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Russia Strikes At Key Ukrainian City Of Kharkiv; Protests Break Out Across Israel Over Gaza War; Interview With Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) About Ukraine And Taiwan; Oklahoma Man Detained For Bringing Ammo To Turks And Caicos; Supercell Thunderstorms Firing Up Near Dallas; Friday Breaks TSA Record For Busiest Air Travel Day; Special Counsel Asks Judge For Gag Order In Trump Classified Documents Case; Supreme Court Tensions Simmer As Major Decisions Loom; New Guidelines In Breastfeeding For HIV-Positive Moms. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 25, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He says efforts like that by the Friends of Lebanon cemetery and at other private sites is an extension of the recognition at the nation's V.A. operated cemeteries.

MATTHEW QUINN, VETERANS AFFAIRS UNDERSECRETARY FOR MEMORIAL AFFAIRS: This is reaching out beyond those boundaries to private cemeteries that may be the graves haven't been maintained and the markers have been damaged or destroyed.

CAIFA: The V.A.'s National Cemetery Administration says they are working with private historically black cemeteries in South Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and others, and local veterans' groups, historians and volunteers like Samantha Dorm to verify service records and issue markers, making sure every veteran service is honored.

In Alexandria, Virginia, I'm Karin Caifa.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The NEWSROOM with Jessica Dean starts right now.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

And we begin with breaking news out of Ukraine as Russia ramps up its attacks on the country's second largest city of Kharkiv. Military officials there say Russia launched a third strike this afternoon that left more than a dozen people injured. That includes a 13-year-old boy.

That attack coming just hours after a strike on a shopping center in the city. Dramatic surveillance video capturing the moment of that attack. Officials say at least two people are dead, more than three dozen injured and 11 people who work at that hardware store are now missing. CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is

live in Eastern Ukraine. He's been tracking all of these developments throughout the day.

Nick, what more do we know?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Look, it's terrifying, frankly, to learn the details of what happened this afternoon. People in a hardware store, a huge complex full of paint, full of plastic, feeling these two airstrikes from Russia, landing exactly where they were. At this point, we know four are dead, we know of some people who are not able to reach their relatives. We know potentially 40 injured.

And the huge billowing smoke that went across all of Kharkiv during the hours off this attack really a symbol of how much closer Russian forces are getting to Ukraine's second city. Remember this is all about Putin deciding about two weeks ago to push forces again in what some are calling a third invasion from the north, from Kharkiv down from Russian territory, in a bid to try and stretch Ukrainian forces further than they are right now, which is pretty stretched indeed.

Now, we've seen awful attacks like this against civilian targets over the past two weeks or so. Seven killed last weekend in the attack on a lakeside resort, including a seven-month pregnant woman. Seven killed in a recent attack during the week elsewhere in Kharkiv. And this again now, but it wasn't the only thing that people in Kharkiv had to endure. We also heard of another attack hours later, which didn't hit anybody in another part of Kharkiv.

Details are always kept closed because the Ukrainians don't want to tell the Russians exactly how successful they were. And another attack which appears to have injured 11 individuals. So constantly Kharkiv where we were for the past week, its skylight lining lights with explosions again and again, as so many people in Ukraine realized this new part of Russia's offensive trying to exploit the gap between Ukraine's readiness and the arrival of new American weapons authorized finally by the $61 billion that Republican congressional dysfunctionality had delayed for six vital months.

But that gap between Ukraine's readiness is being exploited by Putin. And now we're seeing that hit civilians in a million-strong city like Kharkiv.

DEAN: Yes, we're seeing, we're looking at that video of what that six- month delay meant, Nick. We're also hearing of a Ukrainian strike in the Russian region of Belgorod. It's just across the Ukrainian border north of Kharkiv. What can you tell us about that strike?

PATON WALSH: Look, we have been hearing repeatedly of Ukraine's response across the border into Belgorod, and so ultimately this forms part of a wider argument that Ukraine is having with its allies in the West, if we're being attacked from Russia proper into cities like Kharkiv, which are, you know, second city for Ukraine itself, why are we not able to respond with the weapons you've given us back into Russia proper? And that had been a red line for so many months for Russia -- sorry,

for the United States itself in trying to not stop an escalation ladder with Moscow but now they appears to be from sort of comments that weren't entirely explained from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, from other European allies of Ukraine, exactly how do they find a way of allowing Ukraine to use the weaponry it's being given to respond back into Russia for troop concentrations, for anti-aircraft defenses, for things that may attack Ukraine properly inside of Russia particularly in a place like Kharkiv so close to Russia itself.

[16:05:18]

How do they find a way to allow Ukraine to use what the West has given it to attack back and defend itself from those Russian attacks? So a phenomenally complex question here, and something like that, where Ukraine is hitting Belgorod, forming part of that discussion. Ukraine is being very keen to try and ensure that Russian civilians living on the border areas with Ukraine feel the same sensitivities, the same sense of attack that Ukrainians do inside of Ukraine's borders near Russia.

DEAN: All right. Nick Paton Walsh with the latest reporting for us from Eastern Ukraine tonight. Thank you so much for that reporting.

And right now, thousands of protesters are marching in several cities across Israel with many calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance a deal that would bring home the hostages held by Hamas.

You are looking live at Tel Aviv right now. A U.S. official telling CNN CIA director Bill Burns left the ceasefire talks taking place in Paris Friday, and that progress was made. An Egyptian official telling CNN that truce talks will resume on Tuesday in Cairo. This as the U.N.'s top court, the International Criminal Court of Justice, ruled Israel must stop immediately its military operation in Rafah on Friday, but Israelis have continued those attacks.

Journalist Elliott Gotkine joining us now from Tel Aviv.

Elliott, is there any sign Israel is rethinking its approach and strategy when it comes to Rafah? Or are they pushing ahead as planned?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, the short answer is no. They're not changing their approach. Indeed, Israel, in response to the ICJ ruling, said that it never has nor will it ever, to use the words of the ICJ ruling, bring about the physical destruction in whole or in part of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. So to that extent, there's not likely to be any practical impact on Israel's plans militarily for Rafah.

It says it needs to go in there to deal with the final root out of Hamas and those final battalions in order to destroy Hamas militarily to prevent it from repeating the atrocities of October 7th. It's also worth noting of course that, although the ICJ's rulings are binding, it doesn't actually have the power to enforce them itself. Now in theory members of the U.N. Security Council could table a resolution calling for some kind of action or sanctions against Israel or something. But invariably the United States would veto that.

But of course, diplomatically, the pressure is added to the diplomatic pressure on Israel and in particular on its leaders. Let's not forget the International Criminal Court's prosecutor is asking for warrants for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant. We've seen in the past week additional countries such as Norway and Spain saying they're going to recognize a Palestinian state.

And of course, all of this is adding to the pressure and the isolation that Israel is feeling diplomatically. And of course, very important to remember that the additional pressure that this will bring to bear on President Biden and his administration especially in this key election year when many from both within the party and among potential voters for the Democrats will be wanting the U.S. to take a stronger line against Israel, perhaps holding back supplies of more weapons or other things that it has already done in order to show its displeasure with the way that Israel is carrying out the war against Hamas in Gaza -- Jessica.

DEAN: And Elliott, while you're talking, we're also looking at live video coming in from Tel Aviv, where these protests, these very active protests are taking part tonight and this has been something that's regularly been happening on the weekends in Tel Aviv, and around Israel as Israelis protest Benjamin Netanyahu, protest the government, call for the return of the hostages and the making of a deal to get the hostages home.

How much domestic pressure is this putting on Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet? And what does it say that we continue to see these protests going on?

GOTKINE: Look, the pressure on the street is one thing. I don't think it's actually having an impact politically in terms of Prime Minister Netanyahu's ability to continue as prime minister with his government. As long as he has the support of his coalition members, he can stay in power until October 2026, which is when the next elections are due.

But we do actually have some news on that front. You mentioned in your introduction about the CIA director Bill Burns its holding talks, trying to resuscitate these talks for the release of a number of Israeli hostages in exchange for a truce and also the release of a larger number of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. But those talks in Paris have broken up. The CIA director was there. His counterpart from the Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, was there.

[16:10:01]

The Qatari prime minister was there. The Egyptians weren't there but they were kept in the loop. And we now understand from an Egyptian official that these truce talks are set to resume in Cairo on Tuesday. An Israeli official familiar with the matter also confirming that talks are set to resume perhaps as early as this week.

So this will give some hope to those people protesting now just a couple of miles away from where I'm sitting right now here in Tel Aviv, that there is at least some momentum, some movement to resuscitate these talks. Although important to remain cautious, we have seen months and months of these talks happening. We've been optimistic that a deal was about to be done. You'll recall even President Biden when he was chomping on an ice cream there I think in Michigan saying that a deal was hopefully going to be done after that weekend.

That was months ago. So there's still hope certainly, once these talks resume that a deal could be done, it won't be easy, it probably won't be fast. And I think everybody having seen what's happened in the past will exercise a degree of caution with alongside that optimism that a deal can be done. Still hoping that one can be done, but understanding that, you know, we've been here before, and unfortunately we are still in this position where the hostages remain captive for, what, almost eight months.

And of course, the war in the Gaza Strip continues and the death toll continues to rise there among Palestinians, too -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Elliott Gotkine, thank you so much for that latest reporting.

And joining us now is Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He sits on the House Intelligence and Oversight Committees. He's also a ranking member of the Select Committee on China.

Congressman, thanks so much for making time on this Saturday afternoon to come by and chat. I want to go back and start with Ukraine. We heard at the top of our broadcast Nick Paton Walsh talking about Russia's recent attacks on Ukraine. And this week, the U.S. announced a sitting $275 million in military aid in part to fight off Russia's advance in the Kharkiv region, which he was laying out.

We know Ukraine is short on manpower, weapons, ammo, and he talked about this six-month delay that Congress experienced because they wouldn't -- they couldn't get the aid package done. Do you think this aid is going to arrive in enough time for Ukraine to turn this around and keep control of its second largest city?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Yes, I think so. I think that the Ukrainians are putting up a heck of a defense right now. And I think that unfortunately the pipeline has been there, so to speak, with regard to the vital equipment that they need. Now that pipeline is starting to fill up and I think that the Ukrainians will then be able to access the ammunition as well as other equipment necessary to make an even more forceful defense of Kharkiv and Ukraine more generally.

DEAN: And I want to talk to you, sit on the Select Committee on China. I want to talk about what's going on with China and Taiwan. The Chinese President Xi Jinping no doubt watching what's happening with Russia invading Ukraine. The international support, how it has waned, and how Ukrainians had to fight for that support. And then this week China launched new military drills, encircling Taiwan, saying the largescale exercises are designed to test its ability to, quote, "seize power over the island." And it's coming just a few days after Taiwan sworn in its new president.

What do you think China is trying to do here? It seems pretty obvious.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think they're trying to intimidate the new president, Mr. William Lai. I think it's really provocative and it's dangerous however because, you know, these types of exercises could easily lead to unintended, catastrophic consequences involving fatalities. And the situation could spiral out of control. So they should really stick to the status quo, which is avoiding provocative activity on their side. But also Taiwan doing the same.

The other thing -- my other takeaway here, Jessica, is it's possible that the Chinese economy is even worse than what we thought and that Xi Jinping is trying to distract attention from a faltering economy by engaging in these exercises. And so I hope he will stop with these provocative measures, but that also gives one pause to reflect on what's happening within China.

DEAN: And President Biden has said in the past that U.S. forces would get involved and defend Taiwan if China attacked. Obviously that's many steps ahead, but we are seeing these military drills. We're seeing China cozying up to Russia and you pointed out that when this is going on, even an inadvertent catastrophe could lead to a conflict.

Do you think that it ups the chances of a U.S. military conflict in that region?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think that anything is possible. Unfortunately, when somebody engages in reckless behavior, such as what China is doing in the Taiwan Strait, and for that matter, in the South China Sea.

[16:15:07]

One thing that perhaps your viewers are already aware of is that they're routinely water-cannoning Philippine vessels in the South China Sea and that's also very dangerous. And so I think that right now what we need to do in the U.S. is we need to step up our assistance to Taiwan to make sure that they can resist any aggression and deter aggression.

The Biden administration has done an excellent job so far. But obviously, we need to get more and we need to do it faster at this point, with regard to porcupine in Taiwan.

DEAN: And two weeks ago, we saw Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting China, meeting with Xi Jinping there. What is their alliance mean for America?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, it's a marriage of convenience. On the one hand, Xi Jinping is able to buy cheap oil from Russia. And on the other hand Russia is able to access much needed technology to fuel its war machine and the criminal invasion of Ukraine. I think that China has basically gone all in with regard to the war on Ukraine. And it's hoped that Ukraine fails to prevail or that it is conquered by the Russians. But I think the cost of that is obviously we become closer to our

partners, friends, and allies in Europe and elsewhere, in defense of democracy. Something that the Chinese don't like. They don't like when other nations multilaterally come together and adopt countermeasures with regard to China. And so if anything, their persistence in helping Russia and its criminal invasion in Ukraine is bringing us closer to our allies and partners in other ways.

DEAN: All right. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you so much.

DEAN: Coming up, police in Haiti opened an investigation after two American missionaries and a Haitian missionary are killed in a violent and gang attack. And we're going to talk with the wife of a man who still being held in Turks and Caicos after he was arrested for bringing ammunition to that country.

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DEAN: Haitian police have opened an inquiry in the murder of three missionary workers, two of them a young married couple from the U.S. Americans Davy and Natalie Lloyd were reportedly ambushed by gang members as they left church in Port-au-Prince Thursday evening. Davy's father says his son was beaten and tied up but managed to call him when the gang members left.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LLOYD, SON DAVY KILLED IN HAITI: He was injured, so he was hurt and he was very nervous, and very scared, because I asked him why they tied him up, and he's like, well, because you're the only one that's got strength that we have to worry about. And so they wanted to make sure he couldn't put up a fight back. And then he was begging me to find somebody to get in there to help him. And I did all I can but I couldn't locate anybody.

DEAN: Gang members later returned and kill the Lloyds along with mission director Jude Montis. Though early reports indicated the three were shot, a source close the gate investigation telling CNN the bodies of the Americans do not appear to have gunshot wounds. That investigation is ongoing.

Meantime, a Pennsylvania man is back home with his family after being detained in Turks and Caicos for carrying ammunition in his luggage.

This is Bryan Hagerich arriving in Pittsburgh, greeted by his children. He pleaded guilty during a hearing on Friday and was able to return home after a judge suspended his 52-week sentence and ordered him to pay a $6,700 fine. But four other Americans also charged with carrying ammunition are still awaiting their fate.

One of them is Ryan Watson. He and his wife Valerie were stopped by airport security just before their return flight home. Her charges were dropped and she was able to return to the U.S. last month after being detained for 11 days. Her husband is still there.

Valerie Watson is joining us now.

Valerie, thank you so much for coming on with us this afternoon. Your husband I believe --

VALERIE WATSON, HUSBAND RYAN BEING HELD IN TURKS AND CAICOS: Thank you for having me.

DEAN: It's good to have you. Has a hearing next week. Has he decided how he wants to proceed, seeing that this gentleman that pleaded guilty was able to be released?

WATSON: Well, yes. So I think we're planning to kind of follow the same path that Bryan did. You know, we shared the same attorney. I think they've got a plan that they've already come up with. Kind of how they proceed -- want to proceed moving forward. So I think he's ready to just go in on Tuesday so they can get that going.

DEAN: And so this was for -- this was a trip for a birthday that you were celebrating and it has obviously turned into a nightmare. You have children at home, right? And you got to them but your husband remains in Turks and Caicos.

WATSON: Yes.

DEAN: What has this been like for you?

WATSON: You know, it was interesting because we went on this vacation, we travel all over the world. We obviously love to travel. We've traveled out of the country a lot. So this was not an unusual vacation for us, and we thought it was going to be great and it was great.

[16:25:02]

You know, we never imagined that this is going to be our story, but it has become our story, and unfortunately, but, you know, we are very hopeful. Me getting to come home to the kids was a huge blessing. That was definitely an answered prayer. They have really been struggling and trying to figure out, you know, when his dad going to come home next, you know, when did they get to see him next.

And I think that there's just a lot of unanswered questions right now that are going through their little minds. And I'm doing my best, you know, as I can here, being just me without dad trying to answer those questions. We've got a lot of support from friends and family. You know, just encouraging us, praying for us, and I know that we are going to -- we'll get through it. It's just a lot of waiting and having a lot of faith and prayer to get us through. So --

DEAN: And you --

WATSON: It's where we're at. DEAN: Yes, you travel, you said a lot. I'm just curious how did this

happen that you end up -- Turks and Caicos, it is not allowed, it is illegal to have any sort of ammunition. How did this all happen?

WATSON: Yes. So, you know, the duffel bag that we are using as the carry-on, it was -- it's a bag that Ryan uses frequently just for weekend trips. He happened to take it on his hunting trip back in the fall. He typically just puts normal clothes. He has a hunting bag with all of his hunting gear and clothes and things, too. So, you know, we talked about it over and over, and, you know, like how in the world did those end up in that bag, how did neither one -- none of us saw it.

You know, it was -- I guess it was tucked deep down into a deep pocket or underneath like a -- it's a rolling duffle so it's got, you know, ridges where the handle comes out. And I don't know where it came from. They took everything out of the bag at the airport. They -- more before they --

DEAN: Unfortunately we're losing Valerie there on that signal, but Valerie Watson, thanks so much for joining us. We're sorry that that signal dropped out.

Up next, more than 70 million people find themselves bracing for severe weather this weekend as a record number of Americans hit the roads and the skies for the holiday.

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DEAN: Severe weather is threatening holiday plans for tens of millions of people, with powerful tornadoes, baseball-sized hail and hurricane- force winds all possible, particularly outside Dallas, Texas.

Let's go to Meteorologist Elisa Raffa to talk more about this weather situation.

Elisa, what more are you learning?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So we just had this new tornado watch issued from Wichita down through Oklahoma City. This watch right here is what's called a particularly dangerous situation. It was just issued.

And these particularly dangerous situation tornado watches are very rare because this it's not just a, hey, watch out, there might be tornadoes today. This is a -- the tornadoes can be incredibly strong and long lived, and violent.

So we are incredibly worried about these storms that could fire up here in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas.

We've already had storms starting to blow up in parts of Texas. You can see, all this year, thunderstorm warnings there for the northern part of the state. We've also had a severe thunderstorm watch an effect for much of

Georgia going into the Florida Panhandle where we've had some storms pack some damaging winds and large hail as well.

This is a look at the risk for today. That moderate level four out of five, which looks like it has just gotten a little bit bigger in the latest update, includes that's threat for the intense tornadoes, baseball-sized hail and some damaging wind gusts that we'll have to watch out for.

As we go through the evening and overnight, a lot of this looks like it could be nocturnal, meaning happening at night. EF-2 or greater for some of those tornadoes. Again, incredibly strong and violent.

And come in what's been a really busy start to the severe weather season. More than 900 tornado reports since January 1st. Average to date would be about 700.

So let me show you how this times out. Storms really might not start firing up until after 7:00 or 8:00 at night. Again, getting close to sunset. When you see these discrete little cells in there, those are the strong, violent tornadoes that we're worried about.

Again, you see them propagating up from Oklahoma into Kansas. Look at the time, 10:00 at night. So before we go to bed tonight, make sure you turn up the sound on your phone so it can wake you while you're sleeping.

Then it turns into a damaging wind threat overnight as we go into Missouri and then continues to push through the Ohio Valley as we go into Sunday.

So the severe weather risk continues as we go through the holiday weekend. This is the threat for tomorrow, a level three out of five. You see that orange there from St. Louis to Nashville for additional tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail.

So lots that were tracking. And just again, if you live in that area, that's the particularly dangerous situation, please stay weather aware -- Jessica?

DEAN: Very good advice.

Elisa Raffa for us, thanks so much.

Millions of people booked their flights weeks ago before we knew about the rough weather. Friday was a record day at the airports, according to the TSA, which says it set a new record by screening nearly three million travelers in one day.

Joining us is Scott Keyes, founder of the travel site, Going.com, formerly known as Scott's Cheap Flights.

Scott, great to have you on.

The busiest day ever at airports across the country. I feel like every time we have a holiday weekend, we're reporting something like that.

Is travel officially back?

[16:35:00]

SCOTT KEYES, FOUNDER, GOING.COM: It's officially back and booming. Look, it seems like every single month, we are setting a new all-time record. And projections for this summer is that it's going to be the busiest one ever.

That's certainly going to mean long lines. But the good news is that airlines are adding enough capacity to keep up with the demand.

In fact, capacities are actually out supplying demand. You're seeing more flights, which is leading to more elbow room on planes and a little bit lower fares than we saw last year.

DEAN: Well, that's always good news. We like a lower fair.

We have a record number of travelers this weekend. And some people are frequent flyers, frequent travelers. But others maybe go only a couple of times a year.

What tips do you have for them if it's extra crowded, if there's delays, that's sort of thing?

KEYES: Sure. Look, folks have heard that the stock advice to show up to the airport early and that's certainly especially important during a busy holiday weekend.

But here's one that folks may not have heard. Bag fees, they are up this year. Almost every airline increased them about five bucks. But it's also true that nearly, every single flight, airlines have been asking for volunteers to check their bags free of charge.

So if you show up to the airport and hand over your bag, you're going to pay $35. If you take that same bag, just walk it through security and to your gate, you're almost certainly going to be asked to volunteer to check it to your destination free of charge. Save $140 for a family of four.

DEAN: It's a very, very good tip.

I also want to ask you about something that's not necessarily related to Memorial Day.

But we've-- we've heard that airlines have noticed this surge in European air travel the summer and, partly, partly because of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, which is taking place in Europe over the summer.

And apparently, people are finding out it's cheaper for Americans to fly overseas to see her?

KEYES: I love this so much. Look, in the olden days, when I was growing up, there was medical tourism, flying to Southeast Asia or Mexico to be able to get a cheaper procedure. Nowadays, there is Taylor Swift tourism. Fly over to Europe to be able to get a cheaper concert ticket.

In fact, we did a report over at Going and we found that you can get a substantially cheaper overall trip to see Taylor Swift and concert flying to Dusseldorf or Warsaw, Germany or Poland, for about $1,000 all in. That's flights, concert tickets and hotel, cost of living, stuff like that.

So it really can save some folks money who are hoping to go see her in concert.

DEAN: And you get a European trip out of it. It's not a bad deal.

KEYES: I would jump on that in a heartbeat.

DEAN: All right. Before we let you go, any other good -- good tips or anything that's sticking out for you as we head into the summer travel season that people need to keep in mind or a hot tip to keep in mind.

KEYES: Certainly. Look, for folks who are hoping to avoid disruptions, there are two types of flights that you can book, early morning flights, which have an on-time arrival about 25 percentage points higher than afternoon or evening. That's because the weather's better in the morning. And because your aircraft is already at the airport.

And nonstop flights. Flights get canceled about 2 percent on average, whereas 20 percent of flights get delayed. If you're nonstop flight gets delayed, it stinks.

But it's not a huge deal if it gets delayed on a connecting flight. You might miss that connection and really be struggling to find a new flight.

So that's why nonstop, early morning, you're much more likely to get to your destination on time.

DEAN: Yes, on time is the best.

All right. Scott Keyes, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

KEYES: Thank you.

[16:38:26]

DEAN: Coming up, CNN has new reporting about the souring relationship between the justices of the Supreme Court, with our Supreme Court analyst describing them as, quote, "tired, testy and very fractured." The potential impact of future rulings ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:30]

DEAN: Special Counsel Jack Smith is asking a federal judge to place a gag order on former President Donald Trump. Friday's court filing is an attempt to limit Trump's comments about

law enforcement that searched his Florida home. He's falsely claimed in a campaign email that President Biden was, quote, "locked and loaded and ready to take me out."

But here's the reality. The policy is standard protocol for FBI searches. And it limits how officers may use force in those operations. The same protocol was used in the search of President Biden's homes and offices during a separate classified documents investigation.

Over the next few weeks, the Supreme Court is expected to unveil more than a dozen major decisions on some of the most hot-button issues facing our nation, including several involving former President Trump.

But right now, there are signs of a growing rift between justices, as seen by CNN's senior Supreme Court analyst, Joan Biskupic, in recent oral arguments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Good to see you, Jessica.

The Supreme Court has just one month to resolve more than a dozen major cases, including whether Donald Trump must stand trial for election subversion. And there are signs of significant discord and distrust among the nine justices. That will make it harder to pull together decisions.

The liberals have been bluntly exposing their differences with the conservative majority in opinion. They contend that the majority is changing the law in America simply because, with the new justices, it can.

Conservatives who, indeed, hold the upper hand on this 6-3 court, nonetheless, have been spiking their writing and remarks with derision.

[16:45:03]

Meanwhile, there have been self-inflicted controversies over ethics and perceived conflicts of interests. The latest from flags flown at houses owned by Justice Samuel Alito that are associated with Trump's supporters and the January 6th attack at the capital.

During the justices' last two weeks of oral arguments, the anger on both sides of the bench was obvious. They sounded testy and looked weary. Alito rolled his eyes. Elena Kagan looked pained. Justice Clarence Thomas rubbed his face.

In some cases, when Ketanji Brown Jackson, the junior justice, was asking questions on the last round of a hearing, most of the others didn't even look her way.

That larger atmosphere suggested many were simply not listening to each other or respecting different views. That pattern is bound to make the final weeks of negotiations especially difficult.

And it could be harder for Chief Justice John Roberts to win unanimity or something close to it in the controversy over Trump's demand for immunity.

In past challenges to presidential power, whether involving Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton, chief justices worked toward unanimous rulings.

Personal differences can also stymie compromise for a single court opinion, concurring opinions, Concurring opinions and competing rationales often confused lower-court judges and other people trying to understand the legal precedent.

So while this antagonism is difficult for the justices' internal negotiations, it can have real consequences behind -- beyond their walls for the law in America -- Jessica?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right. Joan Biskupic for us, thanks so much for that reporting.

Louisiana is now the first state in the country to reclassify abortion pills like Mifepristone as controlled dangerous substances. Why the lawmaker who sponsored the bill says it's needed to protect mothers, despite pushback from hundreds of health care providers.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: Louisiana is the now the first state to classify abortion drugs as controlled, dangerous substances. The new law placing the drugs in the same category as opioids and amphetamines, drugs that carry the high risk of addiction and overdose.

Republican Governor Jeff Landry signing that controversial new bill into law Friday, making it a crime to possess the medication without a prescription.

Proponents say it will protect expectant mothers from coerced abortions.

This is what Republican state Senator Thomas Pressly had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE REP. THOMAS PRESSLY (R-LA): And my sister was the victim of a horrible domestic violence attack where her then-husband tried to grind up Misoprostol seven different times and put it into her drinks, trying to kill my now 22-month-old niece and significantly harm my sister and her health.

Look, this bill is intended to ensure that doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician's assistants have the opportunity to write these medications.

And they will be dispensed at pharmacies throughout the state of Louisiana. That's going to continue when it's for legitimate health care reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Hundreds of health care providers have come out against the move, though, saying it could prevent people from accessing necessary care.

Anyone found in possession of the medication without a prescription could face a felony charge punishable by up to five years in prison.

A major paradigm shift from moms with HIV -- HIV who want to breastfeed their infants. The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its breastfeeding policy for the first time since the start of the HIV epidemic.

And the change comes after new research showed it is rare for virus transmission in breast milk under certain conditions.

CNN's health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, explains more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Ever since the 1980s, medical groups advised women with HIV to avoid breastfeeding because of concerns about transmission of the virus.

But we're now seeing a reversal in that guidance. The American Academy of Pediatrics now says that mothers with HIV can breastfeed with very low risk if they follow these guidelines.

They're receiving anti-retroviral treatments and the virus is suppressed in the body. When those two things happen, the risk of HIV transmission when breastfeeding is estimated to be less than 1 percent.

And this change in guidance aligns with what the Department of Health and Human Services recommends as well.

Outside of establishing a bond between the mom and her newborn, babies who are breastfed have a lower risk of asthma, obesity, type-1 diabetes, severe lower respiratory disease, ear infections and some other health conditions.

Each year in the United States, nearly 5,000 women with HIV give birth. So this change in the medical guidance means a lot to many moms out there.

I spoke with one mother in Colorado who has HIV. And she told me she's working with her medical team to safely breastfeed her newborn son. She sees breastfeeding as one of the first things she can do postpartum to help him have a healthy life.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right. Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much.

We are still following breaking news as a rarely used tornado watch is issued for millions in the central United States as says major travel hubs brace for a combination of severe weather and holiday travel.

[16:54:59]

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

And we start with breaking news. A particular danger -- dangerous weather situation for tens of millions of people this Memorial Day weekend. Intense tornadoes, baseball-sized hail and hurricane-force winds threatening part of the U.S.

[16:59:59]

Let's get you right over to Meteorologist Elisa Raffa to explain why this alert is of high concern -- Elisa?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's a rare type of tornado watch. It's not used all the time because it's being labeled a particularly dangerous situation.