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Biden To Deliver Morehouse Commencement Speech Today; Trump Alludes To Wanting A Third Term During NRA Speech; War Cabinet Member Gantz Delivers Ultimatum To Netanyahu; U.S. National Security Adviser In Middle East To Meet With Netanyahu; CNN Political Commentator Alice Stewart Dies At 58; Rudy Giuliani Served With Indictment At His 80th Birthday Party; Wildfire Sweeps Through Tonto National Forest In Arizona. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired May 19, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:47]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Sunday, May 19th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Isabel Rosales in for Amara Walker. Here's what we're working on for you this morning, commencement controversy. In just hours, President Biden is set to give a speech at Morehouse College in a move that is dividing the campus. We are live at Morehouse College with the latest. Plus, a look at the president's plan to win back Black voters.

BLACKWELL: And tributes for CNN political commentator and GOP presidential campaign veteran Alice Stewart, who died suddenly yesterday. A look at her life and work ahead.

ROSALES: Plus, more controversy surrounding the rest of the world's top golfer in Kentucky. The new investigation underway after the officer's body-worn camera, apparently was not recording.

BLACKWELL: And new coronavirus virus are on the rise as we into a busy holiday travel week. We talked to a doctor about the emerging new threat from the so-called FLiRT variants.

President Joe Biden will deliver a commencement address to Morehouse College's class of 2024 this morning. The president arrived in Atlanta yesterday, stopped at a local restaurant to speak with some voters. He struck a -- let's call it a confident tone, calling Trump a loser. And he's trying to allay any fears about his own poll numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You hear about how, you know, we're behind in the polls. So far, the polls haven't been right once. Now -- look, we're all -- we're either tied or slightly ahead or slightly behind, but what I look at is actual election results and election results are in the primaries. Look at the primaries.

Well, Mr. Trump has -- he doesn't have an opponent, but he lost some 120,000 votes in Pennsylvania. They didn't vote for him. They voted for a woman who is no longer in the race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: He is pulling back no punches. His weekend in Atlanta is all part of an effort to drum up support among Black voters, a key demographic in his 2020 win. However, his appearance in Morehouse is expected to draw some resistance.

College students across the country, they are protesting his continued support of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and happening for weeks. CNN's Nick Valencia joins us live from the Morehouse campus. Nick, what's the mood on campus right now?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey, good morning, Isabel and Victor. The mood is one of excitement here and it's already packed out. The commencement doesn't start for another three hours, but you could see this long line of cars that is queued up here since early this morning.

You know, this is probably one of the most anticipated commencement speeches I've ever reported on. I can't remember the last time we talked about a graduation ceremony this much but here we are. President Biden getting the invitation from Morehouse college back in September, formerly accepting the invitation in April, amid a -- an eruption of pro-Palestinian protests across the country.

Those protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, something that the president has not supported. So, there's some anxiety -- a little bit of anxiety about what potentially could happen during his speech.

Over the weekend, we saw student activists take to social media to encourage graduates to turn their back on President Biden during his commencement speech. They say, as the president has turned his back on Palestinians.

So far, though, no signs of demonstrators. Just really happy families and graduates, you know, smiling. This is a huge day for them here and one that is already getting underway here, despite it being hours and hours away. Isabel, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Nick, we've got to remember that the president is not the star today. It's those 470 Morehouse men who are graduating.

VALENCIA: That's right.

BLACKWELL: We, of course, waiting for the speech but this is a very big day for them. We'll check back with you. Nick Valencia there on the Morehouse College campus.

VALENCIA: Amen.

BLACKWELL: Amen. Thank you very much. Joining us now, Washington correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tia Mitchell. Tia, good morning to you. So, our reporting is that the White House has consulted with several Morehouse alumni who are close to the president and in the party. Eddie Glaude Jr., chair of the Princeton African American Studies department. Jeh Johnson, former Homeland Security secretary. Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin. Montgomery mayor Steven Reed, among others. I think Cedric Richmond helped out as well. What does the White House believe that they must accomplish today?

[06:05:03]

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: Well -- and also the Biden administration sent emissaries to Morehouse to speak with students and leaders on campus currently.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MITCHELL: I think for the Biden administration, for President, Biden, number one, I think he wants to have a speech that resonates. One that is seen as successful. One where he is seen as charismatic. One where he is seen as in tune to what the needs of those graduates are as far as uplifting them and not just delivering a run-of-the-mill campaign speech.

To your point, this is about the graduates. And I think one of the things that Biden has heard, some of the pushback is about, you know, we want someone who's not coming in just to give us a campaign speech into grandstand. We want someone who's going to help us celebrate our commencement.

In addition, too, I do think they want him to address the conflict between Israel and Hamas and America's role in it. This will be an opportunity for Biden to explain himself and try to earn points for people who may be skeptical of the U.S.'s approach currently.

BLACKWELL: I've spoken with over the last couple of days, several Morehouse alumni who say that they expect protests. I mean, even some who were there on campus, speaking with those students ahead of the president's visit, they don't expect that he'll be shouted down or heckled during his speech.

But if there is a -- let's say, a show of disapproval where some of them turn their chairs or turn their back, is that bruise going to last more than a day or two? If we think back, there have been protests, people shouting down the president. We don't remember a lot of the specifics there, but is this one different if -- even it's a silent protest today?

MITCHELL: So, I think a silent protest is the best that President Biden can ask for it. And -- because what they don't want is the spectacle of people shouting him down, not allowing him to get through his remarks. They don't want the spectacle of people being arrested. They don't want the spectacle of perhaps the ceremony being shut down early because of disruptions.

So, people walking out or turning their back, I think, to them is like the best they can ask for a happy medium so to speak. And I think that would allow Biden to at least get his words out for those who are willing to listen. And there will be a lot of media coverage as we know of his remarks. So, as long as he's able to give them, I think, Biden would be satisfied with that.

But yes, there will be coverage. I think it also depends on how widespread the protests are. It's a difference between a few dozen people standing up and turning their back between -- and a few hundred graduates standing up and turning their back as well.

BLACKWELL: So, the political motivation for accepting the invitation for Morehouse is clear. The president has worked to do among young voters. He has work to do among Black voters. And of course, Georgia is a swing state, so you put all those together on the campus today.

Let's take a look at the latest New York Times-Siena College poll. This is among Black voters in battleground states in a head-to-head between the president and former president. If we don't have it up, I can tell you what the result is. Is it shows that former president Trump has 23 percent of support among Black voters head-to-head in battleground states.

From your reporting, is that more of rejection of the president or an endorsement of the former president?

MITCHELL: I think it's more of a rejection of the current president and concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I think these are voters that are still gettable for Biden, so to speak. Especially as we know that President Trump has not been popular among young voters and among voters of color, particularly Black voters.

So, I do think these voters are winnable for President Biden, but the conflict in the Middle East, the conflict between Israel and Hamas is a tough spot for him. Because at the end of the day, he can call for a ceasefire if he wants, but he can't make a ceasefire happen. That's up to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas, so to speak.

So, it's a tough position for him and its one that the other side has taken advantage of. I do think the polls haven't always been accurate in putting the finger on the pulse where Black voters are recently.

[06:10:07]

So, we've got to take it with a grain of salt. You saw that recently, for example, with the Maryland Senate race in that Democratic primary.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MITCHELL: So, I don't know if at the end of the day President Trump can really get 25 percent. One out of every four Black voters.

BLACKWELL: I don't know that any -- even Republican strategist I've spoken with about that poll believes it's going to end up that way, but it still is a remarkable number considering early voting starts in some states at the end of September. So, we're not so far away from voting. But, no, I don't know that many people believe he's going to get a quarter of the Black vote.

Last one for you here. Let's talk about President Trump. He received the NRA endorsement in Dallas last night and he said something that is getting some attention. I want to ask you about it. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, FDR 16 years, almost 16 years. He was four-term.

I don't know. Are we going to be considered three-term or two-term? You tell me. Ronny, what do you think?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, he's talking about three terms. Now in the past, he said he's not going to challenge constitutional term limits. Is he just playing with the audience here? Or after January 6 can anyone afford to just dismiss it as a joke?

MITCHELL: Yes. That was going to be my point. I don't think we can afford to dismiss what the former president says. Because it's one thing to say, oh, he's just talking, it's you know, these are just words, these are just pandering to an audience.

But he could be the president. We were just talking about polls that shows President Biden not doing so well. We know that based on the polling, based on what we are hearing, there is a chance Trump can return to the White House.

And therefore, everything he says about how he would conduct himself as president needs to be taken seriously. And I think he does need to clarify.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MITCHELL: Now, if he believes that the constitution would allow him to run for a third term that's fine for him to believe that, but I think the American people need to know that and need to understand that so they can take that into consideration as they go to the poll.

BLACKWELL: Or he may believe that, but the constitution doesn't -- doesn't show that, doesn't prove that to be true. Tia Mitchell, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joining us from Washington, D.C. this morning. Thanks so much.

ROSALES: Turning now to the Middle East where Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz is setting out an ultimatum. He's demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet layout a plan for the war against Hamas.

Gantz says if Netanyahu's war cabinet does not meet the demands by June 8 he will withdraw from the government. Netanyahu rejected the threats saying Gantz's conditions would hurt Israel. BLACKWELL: Meanwhile, U.S. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan is in Israel today to meet with Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, to discuss ongoing hostage negotiations and address, of course, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. This comes after Sullivan's meeting with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.

CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now from Washington. So, tell us about the meetings today.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the primary focus of Sullivan's meeting with officials in Israel was to discuss the Israel and Hamas conflict. And we are told by White House officials that some of the subjects that they discussed was the humanitarian aid crisis in Gaza. They also discussed the possible release of hostages and how those negotiations have stalled and how they want to keep it ongoing.

And we're also hearing that Sullivan is trying to make a more concerted argument when he's meeting with officials in Israel to talk about Rafah and to really convince and make a strong argument to the officials in Israel that they need to have a more concise and targeted approach when it comes to their military operations in Rafah and how they want to go after Hamas. Because they say that if they go in with not a more concise and a more precise approach then it could lead to more innocent civilian lives being lost.

Now, Victor, as you mentioned, Sullivan is also just earlier today, met with officials in Saudi Arabia. And we are being told that in that meeting they discussed the importance of peace. They also discussed the importance of a two-state solution and how they want to work towards that. Isabel, Victor, back to you.

ROSALES: Camila DeChalus, thank you. We are mourning the sudden loss of a treasured member of the CNN family this morning. Straight ahead, we look back on the life and legacy of late conservative commentator Alice Stewart.

BLACKWELL: Plus, a bombshell scene investigation. What hundreds of hours of video from multiple sources reveal about the aggressive offenders and violent pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. -- UCLA's campus. We'll get into that.

ROSALES: And major pain in the plains is expected today. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking that severe weather threat for 30 million people.

[06:15:03]

That's up ahead on CNN THIS MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSALES: Welcome back. We have some sad news to share this morning. CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Alice Stewart died Saturday. She was 58.

BLACKWELL: Alice was a longtime fixture on CNN and on this show. She was on countless political panels.

[06:20:01]

CNN's Dana Bash takes a look at her life and her legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alice Stewart was a treasured member of the CNN family since 2016, a fixture on CNN's political panels for the better part of a decade, using her even tone to bring sharp insights and analysis to viewers regularly, drawing on years of her experience working on high-profile Republican campaigns.

She earned the respect of her peers as a conservative strategist, called on time and time again to support candidates and their causes and the ones she believed in. She brought a boundless well of energy to what is often grueling work in the trenches of national politics.

Alice's career started in journalism working in local news in her home state of Georgia, and as a news anchor in Little Rock, Arkansas.

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Alice Stewart, I am press secretary.

BASH (voice over): That's where she decided to move into politics, becoming a spokesperson for the state's then Governor Mike Huckabee. When he ran for president in 2008, she joined his campaign as press secretary, spending untold days and weeks trudging through the Iowa winter, helping deliver Huckabee's insurgent campaign of victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

Years later, after joining two more presidential campaigns in the 2012 cycle, Michele Bachmann, then Rick Santorum, she returned to Huckabee's side for the 2016 run for the White House. After one last campaign for Ted Cruz in 2016, Stewart came to CNN.

STEWART: Even evangelicals that I talked to --

BASH (voice-over): As a conservative commentator, Stewart joined her fair share of contentious debates on our air.

STEWART: -- forgive his past sins and say, as long as that's in the past let it stay in the past.

BASH (voice-over): It is no secret that we live in a time of deep political division, Alice was never divisive. She was a fierce debater, but she prized civil discourse and walked the walk.

STEWART: The potential downfall of --

BASH (voice over): She stood her ground and expressed her point of view, but was never angry about it.

Just Friday night, hours before her unexpected passing, she was on "THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER." Alice was always smiling her megawatt smile on camera and off. She was so kind and thoughtful, cutting flowers from her garden to bring to colleagues in the makeup room, just to make their day a bit nicer, that was Alice.

Alice Stewart will be deeply missed and never forgotten. May her memory be a blessing.

Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Back with us now is Tia Mitchell, Washington correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And you recently had Alice on your podcast. You know, people often when someone passes they say the nice things. All of these things are just emblematic of who she was. Just kind, thoughtful --

ROSALES: Sharp.

BLACKWELL: -- sharp, passionate. Tell us about your experience with her.

MITCHELL: Yes. We just had our -- the Politically Georgia podcast, not only because we were looking for more guests who can represent the Republican Party and conservative way of thinking, but in a way that communicates to a general audience, in a way that is still -- you know, still honors democracy and honors rule of law, and Alice embodied that.

But she also had that Georgia connection, born and raised in metro Atlanta, being a graduate of the University of Georgia, and someone who, as Dana noted in that package, started her career in Georgia. So, we were so happy to have her on as a guest.

And of course, she was just as amazing and insightful and decent and personable as everyone knows her to be. And me and my co-host have said, we can't wait to have her back because she has so much knowledge. And it really does come as a shock and a surprise that she's no longer with us. It is really sad news.

ROSALES: Yes. And as Dana said, she will be deeply missed. Tia Mitchell, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Tia. Rudy Giuliani, he got a birthday surprise when he was served with a notice of his indictment in Arizona's 2020 election subversion case. We've got details of that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:29:08]

BLACKWELL: Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to appear before an Arizona judge for his part in the alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election. A former Trump operative was served with the indictment at his 80th birthday party Friday night. That was just hours after Giuliani was taunting authorities on social media after they had struggled for weeks to find him. A spokesperson says, Giuliani was unfazed by the timing and is looking forward to vindication in court.

ROSALES: A wildfire is now threatening a national forest in the southwest. This is Tonto National Forest in Chandler, Arizona. Five thousand acres have already burned up for first being reported Saturday morning, that is according to the National Forest Service.

Officials -- you would think they didn't have to ask this, but they have to. They are asking people not to fly drones in the area while air tankers like this one are being used.

[06:30:00]

New details about those violent university protests. A CNN investigation has uncovered that many of the UCLA campus counter- protesters were from outside groups. They were not students.

BLACKWELL: CNN Investigative Correspondent Kyung Lah is there in Los Angeles speaking with people involved in the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This is the worst violence of any of the ongoing college protests. UCLA where counter-protesters used sticks and boards against a pro-Palestine encampment. It was more than three hours of unrestrained violence the night of April 30th that led to injuries and bloody scenes as campus security and law enforcement allowed it to continue.

CATHERINE HAMILTON, NEWS EDITOR, UCLA DAILY BRUIN: They were there spraying. They were there pulling barriers and they were there to very clearly do some serious harm to the students who were on campus.

LAH: When you look at the counter-protesters, how many of them were UCLA students?

HAMILTON: I would say basically none of them.

LAH (voiceover): Who are the most aggressive offenders? A CNN investigation of hundreds of videos from multiple sources shows many of them are outsiders, not UCLA students. Among the people who showed up that night, far-right agitators with no apparent connection to the Middle East war, others driven by pro-Israel beliefs.

Among them this man. He strikes a pro-Palestine protester with a long white pole, and is part of a mob that pummels the man as he falls to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop. Stop.

LAH (voiceover): He's seen in multiple videos wearing this white mask, striking the barriers, throwing objects into the encampment. Without his mask, we see who he is, 18-year-old Edan On of Beverly Hills, a senior at a local high school.

LAH: Come inside to the kitchen. How do I get inside?

LAH (voiceover): I spoke with his mother.

LAH: Hi there! Are you Sharon? Hi!

SHARON ON-SIBANI, MOTHER OF EDAN ON: How are you?

LAH: Hi! I'm -- let me introduce us.

LAH (voiceover): She did not want to be on camera but quickly identified her son from this picture at UCLA that night. She described in detail how her son found the mask and pole on the ground and said he was defending himself in this fight. On her Facebook page, Edan On's mother posted and circled a screen grab of her son from a local TV station. She wrote in Hebrew, Edan went to bully the Palestinian students in the tents at UCLA.

Edan's mother and father proudly support Israel and defended their son's actions at UCLA, saying he is heading to Israel to join the IDF. After our interview, she texted to say Edan denies being at UCLA.

Older men were also at the front of the violence. Tom Bibiyan recorded pulling bike racks, plywood, kicking protesters, throwing cones at the students in the encampment, water bottles at protesters, and yelling expletives. We went to ask Bibian why he'd gone to the campus that night.

LAH: Hi, mister -- you're Mr. Bibiyan.

TOM BIBIYAN, PROTESTER: Yes. Can you turn that off. You don't have permission to record me.

LAH (voiceover): Bibiyan was wearing the same jacket he had on in the video from UCLA. He's a Los Angeles resident, age 42, seen at a 2022 pro-Trump protest outside the Los Angeles FBI office. He did not want to explain why he's on video doing this.

BIBIYAN: You're being a little rude and I'm going to call the police if you don't leave.

LAH: Sure. OK.

LAH (voiceover): We identified not just Tom Bibiyan but other older men who have no apparent affiliation with UCLA.

LAH: I mean, you've seen them at how many other events?

ANGIE GIVANT, PARENT AND RESEARCHER, L.A. COUNTY: Lots of different events, schoolboard meetings, city council meetings.

LAH (voiceover): Angie Givant is a Los Angeles area public school mom who's been tracking right-wing protesters in her area. The group who she'd seen protesting gay rights in public schools were drawn to UCLA that night.

NAREK PALYAN, PROTESTER: The revolution ain't happening tonight. Man down. Man down.

LAH (voiceover): Though they were clearly at UCLA that night, there's no evidence these men participated in the violence.

PALYAN: Here comes the jewel song, man. Cover your ears.

LAH (voiceover): The man who was live streaming, Narek Palyan appears to be a persistent agitator who posts anti-Jewish tropes on his social media accounts. At UCLA, he stood with the pro-Israel crowd.

LAH: Hi! I'm Kyung Lah from CNN.

LAH (voiceover): Palyan claimed to us that he has a child at UCLA, though a student didn't accompany him that night, and that he had good intentions.

PALYAN: I was definitely keeping the peace, OK. At least trying to.

LAH: You weren't there to make it worse?

PALYAN: No. Of course, I wasn't there to make it worse.

[06:35:01]

HAMILTON: I hate to say it but I was expecting us to start working on an obituary the next day because I thought something that serious would happen to the students in the encampment.

CROWD: USA! USA! USA!

LAH: Do you feel like they won?

HAMILTON: based on the way they were cheering when the police arrived Tuesday night, I think they might feel that they won.

CROWD: USA! USA! USA!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (on camera): We reached out numerous times to the UCLA Police Department with specific questions. We did not get a response about the response that evening or the follow-up investigation. We also reached out to CHP and LAPD and both those agencies referred back to the UCLA Police Department saying it is the lead agency. Kyung Lah, CNN Los Angeles.

ROSALES: A great explanation and investigation into what happened that day at UCLA. Kyung Lah, thank you. 30 million people are at risk for severe weather today in the U.S. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is timing out those threats when CNN this morning is back. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:50]

ROSALES: Welcome back. New this morning, 30 million people across the Central U.S. and Southeast are at risk for severe weather with damaging wind gust, hail, and isolated tornadoes possible.

BLACKWELL: CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is with us now. All right, so where's the highest risk?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We really got bulls eyes on the Central Plains today. Most of Kansas is really on a pretty high risk here for severe weather. It is moderate. We've got that level four out of five. There you see that red bullseye includes places like Wichita and Dodge City. That's where we're looking at intense winds, upwards of 100 miles per hour possible, very large hail and a few tornadoes. The risk does spread up into the Dakotas as well as we go into the afternoon.

Now, the damaging wind threat is going to be the biggest threat by far. We're looking at this line of storms that can bend, that can form, and that could pump these winds up to 100 miles per hour. And again, that hail could be up to the size of tennis balls possible. Right now, we're not finding too much yet but once that daytime heat and humidity kicks, that's going to really fire up these storms, fuel to all thunderstorms and ones that can really pack a punch with those damaging winds. So, something that we'll have to watch very closely today as some of these winds could be pretty destructive.

BLACKWELL: All right, Elisa Raffa, thank you.

This morning, there's new information on the arrest of top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler. The mayor of Louisville says that there is no body camera footage of the arrest which happened Friday as Scheffler was en route to the PGA Championship.

ROSALES: The world number one golfer will play in the final day of the tournament today ahead of a possible court appearance Tuesday. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more from Louisville.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, Isabel, we had a significant development on Saturday when we heard from the mayor of Louisville who told us that there is no bodycam video showing the beginning of the interaction between Scheffler and the arresting officer.

Now, there's plenty of video from this incident. In fact, we've seen the footage uh shortly after Scheffler is put into handcuffs and taken away. That was captured by an ESPN reporter that was on the scene. And we do know that there is other footage both from a dash cam video that's been obtained as well as other surveillance cameras in the area. But the mayor was very clear with us. He said that there is nothing yet that shows the beginning of the interaction.

Now, that's critical because both the lawyer and Scheffler have said one thing and the police department have said another. The police department said in its incident report that Scheffler did not listen to the orders of the police officer, and that as he continued to move through traffic towards the entrance to the golf course, that's when he dragged the police officer who was injured as a result. That police officer was taken to the hospital to be treated. And that is the result of that felony charge that Scheffler is now facing, arguably the most serious of the charges.

Listen to the mayor detailing just how much video they have and when that he thinks it'll be released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG GREENBERG, MAYOR, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: The officer did not have a bodycam footage turned on during the incident. We will release footage that we have. We do not have any -- to my knowledge, we have not yet have discovered any video of the initial contact between Mr. Gillis and Mr. -- Officer Gillis and Mr. Scheffler. There is some footage from across the street of a fixed camera when Mr. Scheffler was being arrested and we will release that footage in the coming days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Scheffler has been surprisingly not affected in terms of his game and his performance at the championship. And we did hear from his attorney who has continued to say that this was all a misunderstanding, that Scheffler did follow the instructions from the police officers and that he is cooperating with the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE ROMINES, SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER'S ATTORNEY: He was directed by traffic control officer to go around a stopped bus and to proceed into the grounds at Valhalla. Never at any time that he disregarded any officer's directions. He followed another traffic control officer's directions as to how to proceed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:45:11]

PAZMINO: Now, one thing we have been asking questions about is whether or not that police officer should have had a body cam rolling on his person, what the department policy is regarding body cam footage, and whether or not any rules were broken here should that camera have been rolling so that it could have captured this interaction. We are asking more questions about that. In the meantime, Scheffler is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

Victor, Isabel?

BLACKWELL: Gloria Pazmino, thanks so much for the report.

Coming up, what a new study of the drug Wegovy reveals about weight loss, side effects, and heart health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:14]

ROSALES: Welcome back. Well, right now, according to the CDC, COVID cases are at an all-time low in the U.S. But just as we're gearing up for the summer, new variants, they are emerging. Dr. Jayne Morgan, cardiologist and the executive director for Health and Community Education at Pitmon Healthcare in Atlanta, she joins us now. Thank you so much for being here.

JAYNE MORGAN, CARDIOLOGIST: Thanks for having me.

ROSALES: We always love picking your brain. So, what is all this buzz about FLiRT Variant? How concerned should we be?

MORGAN: We've got these new variants that are out there, and they are taking over about 32.5 percent of the cases that we have. So, one of them is 25 percent. The other in this KP family is 7.5 percent. They seem to have the same symptoms but they are overtaking the previous variant JN.1, so probably have a little bit better ability to evade immunity and to be a little bit stronger, a little bit more contagious, and so we're keeping an eye on it.

ROSALES: And they're part of the Omicron family.

MORGAN: They -- this is still the Omicron family.

ROSALES: It won't go away.

MORGAN: It's unbelievable, right? This -- we are still in Omicron.

ROSALES: Yes. And how much protection should we expect to get if we're up to date on vaccinations?

MORGAN: Right. And so, that's what we're trying to figure out. And that committee, the advisory committee, will meet in June to try to determine what needs to be covered for the Fall vaccines. But also, if you have had your vaccine within the last three or four months or recently been infected, kind of the same types of recommendation. You are probably in really good shape.

And as a society, we've got pretty good immunity. We're not sort of, you know, naive to this virus any longer, our bodies. But we'll see kind of what happens because as our immunity builds up, we tend to push the virus more into the fall and winter months as we've seen these summer surges. Now Fall and Winter where it can really take hold and kind of join its brothers and sisters, the other types of viruses that we see flourish in the winter.

ROSALES: And some improvements to be done in terms of the vaccination rate. Did I see that right in the 20 percent?

MORGAN: A lot of improvement can be done. We're pretty low, right? We're below 25 percent, so we have a long way to go. So, tons of improvement but hopefully there will be better adoption as we move forward because these viruses continue to evolve. And the Omicron Family, large and prolific, and we really don't know at what point where -- that it might shift.

ROSALES: Let me shift gears right now into bird flu.

MORGAN: Yes.

ROSALES: A lot of people have been talking about this. They're worried about this. What's the deal. What has happened with cows --

MORGAN: Right.

ROSALES: -- that wasn't on anyone's radar? We knew about, you know, chickens. We knew about pigs. But now we're seeing it in cows.

MORGAN: Right.

ROSALES: Why has that concerned public health experts?

MORGAN: It's concerning because it's another level of evolution. Generally, this is in birds and birds pass it amongst one another. Now, we're seeing it in cows. The cows are contracting it from the birds. But what we're seeing in all of these herds is that the cows are passing it from one to another. So, it's gone to the next evolutionary stage. And after that is humans. And we already see one case where cows have passed to humans --

ROSALES: In Texas.

MORGAN: In Texas. And we don't want to see human-to-human transmission. What's interesting about cattle is that the receptors for this bird flu, the cows have both the bird receptors and the human receptors. So, they are a very interesting reservoir that are bridging birds to humans, so we're keeping a really close eye on it. We really don't want it to get into humans and then have the ability for human- to-human transmission.

ROSALES: Right. If they get human flu and bird flu, mix it together, that's an issue.

MORGAN: Right.

ROSALES: Well, it would be remiss of me not to ask a cardiologist about this Wegovy news, this long-term study put out by Novo Nordisk about Semaglutide Wegovy showing some pretty stunning health benefits. What were the key takeaways here?

MORGAN: Key takeaways is we're looking at patients with heart disease and obesity but without diabetes. Remember, these GLP-1's have been developed for diabetes. So, all the initial studies were in obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. So, now we see it without diabetes and we still see these heart benefits. And that study was done specifically with Wegovy.

Previously, their earlier studies were done with Ozempic. So, there seems to be cardiac benefit. Even in patients who are not losing weight, still cardiac benefits from these drugs, so it remains to be seen. And remember, Wegovy is given a larger dose than Ozempic, so it could be a dose effect. These are really still the same molecules.

ROSALES: And so much to talk about there but not enough time.

MORGAN: Yes.

ROSALES: Dr. Jayne Morgan, thank you so much. We'll be right back. [06:55:03]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: There's new hope for better treatments for Alzheimer's. CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates in the documentary "THE LAST ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT." It premieres tonight. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In the five years of making this documentary --

GUPTA: The 20-year-old newlyweds.

GUPTA (voiceover): I've met with patients all around the country who were diagnosed or at high risk for this devastating disease.

GUPTA: Do you remember this time in your life, Mike?

GUPTA (voiceover): It made me really start to think about my own brain. I have a family history of Alzheimer's as well. Sometimes I feel a little rusty. Sometimes I worry that I make mistakes that maybe my friends and family are too polite to tell me about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We going to look at your body composition.

GUPTA (voiceover): So, that's why I decided to do something quite personal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your muscle mass, your body fat.

GUPTA (voiceover): Quite revealing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That wasn't quite right.

GUPTA (voiceover): I went through a battery of tests to assess my own risk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like we get a cholesterol test every year and check your blood pressure. We got to do the same thing for the brain.

GUPTA (voiceover): And what did I find?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll just say it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Sanjay Gupta's full documentary, "THE LAST ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT" premieres tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on "THE WHOLE STORY."

Another hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

[07:00:00]