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Severe Storms Across the U.S.; U.S. Memorial Day Weekend; Six People Stabbed in Massachusetts; Biden Delivers Commencement Address at West Point; Trump Booed and Heckled at Libertarian Convention; Shoppers Under Russian Fire; Signs of Strain in Israel-U.S. Relationship; Ceasefire and Hostage Talks Resumes Tuesday; Israel- Hamas War; New York's Lifeguard Shortage; Preserving Historic Black Cemetery; Deadly Heatwave in India and Pakistan; South Africa: 30 Years of Democracy; Nicki Minaj Arrested in Amsterdam; Flying with Pets; Pets Traveling in Style. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired May 26, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

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[04:00:00]

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Welcome. We begin with relentless severe storms that continue to threaten millions across the U.S. this Memorial Day weekend. Especially hard heat overnight, Texas and Oklahoma. Well, this is what's left of a gas station in Valley View, Texas, north of Dallas. And it's just one of several reports of major damage following overnight storms in the area. Officials in Denton County say they are responding to reports of multiple victims and people trapped. It's unclear how many people are injured.

There are also reports of overturned 18 wheelers, damaged homes, and downed power lines. Residents of Salina, a city within Denton County, are being urged to stay in their homes and off the roads following apparent tornado activity.

And in Oklahoma, police say the town of Claremore is shut down to avoid the area. There too, reports of extensive damage to homes as well as downed trees and power lines. The state emergency operations center has been activated. Right now, around 240,000 customers are with power -- without power, across multiple states in the region.

And the threat is far from over. For more, I'm joined by CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Allison, tell us, what is the latest?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, so again, it's been a very active last 24 hours. All of these dots you can see here on the screen indicate where we've had a severe thunderstorm report of some kind. Over 200 total when you break down. Over a dozen tornado reports, over a hundred damaging wind reports, and many hail reports. Some of them the size of baseballs.

So again, you're talking a pretty wide swath, but it's not over. In fact, a lot of the severe thunderstorms are still ongoing. We have a severe thunderstorm watch that the yellow color you see there still going on portions of Texas. And a little bit farther to the north and east, we have these tornado watches in effect for several more hours as we go through the day, because this is where some of the strongest thunderstorms are located as we speak. Again, you can see that line beginning to spread through Springfield, Missouri through Northern Arkansas and eventually in towards Kentucky and Tennessee.

Still looking at some active tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings as well as these storms continue to progress eastward. And this is likely to continue through the rest of the day today because while the main focus of the severe weather shifts a little bit farther to the east, the threats themselves remain the same.

So, we are still looking at the potential for a few tornadoes, some very large hail that could be golf ball size or even larger. And again, some damaging wind gusts. And you can see a lot of pretty big cities here that have the potential for those storms. You're talking Chicago, Cleveland, down through Atlanta, Georgia, back up into Nashville, Memphis, St. Louis. Again, a lot of these same cities that even had severe weather just a few days ago are now going to be seeing severe weather yet again.

Here's a look at that line. Again, as we go through the morning, it's going to continue to slide off to the east, Chicago down through St. Louis by late morning and especially into the afternoon. Then you start to see that initial line begin to spread over in towards the northeast. But you also start to see a new line develop. That's going to be later on this evening. That's what's going to impact states like Kentucky, Tennessee, and eventually spreading down into Georgia and even into the Carolinas.

That's where you can see there. So, Monday morning, but it might end up being a pretty rough go in the morning hours for places like Chattanooga, Knoxville, Atlanta, and even into Charlotte on up. Anna.

COREN: Allison Chinchar, we know you'll be keeping across this. We'll come back to you for more updates. Many thanks.

Turning now to other news, police say a suspect is in custody after six people were stabbed in two cities in Massachusetts. In the first case, four young women between the ages of nine and 17 were stabbed at a movie theatre in the City of Braintree. Shortly afterwards, another woman and a man were attacked in a McDonald's in Plymouth. None of the injuries were life threatening. The early investigations suggest there is a likely connection between these incidents.

U.S. President Joe Biden defended his administration's achievements as he addressed the graduating class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday. He touted NATO's expansion, his actions in the Middle East, and progress in lowering sexual assaults in the military.

[04:05:00]

Although he didn't mention Former President Donald Trump by name, he drew a sharp contrast with his Republican rival by underscoring the values which Democrats say are at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: West Pointers, know better than anyone, freedom is not free. It requires constant vigilance and for -- from the very beginning, nothing is guaranteed about our democracy in America. Every generation has an obligation to defend it, to protect it, to preserve it, to choose it. Now is your turn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, Donald Trump did not get the adoring welcome he's used to when he spoke at the Libertarian Party's convention on Saturday.

The former Republican president was met by a raucous crowd while giving one of his shortest campaign speeches yet. CNN's Steve Contorno has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump was booed and heckled from the moment he took the stage at the Libertarian Convention in Washington, D.C. on Saturday night. Trump arrived here hoping he could convert some Libertarians to support his presidential campaign.

His supporters and convention attendees clashed in the audience, sometimes physically, as Trump suggested that it was time for them to unite. He sprinted through his speech giving a ton of reasons why he thought the two sides should come together. The biggest one? Defeating Joe Biden.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is why I have come to extend a hand of friendship, to ask for your partnership to defeat communism, defeat Marxism, and defeat crooked Joe Biden, who is destroying our country.

CONTORNO: Trump did manage to win over the crowd at some points, like when he said he would put a libertarian in his cabinet if he was elected president. The biggest cheers of the night came when he said he would commute the sentence of Russ Ulbricht. That is the founder of the underground website, The Silk Road, whose imprisonment has become a cause for the Libertarian Party.

But he lost the crowd once again when he suggested that the party should nominate him to be their candidate for president.

TRUMP: The Libertarian Party should nominate Trump for president of the United States. Whoa. That's nice. That's nice. Only if you want to win. Only if you want to win. Maybe you don't want to win.

CONTORNO: Whether or not Trump converted anyone at the convention on Saturday is unclear, but his campaign is hopeful that the outreach will help him win over some hearts and minds across the country, especially from some of these people who are considering third-party candidates. They are especially concerned about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has also been courting libertarian votes. He spoke at the convention on Friday.

Steve Contorno, CNN, Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, joining us now is Thomas Gift. He's the founding director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London. Great to have you with us. I have to start with that booing, that reaction that Donald Trump got. That would have been a bit of a hit to his ego, I would assume.

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR ON U.S. POLITICS AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: I think you're right, Anna. Thanks so much for having me this morning. This was certainly a different crowd for Trump. He's used to his own events where audience members are vetted, everyone's wearing red MAGA hats. Instead, he was walking in as a persona non grata, a big government conservative, who represents, in many ways, the antithesis of libertarianism.

This is a very self-selective ideological crowd that shows up to an event like this. A lot of hardline libertarians believe that most mainstream Republicans and Democrats are cut from the same cloth, that neither wants to shrink government, that neither wants to reign in entitlement and discretionary spending.

When you look at Trump's record, forget all the scandals, there's not a whole lot to like. If your goal is to diminish the size and scope of the state. During his term, Trump added about 8.4 trillion to the national debt, which came in the form of pandemic bills and executive actions and general spending increases. Some from tax cuts. That's the kind of record that's going to get you an icy welcome at a libertarian conference.

COREN: Trump calls to abolish the deep state and take a much, I guess, lighter touch on regulation. I mean, would that be attractive to libertarians? No?

GIFT: Well, you know, libertarians do emphasize the rule of law. And one thing that Donald Trump is not known for as he encounters his 91 criminal indictments is the rule of law. Cutting the deep state isn't necessarily consistent with the rule of law, and it's not necessarily consistent with respect for government institutions that libertarians want.

The deregulatory aspect, creating conditions for businesses to thrive and so forth, that would be appealing to many libertarians, but I think it's a relatively small fraction. Of course, libertarians themselves are relatively small fraction of the electorate. So, I'm not sure if they're going to be a major difference in this campaign.

[04:10:00]

COREN: Tell me, Thomas, libertarian voters, you know, those who want to see less government in all aspects of life, are they a swing vote that's up for grabs, or do they tend to vote a certain way?

GIFT: Well, I do think that this election is going to be quite interesting because they probably mostly lean toward the Republican side, simply because the GOP is more known for at least reigning and spending to an extent. Although, even that consensus has really eroded in certain years.

I think that they could be a swing vote on the margins. You know, election is so close as we're expecting. But at the same time, it's a relatively small fraction. And even those who identify as libertarians or classical conservatives, most of them aren't showing up to an event like this, and most of them aren't so dyed in the wool in terms of their opinions.

COREN: Well, as we know, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was the featured speaker. Trump and Biden, I guess they each cast him as being a plant from the other side. Does he represent more of a threat to one or the other in certain states?

GIFT: Well, I do think that RFK Jr. could be a difference maker. A new Bloomberg survey has his numbers dropping down to about 7 percent from double digits last November. But that's still a sizable figure when the two major candidates are running so closely.

Data from background states do show that RFK draws just slightly more from Trump 2024 voters than Biden voters. That's within the margin. Interestingly, though, these tend to be voters who, in a typical election, would vote Democrat and now are more likely to defect to Trump.

But I think the real question is how Kennedy positions himself down the stretch. If he's going to focus on COVID vaccines and government conspiracies, et cetera, it's going to damage Trump by eating into his popular space. But if he focuses more on democratic issues, climate change, minimum wage, labor rights, et cetera, I think it'll take support away from Biden.

The other question is how hard Trump and Biden or their Super PACs and surrogates actually start to attack Kennedy on the campaign trail and with advertisements. And I do think that they're starting to do that, which is one reason why his number have (INAUDIBLE).

COREN: Thomas gifts, always great to get your insights. Thank you so much for joining us.

GIFT: Thanks, Anna.

COREN: We'll still ahead, Russia's war on civilians claims more victims as missiles hit a hardware store in Ukraine's second largest city.

And as Israel's war with Hamas drags on, there are signs of strain in the country's relationship with the United States. Are these just bumps in the road, or the start of something more serious? We'll ask an expert ahead.

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[04:15:00] COREN: Ukraine's second largest city took more Russian fire on Saturday, which left at least 12 people dead. Officials say two guided bombs hit a large hardware store packed with shoppers in Kharkiv. More than 40 other people were wounded, 16 are still missing. The strike caused a fire that spread over some 10,000 square meters.

Ukraine says Russia struck the city three more times on Saturday, causing at least 25 additional injuries in Central Kharkiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it's all signature Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The attack on Kharkiv is yet another demonstration of Russian madness. It's not possible to call it anything else. It is only someone crazy like Putin who is capable of killing and terrorizing people in such a mean way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Ukraine says there was nothing of military value near the store. And as Nick Paton Walsh reports, it's still an open question what Russia was trying to strike.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You need to be clear about exactly what was targeted this particular Saturday afternoon. It was a hardware complex over a huge area in the north of Kharkiv, smoke billowing out across an enormous part of Ukraine's second city. Two Russian airstrikes hitting here. Russia's ministry of defense claiming, without really any evidence, they were hitting a military hardware storage area, but many Ukrainians in that area just simply, again, terrified about how willing Moscow appears to be -- to hit civilian areas of such a massively populated city.

A city which, frankly, for the past two years, has felt it was safe to some degree from the war until two weeks ago, where Putin launched another invasion from the north of Kharkiv. Now, that has been seeing some limited success, but so much of its progress appears to be about trying to get artillery within the reach of Kharkiv and draw Ukrainian forces away from other parts on the eastern front near where I'm standing.

So, an enormously important moment, I think to see this level of combat firepower brought towards the population center, another sign of how willing Russia is to focus its efforts upon the civilian population. I should remind you too, that last weekend, seven people were killed when a lakeside resort was hit by another missile. A seven-month pregnant woman killed then. And then in the week past, we've seen other people killed in what appear to be daily strikes, frankly, over the past week or so.

So, Moscow, clear how much it wants to disrupt daily life inside Kharkiv, and also, I think, seeing success in the wide areas around the eastern front, moving forward slowly, village by village, in ways which don't enormously make sense to Ukraine's western allies in terms of that should require a huge boost in their armaments towards Ukraine, but a deeply troubling moment for Kyiv to see so many Russian advances and attacks like this on their key population centers.

Nick Paton Walsh, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:20:00]

COREN: Ceasefire and hostage release talks involving Israel and Hamas are scheduled to resume on Tuesday. An Egyptian official tells CNN the talks will be held in Cairo.

Meanwhile, a deadly Israeli drone strike near Jabaliya in Northern Gaza has killed at least 10 people. We have video from after the strike and I have to warn you that it is graphic. A number of the victims were children.

The drone hit a school that people were using for shelter. This video is from a clinic where the bodies were taken. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment but has not yet heard back. Witnesses say they thought the school was a safe place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABU MOHAMMAD, WITNESS (through translator): Even schools are not safe anymore. The place where people shelter is not safe. Not even 5 percent, nor 2 percent, nor 1 percent safe. We only ask for safety from God and the people who might hear us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: It's become a familiar scene in Israel, anti-government protesters demanding that the government do more to bring the hostages home. Many are also calling for new elections. Police moved in on horseback in Tel Aviv's Democracy Square, trying to clear some of the protesters. They also used water cannons to disperse people who refused to leave. At a separate protest, two people were arrested. Police say they lit fires and refused to obey police orders.

Well, Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza for more than seven months now, and it's putting a strain on the country's relationship with its biggest supporter, the United States. U.S. President Joe Biden told CNN earlier this month that he would halt some shipments of American weapons if Israel orders a major invasion of Rafah. He also acknowledged that American bombs have been used to kill civilians in Gaza.

And on American college campuses, we're seeing some younger Americans protesting how Israel's handling the conflict, accusing Israeli leaders of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Well, Dahlia Scheindlin is a political analyst and the author of "The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel." She's advised on nine national campaigns in Israel and joins us now from Tel Aviv. Dahlia, great to have you with us. Explain to us how you see the state of this strained relationship between the U.S. and Israel and has it reached the point of no return under these two administrations?

DAHLIA SCHEINDLIN, POLITICAL ANALYST AND FELLOW, CENTURY FOUNDATION, AUTHOR, "THE CROOKED TIMBER OF DEMOCRACY IN ISRAEL AND HAS CONSULTED ON 9 ISRAELI CAMPAIGNS: No, I think there's a need to clear up exactly what that relationship is. Of course, there's a very, very long-standing stalwart, enduring alliance. And that alliance is still there, including, I think people need to remember among the American public, which supports Israel and surveys well beyond how much it supports Palestinians and certainly the Palestinian leadership.

However, there is a long-term change underway. And I think that the biggest change is that while there had been plenty of disagreements over policy between the U.S. and Israel in the past, what we're seeing now is a context that's been evolving for roughly 15 to 20 years of increasing partisanship, whereby the issue of Israeli policy in American terms has become something heavily associated with your party position.

So that among the Republican Party, it's seen as kind of a litmus test how supportive you are of the Israeli government, I should say, because there are different definitions of what counts as pro-Israel, whereas the Democratic Party is facing very, very deeply divided constituencies within.

President Joe Biden has been a lifelong supporter of Israel, but the younger wing and the more progressive wing of the Democratic constituency is increasingly unable to support America's essentially overwhelming support for all of Israel's actions, particularly under this Israeli government with its assault in Gaza, but also the long- term occupation.

And so, the administration is facing internal pressure. There is an increasing partisan approach to this in the U.S. And in Israel, what I was arguing in the Foreign Affairs essay that I wrote, is that Israel -- the Israeli leadership increasingly sees this as a partisan issue both in terms of Israeli political dynamics, where the Israeli right- wing thinks that America is never quite supportive enough, ironically, but also assumes that Republican presidents will be better than Democratic presidents. So, there's a lot of politicization at play at this very sensitive moment.

I want to point out one more thing, which is that America's position on this is increasingly isolating America from other western allies in terms of its, you know, essentially overwhelming support for Israel with very few restraints.

[04:25:00]

COREN: In your recent piece in Foreign Affairs, you wrote that Israelis prefer Trump to Biden by a wide margin. I mean, is Netanyahu waiting this out in the hope that Trump will return to office?

COREN: Maybe. But if he is, he would -- he's -- it's not very well advised because Trump is an erratic person. He has expressed uncertain hints, I should say, as what -- as to what his policy would be.

He gave an interview to an Israeli newspaper just a couple of months ago in which he made strange statements that don't totally indicate what I think Netanyahu would like to think, which is that he would be even more supportive of everything Israel wants to do. He said things like the war has to end eventually. But it's not clear exactly what he means. There has been tension in that relationship too.

But certainly, I think Netanyahu has been a big part of this increasingly partisan view of the U.S. within Israel, such that the right-wing, again, assumes that Republican presidents would be more supportive, whereas they simply sort of take prima facie that American Democratic presidents like Biden, which is, of course, extremely ironic considering how much Biden has done for Israel in general over the years, and particularly so much support during this war. And that's why you see surveys showing that a greater number of Israelis -- I don't want to overstate the case. It's not a majority at this point, but a plurality of Israelis still think that Trump would be better than Biden.

And these are dangerous dynamics. I mean, if you're going to have an alliance between these two countries that reflects the special relationship of the past, you need to have the public basically trusting that the other side of that alliance is on its side no matter which president there is.

You know, we have to take into account that the long-term trajectory does not look good if Israel continues its politicization of how it views the U.S., whereby, again, the Israeli right always thinks the U.S. isn't doing enough unless it gives a blank check, and the American public is increasingly split.

COREN: I just want to ask you, is there a point where Israel's action in Gaza and its disregard for international opinion gets too toxic, even for the U.S.?

SCHEINDLIN: To be honest, it's very hard to see what that point is. The U.S. has had so many contradictions in its policy of seeming to take a -- you know, a critical position of Israel's actions, right? I think the main disagreements have been over humanitarian aid, over an operation in Rafah, which the administration did not want, and over insisting that Israel communicate -- define and communicate its day after plans. Israel has done none of those things with some exception of allowing more humanitarian aid and not enough. And of course, without a ceasefire, it will never be enough.

But even on those three major points, Israel has not really complied with what America has said it wanted. And as a result, it's very hard to see exactly what Israel could do that would go beyond even America's red line because to the extent that America has conveyed where it disagrees with Israeli policy, it has not taken positions that are firm enough to actually push Israeli policy in that direction.

We see this also with relation to the West Bank. The U.S. has finally adopted certain policies, particularly sanctioning settlers, individual settlers, that indicate its disapproval of Israel's settlement policy and the escalations in the West Bank. But those are signals. Still, they are policy, but they are signals. They are not actually constraining Israel's actual actions in the West Bank, which by many accounts could very easily lead to an escalation imminently.

And so, I think that it's very hard for me to say that there is a red line that this administration will -- you know, will cause this administration to take more significant action.

COREN: A red line that perhaps keeps moving. Dahlia Scheindlin, we appreciate your analysis. Thank you.

SCHEINDLIN: Thank you for having me.

COREN: Well, beaches officially open in New York this Memorial Day weekend, but they're short on lifeguards ahead of the steps some are taking to tackle the problem.

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[04:30:00]

COREN: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Anna Coren and this is "CNN Newsroom."

We continue to monitor severe weather impacting the U.S. midsection. In Texas, rescues and damage assessments are underway in areas north of the Dallas, Fort Worth, Metroplex and other parts of Northeast Texas after severe storms and possible tornadoes. We're getting reports of overturned 18 wheelers, damaged homes and downed trees and power lines.

And in Oklahoma, police say the town of Claremore is shut down and to avoid the area. There too, reports of extensive damage. The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated. Right now, around 240,000 customers are without power across multiple states in the region.

Well, despite weather concerns, a record number of Americans have been traveling this Memorial Day weekend. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration says it screened nearly 3 million travelers on Friday alone. That's a new high mark for the most travelers screened in a single day. That surpassed the previous record from Thanksgiving weekend last November. It also says five of the top 10 busiest travel days in the agency's history have occurred this year.

Well, beaches in New York reopened this holiday weekend, at least officially. The Parks Department conceded some places might stay closed or open for just a few hours as the city once again deals with an annual problem, a shortage of lifeguards. CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. And with it will come some of the first waves of some of those beachgoers as people flock through some of the country's beaches. And with it, though, also a big challenge for communities throughout the country as they face the issue of lifeguard shortages for yet another year.

To tell you here, though, at one of New York City's beaches, we have seen those lifeguard stands, quite staff, keeping a watchful eye on the people in the water. Some of those brave souls that are willing to jump into the chilly water right now.

The city saying recently that they've been able to secure about 230 lifeguards. However, that is just a small fraction of where they would eventually like to be. As we've mentioned before, this is an issue that the city has faced in the past, especially since the pandemic.

I want you to hear from one New York City official as she breaks down some of the steps that the city has taken to try to encourage potential lifeguard recruits to step forward.

SUE DONOGHUE, NYC PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSIONER: When lifeguard recruitment for the 2024 summer season began last December, we dramatically expanded the number of qualifying test locations and exam sessions, making it easier for applicants to access qualifying tests. We also improved the vision exam process and enhanced our recruitment ads.

[04:35:00]

SANDOVAL: Now the city adding that, thus far, they have been able to secure about 560 recruits, roughly 300 of them already undergoing training. So, they certainly are hopeful that they'll be able to make their way onto these beaches. Eventually they're leaning on not just them, but also previous lifeguards. People who have previously served in this role as they try to ramp up that present, especially as they get closer to 4th of July. But that really is just a reflection on what other coastal communities in the U.S. continue to face the issue of lifeguard shortages.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Memorial Day weekend is a time when many Americans mourn and visit the graves of those who died while serving their country. Some people are remembering soldiers of color by doing volunteer work. As Karen Kiefer reports, they're helping to preserve and tell the stories of one historic black cemetery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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 U.S. military veterans. This spring, Noble and four other black veterans received the grave markers to which every eligible U.S. military veteran is entitled whether buried in a cemetery maintained by the U.S. 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 out 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 is 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)

COREN: The residents of Puebla, Mexico are cleaning up after an unexpected hailstorm on Friday. The surprise storm came as the region endures a heat wave. Streets were filled with a thick layer of ice that buried cars and paralyzed the community. People worked to clear the hail with buckets and shovels. The extreme weather also brought down trees that blocked roads and damaged homes and buildings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were about to start eating when it started to rain very hard. As you can see, everything broke. My daughter said, let's go. Up on the roof, there was still hail. Everything started to collapse, and we ran to a cousin's house that we have here. We took shelter there. And by the time we saw, the whole roof had collapsed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Well, meanwhile, South Asia is enduring a relentless heat wave that has surged heat related hospitalizations, cancelled schools, and forced people to go to extremes for the slightest relief. Our Michael Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Northern India is no stranger to heat, but unusually hot temperatures this year have made daily life almost unbearable. An unrelenting heatwave sending temperatures soaring to nearly 50 degrees Celsius. That's 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hospitals face surging numbers of patients with heat stroke and other heat related illnesses, as many have no choice but to just push through the brutal temperatures.

SHEELA KUMARI, LEMONADE VENDOR (through translator): I sell lemonade here. The heat is so harsh here that when the wind comes, it feels like someone is slapping your face. We are drowned in sweat. We are surviving this heat to earn our living. The temperatures will rise. I don't know what we will do.

HOLMES (voice-over): The sweltering heatwave comes amid one of the final phases of the world's largest election. Polling places in the capital, New Delhi, were unusually quiet on Saturday, a sign that for some, casting a ballot isn't worth the burn.

[04:40:00]

The polling stations were fitted out with water dispensers, mist machines and shaded areas for those who were determined to cast their vote.

HASEEM, DELHI RESIDENT: It's a fundamental right and the foremost duty for every citizen of any republic or any democracy. We should be coming out, whatever is the weather, whether it is heat or whether it is cold or winter or anything of that sort.

HOLMES (voice-over): In neighboring Pakistan, some 26 million students are out of school for the next week as scorching temperatures there put children especially at risk, according to UNICEF. Frequent power outages leave families to swelter at home. Even at night in the city of Jacobabad, temperatures top 36 degrees Celsius or almost 97 Fahrenheit. Some residents pay to sleep on the rooftops of local inns, just trying to catch a breeze.

Meanwhile, the hellish temperatures don't stop these brick workers. For many of them, there's no choice. The life-threatening heat is the price they must pay to support their families.

MUHAMMAD AAMIR, BRICK WORKER (through translator): It's too hot. We work for 15 minutes, then need to rest for half an hour. But we have to work to feed our children. We have no other option.

HOLMES (voice-over): Much of South Asia is susceptible to the effects of climate change, according to UNICEF. As average temperatures rise, so too do the risks. And in a region where locals are arguably used to the heat, even they are reaching their boiling point.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Still to come, South Africa is still grappling with inequality 30 years after Nelson Mandela became president. And now, the country is just days away from a pivotal election.

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[04:45:00]

COREN: This is the last weekend of campaigning before South Africans go to the polls on Wednesday in an election that President Cyril Ramaphosa has called one of the most important in the country's history.

At a rally on Saturday, he promised to focus on creating more jobs and to tackle the high cost of living. But polls show the ruling African National Congress could lose its majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led the party to power in 1994.

Thousands of supporters of the Economic Freedom Fighters showed up to their final rally on Saturday. It's one of the biggest opposition parties in South Africa, with its leader promising change.

Well, South Africa is celebrating 30 years of democracy, but many educators and activists believe that there is a crisis hollowing out the country's education system, a crisis that threatens democracy's hard fought gains. CNN's David McKenzie has more.

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SETH MAZIBUKO, SOUTH AFRICAN LIBERATION HERO: It was actually a corner of death.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Liberation Icon, Seth Mazibuko lived the painful history of this country.

MAZIBUKO: Students were coming from that direction, and police were coming from that direction that morning of June 16, 1976. This was where the students who were marching peacefully, they were raising their hands and fingers of peace. They were given bullets.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Protesting the apartheid state and its racist education system.

MAZIBUKO: I still feel guilty today that I lead students and children out of the classroom to be killed.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Their sacrifice and the sacrifices of later generations help toppled the violent apartheid state. Birthing a peaceful democratic South Africa, the rainbow nation where everyone can vote, but for Mazibuko 30 years on, the rainbow has faded.

MCKENZIE: Has the leadership of this country, respected the sacrifices that you've made.

MAZIBUKO: Sold out.

MCKENZIE: Sold out.

MAZIBUKO: Many of the leaders that were supposed to be leading, they left this community, and they left the very people that they're fighting for.

MCKENZIE: When thousands of students were bravely marching down the streets, they were fighting for a better future for South Africa. But decades later, here's a staggering statistic more than 80 percent of grade fours cannot read. Has it gotten worse over the 18 years of being at the school?

PRINCE MULWELA, TEACHER AT MORRIS ISAACSON HIGH SCHOOL: Yes, it is becoming worse and worse.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): At Morris Isaacson High School famous for its role in 76. Teachers like Prince Mulwela say that jobs in education are given to the politically connected and corruption is rife. Primary students now come to his classes unprepared he says corruption watchdogs call it a silent crisis.

MULWELA: We're living in a world in South Africa, where it's all about politics. Everything has been politicized. So, the education system is also being politicized. So that is the reason why probably why express in such problems.

ATLEGANG ALCOCK, STUDENT AT MORRIS ISAACSON HIGH SCHOOL: I feel honored being in the school because then I get to learn about his --

MBALI MSIMANGA, STUDENT AT MORRIS ISAACSON HIGH SCHOOL: Some put their lives in danger for a better future for better education.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): I spoke to two leading students at Morris Isaacson they are proud of their school, but acutely aware of the challenges that lie ahead.

MCKENZIE: Is there enough opportunity for young people like you in this country?

ALCOCK: Right now? No.

MSIMANGA: That's going to be a struggle. Yes. And it is scary for us to be sitting at home and doing nothing.

ALCOCK: Especially when you know that you went to university for so long and you have a degree a qualification but you're still struggling to get a job because of the unemployment rates.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Those rates are some of the world's highest, an uncertain future despite the bitter struggles of the past.

David McKenzie, CNN, Soweto.

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COREN: Coming up, some very frequent flyers will tell you why more people just have to bring their four-legged friends with them when they travel.

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COREN: American rapper Nicki Minaj is out of police custody after she was detained in Amsterdam. Authorities say "soft drugs" were found in her possession at Schiphol Airport on Saturday. Minaj live streamed her arrest on Instagram.

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NICKI MINAJ, RAPPER: I'm not carrying drugs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. But it's not a question. I think --

NICKI MINAJ: I'm not carrying drugs. Number one, when I came here, my --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You can go inside.

NICKI MINAJ: I'm not going in there. I need a lawyer present.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will get one.

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COREN: Minaj was fined and allowed to continue her travel, but a concert set for Saturday night in Manchester, England was postponed, according to a social media post by the venue. CNN has reached out to representatives for Minaj for comment.

More people in the U.S. are taking their love affair with their cats and dogs to new heights, literally. And in some cases, it does not come cheap. As Lynda Kinkade reports, companies are coming up with new ways for the pampered pets to fly in first class comfort and style.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST (voice-over): This Memorial Day weekend, some flyers are taking their furry friends with them. HALEY ADAMS, PET OWNER: Come here. Come say hi. Say hello. Olive. She just celebrated her 80th flight this last week, actually. She has been all over the United States, we've been to Charleston, Seattle, all over California, we've been to Colorado, Idaho. There's tons of places all over.

KINKADE (voice-over): More pet owners are opting to fly with their pets rather than leave them at home. A survey done by the American Pet Products Association found that the percentage of pet owners taking their dogs on planes almost doubled from pre-pandemic days and almost tripled for cats.

Even with the growing demand, commercial airlines have many restrictions on pet air travel. Pets have to fit in carriers underneath the seat in front of their passenger and weigh 20 pounds or less. For bigger breeds, they have to fly in cargo.

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MARGARET FENNER, K9 JETS CUSTOMER AND PET OWNER: We only did it twice and never again. I would never put my dog underneath the airplane again. You're given no insight into what the conditions are underneath the plane. Is it cold? Is it crowded? Is he being shoved in with other luggage? We have no idea whatsoever.

KINKADE (voice-over): According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, airlines reported seven incidents involving animal deaths in 2022 and eight deaths in 2023. Companies such as BARK Air and K9 Jets offer an alternative for pet parents, however it comes at a hefty price.

Owners and their four-legged companions can fly private jets together out of their crates on some routes across the U.S. and internationally.

MATT MEEKER, CEO, BARK AND CO.: I think the most luxurious thing for both the dogs and the people is that they're together. They're part of the family. And a dog's really happiest when their people are around and they usually brighten up their people and make them happier as well.

KINKADE (voice-over): Prices start at about $6,000. That includes treats, on air entertainment, playtime with other dogs, and BARK Air includes a doggy spa treatment.

FENNER: There's so limited ways to get the bigger dogs across the country or to a different country. Even though it seems like a big cost, amortized over how many times we fly and how much time I get to spend in California with my kids out there and then coming back here, it's well worth it.

KINKADE (voice-over): Poor parents will keep exploring the world with their companions.

ADAMS: She is so calm during turbulence. I'm actually more scared than she is. So, I love how much she handles -- how well she handles takeoff.

KINKADE (voice-over): Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

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COREN: That wraps up this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Anna Coren. And we'll be back in just a moment with more news. Stay right here.

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