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U.K. Rail Workers Strike; Israel Poised for Fifth Election in Three Years; Luhansk under Constant Russian Fire; Team Trump's Fake Electors Plot; Air Travel Industry Faces Uphill Battle; Uvalde School Shooting; India and Bangladesh Floods. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired June 21, 2022 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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NAFTALI BENNETT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Israeli citizens, we are standing before you today in a moment that is not easy but
with the understanding we made the right decision for Israel.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): That moment setting the stage for yet another round of elections after Israel's coalition government
collapses. We are live in Jerusalem.
Plus --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very inconsiderate of our support by the actions of the network (ph). That's why I come across attorney of people (ph).
ANDERSON (voice-over): A crippling railway strike hits Britain, the biggest strike in decades.
So what do workers want?
And --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) will have an experience that we believe isn't up to the level that we would've expected.
ANDERSON (voice-over): A summer of misery faces holiday makers, some airlines CEOs are clamoring for government help.
Should they get it?
That is next.
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ANDERSON: It's 3 pm in London. Hello, I'm Becky Anderson, welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.
"We looked under every rock, did everything we could," says Israel's prime minister. In the end, it didn't work. Israel's power sharing government
imploded late Monday, with Naftali Bennett disbanding it after just a year.
Mr. Bennett is on the left of the screen, with foreign minister Yair Lapid, expected to take over as early as next week. For election weary Israelis,
this will mean a fifth trip to the polls in less than four years. CNN's Hadas Gold joins us now.
What caused this coalition's downfall?
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I have been here for just over a year, this will potentially be my third prime minister that I
will be covering as a reporter here in Jerusalem.
But we have been talking about, for a year now, how this coalition is the most diverse in Israeli history. From the Left to the Right, to the first
Arab party to sit in a governing coalition. So that was part of its fragility.
And then it was just the numbers; they only had one seat majority. They lost the majority in April with the first defector. Then they lost another
member of the coalition. Both of those members were people who were part of Naftali Bennett's own right-wing party.
So this essentially became a minority government and they had no political future. They could not get any important bills passed. It was not a
question of so much if a bill would be tabled to dissolve parliament but more about when it would happen.
What we were not expecting was for the prime minister and the foreign minister to do it to themselves and take that opportunity, take that
pleasure away from former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This places Yair Lapid in the vaunted position of being the one to welcome President Joe Biden when he comes next month. I'm sure those images of your
Yair Lapid, looking very prime ministerial, are not what he'll want to have ahead of that elections, to take place in the fall.
ANDERSON: There is word that Benjamin Netanyahu could try to make a comeback at this point.
What are his chances?
GOLD: He wants to make a comeback and he seemed very pleased yesterday, when speaking to the press. He said that Israelis are smiling again with
this news, that this government was failing.
I should note, Netanyahu has a path back to power, especially through elections. All the polls do indicate that his Likud Party will get the
biggest share of votes. But it's not so much whether he gets the biggest share of votes. It's whether he will become prime minister and form a
coalition, reaching at least 61 seats.
All the different ways that people are adding up the latest polls, still don't have getting him above 61 seats.
Now a lot can change. There is still an election to be run but there is not a clear path to a majority.
I think what's really interesting is it's Netanyahu himself who really is the problem because if there was another right-wing leader who could step
forward and bring these blocs together I think within an instant there would be a right-wing government in Israel.
ANDERSON: This is a two-hour show. The significance and consequence of what happened in Israel to be discussed in the hour to come.
[10:05:00]
ANDERSON: For the time being, Hadas Gold, thank you very much indeed.
The sun came up today not only on the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere but on what some fear could be a summer of discontent in the
United Kingdom. England, Scotland, Wales being brought to a standstill today after thousands of workers walked off the job in Britain's biggest
rail strike in decades.
The main issues: for rail workers, job cuts and pay, falling behind what is soaring inflation. The Underground also halted in London via walk out.
That is where Scott McLean is today, joining me from what is the iconic London Bridge Station, which should be packed.
This is a working day after all.
How crippling is this and why these strikes now?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is certainly a bizarre sight to see. The U.K. has been largely back to normal since the pandemic for a long time
now. So this looks a lot like a day in the life of the U.K. at the height of the pandemic.
These are the turnstiles; normally people would be coming in here, at a pretty rapid pace, just after 3:00 in the morning (sic). This should be the
beginning of the afternoon rush on a Tuesday afternoon, a workday in the middle of the week.
But now the station is largely deserted. There is a lot of confused looking people standing around and wondering what exactly to do. There are odd
sights like this, where you see the stairs and the escalator up to some platforms that are closed off.
A lot of them are closed off. For people who have managed to make it to London Bridge, we talked to a lot of them, who are having a lot of trouble
getting out toward London because of the tube strike happening today but also because of the train strike.
If you look up here at the board, you will notice on the right hand column, normally, this would say what time the next train to these next
destinations is. For most things, they say, "ask staff," in other words, good luck.
What I found remarkable is that there are a lot of people who have some sympathy, a remarkable level of sympathy; even the ones that we have spoken
to, who managed to get here but had to turn back and go home because there was no realistic chance of getting to work.
So a lot of people have sympathy for these workers.
But the question is, how long is that sympathy going to last?
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody has issues with pay. But it's not going to help if nobody comes to work. You know?
So because they are saying that everything is increasing but we just have to go to work as well because if you don't work, you don't get paid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very inconsiderate and I'll support by the actions (INAUDIBLE) but it's like come at the cost of (INAUDIBLE) people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you will make it at all today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope so. I have patients waiting. I (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: So people have started to ride the trains, the Underground since the pandemic but those numbers are not nearly what they were before the
pandemic. As a result, the British government says the status quo is not good enough. Things need to change.
The prime minister called the strike "wrong and unnecessary," especially since, he says, that the government spent billions of dollars to make sure
that rail workers kept their jobs throughout a pandemic when trains by and large were not running.
The union sees things differently. They say, by no fault of their own, they took a pay freeze in the last two years because of the pandemic. Now with
soaring inflation of 7 percent, they just want a wage that keeps up with that. The trouble is, 7 percent is a lot of money and it will get even
worse later this year.
The British government says they do not want to do anything like a huge public sector wage increase that may actually make the inflation situation
even worse. But their options might be limited if this spirals beyond rail workers, the largest union in this country, representing 1.3 million
workers.
Unison, they say they are strike ready and the head of that union said she would not rule out the possibility of a general strike this summer.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Scott McLean.
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ANDERSON: To the conflict in Ukraine: the Ukrainian military reporting its forces under constant Russian fire in the Luhansk region of the Donbas.
If you are a regular viewer of CNN, you will know that we have been reporting for weeks now on what is the main Russian target of
Sievierodonetsk. This video showing damage in a village a little bit south of that city that Russian forces have now capture.
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ANDERSON: Ukraine's top military officials saying, they are focused on a chemical plant, where hundreds of people remain holed up. Elsewhere,
officials reporting intensities Russian shelling in and around Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city.
The Kremlin is claiming the Geneva Conventions do not apply to two Americans. The pair captured by Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk
earlier this month. The Kremlin spokesperson here.
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DMITRY PESKOV, PUTIN SPOKESPERSON: There are soldiers of fortune and they were involved in illegal activities on the territory of Ukraine. And they
were involved in firing and shelling our military personnel and endangering their life.
And they should be responsible. They should be held responsible for those crimes that they have committed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Fred Pleitgen is live for us, in Moscow. And I want you to know that Russia has strict laws regarding how the conflict in Ukraine is
described and has prohibited broadcasts of information it regards as false.
Fred, we just heard from Dmitry Peskov.
What could this mean for these two Americans?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It could certainly have dire consequences for both of them. If we look at the
history of all of this, there were indeed two British individuals and a Moroccan who were also captured by the DPR.
They had a trial against them in that area, a breakaway republic, recognized by Russia, not recognized by the West. Those three individuals
have been sentenced to death by firing squad. That is a real threat, also for these two Americans.
A lot, of course, is going to depend, where any sort of trial will be done, whether an investigation will be done. One of the interesting things that
Dmitry Peskov said, he said that those two individuals committed crimes in Ukraine.
According to that, they would probably fall under Ukrainian jurisdiction. Not sure he meant to say that but that could be the indication. I also did
get in touch with Dmitry Peskov and asked him to clarify that, where these two Americans are being held and what could happen to them.
I will paraphrase a bit. He said I don't know where they are being held and who will judge them but the only thing that goes without saying is that
they are going to be prosecuted and they will be able to stand in court.
It's not clear yet whether a trial against these men is going to happen in the breakaway republic, the Donetsk People's Republic, or whether it's
going to happen in Russia itself. That, of course, is a big difference, because if, in fact, there is a death penalty doled out, most likely that
would be in that Donetsk area.
It's unclear whether a trial would actually happen or whether or not these Americans could be turned into somewhat bargaining chips for negotiation.
That is unclear at this point in time but certainly a very dangerous and worrisome situation they're in.
ANDERSON: Fred Pleitgen in Moscow for you.
Coming up, the White House under growing pressure to contain Iran, according to CNN sources. More on that reporting just ahead and what the
Biden administration plans to do, should nuclear talks fall through.
Plus, it's day four for the U.S. Capitol insurrection hearings. More on the election worker who says she received death threats as Donald Trump spread
false rumors about her.
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ANDERSON: CNN has exclusive reporting on the increasing pressure that President Biden is facing to come up with a plan to deal with Iran.
Next month, Mr. Biden will head to the Middle East and the Gulf. But hopes for reviving the 2015 nuclear deal look dimmer and dimmer. Regional
officials say, the administration still hasn't told its allies in the region about any plan B, should nuclear talks fail.
National security reporter Katie Bo Lillis joins us now from Washington with more details on what is going on.
This is pressure primarily, from the U.S.' Middle East's key allies.
What is the issue?
KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The concerns for U.S. regional allies, like the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is that the Biden administration has yet
to articulate a comprehensive plan for how it intends to deal not just with Iran's nuclear program but also with its ballistic missile program and with
its support for militants across the region.
The concern essentially is that the Biden administration has been a bit too myopic focusing on the nuclear file at the expense of some of the other
Iranian activities viewed as national security threats by some of the U.S.' key allies in the Middle East.
Israel is a bit of a different case. Israel has begun to take matters into its own hands.
Because it views Iran and particularly the nuclear threat, as an existential threat, as these negotiations over the nuclear deal have
appeared to falter, U.S. officials say that Israel has escalated its shadow war inside Iran, its campaign of covert operations like targeted killings
and cyberattacks inside Iran.
Israel does not tell the Biden administration everything that it is up to in this space. So far the administration has taken a pretty hands-off
approach here. But the concern for U.S. officials is certainly that this could escalate.
The fear, according to U.S. officials that we spoke to, isn't necessarily that this will spill over into a broader conventional war but more that, as
Israel continues to push, Iran's fuse is going to get shorter and shorter, with potentially unpredictable consequences.
ANDERSON: As we know, the White House will argue that ballistic missiles and Iran's malign behavior around the region is separate to any agreement
to get back into what was the 2015 nuclear deal.
Be that as it may, what are the prospects for that deal at this point?
LILLIS: Increasingly shaky. U.S. envoy for Iran Rob Malley told Congress last month that the prospects for the deal are tenuous at best. Lawmakers
and regional allies have been pushing the Biden administration for what a plan B would look like in the event that negotiations do fail.
The Biden administration has been pretty cagey up until this point. They have tried to encourage Gulf nations to enter into this kind of defensive
security cooperative, to push back against Iran. But so far, Gulf countries haven't really gone for the idea. So at this point, I think we are really
in a moment of pretty deep uncertainty in the region.
ANDERSON: Yes, and certainly the White House claiming that the issue of Iran is front and center for Joe Biden's trip to Jerusalem, the West Bank
and Saudi Arabia. There's also, of course, the energy situation, which is on the forefront. Good to have you, Katie Bo Lillis, thank you very much
indeed.
We are a few hours away from the fourth public hearing for the committee investigating the January 6th Capitol insurrection. This time, Donald
Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election are front and center.
Today, an election worker from the U.S. state of Georgia is expected to testify about the death threats she and her mother received after Trump
accused them of election fraud. CNN's Jessica Schneider sets the stage.
[10:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The January 6 committee getting ready to shift its focus to Trump's role in his scheme to submit
fake electors, all in a bid to overturn the 2020 election.
They'll call three Republicans on Tuesday, all expected to testify about how Trump pressured them to overturn Trump's loss at the polls in their
states.
Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger will talk about this phone call with the former president just days before January 6th.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So look, all I want to do is this. I just want to find, uh, 11,780 votes, which is one more than
we have, because we won the state.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: Chief operating officer Gabe Sterling will also appear. And from Arizona, the Republican speaker of the state's house will testify as
well. Rusty Bowers said Trump asked him directly to replace the electors in the state with a rogue slate.
RUSTY BOWERS, ARIZONA STATE HOUSE SPEAKER: I talked to him a couple of times. And they were -- they'd asked me to take some steps that I just
wouldn't do. And I told him I voted for him. I've campaigned for him but I told him I wasn't going to do anything illegal.
SCHNEIDER: Bowers also received emails from Ginni Thomas, urging him to set aside Biden's election win by replacing Democratic electors where the
Republican slate. The committee has asked Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, to testify.
Ginni Thomas issued a short response to a conservative publication, saying, "I can't wait to clear up misconceptions. I look forward to talking to
them."
Thomas was the only justice to vote against releasing White House Records to the committee in January. Now Schiff says Thomas should recuse himself
from any future cases involving the committee.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Justice Thomas to avoid even the appearance of impropriety should have nothing to
do with any cases relating to January 6, particularly we're regarding our investigation.
SCHNEIDER: A new poll out from ABC News after three hearings shows nearly six in 10 Americans believe former President Trump should be prosecuted.
It's a case the committee is making.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): The president is guilty of knowing what he did, seditious conspiracy. What we're presenting before the American people
certainly would rise to a level of criminal involvement by a president.
SCHNEIDER: But so far, DOJ refusing to comment though prosecutors recently complained that the committee's refusal to hand over all of its records
complicates their job.
SCHNEIDER: Committee member Zoe Lofgren says the dispute could be resolved as early as July once the hearings conclude.
And meanwhile, Schiff is leaving the door open to subpoena vice president Mike Pence.
SCHIFF: There are still keep people we have not interviewed that we would like to. We're not taking anything off the table in terms of witnesses who
have not yet testified.
SCHNEIDER: Also scheduled to testify on Tuesday, Shaye Moss. She's a former election worker who Trump accused of carrying out a fake ballot
scheme in Fulton County, Georgia.
Committee aides say that she will speak about the threats she received as the result of Trump's false claims -- Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: You can see the entire hearing right here on CNN. Our coverage starts at 5 pm in London, straight after the second hour of this show; 8 pm
in Abu Dhabi, if that is where you are watching from.
Our series, "Mission Ahead," introducing you to entrepreneurs and scientists on a mission to rethink the way we move, even how we get things
into space. For six decades, people have sent satellites into orbit on rockets. CNN's Rachel Crane reports on a company working to develop a
radical alternative.
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RACHEL CRANE, CNN BUSINESS INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Over the years, investors and scientists have envisioned some wild
ideas to send things to space: laser powered launches, a magnetic levitation tube, even a space elevator. A giant slingshot might sound like
another one. But according to the entrepreneur behind the technology, sovis (ph) is the way we already put objects into orbit.
JONATHAN YANEY, FOUNDER AND CEO, SPINLAUNCH (voice-over): Rockets are the most complex systems ever built. As a means of transportation, they are
actually incredibly illogical.
CRANE (voice-over): This is Jonathan Yaney.
YANEY (voice-over): I went to Space Camp as a kid. I flew an airplane by myself for the first time when I was 14. And so, yes, I just took a look at
it and I said, what if?
What if there was a different way?
What if we could absolutely dramatically transform the way we access space?
CRANE (voice-over): To answer that question, he founded SpinLaunch in 2014, hired a team of engineers like David Ray (ph).
DAVID RAY (PH), ENGINEER (voice-over): We will be doing a launch of a one meter projectile.
CRANE (voice-over): And built this prototype.
RAY (PH) (voice-over): This is like the same amount of power that you have in a minivan.
CRANE (voice-over): Right now, they are running their tests here and in a larger launch system in New Mexico.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Launch.
CRANE (voice-over): But today's projectile is only launching a few meters in this controlled environment. The ultimate goal: load satellites onto
the projectile, spin it faster than the speed of sound --
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CRANE (voice-over): -- and catapult it out of the Earth's atmosphere, where a rocket engine kicks in to carry the load to its final destination.
But to actually reach orbit, the accelerator will need to spin about 17 times faster than SpinLaunch has demonstrated so far and be three times
larger. That is just one of the technological hurdles the company faces, experts say.
JUAN J., PROFESSOR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY (voice-over): You have to make sure that the vehicle is stable and it flies the trajectory that it's
supposed to fly, that the payload is sustained and very heavy loading or G environment that occurs during the spinup phase. And finally, that the
second stage rocket actually ignites properly and sends things to orbit.
CRANE (voice-over): SpinLaunch is seeking a location for a full-scale accelerator which it hopes can overcome these challenges and power the
company to orbit by 2025.
If successful, the rewards could be worth the wait. This system will use 70 percent less fuel and materials than conventional rockets, SpinLaunch says,
making it greener to get objects to space and up to 10 times cheaper. Even if it works, it won't be able to launch everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SpinLaunch is only flying satellites about the size of a washing machine. So we are not talking about flying the Hubble Space
telescope or really any delicate instruments like that.
CRANE (voice-over): Let alone humans. They could never withstand the G forces of your system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not going to fly human payloads on SpinLaunch anytime soon.
CRANE (voice-over): Small satellites may be well enough to keep SpinLaunch busy. The market will be around $7.4 billion by 2026 by some estimates. And
Yaney expects demand for fast launches to grow as humans venture further. And as he sees it, it will take some wild ideas to get there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ANDERSON: Welcome back, you're with CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. Just before half past three.
You may have noticed air travel being more difficult than in years past, mostly because of post pandemic growing pains, if you could call them
those. For 2.5 years, airlines and airports have been working with fewer flights, fewer staff and fewer passengers, of course.
Now that travelers are back, they are experiencing delays, cancellations and even baggage backlogs. Take a look at all these bags, for example, at
Heathrow Airport. United Airlines' chief tells CNN that the industry needs help.
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SCOTT KIRBY, CEO, UNITED AIRLINES: The truth is, I think it requires government help because the biggest issue is, there's more flights schedule
in Newark for example, than there is capacity at the airport, even in a perfect blue sky day.
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KIRBY: And air traffic control is understaffed. Because of that, there's just more flights than the airport can handle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That was just one of the air travel heavyweights that Richard Quest spoke to at the International Air Transport Association's annual
meeting in Doha, which I'm sure couldn't have been more important this year, joining us now.
Look, you're hearing about the major challenges facing the airline industry and these appeals for government help.
What are they asking for at this point?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: I think it depends on the place, it depends on the venue. The fundamental idea of government help is one of regulation. It
is one of assistance, of infrastructure. It's changing rules maybe on security that allow people to get authorized sooner. New employees are
taking up to 3-6 months to get approved to work in security. So there's an entire raft of areas where the government can ease the roadblocks, if you
like.
What they can't do, of course, is get the people. And people left the industry, either because they were furloughed or there were better jobs or
they just simply decided they wanted to do something else.
And getting those people back is impossibly difficult across all industries, let alone hospitality, travel, trade and the like, which are
inhospitable hours. I spoke to Carsten Spohr. He's the CEO of the Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian and Brussels,
along with Eurowings, Europe's largest group, if you will.
He says, when it comes to this summer, it's not going to get much better. And that's his number one priority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARSTEN SPOHR, CEO, LUFTHANSA AIRLINES: We can't cancel many more flights because they're sold out. It's one idea, always to take load off the
systems and some European airports have one that, reducing the number of flights.
And we have done that also internally but we can't go much further because the flights we now have in the systems are overbooked with high load
factors. And just to cancel those and rebook the passengers has reached its limits.
So one way or another we have to cope with bottlenecks; weather will play a role. And again, what I'm doing here, asking our passengers for a little
bit of understanding and sometimes for some patience. Probably it's part of the jobs that we as CEOs have in the industry this summer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: So here is a problem, Becky. Here's where I have the difficulty. I don't know where my sympathies lie. Obviously, they are with the travelers
that have the pain and grief.
But if you think about the industry, which had an existential crisis and had to literally shut down from zero, from 100 percent to 5 percent for
years and then stop and start and rules and change, it's a complex industry. It's like a Swiss clock in terms of cogs and wheels all having to
fit together. I'm not surprised that the ramp-up has caused the problems. I'm just not sure they could've done any better.
ANDERSON: Yes, easyJet, of course, blaming operational issues at airports for cutting flights. We were just listening there to one CEO saying, they
don't want to have to cut flights; that's one way of doing it but that's not what they want to do when these flights are booked. But easyJet is
cutting flights. It's telling its passengers, it's going to be cutting flights.
This is the busiest time of the year, this European summer. You know and there will be people who totally get your point and I could see where you
are split on this. There will be those who say they get it. The industry is just trying to recover as quickly as -- and we're seeing that across food
and beverage and in a swathe (sic) of other industries.
But surely, passengers deserve better than this, don't they?
QUEST: Absolutely, completely. And perhaps the stupidity it was to actually put in more flights than they could handle. EasyJet is canceling
flights because Gatwick and others have told them to cancel flights, we can't cope.
And, yes, I agree what could've should've happened is there should -- Becky, this is another failure of coordination in travel and tourism. The
airlines were as ready as they could be. The airports did what they thought they could. Government failed across a range of issues, in many countries,
to put in place the necessary policies.
And there was no coordinating factor that made sure the whole thing was going to work. As Willie Walsh said, the role of the governments during
COVID and travel has been shambolic and chaotic. And it continues.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Good to have you, there thank you.
In the U.S., Texas lawmakers are meeting this hour to hear further testimony on the school shooting last month in Uvalde, in which 19 children
and two teachers were killed. It comes after images surfaced, providing new insight into what was actually happening inside the school --
[10:35:00]
ANDERSON: -- between the time police came in and when they finally took the gunman down. Local authorities have faced mounting criticism over their
response to the incident. CNN's Rosa Flores has been following the story and she joins us now live from Uvalde.
And as you -- as I see you standing there, in front of the memorial to those who lost their lives, you've been listening to this hearing in the
Texas senate.
What are we learning at this point, about what happened?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are waiting for the head of the Texas DPS to testify. This hearing started out with statements being made by some
of the committee members. But the highlight today will be the testimony by Texas DPS director, Colonel Steven McCraw. He's expected to give a second
by second account.
They have posted a poster board with a timeline that we are reviewing as we speak, Becky, because it really is the latest, most up-to-date timeline
from the lead investigating agency, Texas DPS.
I can tell you, by just simply starting to read this timeline, one thing that stands out to me, for example, is that it took 24 seconds for the
gunman to enter the school, get to the hallway where the rooms that he shot into were located and he started firing his weapon.
According to a law enforcement source, that I was able to talk to, that has viewed the surveillance video, what he explained to me that you're able to
see in this video is the shooter enter the school unobstructed; go into rooms 111, shooting inside then comes out to the hall briefly. Then goes
back in.
And then, according to the timeline and the source, three minutes after the shooter is in there, that's when at least 11 officers have responded. And,
Becky, at least two of those officers, according to this new timeline that we're looking at, had long guns.
And that was one of the big questions here, was the firepower that these officers had. According to this new timeline, at least two long guns in
those very first few minutes, in which the shooter entered that school and started firing at students.
ANDERSON: Rosa Flores, on the story, keeping an eye on exactly what is coming out of the latest on the hearings, and the investigation into
exactly what occurred inside that school in Uvalde.
We get you to South Asia now where several countries are being hit with devastating floods. Officials say at least 84 people have died across
Bangladesh and India. Heavy monsoon rains have unleashed flash floods, landslides and lightning strikes. The Bangladeshi military has been
airdropping supplies to people stranded on the roofs as you can see here.
UNICEF says that 4 million people are in urgent need of help in the northeastern part of the country.
In neighboring India, water is waist deep in parts of some state where millions of people have been forced from their homes. Well, this is this
year's monsoon rains, of course.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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END
