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Extreme Heat Continues to Surge in most of U.S. and Europe; 40 People Died in a Flashflod at Central South Korea; Carlos Alcaraz Rules Wimbledon 2023; Architect Arrested in Gilgo Beach Murders; Kremlin Targets School in Pro-War Propaganda. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 17, 2023 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers, joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You're watching "CNN Newsroom." And I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, extreme weather in the U.S., there's no relief in sight for the sweltering heat, for tens of millions of people from coast to coast. While in the northeast, floods have turned deadly. That's why much of Europe is also suffering under record heat. Italy could see hottest record of temperatures. We will go live to Rome.

And the Kerch Bridge linking Crimea to Russia sits quiet after reportedly being hit by some sort of strike, we have a live report from London.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

Good to have you with us. And we begin with extreme weather that is bringing excessive heat and deadly flooding across the U.S. More than 80 million people are under heat alerts in it least 14 states, stretching from Washington State all the way to Florida. And the relentless blistering temperatures are breaking records by the day. Parts of California, Nevada and Arizona are seeing the mercury shoot well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, it's not excessive heat but too much water that's causing the distress in the northeast. In the past month, parts of New England and other northeastern states has seen 200 to 300 percent of their average monthly rainfall.

The dome of extremely hot air is what's behind the seemingly never- ending heat wave gripping the Southern and Western U.S. Here is CNN Meteorologist, Brandon Miller, to tell us if there is any relief in sight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRANDON MILLER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So the question that everyone wants to know is when will the heat wave in the U.S. Southwest break? And the answer is no time soon. These above average temperatures, we put this into motion going through the work week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday into Thursday. They really just expand.

The high pressure that has been here over the four corners region, near Nevada just sort of drifts a little bit. But that heat dome stays massive and it blocks any of these winds and rain that can cool things off and things are going to stay 10, 15 degrees above average. That is Fahrenheit above average for the next at least week. And we're talking the hottest times of the year.

So, it's -- take your hottest time of the year and at 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, and that is where we are. Nearly every day this week in Phoenix will be a record high. That's scary. And what's even scarier are the lows, 94, 95, 94. Those would be in the top five to 10 hottest nights Phoenix has ever had, any one of them. And you've got seven in a row. It's been since the last Sunday with the low, dropped below 90.

So that's a record stretch for them. We're setting records everywhere, Las Vegas, more of the same looking at setting a record and then staying above 110 all week long, again, lows, not dropping down where they should be. That is where heat turns deadly, the next several days here going through actually next weekend.

Here in the northern plains and even the northeast we've been dealing with a lot of rain. You're dealing with smoke from the Canadian wildfire but we're at least staying out of this record heat wave that shows no signs of breaking in the U.S. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Thanks for that. Well, people in Southern Europe are also sweltering with a scorching heat wave coming right in the midst of the busy summer tourist season. On the Spanish island of La Palma, a forest fire is only making matters worse. It's burning out of control, forcing at least 4,000 people to evacuate.

In Italy, at least one person has died and several tourists have collapsed from the heat. Sixteen Italian cities, including Rome and Florence, are under extreme health risk because of the heat. And people in France, Greece, Turkey, Croatia and Spain are also facing dangerously high temperatures.

So let's check in with CNN's Barbie Nadeau. She joins us live from Rome. Good morning to you, Barbie. So what is the latest on this record heat wave hitting Italy and of course other parts of Europe?

[03:05:03]

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, you know, Southern Europe is really, really just getting hotter and hotter. And the next two or three days are expected to be record-breaking. Here in Rome, we could break the record that was set last June that was 40.7 degrees here in the city. They are saying we could head over that today, almost certainly tomorrow where temperatures are actually predicted for the city of Rome to maybe hit 43. It's far worse in southern Italy. In Sicily, they may break a 48.7 record that was up last year. Now, that was extremely hot. And as you said, this is a height of tourist season and you've just got so many people waiting in line under the sun to get into places like the Roman Colloseum behind me. You know, there's free water available to the tourist but it's very, very hot. And authorities are concerned that as the heat wave just progresses it gets hotter and hotter, it's really going to start taking a toll, you know, not just on the tourist but on the Italians alike.

CHURCH: Yeah, of course. And in the United States we know that the elderly and other vulnerable citizens are often advised to seek out air conditioned centers for relief from the heat. So what are citizens across Italy being told to do at this time?

NADEAU: Well, you know, these air conditioned centers aren't really a thing here. I would have to say, in Italy, air conditioning is just not -- you know, not every home has air conditioning by any means. So, what you've got is you know, shopping malls and markets and things like that that are air conditioned. So people are trying to take shelter in that, the Italians.

But one of the big differences here, Rosemary, is that people who are from the Mediterranean, people who lived in Southern Europe, know how to handle the heat. It is always hot here in the summer. So you've got people, Italians, Greeks, Spanish, people are often but much more prepared. They don't go out during the middle of the day. They eat less, they cut down on alcohol.

These are the sorts of things that tourists don't necessarily do. They're on a holiday. They maybe planned years in advance. You know, they don't want to miss out on any of it. And that's what the authorities are far more concerned about the tourists that are not taking the advice of getting out of the sun in the middle of the day, or staying hydrated.

And so, the concern in these next couple of days, it's supposed to be very, very hot, that we're going to see some problems. Now, we had several tourists collapsed here in Rome, but there are authorities around to help them. You know, it is just a difficult situation for the authorities to try to manage the people, the citizens, the population and the tourist, and this is the busiest time of the year here in the city like Rome, in Florence, in Sicily, and across Southern Europe. People come here for the sun but maybe not just much of it. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Absolutely. Barbie Nadeau joining us live from Rome. Many thanks.

Well, in the northeast, it's not excessive heat but too much heavy rain all at once. Authorities in Pennsylvania are still searching for a two year old and an infant who disappeared in rising floodwaters. The children's mother and four others died.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, here in the U.S., another weekend of deadly weather in the state of Pennsylvania, a massive flash flooding affecting many residents in that state, including one family who was originally from South Carolina that according to officials, they were on their way to a barbecue event when all of a sudden they became trapped in rising floodwaters. The situation for that family, turning deadly according to officials on the ground.

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): It is just a devastating blow to this Bucks County community that brings us all here today. I think it's important to know that we are all here today. This is a moment that calls on all of us to come together, to lift up upper bank field (ph) and the Bucks County community. And that is exactly what we are doing.

On behalf of more than 13 million Pennsylvanians, I want Bucks County to know that we are here with you, we are praying with you, and we will continue to do everything in our power to lift you up.

SANDOVAL: And in terms of the wider impact, we do understand that there are many airports here in the U.S. that were affected by this wild weekend weather, including at New York's JFK where there was a ground stop that was implemented because of the thunderstorms and also at airport in Boston as well.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Authorities in South Korea say 40 people have now died from flash floods and landslides in the past few days. Thirteen people died in a flooded underpass in Central South Korea.

Michael Holmes tells us how extreme weather turned an ordinary road journey into tragedy.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Working in mud and against the clock, rescuers in South Korea pump water from a flooded tunnel. Arcs of water redirected from the once clogged underpass, revealing some of the vehicles trapped inside.

Dash cam video shows how quickly the tunnel filled up on Saturday, local authorities say a levee broke after days of heavy rain across the country, sending a rush of water through the underpass, some cars barely escaping the deluge.

[03:10:06]

But authorities say 15 vehicles, including a bus, were trapped in a tunnel, along with drivers and passengers. Divers have been painstakingly searching for them and have retrieved multiple bodies from the scene.

Many family members of those thought to be missing gathered at a nearby hospital, their misery compounded by the agony of a long wait for information. One man says he is speechless and says hasn't eaten for hours while waiting for authorities to brief him.

The tragedy has shocked South Korea, some people saying the government should have been better prepared after last year's torrential rains, which were the worst in 115 years.

One man, who lives near the tunnel, says authorities should have closed it when flooding was expected. He says that he feels like this could have easily happened to him and he feels like part of himself died too.

Heavy monsoon rains have caused dozens of deaths, not just in the tunnel, but across the country. Thousands of people forced to evacuate because of floods and landslides. In some areas, riverbanks completely collapsed because of saturated ground, and meteorologists warned that it could get worse with as much as 300 millimeters of additional rain forecasted to fall in some parts of the country over the next few days.

Other parts of Asia are also dealing with intense weather. Southern China bracing for a powerful storm, which is expected to lash the area with strong winds and heavy rains in the next few days. And parts of New Delhi are still water logged, even though water levels in the Yamuna River, which flooded the city, have receded. But the water has not drained away yet, creating very wet and frustrating circumstances for people just trying to move about the city.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart. They're discussing how to reduce their countries carbon admissions. China and the U.S. are the world's largest carbon polluters. And the backdrop for their talks could not be more appropriate. They're meeting during Beijing's hottest ever reported summer.

Anna Coren joins me now live from Hong Kong, good to see you Anna. So, what all those John Kerry and his team hope to achieve on the Beijing trip?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, they definitely want commitment from China to get climate talks back on track. And I think that's what we are seeing. John Kerry earlier wrapped up a four-hour meeting with the Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua. We are still waiting for a readout from that meeting from both sides, but the length of it suggests that they had a lot to discuss.

You know, China and the, U.S., as you say the world's two largest economies, the world's two largest emitters. They accounted for 40 percent of global emission. So, there needs to be cooperation and a concerted effort to drastically cut fossil fuel production to make an impact on climate change and to lead by example. Climate talks, Rosemary, came to a still, August last year when then

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Beijing severed talks in protests. But there have been a slew of high-level U.S.-China meetings that was seen in the past months to try and improve this bilateral relationship.

The U.S. Secretary of State, then the Treasury Secretary, now U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry. Kerry and Xie, they have you know, history. They worked together for COP 26 and Glasgow back in 2021. And they did make progress and there was hope.

They met on the sidelines of COP 27 in Egypt last year. In January this year, they talked via video conference. You know, communications have continued despite the strained relations. And obviously, this face to face meeting that they have this morning, you know, it's about resuming the joint working group on climate cooperation before that big meeting, COP 28, in Dubai, which starts at the end of November. Kerry said it was imperative that China and the U.S. make real progress in the next four months.

Now let me read to you what John Kerry also said. He said, in the next three days we hope we can begin taking some big steps that will send a signal to the world about the serious purpose of China and the U.S. to address a common risk, threat, challenge to all of humanity created by humans themselves.

Kerry will no doubt meet with other Chinese officials, possibly even Xi Jinping. Kerry met with Xi when he was U.S. Secretary of State under Barack Obama. And experts believe that if this meeting takes place, it will certainly send an important signal of Beijing's commitment to tackling global warning. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Anna Coren. Joining us live from Hong Kong.

[03:15:01]

Well a two-hour rain delay could not dampen enthusiasm as Miami welcomed one of the greatest football stars of his generation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Lionel Andres Messi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Lionel Messi was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of an Inter Miami introductory celebration on Sunday, including team co-owner, David Beckham, a former world class player himself of course.

Messi's first match with Inter Miami takes place this Friday. The 36- year-old Argentine joins the team as a seven-time Ballon d'Or winner. Messi's deal runs through the end of the 2025 season and will pay up to $60 million a year.

A world number one, Carlos Alcaraz, says winning Wimbledon is a dream come true. The Spaniard defeated reigning champion, Novak Djokovic, in a thrilling five-set men's final on Sunday. Alcaraz prevailed after nearly five hours on center court. The 20-year-old becomes the third youngest Wimbledon champion in the open-era. After winning, Alcaraz paid tribute to Djokovic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLOS ALCARAZ, 2023 WIMBLEDON GENTLEMEN SINGLE'S CHAMPION: I started playing tennis, watching you -- I mean, since I was born, you know, you're already in the winning tournament, you know it's amazing, proud of you, but I would say that me -- you say -- you just say that 36 is the new 26 and you made that happened in real. You know, it's amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well there is an emergency right now on the bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia. New video appears to show the span is damaged. And at least two people have reportedly been killed. We will have a live update on what may have cost this.

Plus, Iran's controversial morality police are backed to enforcing the hijab for women, but some are already pushing back. That and more in just a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: New video into CNN appears to show damage to the Kerch Bridge, the main link between the Russian-occupied Crimea and the Russian mainland.

Multiple Telegram channels reported strikes on the bridge a few hours ago, and a local official confirmed at least two deaths. Ukraine has not confirmed it launched a strike. The Russia appointed head of Crimea says an emergency incident has halted road traffic on the bridge, but Russian reports say rail service continues though with delays. The span serves as a vital logistical route for Moscow's military in its war against Ukraine.

And CNN's Scott McLean is tracking all of this for us from London. He joins us now live. Good morning to you, Scott. So, what more are you learning about what happened to Crimea's Kerch Bridge?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Rosemary. Yeah, so a Crimean official says that this is a terrorist attack, in his words, carried out by Ukraine, suggesting that there will be retaliatory strikes carried out by Russia.

He also said, as you mentioned, that the bridge is divided into two parts. There's the part that carries trains and then there's the part that carries vehicle traffic, and the road part of the bridge has been damaged, but the train section has not. And for evidence of that, you have to look at the new video that were seeing, that appears to be taken from the inside of a train car alongside that bridge.

And you could see it in the video, it seems like one of the sections or one of the spans is partly dislodged from the pillars in the Black Sea there. Now, what you don't see in this video or others is any kind of an impact crater on the surface of the bridge, so it is not entirely clear where or by what caused the actual impact on this bridge.

The Ukrainians have not directly claimed responsibility but the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU, has heavily hinted that they were in fact behind this attack. It should also mention that Russian officials are saying that at least, the early numbers suggest that two people were killed and one person was injured. This was a family traveling together in a car. The parents apparently were killed. The girl survived but is injured.

This bridge, obviously, has targeted -- has been targeted before. And that's of course because it's not only strategically important, it's symbolically important for Russia, which illegally annexed Crimea back in 2014 and then spent years bringing this bridge. And then in 2018, when it opened, it was Vladimir Putin himself who actually was on hand for the official opening.

And in terms of it being targeted, it was just earlier this month that Russia said that the Ukrainian cruise missile targeted the bridge that shot it down, but it caused the bridge to actually be closed for sometime, causing traffic jams. And of course, as we know, in October of last year, it was hit by a truck carrying explosives which detonated on the bridge, causing huge damage on both the roadside and the rail side.

It wasn't until February of this year that the rail side -- or that the roadside completely reopened and then the rail side was supposed to be completely fixed by June last month. Obviously, there's going to be issues now with the roadside. We don't know how long it might take the Russians to actually repair that bridge. Rosemary?

CHURCH: And Scott, what is the latest on the Ukraine grain deal that is set to expire midnight, Monday, of course? And how likely is it that Russia will renew that deal?

[03:24:37]

MCLEAN: If you ask a Ukrainian diplomat last month, she will tell you that she is 99 percent sure that the Russians will not renew this deal. Frankly, things are not looking good. On Saturday, President Vladimir Putin spoke with South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and told them that look, the deal is not meeting its objectives.

And part of the crux of the deal is essentially that Russia agreed to allow the Ukrainian ships carrying grain to leave port and go to market in exchange for -- in exchange for the U.N. helping Russia get its own grain, and get its own get its own fertilizer to market.

Now, sanctions on Russia don't actually impact directly grain or fertilizer from Russia. But obviously, they impact the banking system. And so, the Russians seem to indicate that not enough has been done to help them on that.

And so, a U.N. proposal suggested that the Russians could be reconnected through their agricultural bank in order to satisfy their concerns. But again, the ball is really in the Russians' court. And we haven't seen many indications that the Russians' plan to extend this grain deal. This would be for the fourth time now, Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Scott McLean, joining us live from London.

Iran is cracking down on women's freedoms, yet again. State media report the country's so-called morality police have resumed controversial patrols to impose the country strict Islamic dress code, including the hijab. Officials say those who don't comply may face illegal action. Some women though are pushing back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): Do you think the morality police can prevent women from not wearing a hijab? They cannot impose it like before. The number of people who do not obey is too high now. They cannot handle all of us. The last thing they could do is use violence and force against us. They cannot do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The move comes ten months after Mahsa Amini who died in police custody after she was detained for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly.

Well, coming up, here on "CNN Newsroom," millions of people in the United States are suffering from painfully high temperatures and the dangerous heat is not going away anytime soon. We will show you how people are coping.

Plus, a suspect arrested and charged in the cold case of the Gilgo beach murders, what a top investigator has to say about the alleged killer.

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[03:30:00]

CHURCH: Let's get back to one of our top stories now, extreme heat and deadly flooding across the United States. More than 80 million people are under heat alerts in about a dozen states from Florida in the southeast all the way from Washington State in the northwest.

Flood watches are still ineffective for more than 3 million across the northeast. Some people will get a break from the rain today but more rain is expected on Tuesday. At least five people died in floodwaters in Pennsylvania and two children are still missing.

At least 35 U.S. cities hit record high temperatures on Sunday. Many of them are in the southwest with a heat blistering. Las Vegas saw 116 degrees Fahrenheit, and Tucson, Arizona suffered a high of 111 degrees.

As Rafael Romo reports, there doesn't appear to be much relief in sight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The heat wave is not over yet. An excessive heat warning remains in effect for parts of Arizona, California and Nevada. The National Weather Service says the dangerously hot afternoons with little overnight relief expected adding that this will result in a major to extreme risk of heat related illness for much of the population. Here at Hoover Dam, high temperatures were well over 110 degrees during the weekend and are expected to remain there during the week.

(voice-over): Earlier, I spoke with the rangers at Death Valley National Park in California, also known as the hottest place on earth, and he told us that what worries them is that this extreme weather seems to be a trend instead of a single occurrence.

MATT LAMAR, DEATH VALLEY PARK RANGER: What we're seeing here in Death Valley is certainly that things are getting hotter. Seven over 10 hottest summers have come in the last ten years and that's, you know, obviously a global turn.

ROMO (on camera): The extreme temperatures here at Hoover Dam are not stopping tours from visiting this model of engineering. I earlier spoke with two tourists from St. Louis, who shared with us what they're doing to cope with the heat.

UNKNOWN: It feels like you're actually on fire after you're out here for a while. And (inaudible) I just slammed about two bottles of water at lunch. It's definitely touching surfaces. And I'm not used to burning myself on concrete.

UNKNOWN: It's not all that bad, but it's just harder to breathe. Like without the moisture in the air, it's just kind of hard to breathe, you know. So it makes things a little difficult.

ROMO (voice-over): We spent the last couple of days in Las Vegas, where people were wondering if the all-time record of 117 degrees was going to be broken. The temperatures fall short, but not by much. The National Weather Service says that this heat wave is not typical desert heat due to its long duration, extreme daytime temperatures and warm nights. They also say that everyone needs to take this heat seriously, including those who live in the desert.

Rafael Romo, CNN, at the Hoover Dam at the border between Arizona and Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In Georgia, a gunman accused of fatally accusing for people in Atlanta was killed in a shootout with police. Authorities say Andre Longmore died during a confrontation Sunday, but also left two officers injured, one of them seriously. The Henry County sheriff said that the community should not breathe a little easier.

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REGINALD SCANDRETT, HENRY COUNTY SHERIFF: The monster is dead. By utilizing collective investigative measures, we were able to strike this suspect over to 138 in Mt. Zion Parkway where they engaged with the suspect. The suspect returned fire and hit the ground running. We gave chase. We engaged with the suspect. He produced a handgun again, shots and fire -- gunfire was exchanged, and the suspect was neutralized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The shooting Saturday sparked a manhunt across North Georgia. The motive is still unclear, but officials say the gunman was not related to any of the victims.

Well, a top investigator on the long unsolved case of the Gilgo Beach Murders says it's only possible that there may be more victims. New York Architect Rex Heuermann is charged with the murder of three women over a decade ago. He was arrested on Thursday in midtown Manhattan, about 40 miles from where the victims remains were discovered on Gilgo Beach in long island in 2010.

[03:35:00]

Heuermann has pleaded not guilty. The case is tied to at least 10 sets of human remains which were found in that area. Heuermann is also the prime suspect in a fourth murder. One official said his alleged acts were the words he had ever seen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY CARTER, SUFFOLK COUNTY DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: I knew that this person was a demon. And the fact that we are able to bring some closure and some peace to the families as well as take a violent person off of the street is rewarding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: nd earlier, I spoke to Bob Kolker, who wrote a book about the murder, and I asked for his reaction to the suspect being arrested.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT KOLKER, AUTHOR, "LOST GIRLS, AN UNSOLVED AMERICAN MYSTERY": It's been 12 years, not just without any promising leads but with no declared person of interest, no suspects, no arrest and barely a peep from the police or the authorities except perhaps identifying another victim or releasing a small piece of evidence for information. There has been practically nothing. And now, suddenly, they have this, a suspect who has been hiding in plain sight the entire time, a suspect with 92 gun permits. It's simply stunning.

CHURCH: Why do you think it took so long to find the suspect, a family man, very well educated with a high-profile job? KOLKER: He fits the profile in so many ways. He lives in a centrally located town in Long Island that's a short drive from where the human remains were first found. He commits into Manhattan, which is where some of the cell-and-cell signals got pinged from. So we think that, you know, perhaps in matches up that way.

On the other hand, he has this public facing job, a job where he is very visible. He's dealing with architecture clients all the time, perhaps high-profile people. So, it's hard to imagine people like that thinking that they could stay below radar forever.

CHURCH: I wanted to ask you why these murdered women were viewed by the public as prostitutes and worthless from the very beginning and what changed that perception slowly over the years?

KOLKER: In my book, "Lost Girls," I try not just to profile the women who were victims in the case but also their families. It's really a portrait of five families. And these families were all families that were in crisis in different ways from parts of America where financial opportunities had been narrowing for generations. And then the Internet comes along and disrupts everything and provides an irresistible way to make quick money for people who, otherwise, maybe working at minimum wage jobs or perhaps going nowhere in their lives.

So it was a tool of social mobility for a lot of these women. And the problem is that the society made them vulnerable. They were overlooked when they met missing. Their disappearance weren't taken seriously by the authorities. Some of them never got onto the official registry of missing persons that the United States has because they were escorts. And then once their bodies were found, the police did not want to take the cases seriously, as they might have otherwise been as they were college students, perhaps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A kidnapped American is on her way home eight months after she was snatched from a street in Mexico. The FBI says Monica de Leon Barba was walking her dog in Mexico when she was kidnapped. Investigators say the professional photographer was targeted. The FBI said the victim was released on Friday night. Authorities say that no arrests have been made so far.

Still to come, Russia's classrooms become bleak monuments to the country's fallen soldiers. A special report on the kremlin's effort to stamp out decent (ph) in schools.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back. More now on some developing stories that we're following along the Black Sea. One is an emergency on the Kerch Bridge, one of Europe's longest spans that connect Russian occupied Crimea with the Russian mainland. Multiple reports say that two blasts rocked the bridge in the predawn hours, killing two people, injuring a girl and, as you can see here, damaging the roadway. It is not clear what caused this.

And we're also keeping an eye on the Black Sea grain deal which expires at midnight local time. The agreement has enabled ships to safely export Ukrainian grain to Africa and other regions. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has to agree to an extension today and there is no guaranteeing he will do that.

Well, a blatant propaganda campaign is underway in schools across Russia to build support for what Mr. Putin calls his special military operation. It shows how far the Kremlin will go to stamp out domestic resistance to the war.

And CNN's Clare Sebastian has been following the story. She joins me now. So, Clare, Russia attempting to get rid of any dissent against the Putin regime and, of course, its war in Ukraine and they're saying this in the classroom. What is the strategy exactly?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. The strategy is to reach a large and impressionable audience with this patriotic pro-war message as quickly and as cheaply as possible. We saw these efforts in schools as soon as the war starts, attempting to instill ever increasing levels of patriotism. But as the war has dragged into its second year, we're seeing these efforts step up.

And now, that many families in Russia are paying the price. The Kremlin isn't ignoring these deaths. In fact, they're trying to make a patriotic virtue out of them and doing so in the classrooms take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): They're marching not perfectly in time. But what the ceremony lacks in military precision, it makes up for with propaganda value. These children in Central Russia will not get the chance to sit at a new desk. Blazoned with the face of one of Russia's war dead, a former pupil at the school killed just three days into the invasion, his grieving mother struggling through.

The so-called hero desks turning classrooms into bleak memorials of a death toll that Russia has otherwise tried to hide are actually part of a government initiative. Russia's ruling party says they now number over 14,000. They apparently include veterans of other wars.

DANIIL KEN, HEAD, ALLIANCE OF TEACHERS UNION: We see his picture, his name. He was our pupil just several years ago. He tried to save our country and for young people, very young people, it is hard not to feel painful.

[03:45:04]

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Daniil Ken, head of an openly anti-Kremlin teachers union now living outside Russia, says the atmospheres in schools changed overnight when the war started. Information so tightly controlled, he says multiple teachers have been fired, some even fined for speaking up, a fate that Olga, I teacher in St. Petersburg -- we've changed a name and disguised her identity for safety reasons -- narrowly avoided.

OLGA, RUSSIAN TEACHER: I have also tried to convince my colleagues that our country has committed a crime. One week later, the director of the school invited me to talk and she warned me that if I continue, then she will have to appeal to a special body of the state. She meant FSB.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And then there are the not so certain curriculum changes. This video of the Crimean bridge, part of a new state controlled weekly lesson series launched last year's called Conversations About Important Things.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It's not just a transport crossing, the speaker explains, but a spiritual crossing. No mention of the huge explosion that caused parts of the bridge to collapse a few months earlier.

History is being re-written in the textbooks. This will now include the so-called special military operation. And it is not just recent history.

KEN: It is a historic fact that Russian state be began with Kyiv, the Kyivskaya Russia, so to say. But nowadays, the new textbooks of history are issued where this idea is removed.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Scenes like this at a school in Crimea will also likely become much more common. Basic military preparation, a throwback to Soviet times, set to officially re-enter the school curriculum for older classes.

KEN (through translator): It is a cheap, simple method of reaching a very large audience and to get across the government's position. It is, in essence, moral violence against children.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): CNN has reached out to the Russian Ministry Of Education for comment on the purpose of these changes and have gotten a response. Sitting at these hero desks in many schools a reward for only the best students, a morbid incentive designed to create a generation patriotic enough to accept a war whose consequences they are sure to inherit.

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SEBASTIAN (on-camera): Rosemary, somewhat ironic, given the pressure that teachers are clearly under this year, 2023, has been named the year of the teacher and mentor in Russia. President Putin marked the occasion back in March by congratulating teachers on raising what he called, defenders of the fatherland, fighting against those, who he said, were trying to deprive Russia of its histories and traditions. The strategy is to openly make teachers in schools and stakeholders in this world to breathe support for the war. In that way, you could see by the volume of social media post open sort of publishing of their efforts to do so, that schools under this pressure are trying to make it very clear that they're telling the sign. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right, Clare Sebastian. Many thanks for that report. Still to come, a dance star popular in Latin America is finding event in an unexpected place, Nigeria. Why salsa is becoming such a hit in the country's capital.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: On the basketball court, NBA star, Steph Curry can drain shots from just about anywhere. Well, now, the Golden State Warriors sharp shooter has shown that he can do the same on the golf course. Playing in a celebrity tournament Saturday in Lake Tahoe in Nevada, Curry hit this beautiful hole in one with a 152-yard par three. The crowd went wild, as you can hear, as Curry land from the tee to the hole in celebration. After his round, Curry posted shooters shoot.

And, if you forgot to buy tickets for Saturdays Powerball drawing, well, you still have a shot. No one matched all six numbers in Saturday's drawing. So the jackpot is now an estimated $900 million to a single winner. It is the third largest Powerball prize ever and the seventh largest U.S. lottery jackpot. There have not been 37 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. If you're interested, it just takes two bucks to play. Good luck if you do.

While people are dancing to the sounds of salsa in a place you might not expect, Nigeria. And, for some, it is about more than just the dance moves. It is also hoping there mental health.

CNN's Zain Asher has our reports.

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ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): It may look like a typical bar in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, but you won't be dancing to afrobeats here. That house style is salsa. The male dancer, Emeka Adindu, is a salsa instructor. No studio needed, he teaches guests right on the dance floor, guiding their moves and breaching acceptance on the dance style that is uncommon in these parts.

EMEKA ADINDU, SALSA INSTRUCTOR: Because it is couple dance. And when you dance with someone, there is no space for you to think about your sorrow because, one, you are thinking about the music. You are thinking about the counts, the rhythm.

ASHER (voice-over): That is what drew him to salsa. After a battle with depression, he now praises also by helping get back on his feet. ADINDU: Salsa it was the only thing that could make me smile all those days I was battling, fighting my demons with my past and everything. Salsa was the only thing that makes me feel like living, the most interesting thing about living on earth was salsa.

ASHER (voice-over): This massage therapist couldn't agree more.

[03:55:03]

EMEMA ANDERSON, MASSAGE THERAPIST: It was like my personal, social activity. And it has helped me distract myself from a lot of stress And ease myself.

ASHER (voice-over): Mental health challenges are often dismissed with spiritual diagnosis in many parts of Nigeria. But Adindu is set on promoting the art that gave him comfort.

ADINDU: I got happiness, love, through dance and salsa with everything I've passed through in my life. I've seen a lot. But I am going to give it out to the world. This is my gift to the world by giving out love and expressing happiness.

ASHER (voice-over): And guests here are receiving the salsa love one step at a time.

Zain Asher, CNN.

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CHURCH: Jane Birkin, the actor, singer and style icon has died. Birkin was born in the U.K. in 1946, but it was in France that she rose to fame. She was famous for her life off screen as on. Her romance with Serge Gainsbourg was a source of scandal and fascination. Her complaint that she couldn't find a handbag with enough room to carry everything she needed for a baby led to the creation of the Birkin bag by Hermes.

Fans left flowers outside of the residents. French President Emmanuel Macron played tribute. And the mayor of Paris tweeted, Jane Birkin, "the most Parisian of the English has left us. We will never forget her songs, her laughter and her incomparable accent." Actress, icon, singer, Jane Birkin dead at the age of 76.

And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Bianca Nobilo, next.

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