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CNN This Morning

2 Dead, Dozens Injured After Mexican Navy Ship Hits Brooklyn Bridge; 1 Dead In Palm Springs Explosion That "Targeted" Fertility Clinic; Pope Leo XIV Celebrates His Inaugural Mass; Trump Says He Will Speak To Putin By Phone On Monday; Ukraine's Air Force: Russia Launched Largest Drone Attack Of The War. Mexican Navy Ship Hits Brooklyn Bridge; Tornado Outbreak Kills at Least 25; At Least 100 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired May 18, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:40]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, May 18th. I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for joining us.

We are following several breaking stories this morning. We're starting with that breaking news out of New York. Two people are dead, dozens injured after this happened, a Mexican Navy training ship struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge. This ship was carrying 277 people on board when officials say it lost power and struck the bridge. Authorities say the two people who died fell from the ship's masts.

The Brooklyn Bridge was closed for a short while. Emergency crews responded. It has since been reopened.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins me now. Gloria, you've been covering this all evening and morning. What's the latest?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor, you described the two people who sadly passed away overnight as a result of their injuries. As you said, they were on the mast of the ship. And we've been learning over the last several hours that sailors being on the mast is usually sort of a ceremonial thing that we see on these types of ships when they're going in or out of a port.

And it appears that that was exactly what was going on here last night. That was the reason why the sailors were on top of the mast. Now, in that video, you can see that the top of the mast hit the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge.

It appears so far from early investigation, according to local officials here, that the ship, the Cuauhtemoc, which is now behind me, lost power, causing it to strike one of the pillars of the Brooklyn Bridge. Now, we are in the very early stages of the investigation, but you can see in that video that at one point almost it appears as if the Cuauhtemoc is actually going to clear the bridge. But this is a ship that's 160 feet tall. The clearance of the bridge, only 127 feet. So it was really confusing and scary to people that were standing there watching it get closer and closer. Take a listen to an eyewitness who watched as the Cuauhtemoc struck that pillar. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

FLAVIO MOREIRA, EYEWITNESS: Until the bow actually hit the bridge, we didn't -- I don't feel like anyone discerned the danger of the situation. So, yes, it hit it and there was a little bit of commotion, but also a lot of people started recording, like me, because we just didn't -- it was just such a surreal, almost like cinematic experience, just like happening in front of us.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Victor, the Cuauhtemoc was here in New York City as part of a goodwill tour that it had been doing over the past several months. In fact, it was set to visit several cities around the world, and it was leaving the New York City harbor late last night on its way to Iceland when this incident took place.

Now, here in the East River, which we are standing next to, it is not uncommon to see very large ships. In fact, because the East River is so deep, it is -- ships are able to navigate here on the river, but it is unclear to us just so far exactly why, a, the ship lost power, and why it veered towards the pillar of the bridge in the way that it did, in the way that we can see in the video.

That's going to certainly be part of the investigation. The Mexican government was here last night. A representative from the Mexican government was briefed. We have heard from the president of Mexico as well, expressing her sympathies for the victims as well as the injured, and for now, it looks like the Cuauhtemoc is going to be docked here at least while this investigation is still ongoing. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Gloria Pazmino with the latest for us, thank you so much.

We have the latest for you now on that deadly explosion that targeted a fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. A law enforcement source tells CNN that this suspect is believed to be a 25-year-old man who lived about 30 miles outside of Palm Springs. The FBI has not identified that person.

One person died, four others injured in yesterday's blast. A law enforcement source also tells us CNN investigators believe that the person who was killed in the explosion was that suspect. Witnesses said the scene looked like a movie.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

[07:05:13]

NIMA TABRIZI, WITNESSED EXPLOSION: We just heard a boom, and freaked out the guy that was helping me. And next thing you know, we look to our right outside. It looked like a movie. Everyone was just pointing, getting their cameras out, and we saw this large smoke.

So I said, oh, my God, let's go see because it's right next to where we're staying at. And then we see a bunch of fire, ambulance, everything, firefighters right there.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right, officials are also looking into recordings posted online of a man allegedly describing an intention to attack an in vitro fertilization clinic. CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell has more on the investigation.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, this occurred around 11:00 a.m. local time here in California in Palm Springs, just a couple hours east of Los Angeles. We're told that there was this explosion, which you can see based on some of our affiliate helicopter footage there, you can see this building impacted as well as nearby buildings.

There was debris that was strewn about the street there near downtown Palm Springs. We're learning that this was a reproductive facility. It's interesting to note that what we're talking about is not an abortion clinic, but rather a fertility clinic, a clinic that assists people with fertility issues.

And so we know a host of law enforcement, public safety officials are now on scene. That includes, obviously, the Palm Springs Police Department, the fire department. And now we're learning that the FBI, as well as the ATF, are now on scene. That is going to be critical because, as Daniel knows, we both serve in the FBI. You have these specialists within the organization that can actually look to try to detect.

Was there any type of explosive residue in and around that area? Does this have the signature of an actual type of intentional explosion? Again, we're learning from the Associated Press that this is being treated, investigated as a vehicle explosion. But there are still a lot of questions.

We don't yet know whether there was potentially a device that was near a vehicle. Was it in a vehicle? That is something that investigators are trying to determine. We do know that there was one fatality in this incident.

The -- one of the doctors that runs this facility spoke to AP and told them that, thankfully, none of the employees were impacted, were harmed. There were no patients there that were at the time of this explosion. But a lot of investigative work that's happening, not only at the central point there that you see on your screen of the explosion, but authorities in an incident like this would also be wanting to canvas any type of surveillance, CCTV footage around the area, other businesses to try to determine was this an intentional act that the person conducted in real time? Was this a device that was left behind? A lot of work going on right now. BLACKWELL: All right, Josh Campbell, thanks.

Joining me now to discuss is Andrew McCabe, CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst and former FBI Deputy Director. Andy, good morning to you.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. So the FBI assistant director of the Los Angeles office said, quote, "Make no mistake, this is an intentional act of terrorism. Now, terrorism is a crime to further an ideological goal, political, social, environmental, et cetera. The investigators also say that they have no motive. So how is it possible to be so certain that this is terrorism without a clear identified motive?

MCCABE: Well, as you know, Victor, a motive is never -- it's a good thing to know because it helps us understand the crime better, but it's not actually necessary to prove a -- or to convict someone in court. In this case, what's probably more important to investigators is the evidence they have that indicates this is an intentional act.

So we don't -- we're not sure what that evidence is at this moment, but it could be anything from explosive residue or remnants of the device that they now know is responsible for the blast. They could have -- we know that there was one person deceased on scene. Once you've identified who that person is and you've then traced them back to a location where they live, you're going through their writings, through their devices, through their social media posts.

So any sort of indication of intent is going to support investigators in their conclusion that this was an intentional act designed likely to satisfy one of the requirements of the domestic terrorism statute.

BLACKWELL: Yes. At this point, the person deceased there is classified or characterized as a person of interest. The FBI, the investigators say they're not looking for a suspect and that the person who was there, they believe is likely responsible for it. So why is that person not a suspect?

[07:10:05]

You know, the way investigators use terms like person of interest, it's a gray area. It's not exactly black and white. There's not a moment at which someone goes from one status to the next. The bottom line is they have someone who they think was deceased in the explosion.

They likely have evidence tying that person to an intentional explosive device. That's the -- that was the cause of that blast. That person is the focus of their -- of all of their investigative efforts right now. So call them a person of interest or a suspect, either way is the same guy.

BLACKWELL: So this is a fertility clinic, right? Not an abortion clinic. And abortion clinics operate in this security forward posture because of acts that have happened in the past. Is this enough that suggests that maybe fertility clinics should as well, considering that this was -- the FBI says that this is terrorism, that this is a targeted act?

MCCABE: You know, that's a great question and that's one that we're going to need to answer with the -- I'm sure extensive long term investigation that will follow this incident. So, even if the only person responsible for this attack died in the blast, investigators are going to want to know if he was working with anyone else, if he was part of a network or a group of people who shared his animosity towards fertility clinics.

All those sorts of questions are going to help us answer that bigger issue, which is how should people who own and operate and frequent these clinics think about what sort of threats there might be in going to these locations? It's -- I don't think fertility clinics have ever kind of attracted the same sort of, you know, threat picture that we think about for abortion clinics.

For many reasons, it's not nearly as controversial, I think, in the same communities that are -- in where we see controversy over abortion clinics. But it's the sort of thing that the FBI sometimes thinks of as could this be an over the horizon threat, an emerging threat and something they need to focus on going forward.

BLACKWELL: Andy, while I have you, I have a question related to the incident we saw with the ship in New York. After the Dali crashed into the Key Bridge in Baltimore, the FBI opened a criminal investigation. And so both now are fatal incidents that hit bridges. NTSB investigating. What's the catalyst? What's the threshold to determine whether this also reaches the level of even looking to the potential of criminal activity here?

MCCABE: I think the answer to that, Victor, is going to turn on the issue of the boat losing power. That's kind of the similarity right between those two incidents.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MCCABE: In the case of the bridge in Maryland, there was immediately a question as to whether or not the people on the boat may have been responsible for the loss of power or may not have reacted appropriately when they discovered the loss of power. If they have those same sort of concerns or questions about last night's incident, then I would expect they'll react the same way.

It won't make any difference to the FBI that one ship was owned by the government of Mexico and another one was a private carrier. That's not really a concern for them. There's also the possibility that the FBI would get involved to assist the kind of technical aspects of the investigation, the crime scene, as it were.

Now, of course, this happened in New York City, one of the largest, most capable police departments in the world. It's unlikely they'll need a lot of FBI assistance, but that's another way that the bureau frequently gets involved.

BLACKWELL: Andrew McCabe, thank you.

All right now to Rome, where Pope Leo XIV presided over his inaugural mass at St. Peter's Square to a crowd of tens of thousands of the faithful. The first American pontiff called for a united church in his homily. Born in Chicago, the pope was elected on May 8th, but his papacy officially begins today.

Leo received a lamb's wool vestment, a fisherman's ring as the ceremony began. They're symbols of his office. Leaders from 150 countries arrived for the pope's inaugural service. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were there.

We have CNN Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb. He was there, too, joining us this morning from Rome to bring us the highlights. Walk us through it, Christopher.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, Pope Leo XIV is still meeting leaders from across the world in St. Peter's Basilica behind me. More than 100 countries said delegations and Pope Leo is meeting all of their representations.

[07:15:11]

He just earlier met with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and other leaders including the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, and the president of Peru. This service today in Saint Peter's was full of powerful symbolism. It was service steeped in tradition, but also sought to have the church looking forward.

And that's what Pope Leo sought to do in his homily where he emphasized the importance of unity, but also a church that is missionary, that a church is that isn't looking in on itself, but trying to go out. And he talked about the problem of an economic paradigm which squanders the Earth's resources and forgets the poor.

And, really, I thought throughout this homily that Pope Leo gave, he wants to emphasize the style of pope he's going to be. He wants to be a pope that is going to the poorest and the margins, but also, a pope who emphasizes the importance of a pope, a service, a servant. He said, I come to you as a brother and a servant.

So it was a very, poignant and moving service. There were, according to estimates, a 50,000 people, in the square, perhaps more than that. The pope came out on his popemobile for the first time at the beginning of the mass, delighted the crowds as he waved at them, gave them the thumbs up.

There was a celebratory atmosphere, here in Saint Peter. It's a very diverse group, gathering in the square from all over the world, and, of course, leaders from all over the world also present to witness this historic moment of the inauguration of the first American pope, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And that line that that stays with me from the homily this morning, he says, "I was chosen without any merit of my own."

Christopher Lamb for us there in Rome. Christopher, thank you.

Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war hours before President Trump and Russian president Putin are set to speak on the phone tomorrow. We're live with the latest.

Also, twisted cars and splintered trees and look at this, just piles of debris. At least 25 people are dead after tornado outbreak in the Saint Louis area and Southeastern Kentucky. Today, nearly 20 million people are at risk for the latest round of severe weather. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking it all ahead.

Also, a strike that is crippling one of the largest transit systems in the country enters day three. What we know about a meeting later today meant to end it all coming up on CNN This Morning weekend.

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[07:22:31]

BLACKWELL: President Trump says that he will speak with Russian President Putin tomorrow. Trump posted on social media yesterday that the phone call will be about stopping the bloodbath in Ukraine. Trump says he believes a peace deal will not happen without his direct involvement. Now, a Kremlin spokesperson told Russian state media that they are, too, preparing for the conversation.

CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now live from Washington. So what should we expect from this call? And I should say it comes as there's this surge in drone attacks from Russia on Ukraine.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, that's right. This is going to be a very big test for President Trump. He has said time and time again that he believes that he is the only one that can successfully broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. And even when he was running on the campaign trail, he said that if he was re- elected, that he could get the war to end in the upcoming and just only in a matter of days.

But as we know, Victor, it's been more than 100 days since he's been in office, and that has still not happened yet. Here's what we do know about the phone call that's going to take place tomorrow. We know that it's going to happen at 10:00 a.m. He's first going to have a phone call with the Russian president, and then he's going to have a second separate phone call with the Ukrainian president, and then after that several other phone calls with various members of NATO.

Now, this is a very big deal for Trump because there has been a bit of progress made in the last few days. We know that the Ukrainian and Russian officials met for the first time face to face since the war broke out, and they did agree to a prison swap. And we also know that the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, spoke to Russia's foreign minister and really stressed the importance to end the war.

But, Victor, if Trump is able to successfully broker this peace deal between the two countries, then this can really be a defining moment in his legacy, especially in the foreign policy space. And it can also set the tone on how he will address other conflicts that are going on globally, like the Israel and Hamas war, but it's still uncertain at this time how this conversation that he's going to have with the Russian president will go, especially in light of the recent events.

BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus is with us there in Washington, thank you very much.

I mentioned those drone attacks because overnight Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the war. According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russia launched 273 drones earlier today targeting Kyiv to eastern regions of the country. Now, these drone attacks are bookended by the low level talks between Ukraine and Russia and the conversation coming up tomorrow between President Trump and President Putin.

[07:25:05]

CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is joining us now from Kyiv and hours and hours of air raid warnings. Tell us about it.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, it's very common almost every night here to be woken or to hear the air raid sirens go off. You could hear this morning the rumble of air defenses on the outskirts of the city. So frequently, barrages of drones hitting the main population centers of Ukraine tonight.

Different, though, the last night, say different 10 more than the previous record set 273. About half of those seem to have been decoys, according to Ukraine's Air Force. That's designed to distract air defenses, firing at something that actually has no lethal capability.

88 appear to have been shot down, but still some got through. And the damage perhaps reduced by those air defenses that Ukraine is desperately seeking more assistance with from their Western allies, yet still two dead in the last 24 hours, 24 plus injured. One 28-year- old woman killed by these drone strikes on the outskirts of Kyiv here and a six-year-old injured as well.

That's the nightly toll of Russia's war on Ukraine here against civilians. I should point out that just yesterday, nine civilians were killed when a minibus was struck about 15 kilometers or so. We think from the Russian border by a Russian drone.

Just civilians on board that bus and startling horrifying images broadcast by or put out by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He faces a complex 24, 48 hours ahead, certainly because the pressure mounting on the Kremlin, to which Vladimir Putin has seemed relatively insusceptible over the past weeks or so, has now led, it seems, to President Trump taking by the reins the scheduling of the peace process here and posting that he will speak to Putin at 10:00, then to Zelenskyy and then to NATO leaders, essentially potentially through that open timetable, adding to pressure to Moscow to agree to something.

We know that the European allies demanded last weekend here in Kyiv alongside Ukraine an unconditional 30-day ceasefire that Russia has continually brushed aside, originally a demand of the Trump administration. And so quite what Trump emerges from that phone call from talking to Putin is going to be key ultimately here.

I should point out not only does his post about this talk about ending the bloodbath, it also says and trade will be on the topics for them to discuss. So don't exclude the possibility of that phone call being about a meeting between the two men, being about continued planning for it and then also potentially economic cooperation between the United States and Russia, something Moscow is desperate to suggest is a potential benefit from the normalization of their relations.

What we may not see or may see, that's why it's such high stakes here, is an actual genuine move forwards in the peace process. Is there going to be a ceasefire declared? That's something which Putin mentioned in his post -- sorry, Trump mentioned in his post. He's not categorically demanded it, but he's held it out as a possibility might Russia agree to that.

Many are suggesting Russia is delaying here, stalling, slow rolling this as much as it can, as it needs the weather to improve, the ground to harden here to enable a summer offensive, the early signs of which are there. They're amassing troops in key positions along the eastern front line. So a lot resting on this phone call, certainly.

The fact that it's happening, yes, potentially progress, but if you look at how slow it's taken to get to this moment and the Kremlin's tendency here to throw out distracting side ideas, we may well not see huge breakthroughs on Monday. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Yes. And the president has invoked trade in this conversation. We saw it adding it to the India-Pakistan conflict as well and all of the conflicts in which he sees the U.S. having some role.

Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much.

We're monitoring the developing story out of New York. We're getting more on this Mexican naval ship struck -- that struck the Brooklyn Bridge, the latest on the investigation in a moment.

Also, both sides will be back at the negotiating table as the New Jersey transit strike enters day three. Could a deal be reached before the busy Monday morning commute?

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[07:30:00]

BLACKWELL: This morning, investigators will be back on the scene of that deadly boat accident in New York. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sent her condolences to the families of the two crew members killed when that Mexican Navy ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday. More than a dozen other crew members were injured, two remain in critical condition. Authorities say the ship may have lost power, causing it to lose control. And the mast to strike the bottom of the bridge. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is now back with us. So, what's the latest?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, we're learning more about what the Cuauhtemoc was doing before this accident here in New York City. You can see that Cuauhtemoc is now docked behind me, and it was moved here to Pier 35 late last night because there were people that were still on board the ship after it crashed that had to get off the ship. So, it was towed here to Pier 35 to allow them to get off.

Here, this morning, we actually saw a little bit of activity about seven of the crew members got on the ship. We could see what they were wearing, the uniform that we have been seeing in some of the video.

Now, the Cuauhtemoc set sail from Acapulco on April 4th, and it was embarking on this goodwill mission, going around the world, bringing a Mexican culture. And it was on a very specific mission to exalt the seafaring spirit, strengthening naval education and carrying the Mexican people's message of peace and goodwill to the seas and ports of the world. that's according to a press release from the Mexican secretariat of the Navy.

[07:35:00]

We've also learned that the ship was supposed to be at 22 ports in 15 countries across 254 days. The crew was scheduled to spend 170 days sailing, 84 days in port. And they were going around the world sharing Mexican culture. In fact, it was docked here in New York City for several days at Pier 17, which is in this direction. And you had an opportunity to get on the ship, look around, look at all of the cultural displays that it had available.

And one thing that we see in that really just horrifying video of the crash is that there are people that are standing on the mast of the ship as the ship is collapsing and hitting the pillar of the bridge. And the reason for that, Victor, is because in seafaring tradition, it is a traditional thing to get on the mast of the ship as a ship is leaving or entering the port of a city. This is sort of a ceremonial thing that seamen and sea women do when entering or leaving a city. And it appears that that was the reason why in some of the video we see that there are people literally hanging from these sails as the ship makes contact with the pillar.

Victor, sadly, we have learned overnight that two of the people who sadly lost their lives were two people who fell from the mast as the ship struck the pillar of the bridge.

Now, several unanswered questions here, Victor. Why did the that the ship lose power? Was that the reason that it made it go towards the direction of the pillar? Was there a boat that was guiding the ship as it made its way out of the harbor? We do not know the answer to those questions yet. But we do know from officials here last night that so far it appears to have been a loss of power, some sort of mechanical issue that may have led to this accident here last night. Victor. BLACKWELL: And we should point out to people who see the video of this collision, this crash yesterday, that although the lights are on on the boat and there is the claim of the loss of power, those are two separate power sources, that power in those lights and responsible for propulsion. So, when you see this and you hear the claim of loss of power, both things can be true at the same time. I've seen some people ask those questions online and that's why those lights are still on. Gloria Pazmino, again, early in the investigation. Thank you.

And I spoke with former NTSB Inspector General Mary Schiavo last hour about what investigators will find from the voyage data recorder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, what will be harvested for them will be anything related to the mechanical positional things on the ship. And then, depending on how the ship is instrumented, you know, there can be instruments that read the depths of the waters, the currents any control input into that ship would be on there.

And then, of course, there'll be additional data about the river itself. And the East River is a tidal river. So, technically it's an estuary. And the boat could not have been intended to be going under that bridge because remember, even if it cleared the Brooklyn Bridge, there are five more it has to clear if it went that way on the river, and they all have a clearance of about 127 to 135 feet.

But with the tides coming and going, that can change it by five to seven feet, which means it's a pretty strong current, pretty strong tide. And so, the instrument recorders can also record when power was lost, and it had to have been lost. They could not have been intending to go that way, to go under the bridge, it's impossible.

But when it was lost, why it was lost. And they will also be looking at who was the pilot. Was it a local pilot? Often the -- a local pilot will be brought on board to help navigate the tricky waters. But it depends. And so, all those things will be revealed and the investigators will have that information almost, you know, instantaneously. They probably already have it and are starting to go over it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. Still ahead, these dangerous storms. Already 25 dead across two states. Severe weather is on the way for other parts of the U.S. The danger is not over. Allison Chinchar has the forecast.

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[07:40:00]

BLACKWELL: At least 25 people are dead after violent storms through this -- tore through the central U.S. this weekend. Large tornadoes were reported through Missouri and Kentucky and Illinois, Indiana. As of last night, hundreds of thousands of people were still without power. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has details. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the extent of the damage St. Louis is still grappling with, downed trees, downed power lines. Lots of the city still without power. This one tree we watched earlier as a crew of volunteers chopped it into pieces to try and clear the road. This one street behind me here, row after row of houses that have sustained some severe damage, most of them to the roof's, windows.

[07:45:00]

But this first house that had been in this family, the owner told me, for six generations, the whole back of it, the one room completely gone. That's the case for a lot of different streets in this neighborhood. The parallel streets. One other resident telling us that it felt like it was five tornadoes hitting at once. In about 50 minutes another resident said that's how quickly the tornado tore through here and cause all of this damage.

Some of the city crews have been here. They have painted that orange X in the doors. That means that these houses have already been checked. This as, of course, the search and rescue operations continue. More than 5,000 structures have been damaged according to the mirror in this. And of course, that does make sense. We've seen those videos, winds of up to 100 miles an hour. It's scary. A lot of the residents that live through it said they heard hail hitting at their doors. They went to the lower parts of their house.

Tonight, there will be a curfew in place from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 in the morning as the city tries to control some of the dangers that could come from their not being power in many hours at the city, as well as some residents trying to take the matters in their own hands and trying to clean up by themselves. They're urging people to be safe and coordinate with authorities if they choose to do that, to ensure that everything is done safely and no one is in danger.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, St. Louis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And so, that extreme weather threat it continues this morning now for more than 35 million people. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here to track it. And some of these areas that have already been hit, they could be hit again.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. And I want to note, it doesn't mean -- even if you don't get a second tornado, if you've got a tarp on your house, you get baseball size hail, or a 70-mile per hour wind, that's going to cause e extra damage on top of what you already have. And yes, some of those same areas that saw the severe thunderstorms late Friday and even into Saturday are under the threat for it again today.

The first round of rain showers this morning is really more a little bit further to the east. You're talking portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama. That's where we have the threat right now. It's also where we have a lot of these ongoing warnings. You can see a lot of these orange boxes here indicating the severe thunderstorm warnings. There is also a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 11:00 a.m. Central time today because we expect those warnings to continue to slide east.

Overall, here is the threat for the day today. The green line that kind of extends out through here, this is because of that morning round of showers. The orange and the yellow colors, that's going to be from the second round that develops late this afternoon and especially into the evening. And we're talking strong tornadoes possibly, that could be EF-2 or even stronger. We're looking at hail the size of golf balls to baseballs, and then those strong winds up around 70 miles per hour.

That first round continuing to slide east across places like Alabama and Georgia through the afternoon. But then we also start to see that second round develop, maybe about 5:00, 6:00 tonight Central time. But it's really the evening hours. Once we get past a 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 p.m. that's when you're really going to see a lot of those showers and thunderstorms begin to fill in and spread off to the east, impacting some of these same areas that were already hit, including St. Louis, which looks to get the first round of those showers maybe between like. 3:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m. local time there.

So, again, once again during the overnight timeline before they continue to slide off to the east. And it's going to be a multi-day impact. It's not just today, but also Monday and Tuesday looking at the potential as well.

BLACKWELL: All right. Before we let you go, I mean that was a rough period, but you've got a little bright spot here. What are these? What's the story with the earrings?

CHINCHAR: You know I have a lot of weather themed items.

BLACKWELL: You do.

CHINCHAR: Accessories and clothes, but eight-year-old Jenna noticed that I don't have any rainbows in my collection. So, she made me these. So, thank you very much, Jenna. I love my earrings. They are wonderful.

BLACKWELL: Jenna, are these -- I don't need earrings. But are rainbow items reserved just for Allison?

CHINCHAR: No. No. She sells them. She does quite a good business in her brother's soccer games.

BLACKWELL: All right. Well, that was sweet of her to do.

CHINCHAR: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right. Allison, thank you. We'll take a quick break. We'll be back.

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[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. Taking a look at this morning's headlines. The FBI says a deadly explosion outside of Palm Springs, California Fertility Clinic was intentional and an act of terrorism. Investigators say one person was killed, four others injured. A source told CNN, that law enforcement believes that the person who died may be the one responsible, and that they have preliminarily identified him as a 25-year-old man from a nearby city.

Nearly 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to health officials in the Strip. This is the aftermath of one of the strikes that a refugee camp in Central Gaza, it was one of several locations hit overnight. Israel recently launched a major new offensive in the enclave, and Israel says it's aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing the remaining hostages.

Strike in New Jersey, transit engineers are set to go back to the negotiating table this morning. They didn't reach a deal last week, which caused major disruptions for more than a thousand -- a hundred thousand, I should say, daily rail commuters across the New York metropolitan area. Here's the CEO of New Jersey Transit on what they are aiming for in negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRIS KOLLURI, CEO, NJ TRANSIT: We want a fair deal that will not break the bank. That is our principle. We are not moving from that, and I hope the union understands that that is where we are and that is where we will be. Ultimately, fair wages is their position, which I respect. Not breaking the bank is our position that they should respect.

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[07:55:00]

BRUNHUBER: All right. In this week's episode of "Searching for Spain," Eva Longoria takes viewers to the North Basque country and San Sebastian. Now, there Eve explores the history, rich culture, and inventive food the region has to offer. Be sure to tune in, a new episode of "Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain" Airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

And thank you for joining us for CNN This Morning Weekend. Inside Politics with Manu Raju is up next.

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