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More Than 90 Million At Risk For Severe Storms Today; Record Number Of Travelers Expected For July 4th; United Airlines Cancels Most Flights Of Any Carriers; Protests Erupt In Cities Across France; Court Blocks Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Program; Actors Delay Potential Strike, Extend Negotiations; Impact Of Writers Strike Felt Across Other Industries; Inside A Field Hospital Treating Ukraine's Wounded; July 1: New Fiscal Year Means New Laws In Effect. Aired 11a- 12p ET

Aired July 01, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:59]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello for joining me this holiday weekend, thank you so much. I'm Sara Sidner in for the fantastic Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. This holiday weekend is set to be a record breaker. More than 50 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more according to AAA. That's the highest total ever for a Fourth of July holiday since AAA has been forecasting the travel numbers.

From the roads to the skies, many of the people traveling will have to contend with threat of severe weather. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Today, more than 90 million Americans could get hit with damaging winds, hail, and even tornadoes. Those threats are expected to lead to disruptions at many travel hubs. So far today, more than 1,700 flights have been delayed. And more than 500 have been canceled.

Although it will be a particularly hot day for many people across the U.S., the threat right now is those severe storms that we just told you about.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here with us. Hanging with us for the weekend. Allison, I hate to ask this. I just want people to be happy and enjoy this weekend but where is the worst of it right now?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It is a great question Sara. So let's start. Right now, the worst section of storms is really focused over the Ohio River Valley. Cincinnati, you know, Atlanta is the hub for Delta, but Cincinnati also has a lot of Delta flights out of it and there's likely going to be some delays there as this strong line of thunderstorms move through.

But you also have other areas across the Midwest that are going to be dealing with the potential for some delays, cancellations, not just in the air, but also on the roadways. A lot of major interstates that run through this his area right here, all of these areas have the potential for damaging winds, hail and yes, even some tornadoes.

And then also this secondary area across portions of western Texas. Now, it's going to be not one, but two separate rounds. The first is the one that is ongoing right now across areas of the Ohio Valley.

Then by this afternoon, that secondary wave begins to push back in, and will continue through the evening hours. Once we transition into Sunday, that system pushes farther east. So now areas of the mid Atlantic and the northeast also starting to see the potential for some severe thunderstorms and more strong thunderstorms developing across the southeast.

So a lot of target points here, based off of where you may or may not be traveling.

Heat is another big story. We're starting to see a reprieve at least in portions of Texas, but a little bit farther east, it is a different story. We're still dealing with a lot of that heat for at least a few more days.

Out to the west, this one is now starting to expand. But here's the thing. In the southeast, at least here, we're going to start to see those temperatures drop back. Dallas, for example, still triple digits today, but finally getting back down to just double digits once we get to tomorrow.

And a little bit more of a delayed effect for New Orleans and Mobile, but we will still eventually get back down to those double digits. It's just going to take a little bit longer.

Out to the west, it is the opposite direction, the temperatures are now just continuing to go up. Say for example, Salt Lake City 94, today, up to almost triple digits by Monday. Las Vegas, Palm Springs also continuing to see their temperatures going back up.

Specifically speaking for Las Vegas, look at this, you've got a lot of those numbers well above the average and yes the average is 103, but I would like to make one point. Yesterday, the first time Las Vegas so far this year had hit triple digits. That's interesting, because that still takes time. The latest starting point in the year since the 1960s.

Again, it has been a very long time since they've had that. Again Friday's high, reaching that 102. That's the latest triple digit date since June 30th of 1965, Sara.

SIDNER: I noticed it was 123 in Death Valley. Now we know why it is called Death Valley, ladies and gentlemen.

Allison Chinchar thank you for all of that. And let's hope that the threat of those storms start to calm down but they're already causing real problems for travelers this Independence Day weekend.

[11:04:56] SIDNER: CNN's Gloria Pazmino is at the Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. Gloria, what are you seeing right now? Frustration happening there yet?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have to say, Sara, people who I have spoken to so far have sort of planned for the frustration. They came here expecting to have delays,

They came here expecting to see some problems, so people have come in anticipation of that. Now as you said, we're at Newark Airport. This is one of the busiest airports in the country. And this is also a United Airlines hub. And United has had a really hard time bouncing back from all of the cancellations and delays that we saw last week.

Now, we'll talk about United in just one minute. But just to give you an idea of what is expected this weekend. More than 50 million people are expected to travel by air or by car according to AAA. And the Transportation Security Administration says that they expect to screen 17 million passengers by the time the holiday weekend is over.

Those are record-breaking numbers.

Now, I spoke to some of those passengers this morning, and as I said, they came prepared. So far, even though they're seeing some delays, they're not totally hopeless just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA ANDERSON, TRAVELING TO ORLANDO: We're here about three hours early. And then it was delayed 45 minutes, so I think we're in good timing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Delayed. It's delayed about 30 minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero problems whatsoever. I've seen a bunch of stuff on social media, people in airports for days, but no, I got lucky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So some passengers certainly getting lucky. Now in terms of adding insult to injury here, you have the United Airlines CEO, forced to issue an apology after it was revealed that he flew on a private jet, out of Teterboro Airport, which actually is not far from here. This happened as the meltdown for United Airlines was unfolding right here in Newark Airport.

So as thousands of people were stranded and his employees were trying to get people to where they were going, he was flying on a private jet.

This is what he had to say about it, he said "Taking a private jet was the wrong decision, because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home.

I sincerely apologize to our customers and our team members who have been working around the clock for several days, often through severe weather, to take care of our customers.

So Sara, in terms of optics, certainly not what you want from an airline that's having a hard time getting its customers to where they're going, but so far, things here remain calm and it seems like what is expected to be a record-breaking weekend is off to a pretty good start, Sara?

SIDNER: Calm is a good place to start. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much for your reporting.

All right. After a week of travel hell, as you just heard, marred by delays and cancellations, United Airlines says it is getting back on track for what this busy holiday weekend will bring.

We will get more now from CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: From Chicago to California, July 4th travelers remain undaunted after thousands of trips melted down this week. United Airlines canceled the most flights of any carrier accounting for 40 percent of all cancellations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a bit ridiculous and I'm hoping that my bag is here.

MUNTEAN: United says it is grateful to its customers who endured a lot of disruptions. Many became separated from their checked bags.

United now acknowledges its operational issues, after CEO Scott Kirby put the blame on FAA air traffic controller shortages in New York.

United workers who were stranded with passengers, across the country, are pushing back.

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

MUNTEAN: The good news, says Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, is that cancellations are down compared to last year.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: There need to be more resources for air traffic control, but it is important for airlines to create enough cushion and resilience in the system.

MUNTEAN: Despite delays, Friday stands to set a new post-pandemic record for air travelers. The Transportation Security Administration says it will screen 2.82 million passengers nationwide rivaling an all-time record set in 2019.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be big this year.

MUNTEAN: Though the majority of travel this holiday will be by car, AAA says in total 50 million people will travel 50 miles or more. The highest in 18 years. A gallon of gas costs an average of $1.30 less than a year ago, the second biggest one-year drop in more than three decades.

One silver lining on the roads, after struggles in the skies.

ANDREW GROSS, AAA SPOKESPERSON: Be prepared. Expect delays. Expect cancellations.

MUNTEAN: The numbers are already huge. At the world's busiest airport in Atlanta, TSA there screened a whopping 31,000 people in just five hours on Friday morning.

[11:09:58]

MUNTEAN: But the rush is far from over. The TSA says when it is all done, it will screen a total of 17.7 million people at airport checkpoints across the country. That includes next week when everybody begins coming home, the next big test for airlines.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: All right.

On to another story that is topping headlines, President Biden says he is now searching for a new path to soften the blow for student loan borrowers. His promise coming after of course the Supreme Court struck down his Student Loan Forgiveness executive order. The court ruled 6-3 to block millions of borrowers from receiving up to $20,000 in federal student debt relief.

That means payments will restart in October, following a years-long suspension due to COVID.

Joining us now, Danielle Douglas Gabriel, She's a national higher education reporter for the "Washington Post".

Danielle, thank you so much showing up on this holiday weekend and doing the work. I want to ask you about this. The president said that he will utilize the 1965 Higher Education Act to give relief to borrowers. Does it appear he can use that same act to cancel student debt? Or is that something he wants to do?

Danielle, I think we have lost your audio at this point in time. And so we will try to get you back. We are working on that. But we're going to move on to this and then we will get back with Danielle as soon as we sort out those technical difficulties.

Still ahead, cars set ablaze and more than a thousand people detained as protests erupt across cities in France for a fourth night in a row, after a teen was shot and killed by police. We are live in France. That is coming up next.

[11:11:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SIDNER: More than 1,300 people were detained in France overnight as demonstrators continue to protest the death of a 17-year-old boy who was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop just outside Paris.

Officials say more than a thousand cars, and you see one of them there, set ablaze and hundreds of buildings were damaged in major cities across France during the fourth straight night of unrest.

The continued violence comes despite French police deploying 45,000 officers and armored vehicles across the country. But so far, the French government has resisted calls to impose a state of emergency.

For the very latest, let's go now to CNN's Nic Robertson. Can you give us a sense of what is going on? I can see behind you there still does seem to be people in the streets there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I would say the situation on this street feels relatively calm. It was different an hour ago. A fire broke out in the bushes here. The fire brigade came in. The army came out, secured the area. But they put out the fire and they went away. The funeral for Nahel has gone on quite close to here, not with any incidents at all. There were about a thousand mourners came out to the mosque, there were people standing in the street for prayers as well. And it was very respectful.

And you feel like with the sunshine out, that things are very calm, and those statistics for last night, while shocking, you know -- 1,350 cars burned, 26 city halls burned, 24 schools attacked -- those sorts of statistics sound really bad, but the numbers were actually lower than the previous night. The police had more police out on the street, 45,000 as you were saying. They had stronger armored vehicles. The government has had no large gatherings. They also took the buses and trams off the street last night at 9:00 p.m.

So there have been mitigations put in place, and I think that gets to the point of what the government is saying. It doesn't want to go to a state of emergency because it wants a graduated response. And that's where we seem to be.

The reality in this neighborhood is that right now, people would be nervous, and tense and concerned that when it gets dark, then there is that potential for the uptick in violence again.

And I think everyone, everyone is waiting to see what happens tonight, because it was slightly less violence last night. Does it continue to trend down? Obviously, the country is hoping, holding its breath for that.

SIDNER: Yes. And this is after weeks of protests over, you know, the retirement age changing. I do want to ask you about the teenager who people are very upset about his death, but the funeral for that teenager was held today. What can you tell us?

ROBERTSON: Yes, very calm, very somber, very solemn, and his mother said everyone was welcome. there was a request for journalists not to attend, journalists have not been particularly welcome in these neighborhoods. They're often seen as potentially part of the problem and so journalists respected that and stayed away, with us among them.

We watched from a very respectful distance. And it was a very quiet and moving affair to watch people holding prayers for Nahel. He's being laid to rest this afternoon in a cemetery here in Nanterre.

Again this is, you know, it is one part of a picture. I think for his family, really, this is all going to be now focused on getting justice. The police officer who shot him said that he feels legally justified in pulling the trigger and firing that fatal shot.

But the prosecutor says that's not the case. He's being detained for voluntary homicide at the moment. So I think for the family this is grieving, of course the community angered by it, and that a real desire for a sense of justice from all of this.

SIDNER: Nic Robertson you have been working very hard, first to Russia and now to France. We really appreciate all of your reporting there. Thank you.

[11:19:56]

SIDNER: Still ahead, America's largest actors union putting plans to strike against major studios and streaming services on hold for now. We'll discuss what another potential Hollywood strike could mean for your favorite shows. Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: President Biden says he is now searching for a new path to soften the blow for student loan borrowers. This promise comes, of course, after the Supreme Court struck down his student loan forgiveness executive order.

Joining us now Danielle Douglas Gabriel. We have her back with sound and everything. She's a national education reporter for the "Washington Post". Again, thank you for being here.

The president saying that he may utilize the 1965 Higher Education Act to give relief to borrowers. Could he use this to cancel student debt as well?

[11:24:52]

DANIELLE DOUGLAS GABRIEL, NATIONAL EDUCATION REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Well, first, thanks for having me.

And certainly, there are a lot of higher education experts who believe that this particular law, which governs the majority of financial aid and other policies within higher education, would be the appropriate authority.

However, there are a lot of other people who certainly believe that this authority would meet the same fate as the previous authority that the president tried to use to get this debt relief plan in that there will be legal challenges.

Those legal challenges may make their way to the Supreme Court and many folks believe that they would likely be struck down. So I feel like we're kind of restarting this process all over again at this stage.

SIDNER: The repayments now will begin this October. How long is it going to take or how long would Biden need to try and put another plan into effect?

GABRIEL: So the president has decided to go through a regulatory rule- making process using the Higher Education Act. Now, that is a process that on average takes months to actually get a draft rule in place, get public comment in place then create a finalized rule. Then it may take another year sometimes in order to get that rule into place.

Now the administration is saying that they're going to try to fast track this as much as they possibly can. But even if they're able to speed through the regulatory negotiated rule making, we're still looking at, at least another year, before seeing any rule in place.

And as I mentioned, it will likely face legal challenges, so that is likely to hold that up as well.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about this. The president was blasted by Republicans, who said he gave borrowers false hope. Here's what he had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I didn't give any false hope. The question was, whether or not, if I would do even more than what was requested. What I did I thought was appropriate and was able to get done and would get done.

I didn't give borrowers false hope but the Republicans snatched away the hope that they were given, and it's real. Real hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: This is another reflection where politics meets education. Do you think that the president will now try to use the court's decision as a rallying cry for his re-election?

GABRIEL: I mean I'm not a political reporter, I'm an education reporter, however, I think it would be, it would make sense that in an election year, the president would take advantage of the situation.

The two cases, one of which was brought by a conservative-leaning group with two borrowers out and was struck down but the over was brought by six states with Republican officials and certainly there was a concerted effort among conservatives to find folks who had standing in order to strike down the president's plan.

I would foresee that this would be a sticking point that the president could use to try to rally younger voters, to rally the 40 million or so people who would have benefitted from this program, who are upset, who are disappointed, who are angry, and certainly, many of them see Republicans as the reason why they're not getting their loans reduced or canceled all together.

SIDNER: Yes. And there were certainly people on the other side who said look we paid our loans, why should they be given a break. But you definitely have 43 million plus Americans who would have benefitted from this. So you do make a really good point there.

Danielle Douglas Gabriel, thank you so much for hanging out on this holiday weekend with us.

GABRIEL: Thank you.

SIDNER: A union representing 160,000 actors delaying plans to go on strike against major studios and streaming services. The Screen Actors Guild announced an extension of contract negotiations with the studios just hours before their contract was set to expire Friday night.

Earlier, members had overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike.

I want to talk more about this, with my girl, my ace, Lisa France -- Respers Frances -- we've got to get the middle name in there. CNN's senior entertainment reporter.

Lisa, the actors union had not been on strike against TV and film production since 1980. I didn't know this. Someone found that fact for me, which is a long time ago. Can you explain what they are negotiating over?

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: They're negotiating over multiple things. They're negotiating over money, and I have to thank my really good friend Laris Cross (ph) for pointing this out, you know. A lot of people say, you know, why should actors make more money, they make so much.

The vast majority of actors in this union do not make a lot of money. These are not the people that are making $10 and $20 million a picture or making $100,000 a week on TV, so they are, you know, talking about potentially striking over money, because the way the industry has changed, because of streaming, people are saying they're having to do more and making less.

[11:29:45]

FRANCE: So you know, if you live in Los Angeles or New York, it's nothing to see somebody that you may have seen on a TV show turn around and see them working in a restaurant, because people are not able to make a livable wage. These are not just the big stars. These are also the character actors, you know, the extras, people like that.

They also have concerns about artificial intelligence, like a lot of us do. They're worried that their work is going to be used to educate these A.I. machines, which then might be able to replace them. So if you can imagine working for multiple seasons on a show, and then them being able to take your work as an actor, put it into artificial intelligence, and then recreate you for a season of a show that you don't even have to participate in, or a sequel to a movie. So that is also a big concern.

SIDNER: It's crazy, a lot of people are worried about A.I. coming for their jobs, and the actors and writers as well, who are on strike, are worried about that.

When it comes to the extension though, does that really give people a sense like this argument is not as hot and this is a sign of progress between them and the studios?

FRANCE: Well, Fran Drescher, you know, many people know as the star of "The Nanny", she is the president of SAG and she has been coming out and speaking and being very positive and saying that we want to give ourselves as much time as possible to negotiate to get to where we need to go.

But there are a lot of experts in the industry who believe that there is going to be a strike anyway. They believe that it's just going to be very difficult for especially the streaming services to kind of turn loose some of the things that the actors and the writers who we see who are on strike say are needed in order for their contracts to catch up with where the industry has gone.

SIDNER: Yes, the strike is hard on everybody, I mean even trickling down to the people who are watching some of their favorite shows.

I do want to ask you who some of the high profile names are that are saying, you know what union, go for it, stand firm, let's go on strike.

FRANCE: I mean some of the stars we all love, and know their work extensively, like the Meryl Streeps of the world, and the Jennifer Lawrences, the Amy Schumers who have signed their names to a letter, saying, you know, we really have to work hard to negotiate a great deal for the actors.

And you know, a lot of them have said that they stand in solidarity with the writers and we also have to keep in mind that some of our favorite stars also are writers, so people like on Quinta Bronson (ph), you know, we love her on Abbott Elementary. You know, she's a writer and she is going to, you know, she's already on strike and so if as an actor if the actors go on strike, it is like she would be on double strike.

So you know, a lot of the actors are saying that they really and truly want to see the industry do right by them, do right by the writers, do right by the makeup artists. They want everybody to get their fair share.

SIDNER: How might the strike or the avoidance of it impact the writers' efforts? Because they have now been on strike for, what a couple of months?

FRANCE: Yes, it's been two months. And the writers, I've talked to a few writers just kind of like off the record, just people that I know, and they've said that if the actors go on strike, they feel like it just bolstered their case. It provides them with more power because, you know, people feel like they're stronger together.

So if the actors end up striking, they feel like that will just help to get Hollywood to come to the table, and work even harder to end the writers strike because then they'll have to also end the actors strike.

SIDNER: That makes good sense. I do want to mention we were just looking at some video from June 15th of the writers out there picketing. They have some of the funniest signs, you can tell who they are, by some of the things that they have written on their signs. It is extremely clever, and why we need great writers --

FRANCE: Absolutely.

SIDNER: -- to take care of this content. Lisa Respers France, thank you so much for coming and hanging out with us this weekend.

FRANCE: Thank you.

SIDNER: As the writers strike, speaking of which, wears on, many businesses are forced to lay off staff. CNN's Natasha Chen reveals the people not seen on the screen but who are deeply affected by it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yolanda Cendejas Garcia (ph), a janitor, was laid off from Paramount Studios shortly after the writers strike began. Fewer productions means less to clean.

Nearly two months later, she is collecting plastic bottles for cash. She's buying cheaper groceries. And says she will soon lose health insurance and worries about buying her diabetes medication.

And now SAG-AFTRA has announced an extension of talks over its deal with studios, while the 180,000 members have already overwhelmingly authorized a strike. These actors could add to more than 11,000 writers already on the picket line, and halt more productions.

YOLANDA CENDEJAS GARCIA, LAID OFF JANITOR, PARAMOUNT STUDIOS (through translator): The few savings I had are going away. When am I able to work again or what am I going to do? I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of stuff, huh?

CHEN: Marc Meyer Jr. (ph) laid off a dozen employees from his set and prop business in early June. This warehouse is usually full of people buzzing around, loading tables, chairs, lamps, into 15 trucks a day. But listen, right now in this 89,000 square foot warehouse, it is quiet.

[11:35:00]

MARC MEYER JR. OWNER, FAUX LIBRARY: Now, you know, we're lucky to have one order returned. CHEN: King's Deli, down the street from the Warner Brothers lot, is

seeing half their business that usually comes from catering for productions. Co-owner Rosie Blosser says even three years after COVID- 19 began, they never really returned to normal and now with the strike --

ROSIE BLOSSER, CO-OWNER, KING'S DELI: I'm trying to figure out like what can I do today to keep it going.

CHEN: Corey Levelle does not know the answer, either.

COREY LEVELLE, OWNER, SANDY ROSE FLORAL: We're all dying out here.

CHEN: She said she was forced to move her floral prop business to a new location at double the rent just before the strike began.

LEVELLE: We still have the paper tags hanging on the doors that describe whose office it is because they haven't had a chance to completely get set up yet.

CHEN: She has laid off all but one employee.

The 100-day WGA strike in 2007 and 2008 caused more than $2 Billion in economic damage. The writers union says adjusted for inflation, that means their current strike is costing the economy about $30 million a day.

KEVIN KLOWDEN, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, MILKEN INSTITUTE: The overall economic impact is far more widespread across the country than it was last time around.

CHEN: The Milken Institute's chief global strategist estimates that even outside of California there will be at least a $1 billion loss this time in major film hubs like Georgia and New York, impacting people never named as part of making movie magic --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're so below the line, we're below the credits.

CHEN: -- who are essential nonetheless, waiting for an agreement on a contract they will never even see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And action.

CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN -- Los Angeles.

SIDNER: Still ahead, we take you to a medical evacuation point on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. That is coming up next.

[11:36:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: As turmoil continues inside Russia between some member, high- ranking members of its military and President Putin, the fighting remains intense in Ukraine. The counter-offensive launched by Ukraine have made advances on the

southern and eastern front though progress appears to be slower than most of its allies were anticipating. And this morning officials say two civilians were killed, six others injured when a Russian cruise missile hit a school in Donetsk.

As the casualties mount, both civilian and military, CNN got a first- hand look at a Ukrainian field hospital, and the brutality of this war. And just a word of caution for you, this report does contain some extremely disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The doctors and nurses here have done this time and time again. Treating the wounded fresh from the front, assuring the soldiers that despite the pain, they will be all right.

Near the battles around Bakhmut this field hospital, known as a stabilization point where the wounded are hastily bandaged up by combat medics, get their first proper treatment by a full medical team. These soldiers were advancing on Bakhmut when they came under intense Russian artillery fire.

This stabilization point so far on this day has received more than 50 troops from the front, suffering from shrapnel, from artillery, and concussions.

Ukrainian military doesn't issue data on casualties, a recent poll conducted here found that almost 80 percent of Ukrainians have close relatives or friends who are injured or killed as a result of the full scale Russian invasion.

Andriy, a vascular surgeon is surprised there aren't even more wounded.

"Even during this counter-offensive," he says, "we have lower casualties than we expected.

Once the wounds have been cleaned and bandages applied, the soldiers will be moved to better-equipped hospitals elsewhere. Valentino studied bio technology in Kyiv when the war began on the 24th of February last year.

By February, 26th, I started working as a nurse, she says, and then worked in evacuations, clinics and now at this stabilization point.

Edward is still in shock, but his injury isn't serious.

"I'm ok," he says, "but it burns a lot. I think it was a piece of shrapnel. Something flew by me like this. I got lucky, it went right past me."

Not everyone here was that lucky.

Ben Wedeman, CNN -- outside Bakhmut. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: War is hell.

All right. Still ahead, more than 200 new laws related to abortion and LBGTQ rights take effect across the United States today. We'll take a closer look at some of those laws next.

[11:44:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Today not only kicks off the month of July, but also a new fiscal year. That means a slew of new state laws going into effect. The major legislative and polarizing changes are altering policies on abortion, education, and child labor.

CNN correspondent Isabel Rosales has more for us on this. Several GOP- led states made some pretty controversial moves including Florida. What are some of the laws that are taking effect there today?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Sara. Yes. Certainly Governor Ron DeSantis signed off on over 200 bills into laws in this legislative session.

Let's talk about three in particular starting with immigration. It is the Senate Bill 1718. It is a sweeping crackdown designed to curb illegal immigration.

So companies with 25 employees or more are now required to use e- verify. This is a federal software that will confirm the immigration status of new employees. It also repeals a law that previously allowed undocumented people to become lawyers.

Also, now banning undocumented people from driving in the state of Florida, even if they have a license from a different state that allows that. And hospitals -- hospitals are now required to ask patients about their immigration status on admissions forms.

[11:49:51]

ROSALES: We've seen numerous protests in the weeks leading up to this becoming a law in the state of Florida, thousands of people coming out with major concerns, stating that this is really going to take a toll on Florida's economy, in particular the agriculture, hospitality, and construction sectors.

So let's now talk about permit-less carry. This is another important new piece of law. This is House Bill 543, meaning that permits are no longer required for Floridians to carry hidden weapons in public. And it also ends current Florida requirements to undergo training before being allowed to carry a concealed weapon outside of the home.

However, this is not open carry. And we've seen Sara, sheriffs across the state including over in Pinellas County, Bob Gualtieri putting out PSAs warning folks about facts from myth when it comes to this new law. It is still illegal to carry a gun in gun-free zones, things like police departments, schools, courthouses, jails and polling places.

And finally, let's talk about a litany of new restrictions that are really impacting the LGBTQ community with gender-affirming treatments, for example, now banned for transgender minors. And so things like hormone blockers, sex reassignment surgeries.

Also bathrooms, look at that, it prohibits transgender people from using bathrooms that match with their identity. Instead they need to match -- the bathroom matching their sex assigned at birth.

Pronouns now restricted. You're not allowed to use the pronoun that you choose as a teacher or as a student. It must match your birth certificate, Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Isabel Rosales, lots of changes there that people need to know about you. Thank you so much.

ROSALES: Thank you.

SIDNER: All right. A quick programming note now. Make sure to join Anderson Cooper for a special hour on the Titan submersible underwater tragedy, the recovery effort and the dangers of deep see exploration. "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" airs tomorrow night at 8:00 on CNN.

We will be right back.

[11:51:56]

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SIDNER: We're following a strange new twist in a landmark Supreme Court ruling handed down just yesterday. The Supreme Court granted a Colorado web designer the ability to refuse to make websites for gay married couples as a violation of her First Amendment rights. A Christian woman named Lorie Smith brought the case. And in it, she claimed a man inquired about her services for his same-sex wedding. Here's the rub. The man at the center of that request says he never reached out to Smith. In fact, the man says he's straight and has been married to a woman for the past 15 years.

He told CNN he didn't submit a request for a web design for a same-sex wedding and says he was unaware of his information being a part of the court record until he was contacted by journalists, namely the "First Republic" this week.

He called the ruling quote, "disgraceful". Now legal representatives for the web designer told CNN that Smith doesn't do background checks on incoming requests to determine if the person submitting is genuine, but said the legitimacy of the request is genuine, telling CNN in a statement that no one should have to wait to be punished by the government to challenge an unjust law. She's speaking about the Colorado law.

Now that the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action as well, the future of racial diversity across college campuses is unclear. But higher education in California can offer a preview of what may happen. The state banned affirmative action back in 1996, which ultimately impacted black and Latino student enrollment.

CNN's Kyung Lah caught up with a California college student about his experience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Harvard, Yale, Columbia -- Wesley Zhou shows us the rejection letters that ended his Ivy League dream.

WESLEY ZHOU, UCLA JUNIOR: I'm a straight a student, you know, 4.0 GPA, 4.68 weighted GPA.

LAH: Did you get into any Ivy League schools?

ZHOU: I did not. I did not.

LAH: That was Zhou when we met him two years ago. This is where we find him today, soon to be a junior at UCLA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think in eliminating race in consideration would definitely be a lot fairer.

LAH: It helped you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. In some say it helped me.

LAH: Zhou says he was accepted to every University of California school in the state that banned affirmative action in 1996. What's happened here in California could signal the future for U.S. colleges without affirmative action.

UCLA professor Eddie Cole says the impact was immediate.

EDDIE COLE, UCLA PROFESSOR: As soon as that went into effect, you saw at places like Berkeley and UCLA the black student enrollment from our incoming freshmen dropped dramatically.

LAH: By more than half at those schools. Across the UC system, black and Latino enrollment fell sharply the next year without affirmative action. But in the decades to follow, the UC system still took a progressive approach to improve those numbers to mid 90s levels though black student enrolment still lags at UC Berkeley and UCLA only recently returned to mid 90s levels.

COLE: If the decision is made in 1996 and we fast forward to 2023 nearly three decades later to say the numbers have finally improved with the exception of Berkeley, imagine what it's going to look like on a national level.

You need to think about the legacy and impact that cost racial groups and why there are disparities decade after decade despite so many policies.

NIA MCCLINTON: I could easily walk into a classroom and say like I'm someone who doesn't belong here. That's not the truth, right.

LAH: Nia McClinton graduated from UCLA two years ago and now works in black student outreach. Without such outreach and funding, McClinton sees this.

Do you feel like a lot of doors were closed for black students in this country?

[11:59:53]

MCCLINTON: I'm worried that they will. So it's important to reach out and say like this is something that is attainable for you.

LAH: Zhou will soon be applying for medical school. He still believes affirmative action doesn't help him. But does see the impact beyond his own academic life.

Zhou: I will say this right. Affirmative action