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Millions In Texas Bracing For Tripple-Digit Heat; At Least Three Dead After Tornado First Through Texas; 60 Million People Under Severe Storm Risk; Russia Could Use Nuclear Weapons In Response To Threats; Armed Rebels Attack Uganda School, Killing 41. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired June 17, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Diabetes and even cut down on weight gain. They found that just one week of following a diet of eating only in the first six to eight hours of the day can stabilize glucose levels and lower the risk of type two diabetes. Experts say, this type of intermittent fasting allows people to be more active helping to regulate sleep and energy levels. How is that intermittent fasting if you wake up and you immediately eat within the first six hours? That doesn't make sense.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Or maybe you have time later in the day where you're not eating because you front loaded the day with calories? You claim that you don't eat early in the day.

WALKER: I don't. I don't.

BLACKWELL: But then what do you eat when you claim you don't eat?

WALKER: I eat cake.

BLACKWELL: She eats cake and says I haven't eaten.

WALKER: But that's not eating. That's not a real breakfast.

BLACKWELL: She got coffee and a little cake. That's food.

WALKER: OK, fine.

BLACKWELL: All right.

WALKER: Not true. The next hour CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

BLACKWELL: You are up, we're glad you are with us. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Saturday, June 17th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

WALKER: Do you eat in the first six hours of your day?

BLACKWELL: Yes, I come in and have breakfast every morning, right when I get to the studio.

WALKER: What do you have? BLACKWELL: Two boiled eggs, yogurt, and some oatmeal.

WALKER: Still healthy.

BLACKWELL: Yes, sometimes.

WALKER: Cake. Cake does the body good.

BLACKWELL: Cake every day.

WALKER: It's the sugar, you know. You got to have something sweet with your coffee. Hey everyone, I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for spending your morning with us. What are you having for breakfast? Let us know. Tweet us.

We're following several developing stories for you this morning. There are new details this morning about the tornado that ripped through the Texas Panhandle. And as cleanup efforts get underway, we are tracking the threat for more severe storms today.

BLACKWELL: Russia strikes back at Ukraine launching dozens of attacks as Ukraine's counter offensive is happening now. We'll show you how Ukrainians are training to take the fight to Russia.

WALKER: The U.S. government is trying to determine the extent of a sprawling cyber-attack that has compromised the personal information of millions of Americans. The states we know that have been impacted so far and who is believed to be behind the attack.

BLACKWELL: Hundreds of thousands of UPS workers could soon walk off the job if their union cannot reach a deal with the company. The main sticking points and what a strike could mean for you and the economy.

WALKER: And let's take a live look at London now where the military ceremony known as the trooping of the color is underway. We expect to see the royal family this hour and, yes, we will take you there live.

Well, we begin in Texas where millions of people are bracing for triple digit heat after tornadoes ripped through the area just two days ago. This is what the scene looked like. After an EF-3 rated tornado hit the town of Perryton on Thursday. People are cleaning up now and Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for communities impacted by that storm.

BLACKWELL: In this video you can see the fury of the storm. The twister touched down in Perryton. At least three people including an 11-year-old boy were killed after the tornado slammed that area. CNN Isabel Rosales is live from Perryton, Texas there. And I know you're going to walk us through what you're seeing, but we're getting the commentary of the storm by the piles of what's left behind you.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. Good morning to you, Amara and Victor, and it's really a stunning sight to see just the connection of this community. It's a small town of 8,500 people and there's really no lack of helping hands, people just volunteers, neighbors coming out to help with this cleanup and eventual rebuilding effort here, but the sweltering heat is certainly not making this easy.

Across Texas, temperatures are estimated to be 10 to 15 degrees above normal for at least the next seven days. So, let's talk about the damage we're seeing. And you can see right behind me that just the power of this tornado that was upgraded last night by the National Weather Service to be an EF-3 tornado from that preliminary data. This is what's left behind: twisted metal, uprooted trees, power lines that have been down, and especially mobile home parks just ripped apart and sent out flying several hundreds of yards away.

It's estimated that at the most, 200 homes have been destroyed. This tornado lasting on the ground for 11 minutes reaching peak winds of 140 miles and the length of this thing over six miles. I spoke with a 16-year-old, Orlando Mendoza, who rode out this tornado inside of his mobile home. Now, it's been totally torn apart. And he says, that the only thing that has escaped damage are three framed pictures of the Virgin Mary. Listen to what he went through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORLANDO MENDOZA, HOME STRUCK BY TORNADO IN PERRYTON, TEXAS: Feeding in their kitchen, and then we saw the, the winds start getting really bad. And I told my sister-in-law that we might have to go to a shelter and when I said that I was going to go get my dog, which he was in my room, and when I opened my room, my roof flew off. My dog tried to run out, so I grabbed them, and put them against the wall. And that kind of we could kind of go against the wall for a little bit, waited there, and then we went to the restroom and that's where we stayed for the rest of the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:15]

ROSALES: And the Perryton fire chief tells me that every one that was unaccounted for and missing has now been accounted for. The death toll is at three, including an 11-year-old little boy, Matthew Ramirez, found dead in his trailer home. Guys.

BLACKWELL: Isabel Rosales for us there. Thank you so much. Now, the severe storms, there are more expected this weekend. Actually, some of the places already devastated by tornadoes over the past few days. Meteorologist Britley Ritz is with us now from the CNN Weather Center. Britley, where are these threats most, I guess, potent, concentrated today and tell us more about what we're expecting?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oklahoma and Kansas, same threats, once again. Unfortunately, long, strong tornadoes expected to touchdown once again later this evening and through the overnight. So, one thing I do need to tell you and just kind of let this resonate is know where your safe spot is, get into an interior room with many walls in between you and the outside as possible. If you have a basement, get there as quickly as possible as soon as that warning is issued.

No warnings at the moment on radar. Notice the storm activity across parts of Southern Nebraska stretching through Central Kansas. And again, storms now moving through the South as well, now pushing back into the Gulf of Mexico. We've got the jet stream sitting nearby that's going to help enhance some of these storms. And of course, that area of low pressure as a deepens across the Central Plains.

You'll see the areas highlighted in orange where we're most vulnerable today and tomorrow. Tornadoes, wind, as well as, hail take you through the timeframe anywhere between eight to 10:00 where we get initiation across Oklahoma back through Texas. Then, it pushes down through the southeast as we roll into the evening hours into Sunday. Again, watching for the heat as well. Many of us across the deep South with excessive heat warnings where it will feel like we're pushing near 110 degrees. Victor, Amara.

WALKER: Yes, that is scorching. Britley Ritz, thank you. We are following new developments in Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say at least two people have died and more than two dozen were injured in the shelling of the city of Kherson.

BLACKWELL: Now, the head of the Regional Ministry says Russia launch 75 attacks on the area in the last 24 hours. The shelling comes as Ukraine's counter offensive is going on now. Let's get the latest from CNN's Fred Pleitgen, he's live from Zaporizhzhia. Fred, bring us up to speed.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Victor. Well, that counter offensive is going on and it's certainly picking up steam as far as the Ukrainians are concerned. It was quite interesting because yesterday, Ukrainian official came out and said in the span of 24 hours and Ukrainians had conducted around 1500 missions with their artillery and missile forces.

So, just to show some of the firepower that's being unleashed in that region, the Ukrainians are saying the counter offensive is moving forward at a slower pace than they'd like but they do say they are making very important gains. And you know, the troops that we met near the front line to us certainly seem very confident that they can succeed. Here's what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Ukraine's army continuing to take the fight to the Russians on the southern front. This video shows the 128 territorial defense battalion clearing trenches after ousting Vladimir Putin's army, the unit says. One of the soldiers nicknamed, The Octopus, telling me the fighting remains fierce.

"We're currently launching an assault," he says, "our frontline is moving forward. We've already advanced a lot more than two kilometers, so now we're only moving forward."

Even after returning from the frontline, the troops continue to train assaulting enemy positions so important for Ukraine's ongoing major counter offensive.

The guys here say that the battles that they've had with the Russians have been extremely tough. They've had to fight for every yard and yet they are confident, they say, that they can make this counter offensive a success.

Troops we spoke to say the biggest threat to them is Russian airpower.

This video released by the Russian Defense Ministry purporting to show a Russian attack helicopter hitting a Ukrainian armored vehicle. The 128th Deputy Commander acknowledges choppers, planes, and drones are making his forces advanced tougher.

"They work continuously," he says, "all day long, either with helicopters or with planes. It's hard to advance like that, but we retake territory we do not allow them to hit the columns."

And the unit says, they've managed to capture not only territory but also hardware from the Russians including this infantry fighting vehicle.

Mechanics now fixing it up to use against the Russians.

An angry Russian President complaining about key as offensive and claiming that Russia is beating back Ukraine's forces.

"They've suffered large losses," Vladimir Putin says, "10 times more than the Russian army and that is a fact."

The Ukrainians do acknowledge some losses but also say they've taken out a lot of Russian assets, and these troops vowed to press on and take more vehicles from Moscow's troops as they advance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:15]

PLEITGEN (on camera): And Victor, those troops certainly did seem to be in good spirits. They said, that right now they are trying to advance as much as they can. They said they use very small units to try and move forward. Also, the Ukrainian are saying, that not only southern front, are they making progress but on the eastern front near Bakhmut as well, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Fred Pleitgen for us there in Zaporizhzhia. Thank you, Fred. Russian President Vladimir Putin is once again raising the specter of nuclear weapons. Putin says, Russia could use them in response to threats.

Let's bring in CNN Contributor and former Moscow Bureau Chief, Jill Dougherty, she's an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Jill, good to have you. These deployment of these tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Secretary Blinken says, that the USC has no evidence that or any indication that, the Russians intend to use them. So, what is the message Putin is trying to send by simply moving them to Belarus?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, he's been doing this step by step. So, remember back in March, they began to talk about this, we will be putting tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, then they said, but we have to build the shelters for them, the buildings for them, then that took another month. So, this is eking out, you know, slowly. The message is, of course, that the West, and NATO, and Ukraine should be very afraid that Russia will use nuclear weapons.

And it's a tactic that, you know, is less, and less effective, I think, because the assessment by the United States really is that Putin does not want to start a nuclear war. That said, you can't eliminate the possibility that they might use tactical nuclear weapons. So, you know, looking at the speech by President Putin was actually a speech and then kind of a Q and A with a person and analysts.

You really have to, I think, interpret him in the way he has to be interpreted, which is, in my opinion, he's kind of like the arsonists the, you know, pyromaniac, who starts a fire, and then puts out his own fire. So, he raises the ante saying, well, you know, we could use nuclear weapons, the big ones, if necessary to protect Russia, however, there is no need. So, this is all you know, he doesn't say anything just for the fun of it. I think this is definitely his message to frighten the West.

BLACKWELL: And we should remember, all of this is his fire, right? This war is his fire that he started back in February of last year. So, let me ask you about bringing a bit of Fred's reporting as we're seeing that the Ukrainians are claiming some advances in this counter offensive that has been talked up for so many months now. But it's not overwhelming the Russians, Putin says that it has no chance. Is that at all part of this nuclear weapon conversation, even including the context you added about his kind of forecasting these moves over the last several months?

DOUGHERTY: Yes, I think you're right, that there are probably two ways that he's using this. Number one, they're not winning, we are -- or at least, you know, we -- Russia, he is claiming, is holding off the Ukrainians. And then, from the nuclear perspective, he's saying we've got these weapons, but we really don't need to use them. So, because, you know, we're not losing the war.

So, I think again, yes, he's using it for a couple of different reasons. And don't forget that some of this is talking to his own people. You know, one phrase that he used in that Q and A with the, with the expert, was a pretty off-color Russian expression, which I guess I could use I.R., but it's basically, you know, screw them. And it was that strong, he used it. And that reminded me of back in the Chechen War, he used a pretty obscene description for what he was going to do to terrorists.

That was very popular in the beginning of early Putin. So, when he uses these tough guy, phrases kind of off color, tough, he's also sending a message to his people that, "I'm not going to be pushed around. I am in control." And don't forget, the war is not going the way he expected. And there is more criticism of how he's been conducting the war, domestically.

BLACKWELL: I appreciate your concern of the audience and screwed them, but I think they're OK with that, that wasn't too offensive at this hour. Let me talk now -- who also said of the leopard tanks and all of the weapons that are coming in to support Ukraine, broadly, and of course, during this counter offensive.

He said, if they are based abroad, but used in fighting, we'll see how to hit them and where we can hit those memes that are used against us in fighting. You pointed out that Putin does not want a nuclear war, he also doesn't want a war with NATO. Is this more bluster? Is there any scenario in which you can envision Russian troops hitting assets based in Poland, in Germany, in other countries that are allocated for Ukraine?

[07:15:26]

DOUGHERTY: This was, to me, the most concerning thing that he said. Nukes are serious, but this really was because what he was saying, I think could, and I looked at what he said in Russian, it could apply to the tanks, or it could apply to F16 and other fighter jets that are going into Ukraine or will go into Ukraine.

So, if he is saying, for instance, that there are fighter jets in Poland, or in the Baltics or someplace, a NATO country, and he's saying that he might, and he was very unclear, he said, we will see what we will do. But that is a threat, that he would attack a NATO country to destroy those planes.

That's very serious, because that does start a war. So, again, he's pushing the envelope. He's hinting he's not; he's not precise in what he's saying. But it's another scare tactic. Don't try this, otherwise, I could come. And he used the phrase, the F16 can burn too, just like the tanks. So, again, we're upping the ante.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jill Dougherty, thank you.

WALKER: And right now, royal fans in London are out in full force celebrating King Charles once again. The military spectacle known as their trooping the color, as the Trooping the Color marks Charles' first official birthday celebration as monarch. It is a tradition steeped in British history, dating all the way back to the mid-1700s.

Now, this year, King Charles becomes the first sovereign in over 30 years to ride horseback in the parade. He's joined on horseback by his son, Prince William, and his sister, Princess Anne, along with 1500 military officers. The procession is currently making its way back to Buckingham Palace. In less than an hour, Charles will be joined by the rest of the royal family on the balcony for a Royal Air Force fly- past. We'll bring you that live when it happens.

All right, still ahead, millions of Americans' personal information may have been compromised in a global cyber-attack, what we know about the extent of the damage, next.

BLACKWELL: We're following a developing story out of Uganda where at least 41 people now are dead after armed rebels attacked a school. What we know about that attack and who police believe is responsible.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:22:00]

WALKER: Now, to a tragic story out of Western Uganda this morning where police says, ISIS-linked extremist rebels attacked a secondary school, killing at least 41 people and abducting six students before setting the school on fire.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the number of those killed started at 25; when we started this show it's now 41. And officials believe that number of deaths will increase because there could still be more victims inside the burned building. It's one of the deadliest attacks the country has seen. Let's go now to CNN's Larry Madowo, live in Kampala. Larry, truly horrific, tell us more about what you've learned.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning a bit more about what happened in this attack that was carried out about 11:30 p.m. Friday night, and these are rebels allied to the Allied Democratic Forces or ADF, that's what the Ugandan police and military are blaming for this. They attack this high school; some of these kids that are as young as 13 and some of them were in the dormitory.

So, the girls' dormitory, according to the Ugandan military, they were able to get in there and essentially hack so many of them to death. In the boys' dormitory, they faced a bit of resistance, and then that's when they set this dormitory on fire. So, at least six were abducted from this school. We're not sure if all of the 41 who are dead are students, but it's very likely.

Because this was at night, they attack the living quarters of these students is very likely that each one of the 41 people who are dead in this horrific attack were students at this high school in the west of Uganda, just two kilometers away from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is not the first time that the ADF has carried out a school attack or an educational institution in Uganda.

The last was 25 years ago, almost exactly to the day when he carried on a similar attack and burned about 80 students to death and abducted more than 100, the Ugandan government, the Uganda military has been carrying out joint operations with the Congolese military to try and stamp out this armed group operating in the eastern part of DRC as well as Western Uganda.

It came out of here in Uganda back in the mid-90s. It opposes the role of President Yoweri Museveni who has said that they are nothing that they can stamp out the ADF. But this is really strong statement to President Museveni, to his government here and to the military, that these aren't groups and especially the ADF, which allies is still strong and poses a threat to the country.

BLACKWELL: All right, Larry, watching that still developing story. Thank you so much, Larry Madowo in Kampala.

Still ahead, officials are working to understand how much data was compromised in a global cyber-attack carried out by Russian cyber criminals. A closer look at who's been impacted, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:28:38]

BLACKWELL: This morning, the federal government is working to understand the extent of a cyber-attack by Russian hackers that exposed the personal data of millions of Americans.

WALKER: A sweeping hack likely carried out by the ransomware gang known as Clop, has also compromised several federal agencies including the Department of Energy. CNN Sean Lyngaas has more.

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Amara, U.S. government agencies and corporations around the world continue to respond to a ransomware attack allegedly carried out by Russian hackers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNGAAS (voice-over): Now, the hackers exploited a vulnerability in a very popular software called Move It. It's a file transfer software that governments and organizations use to send files from one system to another. The hack actually began several weeks ago but this week, CNN broke the news that multiple U.S. government agencies were impacted.

The investigation is ongoing. This appears to be a very opportunistic attack, and there's not really a risk of any sort of disruption to government services. However, it's another reminder of the threat from ransomware which is haunted organizations around the world in the last few years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LYNGAAS (on camera): Hackers from Russia and Eastern Europe and elsewhere, have been able to extort organizations for millions of dollars and continue to fuel their attacks using the money they earn, Victor and Amara.

WALKER: All right. Sean Lyngaas, thank you. Here with me now is (INAUDIBLE), he is the former Director of U.S. Cybersecurity, at the Department of Homeland Security. Ahmet, thank you for joining us and good morning to you. So, first off, I mean, how big is this breach. Tell us about the severity and who's impacted?

[07:29:59]

AMIT YORAN, FORMER DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES CYBERSECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND AND SECURITY: Well, what we know is that Clop is a very sophisticated organization. They've been in this ransomware business for some time.

The estimates from the U.S. government are that north of 8,000 organizations around the world, and perhaps, as many as 3,000 organizations within the U.S. have fallen victim to Clop over the last three to four years.

WALKER: What about regular folks? Because, you know, I'm reading that millions of people in Louisiana and Oregon may have had their social security numbers and their driver's license numbers stolen in this breach.

So, we're talking about DMVs being hacked into. What does this mean?

YORAN: Well, I think what we're going to see is that this organization is used as ransomware. So, if those organizations don't pay ransom to Clop, all of this private information will be released on these millions of individuals.

And certainly, it's concerning, because it's millions of Americans and DMVs. But it's also folks whose data is collected by private companies.

WALKER: And so, I understand the way that this hacking group -- this Russian hacking group typically operates is that they demand ransom.

But when it comes to the federal agencies or the U.S. government, they're not. What does that signal to you?

YORAN: Well, what Clop has said is that they're not going to hold us federal agencies, for ransom. Now, what happens with the data they've stolen? The data they've accessed? Are they going to simply delete it? Are they going to hand it over to Russian authorities? We do know that Russian hacking groups which operate within Russia do have a close relationship with the Kremlin that they frequently share data. And they frequently conduct operations on behalf of the Russian government.

WALKER: Tell me what kind of information could have been exposed when it comes to the civilian side, and also the U.S. government? Are we talking about sensitive documents here?

YORAN: We're typically not talking about classified information, which is handled separately.

However, it could be very sensitive information, not only information about individuals, as you pointed out, driver's license information, which includes their height and weight, and location, where they live things that could use to target them for attack in the future, or embarrass them in some form or fashion.

These are large data transfers, so they could be research projects. It could be other sensitive -- not classified, but sensitive information that these organizations use. Engineering types of information and are transferring it with partners or others with which they're conducting research.

WALKER: If you're at home watching this going, OK, this is concerning. You know, I don't want my identity stolen. What can they do to find out if they were impacted through this breach?

YORAN: The good news is that we have a lot of breach notification laws, which require organizations which have been breached to notify those individuals whose information has potentially been compromised, to notify them in a timely fashion. And in many instances, those individuals are also given some protection through a credit monitoring service or something which would notify them if accounts are being opened in their name.

What it doesn't do is protect them from potential future abuse. So, can that information be used to target them and their loved ones? I think the best thing individual -- individuals can do to protect themselves is the basics. Make sure exercise and good hygiene, apply your patches, apply your fixes when new vulnerabilities are discovered and when patches are releases -- released and make sure you're doing simple things like good passwords, different passwords for each site that you use.

WALKER: I hate changing those passwords as I can never remember them. But there are apps for that, there are apps for everything.

Amit Yoran, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, hundreds of 1000s of UPS workers are preparing for a possible strike. One that would be the largest against a single employer in American history. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:38:18]

WALKER: Members of the Teamsters Union have overwhelmingly voted to approve a massive strike at UPS but a strike is still more than seven weeks away if it happens at all.

BLACKWELL: Now, if that strike does happen, it would be the largest against a single employer in U.S. history.

Here is CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Amara. UPS Teamsters voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike on August 1st. If ups in the Union do not reach a new deal by then, this doesn't come as a surprise though.

UPS and the union were prepared for this vote outcome as these votes are common practice in negotiations and almost always pass.

But 97 percent of members voted to authorize a strike. The Teamsters represent 340,000 warehouse workers and drivers.

But UPS says they are committed to making a deal before August 1st, and have made progress on key issues like getting air conditioning into trucks.

Now, the two sides have also made progress on 40 other issues according to the Union, but there's still work to be done on issues like wages.

The union points to UPS's record profits, which are up nearly 80 percent over their current five-year contract from $6.3 billion to $11.3 billion last year.

Now, if -- big if, the strike were to happen, it would impact millions of Americans as UPS moves 18.7 million packages a day. That's six percent of the U.S.'s GDP.

Now, the last UPS strike was more than 26 years ago in 1997 and lasted 15 days. The two sides now though are continuing to negotiate on this contract before that critical August 1st deadline.

[07:40:03]

Victor, Amara?

WALKER: Vanessa, thank you for watching that for us.

Still ahead, the gunman and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. The deadliest attack ever on Jewish people in the U.S. have been found guilty, has been found guilty, and can now receive the death penalty. More on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: All right. Taking a look now at your other headlines this morning a federal jury has convicted synagogue shooter Robert Bowers on all 63 charges for carrying out the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

The 50-year-old shot and killed 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue back in 2018.

Now, the penalty phase begins later this month. Bowers could face a sentence of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

[07:44:59]

BLACKWELL: Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon papers has died at the age of 92. He risked his freedom to share classified documents with the New York Times, and then the Washington Post during the Nixon administration.

The records painted a devastating picture of the war in Vietnam and showed that officials knew the conflict was unwinnable.

The government sued the newspapers but in a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court found in favor of the media. Earlier this year, Ellsberg said he had pancreatic cancer and would not be receiving intensive treatment.

WALKER: All right. This is frightening. This happened at Boston Logan International Airport, when the wing of United Flight clipped the tail of a Delta plane.

The FAA says it happened Friday evening when the United plane was taxiing and tapped the Delta plane in the rear. One passenger on board the Delta flight said it felt like an earthquake. That notice the emergency vehicles outside the plane. Officials say, fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident.

A tap doesn't sound serious. But when it's between planes, yes, concerning.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Yes. It could -- it could -- and you imagine, it can feel like an earthquake.

WALKER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- when they're tapping each other.

All right. Still ahead, we are standing by for the royal family to appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, after the Trooping of the Colour. We're live in London, next.

But first, our psychedelic mushrooms the future of mental health care. David Culver explores this burgeoning billion-dollar industry in a new episode of the whole story with Anderson Cooper. Here is a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You describe a psilocybin experience as shaking the snow globe? What do you mean by that?

PROFESSOR ROBIN CARHART-HARRIS, HEAD OF PSYCHEDELIC RESEARCH, MPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON: Sometimes, you know to make progress, you've got to break things down. So, there's something about how these compounds like psilocybin stimulate the serotonin system that opens up the mind in the brain to potential change.

CULVER (voice over): Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris is going to see if psilocybin physically changes anything in my brain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How is it going in there?

CULVER: All good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we're going to do some structural scans now.

CARHART-HARRIS: With the cabling scan, we can look at the health of the fibers. We'll see the health before and after your trip to Jamaica.

CULVER: And the trip while in Jamaica.

CARHART-HARRIS: Yes, right.

CULVER: Trips, I guess there will be two of them.

CARHART-HARRIS: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" airs tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:59]

BLACKWELL: Any moment now, the royal family will appear on the balcony there at Buckingham Palace.

You see the crowds there waiting for the Royal Air Force flypast. This is the final part of today's Trooping the Colour ceremony in London.

WALKER: The military parade with King Charles at the helm, just wrapped up and this event marks King Charles' first official birthday celebration as sovereign. Even though his birthday is actually in November, it's British tradition to hold a military birthday parade in the summer.

CNN's Anna Stewart outside of Buckingham Palace.

Anna, we're waiting to see the royal family. Walk us through what's happening now.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you can probably hear, there are some pretty loud noises behind me because a 41-gun salute has just started in Green Park, which is behind us, in honor of the king's official birthday.

Not his actual birthday, monarchs get not one but two. That is because monarchs like to celebrate their birthday with official parade, the Trooping the Colour. It's a very old tradition and it takes place in the summer, when of course, hopefully there isn't rain to ruin the parade, and it hasn't today, the sun has shone, you are listening to that gum salute.

And in the next few moments, just to finish the end of this sort of ceremony, the end of this celebration, you will see King Charles, and hopefully some other members of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where they will then be able to appreciate a flypast of 70 aircraft from the various units of the British armed forces, who are actually coming from various locations across the U.K. joining together and then flying through London.

And this is actually extra special. You may remember a few weeks ago for the coronation. It was not particularly nice weather. The rain really did ruin that parade and the flypast, but really scaled down last moment.

So, finally we will have that glorious moment. That gun salute, so powerful that's happening in Green Park by the king's troop.

There's also a second seat of 60 guns happening at Majesty's palace and fortress the tower (PH) of London by the Honorable Artillery Company. So, guns being fired across London right now.

All eyes on the balcony, though, and actually I'm looking behind me. They've allowed all the crowds now, who were lining them out where the procession took place to come towards the gates of Buckingham Palace, so they can be there for that moment, for that beautiful shot.

And really, this is why people like to come to these big events. It's to get that glimpse of the royal family. It's always a symbolic moment. Often, of course, it is marked by a particularly joyful, younger member of the royal family.

All eyes these days, I would say, is on the youngest Prince Louis, who does pose some pretty good faces. So, we are hoping he might make an appearance on the balcony today.

But that should be taking place in the next couple of minutes. And that is so that both they get to share this moment with the British public, and everyone who has come to see and celebrate the king's official birthday. And also, of course that they can really enjoy that flypast.

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And it will not just be your usual flypast Sunday (PH) aircrafts pretty big, but also the Red Arrows, who will have plumes of red, white, and blue streaming behind them, essentially emblazoning a British flag on the skies.

When it comes to pomp and ceremony. The U.K. does it really well. And I'd say this year for Trooping the Colour, which is an annual event, we've had a pretty good rehearsal, haven't we? With the coronation five weeks ago.

And in many ways, Trooping the Colour is a smaller affair, because it focuses on the Household Division. So, it has seven regiments essentially of a Household Division, five Foot Guards, two Household Cavalry, hundreds of soldiers and horses. But compared to a coronation quite a minor affair.

We are still though looking at that balcony. I wondering do you guys have a favorite moment from the balcony shot? Is it Prince Louis that you're looking out for?

WALKER: Always. I love that that's what I'm always looking forward to, is like, if he's going to have a tantrum, like, pet his hands over his ears, like, you know, fight with his siblings. It's the cutest thing. I love it.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Prince Louis, there was -- I don't remember the specific sporting event, but he was there with now the Princess of Wales and was really showing out.

I mean -- and she was trying to keep them under control.

WALKER: I mean, she was trying to discipline him.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WALKER: Aside from what I can see.

BLACKWELL: Yes. WALKER: And he was not having it.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WALKER: And it was a great moment. All right. So, there's a picture, we'll be watching with it. You (INAUDIBLE) closely. Anna Stewart, thank you. Stay with us.

We also want to bring in royal editor at HELLO!, Emily Nash, and royal watcher and broadcaster Bidisha Mamata. First to you, Emily. I mean that's pretty cool. If you're, you know, king or queen, you get to have two big birthday celebrations.

But tell us about, you know, how significant this moment is, and also, the enthusiasm levels that we are seeing from the people there.

EMILY NASH, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Well, this is the first time we've had a king's birthday parade since 1950. So, it is history in the making.

And you know, this is just as much about the military, the Armed Forces as it is about the king. This is an opportunity for them to really show their excellence in ceremonial routines.

So, this is something we used to see over the years. But there are lots of firsts, this time around. And of course, it's just 12 months since we saw this happening with the late queen on the balcony.

So, there's an added poignancy there. And you can see the 1000s of people crowding down the mouth. It hasn't lost any of its appeal to people on the streets.

BLACKWELL: Bidisha, this is a military event, not running on military precision as it relates to time, because they're a little late, and a little late throughout the day.

But on the value to the British people, if you're a tourist coming from overseas, to be there, for the Trooping of the Colour is the jackpot. You get to see the pomp, the circumstance, the royal family.

But what's the value to the British people now that this has been going on for so many centuries?

WALKER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: To more than 260 years now?

BIDISHA MAMATA, BRITISH BROADCASTER: I don't think you ever get tired of it. It's a glorious June day, every time we hope, but this year, there is exceptional intimacy and clarity to the entire procession.

I just got in from outside Buckingham Palace. And I have to say, the atmosphere this year around because it's King Charles's first Trooping the color as the sovereign himself. Very relaxed, very joyful, there is a security presence. But above all, you feel that you are really quite close to the gates, to the palace, to the royal family. And yet, at the same time, because these are military men, these are soldiers who have so many regiments and troops, everything is extraordinary, well -- extraordinarily well rehearsed with a particular kind of elegance and grace.

The coronation, if anyone remembers it, was only a few weeks ago, was full scale technicolor, Disney medieval. This is much more military focused. It's much more connected with Charles's own history and appreciation for the military.

And so, that balance of grandeur and intimacy is something really special.

WALKER: You know, we just saw King Charles coronation and you know, now we have the Trooping of the Colour.

Tell me about the British appetite for this. At least when it comes to the taxpayer dollars, considering that Britain is dealing with quite an economic crisis.

MAMATA: That is absolutely a perennial question. And you are not wrong, because if you step away from that glorious royal footage, and you look at the newspaper headlines, it's about economic inequalities, stalled social mobility.

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BLACKWELL: The king and the queen are walking out, and we're just going to watch and listen for a moment.

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