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Trump Campaign Boasts Nearly $53 Million In Donations Since New York Verdict; White House Could Announce Border Executive Action As Early As Tuesday; What Happens After Trump's Historic Criminal Conviction; President Biden Unveils Israeli Ceasefire Proposal; U.S.- China Defense Chiefs Meet For The First Time Since 2022; One Of Two Massive Atlanta Water Main Breaks Repaired; Chad Daybell Sentenced To Death In Triple Murder Case; NASA Says Next Possible Starliner Launch Is Wednesday; Checkpoint Zoo. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 01, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with former president and now convicted felon Donald Trump boasting a surging campaign donations following the verdict of his historic hush money criminal trial. The Trump campaign saying it's raised nearly $53 million since he was found guilty by a Manhattan jury of falsifying business records in order to influence the 2016 election.

His sentencing date now set for July 11th, and that's just days before the Republican National Convention where Trump is expected to be picked as the party's official nominee. Trump is planning to appeal. Yesterday, he gave a glimpse of how he intends to forge ahead with his campaign, falsely calling the trial rigged and attacking the judge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We had a conflicted judge, highly conflicted. There's never been a more conflicted judge. You saw what happened to some of the witnesses that were on our side, they were literally crucified by this man who looks like an angel, but he's really a devil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Just hours after that vengeful press conference, President Biden for the first time commented on the verdict saying no one is above the law.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is joining us now in the studio with more on the response from President Biden.

And Priscilla, the president came out with strong words, but they have been very careful, both he specifically and the broader campaign, and the White House to really kind of keep their distance from all of this.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They certainly tried to strike a delicate balance, especially in the hours after this verdict was reached. Now, the president in his remarks was quite technical in describing what occurred and describing the American justice system, defending its integrity and saying that no one is above the law.

Now he also went on to say that calling the process rigged, as you've heard there from the former president, was irresponsible. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's reckless. It's dangerous. It's irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don't like the verdict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now the White House had been largely silent over the course of the trial, letting it play out. The campaign in the moments after that verdict was reached was really leading the charge here and saying that this is a race that's going to be decided at the ballot box, not the courtroom. And frankly, that is the thinking in the campaign as well. But this isn't going to change the election in a big way at this point. But the question is how and when they use this, whether they call the former president a criminal moving forward.

DEAN: And I also want to ask you about new reporting on a topic you've been covering extensively on immigration. You've learned that the White House is reaching out to mayors of cities along the U.S. Mexico border potentially to get them to participate in an executive order.

ALVAREZ: The White House is certainly laying the groundwork for a sweeping executive action announcement this week. Now we have heard that it could be as early as Tuesday when they make that announcement, but certainly they are spending the weekend trying to bring border mayors to the White House, to announce this action.

Now, this would essentially clamp down on unlawful border crossings. It has been talked about within the White House and within the administration for weeks now, especially kicking into gear after that failed bipartisan border bill, which failed because Republicans walked away from it after, or at the asking or request of former president Donald Trump.

So essentially, if you look at this through the political lens, the White House is trying to claim the narrative on border security. They've clearly tried to be more aggressive since that bipartisan border bill failed, which they were a part of those discussions. And this is also going to happen potentially before the first presidential debate. So in some ways it's also preempting President Biden's Republican rival who has made immigration and border security a key campaign issue.

So we'll be watching to see if they do indeed make this announcement on Tuesday as we're hearing. But clearly the White House is at least laying the groundwork for that to happen and trying to really make a pivot here and turn the tables on Republicans when it comes to border security. DEAN: It'll be interesting to see it all unfold. Priscilla Alvarez,

great to see you. Thanks so much.

And in the history of America, not one president, not one former president even has ever been tried or convicted in criminal court.

Let's talk to someone with a unique perspective on all of this, John Dean, who was President Nixon's White House counsel and is now a CNN contributor.

John, it's great to see you on this Saturday afternoon. The only precedent we have that's close as you well know was President Richard Nixon who chose to resign, and not only is Trump not stepping back, he's actively running for president. It's a very close race. What do you think it could mean for a convicted felon to be elected president of the United States?

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it would be a horrible situation of even the fact that Trump is running for office tarnishes the job. It really does if that is the standard, is that low, and you'd need -- first of all he ran with no government experience.

[19:05:00]

He got in the job and showed he really wasn't up to the job. But still he has a wide following I think largely because of his television presence, and his experience with the "Apprentice," not because of anything he's done governmentally. So I think he's tarnishing the office terribly and Republicans are aiding and abetting it.

DEAN: And to have a convicted felon as commander-in-chief, it's just -- it's such a kind of crazy thing to wrap your head around.

J. DEAN: It doesn't work. In fact, the military is really trained not to take illegal orders. And so what are they going to do if Trump arrives there and suddenly they've got somebody who they know who has no boundaries in his thoughts, is very inclined to break the law. He's a recidivist and has done it many times now. So it's very problematic. And I think the American people are smarter than Trump's effort and the Republican pushing this very, very radical president.

DEAN: I spoke with former Trump national security adviser John Bolton in the last hour about the possibility of the president going to jail. And I want to play a clip of what he had to say and then ask you something after.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: What do you think about potential jail time for a former president of the United States?

AMB. JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: You know, it wouldn't bother me, but I know, I know what Trump's reaction would be. It'd be one more indication of poor Donald Trump. Everybody picks on him. It's just so unfair. I think the objective, I'm not going to vote for either Trump or Biden, but I certainly think one objective here should be to make sure Donald Trump is not president again, and I don't want the lawfare advocates in their zeal just to feel good and signal their virtue to get jail time if it helps elect him. I'll be just straight about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: John, sentencing is July 11th. Do you think the former president should go to jail, will go to jail?

J. DEAN: Let me share a story. I a few years ago read the probation report for my former co-conspirators in Watergate, former chief of staff Bob Haldeman, former attorney general John Ehrlichman, or excuse me, John Mitchell, and then former domestic adviser John Ehrlichman. They were the three most powerful men in the Nixon White House and Nixon administration. When they went to jail after Watergate, they were innocent men.

The probation officer visited with them about eight months into their serving their sentence. They were then guilty and very remorseful about what they had done. As a result of that, the judge ended up shortening their sentences. But somehow the reality of going to jail can make people think if they don't admit their wrongs and their misbehavior, they can come to understand it.

So I think Trump needs some jail time. He is just totally unrepentant. He'll do it again. He'll do it again worse. He's on a revenge campaign. And so I hope this judge sends him to jail.

DEAN: It's interesting. I had a Julian Zelizer on a little bit, just a little bit ago. And he, of course, a presidential historian. And we were talking about the fact that back when Nixon resigned it was so deeply unpalatable, an untenable for him to stay in office. The American people simply weren't going to accept a criminal being in office.

But that has seemed to change. We're looking at the polling and obviously we're going to see how this shakes out in the next several months. But why do you think it is that that was not that long ago. You lived through it and we're talking right now.

J. DEAN: I do.

DEAN: What do you think has happened in America?

J. DEAN: I think one of the basic things that happened we've stopped teaching civics. People have really no understanding of how government works. Trump had no understanding of how it worked when he went into the White House. He treated in a very transactional fashion like he was just moving into another business. It is not.

The government is a very different creature. And Americans really don't understand their government anymore. It's kind of sad, kind of pathetic, kind of frightening, because democracy takes understanding and education. And I'm afraid we don't have it anymore.

DEAN: Right. And you have to participate in it as well. J. DEAN: Yes.

DEAN: So just so everyone is watching -- that's watching is clear, President Biden can't legally pardon Trump even if he wanted to. This is a case brought by the state. The only person that could is the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul. That seems unlikely. But do you think she should or that this should be considered?

J. DEAN: He will always be a convicted felon at this point as soon as he's sentenced. That's when the conviction becomes a fully implemented moniker, if you will.

[19:10:02]

So he's technically not yet a convicted felon. He will be as soon as he's sentenced. Now can the governor step in? She could. Will she? I really doubt it. This was a very fair trial. While there's a lot of talk about appealing this and taking it to a higher court this judge did all the right things. The only way they could get this reversed is to go after the underlying law and the ability to structure this case the way they were able to on some due process argument that wasn't clear enough to the defendant, what was happening.

So that's very problematic, though. It's not likely to happen nor is the governor likely to pardon, nor should she. It would just be a pure political act at this point.

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: Yes. You said that you think some jail time would be good for the former president. There is a kind of conventional wisdom that if he goes to jail, that will rally his voters, it will rally his base. Do you think that's true? Do you think he'll have a firmer argument about how he's being unfairly persecuted? Or does that base have sort of a ceiling? I mean, he has a hold on a certain segment of the population it seems no matter what.

J. DEAN: He has about 30 percent apparently of voters. And there are people who just don't even want to know the facts. I have some friends who are very deeply supportive of Donald Trump. And when we talk, they say, don't give us any information, they don't really want to know what's happening. They just want to believe and it's mythical if you will.

I think that it wouldn't hurt if they saw what was really going on. And the criminal justice system does apply to everybody. So, you know, I have little sympathy for their concern about him going to jail. And I think it would be healthy for the system if he goes to jail.

DEAN: And so what do you think comes next for all of this? When the history books tell this story, how do you think it fits in with what happened with President Nixon?

J. DEAN: I think we're in one of the early chapters of this piece of history because he's got three more cases he's going to be confronted with. If he is not elected, he certainly got two federal cases that are very important. The January 6th case and the District of Columbia, the documents theft problem, and the obstruction case in Florida, as well as the Georgia case. So he's got a lot more litigation to face.

And the only case he could get rid of you if he were elected would be the two federal cases. I think there'll be a certain outrage if he did that, so they could be put on on a stay but to just make them go away we'll have to see what the Supreme Court says about presidential immunity. But I don't think they're going to immunize non-official conduct which this was.

DEAN: And -- right, right. And what about he said he's going to appeal. He's been very firm on that, he will be appealing this case. Do you think he has a case to be made?

J. DEAN: Well, as I alluded to a moment ago, I think only if he (INAUDIBLE) some appeal about the underlying laws of New York and can get that as some argument of due process that because he wasn't given a clear enough map as to what he's really being charged with, because the escalation of the misdemeanors to felony status really involved a range of potential criminal conduct.

That's a little fuzzy for criminal law, and that could -- it's the way the statute provides for it. It's the way he was convicted. And there may be an argument there, but it's the underlying laws being attacked, not the way the judge handle this case, which were very fairly and by the letter of the law.

DEAN: All right. John Dean, always nice to have you on. Thanks so much.

J. DEAN: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, the new Gaza ceasefire proposal drafted by Israel getting strong pushback from Israel's prime minister. Why he says the conditions for getting out of Gaza have not changed. Plus a potentially busy hurricane season starting today. A preview of what to expect.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:01]

DEAN: President Biden is calling on Hamas to accept a new ceasefire proposal from Israel saying, quote, "It's time for this war to end and for the day after to begin."

Elliott Gotkine has details now from Jerusalem.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Jessica, following President Biden's announcement of a new ceasefire deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did something he doesn't ordinarily do. He put out a statement on the Jewish Sabbath. Now in that statement, he said that Israel's conditions to ending the war with Hamas had not changed. Now these conditions are to destroy Hamas militarily and to remove its governing capabilities, to get the hostages both the living and the dead back into Israel, and finally, to ensure that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to Israel.

So one can only assume that whatever Netanyahu has greenlighted from its perspective for this potential ceasefire deal, in his eyes, does not preclude Israel from fulfilling those war objectives. Now, Hamas' initial reaction to this ceasefire proposal was to view it positively they said. They have yet to give an official response, but certainly that is added to the optimism that this is the real deal and that this time, in contrast to the previous false dawns we've had, this deal could get across the line.

[19:20:06]

But just to try to keep up the pressure on the government thousands of protesters again on the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and across Israel begging, demanding this government do a deal that would bring the hostages home back into Israel. At the same time, they're calling for early elections.

Now the right-wing, far-right ministers in Netanyahu's governing coalition have taken a somewhat different view, predicting this kind of thing before when other deals have seemed close, they have said that this deal as it's seen in their eyes would be tantamount to a surrender to Hamas, that it was reckless, they wouldn't support it, and they would remove their parties from the governing coalition, causing it most likely to collapse.

Now that doesn't mean that a deal couldn't get across the line in the Knesset, the parliament here, because the opposition has said that it would support such a deal, but certainly that is something else to be preying on Netanyahu's mind that if he does go ahead with this deal, that could very well mean early elections. And if opinion polls are right, that would mean his ejection from office.

Now, at the same time as well that is going on, talks are set to take place in Cairo on Sunday between the United States, Egypt, and Israel to try to get the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopens. Now earlier this month Israel took control of that border crossing as part of its operations against Hamas in Rafah. Egypt has said that it can't allow humanitarian aid to go in because it can't guarantee the safety of the humanitarian truck drivers because they could be targets for Hamas if the Israelis are control.

Their case in point, the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip has also come under fire. We need the two main crossing points for humanitarian aid to get into the Gaza Strip have effectively been shut off for the most part for most of (INAUDIBLE), either of these talks on Sundays to clear between Israel and Egypt, get the border crossing reopened, get humanitarian aid flowing or back into the Gaza Strip where it is sorely needed -- Jessica.

DEAN: Elliott, thank you.

American defense chiefs met with their Chinese counterparts face to face in Singapore. It's the first such meeting since late 2022. They met on the sidelines of an Annual Defense Conference, one that's been taking on a greater weight with the rising military tensions across the Asia-Pacific. But when the defense secretary addressed the conference, he took aim at China's aggression in the region.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand has more now from Singapore.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Secretary Austin addressed the Shangri-La Forum here in Singapore earlier today in a major speech that focused on the idea of convergence of United States and its Indo-Pacific allies here in favor of security and the rule of law. A thinly veiled message to China, which of course the United States has accused of flouting international law, especially when it comes to freedom of navigation in the seas and in the air.

Now, Secretary Austin also emphasized the importance, though, of military to military communications with the Chinese remaining ongoing, saying that that is what responsible nations do and there's no substitute for that kind of direct dialogue between the U.S. and their Chinese counterparts.

To that end, the secretary did in fact meet face to face just the other day with his Chinese counterpart for the first time since 2022. And importantly, Secretary Austin reiterated to the Chinese that there are going to be consequences not only for their actions potentially in the South China Sea and in the region around Taiwan but also for their support in their ongoing support for Russia's defense sector and how that is fueling the war in Ukraine.

Secretary Austin said that if China continues to provide that kind of support for the Russians then the U.S. and its allies will be forced to take further measures. Now that is undoubtedly going to be on the agenda for Secretary Austin's meeting with a surprise guest here at the Shangri-La Forum, which is President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. He showed up earlier on Saturday night. And he's expected to meet on Sunday with Secretary Austin alongside his defense minister, Umerov.

And they're expected to talk about the battlefield situation in Ukraine, as well as what Ukraine needs to defend itself against the Russians right now. And so expect that meeting to be very significant, of course, for Austin and the Ukrainian leader here at a moment when the Chinese of course are here as well and they have continued to provide very significant support for Russia's defense sector.

Natasha Bertrand, CNN, in Singapore.

DEAN: Natasha, thank you.

Still ahead an Idaho jury decides the fate of convicted murderer and self-proclaimed doomsday prophet Chad Daybell. What happened in court. And much of Atlanta hasn't had water for close to two hours thanks to that. One of two water mains that have broken, the other has now been repaired, but this one still spouting water.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:29:04] DEAN: Breaking news now. One of the two massive water main breaks that left much of Atlanta without water has now been repaired.

Let's get back out to CNN's Rafael Romo, who has been right beside one of those major breaks.

Rafael, what's the latest?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica, throughout the day, we've been reporting about how the multiple watermain breaks in Atlanta like this one here in the midtown neighborhood have paralyzed vast portions of the city, including the areas where some of the top attractions in the south are located. In the last hour, we learned that Megan Thee Stallion concert scheduled for tonight has been canceled according to the venue State Farm Arena.

Some residents have gone more than 24 hours without water. Tourist attractions have been forced to shut down. And now we're hearing about the impact this crisis has had on local hospitals. Grady Memorial Hospital one of the top ones in the region announced earlier that they continue to experience low water pressure but remain fully operational and their emergency room is accepting all patients.

Emory Healthcare, another major medical services provider told CNN in a statement that they have had to take several measures, including diverting ambulances, transferring dialysis patients to other facilities and bringing in 58,000 gallons of water for the hospital chillers and cooling towers.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has apologized for the water crisis saying that city teams are working nonstop to repair the water main breaks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANDRE DICKENS (D), ATLANTA, GEORGIA: We take this matter very, very seriously and our whole team takes it very seriously as you see as working on this. We apologize profusely for this disruption to life in the city of Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Jessica, we've also been hearing from very frustrated people in this neighborhood, in the Midtown neighborhood because they have been for quite too long without water and take a look at this.

We got here about 10 hours ago. The water main break is just as bad as it was when we got here, but we've seen in the last hour more crews showing up, more trucks and machinery. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of the end of this water crisis here in Atlanta -- Jessica.

DEAN: Rafael Romo for us in Atlanta, thanks so much for that reporting.

New tonight out of Idaho where self-proclaimed doomsday prophet, Chad Daybell has been sentenced to death for the murder of his first wife, Tammy, and two children from his second wife, Lori Vallow. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The jury has made a finding that it would be appropriate to impose the death penalty as it relates to counts one through six in the amended indictment.

And so pursuant to Idaho Code 19 2515, the court is directed that the defendant would be sentenced to death on those counts.

CNN's Camila Bernal, joining us now from Los Angeles.

Camilla, what were some of those extenuating factors that led the jury to this death sentence?

BERNAL: Yes, so the jury agreed here that some of the aggravating factors were the fact that the crimes that he committed were atrocious, they were cruel.

The jury also saying that this was done for money, that he had utter disregard for human life, and that he would be a threat to society.

You know, this is the same jury that found him guilty of killing his first wife, Tammy, and the children of his second wife, Lori Vallow Daybell. The children just 16 years old, Tylee and seven years old, JJ.

And you know, the prosecutors in this case said that it was a case that was motivated by sex, money, power, and these apocalyptic religious beliefs where he would mark people for death, describing them as dark or as zombies.

And so the prosecution here also saying that anyone that got in the way of Lori and Chad Daybell being together, or if there was any financial gain to be made here in the sense of Social Security payments or the payments for life insurance, then they would mark them as someone that needed to die.

And of course, a lot of us watched as authorities found the remains of the children in Chad Daybell's property. You know, JJ was found with his arms duck taped, covered in plastic bags. Tylee's body was so badly burned that it was even difficult to identify.

And so this was horrible for the nation and for the families of victims that have been impacted by all of this after the sentencing. Some of them did speak out. Take a listen to what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never wish harm on anybody regardless of what they've done to you, but at the end of the day, it is good that he is -- he can't hurt anybody else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got justice for our loved ones and that was always what this was about, getting justice for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can all start to heal from this terrible loss we have suffered. We will miss Tammy every single day of our lives. But we do have some comfort knowing that we will see her again someday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And the family was emotional, but Chad Daybell, no emotion, no reaction, chose to not speak after sentencing.

His attorney he did speak earlier in the sentencing phase and essentially just blamed at all on Lori. She was of course, found guilty as well, and was sentenced to prison without the possibility of parole. The death penalty for her was not on the table -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Camila Bernal from Los Angeles for us. Thanks so much for that reporting.

Also new tonight, NASA says the earliest liftoff for the new Boeing Starliner crewed with NASA astronauts will be on Wednesday. That's after today's lift off was scrubbed less than four minutes before launch.

CNN space and defense correspondent, Kristin Fisher has more from Kennedy Space Center.

[19:35:04]

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Jessica, NASA, Boeing, and the United Launch Alliance or ULA say that they are foregoing the next possible launch opportunity, which would have been tomorrow, Sunday at around noon, because they say they simply didn't have enough time to troubleshoot the issue that caused today's scrub, Saturday scrub.

And the issue had nothing to do with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, nor did it have anything to do with the rocket that propels that spacecraft into orbit, ULA's Atlas 5.

So the hardware actually performed just fine and was ready for launch. The issue frustratingly had to do with the ground computers that sit right near the base of the launchpad. They require all three computers to tell the rocket that it is essentially go for launch. They call it triple redundancy.

On Saturday, two of those computers gave it the greenlight, the third computer did not, or perhaps it was just too slow in getting there. That's what triggered the automatic hold. And because this was an instantaneous launch window, meaning that they had to launch the exact precise moment that then meant that there was a scrub.

And so NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams are going back to quarantine, and NASA says the next launch attempt is going to be sometime next week, either June 5th or June 6th.

Definitely a disappointment for NASA, Boeing and ULA. But important to note that scrubs happen. They're very common in spaceflight, but especially for a first crewed test flight. NASA just saying they're being extremely cautious with this one, not going to launch until they're ready -- Jessica. DEAN: All right, Kristin Fisher for us, thanks so much.

Still ahead tonight, an overlooked consequence of war, thousands of animals trapped at a Ukrainian Zoo near the Russian border. We are going to talk with the director and producer of a new film "Checkpoint Zoo."

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:41:38 ]

DEAN: A new barrage of Russian missiles striking in Ukraine's Kharkiv region overnight injuring at least 12 people, including children. And this follows weeks of deadly aerial attacks on Ukraine's second- largest city.

Kharkiv, has been a target of frequent attacks for more than two years, and now, since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

So close to the border, thousands evacuated when Russian forces advanced. But one of the often overlooked consequences of war, thousands of animals trapped at a zoo north of the city, and that's the focus of a new documentary. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were not ready for the war, so many of our employees moved from Kharkiv to save their lives.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: When the war started, only about 10 of them were left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people who stayed was asked to give animals life is a mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And joining me now is the film's director and producer, Joshua Zeman.

Joshua, you and your team made multiple trips to Ukraine during this war for this project. Tell us what that was like.

JOSHUA ZEMAN, "CHECKPOINT ZOO", DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER: I had never been in a war zone before, so it was really dramatic going in and you wear helmets and full vests going into this zoo to speak to the people who risked their lives to save these animals. It was really incredible.

DEAN: Why this story?

ZEMAN: That's a really interesting question. There were a lot of zoos that came under shelling, but zoo is very unique. As you said before, it is in Kharkiv, which is only 25 kilometers from the border, but what makes this zoo so incredible, on one side of the zoo, you had the Russian frontline and on the other side of the zoo, you had the Ukrainian frontline.

And so this zoo was trapped in this gray zone, this no man's land right in the middle and these kids basically, kids and zookeepers snuck in to rescue over 5,000 animals.

DEAN: And so what do you -- what happened to those animals? I know that's what you all get into, but where are they now? Have they been able to keep them alive?

ZEMAN: Yes, they basically rescued over 5,000 animals. They sent them -- lions and tigers and bears, and they sent them all over Ukraine to other zoos, basically away from the frontlines where they would be safe.

DEAN: Wow. So what do you hope people take away from seeing your documentary?

ZEMAN: It is an interesting thing when you look at war through the eyes of animals, it really changes our perspective of war. It allows us almost this, a mirror, if you will, it allows us to examine our own species where it is no longer about borders and financing a war. It is no longer about boundaries.

It is about the fact that saving these animals brings out the best in humanity, the best in ourselves. And also, you see the worst parts of humanity, and that is what is so unique about war and animals.

[19:45:07]

DEAN: And probably, too, the connection between these people who were saving these animals and the animals' connection to those people.

ZEMAN: It was very interesting. Every person who was in there, they almost have like a spirit animal, like an animal that they rescued. And I kept asking, did you see, like could you tell? And he was like, there is kid who saves a moose and he becomes like best friends with this moose and he is just like, you could see it in their eyes, this gratitude of saving them or they were saving unbelievably dangerous animals that somehow right in this moment of saving them, the animals just ran out and were completely docile and ran into the vehicle to be saved.

And so it is these kind of very magical moments.

DEAN: It is kind of incredible. And you know, here we've been reporting on Kharkiv. It has once again become a focus for Russian forces. They've been hitting civilians there.

You spent obviously a lot of time in that area. What did you learn about the Ukrainian people while you were there, when you're watching this now unfold? How does that land with you?

ZEMAN: It is truly tragic. I didn't know this. You know, I am from New York. Kharkiv was a major city. It was a tech hub. There are three colleges, like it was going to be the gateway of Ukraine and everything. And suddenly, one day these people wake up and there are tanks 30 miles outside of their city.

What's interesting about Kharkiv as well, a lot of the people in there, they speak Russian. Culturally, they are very Russian. They have family members in Russia. And I said, why don't you just accept occupation? Like is it really that bad?

And they've said, no way. We will fight to the death because we've tasted freedom and I thought that was really profound.

DEAN: That freedom, that democracy, and the fortitude to push ahead.

Joshua Zeman, thanks so much for joining us.

ZEMAN: Thank you for having me.

DEAN: Still ahead today, it is the start of hurricane season and experts are warning it could be a rough one. What we should expect, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:51]

DEAN: The Highest Court in Texas rejects a challenge to the state's strict abortion bans. Every woman in Texas who suffered serious health complications during their pregnancies sued the state, alleging the current abortion restrictions put their health and their lives at risk.

Yesterday, the Texas Supreme Court, which is made up entirely of Republicans ruled the challengers did not prove that the ban violates the state's constitution.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of these women says that they will continue to pursue other legal avenues.

President Biden is offering his condolences so the Obama family, after the passing of Marian Robinson. The mother of former First Lady Michelle Obama passed away Friday.

President Biden said in a statement: "We knew Mrs. Marian Robinson as a devoted mother and grandmother with a fierce and unconditional love of her family. With the blessing of friendship, we felt that love ourselves with every quiet smile or warm embrace she shared with us. The entire Biden family sends its deepest love to Michelle, Craig, Barack, Kelly, and the six irrepressible grandchildren, whom she helped to raise and so loved and in whom her kind and gentle spirit lives on."

Marian Robinson was 86. Today is the official start of the 2024 hurricane season, and forecasters say they expect it to be one of the worst on record, thanks to warming ocean temperatures and La Nina.

CNN meteorologist, Elisa Raffa is in the Weather Center now with more on this.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are expecting a very active season ahead, multiple outlets calling for incredibly active number of storms.

NOAA actually issuing its most active preseason forecast in its history, calling for up to 25 named storms, average would be closer to 14, up to 13 of them could be hurricanes. Again, way above the average of seven.

Look at how confident we are that this is going to be an above-normal active season, 85 percent confidence. There is only a five percent chance that it will be below a normal season. So again, almost, virtually impossible.

One of the big reasons is, we have La Nina circulation setting up. That's a cool ocean circulation that sets up in the Pacific. Well, it could have a dance with the path to storminess, our jet stream. It could shift it to the north, that could clear a path of decreasing wind shear. Wind shear is a change in wind speed and height upstairs in the atmosphere. Hurricanes hate that.

So without that wind shear, that can open up a path for more storms to develop. On top of this, we also have incredibly warm ocean temperatures. Even so far this season, we've already had ocean temperatures more typical for August than May or early June.

Warm ocean temperatures fuel hurricanes, it is the food that they need and that is the climate factor. Climate change is making our oceans warmer. Warmer water means more fuel for hurricanes. It also can make them heavier, juicing them up with even more fuel.

Sea level rise makes our storm surge higher and sends that water farther inland. So all of this leads to more expensive storms.

Look at the cost of tropical cyclones since 1980 across the US. How many storms we've had that have cost us more than a billion dollars.

Also notice how far inland this gets with the heavier rain trends and the higher storm surge, more of these impacts make it farther inland.

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All of this means increasing insurance costs for you at home.

DEAN: Elisa Raffa, thank you.

And tomorrow on CNN, 80 years after D-Day, are we still protecting what we fought so hard to preserve? Jake tapper talking to top generals about the state of democracy around the world on a new, "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper. It is tomorrow night at eight right here on CNN.

Thanks so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean.

I am going to see right back here tomorrow night, starting at four o'clock Eastern.

In the meantime, an encore presentation of HBO's "Real-Time with Bill Maher" is up next. Have a great night.

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