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CNN This Morning
Facial Recognition Network Helps Capture Escape Convicts; Trump Threatens E.U. With 50 Percent Tariffs Starting June 1st; Judge Temporarily Pauses International Student Ban At Harvard; Suspect In Israeli Embassy Staffers' Murders Faces Federal Charges; Memorial Day Travel Numbers To Break Records; First MAHA Health Report Targets Food, Drug, And Tech Industries; Russia Strikes Kyiv After First Stage Of Major Prisoner Swap; Sources: Iran Doesn't Believe Nuclear Deal Likely As Latest Talks End; President To Deliver Commencement Speech At West Point; St. Louis Mayor: Tornado Sirens Were Not Activated Because Officials Were Not In Office Where Sirens Are Located. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired May 24, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
CLAIRE DUFFY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inaccurate matches by facial recognition systems, in particular people of color, are most at risk from the failings of this technology because we know from research that facial recognition systems are worse at identifying women and people of color than, say, a white man.
But when I asked Lagarde about these concerns, he said that Project NOLA really is a community endeavor. He said that they place their cameras on private homes, businesses, schools, and churches with the agreement of those property owners, and that they could take the cameras down at any time if they disagree.
Claire Duffy, CNN, New York.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. 7:00 here on the East Coast. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING, Saturday, May 24th. I'm Victor Blackwell. Here's what we're working on for you this morning.
President Trump is escalating his trade war. He's threatening to slap 50 percent tariffs on America's largest trading partners. He's also demanding Apple build iPhones in the U.S.
The Trump administration has also been dealt a legal blow in its escalating fight with Harvard University. A judge says, the school would suffer irreparable harm if it is forced to stop accepting international students. This fight, as you probably expect, is far from over.
And five people were killed in an EF-3 tornado that slammed into St. Louis earlier this month. Now, we've learned that the tornado sirens did not sound to warn people there. The mayor joins us live to talk about that and the recovery efforts.
Plus, Russia has launched another deadly attack on Ukraine, even as both countries are set to hold another prisoner swap this morning. We've got the latest coming up in a live report.
We're starting, though, with President Trump's renewed tariff threats against Apple and the E.U. -- it rattled financial markets. The Dow, S&P 500, tech-heavy NASDAQ all closed lower on Friday.
Trump threatened Apple and other smartphone makers with at least 25 percent tariffs if the companies do not bring cell phone manufacturing back to the U.S. He also threatened to levy the E.U. with 50 percent tariffs after being frustrated over trade talks.
CNN reporter Karin Caifa has more on the latest escalation in Trump's trade war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump headed into the weekend with tariffs on his mind and a fresh proposed tariff threat that his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, says he hopes lights a fire under the European Union amid trade negotiations.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I just said it's time that we play the game the way I know how to play the game.
CAIFA: President Trump on Friday morning said in a social media post that trade discussions with the European Union are "going nowhere." And he's recommending a 50 percent tariff on items coming into the U.S. from the E.U. starting June 1st, next week.
That's more than double the size of the 20 percent reciprocal tariff Trump initially placed on the E.U. as part of his so-called Liberation Day announcement on April 2nd. Those reciprocal tariffs are currently on pause until July 9th to allow for further negotiations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News Friday he hopes the president's recommendation spurs more serious conversation.
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: The 90-day pause on the April 2nd tariffs was based on countries or trade blocs coming to us and negotiating in good faith. And I believe the president believes that the E.U. proposals have not been of the same quality that we've seen from our other important trading partners.
CAIFA: Trump also threatening to slap at least a 25 percent tariff on Apple if Apple doesn't manufacture iPhones here in the U.S.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was at the White House this past Tuesday after Trump expressed dissatisfaction that Apple would move iPhone manufacturing out of China to avoid costly U.S. tariffs to newly built factories in India.
Trump has said he wants to see more manufacturing here in the U.S. That's the big motivation behind all of these tariffs. Trump said on social media Friday, "I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India or any place else." There is a lengthy process for the U.S. government to place a tariff
on an individual company, and analysts say that manufacturing iPhones in the U.S. would take Apple time and cost the tech giant and consumers money. Veteran tech analyst, Dan Ives, says that the shift would take Apple about five to 10 years and push the cost of an iPhone to $3500. In Washington, I'm Karin Caifa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Karin, thank you. A judge paused the Trump administration's international student ban at Harvard University. There was a conference set in this case for Tuesday.
The crackdown sent students into a panic this week, just as a lot of them are about to head back to campus. And despite the pause, students are left with this incredibly tough decision. CNN's Michael Yoshida has more for us.
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MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A federal judge siding with Harvard University, Friday, in its fight with the Trump administration, temporarily halting a federal ban on the school's ability to enroll international students.
[07:05:12]
LARRY SUMMERS, PRESIDENT EMERITUS HARVARD UNIVERSITY: This is extortion. It's a vendetta using all powers of the government because of a political argument with Harvard.
YOSHIDA: On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem removed the university's student and exchange visitor certification, saying Harvard refused to turn over conduct records of foreign students as requested last month.
KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Harvard brought these consequences upon themselves.
YOSHIDA: More than a quarter of students are impacted.
LEO GERDEN, HARVARD UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT: We are being used essentially as poker chips in a battle between the White House and Harvard, and it feels honestly very dehumanizing.
YOSHIDA: Trump and university officials have been locked in conflict for months, battling over federal research funds as well as the school's tax-exempt status. The White House demanding changes to campus programming, policies, hiring and admissions to root out on- campus antisemitism, and eliminating what it calls racist diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
TRUMP: Harvard's going to have to change its ways.
YOSHIDA: Harvard has complied with some requests and did acknowledge antisemitism on its campus. Still, it's fiercely defended its academic independence, calling this latest act by the administration a clear retaliation for Harvard's exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government's demands to control Harvard's governance, curriculum and the ideology of its faculty and students.
In Washington, I'm Michael Yoshida reporting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Coming up next hour on "First of All" at 8:00, I'll speak with Abdullah Shahid Sial. He's co-president of Harvard's undergraduate student body and an international student from Pakistan. We'll talk about Trump's fight with the school and the fear and uncertainty that international students are facing right now.
We have disturbing new details about the murders of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. The 31-year-old suspect faces several federal murder charges and authorities tell CNN they have video of the shooting. CNN's Brian Todd has more for us. Brian, good morning to you.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. We have new information now on the investigation into the shooting. According to a law enforcement source and another source familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN, the suspect, Elias Rodriguez, wore a digital video recording device on the night of the shooting. It was recovered from his backpack when he was taken into custody. Now, according to our sources, it is not immediately clear what was captured on the video.
We have also gotten information on how the attack unfolded. Some very chilling information that we have to warn viewers is a bit disturbing. According to court documents citing surveillance footage viewed by the police, the suspect, Rodriguez, allegedly walked past the two victims before he then turned to face their backs and then fired several times on Wednesday night during the attack.
After they went down, according to the court documents, he went toward them, leaned over them with his arm extended and fired several times. Then, again, according to these documents, as the female victim, Sarah Milgram, tried to crawl away, Rodriguez allegedly followed behind her and fired again. Then, as she began to sit up, he appeared to reload his firearm and allegedly shot at her again.
Very disturbing detail, and that is according to court documents charging him, citing some police-viewed surveillance footage. As to the charges that the suspect faces, they include, at the moment, first degree murder, the murder of foreign officials, the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm, and that last one does carry the possibility of the death penalty. We're also told by sources that hate crime charges could come later in this investigation.
Now, as far as the pursuit of the death penalty, the interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, has said that it is far too early right now to determine whether authorities are going to seek the death penalty in this case. He has not yet entered a plea. Victor? BLACKWELL: Brian Todd, thank you. It's Memorial Day weekend, the
unofficial kickoff to summer, one of the busiest travel times of the year. And AAA says more than 45 million Americans are driving or flying this holiday weekend. TSA expects to screen around 18 million of those travelers between now and next week.
That kind of volume is keeping Newark Airport in the spotlight. You know, it's been under scrutiny for recent staffing shortages, the system outages. The FAA ordered airlines to trim the number of flights there this week in an effort to avoid major delays.
And the roads, of course, will be busy, too. About 39 million people are expected to drive this holiday weekend. Good news, though, according to GasBuddy.com, national average for a regular gallon is $3.18, well below last year's Memorial Day price of $3.62.
And whether you're flying or driving, experts recommend giving yourself plenty of time to get to your destination safely.
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[07:10:06]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to leave as little of a chance as possible because there are so many things you can't control when you're on the road -- other drivers, construction, the weather.
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BLACKWELL: CNN meteorologist, Derek Van Dam has something for you on that last one, the forecast. Hey, Derek.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Victor. If this stubborn nor'easter we've had swirling across New England lately, we're in the middle of February, we'd be talking about a foot of snow in some of the coastal cities. But, of course, it's the end of May, so that's not the case.
Just a stubborn, cool rain that continues through the course of the day today for places like Portland, Maine, Boston, Massachusetts, even into portions of New Hampshire, Vermont, even upstate New York, potentially seeing these on and off again showers through this long Memorial Day weekend. This will keep in cool and cloudy conditions through at least Sunday. So, plan ahead, maybe dust off that coat you already packed away for the winter.
And look, you can see temperatures there rather cool, well below normal for many locations across the Northeast. I want to give you a heads up, too, on a heavy rainfall event that we're tracking throughout the Ozarks as well as the Central and Southern Plains. Look at the forecast rainfall totals going forward.
This takes you right through Monday, Memorial Day, and you can see some of the heavier rainfall here, anywhere from four to six inches of rain locally. So that's a half a foot of precipitation expected through the next coming days. That will certainly impact your extended holiday weekend plans.
And of course, with all of the turbulent weather moving through the eastern two-thirds of the country, this will keep the cooler than average temperatures in place for basically east of Denver all the way to the nation's capital. Here's a look at those three-day forecasts taking you right through the day on Monday. Enjoy temperatures in the middle 70s for D.C. Back to you, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Derek, thank you. Still to come, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released the Make America Healthy Again report. What it reveals about a national rise in chronic illnesses. A doctor joins us live for a deeper dive into this and more next.
Plus, the U.S. and Iran held nuclear talks in Rome, but no major progress made. What we know about the path to a possible deal.
And tornado sirens did not sound during a deadly storm in St. Louis, leaving people there without warning. Now, the Emergency Management Director is on administrative leave. We're speaking with the city's mayor about how this major responsibility was dropped.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:17:16]
BLACKWELL: Health and Human Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Released his Make America Healthy Again report, now the report very much aligns with a lot of the ideas and beliefs Kennedy promoted before becoming HHS secretary. The main focus of the report is on what it says are the main drivers of chronic childhood disease. Identified four main causes: poor diet, exposure to environmental toxins, lack of physical activity, and chronic stress and "over medicalization."
joining me now is Dr. Carlos del Rio, Executive Associate Dean at Emory University School of Medicine. Doctor, it's good to see you again, and let's start here as I noted that a lot of what's in this report, we've heard from RFK Jr. for years is there anything here that you saw that that surprised you?
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN AT EMORY UNIVERSITY: Well, Victor, I mean there are a lot of things in the report which are true and like many things they're partial truths, right?
I mean, clearly, poor nutrition is a driver of many diseases that we see in children obesity for example and a lot of it has to do with people not having access millions of Americans living in foot deserts and not having access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and not being able to eat a healthy diet.
So, we do need to work on that. In addition, the lack of physical activity is also a problem, and you know that in many schools, the physical education programs have been cut out. So, yes, we need to get our kids out in the park.
We need to get our kids to exercise more we need to get our kids to move more to stop, you know, watching hours of TV and playing with, with computers. But the are also, you know, many things in this report that are not true and I need to be proven like you know, exposure to toxins, the over medicalization.
I mean, there are things in there that I think need to be proven and I particularly worry about when also that the report blames vaccines for, for many of those conditions because vaccines have been proven to be safe. They have saved millions of lives and they have nothing to do with the chronic conditions we see now in kids.
BLACKWELL: Yes, let me get your thoughts on this line from the section on food colorings. The report reads, "Preliminary evidence suggests a possible association between the consumption of food coloring and Autism, although further long-term research is necessary to establish a definitive link." Is there more long-term research that needs to be done on a link between food coloring and autism?
DEL RIO: There's a lot more research that needs to be done to discover the causes and the treatment of autism and a lot of good work is being done, you know again in that sense, you know when the secretary and the administration says that by default will know the cause of autism. That's a little naive people have been working on this for four years.
And while we're making progress, we're nowhere close to finding the causes of autism or finding a treatment or a cure for autism. So, this is suggest to me that they're preconceived notions and you know, we're going to get a report in September saying that food coloring and vaccines are the cause of autism. And I caution people that that is not science, that is preconceived notions that are driving policy.
BLACKWELL: So, we're talking at the unofficial start of summer. Let's look ahead to the fall, which is the flu season and over the last several years has been the COVID-19 season as well. And the FDA says, it's likely to limit COVID shots for children, and healthy adults to still be available to seniors with certain conditions. Have we reached the point of immunity, this herd immunity where, you know, someone who's in his thirties or forties who's healthy shouldn't worry about getting the COVID shot this year?
DEL RIO: Well, you know, I think that what has happened is we haven't reached herd immunity. There's no such thing as herd immunity with COVID. The virus changes and the vaccines don't prevent you really from getting infected at this point, but they do prevent you from getting severe disease, getting hospitalized and dying from COVID.
And the main individuals who are dying of COVID are the very, very elderly, you know, sometimes the very young pregnant women and people with underlying conditions. So, I agree with the FDA on saying those are the people we need to target to get vaccinated, but we shouldn't limit the access to vaccines for other individuals because there may be reasons other individuals may want to be vaccinated. A healthy year old may not have to be vaccinated, but if that healthy year old is taking care of a elderly individual who is at risk of getting COVID, that person may want to get vaccinated.
So, again, it's really getting down to the nuisance. I think saying everybody needs to get a COVID shot may not be the right thing right now. But again, at the end of the day, the recommendation of the FDA tends to be very similar to what the Europeans are doing right now.
The problem with our country, as you know, is a lot of the recommendations to give it to everybody have been driven by insurance coverage. If the FDA and the CDC don't recommend something, insurance doesn't cover it, and millions of Americans are uninsured.
And if you want to get Medicaid or other, you know, government funded programs to fund the vaccines, they need to be recommended by the CDC. And if that's not the case, then we have a problem.
[07:22:21]
BLACKWELL: Dr. Carlos Del Rio, thank you.
Major developments out of Ukraine. Russia has launched a massive drone and missile attack hours after a major prisoner exchange. Could the attack stop the next round of prisoner swaps?
Plus, thousands of people in St. Louis were left without a warning ahead of a deadly tornado who's facing consequences because the sirens were not activated. The city's mayor joins us live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:27:21]
BLACKWELL: Breaking news for you now. In Russia's war in Ukraine, Russia's defense ministry says that more than 600 prisoners were released today, 307 on each side.
Also overnight, Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack across Ukraine in the last 24 hours. Officials say at least 13 people are dead, more than 50 injured.
CNN correspondent Paula Hancox is following all of the latest developments and joins us now with more. So it's good to see that the prisoner swap went ahead as scheduled, but these hundreds of drones being trained on Ukraine, it's a continued attack from Russia.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Victor. Starting off with the prisoner exchange, we just have new video in showing the Ukrainian side, showing some of those personnel that were released just today.
We heard also confirmation from the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that this has happened, saying that in the past two days, 697 have been released back to Ukraine. He thanked everyone that was involved in this prisoner exchange.
Of course, it was last week that it was agreed upon at those direct talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, really the only tangible success that came from those talks.
But you see some emotional reunions. You see the relief on the faces of many of these coming off the buses draped in the Ukrainian flag. And it is really part of what is expected to be the largest prisoner exchange that we have seen since the war began between the Russian and the Ukrainian side.
There's supposed to be some 2,000 people that will be released in total. We did hear just yesterday from Zelensky himself talking about this release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): The main thing of today is that the exchange took place. This is the first stage of the largest exchange that was agreed upon in Turkey. It was the only significant result of the meeting in Turkey, and the Russians are blocking everything else. They are blocking it for now.
But the return of our people is exactly what we're always working for. We will definitely return everyone, every one of our citizens, every Ukrainian military and civilian, all Ukrainian hostages held in Russia. We must free them all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: But at the same time, we are seeing devastating drone and missile attacks across Ukraine. Zelensky is saying that it was a difficult night for all of Ukraine.
[07:30:02]
Well over half a dozen regions across the country were targeted. According to officials, some 250 strike drones, 14 ballistic missiles. Many of them, we understand, were intercepted. But those that were not did have a deadly effect.
13 were killed across the country. More than 50 were injured. And it really comes at the same time as we see these prisoner exchanges. But also points to the fact that even though there is this positive outcome of prisoner exchanges, the bloodshed is continuing.
We did see the U.S. President Donald Trump on social media, saying this could lead to something big question mark, talking about the prisoner exchanges, it's not what we're hearing on the ground from Ukrainian officials. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Paula Hancocks for us this morning, Paula, thank you.
Now, to negotiations over Iran's nuclear future. Sources are telling CNN that Iran does not believe a nuclear deal is likely, as the U.S. and Iran finished a fifth-round of talks over Iran's uranium enrichment program.
Let's go now to CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen in Tehran. You've been speaking to Iranian officials. What are they telling you?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, the messaging from here has been really interesting over the past hour, since those talks took place there in Rome, Victor.
Yet, of course, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, coming out and saying he believed that the talks were actually quite professional between the U.S. and the Iranian side.
He also, however, said that the U.S. side understands Iran's position better than they did before, but not necessarily that there was much in the way of progress.
Now, here on the ground in Tehran, it seems as though there is a bit of a sense of disappointment. Though I did just indeed speak with a member of Iranian parliament who is part of the National Security Committee of Iranian parliament, and here is what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EBRAHIM REZAEI, MEMBER, IRANIAN PARLIAMENT (through translator): After each round of negotiations, we are getting more disappointed, especially given the recent statements by American officials regarding zero enrichment. I got disappointed, and do not have much hope that the negotiations will lead to a deal. We are preparing for Plan B.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So, Plan B, he is talking about didn't mention what Plan B is. But one of the things that the Iranians have said is they are going through these negotiations. They hope that a deal is something that can be reached. But if it isn't, then they certainly also are ready for a confrontation with the Trump administration, that was also Victor, what we heard on the ground here yesterday when we were at Friday prayers in Tehran, which of course, generally has more conservative folks there. And those were happening just as those talks between the U.S. and Iran were going on. Here is what we saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (voice over): Death to America and death to Israel, chants at Friday prayers in Tehran. The prayer leader laying into the Trump administration as the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks hang in the balance.
PLEITGEN: Iran's leadership is telling the United States that they want a nuclear agreement, but they are also not afraid of a confrontation if the talks fail.
PLEITGEN (voice over): Tehran not happy with both President Trump and his chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff, after Witkoff said the US wouldn't allow Iran to continue enriching uranium as part of any deal.
No way. There is no trust. This member of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps tells me they failed their previous tests towards the Iranian nation.
However, we have initiated the talks to prove our intention is not war. We want the enrichment for medical and other purposes.
The negotiations are unilateral, this woman says. Trump is trying to show his power, but it is our right to have nuclear capabilities.
Iran has consistently said its nuclear program is purely civilian in nature, and Tehran insists on keeping its uranium enrichment capabilities.
Iran's foreign minister acknowledging the talks are complicated.
We stress the positions and principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the negotiations, he says. Our positions are completely clear, and we insist on them. I think the American side now has a better and more clear picture of our position.
President Trump is threatening even tougher measures against Iran if the talks fail, and American officials tell CNN, intelligence suggests Israel is preparing for strikes against targets in Iran.
Iranians we spoke to vowing a tough response if that happens.
The United States knows better what will happen. He says, if things get serious, there will not be a country named Israel on Earth.
But for now, both sides say they're gearing up for the next round of talks trying to forge a new nuclear deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN (on camera): So, is the view from Tehran here. The U.S. side also coming out with a bit of a statement, yesterday, Victor, saying, they believe that progress continues to be made in those talks.
[07:35:03]
But they also acknowledge that there are still a lot of things that need to be overcome. Victor.
BLACKWELL: Fred Pleitgen, joining us from Tehran. Thank you.
Still to come. An employee at the St. Louis Emergency Management Office has been placed on leave, after tornado sirens did not sound ahead of a round of deadly storms. The mayor joins us with more on that and the recovery efforts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:40:04]
BLACKWELL: Today, President Donald Trump will head to West Point to deliver a commencement speech to military graduates.
CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now from West Point. So, good morning to you, first. Second, what do we expect from the president today?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Oftentimes, when a president comes and speaks at these military service academies. It's an opportunity to talk about the national security environment that these newly commissioned officers will be entering when they leave here at West Point.
But I think the backdrop that you can't ignore this year is President Trump's crackdown on diversity initiatives, really, across higher education, obviously, those have faced some legal challenges, but when it comes to places like West Point, the president really does have a lot of purview.
This is an academy that's overseen by the Pentagon, and you have seen that crackdown on DEI really play out here over the last several months. You've seen, for example, a number of affinity groups disbanded, groups like the National Society of Black Engineers, the Latin Cultural Club.
All of those sort of picked apart at the directive of the president and of the Pentagon. Now, this has caused an enormous amount of consternation. At least one professor here has resigned.
Graham Parsons, that professor has called these brazen demands to indoctrinate, not educate, and they are expecting some protests. Obviously not on the West Point campus, but just outside, including in boats on the Hudson River.
The White House says that this is all an effort to make the military more lethal. You've heard that from the defense secretary Pete Hegseth. Now, this is sort of a book ended weekend for the president.
He'll speak here. He'll also speak at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday for Memorial Day. And this is all kind of building up to that big military parade in Washington on June 14th. That's the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also happens to be President Trump's birthday.
BLACKWELL: Kevin Liptak, for us there. Thank you, Kevin.
The head of emergency management for St. Louis, is now on paid leave after warning sirens failed to sound ahead of a deadly tornado that ripped through the city last week. Five people were killed. Officials say the storm caused more than a billion dollars in damage. St. Louis mayor, Kara Spencer joins us now.
First, before we get to that, talk to me about cleanup and recovery in St Louis.
CARA SPENCER, MAYOR OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: Of course. I mean, this is the worst natural weather disaster that St. Louis has seen in my lifetime, and when we go on, you see the devastation, you know, we are just so incredibly lucky that the death toll wasn't higher, and that is in large part, and thanks to our first responders who were truly out there, an incredible force, right off the bat, pulling people out of the rubble, saving lives, and really making sure that this wasn't an even worse disaster.
I am just incredibly grateful to the members of the community who also did the same, just really volunteers and folks from the community pulling together to ensure that this wasn't even worse than it is. We have as a city, been out in 24/7 just helping to clean up, really driving the cleanup of the rubble. There is just such a mass amount of destruction. Words can't describe what our communities have been going through over this last week.
BLACKWELL: Yes. We are showing some of the video of the damage as you're explaining the recovery and cleanup efforts.
Let's talk now about the sirens. Reportedly, from one of our affiliates, there were no storm sirens sounding as the tornado hit, because there was no one there to press the button. I mean, May is the most active month for tornadoes, especially for St Louis. If and -- there was storm, the elements that could create this kind of emergency were forecast. So, why was there no one there to do the job of telling people now is the time, take cover?
SPENCER: You know, my heart is so heavy on this one. You may know this, I had just been in office for 31 days when the storm hit, and we were just beginning -- we were just doing our kind of analysis of all the departments and the gaps in city services that are so important to our communities.
But at the end of the day, you know when the tornado hit, we did know that there was going to be bad weather that day. And why our emergency management system had decided to be off site, you know, conducting a workshop is a decision I certainly do not agree with. And we took the appropriate and swift steps to rectify leadership within that organization, and I have to give a shout out to, you know, the surround -- the fire department here in the city of St Louis, and surrounding emergency management systems at the State of Missouri, throughout our community that have come in --
(CROSSTALK)
[07:45:09]
BLACKWELL: Mayor Spencer, let me jump in here. What does -- what does rectify leadership mean?
SPENCER: Well, as you may know, we place the head, the commissioner of our emergency management system here on leave, and we put in a management system, a management team, rather. A very robust team that is going to make sure that that never happens again.
I'll also say that, you know, the sirens are really important component of alerting the public. This is designed to make sure that people who are outside are aware. We also did get 317,000 messages via text and other means to residents to let them know that there was a massive weather event.
Of course, this does not excuse the fact that the sirens, the tornado sirens, didn't go off.
And, you know, I joined St. Louis since in horror about this, and that's why we've taken the appropriate steps to move forward.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Yes.
SPENCER: Look, it's important that at the national level that we have, you know, a very robust system. We automate these systems, so human error can't play a part. But at the end of the day here, unfortunately, it did.
BLACKWELL: All right. St. Louis Mayor Kara Spencer, thank you for your time.
SPENCER: Of course.
BLACKWELL: Still to come, the Indiana Pacers pull off an impressive win on the road, beat in New York Knicks. Sports as your highlights after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:50:52]
BLACKWELL: NBA's Eastern Conference, the Knicks are in trouble, down two games and headed on the road after another tough loss at home.
Carolyn Manno is with me now. Pacers in control.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are, Victor. You know, this is really worst-case scenario for a team that so many people have fallen in love with here in New York.
I mean, the Knicks blew this double-digit lead in game one. Now, they find themselves in a two-game hole with the Eastern Conference Finals, shifting back to Indiana, and as you know, Victor, no team has lost the first two games at home, and then, come back to win the series in a conference finals.
So, this is going to be really tough.
The first half of the game was really all about the Pacers' Pascal Siakam. He was the difference maker. He scored a playoff career high 39 points on a night when nobody else on Indiana's high scoring squad had more than five baskets.
But the Knicks are really right there all game long. Once again, the score was tied at 81 after three quarters. Indiana started the fourth with 13 to four run, and New York's Jalen Brunson came through. He had 36 points and 11 assists. But the team, overall, just could not find enough scoring to come back from this really rough start in that final frame, and this result coming after a shocking defensive collapse in game one that ended up with the Knicks loss in overtime.
So, with a dramatic turnaround, the Knicks first conference of Finals appearance in 25 years could be extended, but it's going to be tough. Thanks, in part, to Indiana and the way that they have been playing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PASCAL SIAKAM, FORWARD, INDIANA PACERS: Me, again, I just trying to play my game and shout out to my, you know, my team is just finding me, and, you know, making sure that I kept -- I stayed -- I stayed aggressive the whole game and again, it's going to take all of us, you know, to get what we want to get to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: In the NHL playoffs out west, in the conference finals, the stars fell into an early deficit against the Edmonton Oilers, but couldn't dig themselves out this time in Dallas. The power play has had the spotlight in this series.
Last night, it was Edmonton that was causing problems. The Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins picking up his second power play goal this series, just 17 seconds into the team's first opportunity with a man advantage before Brett Kulak and Connor Brown blew the game open with a pair of goals less than two minutes apart.
In the second, Oilers goalie, Stuart Skinner, really good stopped all 24 shots he faced on Friday night to get the shutout, 3-0 the final. As this series now shifts back to Edmonton, tied at one game apiece, with the stars needing to win at least one game there in order to restore home ice advantage.
The chase for the Stanley Cup continues with the Eastern Conference Final coverage exclusively on TNT and Max. The defending champs, the Florida Panthers, facing the Carolina Hurricanes in Game Three later on Saturday. So, don't miss that.
And lastly, a tough pill for the Yankees to swallow in the Rocky Mountains last night, losing to the worst team in baseball.
Colorado went into this Memorial Day weekend series with an eight and 42 record, the worst 50 game start since the beginning of the modern baseball era. Back in 1901, they were on a two and 17 skid.
New York coming in 11 games over 500, fresh off a five one homestand. But this was one of those nights for Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt, he left with the pinstripes leading 2-1, was ultimately charged with three runs in four and two thirds in a shocking 3-2 loss for New York.
I know they were frustrated about a victory. It goes like that sometimes. The Knicks is certainly feeling that right now with their backs against the wall heading back to Indy.
BLACKWELL: You know, you said that this team had the worst start since 1901? I mean, if somebody --
(CROSSTALK)
MANNO: Not a great record, 250 games.
BLACKWELL: Is some of these superlatives, like, it's the worst start since the first baseball was stitched. It's like, geez. MANNO: I'm a hater. I'm a hater. What can say?
BLACKWELL: Own it. Own it, Carolyn.
MANNO: OK, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. Carolyn Manno, thanks for being with us.
MANNO: Sure.
BLACKWELL: "FIRST OF ALL", coming up at the top of the hour.
This morning, we're looking at the changes done and undone since the murder of George Floyd five years ago this weekend. His brother Terrence is with us.
And we'll speak with an independent law enforcement investigator who has been following police reforms in Minneapolis and cities across the country.
Plus, after the mayor of Chicago touted hiring black people in his office, the Trump administration opened an investigation into possible discrimination.
[07:55:09]
Mayor Brandon Johnson is here to react.
And international students at Harvard are wrestling with this academic future after Trump threatened to ban their enrollment. One of them is Harvard's own student body president. He'll join us to speak about that.
We have those stories and more conversations you likely will not see anywhere else after a short break on "FIRST OF ALL".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:00:07]
BLACKWELL: First of all, there are certain phrases that stay with everyone from the summer of 2020.
END
