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CNN International: Millions in U.S. Under Air Quality Alerts Due to Canadian Wildfire Smoke; Major Airline Delays Ahead of Holiday Weekend; Second Night of Unrest in France After Teen Killed in Traffic Stop; WSJ: Prigozhin Planned to Seize Military Leaders; Key Witnesses Questioned in 2020 Election Probe. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 29, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Bianca is off this week. But just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out to West those are the white things. And then here the gray in the middle. That's where the smoke is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's this elderly couples behind me. And like these two can barely walk, and now they're standing in lines for 10 hours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In recent weeks investigators sat down with Rudy Giuliani, who is representing former President Trump, and helping him file a lot of challenges to overturn the 2020 election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With Yevgeny Prigozhin now believed to be in Belarus, questions still remain about what he undertook in his insurrection over the weekend.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It's Thursday June 29th 9:00 a.m. here in London, 3:00 a.m. in the Midwest U.S. Where millions of Americans will be waking up to an unhealthy air quality level in the coming hours. Chicago experienced the worst air quality in the world on Wednesday. Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is blanketing dozens of states from the Midwest to the East Coast yet again. Meteorologists say that haze is expected to stick around for the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, nearly 85 billion people from California to Alabama and as far north as Illinois are under heat alerts. The National Weather Service said New Orleans has surpassed the record for the most number of excessive heat warnings in a year. Officials in Texas say at least 11 people have died in just one county, due to heat related causes. And now that he heat wave is set to expand northwards, and eastwards. We have the latest now from CNN meteorologist Chad Myers. CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The big high pressure in the central

plains of the United States, finally giving up some of its grip of pushing a lot of that heat off to the east into places like Mobile, into Birmingham, into New Orleans. Where the excessive heat warnings are now sliding off to the east and away from west Texas, where all of that massive heat has been over the past couple of days. The high tomorrow in Dallas 102, 101 in Shreveport. But look down here along the Gulf Coast. This is muggy down here too, a lot of humidity in the air. It's going to feel like 110 to 115 degrees in some places.

And remember, the numbers you see here and the heat index you might see at your TV or somewhere else, those numbers are in the shade. When you go out in the sunshine, it's going to even feel warmer than that. Dallas, finally down below 100 for a high on Saturday, only 97.

Something else going on around the Great Lakes, Ohio valley, all of the smoke from the Quebec and Ontario wildfires making another approach to this area here. Had the same kind of idea about three or four weeks ago where the smoke was a very intense in the eastern part of the United States, especially the Northeast. And this is what it looks, clouds to the east, clouds c to the west -- those are the white things. And then here, the gray in the middle. That's where the smoke is.

And this earlier today, this is Cleveland Ohio, you should be able to see buildings, because two and a half days ago, at the same time of day, it looked like that. You could actually see the city. Now visibility is well below two miles at times. Breathing the air is dangerous for some people, and even can be in the 200 to 300 parts per million category. All of these red dots, orange dot, yellow dots. And a lot of that is actually moving off towards the east and to the northeast into some bigger cities.

So, here's what the smoke looks like from the computer model right now. Mostly, Chicago and westward, back down towards St. Louis into Missouri, and then off to the east a little bit less. I'm going to put it into motion and show you what happens. A couple thunderstorms pop up, and mix some of that air up, watch some of that smoke away and then by really by Friday and Saturday, it is a lot better. It is still going to be hot, your parts per million are going to be 100 to 150. There still may be yellow or maybe even orange in some spots. But at least it gets better from here.

FOSTER: The severe weather is also having an impact on air travel ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend. Hundreds of thousands of customers are stranded or were stranded due to canceled or delayed flights.

[04:05:00]

With more than 1,100 cancellations, nearly 7,000 delays on Wednesday, and already about 300 cancellations and more than 400 delays today. The stalls where only one factor behind the nightmare, staffing shortages at both U.S. airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic control operations made a bad situation even worse. Here's more on U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaking Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Tomorrow will be a big test. We think tomorrow will be the busiest day of this holiday travel weekend. It may even prove to be the busiest day for air travel since the pandemic. Now, already a couple times this year we've had that mark, Memorial Day for example, that was the busiest day at the time since the pandemic. That went quite well in terms of delays and cancellations. But there's no question that with all the, storms, including severe storms popping up and happening over some of the key hubs in the country, it's created a lot of challenges for the system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The delays and cancellations we've been seeing is only raising concern heading into the busy holiday weekend, naturally CNN's Pete Muntean has the details for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Flight cancellation fallout is only just beginning with airlines still recovering after leaving countless passengers in the lurch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the worst travel experience in my lifetime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like an apocalypse. It really does.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's certainly been a test of patience.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): The latest numbers from FlightAware show airlines in the United States have canceled more than 7,000 flights since Saturday. Tuesday night, thunders storms led to ground stops, halting flights to all three of New York's main airports. At La Guardia, the Federal Aviation Administration warned of gridlock on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're literally, you know, trying to work you out of here with 45 airplanes waiting.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who had his own flight canceled Tuesday, said airlines are improving over last summer when they canceled more than 50,000 flights in total.

BUTTIGIEG: What's different this year compared to a year ago, is that there is more cushion. We're seeing more of the staffing that there needs to be. But clearly there's a long way to go.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): But United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is putting the blame on the federal government, facing shortages of air traffic controllers. The FAA frankly failed us this weekend, Kirby said in a Monday memo, citing an impact on 150,000 customers.

United remains in the top spot for cancellations nationwide for the fifth straight day. Tuesday, the carrier called for its own ground stop for its flights bound to its hub in Newark.

SARA NELSON, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: It is ridiculous to say that this is only the FAA.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants insists United needs to look at its own problems. Flight attendants have waited on hold with the airline for hours to get their flight assignments.

NELSON: United could have planned for over a year to avoid this chaos that we're seeing right now.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Now the worry is whether airlines can handle the July 4th holiday rush with the threat of more storms looming. The Transportation Security Administration is expecting 2.8 million people at airports nationwide this Friday, the highest number since 2019.

ANDY GROSS, AAA SPOKESMAN: Expect delays. Expect cancellations. Get to the airport early.

MUNTEAN: We're also hearing from passengers who've been waiting on hold for hours to try and find a new flight. Some have not been able to find a seat until Monday. It's been a really taxing run for passengers nationwide. Making matters worse, on Wednesday, in Charlotte, a Delta flight landed with its nose landing gear up. Thankfully, nobody hurt in that incident, but one of four runways will be closed in Charlotte until Thursday afternoon.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: It really was bumpy, but safe landing for passengers on a Delta Airlines flight in North Carolina on Wednesday. The pilot was able to safely land the plane after its nose landing gear failed to deploy, as Pete was saying. Here's what some passengers experienced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(Passengers applause)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The cabin burst into applause upon landing. No injuries were reported, but airport officials say the event caused delays to other flights. Pete was saying, before landing, traffic controllers saw the landing gear door open, but no gear came down. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

We are following a tense situation across France, where French President Emmanuel Macron called a meeting of the Inter-ministerial crisis unit earlier today. It's all in response to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PROTESTER AND FIRES IN THE STREET)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: A second night of protests after a teenager shot dead in a traffic stop. The country is on edge, with more protests planned for later today.

[04:10:00]

Protesters overturned and burned cars and set fire to government buildings and schools -- according to officials. A government spokesperson has condemned the violence, telling protesters they're not doing the teen justice.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me now. We've had similar events recently, haven't we? But the protest only lasted one night. This is -- went to the second night, potentially into the weekend now, and there's some concern it may be something very difficult for the authorities to handle.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Max. As you just, mention French President Emmanuel Macron stepped out of that inter- ministerial crisis meaning just about an hour ago. His first comments were about the demonstrations last night. He described it as intolerable, or unjustifiable violence.

According to French authorities, many buildings were set alight, including schools, dozens of cars were set on fire by protesters, and at least 24 police officers were injured. Police responded -- and I believe we have images to show you of that -- with a crack down using tear gas. They arrested at least 150 people as well. Most of this back and forth taking place in the suburb of Nanterre, where this 17-year- old boy was allegedly shot by a police officer at a traffic stop.

And today, France is set to be rocked by more demonstrations, Max. The mother of the has called for a march for justice today. And yes, of course, President Macron has called for peace. He's called for justice. He's promised an investigation. He's called the killing of the 17-year-old boy senseless, unjustifiable. The police officer who is alleged to have carried out this shooting is in custody, and he is undergoing questioning by prosecutors.

But you have to take a step back and see this within the wider context. Arab communities, communities of color, activists, rights groups, have long accused the French police of systemic discrimination, of excessive use of force, particularly when it comes to policing communities of color. This incident -- and that video of course, that very traumatic video, that shows the police officer saying -- or someone in the video saying, I'll put a bullet in your head, and the car driving off.

When he That very dramatic video, will only add to the sense of distrust between these communities of color, between these areas, and of course French police. So President Macron absolutely has his work cut out for him. He is treating this, and French authorities are treating this as an isolated incident. But these communities are simply not seeing it this way. They are seeing it within the wider context of these accusations of systemic discrimination -- Max.

FOSTER: Salma, thank you.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking -- or expected to speak at a business forum today. It's the latest high-profile appearance as he works to reassert his authority after last weekend's rebellion by Wagner Group and their boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. On Wednesday, Mr. Putin visited the Dagestan region in southern Russia where supporters gave him an enthusiastic welcome. The Russian leader says he never doubted the support of Russian citizens during the uprising.

Meanwhile, the "Wall Street Journal" reports Yevgeny Prigozhin had plans to capture Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu and Army General Valery Gerasimov. But he abandoned the idea after Russia's Federal Security Service found out and decided to march on Moscow.

CNN's Clare Sebastian following developments joining me here in London. There's so much mystery about this all the time. We're learning a bit more.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think we're getting a sense from these various reports -- and we haven't unconfirmed them. But it's -- obviously the "Wall Street Journal" saying the FSB got wind of it and Prigozhin changed his plans. "The New York Times" has reported sighting U.S. officials familiar with intelligence, that said Sergei Surovikin, a very high ranking general in the Russian military, former commander of operations in Ukraine, may have known in advance about Prigozhin's plans.

Plus, the CNN reporting we have that U.S. intelligence had built up a very detailed picture of what Prigozhin was doing. You get a sense that people inside and outside of Russia were somehow aware of what was going on. And perhaps if the "Wall Street Journal" report is true, that contributed to a level of chaos, on Prigozhin's side and the lead up to this.

I think the key thing now is that -- for the Kremlin, this means they're still very much in damage control mode. You saw those images of Putin in Dagestan. Very unusual for him to be out amongst the crowd in short sleeves, perhaps a bit of counter programming to the support we saw for Wagner in Rostov. That sort of popular support as they left the city. I think the Kremlin is obviously now having to tamp down rumors that there was complicity in the top ranks of the military with what Prigozhin was planning. The Kremlin dismissing that speculation and gossip.

And also the concern that Prigozhin might have enjoyed some popularity and that could continue to undermine Putin. So, they are certainly dealing with a lot at the moment, it is good they are not over or not done seeking some kind of retribution for what have been.

FOSTER: Clare, thank you.

[04:15:00]

The investigation to the 2020 election appears to be heating up. With federal prosecutors recently interviewing key figures with first had knowledge of those events. We'll have the latest from Washington.

Plus, salvage crews recovered pieces of an ill-fated submersible, along with possible remains of passengers.

And then, IRS whistleblower claims political interference prevented agents from pursuing more serious charges against Joe Biden's son Hunter. Those stories and much more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: There's new testimony by two prominent figures who had firsthand information related to Donald Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was interviewed yesterday by the special counsel's team. You'll recall that Trump had pressed Raffensperger to find thousands of votes that would give him the win in Georgia.

And we've learned another key figure ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani has also been questioned in recent weeks.

[04:20:00]

Giuliani was amongst the most vocal in claiming, without proof, that the election was stolen. For the latest on all of this, here is CNN's Paula Reid in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Over the past several weeks, there has been an uptick in activity in the special counsel's investigation into January 6th. In recent weeks, investigators sat down with Rudy Giuliani who was representing former President Trump and helping him file a lot of challenges to overturn the 2020 election.

Now Giuliani had previously been subpoenaed back in November by the Justice Department, looking specifically for information about any payments he received when he was filing those challenges. But then, once Jack Smith took over the probe, Giuliani didn't hear anything for over six months, according to sources. So, it's notable that he has sat down for what is described as a voluntary interview.

But usually when it takes investigators that long to reach out to you, it's suggested you could potentially be a target in a probe and not just a witness. Though at this point, it's unclear if Giuliani will be charged.

Investigators also on Wednesday, spoke with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Now Raffensperger is a key witness in an alleged campaign to try to pressure the state of Georgia to overturn their election results. He had a now infamous January 2021 call with then President Trump, who is urging him to find additional votes to try and overturn the states election results.

Now Raffensperger is certainly not expected to be a target, but absolutely a key witness as the state pressure campaign is just one of the many aspects around January 6th that Jack Smith is investigating. So it appears that he is getting closer to possible charging decisions, potentially even by the end of the summer.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The longtime legal battle between Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll isn't over. Just weeks after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist and awarded her $5 million, Trump is now countersuing. He's claiming Carroll defined him when she appeared on CNN following the verdict and had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR, THIS MORNING This jury found that Trump did not rape you. What about that moment?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably can explain the legal --

HARLOW: Sure, and I want you to. But I just wonder, E. Jean, what went through your head when you heard that.

E. JEAN CARROLL, WON SEXUAL ABUSE, DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST TRUMP: Well, I just immediately say in my own head, oh, yes you did, oh yes you did. See, that's my response.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Carroll's lawyer called Trump's counter suit another attempt to avoid accountability. Trump continues to insist that he does not know Carroll.

U.S. President Joe Biden is placing the health of a U.S. economy at the center of his reelection campaign. Speaking Wednesday in Chicago, the president trying to draw a sharp contrast with the Republican economic policies, that he says has a failed middle-class Americans for decades. He laid out the specific steps he will pursue if reelected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First, making smart investments in America. Second, educating and empowering American workers to grow the middle class. And third, promoting competition to lower costs to help small businesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The Biden administration believes that inflation is finally easing and that the job market remains strong. But there are plenty of weak spots in the broader economy. According to latest polls, about three quarters of Americans believe it is doing poorly.

Now first Netflix and now Costco. The wholesale store is cracking down on sharing membership cards. The company says, it will now enforce I.D. checks at self checkout lanes to close a loophole that allow people to use membership cards that didn't belong to them. Costco has around 120 million members worldwide. Members pay $60 a year for regular membership or $120 a year for an executive card.

President Biden issuing a strong denial that he had any role in the IRS investigation of his son Hunter. But a whistleblower who investigated the case is publicly saying otherwise. The details just ahead.

Plus, newly released camera footage or body camera footage is giving us a terrifying look at a mass shooting in Texas.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

The government of France called a top-level crisis meeting to deal with increasingly violent protest. They follow the alleged police shooting and death of a 17-year-old boy during a traffic stop. President Macron called it unexplainable and inexcusable.

And wide sways of the U.S. are in the grip of searing heat waves. Almost 85 million people from California to Alabama to Illinois are under heat alerts. But New Orleans setting a new record -- a record number for excessive heat warnings.

Now after ten days of searching the ocean floor near the wreckage of the Titanic, crews have recovered what appear to be human remains, and large parts of the doomed submersible Titan. The evidence was brought to a port in Canada, on Wednesday. Paula Newton has those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): The U.S. Coast Guard announced that it had found what it presumed to be human remains on the sea floor that would be from the submersible Titan. They recovered these remains and now say that the United States medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of those presumed human remains.

And of course, the family and friends of those five passengers who died on the Titan, they will be comforted by this but also will feel again profound grief, given what the U.S. Coast Guard says was an implosion of that Titan submergible.

What's also happening now is that on Wednesday, the Horizon Arctic retrieved debris, in fact, large pieces of debris. They say that they have finished their work out there at the site of the Titanic wreck. And what's extraordinary here is that they did in fact recover large pieces of that debris. You can see in fact, the dome with the viewport and a good chunk even of the passenger frame. Again, at issue here, is that carbon fiber material that was used to hold those passengers and was used in this kind of deep-sea exploration.

U.S. Coast Guard says that now they will begin to examine all of it. And again, there are many investigations underway including here in Canada. That investigation expected to take well over a year.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Texas police have released the body camera footage from an officer who confronted and killed a mass shooter last month. Eight people including two young children died ...

[04:30:00]