationship and joint action between the militaries.

But this is also being seen here within Israel as a failure by the Israeli military. Not only to be able to spot somebody, anybody crossing the border, but the fact that these two soldiers who were initially killed, their bodies were not found for some time. So, just the fact the two soldiers that an outpost essentially had gone quiet, that their bodies were not found, and that three soldiers in total were killed in this incident is being seen as a massive failure by the Israeli military. Laila?

HARRAK: Hadas Gold reporting from Jerusalem, thank you so much, Hadas.

Just ahead, fresh off a big victory, Manchester City set their sights on one of the rarest accomplishments in football. We'll have a report for you from London.

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HARRAK: The former Tropical Storm Arlene was downgraded to a remnant low in the Caribbean on Saturday. The final advisory clocked maximum sustained winds at around 30 miles or about 45 kilometers an hour but up to five inches of rain. That's nearly 13 centimeters and still possible in parts of South Florida. Well, flood watches will remain in place there through Sunday evening.

The Vegas Golden Knights took game one of the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Finals. They defeated the Florida Panthers 5-2 in a comeback thriller. Both teams were tied 2-2 at the end of the second period. Then the Golden Knights offense kicked in during the third period, scoring the game's last three goals and securing the win. Both teams are seeking their first-ever Stanley Cup. Game two is scheduled for Monday in Las Vegas.

Now, Manchester City are on the brink of English football history after beating cross-town rivals Manchester United in the F.A. Cup on Saturday. They are one win away from achieving the treble, which is winning the English Premier League, the F.A. Cup, and the Champions League in a single season.

CNN Senior Sports Analyst Darren Lewis was at the match. Here is his report.

DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORTS ANALYST: Just who can stop this incredible Manchester City side? They're already the emperors of the Premier League, having lifted the English title five times in the last six seasons. Now, they added the F.A. Cup after a pulsating contest here at Wembley.

The hero of stage two of their bid to lift the treble was the midfielder, their Captain, Ilkay Gundogan scoring twice, including the fastest ever done scored at Wembley after just 12 seconds.

This was no ordinary F.A. Cup final. This was the first-ever Manchester derby final. This was their bitter rivals attempt to derail that bid to lift the treble. They failed. But (INAUDIBLE) the side were superb and managed to clinch a seventh F.A. Cup of the second attempt league (ph).

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way they play has revolutionized the game. Johnny Stones stepping into midfield, Ilkay Gundogan is an unbelievable player, Kevin De Bruyne, fantastic player. City play slick, attacking football but they're now really solid at the back and nobody can get past them. So, they are the greatest team in the history of English football. And now everyone can see it.

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Well, they will see it when we've won the treble next week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would mean everything. I would be achieved and it would be a dream for (INAUDIBLE). It would be a dream for the people of Abu Dhabi as well as Manchester, and we thank the people of Abu Dhabi for what they've done for us. They're fantastic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, obviously, it would incredible. I've obviously a fan for my 15 years of wisdom. And I've seen the Champions League many times and it's been hurtful every time. So, next time --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, my boys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next time, hopefully -- next week, hopefully, we get that Champions League in the bag and secure history as one of the greatest teams in English football.

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LEWIS: Now, many have argued that Erik ten Hag's Manchester United side represented the biggest threat to City's bid to become only the second English team to win the treble. That will be news to the Italian club, Inter Milan, who have one of the Champions League's best records and are bidding to win the competition for the second time in the last 13 years.

But we get the sense the momentum is with City. They've now won the English Premier League, the English F.A. Cup, they have match winners all over the park. What a story it would be if their Turkish captain, Ilkay Gundogan, born to Turkish parents, were to lift the trophy in Istanbul next weekend.

Darren Lewis, CNN, London.

HARRAK: The fastest goal, 12 seconds into the game, incredible.

I'm Laila Harrak. Paula Newton picks up our coverage from here as CNN Newsroom continues after a quick break. Do stay with us.

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