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New Wave Of Tornado Threats And Dangerous Weather; Children Ages 2 And 5 Killed In Storms In Cooke County, Texas; At Least 35 Killed By IDF Strike In Rafah Camp; Trump Loudly Booed At Libertarian National Convention; Extreme Turbulence Leaves 12 Injured In Qatar Airways Flight; IDF Says It Killed Two Senior Hamas Officials In Rafah Strike; Interview With Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA); New Wave Of Tornado Threats And Dangerous Weather. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired May 26, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:39]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington, and we have breaking news this Memorial Day weekend as powerful and dangerous storms are threatening millions of Americans.

It's as many communities in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky have spent the weekend digging out from under debris. At least 15 people have been confirmed dead as a result of these storms as rescues continue. In Valley View, Texas, at least seven people have died.

Here's Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: At the same time that we are going through the heart-wrenching loss of life, including the heartbreak of a family losing a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: We have CNN's Ed Lavandera in Valley View. We're going to go to him in just a moment. But first let's check in with CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa, who is tracking the threats that will continue through tonight -- Elisa.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's really sad when you hear that about the losses of life and unfortunately it looks like we're going to have strong, intense tornadoes again as we go into nightfall here, 7:00, you know, that sun is about to set and that makes these tornadoes even more dangerous.

Here's a look at the biggest area of concern right now. A tornado watch, including Southwest Missouri from Springfield into the boot heel and then it includes Carbondale, Paducah, going into parts of Illinois and Kentucky. Part of this is a PDS tornado watch where that particularly dangerous situation. That's saying that we're not only expecting some tornadoes, but these tornadoes can be strong, intense, violent at EF2 strength or greater. This goes into 11:00 at night. Again, remember, as it gets dark, it's

hard to, you know, see these tornadoes coming so please make sure you have your emergency alerts on loud. Right now we have a cluster of tornado warnings, including the city of St. Louis, where they had to delay the St. Louis Cardinals game. We've got a couple of tornadoes a little bit farther south in the state, just north there of West Plains where we've got these discrete cells that are rotating and they're capable of creating these tornadoes. Again, that can be very strong and intense.

Again, a close up of that warning there in St. Louis, more than 600,000 people in that warning right now. Plus, we still have this line of storms that's been kicking all day through parts of Virginia from Roanoke and about to get into North Carolina. Charlotte now included in the latest severe thunderstorm watch.

Here's the risk, you see that red bull's eye, that's that moderate risk, that level four and a five where we can find those intense tornadoes, golf ball-sized hail, maybe even up to baseball in some areas. And those wind gusts up to 75 miles per hour. Again, the threat not just for tornadoes, but those long-lived strong and intense ones especially there in the red and the orange areas as we go into the night.

Then tomorrow the threat shifts to the East Coast. We have that level two out of five so the threat for the intense tornadoes comes down, but we can still find damaging wind gusts from D.C. to Richmond, Charlotte, even down to Atlanta and Montgomery. So here's a look at those storms continuing to blow up this evening. These are the incredibly dangerous and discrete cells that could produce those strong and violent tornadoes.

They're organized into a line. When you see the storms organized into a line like that, that's the push of damaging winds. So we'll continue with that damaging wind threat overnight. It dives south as we go into tomorrow morning, places like Atlanta waking up to some thunder. And then the storms could reignite in the afternoon.

It's been an incredibly active year, more than 900 reports so far this year, well above average -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Elisa Raffa, thank you so much for all that information.

Let's go now to Ed Lavandera who's on the ground in Texas amongst so much devastation -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it's been a devastating day here. We are near the small city of Valley View, which is north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. And it was just before 11:00 last night that a tornado ripped through here. The National Weather Service now says it was an EF-2 tornado with winds of up to 135 miles per hour. And you can see the devastation that it has left.

And here in this neighborhood, we have seen people throughout the day essentially piling together what is left of their home structures and barns and sheds, and just (INAUDIBLE) pile. Some families, we spoke with the Garcia family that lives in this home right over here and just moments before the tornado struck (INAUDIBLE) built their own storm shelter out of cinderblock.

[19:05:14]

And that's where the (INAUDIBLE) around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And you could feel the tornado hit?

FRANK GARCIA, LIVES IN COOKE COUNTY, TEXAS: Yes. Especially with that breathing hole that we have in there. I mean, you could just feel it, you know, we hear that there's wind going really, all right, well, it's probably coming, it's probably coming, and then again, you just kind of feel where it just goes quiet for maybe a minute, just nothing. And then out of nowhere, you just hear the wind start wailing hard. And at that point we knew that we were going to have some damage, I mean, for sure, but I don't think I realized, you know, the whole magnitude of everything until you start walking out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: All right. I think we've lost unfortunately Ed Lavandera's shot there, but thank you, Ed, for that reporting. We certainly send our best to those families in Valley View, Texas.

We also have some breaking news tonight. The Israeli military saying it targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah killing two senior Hamas officials. Gaza officials say this was a camp for displaced people and 35 -- at least 35 people were killed. Many of the victims women and children.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is following the latest for us.

Paula, what more are you learning about this?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica. So this happened in Northwest Rafah. We understand it was in the Tal as-Sultan camp. It's an area where there are many displaced people who have been moved due to the war by the Israeli military, in many cases a number of times. We know that it is an area of tents, of makeshift shelters where people are staying.

And we see from images obtained by CNN and also some horrific images on social media of the bodies and those injured being pulled from burning tents. You can see firefighters, paramedics, the displaced, trying desperately to put those flames out. So what we are hearing from the Palestinian side, the Gaza Ministry of Health saying that the majority of those injured and killed were women and children. Also saying that there were no hospitals that had the capacity to cope and to help that number of injured.

What we're hearing from the Israeli side as the Israeli military saying that they did launch an airstrike. They targeted a Hamas compound, saying that they killed two senior Hamas officials including a commander of Hamas' leadership in the West Bank. Now, the IDF acknowledges that there are reports of a fire that broke out. They say they see the reports as well of the civilians that were harmed and they are reviewing the incident.

But what we're seeing from the Palestinian side is really a devastating fire that's ripping through this area. We heard from the Gaza government's media office that this was an area that was designated a safe area by the Israeli military. And this is an area that many people were told to head towards, to head further west, away from where the Israeli military was operating. So certainly this does appear like a devastating event that has happened in Rafah at this point.

Two different narratives from the Israeli and the Palestinian side. But we are hearing that at least 35 people are believed to have been killed in this displaced camp, that coming from the Ministry of Health. We cannot independently confirm figures or information given to us by either side. But certainly you can see from the images that that was a devastating fire.

Now, we also know that Hamas fired eight missiles towards Israel earlier on Sunday. And for the first time since the end of January, they targeted Tel Aviv. We heard from the Israeli military that there were no reports of casualties, that Hamas is operating in Rafah, that the hostages are in Rafah, and that this this is why they need to carry out these strikes here, saying that they also did strike the area and the rocket launcher that launched those rockets earlier on Sunday, and that Hamas was launching them from nearby two mosques.

So what we're hearing at this point as well from the Palestinian side is that they are fearful that the death toll will rise, that there are a number of different areas in Rafah and in the southern Gaza area that they were taking the dead and the injured, too.

[19:10:09]

So they are concerned that that death toll of more than 35 could rise in the coming hours -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Paula Hancocks with the latest, thank you for that reporting.

Still ahead, former President Trump back in the courtroom Tuesday after a long holiday weekend. What to expect as the hush money trial moves into closing arguments and when there could be a verdict.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:15:16]

DEAN: Tonight less than 48 hours before closing arguments begin in Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial, the former president is spending his Memorial Day weekend posing for pictures at a NASCAR race in North Carolina where he is with a group of Gold Star families. This a warm embrace compared to the jeers and boos he received last night at the Libertarian National Convention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Libertarian Party should nominate Trump for president of the United States. Whoa.

(CROWD BOOING)

TRUMP: That's nice. Only do that if you want to win. If you want to lose, don't do that. Keep getting your 3 percent every four years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And joining me now Republican strategist Maura Gillespie and Democratic strategist Meghan Hays.

Great to have you both on. Also, we look very Memorial Day, red, white, and blue. I'm noticing there.

Maura, let's start with you. We are looking ahead to these closing arguments. We are ultimately going to get some sort of outcome here. I'm curious what kind of impact you think a conviction could have on this race.

MAURA GILLESPIE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: So unfortunately I don't think it will have much of an impact, quite frankly. You know, I'm not a legal scholar, but it sounds as though he can still run. He may not be able to vote for himself, but he is allowed to still run. And so I think it does, though, make it more important about who he picks as vice president. That's certainly going to be a factor, you know, I think looking ahead.

So I think Trump loyalists are going to stay loyal no matter what really happens. They believe that this is a sham of a trial to begin with so a conviction is not going to change their minds in that regard.

DEAN: And Meghan, if Trump is acquitted or they get a hung jury, is that a win for Trump? And is the Biden campaign factoring any of this in? Are they counting on a conviction here?

MEGHAN HAYS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think that what this trial has done is really shown the contrast between the president and former President Trump. But I don't think whether he's acquitted or it's a hung jury or he's convinced really it's going to do anything. It's going to be a talking point for both sides. He's going to call it a sham trial. He's going to say it's a Democratic attack against him. All the things, regardless of what the outcome is.

So I just think that we would have done is really just show the kind of person he is and the kind of character he has, which is a great for President Biden because those are the exact opposite things that he provides as the president. So I think in that way it's been helpful, but whether or not the outcome, I don't think it really is going to matter.

DEAN: It really sounds like, I mean, you make a good point, which is if you're for Trump, you're probably still for Trump. If you're against Trump, you're still against Trump. It's really that teeny slice in the middle that might actually determine the outcome of the election that might actually care about this.

HAYS: Yes, I think like the suburban moms that are outside of Philadelphia, you know, and outside of Pittsburgh, those are the types of people who are going to make up the difference in this election and those are going to be the deciding factors. And some of the things that came out during the trial I think will impact them. I don't think they want to vote for someone who's cheating on their spouse and cheating with porn star and lying and cheating then feeling type of person to be their president.

But you just never know. People have short memories. So hopefully the contrast sticks through and his character came through, but the outcome, again, I don't think it matters.

DEAN: Yes. And Maura, I want to go back to that clip that we played right before you guys came on with us. It was the former president addressing the Libertarian Party convention last night. Why -- he knew what he was walking into. He knew that he would probably not be well- received. How real of a threat is RFK Jr. to the Trump campaign and why do you think the former president went there last night?

GILLESPIE: I think, you know, it's interesting to me because as you're talking about the small sliver of voters who are actually going to make or break the 2024 election, he has yet to really reach out to them. Yet you saw him reaching out to the black voters in the Bronx and he was reaching out to libertarians because he does now finally see that RFK Jr. has been pulling votes from his potential gets as opposed to potentially Biden gets.

So it's interesting that he is spending this kind of time there as opposed to really trying to address women voters especially, but also that small fraction of those who are going to make or break the election. So, you know, it is interesting but not surprising. It's -- you know, his reaction to it being booed to me was, you know, a little glimmer inside of here's how Donald Trump views himself. That he is the only choice going into 2024.

He said no, don't vote for me if you don't want to win again. But -- so it's interesting that he is playing on that, that he is the only candidate to win and to be president come November.

DEAN: And Meghan, I'm curious how the Biden campaign is viewing RFK Jr. because this is a kind of a weird one where he is pulling from both campaigns, but it's geographic, it's in different states in different ways but neither of these campaigns are thrilled he's in the race.

HAYS: No, I think he's just drawing attention away. He's a non-serious candidate. He's just taking up airtime from them. You know, it's just -- it's not -- he doesn't have the ballot access, his name on some of these battleground states, but he's also not a serious candidate.

[19:20:06]

And I think that the Biden campaign is realizing that and recognizing that. And hopefully that his voter, the voters that will either vote for him by the time it comes to the election, it won't matter or they'll stay home. It's just not going to make a big difference. He is not a serious person here. So --

DEAN: And Maura, you mentioned some of these female voters that you think that the Trump campaign should be really trying to appeal to. We are seeing the Biden campaign with this outreach to Nikki Haley voters now that Nikki Haley has said she's going to support former President Donald Trump. And it was interesting because some of our reporting from that was when they had this conversation that some of those voters were telling the Biden campaign, look, we get democracy is on the ballot. We understand. We want to talk about other issues that are important to us.

What do you think is the right message? How does the Biden campaign convince those voters?

GILLESPIE: You know, leading with women's reproductive rights. Just women's rights in general, to have the autonomy over what happens to their body is an important first message, but also talk about things that impact them and their families. You know, despite the fact that many people think that we're in a recession even though we're not, it doesn't make us feel better that, you know, cost of living is really, really high right now.

And so talking to them about what it is actually to expect in the future or coming in the very near future, I think it hasn't been articulated well and people's trust in either three of the top three candidates that are running for office really isn't an all-time high. People are unmotivated to really even choose any of those three because, you know, I think competency has any question about across the three of them.

And so speaking to women and trying to convince them to vote for you really that's what the candidates need to be doing because we also have this other option. It's a write-in. And many people may choose that route. They also may choose not to show up. And so I don't know that an unmotivated electorate bodes well for us as a nation but that may be what happens in November. So trying to reach them where they are is going to be the best strategy.

DEAN: And Meghan, I'll give you the last question before we run out of time. Just following up on that, it seems that one of the biggest threats to the Biden campaign is people just stayed at home or writing somebody else in.

HAYS: Yes. I think that they need to be attracting these other voters, and like Maura said, meeting folks where they are and going to these women. You know, like I talked about earlier outside of Philadelphia and meeting them with like reproductive rights is on the ballot this time. And I understand what democracy, but the economy, all these other -- the economy, these different thing that President Trump has notoriously not been there for them and that President Biden is, and showing them what he's done and then also what he is going to do.

I think looking forward is a really big thing that they are going to need to do. But also meeting them where they are to do that is important.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Maura Gillespie, Meghan Hays, thanks to both of you.

And still ahead, we continue to follow breaking news as the Israeli military has now said it killed two senior Hamas officials in a strike in Rafah earlier today. Gaza officials saying that strike mostly killed women and children. We're going to talk with Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts about how this could potentially play any role in the peace talks set to resume this week.

Plus passengers describing the terrifying seconds when another plane was rocked by severe turbulence mid-flight. One person telling one camera crew it was the worst 15 seconds of their life, describing food everywhere and bloodied faces. You'll hear more when we come back.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:49]

DEAN: New tonight passengers describing the terrifying scene on board another passenger plane hit by extreme turbulence. This time it was a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin. 12 people were injured, eight of them hospitalized, and passengers described the chaos after they landed in Dublin. One person calling it the worst 15 seconds of his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUFADDAL ALI, PASSENGER: Just very scary, to be honest. Like I'm still shivering, right. It was for 10 or 15 seconds and that was the worst 15 seconds of my life. The food was everywhere on the plane because it was -- it was the taxi time and I have seen a few people, they were like literally flying in the plane because it was so pressure in the plane.

CHERYL SUCKER, PASSENGER: It was quite scary. The plane just seemed to go stopped, which it didn't, but then dropped, quite a severe drop.

PHILOMENA PRENDERGAST, PASSENGER: We had our seatbelts on. Just from watching the episode that happened last week, it was just -- it was there in your mind. It was so scary at the time. You just don't know, is this it or not, like, what -- the staff were amazing, like to actually get up and have to look after us and they're going around with bandages on their hands and bloodied faces.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: Qatar Airways has opened an investigation and earlier I spoke with CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien, who said this concerning trend appears to be linked to climate change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: It's becoming more common and there appears to be a climate change link as the planet warms, it warms in an uneven manner, both north and south, and also at altitudes. And what that creates is, among these rivers of air, we call jet streams, it creates what's called wind shear, which means sudden changes in the direction of wind at any given altitude.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now this of course comes just days after a Singapore Airlines flight to London hit severe turbulence. That injured more than 100 people and killed one man with a heart condition.

Turning now to a developing story. Four girls stabbed in a movie theater near Boston. And then just an hour later two adults stabbed at McDonald's. Police say they have a suspect in custody.

[19:30:00]

CNN correspondent Polo Sandoval has more.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica, good evening. Police in Massachusetts releasing limited information at this point, but at least enough to help us paint a timeline about the events from yesterday, albeit a disturbing timeline.

It starts at 6:00 PM yesterday when police say that a man walked into a movie theater in Braintree, Massachusetts, which is about 13 miles south of Boston.

This man, without a ticket made his way into that movie theater and then police say stabbed for young females, their ages ranging from nine to 17 years old, all of their injuries, fortunately, non-life- threatening.

At that point though or at this point, investigators believed that this was a non-provoked attack. The way police described it, that this man without saying anything and without any warning, he suddenly attacked and stabbed those females.

Police believed that that same man then made his way south to Plymouth, Massachusetts to a McDonald's fast-food restaurant where he allegedly stabbed two people, a man and a woman in their 20s, that those two people also suffered non-life-threatening injuries and it wasn't until a short time later that police then caught up with the suspect, engaged him in a pursuit that then ended with a crash. Investigators were able to detain that man.

Still though no exact word on a motive and no information on that suspect. We should mention now however, the police in Deep River, Connecticut investigating a homicide. A body that they located while responding to a call of a disturbance, they will only say that that suspect in that case was apprehended in Massachusetts, but they stopped short of directly linking it to those two unprovoked stabbing.

So still a lot of information to be sought out in this investigation, but a very disturbing case with these unprovoked stabbings in a fast- food restaurant and a movie theater, two places that we all know very well.

DEAN: All right, Polo Sandoval, thanks so much for that reporting.

Straight ahead, an update on the breaking news: Tornado warnings being issued tonight as severe weather makes its way across the Midwest. We will have the latest for you when we come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:42]

DEAN: Tonight's breaking news: The Israeli military says it targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah killing two senior Hamas officials. Gaza officials say this was also a camp for displaced people, 35 people were killed, including women and children, and it wasn't the only attack today, there was also an IDF attack on Jabalia that killed at least four people.

And early this morning, a series of rockets launched from Rafah targeting Tel Aviv, Hamas taking responsibility for that attack.

And joining us to talk about that and more, Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts.

Congressman, nice to see you on this Sunday evening.

We went through what we've seen unfold in Gaza and in Tel Aviv over the last 24 hours and it occurs to me that this is really a push and pull of that is the heart of this war, which is the IDF saying that it has killed two senior Hamas officials and also, we are getting reports that civilians were killed in this, including many women and children at this refugee camp.

What do you think this means as these talks will resume in the next several days to try to find some sort of ceasefire and hostage deal.

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Good evening, Jessica. Thanks for having me back on your show.

What we have seen tonight and for the last several nights, really just emphasizes again the barbarity of Hamas.

Hamas, which of course started this war on October 7th by butchering more than a thousand Israelis; Hamas, which still has a hundred hostages including eight Americans, and which is hiding those hostages and its own senior military commanders within civilian infrastructure. It is creating a terrible set of conundrums for the Israeli Defense Forces, which are trying to operate to the highest standards, but still take on their military imperative of defeating Hamas that we can have a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

In so far as Hamas controls the levers of power in Gaza, there will be no permanent ceasefire. They've broken half a dozen in the last 15 years and they will break more.

DEAN: And so what do you think or what do you -- what kind of expectations, let's say, do you have for these talks that will resume on Tuesday?

AUCHINCLOSS: There is low trust, of course. Israel really can only trust one country in this world and that is the United States, and it has to negotiate with countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which in the best of times have been double faced with Israel and the worst of times have been trying to destroy Israel.

But we need these negotiations to resume because they are the best chance that we have to get these hostages just home.

I met last week with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. He is a young man who was at the music festival, had his arm blown off, has since spent more than six months in a terror tunnel somewhere in Gaza needing medical attention and his best chance to be reunited with his parents, to be reunited with his sisters is for these negotiations to proceed and for Egypt and Qatar to put more pressure on Hamas to finally do what is right, not just for the hostages, but for the Palestinian people.

[19:40:10]

DEAN: And the International Court of Justice issued an order on Friday calling on Israel to stop its military operation in the Southern Gaza city of Rafah, but it doesn't sound like realistically you see that happening.

AUCHINCLOSS: Israel needs to control the Rafah Crossing with Egypt, otherwise, Hamas is going to reequip. It is going to rearm and it is going to resume this war.

Hamas, insofar as its extent insofar as it has the material and the manpower and the levers of power in Gaza to fight will fight and it will pursue its own charter to destroy the state of Israel and kill Jews worldwide.

So Israel needs to cut off that supply line to Egypt and it has since de-scoped much of its operations after pressure from President Biden and it just demonstrates that the back-and-forth between the War Cabinet and the administration, while frustrating at times, does produce better strategy. Now, not the strategy that we need to be clear.

And in fact, Netanyahu's own War Cabinet has really turned on him and said, we need a plan that integrates governance in Gaza with these military operations that aligns Gallant and Gantz with Biden in saying that while military operations are one important element of defeating Hamas, you can't fight something with nothing. We need a plan for governance as well. DEAN: And also, the House Speaker Mike Johnson has invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to a joint session of Congress. Do you support that move?

AUCHINCLOSS: Well, I think the most important conversation that Netanyahu can have right now is not with Congress, it is with his own War Cabinet.

There are three voting members of the War Cabinet, one of whom is Netanyahu, the other two don't agree with them right now.

So he should really be focused on those conversations and making sure he is aligned with them and with the President of the United States.

I've attended every address by a head of government to Congress since I've been in office, I intend to attend those as the default, but that is August. It is May right now, a month is a year right now in Middle East terms. I am not even really thinking about that.

I am thinking about his own conversations with the War Cabinet. I am thinking about these hostage negotiations next week.

DEAN: And before I let you go, I do want to talk about tomorrow, Memorial Day. You served in Afghanistan as a Marine Commander, and I just want to ask you if there is anything you do on Memorial Day to mark it and what it signifies to you?

AUCHINCLOSS: Tomorrow, I am going to be thinking about the moms and dads in particular in service and those who lost their lives. That picture of me, I was a kid and felt invincible and didn't have children of my own and now that I have three little ones -- four, three, and one -- the idea of leaving them and going into harms' way, frankly is at a different level.

And so I am thinking about those parents who gave the utmost of themselves and frankly of their families for this country and that we be the kind of country that deserves it.

DEAN: Yes, it is for so many people, of course, the mark of summer or the beginning of summer, and it is a fun good day, but it is also such as somber day in the sense that we do honor and give our thanks to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

AUCHINCLOSS: Semper fidelis, Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Congressman Jake Auchincloss, thanks so much. We appreciate it. Always good to see you.

Still ahead, the push to recognize African American veterans in Historically Black cemeteries this Memorial Day. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:32] DEAN: We have breaking news this Memorial Day weekend: Powerful and dangerous storms threatening millions of Americans. At least 15 people have been confirmed dead after storms in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky.

CNN meteorologist, Elisa Raffa is tracking what's next. And Elisa, a lot of people under the severe weather threat tonight.

RAFFA: Yes. Again, as it continues with a multiple day severe weather outbreak. These are all the watches that we have right now. The yellow is a line of severe thunderstorm watches. The red are tornado watches that we've been watching here very closely.

Look at these cells that have been blowing up in parts of Missouri. When you see those storms that are discrete on their own, those are super cells and those can spin and we are worried about the possibility of some strong and violent tornadoes in this area in particular.

This watch is a particularly dangerous situation, tornado watch, it goes until eleven o'clock Central Time tonight because were not only expecting tornadoes, but some of these tornadoes could be strong, can be violent, could be intense, could be long-lived EF-2 strength or greater. So we are very much worried about that.

We've also been watching some storms out of the St. Louis area pretty closely. We've got a cluster of some tornado warnings in a more rural area of Southeast Missouri, but we actually had a tornado confirmed by radar roll through part of St. Louis and you can see its now just south and east there of the city.

The Cardinals game had to be delayed because of this line of storms that moved through as we went through the last couple of hours or so. And you can see just how intense it was as it came through the St. Louis Metro with some of the damaging winds and the possibility there of some tornadoes.

[19:50:10]

We also have a stretch of severe thunderstorm warnings that continuously goes for about 200 miles from Pittsburgh to Roanoke as this line of storms. You see when an organizes and it bends, that's when it could push 60 to 70 mile per hour winds there as well.

Here is a look at the severe weather risk is we go through the rest of the night. You see that moderate level four out of five risk there in the red, orange as well. That's where were worried about this strong and intense tornadoes, hail up to the size of baseballs in some cases, and those winds up to 70 to 75 miles per hour.

By tomorrow for your Memorial Day, it shifts to the East Coast. You see that slight risk that level two out of five there in the yellow includes Washington, DC; Richmond, Virginia, Charlotte, down to Atlanta and Montgomery where we could find a line of damaging wind as well. So the storms continue to blow up as we go into the evening hours here. Very strong, intense tornadoes, you can see that possible as we have these storms blow into the boot heel of Missouri, then they can organize into a line. Again, when you see storms organize into a line like that, that is where you get to push of damaging winds, 60 to 70 miles per hour possible.

The line continues to move into to the south, so again, if you've got plans for Memorial Day that include being outside, be careful for damaging winds and lightning -- Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, no doubt about it.

And Elisa, I know you had mentioned earlier in the show too, this has been just an incredibly active year for tornadoes beyond what is average.

RAFFA: Yes, I mean, incredibly so.

We have had more than 960 tornado reports since January 1st, an average today would have been about 700. So April was incredibly active, May has been incredibly active. The outlook scale that we have, we haven't had a day that hasn't had a severe weather risk since sometime, I want to say it was in late April.

It has been a really long stretch of intense, severe weather, Jessica.

DEAN: All right, well, we hope everyone stays safe. This is just a lot of people facing those threats, so thanks so much for walking us through all of that. Elisa Raffa, we appreciate it.

This Memorial Day, Americans will visit cemeteries across the nation to pay tribute to veterans and honor their service. But there are many veterans who have long been overlooked, especially in historically African American cemeteries.

CNN's Karin Caifa explains how volunteers are working to piece their stories together and recognize their efforts.

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KARIN CAIFA, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): On a blustery spring Saturday in North York, Pennsylvania, the civil war service of John Noble is finally memorialized.

Noble was born in Havana, Cuba around 1832. He fought for the Union Army from 1862 to 1863. And in 1902, he was buried in North York's Lebanon cemetery until the 1960s. One of the only burial sites in the area for African Americans.

SAMANTHA DORM, FRIENDS OF LEBANON CEMETERY: I didn't realize that this was a Black cemetery. It was just a place where my relatives were buried. And so, it's only been since 2019 when I started volunteering here that I knew and understood the gravity of what this site meant. CAIFA (voice over): Samantha Dorm is co-founder of a volunteer group called Friends of Lebanon Cemetery. When the group first came together in 2019, the primary mission was upkeep. Now the focus has expanded to research storytelling, education and remembrance.

DORM: The truth of the matter is many of those stories are not there to be found. If you don't have families who can tell you about their ancestors that can tell you about their history, their lineage, those stories are oftentimes lost.

CAIFA (voice over): The more than 150-year-old cemetery Dorm says is the final resting place of at least 300 US military veterans.

This spring, Noble and four other Black veterans received the grave markers to which every eligible US military veteran is entitled whether buried in a cemetery maintained by the US Department of Veterans Affairs like this one in Alexandria, Virginia or a private cemetery like Lebanon.

MATTHEW QUINN, VETERANS AFFAIRS UNDER SECRETARY FOR MEMORIAL AFFAIRS: Every veteran has a story to be told and so without that marker, that story is lost and the legacy of that veteran is lost.

CAIFA (voice over): Matthew Quinn is the VA's outgoing Undersecretary for Memorial Affairs. 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 VA operated cemeteries.

QUINN: This is reaching out beyond those boundaries to private cemeteries that maybe the graves haven't been maintained and the markers have been damaged or destroyed.

CAIFA (voice over): The VA'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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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DEAN: Karen, thank you.

And before we go, the search is on for an escaped pet primate in South Carolina.

The 15-year-old macaque named Bradley has been missing for days now. Officials in Colton County, that's about 50 miles west of Charleston are warning people not to approach him because he could be "stressed."

As you would imagine, Bradley's constant commotion, one man told reporters he did not believe his grandmother when she told him that she spotted a monkey in the yard. He told her: "Nana, I think you need to go inside. It may be a little too hot out here for you."

Poor Nana, she knew what she was seeing.

We hope Bradley gets back home safe soon. That's kind of crazy.

All right, thanks so much for joining me this evening. I am Jessica Dean, I hope you have a very meaningful Memorial Day tomorrow. We are going to see you again, right back here next weekend.

"The 80s" is up next. Have a great night.

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