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Storms Tangle Flights On Busy Holiday Weekend; Deadly Tornado Devastates Texas Town, Kills 3; Personal Data On Millions Of Americans Exposed As Hackers Unleash Wave Of Ransomware Attacks; King And Queen To Leave Palace For Trooping The Colour; African Leaders To Meet Putin In Russia; Charles To Join Trooping The Colour Ceremony. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired June 17, 2023 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:30]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

It's a holiday weekend here in America and the airports are busy. If you're packing your bags to travel, we'll have a look at the delays and what the weather has in store for you.

Plus, the personal data of millions of Americans compromised by a massive cyber-attack. What you need to know about the hack.

And we are live at Buckingham Palace for King Charles' birthday parade, Trooping the Colour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Severe storms and two holidays may cause travel headaches for millions across the U.S. over the next few days. The bad weather is complicating travel for those celebrating Father's Day on Sunday and Juneteenth on Monday. Sixty million people are waking up today under severe storm risks.

Yesterday, we saw more than 8,600 flights in the U.S. delayed, and that's according to FlightAware, and nearly 600 flights were canceled on Friday.

Well, today is off to a better start. Even so around 120 flights have been canceled so far with just over 500 delays from Colorado to Florida. Severe storms could produce very large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes. Oklahoma and parts of surrounding states are in the crosshairs.

CNN's Pete Muntean has the latest on the busy holiday travel from Reagan National Airport.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The Federal holiday for Juneteenth is not until Monday although so many people are traveling right now. In fact, at one point here at Reagan National Airport the line for the security checkpoint behind me was passed where I am standing 2.73 million people screened at airports across the country, just yesterday, according to the TSA. That is 10,000 people shy than the pandemic era air travel record that was set back on the Friday before Memorial Day. Fourteen percent higher than the same day last year.

The numbers have been huge all week, above 2.4 million people each day leading up to this weekend. Here's what's happening and confluence of things. Summer travel, it's also Father's Day weekend, the Federal holiday and more states are recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday.

It's going to be so busy in the skies. In fact, the FAA says that Thursday was the biggest day for air traffic it has seen since the start of the pandemic, 52,000 commercial flights scheduled, about 50,000 scheduled on Friday.

So now, we're seeing really agenesis of a long holiday weekend for travel from here on out. Added to the list with Labor Day, Memorial Day, and July 4th. And that pent-up demand for air travel because of the downturn in the pandemic.

Travel site, Hopper, says folks are actually paying a little bit more because of that. In fact, the summer average round trip ticket, domestically, $288, but this weekend, they're paying about $312.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Today's threat of severe weather follows an outbreak of dangerous storms on Thursday. The National Weather Service confirmed that six tornadoes touched down in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, including an EF2 that tore through Toledo. And Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a state of emergency after an EF3 tornado made a direct hit on Perryton, Texas.

Peak winds were estimated to be 140 miles per hour. The storm killed three people and wiped out much of the town. CNN's Lucy Kafanov is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have major damage to town. Oh, my God.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Terrifying video of a deadly tornado captured by storm chasers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.

KAFANOV: As the powerful Twister levelled much of the small town of Perryton, Texas, killing at least three, sending up to 100 people to the hospital. JAMIE JAMES, PERRYTON RESIDENT: That was just barely sprinkling, and all of a sudden, the tornado formed and it just dropped on us. It came out of nowhere and there was no sirens. No time to get to shelter. And there was a time where I thought that I was going to die.

KAFANOV: Jamie James' home is still standing, but nearly everything around it is destroyed. The community of roughly 8,000 residents is left in shambles.

And this was an immensely powerful tornado. Take a look over there. That vehicle was flipped completely on its roof, slammed into the building.

From the brick structures on Main Street to mobile homes completely flattened.

[05:05:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Total devastation.

KAFANOV: The cell phone tower snapped in half, transmission lines have sustained damage and many power lines are down in the town. The energy company says --

BRIAN EMFINGER, STORM CHASER: I kind of feel like it was an almost a worst-case scenario.

KAFANOV: The Weather Service gives notice as quickly as it can, but one storm chaser on the ground said this storm didn't look particularly dangerous at first.

EMFINGER: I never heard sirens, and the reason why is when they issued the tornado warning, the tornado was already in town doing damage and the power had obviously been cut to the town.

KAFANOV: Xcel Energy says the city's power facilities were shut off for safety purposes. Residents begin to pick up the pieces, including at the fire station, which took a direct hit, but still has trucks assisting in the cleanup efforts.

COLE UNDERWOOD, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, PERRYTON HIGH SCHOOL: The loss is unthinkable. I don't -- I don't think you can put it really into words.

KAFANOV: James tells us one of the victims was a local shelter volunteer who was always kind to her. If she survived, she would have been among the first to help.

JAMES: She served people. Friendly, hugging people like me who needed it so bad. So many good people in this town.

KAFANOV: Now, this area is Main Street, this downtown part of Perryton taking a direct hit. Cleanup crews have been out here all day trying to move the debris, the overturned trees, the downed power lines, but the emotional scars will take a lot longer to heal from.

Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Perryton, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The federal criminal case against Donald Trump is heading into the discovery phase. That's when government prosecutors must give Trump's lawyers all of the evidence they have against the former president regarding the top secret materials seized from his home last year.

And Special Counsel Jack Smith, who's charged Trump under the Espionage Act, wants to make sure the evidence he turns over won't be leaked.

CNNs Paula Reid is in Washington with those details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The Special Counsel's Office is asking the judge overseeing the Trump's document case to sign off on a set of rules for protecting sensitive information in this case.

Now, according to this request on both sides, both the prosecutors and defense attorneys, have agreed to these rules about how to handle the sensitive evidence that will soon be shared with defense attorneys. Now, we're not talking about classified information here, we're talking about the other sensitive information that is part of this case.

Now, among the rules that prosecutors are seeking here have to do with the defendants, former president Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta. They are insisting that the two defendants not be able to view any of the evidence that is shared with attorneys without their attorneys present. They also request that they not be given copies of it or be able to take notes and then take those notes. The notes need to be protected and kept safe by the attorneys.

Now, prosecutors say in this request that they worry that sharing this information with the public or others could compromise other ongoing investigations, witnesses, or other people who haven't been charged. We know the Special Counsel is, of course, looking at the events in and around January 6, and efforts to undermine the 2020 election.

We also know that many of the witnesses in the Trump documents case are also interviewed in the January 6 investigation.

Now, when it comes to classified information, they're not quite there yet because the Trump attorneys need clearances before they can handle any of those sensitive secrets that are at the heart of this case. The former president is accused of taking over 30 documents.

Now earlier this week, the judge overseeing this case, Aileen Cannon, she told the lawyers to begin that process to get their clearances. She wants an update next week. Now the lawyers, Todd Blanche and Chris Kise have said they're already in touch with the Justice Department to get that process started so that they can eventually be able to view classified evidence as well.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: More American state governments, businesses, schools, and other institutions say they've been hit in the recent wave of global cyber-attacks. A gang of cyber criminals seeking ransom payments from the victims is believed to be behind these latest attacks.

Oregon says personal information on three and a half million driver's licenses and state IDs were affected by the breach. In Louisiana, the Governor's Office reported more than three million driver's licenses have been impacted.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more from New York.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Officials say this amounts to cyber extortion. Cyber criminals are demanding ransom to the tune of millions of dollars in order to return the data that they've stolen.

Now, U.S. government agencies say, so far, they haven't received any demands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO: A global cyber-attack likely exposing the private data of millions of Americans and hitting U.S. agencies including the Department of Energy.

[05:10:05]

CASEY TINGLE, DIRECTOR, LOUISIANA GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY: This is an ongoing investigation impacting not just Louisiana, but major businesses, governmental entities, and organizations around the world.

PAZMINO: Federal officials are blaming a Russia speaking gang of hackers who call themselves Clop. They are known to demand multimillion dollar ransoms to delete the data.

JEN EASTERLY, DIRECTOR, U.S. CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: We don't have a full understanding of what the impacts are or whether there are impacts, but we're working through it very aggressively.

PAZMINO: The attack is part of a broader and ongoing hacking campaign, exploiting a vulnerability in a program called MOVEit, a popular tool for transferring data. The company behind the software says they are working to fix vulnerabilities in their code.

ERICH KRON, CYBERSECURITY EXPERT, KNOWBE4: Most of the time, the security people in organizations are very technical people, incredibly smart people. Unfortunately, what I find is they sometimes forget about that human element. PAZMINO: Cybersecurity expert, Eric Kron, says organizations should also focus on the dangers of social engineering, scamming people to give up vital information.

KROON: If we can get the human element handled in the cybersecurity side, then we would see a whole lot less of this stuff in the news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO: Now, U.S. officials say, so far, there is no evidence that this group of hackers is coordinating in any way with the Russian government. And so far, no U.S. intelligence or military operations have been compromised as a result of this attack.

Reporting in New York, Gloria Pazmino. Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: And joining me now is cybersecurity expert and CEO of Cybersheath, Eric Noonan. Thanks so much for being here with us.

So I mean, just to start off here, the scope of this in terms of the number of places and people affected. I mean, it's quite worrisome.

ERIC NOONAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CYBERSHEATH: It really is, Kim. And so this is a very broad attack. And unlike a targeted nation state attack where we typically see an adversary like China or Russia target a specific agency, we've seen federal agencies, state and local agencies, commercial organizations all targeted. And so the breadth of the attack is significant for sure.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And as we heard in that piece, we don't know exactly what was compromised, what information was exposed or exploited. Many agencies are still assessing. But potentially, what are the consequences here?

NOONAN: Well, we think that this attacker and CISA has done a tremendous amount of good work at the federal level, letting organizations know what they can do to respond to this attack. And the attackers made their intentions known.

So the consequences here ultimately are financial. This particular attacker has financial motivations, which alludes to the wide net that's been cast to get the maximum number of victims. And, ultimately, what this attacker's after is financial gain.

And so that -- they've even issued statements stating that that's their aim and their motivation here. So we know that's ultimately it's the -- your data being held hostage. Well, you negotiate this ransomware payment with this particular attacker.

BRUNHUBER: So you've talked about this attacker. We heard their officials are blaming Russian speaking hackers. What more can you tell us about that group?

NOONAN: So this group is well known for their financial motivations, and ultimately, has told us that that's what their motivations are in issuing statements. And they've been very communicative with their victims, because ultimately, they want to get paid for them. This is a business model.

So this is a well-known attacker who we understand this methodology and what their aims are, unlike nation states who would be certainly not announcing their intentions. And hopefully, from their perspective, they wouldn't want to be uncovered at all. So night and day in terms of the motivations between this particular hacker who's financially motivated, and again, a nation state adversary.

BRUNHUBER: Now, we had warnings from some states where, you know, driver's licenses was -- were potentially compromised. So this is important here for folks who might think that they might be vulnerable, what -- concretely, what steps can they take out there to protect themselves?

NOONAN: So, unfortunately, they truly are the ultimate victims. And so that's the nature of the supply chain attacks is there's this ripple effect. So, ultimately, at the end of the day, it's the individuals data that's held hostage and can be sold over the dark web for, again, more financial gain.

And so individuals can do credit monitoring. They can use a robust password manager and change their passwords and do those kinds of things. But ultimately, we need to get out of the position where we're passing the responsibility down to the lowest level of victim in these attacks. And we really need government agencies, corporate entities, businesses to be regulated so that they have a really a fiduciary duty to protect this information to report when they have a breach, because there should be no expectation that you'd never be breached.

[05:15:16]

But we want to know that you have a resilient plan when you are breached and you can recover from the breach. And that's where CISA has done a great job of focusing on resiliency. But until we get regulation, unfortunately, the responsibility will ultimately be pushed down to the end victim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, more needs to be done, because obviously this problem is not going away.

Eric Noonan, I really appreciate your analysis. Thanks so much for being here with us.

NOONAN: Thank you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I want to take you now to Buckingham Palace. These are live pictures where we're expecting King Charles and Queen Camilla to be making their way to Horse Guards Parade for the Trooping the Colour. The military parade is in celebration of the King's official birthday, separate to his real birthday that fell in November.

But ever since nine --1748, the monarch's official birthday is celebrated in the summer when obviously the weather is usually better. The King will join 1,500 parading soldiers and 300 horses partaking in the ceremony. We go now to CNN's Anna Stewart who is at Buckingham Palace for us. So, Anna, take us through the day. What are we expecting to see here?

ANNA STEWART, CNN HOST: Well, you can probably already hear the military band behind me. This is just getting ready. The soldiers are taking their positions in Horse Guards Parade. And the next big thing we expect to see, of course, is King Charles and Queen Camilla leaving Buckingham Palace in a big procession.

They will leave from the palace and they will go down the Mount Horse Guards Parade where the Trooping of the Colour will take place. This is a really old ceremonial tradition. It's taken place for well over 200 years now to celebrate a monarch's birthday.

That official birthday, because as you say, unfortunately, U.K. can't really better monarchs having birthdays that are conducive to parades in terms of weather. You may remember the coronation only five weeks ago. The rain really did ruin the parade to some extent.

Today, the weather is beautiful, the sun is shining, potentially a little bit hot for all those soldiers in their fit woolen [ph] tunics and the big bear skin hats. There were some faints, unfortunately, actually last weekend during the rehearsal, hopefully not today.

This will be a long procession to Horse Guards Parade and then quite a long ceremony. And Trooping the Colour really dates back to when regiments would need to show their regimental flag and they'd pass it through a regiment so all the soldiers would recognize it in battle. So that's really where it dates back from.

And each year, this is the Household Division, so there are five Foot Guard regiments, two cavalry regiments, and each year one of the Foot Guards regiments gets to troop their color. And this year it is the Welsh Guards.

Now, the colonel of the Welsh Guards is Prince William, the new Prince of Wales, which makes it extra special really. And actually once upon a time, King Charles was the colonel of that regiment as well. So really, a passing of the baton in many ways at this year's Trooping the Colour.

We are expecting the King to be leaving Buckingham Palace very shortly, but I was told called a pass [ph] that potentially we're running just a couple of minutes late at this stage.

We will be seeing the king on horseback. This will be the first time we've seen him on it on horseback to inspect the troops and be a part of their ceremony. Actually, since 1986, Queen Elizabeth II did do it on horseback for some time before retiring into a carriage.

We'll see, I think, in the carriage today Queen Camilla and Kate, the Duchess, sorry, not the Duchess of Cambridge. She was the Duchess of Cambridge, she's now was the Princess of Wales. They are also both colonels of regiments as well.

And other members of the Royal Family will be on horseback. I expect to see Princess Anne, who was colonel of the Blues and Royals. The Duke of Kent, he was the colonel of the Scots Guards. We will likely see the Duke of Edinburgh as well, Prince Andrew, who is now colonel of the London Guards, which is the reserve unit of the Foot Guards. And all this should be taking off fairly soon. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: We went through an extensive list of who will be there. But, you know, we sort of have to talk about who isn't there.

STEWART: Yes. Of course, Prince Harry will not be there today. Unclear whether he was invited to be a part of this at all. But as he's not a working member of the Royal Family, you wouldn't really expect him to be.

It is a tricky one for Prince Harry though. He did serve in the Blues and Royals which is one of the cavalry regiments of the Household Division which plays a huge role. Today, they will be part of the procession for King Charles taking him from the palace to Horse Guards Parade. So I think for Prince Harry, wherever he is, it might be a tricky day to actually look at all the ceremony taking place here.

The other notable absence will likely be Prince Andrew, of course, also was a serving member in the British Army, no longer a working member of the Royal Family for obvious reasons, so we don't expect to see him here, either today.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate it. Anna Stewart, and we'll see you a little bit later in the show. Thank you so much.

[05:20:04]

Still ahead, much more on the royal celebration, of course, we'll take you live to the parade grounds with military ceremony is set to begin, hopefully in about 15 minutes if they're not running late.

Plus, African leaders are headed to Russia to push their peace plan for the war in Ukraine. Look at why President Zelenskyy says big changes are needed before it's time to talk. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: A group of African leaders is expected in St. Petersburg in the coming hours for a meeting with Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Their goal, to pitch their peace plan for Russia and Ukraine a day after doing the same with President Vladimir Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

While they were there, Russia conducted what Ukraine called a massive and coordinated air strike on the capital. Officials say six people were wounded in the region and at least three homes were destroyed.

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who was in Kyiv said, it's time for a break in the fighting. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: There must be a de- escalation of the conflict. [05:25:00]

Today, as we were here, we had of missile strikes and those types of activities are not good for fostering peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The African leader has also called for negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. So for more on this, Nada Bashir joins us from London. So, Nada, take us through the message from the African leaders and the reaction.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, this has been touted as a peace mission. They were in Kyiv yesterday. They will be meeting with President Putin later today. And the message from the African leaders has been clear, they are calling for de-escalation, but crucially, a de-escalation on both sides.

And we heard from Cyril Ramaphosa there, he spoke yesterday alongside President Zelenskyy in Kyiv saying that an end to this conflict is needed sooner, rather than later. But crucially, this should be sought through diplomatic means, namely, through negotiations.

And, of course, we have seen efforts in the past by other world leaders trying to mediate some sort of peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. We've seen such efforts from Turkey, most recently, from China to no avail.

And, of course, this is the first visit or a peace mission of this kind from the African delegation that President Zelenskyy, throughout Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been very clear on where the Ukrainian government stands when it comes to its red lines in terms of opening the potential for negotiations.

President Zelenskyy, once again, reiterating that message yesterday that there can be no prospect for negotiations while Russian troops are still on Ukrainian territory. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Today, as I said many times, making it very clear that to allow any negotiations with Russia now, while the occupier is on our land, is to freeze the war, to freeze everything, pain and suffering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: And there was also some skepticism from President Zelenskyy yesterday with regards to this suggested roadmap to peace. However, he did send a message to the African leaders to call for prisoners to be released from Crimea, prisoners captured in Crimea, which was of course annexed back in 2014.

We actually also heard from the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, yesterday saying that President Putin is open to a solution to what they described as the Ukrainian problem. Of course, hopes for any success when it comes to potential mediation aren't high right now.

BRUNHUBER: And then speaking of Putin, he was raising some eyebrows of more nuclear saber-rattling.

BASHIR: That's right. President Putin yesterday speaking at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, confirming that a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons have now been deployed, placed on standby in Belarus.

Now, this is the first batch, of course. It is anticipated that a full transfer will be completed by the end of the summer, as long -- as long been suggested by the Kremlin.

Of course, President Putin has repeatedly warned about the potential for the use of tactical nuclear weapons, but he was clear yesterday when he was asked about this that for the Kremlin and his eyes, this is a matter of containment. These weapons have only been developed, according to the Kremlin, in order to guarantee Russia's state security. Take a listen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): The use of nuclear weapons undoubtedly is theoretically possible for Russia. For Russia, it is possible if there's a threat to our territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty to the existence of the Russian state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now, this stage, the U.S. government says it is monitoring the situation with regards to Russia's deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, but it has no indication that the Kremlin would plan to use these weapons against Ukraine in the imminent future.

They aren't, at this stage, changing their nuclear posturing at this stage. But, of course, this is a concern. And we heard from the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.K., in fact, issuing warning saying that the West should be taking this very, very seriously. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Nada Bashir. Appreciate it.

Authorities in Uganda are in hot pursuit of suspects who attacked a secondary school in the western part of the country killing at least 26 people. It happened just before midnight local time. Police say about two dozen ISIS-linked rebels from the Allied Democratic Force abducted six students before setting a dormitory on fire, looting a food store and fleeing the scene.

Now, sadly, the number of fatalities is expected to rise. Military sources say they believe there are more victims inside the building, which was still burning at last report.

All right. Still ahead, King Charles celebrates his second birthday in less than a year. We'll take you live to London where a military parade is being held in his honor. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:32]

BRUNHUBER: And welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Any moment now, King Charles will begin his first official birthday celebration since taking the crown. Now, I'm going to show you images from London where a military parade called Trooping the Colour is getting underway. The King is joining 1,500 soldiers and 300 horses taking part in the birthday celebrations. King Charles was actually born in November, but British monarchs usually hold the official ceremony in the summer when the weather is more ideal.

So let's go to CNN's Anna Stewart again at Buckingham Palace. The King running late it seems.

STEWART: Possibly. And I don't think King Charles likes to be late. We did see a car that looked like it might have had a sovereign escort to it arriving at Buckingham Palace. It's possible, of course, that King Charles, maybe, maybe it was at Clarence House last night and has arrived there. So hopefully all of this will be getting underway soon.

This is a ceremony that dates back hundreds of years. It is the official birthday parade for a British monarch. Something we have every single year for Her Majesty the, Queen Elizabeth II. The late Queen, of course, last year was a beautiful day for the very last one. And today is an incredibly special one because it is King Charles' first.

Plus, we will be seeing King Charles actually on horseback for the inspecting of the troops and for the procession which should take off fairly shortly. We're looking at the gates of Buckingham Palace right now. You can see soldiers in position.

[05:35:04]

Everyone here you see, right here on this picture, is from the Household Division. You can see members of the Blues and Royals on the cavalry, on the horses. You can also see Foot Guards lining the gate.

And right now, we can see two soldiers approaching Buckingham Palace perhaps to get that procession underway. And King Charles will be joined, of course, by other members of the Royal Family for this. We will also see Princess Anne, who is the colonel of the Blues and Royals.

We'll see the Prince of Wales, Prince William. He is now the colonel of the Welsh Guards. The Welsh Guards, the ones who are Trooping the Colour today. We'll see Queen Camilla. She's likely to be in a carriage though, not on horseback. She is now the colonel of the Grenadier Guards.

The Duke of Kent, colonel the Scots Guards. And the Princess of Wales, Kate is the -- she is the colonel of the Irish Guards. Again, I think we might be seeing her in a carriage though as opposed to on horseback.

But this procession will take off. It'll head down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade where Trooping the Colour takes place. This is a much shorter procession route than we saw for the coronation, which was only five weeks ago, perhaps a good rehearsal in many ways.

The weather was pretty inclement. It is better today. It's a little bit hard. And in the rehearsals last weekend, Kim, it was a little bit hard for some of the Foot Guards particularly given they're wearing incredibly thick, sort of woolen tunics.

And you can imagine how heavy and how hot the bear skin hats are to wear and they do have to wear them for many hours and perform in true excellence, marching of a parade and Trooping the Colour. It is not easy. This is something that they rehearse. It does take place every year, but it's never without its hiccups. And without a fair bit of nerves I think going into it.

Now, we're still waiting for King Charles to leave Buckingham Palace for that procession. So things are running a little bit late, Kim. But hopefully, we'll see things kick off soon.

BRUNHUBER: Anna, you talked about the king being on a horse, and normally, we might have concerns about a mounted monarch, but not in this case, right?

STEWART: King Charles, if you've consider his military career, he's got one of the strongest bonds with the Armed Forces of any monarch. He actually trained with the RAF, he served with the Royal Marines. Early on in his military career, he was the colonel of the parachute regiment, an elite regiment and he decided to actually go through the very grueling training for that, just he says so he could look the soldiers in the eye when he took out that ceremonial role. He was also, of course, the colonel of the Welsh Guards, which is the regiment that's been true today and the regiment that his son, the Prince of Wales, is now the colonel of.

So many links here and Prince of -- Prince of Wales. King Charles is, of course, extremely competent on horseback. So I don't think anyone's got any qualms about that. He will be taking a slow pace, I imagine, down The Mall as well. And I'm sure this horse has been incredibly well trained.

And I must add, I have heard that the horses that you'll see today, there are 300 horses taking part. They go through a rigorous grooming process to make sure that there is not a hair out of place, so they should be gleaming and resplendent down The Mall. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And the king a noted polo player back in the day, anyway. So talk to me about the crowds out there, the mood in the crowd. What are the -- what's the anticipation now as there -- we're still waiting for the king to show up there at Buckingham Palace?

STEWART: Well, for many people, it's giving them a little bit of extra time to try and get a good spot long be a procession route to have a look. I think everyone is in much anticipation at this moment. I can see from here given everything is gone a little bit quiet, particularly, I think with some of the guards now in place.

We've had the national anthem being played. We've had some military bands. We've seen the kings chief Royal Horse Artillery take up position because they'll be firing off a gun salutes later in the day at the end of the Trooping of the Colour. So I feel like a lot of the pregame as it were has already taken place which means that everyone's gone a little bit quiet. And I think they're very much ready for the state pass.

You're looking at live pictures now of the king's procession. Those that will be taking part in it, ready to receive his majesty, the king, at the stage. Everyone's waiting. Let's hope this kicks off soon, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. So as we wait here, can you tell me a bit about just the significance for the king in his first Trooping the Colour ceremony here?

STEWART: I think to King Charles, this will be a really poignant moment for more reasons than one. Firstly, this is the first Trooping of the Colour for the king. So that is significant in and of itself, but also because of the deep connection that King Charles has with the Armed Forces. And with all of the arms of it, with the RAF, with the Marines, with the army.

[05:40:00]

So for him this is very much about strengthening that bond between the monarch and the Armed Forces, and particularly, of course, the Household Division, which is what this ceremony really focuses on. There are two cavalry regiments five Foot Guard regiments.

And each year, the Trooping the Colour is when the regimental flag of one of the Foot Guards' regiments is sort of paraded around Horse Guards Parade. And that is ceremonies so that all the soldiers within that regiment would recognize the regimental flag in battle, and it's done each year, so it switches which Foot Guards will troop that color.

This year is the Welsh Guards. And that's special because the Prince of Wales, Prince William, is now the colonel of the Welsh Guards. And that was a role that King Charles had before him.

So in many ways when you're looking at this Trooping the Colour, you're seeing the baton of history being passed on one generation to the next. I think it might also be a sober moment for King Charles, a somber moment, really, considering that this is the first since his queen -- since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, passed. And so I think there will also be a thought to that. So it will be triumph. It'll be jubilance, but it'll also be perhaps that little edge of sadness.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Well said. Anna Stewart, listen, we're going to take a break right now, but we're going to come back as soon as we see the king there for the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Still ahead, more coverage of the royal birthday continues with the new images from the celebrations as they unfold. Please do stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: And these are live pictures, this hour, King Charles is celebrating his first official birthday since taking the crown. We're seeing images from London where the King is joining hundreds of soldiers in the Trooping the Colour Parade to mark his big day.

And we're going to bring in Anna Stewart who is at Buckingham Palace. The king, a little bit late in the ceremony. Tell us so what you're seeing and talk us through the parade.

STEWART: So what we were seeing now is I think the king's procession is about to take off. We are looking at live pictures now of Buckingham Palace, which is behind me. You will see the procession hopefully taking off. We just saw a car leaving Buckingham Palace. I couldn't actually quite glimpse who was in it, but we've just heard the national anthem playing.

And I believe we should be seeing King Charles on horseback with other members of the Royal Family. All colonels and chief of the various regiments of the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry leaving Buckingham Palace shortly.

Let's listen in because I think we can hear some of the military commands taking place.

You see the Blues and Royals on horseback. This is the regiment that Prince Harry, of course, served for many years. And Princess Anne, Princess Royal. She is now colonel of the Blues and Royals. And she's expected to be on horseback for this ceremonial procession today.

All eyes on the gates of Buckingham Palace right now. We are looking there. You see the balcony shots, of course, above where we expect to see King Charles leaving Buckingham Palace. That is where King Charles will be appearing once the whole ceremony of Trooping the Colour has ended.

[05:45:08]

But right now, all eyes beneath this, at that gate, where we should see King Charles and the other members taking off. This is the king's troop Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal band. You'll hear lots of regimental music, of course, throughout today, lots of ceremony to take place.

Members of the Household Cavalry here passing by the gates of Buckingham Palace, making their way down The Mall where they will be ending at Horse Guards Parade.

BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in royal watcher, Bidisha Mamata, as you're watching these same pictures here, as we're waiting for King Charles to begin the Trooping of the Colour. Talk to me about the importance of this for him and the difference between this and what we saw at the coronation.

STEWART: So we're just talking about what the difference is between this ceremony today and what we saw at the coronation.

BIDISHA MAMATA, ROYAL WATCHER: The coronation was very sober. It was very much about pageantry. It was almost like the Disney medieval version of the Royal Family. This is much more connected to King Charles. It is King into his long relationship with the military. It is really proclaiming that this new monarch has a deep and abiding respect for the military. That's why you're seeing all of this glorious pageantry military music, drummers, pipers, beautiful bear skin hats.

STEWART: Hot bear skin hats.

MAMATA: Very hot, wool uniforms. All of the insignia are out here, but it's very military focused. And in fact, it's organized with military precision, even though the monarch is a touch late, but he's just on time for us.

STEWART: We are now looking at live pictures of the royal procession finally taking off, leaving Buckingham Palace. You can see in a carriage there. You can see Queen Camilla. Queen Camilla, of course, is colonel of the Grenadier Guards.

You can also see the Princess of Wales there in resplendent green, perhaps a note of that, she is panel of the Irish Guards and joined by three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. And you are now looking at other members of the Royal Family who also hold the position of colonels within the Royal Family and members of the military.

Of course, you've also got the colonel of the Life Guard, the colonel of the Coldstream Guards. And all of this is being led, of course. Oh, yes. All this being led by the Household Division brigade, Major Lieutenant Colonel James Shaw. Let's listen in.

Lots of cheers from the people gathered here to have a look at it. Big day for Prince William, of course, he was colonel of the Welsh Guards. He will be Trooping the Colour today. Resplendence in their uniforms. And there's all the Blues and Royals there in their blue tunics and the red plumes.

You can see the flags waving, thousands of people have come out to see huge cheers. Huge cheers for Queen Camilla, the Princess of Wales.

I'll bringing in Bidisha Mamata. Just talk us through what you're seeing here. This is a magical moment really for the British public.

MAMATA: This is a really extraordinary day. Look at the clarity and the closeness with which we're seeing the Royal Family, but also their strong connection to the military. This is much more intimate, I feel, than the coronation was. We are celebrating the king's official birthday. His real -- his real birthday is in November, which is a little bit inclement, here we are in June.

And we are being given the message that this is a monarch who is deeply connected to all branches of the military. And he has been since childhood and his youth. And now as a very mature leader who has been here for his mother's Trooping of the Colour for all of these years. Now, this is his first one as king.

[05:50:07]

STEWART: And we all see them heading toward Horse Guards Parade. And this will be, of course, where the king has to inspect the line of the Foot Guards, inspecting the line, I'm told, he will be inspecting very closely at a -- be calling up any regiments that isn't spick and span.

MAMATA: I absolutely do not believe he is going to criticize anyone for the state of their uniform. This is an event which has been rehearsed for months in the making. In fact, we famously know that it was on such a hot day that a few soldiers fainted and then immediately got up again such is their training. None of that's going to happen today.

This is all being done with exceptional grace and elegance and poise and self-awareness. I'm sure that the inspection is purely ceremonial, and nobody needs to worry because look how immaculate they are.

STEWART: They are immaculate, and a lot of rehearsing goes into a huge event like this with hundreds and hundreds of soldiers, hundreds of horses. And, of course, a big event for the Royal Family. Thank you very much, Bidisha. We will, of course, be coming back to you.

We are looking now at pictures of the royal procession as they head for Buckingham Palace. And they arrive at Horse Guards Parade. This is where Trooping the Colour will be taking place. All eyes, of course, on the Royal Family, the first for King Charles. Back to you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much and we will be back with more right after this. Please do stay with us.

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[05:55:21]

BRUNHUBER: All right. We're bringing you live pictures of King Charles celebrating his first official birthday since taking the crowd. This is the Horses Parade. The images from London where the king is joining hundreds of soldiers in the Trooping of the Colour Parade to mark the big day.

Now, you will probably know that King Charles was actually born in November, but the monarchs usually hold the official ceremony in the summer when the weather is more ideal. So we're going to see the king inspecting the troops at the Horse Guard Parade, and then they'll ride back to Buckingham Palace.

There'll be a 41 gun salute and then a fly past and that's going to last maybe 15 minutes or so. And then that includes about 70 aircraft from the Navy, the Army, Air Force, they'll all be participating. Will feature a range of aircraft. Some of them dating back from the 1940s.

And in total, the ceremony will take about three hours. It started a little bit late. We're just watching the procession here. And we'll bring you more throughout the day here on CNN.

That wraps this hour. I'm Kim Brunhuber. You can follow me on Twitter @kimbrunhuber. "CNN THIS MORNING" is next.

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