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Hurricane Hilary A Category 3 Storm With Winds Of 125 MPH; Trump Expected To Surrender In GA Next Thursday Or Friday; Alleged Trump Co-Conspirator Followed Alex Jones Around Capitol On January 6; Maui Emergency Chief Resigns Amid Outrage Over Sirens Not Sounding; Ukraine: 7 Dead, 125-Plus Injured In Chernihiv Missile Attack; U.S. Commits To F-16s For Ukraine When Training Is Complete; School Districts Struggle To Find Bus Drivers; Hurricane Threatens Southwest With "Life-Threatening" Floods. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired August 19, 2023 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:01:24]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And right now, a major hurricane is barreling toward the southwestern U.S. Hurricane Hilary has weakened to a category three storm as it hammers Mexico with strong winds and high waves. Forecasters warned Hilary could dump more than a year's worth of rain across parts of California, Nevada, and Arizona in a short amount of time.
The threats so severe in the Golden State that a tropical storm warning has been issued for the first time ever there. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the conditions. Allison, a year's worth of rain in a short amount of time. How are they going to be able to handle that?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Well, and that is the big concern because especially in the desert areas, you know, that ground is not able to absorb it very quickly. So, a lot of it just becomes runoff. And that's what leads to a lot of that localized flash flooding. So, here's a look at the basics right now. Sustained winds, 125 miles per hour gusting up to 155. That forward movement north northwest at about 16 miles per hour.
We've seen that forward movement pick up. It's starting to speed up. And that's important for the timing of a lot of the rain showers. We're already starting to see some of that rain begin to push into Southern California, areas of Western Arizona and even into extreme southern Nevada. You're starting to see some of those heavier rain bands begin to slide in and some thunderstorms as well.
This is just expected to continue to get heavier as we go through the rest of the day in the evening as that storm continues to slide off to the north. Further weakening is expected because it's heading into some cooler water. So, by the time it crosses into California, it's expected to be a tropical storm. The main concern and I cannot emphasize this enough is the rainfall with this system. Heaviest rain really begins to set in place tonight, especially overnight that will continue all day Sunday. And then we finally start to see the bulk of that moisture begin to retreat by the latter half of the day on Monday. So, you're talking 48 hours now of moderate to even heavy rainfall at times. That's why you've got that risk for excessive rainfall here. The target point being this pink area, but even places like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Diego under a moderate risk.
And part of that is widespread rainfall totals about two to four inches. I know that may not sound like a lot, especially if you live east of the Rockies. But for these areas, that is a year's worth of rain in just a one-day time period. And some of these areas will get beyond that. They'll get six, eight, even 10 inches of rain in just that 48-hour time period. So, you're talking multiple years' worth of rain in just a very short period of time.
So not only record breaking in some of these areas, but that's really what's going to lead to the flooding concerns, mudslides, and some of the other areas specifically where they've had the fires and you have the burn scars can now lead to debris flows. Fred?
WALLACE: Right. That definitely makes up that potential one-two punch. All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. All right. Joining me right now is Lieutenant Colonel Steven Burton with the U.S. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters. He is the 53rd weather Reconnaissance Squadron navigator. Lieutenant Colonel, good to see you. So, you know, your crews were scheduled to fly their first mission into this system yesterday.
What is it like to fly into this storm system?
LT. COL. STEVEN BURTON, 53RD WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON NAVIGATOR: This storm -- I actually didn't fly that mission. I'm on the mission commander on the ground. But talking to the crews it was a fairly standard hurricane mission. The rod wasn't too bad. It was fairly smooth for hurricane but as long -- as far as actually flying the storm.
WHITFIELD: So, what kind of information was gathered?
[13:05:03]
BURTON: So, the aircraft Celsus sensor doing temperature data wind speed and then we also dropped the drops on from the aircraft that do temperature pressure, wind speed, relative humidity that falls from the aircraft to the surface that gets sent back to the hurricane center. We also have an instrument on the wind called the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer measuring surface winds and rain right costly over the storm.
And all that's being sent back to the hurricane center then goes into the all the computer models to tighten up the forecast. And we're also looking for the absolute center of the storm and the low-pressure center to have a good starting point for the models to propagate for. WHITFIELD: So, this is so unusual, you know, for the West Coast, so much so that you actually had to move your planes west from the East Coast. Was your preparation or the mission, have you had to make certain adjustments because you are dealing with a completely different, you know, geographical area that you're usually accustomed to?
BURTON: Oh, yes. It was -- this is not where we normally operate out of. So, it was quite the scramble to find somewhere to -- in the southwest that was not impacted by the storm that was close enough that provided all the support we needed to operate the storm. So, it's been a very hectic past two to three days to get all -- put all this in place. Make it happen.
WHITFIELD: What now are your biggest concerns as Hurricane Hilary heads toward the Southwest U.S.?
BURTON: For us, particularly it is to make sure that the weather here doesn't impact our ability to take off in land and continue to fly the missions.
WHITFIELD: All the best and good luck. Be safe, Lieutenant Colonel to you and your team. Lieutenant Colonel Steven Burton. Thank you.
BURTON: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Don't forget, you can get the latest on the forecast and track at cnn.com/stormtracker. All right. Now to Georgia where Donald Trump has less than a week to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Sources now tell CNN the former president is expected to surrender on Thursday or Friday. He and 18 co-defendants are charged with plotting to subvert the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis has set Friday, August 25th as the deadline for the defendants to surrender. Trump's arrest will likely look different from his previous three criminal cases. Local officials have said that they will treat the former president like any other defendant.
CNN's Isabel Rosales is outside the Fulton County Jail. So, Isabel, what might that mean upon Trump's surrender? What might he experience?
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And Fred, I'm going to into all those details. But I do want to point out that we are keeping a very close eye on this main point of entry right here to the jail. This is of Rice Street and then a secondary point of entry towards the south east of the jail. Our newest reporting is from my colleague, Ryan Young from the Secret Service that they -- that agency has been on site here at the Fulton County Jail for weeks now preparing with the city of Atlanta and also with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
How this surrender of the former President Donald Trump and his arraignment will look like. There's a lot of safety precautions they have to plan out here. But let me also walk you to the -- walk you through the typical booking process of any newly church defendant here at the jail. Typically, they would be waiting here for hours. Just sitting around waiting for their turn to get fingerprinted and then to have their mugshot taken.
Also, a body search that would typically happen with a deputy here at the jail, a thorough search. Although in the in the past high-profile defendants who have surrendered voluntarily had been able to skip out on a body search. Also a medical screening that they have to undergo, and then a pre-trial consultation to see if in their case, it is appropriate for them to be released without bond.
We spoke with the sheriff here, Patrick Labat. Here's what he has to say about these high-profile defendants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if you guys are going to be shy about taking mug shots. Will that procedure still happen in this -- in this situation?
SHERIFF PATRICK LABAT, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: Unless someone tells me differently, we are -- we are following our part -- our normal practices. And so, doesn't matter your status, we got mug shots ready for you. Again, we'll follow out normal practices. And those that take mugshots will be subsequent to open records request like everyone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: And because of those security concerns, it's really highly impossible in this scenario that the President is going to -- former president is going to undergo the same process as anyone else but rather that this will be expedited. This process of booking him will be expedited. Also, it's interesting to note what the judge here will have to determine when considering bond and that is, is someone a flight risk?
[13:10:06]
Are they likely to commit other felonies while the trial is pending? And then will -- do they present a danger to the community? And are they likely to intimidate witnesses or interfere with the case? All of these are considerations that would happen in any normal case. Of course, all eyes on Fulton County Jail here for the next couple of days. Fred?
WHITFIELD: All right. All eyes indeed. Isabel Rosales, thank you so much. And we have this exclusive reporting about pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro and his whereabouts at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Chesebro was the alleged architect behind the plan to submit a fraudulent alternate slate of electors after Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. He was among 19 people including Trump indicted this week on racketeering and other charges in Georgia's election subversion case.
CNN's senior crime and justice correspondent Shimon Procupekz has more.
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SHIMON PROCUPEKZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): He is one of the alleged co-conspirators in two cases against Donald Trump for 2020 election interference. Now for the first time, CNN has identified Kenneth Chesebro outside the Capitol on January 6. Shortly before a mob stormed the east side of the building. He followed right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for about an hour.
Chesebro was the alleged architect of a plot to use fake electors to stop the certification of Joe Biden's win. This week he was indicted along with Trump and 17 others in Georgia. He's also been identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal case against the former president.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN projects Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is elected the 46th President of the United States.
PROCUPEKZ (voiceover): In the days after the November 2020 election, Chesebro wrote a memo to a lawyer for Donald Trump. It's among the earliest known documents outlining the legal strategy, Trump would allegedly try to use. His memo focuses on January 6 as the hard deadline with ultimate significance to determine the validity of electoral votes. E-mails obtained by the January 6 committee showed Chesebro later suggesting to the Trump campaign that the fear of "wild chaos" on that day could provoke the Supreme Court to take action.
ALEX JONES, CONSPIRACY THEORIST: Go to the White House --
PROCUPEKZ (voiceover): At the same time, Alex Jones was helping pay for and plan the January 6 rally urging his massive audience to gather in Washington, D.C. The night before Trump's rally, Jones would warn of a coming battle.
JONES: This will be their Waterloo, this will be their destruction.
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
PROCUPEKZ (voiceover): When the January 6 committee asked if Chesebro was in Washington the first week of January, Chesebro pleaded the Fifth.
JONES: Let's go take our country back. Trump's only minutes away. Let's start marching to the Capitol.
PROCUPEKZ (voiceover): But there is no question he was there. CNN has analyzed publicly available photos and videos from that day which show his movements. In the hours before the insurrection he was with Alex Jones and his entourage a short distance from the Capitol. Chesebro is here wearing a red Trump 2020 hat as lawmakers prepared to certify the results of the election inside the building, Chesebro follows Alex Jones and a crowd of protesters as they walk towards the Capitol.
Chesebro has his phone out seemingly recording Jones's every move. JONES: Let's march around the other side. And let's not fight the police and give the system what they want. We are peaceful.
PROCUPEKZ (voiceover): As Jones was leading a crowd to the east side of the Capitol, the west side was breached and rioters poured in. At one point while Chesebro was on Capitol grounds, he appears to show something on his phone to remember of Jones's security team then Jones and Chesebro climb the Capitol steps. There is no indication Chesebro enter the Capitol building or engaged in violence.
But shortly after Chesebro and Jones left the steps on the east side the Capitol was breached again. As the mob poured into the doors. In all more than 2000 rioters would enter the building, vandalizing and looting attempting to prevent a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes. The House committee investigating January 6 would eventually call it the final step and Donald Trump's plan to try and overturn the election.
A plan that started in earnest with Kenneth Chesebro.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Shimon Procupekz, thank you so much for that report. All right. Still ahead. President Biden planning to visit Hawaii on Monday as search efforts continue following the devastating wildfires there. And amid mounting criticism of the White House's response to the tragedy, more next.
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[13:18:57]
WHITFIELD: On Monday, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will head to Maui to tour the devastation firsthand and meet with local and state leaders as well as survivors. The death toll from the massive wildfires continues to climb. And this comes as CNN reporting shows Biden was warned in early August about the possibility of a storm hitting the islands. CNN's Kayla Tausche joins me right now.
Kayla, tell us more about this new reporting and Biden's plans when he arrives on Maui.
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the plans for the President are still coming together. But when he touches down in Hawaii on Monday after the first part is of his vacation here in Lake Tahoe. The main goal is going to be -- to assess what Washington can do to further the recovery effort and whether the federal government can do anything to prevent or blunt the impact of future disasters like this from happening.
This as CNN is reporting exclusively that Biden was warned on August 8th on a Tuesday that there was a potential in Hawaii for a major storm to take place.
[13:20:04] This was part of a daily memo that the President was being given on extreme weather events that were happening across the country. But a senior White House official tells CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, what the administration did not expect was what happened next saying to Priscilla, what was not anticipated at that time when we first reported on the possibility of a storm with high winds was that they would ignite a major fire or fires.
Now with the death toll now standing at 114 and rising tens of billions of dollars expected in damage. The commander of the military's Task Force in Hawaii says that what's happening right now is just the earliest stages of a multiyear operation. So far FEMA and other government agencies have already dispatched a thousand federal workers to Hawaii and FEMA is trying to unlock money as quickly as it can to get some of this relief underway.
So far about $5.6 million alone has been provided in housing assistance to families and households who have been displaced. But of course, this comes as FEMA is also bracing for the extraordinary weather event in Hurricane Hilary headed towards Southern California, as its Disaster Relief Fund is in -- at risk of being depleted, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes, it's a lot all at once. That's for sure. Meantime, you know, Biden did hold this historic trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea at Camp David yesterday. What were some of the takeaways from the meeting?
TAUSCHE: Well, the inaugural summit saw Japan and South Korea in particular shall have long held disputes for the shared goal of putting up a united front against China with tensions rising in the South China Sea. The three countries pledged at this would be an annual summit that they would increase military exercises on a regular basis, that there would be a new hotline for the leaders of the three countries to speak directly.
They're going to be sharing more intelligent intelligence and they're going to be developing defense capabilities in tandem now as they see provocations from Beijing which for its part sees these developments as a shot across the bow. Overnight, Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying this, saying no country should seek its own security at the expense of other countries security interests and regional peace and stability saying that the Asia Pacific region should not be turned into a wrestling ground for geopolitical competition.
WHITFIELD: All right. Kayla Tausche, thank you so much. All right. Today, Republican presidential hopefuls are pitching themselves to voters in Atlanta. The very city where former President Trump was just indicted but he is not at the gathering. How are the other candidates handling his absence?
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[13:27:02]
WHITFIELD: As former President Trump and his 18 alleged co- conspirators prepared to surrender in Georgia for charges connected to the 2020 election interference, the rest of the GOP is debating who should lead the party and why. Some are making their case in Atlanta as part of the gathering. An event hosted by conservative radio show host Erick Erickson. CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend joining us live from the gathering in Atlanta.
So Eva, what is the latest? What are people saying there?
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Fred, all of the presidential candidates have wrapped for the day. The conservative activists here. We'll still get to hear from Republican governors as well as Republican senators, but Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie addressing this crowd. True to form, Ramaswamy really railing against corporate diversity efforts as well as talking about the significance of restoring patriotism in this country.
For his part, Christie talking about school choice and the importance of having a strong foreign policy. Trump was not invited to this two- day event here at the gathering. And Eric Erickson really by design wanted to ensure that Trump was not a focus. So, it was these wide ranging 45-minute interviews with candidates over the last several days where Trump really did not come up much.
But after Christie left the stage, he did address reporters and really attacked Trump for not participating in next week's first Republican debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no other conclusion to come to that he's both afraid of me. And he's afraid of defending his record. And if I had his record, I'd be nervous about showing up to it. Let's face it, guys, by Wednesday, he's going to be out on bail in four different jurisdictions. That really -- when are we going to stop thinking that's normal? What are we going to allow our country to understand again, that nominating someone who's out on bail in fourth jurisdictions is not a winning formula?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKEND: So though Trump remains dominant in the polls, I have spoke to some conservatives here who indicated that they are ready to move on from Trump. Just spoke to two Georgia women, for instance, who told me that they are considering -- supporting Governor DeSantis in the primary. Fred?
WHITFIELD: All right. Eva MckEnd in Atlanta. Thank you so much. All right. Straight ahead. Search operations continue in Maui as the death toll rises following the devastating wildfires there. Authorities facing mounting questions about why the state's siren warning system stayed silent while wildfires reduced the town of Lahaina to ashes. Stay with us.
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[13:33:48] WHITFIELD: A deadly wildfire in Washington State is growing with one person killed and many structures already destroyed. Governor Jay Inslee has ordered residents from two eastern cities to evacuate.
The wildfire has already burned through at least 3,000 acres. As a precaution, patients and staff from a hospital in Medical Lake are also being evacuated by the Washington National Guard.
Maui's emergency management chief has resigned as outrage grows in the wake of the catastrophic wildfire that killed at least 114 people.
He was facing serious criticism for not activating warning sirens as the inferno closed in on Lahaina. His resignation coming just one day after he publicly defended his decision.
CNN's Randi Kaye has been digging into the controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So many of us residents felt like we had absolutely no warning.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hawaii has one of the largest public safety outdoor siren warning systems in the world, sirens that were silent as wildfires raged.
Question is, why? First, it was this.
HERMAN ANDAYA, MAUI EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR: It would not have saved those people in the mountain side.
[13:35:00]
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you regret not sounding the sirens?
ANDAYA: I do not. The sirens, as I mentioned earlier, is used primarily for tsunamis.
KAYE: That's what the head of Maui's Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday before suddenly resigning a day later.
But even before that press conference ended, his reason had changed. This time, suggesting the sirens weren't used because people wouldn't have been able to hear the warning.
ANDAYA: It's an outdoor siren. So a lot of people who are indoors, air conditioning on, whatever the case may be, they're not going to hear the siren.
Plus, the winds were very gusty and everything, I heard it was very loud, so they wouldn't have heard the sirens.
KAYE: Same story with Hawaii's governor. First, this.
GOV. JOSH GREEN (D-HAWAII): Sirens were typically used for tsunamis or hurricanes. To my knowledge, at least, I never experienced them in use for fires.
KAYE: Then minutes later, another explanation. This time the governor suggested at least some of the sirens were broken.
GREEN: The sirens were essentially immobilized, we believe, we believe, by the extreme heat that came through. Some were broken and we're investigating that.
KAYE: Yet, that doesn't all track with the county's own Web page, mauisirens.com, which clearly states how the siren system is capable of alerting residents to multiple disasters, including wildfires.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emergency alert.
KAYE: And we also found this explainer about the sirens uses on Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency's Web page.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We also use sirens for hurricanes, brush fires, flooding, lava, hazmat conditions, or even a terrorist event.
KAYE: This map, also from the county's page, shows where the warning sirens are located. According to this state, there are about 400 sirens statewide, including 80 on Maui.
And in the historic town of Lahaina, where more than 100 people were killed in the flames, there are five sirens, five sirens that were not used to warn those in grave danger.
Instead, officials say they chose to send alerts by text message to cell phones, as well as alerts on landlines and through TV and radio.
ANDAYA: It is our practice to use the most effective means to convey an emergency message to the public during wildland fire.
KAYE: While that may have worked in some cases, the wildfire moves so swiftly it knocked out power and cell service. So how were residents supposed to receive those warnings?
MIKE CIOCHINO, WILDFIRE SURVIVOR: There's no warning at all. There's not a siren, not a phone alert, not -- nothing, not a call.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Taking a closer look now at how these wildfires may have started and what may prevent future tragedies, with me now to discuss is Michael Gollner. He's an associate professor at the University of California Berkeley and is the director of the Berkeley Fire Research Lab.
Professor, good to see you.
So a lot of finger pointing in the aftermath as folks try to make sense of what happened on Maui. How long do you believe it will be before there is some certainty about what triggered this?
MICHAEL GOLLNER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY: I think the reality is it will take at least a few months for a thorough investigation.
There's certainly -- because of the high winds and dry grasses, there's a high chance there were some power line ignitions involved.
But what we've learned from these fires is that the conditions are ripe and set up with the high winds, that any small spark, anything basically would have propagated that fire to a very receptive (INAUDIBLE).
So conditions were already set. And that investigation is going to try to find the initial source of that.
WHITFIELD: The Lahaina landscape is completely changed. Just look at this video and reminders of the ash in its wake.
We've also seen video of power lines going down, fires possibly sparked as a result of. And I wonder, in your view, how will that kind of video assist in helping to pinpoint what truly started these fires?
GOLLNER: Well, investigators are going to look at information from the power authorities, from videos, from any kind of phone calls to 911 and firsthand accounts, compile these.
What's very important here is going to be a timeline as well as an investigation of what they call trying to find the point of or general origin of where the fire started and then spread out.
These fires are rapid. There is an initial point. But I have to stress, you know, any small spark under these conditions is going to spread rapidly.
It's something called embers, these small particles that break off of burning vegetation. They can fly so far and so fast. That is ultimately the main mechanism responsible for this destruction.
[13:40:09]
WHITFIELD: And when you say these conditions, you're talking about how unbelievably dry it had been, how that, coupled with these winds, these hurricane-force winds that would help those embers to travel.
I wonder, in your view, after this investigation of what sparked the fire and just looking at the environmental changes, do you believe that, because of environmental changes, climate change, et cetera, it will reveal there are simply places that are unlivable that just can't be inhabited as the result of the changes of our climate?
GOLLNER: This is a fantastic question and one in debate with the community. You know, I believe that we can engineer solutions for many places that have extreme wildfire risk.
The question is whether we're willing to take the time and money and sacrifice to make those changes to make it safe.
We have the same issues in flood and hurricane zones. There's an incredible amount of planning.
The issue with these wildfires is that there is no notice. All the work we have to do is before the fire starts, whether that's hardening communities so they don't ignite, strengthening our power lines, doing fuel management. There's lots of dry brush around the town.
There's a lot of work that can be done in advance, also for life safety, evacuation planning, response planning, making sure the limited evacuation routes are clear, the cell towers have protected backup power.
These are the kinds of planning we need to do in advance. I think if we can implement those in places, we can make a lot more places safer to live. Without that, you're right, that some places are going to be very dangerous.
Even here in Berkeley, California, there are certain days where they advise residents in the Berkeley Hills to come down under the very highest fire hazard. It's not required, but it lowers the population up there in the event of an emergency.
WHITFIELD: President Biden is heading to Maui on Monday. In your view, what would you want him to see or hear about? What kind of change do you believe could be provoked from his visit?
GOLLNER: Well, first and foremost, I think the residents need support. This is just a tragedy. It's devastating. We saw in Paradise, California, it's not just the structures burned, but the whole essence of that community has been affected. We need to help rebuild that.
On top of that, there's a toxic mess. There are so many compounds and things in our homes that are in the air, in the water and on the ground and they need cleaning up to help keep people safe.
Beyond that, I hope across the country we can take this and many other events like this and learn from it. I hope we can take these lessons learned and realize it's not just California and Colorado. We've had fires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. There's been fires in Portugal, around the world.
We need to look at every community, assess the risks, and make changes so that people in the communities will be safe.
WHITFIELD: Associate Professor Michael Gollner, of the University of California Berkley, thank you so much.
GOLLNER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Lolita, Miami's beloved killer whale, has died. The Miami Sea Aquarium says the orca, also known as Toki, was treated by a medical team immediately and aggressively before suffering renal complications yesterday. She was believed to be at least 57 years old. She lived in captivity in a small tank just 80 feet long and 35 feet wide at the aquarium for more than 40 years but was set to be released back into the ocean.
Many Miami people grew up visiting her at the aquarium where she lived since 1970. The Miami-Dade County mayor says residents are profoundly saddened to hear about Lolita's passing.
[13:44:15]
Coming up, a deadly missile attack in northern Ukraine kills at least seven and leaves dozens injured. Details behind that attack, coming up.
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WHITFIELD: The death toll from a missile strike in Chernihiv, Ukraine, continues to rise. This is video of the moment the missile slammed into the Palace of Culture building in the city center this morning.
Ukrainian officials say at least seven are dead, including a 6-year- old, and another 129 are injured.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Ukraine and has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Fred, a stunning number of injured in this, another, indiscriminate Russian attack on a civilian area. This, the center of Chernihiv, cafe terraces, families in parks, local officials said, returning from an orthodox religious festival.
The missile crashing in near an exhibition center that was closed at the time, but inside, a couple of hours earlier, a meeting had been announced on Facebook about drone technology.
Whether that is remotely related to this attack, we don't know. But certainly, it's another example of the blundering way Russia fires missiles into civilian areas causing startling death tolls on this quiet weekend day into a busy city.
It comes, too, as another reminder of what Ukrainians would say of how urgently they need better air defenses, like the F-16 technology, that appears to be slightly more in their grasp, although, significantly, too late.
[13:50:04]
We've heard from Denmark, one of the European allies of the United States, that's agreed to train Ukrainian pilots in flying those jets and in their technology, that they might start training in the next 12 days.
That's important because it may begin the timeline now of exactly when Ukrainians can start flying those F-16s in the skies. The U.S. is supporting this, will support the supply of jets to
Ukraine, but this could take well into next year.
And urgently now, Ukrainian forces say they need some kind of air support in their counteroffensive on the southern front because they're getting hit by Russian jets on an hourly basis, with extraordinarily powerful explosives.
But another reminder of the indiscriminate nature of Russian attacks against civilians in this horrifying attack on Chernihiv -- Fred?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much.
Still to come, the year is off to a rough start in some school districts due to a shortage of bus drivers across the country. How some are getting creative to try to solve the problem, next.
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[13:55:32]
WHITFIELD: All right, students at the largest school system in Kentucky are back in school after what the superintendent described as a transportation disaster last week.
A shortage of drivers left students stranded on buses until just before 10:00 p.m. the first day of school, prompting the cancellation of classes the rest of the week.
As CNN's Athena Jones reports, districts across the country are facing the same problem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are about 58 bus drivers short.
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From North Carolina ---
WANDA HENRY, GRANDPARENT: It's just unbelievable.
JONES: -- to Louisiana.
HENRY: They knew that school was coming. They knew the problems that they had and they did nothing to solve them.
JONES: A rough start to the school year as districts across the country face a shortage of bus drivers.
Each year, about half a million buses transport some 25 million children, but low pay, odd hours, and increased competition from companies like FedEx and Amazon are some of the factors making harder to find drivers. MOLLY MCGEE-HEWITT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PUPIL TRANSPORTATION: I have not heard from our members in any state, whether it's our smaller state like Montana or Wyoming, or the larger states like New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and others, that are not experiencing the driver shortage.
JONES: Albemarle County, Virginia, getting rid of some bus stops.
CHARMAINE WHITE, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, ALBEMARLE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: It breaks my heart that we have to do that. Right now, it is a driver shortage.
JONES: Jefferson County, Colorado, creating what it calls bus hubs. Combining stops in a central location. Some districts using staggered schedules.
IRANETTA WRIGHT, SUPERINTENDENT, CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS: We have four start times. An early start school is paired with a later start school.
JONES: Facing a driver shortage, Kentucky's largest school district contracted with a company to map out new routes, but the plan failed leading to a disastrous first day of kindergarten for Bethany and Ryan Baumann daughter and forcing officials to cancel school for more than a week.
BETHANY BAUMANN, PARENT: It's like they couldn't get a hold of any of the bus drivers.
JONES: That morning, Bethany says they waited 40 minutes for the bus before she off gave up and made the ten-minute drive herself. That evening they waited more than two hours for the bus before calling the police, frantic.
RYAN BAUMANN, PARENT: And then that when the police had asked me, like, what was she wearing and what does she look like? And it got really real to me in that moment.
B. BAUMANN: I left at 7:30 and I went to Target to buy an AirTag to put on her.
JONES: They say, the bus finally arrived three hours late. The driver nearly missing the stop.
R. BAUMANN: I had, like, waved her down. And I look on the bus and Lily, our kid, is the last kid on the bus.
B. BAUMANN: Lily won't be riding the bus anymore.
JONES: The superintendent vowing to do better when school restarts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We made mistakes. But we've owned up to them and we are going fix them.
JONES: But any long-term solution may have to address drivers' paychecks. MCGEE-HEWITT: One of the key opponents of this shortage is compensation for drivers. And that is in salaries and fringe benefits.
It's in the workdays that they're having. It's in training and assistance that they get to do their jobs. It's trying to expand out hours so that they have a full-time job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Athena Jones, thank you so much.
In this quick programming note, the man once known as "America's Mayor" is now indicted alongside Donald Trump in Georgia. Go inside his rise and fall in the CNN original series, "GIULIANI, WHAT HAPPENED TO AMERICA'S MAYOR?" That's tonight at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
The southwest is bracing for potentially catastrophic flooding as Hurricane Hilary barrels toward the region. And right now, the category 3 storm is churning in the Pacific, pummeling Mexico with heavy rain and strong winds.
It's expected to weaken as it treks north. But forecasters warn it could dump more than a year's worth of rain across parts of California, Nevada and Arizona in a very short amount of time.
The threat is so severe that California is facing its first-ever tropical storm warning. Right now, the California National Guard has prepositioned resources across parts of the state.
CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is monitoring conditions.
[13:59:58]
Allison, where is the storm right now?
CHINCHAR: Right. It's still just off the coast of Baja, California. We did get the 2:00 update and we've seen the storm weaken just a little bit more.
