Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Deadly Shooting Prompts Shelter-In-Place Order For Philly Suburb; Manhunt Underway In Philly Suburb following Shooting Spree; Pence Says Cannot In Good Conscience Endorse Trump; Manhunt Underway In Philly Suburb Following Shooting Spree; Russians Head To The Polls On Day 2 Of 2024 Presidential Election; Biden Praises Schumer Speech Critical Of Netanyahu. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired March 16, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And it is an amazing play. For Black Boys he's on now at the Garrick Theater here in London's West End until May 4th.

And, of course, you can watch our whole interview with Ryan Kelly Cameron next week online.

You'll find it and all of our shows online as I said as podcasts at cnn.com/podcast and on all other major platforms. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you again next week.

[02:00:35]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. No, you do not need to adjust your televisions. Yes, a little change on your screens.

Welcome to our new space here in Atlanta. This is our new studio, our new home. State of the art, gorgeously bright, and still, the most important place for news and information.

So, let's get started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN "Breaking News".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And we begin this hour with "BREAKING NEWS". Police in a Philadelphia suburb have issued a shelter in place order after three people were shot to death in what officials are calling a domestic- related incident. A manhunt is now underway for the suspect who is considered armed and dangerous.

It's all unfolding in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, a Bucks County community, about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia. We have team coverage of this breaking news. We'll get to former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey in a moment.

But let's get started with CNN's Polo Sandoval who has the latest What can you tell us about the shooting?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very active situations. So, this information is still preliminary, but it is official coming directly from authorities there in Falls Township, Pennsylvania. You mentioned it's actually a suburb of Philadelphia the following information coming directly from Jeff Dence, who's actually the township Chairman of the Board of Supervisors there.

And according to Dence, they are currently investigating what he is describing as a spree killing that took place in the township this morning. He is saying that this is domestic related three people were killed at two different residences and the actor then -- or suspected this case, then, allegedly carjacked a citizen at a third location.

Dence saying that this suspect is currently armed and dangerous and his location is currently unknown. Authorities there, Fred, in Falls Township saying that they are closely working with the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, as well as the FBI as they tried to track down this individual.

At this point, we don't have really much suspect information available coming from authorities since, again, this happened not long ago. And this information is preliminary.

But just to give you a sense of the concern right now, some neighboring townships, including some information that I've seen from Middleton Township Police Department, now asking residents to shelter- in-place, though they do not believe that this suspect may have made it to their community. They are still taking this precaution. So, really does give you a sense of the scope of the magnitude of this investigation.

Because though, according to authorities, this may be a domestic- related incident. The fact that an armed individual is still in the community would certainly be concerning for officials.

And finally, I do want to add that CNN's Danny Freeman, speaking to the district attorney's office who said that they are still gathering details at this point, this is still a very active, not only investigation, but also a manhunt.

And the D.A.'s office promising to get back to Freeman there with some additional information as well. But again, this is what we have at this point about this shooting that left at least three people killed in Falls Township, Pennsylvania this morning, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Polo, keep us posted as you learn any more information.

Let's bring in now CNN senior law enforcement analyst Charles Ramsey, a former Philadelphia police commissioner. Chief, great to see. You know this area well, what are law enforcement officials up against with the terrain there, this location?

CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, there was a carjacking that took place in that area. And it's believed that the suspect may be the one involved in that carjacking. So, they actually have a vehicle that they are looking for right now. A grey Honda CRV is what the news is currently reporting.

And also, he has ties to Trenton, New Jersey. This is a suspect to they know who the individual is. It's a very fluid situation right now. So, the key is really to try to locate this individual. And certainly, the Pennsylvania State Police, New Jersey State Police, I contacted Philadelphia, they certainly have alerts out just in case he's headed in that direction.

And so, everyone is on alert looking for this particular car and this particular individual. There is a photograph of the person that has been posted online by the police.

So, it's a matter of time before they get him. But it does seem like he knew the victims. This wasn't random, this was targeted.

[12:05:00]

At least that's the information that they have as of now. All of us can obviously change as the investigation proceeds.

WHITFIELD: And reportedly armed and potentially dangerous. Again, at least three now reported dead with this incident taking place in two different locations.

Shelter-in-place, how is that conveyed to people, yet, at the same time, law enforcement are asking for the public's cooperation?

RAMSEY: Well, that would be posted on Facebook or any other kind of social media. You have something called reverse 911 that many departments use. Where recorded messages are sent out to people in a given area, alerting them of the danger. Many businesses have already shut down. Sesame Place, for an example, is one that was shut down, Target stores, Home Depot's, just out of an abundance of caution.

Not that the individual may be headed that way. Not that this may be an active shooter in the sense of someone just coming in randomly shooting a lot of people. But you certainly don't want to take any chances.

There was a St. Patrick's Day parade that was canceled, unfortunately, because of this. So, it's just trying to keep people safe until they get this individual in custody.

WHITFIELD: All right, we talked about the two residences. And now you have reminded people to about this suspected carjacking taking place now in a third location.

So, law enforcement has to both investigate all of these places is active crime scenes, yet, at the same time, conduct this manhunt. What kind of concerns do you have, if any, about resources?

RAMSEY: Well, the resources will be provided. There is no question about that. The Pennsylvania State Police obviously is always there to assist any way they can. This may be a case where the ATF and the FBI will jump in to provide that kind of support and assistance.

This happened in a township -- Falls Township that is really not that large and doesn't have that large of a police department. So, obviously there'll need some support.

And but there are a lot of agencies in that area that work very, very well together. And so, I'm not concerned about resources.

Right now, the focus has to be on catching this guy before he can hurt anyone else. They don't know if he's got anybody else in mind as a target. Those three people who unfortunately were apparently killed was known to this individual.

So, they just have to do the best to try to find this guy. And believe me, they are pulling out all the stops to try to get them.

WHITFIELD: Sure, as part of the manhunt. It's also anticipating what this person's next moves may be based on the actions that have already happened. So, what do you believe that they are zeroing in on this carjacking? You mentioned, Trenton, New Jersey, being a place of familiarity.

What can you anticipate law enforcement is doing to try to get ahead of this person's next move?

RAMSEY: Well, possible routes. I mean, you know, these mobile now if it's -- if he's in that vehicle, and I'm sure they've already pretty much confirmed that this is the same individual just from description, and so forth. And the carjacking victim, by the way, had no affiliation with this guy at all.

And the person was not injured, according to reports. It was -- it was just a straight up carjacking.

So now, they are trying to figure out where he would be heading toward Trenton. And Trenton is not that far from where the shootings took place, it's actually closer than Philadelphia would be.

So, they are probably going on the assumption he's headed in that direction. But you can't take anything for granted because you just don't know. So, they'll have aerial support, they'll have support on the ground. Certain checkpoints and things of that nature that they'll be doing to try to track this individual to find out where that person is right now. And they may switch cars, he may do a lot of things.

But right now, they are just doing everything they possibly can follow any leads they have. They do have a license plate number. They've got all that. I'm sure that's being flashed on interstates. Hopefully, someone sees on in someone gives a call to police and they can zero-in on this guy.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chief Charles Ramsey, thank you so much. And, of course we'll have more on this manhunt as we get any more information.

All right. Now, let's turn to the presidential campaign trail, where Donald Trump is facing a political setback and at the same time, scoring legal win.

Former Vice President Mike Pence now saying he can't endorse Trump in the 2024 general election. Pence says the two had profound differences on various issues.

There were also multiple rulings in Trump's criminal trials. In Georgia, a judge ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue prosecuting Trump's election subversion case in that state. Trump and his co-defendants had spent weeks trying to get her kicked off that case.

And then, in New York, Trump has succeeded in his goal to delay the hush money trial against him.

[12:10:04]

The judge overseeing the case agreed to push back the start of the trial which was scheduled to begin on March 25th.

All right. First, that unexpected announcement from former Vice President Pence, saying he "cannot, in good conscience" vote for Trump.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is in Washington with more on this stunning repudiation.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former Vice President Mike Pence unequivocally not endorsing his former boss, former president, Donald Trump. Here is what he had to say during an interview with Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years, and that's why, I cannot, in good conscience endorsed Donald Trump in this campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, both surprising and unsurprising. One, Mike Pence is probably the most loyal soldier to former President Donald Trump, but the two had a fractured relationship after January 6th.

Former President Trump blamed Mike Pence for not overturning the election after they had launched a pressure campaign against the former vice president to try and not certify the election to overturn the results in 2020, which Pence did not agree to do.

Once the two were running for office, former President Donald Trump, saying that Pence was weak that he didn't have the courage to do what he needed to do on January 6th.

Pence had started to push back before having to drop out of the race. It will note, when he dropped out, Donald Trump said that Pence should endorse him. Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me right now to talk more about all of these developments is David Swerdlick. He is the senior staff editor for The New York Times Opinion. Great to see you, David.

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hey, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, what is behind the former vice president not falling in line, like so many other GOP rivals? He has chosen he is not backing Trump.

SWERDLICK: Yes, Fred, I think Vice President Pence is now looking to the history books. He's been a congressman, a governor, vice president of the United States. And his 2024 primary campaign flamed out very quickly, he knows he's not going to be president. So, now, he wants to focus on how he is going to be remembered in history. And I don't think he wants to be remembered as someone who was Trump's vice president.

Then, when a different way from him on January 6th, but then knuckled back under to him in 2024.

And that, to me, is what this is about. It makes sense. It makes more sense than him ever trying to run for president earlier in the cycle. And, you know, he has made his position clear, and I think that's going to be about it for him.

WHITFIELD: Do you see that there will be any real political impact as a result of Pence decision? Because we know after all, you know, Trump back in the day, added Pence to the ticket to boost his credibility with evangelical voters and some of the most conservative Republicans.

And now, without that kind of endorsement, will it really matter?

SWERDLICK: Fred, I don't think it will make a bit of difference after five minutes after we talk about this. Look, the reality for Vice President Pence is he was always darned if he did, and darned if he didn't. He ran in 2024, on the idea that he had served Trump loyalty -- loyally, and yet, had not done the one thing that Trump most wanted him to do on January 6th.

There was no constituency in the Republican primary electorate for that position.

The one person who broke through in that primary was Governor Haley, she is out now, but at least, she sort of established herself as a credible alternative.

Vice President Pence is a spent political force, and Republican voters are not going to punish President Trump for not having the endorsement of his former vice president.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then let's shift gears a little bit. Trump, you know, had a rather mixed week in the courtroom -- in the many courtrooms, where so far, he has succeeded in delaying most of his criminal trials. But if one or more of these big cases does go to trial before the election, do you believe it could make an impact at all?

SWERDLICK: I think he could make an impact, Fred, but I don't think it's going to be the determining factor in 2024. It would be good for the public to hear one of these cases, especially the Georgia case, which could be televised before election day. Not because I think there will necessarily be a conviction or because it will be outcome determinative, but simply so that the voters can hear evidence against the former president and make up their own minds about what they think.

So, if that case goes forward, or one of the two Jack Smith federal cases goes forward, I think it's more information for the body politic. But the idea if any Democrats ever had it, that Trump being convicted would somehow mean that he would not win the election or that a Trump trial or Trump conviction would win the election for President Biden and Democrats, hopefully, they've disabused themselves of that notion because that was never going to be the case.

[12:15:03]

WHITFIELD: All right. David Swerdlick, we'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much. And thanks for joining us in our new studio. Appreciate it.

SWERDLICK: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Even though you're a far, but you're really here too.

All right. Well, Nathan Wade, the top prosecutor on the election subversion case against Donald Trump walks away from the case. It comes just hours after the Georgia judge ruled district attorney and Fani Willis could stay on the case if Wade were to leave. So, what does happen now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:13]

WHITFIELD: Back to our "BREAKING NEWS", police in a Philadelphia suburb has issued a shelter-in-place order after three people were shot and killed. A manhunt is now underway for the suspect who is considered armed and dangerous. It's all unfolding in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, a Bucks County community about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia. We'll bring you more details as we get them.

All right, and a major development in the Georgia election subversion case against former President Donald Trump, allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue prosecuting that case.

Georgia law will give both sides until March 25. To appeal the decision. Trump's attorneys have already signaled that they do plan to appeal.

While Willis is allowed to stay on the case, there were conditions. For Willis to stay, her lead prosecutor Nathan Wade has to go.

CNN Nick Valencia has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The lead prosecutor on the Georgia election subversion case against Donald Trump and his allies stepping down.

He says, in the interest of democracy and dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible.

Nathan Wade handing in his resignation letter hours after Judge Scott McAfee ruled District Attorney Fani Willis could stay on the case only if Wade goes. Willis accepting the resignation of the man with whom she was romantically involved, writing, "I will always remember and will remind everyone that you were brave enough to step forward and take on the investigation and prosecution."

In his ruling, McAfee concluding the defense failed to prove Willis financially benefited from hiring Wade. But, "this finding is by no means an indication that the court condones this tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the district attorney's testimony during the evidentiary hearing."

Judge Scott McAfee wrote, "Rather it is the undersigned's opinion that Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices."

McAfee also describing Willis's fiery testimony last month as unprofessional.

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: You've been intrusive into people's personal lives. You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.

VALENCIA (voice-over): And her and her January remarks at an Atlanta area church as legally improper.

WILLIS: First thing they say, oh, she going to play the race card now. But no, God, isn't it them who's playing the race card when they only question one?

VALENCIA (voice-over): The judge also saying, reasonable questions exist about the timing of Willis and Wade's relationship.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did your romantic relationship with Ms. Willis begin?

NATHAN WADE, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IN TRUMP'S GA ELECTION CASE: 2022.

VALENCIA (voice-over): McAfee writing, "The district attorney chose to continue supervising and paying Wade while maintaining such a relationship.

As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist."

SCOTT GRUBMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don't think it's a good day for the justice system.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Defense Attorney Scott Grubman faced off against Willis during the case when he represented Trump ally Ken Chesebro, one of the four co-defendants to take a guilty plea.

GRUBMAN: I hope and expect that the criminal defense lawyers in this case will appeal this decision and I hoped the Georgia Court of Appeals has a different view than Scott McAfee.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's not equipped to do the job, and that case should end immediately.

VALENCIA (voice-over): The former president's legal team vowing to fight on. "We will use all legal options available as we continue to find to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place," attorney Steve Sadow said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (on camera): Trump's Georgia attorney Steve Sadow is expected to appeal the decision which could lead to more delays. Prior to these allegations surfacing against Fani Willis, she had asked for an August trial date. What's unclear is if she can get this case back on track for a trial before the November election. Unlike the federal charges that Trump faces, these state charges have different implications because even if Trump wins the 2024 election, he would not be able to pardon himself from this case.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Nick Valencia. Here to discuss is former Maryland prosecutor and the author of "Get Off My Neck: Black Lives, White Justice and a Former Prosecutors Quest for Reform". We'll talk about your book in a moment. Debbie Hines, thank you so much for being with me.

So, let's talk about this George's subversion case first.

D.A. Fani Willis likely has a deep bench on the team, right? Lead prosecutor Wade had more of a team manager role. So, legal victory for Willis. She is still has a team. Is Wade easy to replace?

DEBBIE HINES FORMER BALTIMORE PROSECUTOR: You know, she had a difficult time even getting a special prosecutor. The governor -- the former governor turned it down for all the reasons that probably most lawyers would turn it down, because of the fear of threats and having to have bodyguards there.

So, Nathan Wade was not the first -- he was not the first pick.

[12:25:03]

Whether or not she wants to go with another special prosecutor based on how much work he has already done in the case would be up to her. And we really don't know that, just because he was a special prosecutor. And he has a lot of knowledge about the case, that doesn't mean she has to determine to pick someone else.

And it is going to be difficult for her to find someone.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, if she doesn't replace Wade, is it an issue of elevating somebody who's already on the team? Or perhaps they may have to multitask a little differently? Because as you say, it was very difficult to recruit from outside to bring someone in. Does it just mean shifting those who are already in and on the team?

HINES: So, sure -- here is what I think. Because the case is now rolling down the track, she has always indicated that she was able and willing and ready to try it very quickly, I think it would be difficult to bring someone in who has not been involved in the case from the beginning.

Again, that's still her option. But I think it would be very difficult. This is not really like baseball, or football or any of the sports that you see where the first-string quarterback gets injured, and then you just bring in the second, third or fourth, it really doesn't work that way in a complex case like this.

So, I think that she would probably lean more into someone who's already on the team.

WHITFIELD: OK. Now, what about for her, her role? She has been the face of prosecuting this case. Do you see her taking, you know, kind of a backstage approach? Or do you see that she will still be out in front?

HINES: I think is anything. This case has probably emboldened the fire in Fani Willis. All that she had to endure through basically what I think was a baseless motion on the part of the defendants. I think that this is going to embolden her.

She is the face, she is the D.A. But more importantly, she knows a lot about RICO, which is the Georgia standard is also not one that you can just bring in people to replace other people one, because of the difficulties of getting the statue.

And she is been so successful with those cases before. I basically see if you saw her on the stand, she is going to bring it back to where it should be brought that this case is about these defendants trying to steal an election and not about Fani Willis.

WHITFIELD: OK. And as promised, I'd love you to comment about your book. You have a new book coming out. "Get Off My Neck: Black Lives, White Justice and a Former Prosecutors Quest for Reform".

Besides the killing of George Floyd, what provoked you to take this direction in your book?

HINES: So, I had been thinking about writing a book for a very long time, I kind of convinced myself that it wasn't something that I could do. But honestly, with everything that happened in 2020, it was just changed a lot of people's minds and mine included.

And where we are seeing and tying this in with the Fani Willis and all of the Trump cases. And this is something someone on Twitter mentioned that it just seems like, and it does seem like that the only people who are really heavily prosecuted are black and brown people. And that is something that has to change.

It seems like the people that have power, as in this case, are getting a pass. So, in my book, what I talk about are ways to reform a system to that everyone can join in, whether it's regular people or community, or the lawmakers or whatever.

But we have to make this system what we call the criminal justice system, work for everyone, not just for the poor, underprivileged, undervalue people in society, and work solely for those of us, those people that are affluent.

So, that's what I want everyone to get out of my book. And there are things that we have to do, don't give up hope. My book is based on the things that my mom said, who was always about hope. That you have to have hope. And I hope and I believe that this system can work that we're going to have to do a lot of work to do it that I outlined in my book.

WHITFIELD: All right. Author and former Maryland prosecutor, Debbie Hines, thank you so much.

HINES: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Much more on our breaking news. A deadly shooting outside Philadelphia right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:33:45]

WHITFIELD: All right, we continue to follow the breaking news out of a Philadelphia suburb. A shelter in place order remains there after three people were shot and killed. And a manhunt is now underway for the suspect who is considered armed and dangerous. It's all unfolding in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, a Bucks County Community about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia, which my next guest knows well. Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsay. All right, Chief, so three different scenes right now, what is going to be the focus area?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, where the homicides took place in two different locations. So I see those scenes have to be process. The carjacking took place in a third location. It is now my understanding that the car has been recovered in Trenton, New Jersey. And if that is the case, then the manhunt now focuses on Trenton.

They know who this individual is, which they ID'd him pretty quickly, which leads me to believe that it was either a witness that was there that saw this individual, knew who he was. Or one of the victims was able to tell the police before they passed away who the individual was. But in any regard -- in any event they were able to ID him pretty quickly, which now they're going through his criminal background, his criminal record, find out, you know, where -- was he arrested before, acquaintances, people that he may now go to, to seek shelter all those kinds of things in order to try to track this guy down.

[12:35:12]

But if in fact that car was found in Trenton, New Jersey, they'll process that. So that would be a fourth location, that they would be processing that particular vehicle now for printing, any other evidence that would tie him to that particular carjacking.

WHITFIELD: What might be some of the other tools? Obviously, there are cameras everywhere on highways on, you know, city roads, you know, state roads, all those thoroughfares. Are they por -- our investigators poring over some of those cameras right now seeing if indeed, the suspect can be connected with that vehicle, located in Trenton, et cetera?

RAMSEY: Yes, they're doing all of those kinds of things, pulling all that evidence, going on through it. It does take time. There's a whole team that's probably devoted to doing nothing but that. But then there's a separate team that's actually involved in the actual manhunt to find the individual. He is armed. He is dangerous. They have to catch him as quickly as possible. You don't know whether or not he has other people in mind in terms of trying to harm. So it's really imperative that they catch him as soon as possible.

So there's a whole lot of things going on right now, behind the scenes. You have crime scene processing taking place. You've got people going into this guy's background, trying to figure out where he might be. You've got people on the ground, now the Trenton, New Jersey police, the state police in Jersey, as well as detectives from Bucks County, and from Falls Township that probably are already on their way to Trenton in order to coordinate the investigation with those authorities there.

WHITFIELD: How challenging is it for all of these jurisdictions to coordinate? Or do you only see that this is advantageous?

RAMSEY: Well, it's advantageous in a lot of ways because it brings more resources to bear and it's not unusual. I mean, you know, criminals don't tend to use maps to stay within a particular jurisdiction. I mean, they go wherever they can go. But they can also be very predictable. I mentioned earlier that, you know, he was tied to Trenton, New Jersey. Where did they find a car? Trenton, New Jersey.

So I mean, there's only so many places he can go where he's comfortable, where you can seek shelter. He may very well try to force his way into a location. So now people in Trenton in that particular area, need to be on the lookout. They need to be aware. They need to be sheltering in place until the authorities are able to locate this individual. But they will get him. There's really no question in my mind since they've identified him. They'll be able to locate him. The question is whether or not they'll be able to take him into custody without any incident at all taking place. Hopefully, no one else gets hurt.

WHITFIELD: And as we were talking not only have they identified him but now police are willing to share the identity of the suspect is 26- year-old Andrew Gordon. And of course as we get any more information about this ongoing manhunt, we'll bring it to everybody. Chief Charles Ramsey, great to see you. Thanks so much.

[12:38:08]

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, Russian voters are again going to the polls today on the second day of a three day presidential election. But there isn't much question about the outcome. There are no genuine opposition candidates on the ballot, leaving President Vladimir Putin set to secure a fifth term, a victory that would keep him in power through 2030. But there have been some sporadic acts of violence over the vote, including fires at polling stations and people spoiling ballot boxes with dye. Matthew Chance joins us live now from Moscow. Matthew, do we have a sense of how this turnout has been so far?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, in terms of the turnouts, we're getting sort of pretty regular, if not live updates from the Russian Central Election Commission, about how many Russians who are eligible to vote have actually cast their vote so far. At the moment, the figure is just over 52 percent. And that's after two days essentially, of voting in this three day voting process. There's another day to go.

Tomorrow, which is Sunday, local time, is going to be a real focal point, not just because it's the last day, but also because it's the day that Alexei Navalny's widow and Navalny's team, the prominent opposition figure, of course, who died in his Arctic penal colony last month. It's on that day that Navalny team have called on opposition supporters across Russia to go to polling stations and to, you know, spoil their ballots or vote for somebody who isn't Putin who's on the ballot as a form of what they believe would be a safe protest.

And so we don't quite know what that's going to look like yet, or how the authorities are going to react. But the authorities have issued a stern warning, saying that anyone who attends an unsanctioned protest will be dealt with, you know, will be facing strict legal consequences. So that's another potential flashpoint.

Up until now, there have been a number of, as you mentioned, acts of defiance, people splashing ink and green dye into voting boxes, and even arson attacks at various places across the country.

WHITFIELD: Whoa. And I also I want to ask you Matthew about Russia's claim that it killed up to 300 Ukrainian soldiers with the so called vacuum bomb. What can you tell us about that?

[12:45:11] CHANCE: Yes, vacuum bomb, a thermobaric bomb is another word for it. These are extremely powerful, but sub-nuclear munitions that have been in use in the battlefield in Ukraine for some time now. This was an announcement made by the Russian Deputy Defense Minister, essentially, or the deputy of the defense staff, anyway, saying that, you know, in an attack, in an undisclosed location by Russian forces, 300 Ukrainian service personnel were killed. That's been quickly rebutted by the Ukrainians who have told CNN that that's nonsense.

The trouble is we don't have here at CNN, any way of verifying battlefield losses on either side of the conflict. And so, you know, moment it's just a question of one say -- side saying one thing and the other side rejecting it, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Matthew Chance in Moscow. Thank you.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:47]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. We're getting new details following that shooting outside Philadelphia, to Philadelphia, rather. According to an official the suspect, Andre Gordon has barricaded himself with hostages in Trenton, New Jersey, the city where the shootings took place, Falls Township, Pennsylvania, will now lift the shelter in place order there. More details at the top of the hour.

All right, Israel's war cabinet is scheduled to meet today to discuss guidelines for its negotiating team that will attend next week's ceasefire talks in Qatar. US officials say they're cautiously optimistic about this next round of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. Meanwhile, the speech by U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer calling for new elections in Israel sent shockwaves that are still being filled from Washington to Jerusalem.

In his address, the Senate Majority Leader gave a stunning rebuke of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with unusually strong words for a U.S. senior politician, signaling the Democrats growing frustrations with the way Israel is conducting its military campaign in Gaza. CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak, joining me live outside the White House now. So Kevin, what is the President saying?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the President is embracing this speech that Schumer delivered last week. And even though he is not explicitly endorsing this call for new elections in Israel, what is most interesting sometimes is what he didn't say. And in this case, what you didn't hear from President Biden is explicit condemnation of that viewpoint. Listen to a little bit of what he said in the Oval Office yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He made a good speech. And I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, we do understand that Schumer did warn senior officials here at the White House before delivering that speech, there did not appear to be any concerns raised over the diplomatic fallout, or the political fallout. We did hear from John Kirby, the National Security Council Spokesman yesterday who said that President Biden himself was not calling for new elections in Israel, that that's a decision for the Israelis to make.

But it is hard to interpret this series of events is not the latest sign that this relationship between this White House and this government in Israel is not careening towards complete fracture. You do hear mounting frustration inside the White House, from President Biden on down at how Netanyahu has seemed to reject a number of American recommendations when it comes to the war in Gaza, whether it's taking more steps to protect civilians, whether it's taking more steps to get humanitarian aid and whether it's the future of a Palestinian state.

These are all things that Netanyahu has publicly broken with the White House on President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu who once spoke on a daily or weekly basis at the onset of this conflict have now not spoken by phone for more than a month. And you do see a much more public break sort of on the horizon. As Israel says it's preparing for a major operation in Rafah. The White House has said that something like that should not go forward without a credible plan to protect the millions of civilians who are sheltering in that city.

As of yesterday, the White House says that they haven't seen such a plan. And certainly there are steps on the table, I think for President Biden and the White House potentially respond if Israel were to go forward. So you do see this relationship, really taking a toll. And President Biden and White House officials certainly growing more and more frustrated as this conflict goes on. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Liptak at the White House, thanks so much.

All right, and here's an idea, start your weekend with five uplifting news stories, including the story of a Catholic school teacher in Minnesota who pulled off an epic surprise by getting married in front of the whole school. Listen, every Saturday as part of CNN, five things wherever you get your podcasts.

[12:54:41]

All right, we continue to follow breaking news out of Pennsylvania. Police are looking for a suspect after three people were fatally shot in a Township near Philadelphia. We'll have the very latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

[12:59:38]

We continue with our breaking news, a suspect in a triple homicide taking place in a Philadelphia suburb, has now reportedly barricaded himself with hostages in Trenton, New Jersey. Three people were shot to death and what officials are calling a domestic related incident in Pennsylvania before investigators say they were led on a manhunt and now it is cross state lines into New Jersey.