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Erin Burnett Outfront

Russia Makes Gains In Eastern Ukraine After 100 Days Of War, But Zelenskyy Maintains "Victory Will Be Ours;" Former Trump Adviser Navarro Appears In Court In Contempt Charges; NYT: Pence's Chief Of Staff Warned Secret Service The Day Before January 6 Riot About Possible Risk To VP; Texas State Senator: Uvalde School Police Chief Did Not Have Radio; McCormick Concedes To Oz In GOP Senate Primary In PA; As GOP Tries To Shift Focus From Guns To Mental Illness, Survey Shows Red Sates Invest Less In Mental Health. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 03, 2022 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:29]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, 100 days of war. Putin's deadly invasion hitting the 100-day mark as his forces are now seizing cities and towns across the east of Ukraine. And tonight, we're learning the U.S. and its allies are discussing ways to end the three-month war.

Plus, Trump's former adviser Peter Navarro handcuffed, lashing out in court after being indicted for refusing to cooperate in a January 6th investigation.

And then, "I don't want to die". That's a quote, words from a student who called 911 as the Uvalde gunman was inside her class classroom. Did the commander on the scene ever even hear her plea for help?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, 100 days of war, destruction and death, grim milestone in Putin's invasion of Ukraine. His blitzkrieg on Kyiv failed but tonight, Ukrainian military officials say Putin is once again ramping up, they say that Putin is now flooding Ukraine with more troops and reinforcements and artillery as I speak. And they say he's said to have, quote, partial success in the east of Ukraine, in a key city of Severodonetsk.

But success in this horrific war for Putin, again and again, just means leveling places, just utter destruction, rendering them inhabitable. It's unclear how much of is left of Severodonetsk at this point and the Red Cross says the destruction in Russia's path in Eastern Ukraine, in their words, defies comprehension.

These images show what is left of a high school in the east in another town, every single window blown out. There's nothing left, it's a high school. No one is going to be able to do anything there, right? That's what we talk about, inhabitable. And latest intelligence from the United Kingdom tonight, we

understand, predicts that Russia will control the entire region of Luhansk within two weeks. Obviously, that's a significant expansion over what Putin had controlled in occupied regions of that region prior to February.

And even as President Zelenskyy says Putin now controls 20 percent of Ukraine, Zelenskyy is defiant, proclaiming today that, quote, victory will be ours, saying that Ukraine will take back all occupied territory.

Tonight though, President Biden not striking the same defiant tone as Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's their territory. I'm not going to tell them what they should and shouldn't do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: But he went on to say it appears to me, and I'm quoting him, that at some point along the line, there's going to have to be a negotiated settlement here. Different and defiant or taking back all occupied territory.

Matthew Chance is OUTFRONT live in Kyiv.

And, Matthew, obviously you were there when the Russians attempted that eventual failed blitzkrieg on Kyiv. You spent a lot of time there throughout the war. So, what is the latest on the ground tonight? And how have things changed over the course of these hundred days?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in terms of the military situation, it's still very dire. There's fierce fighting taking place, not here in Kyiv, but in the east of the country, around Severodonetsk as you've been reporting where Russia has been making subtle but significant gains.

And there's been fighting in a counteroffensive, that the Ukrainians have undertaken to the south of the Donbas region, because their assessment is that Russia is overstretched in the Donbas, it is leaving the areas -- well, some of the areas that is already conquered exposed. And so, they're attempting with some success, they say, to take those areas back and they're sort of reclaiming dozens of settlements in that southern part of eastern Ukraine sort of on a daily basis. So, it's an ebb and flow in the fighting.

In terms of the situation in Kyiv, well, I mean, it's amazing because, you know, when I was last here back in March, and from the start of the war, the city cleared out. People were every night taking refuge in bunkers, in subways to shelter from the barrage of cruise missiles and airstrikes that were hitting Ukrainian capital. That's stopped. People have come back into the city. Life has resumed.

And, you know, I was walking around the streets today. You could almost forget that the war had taken place, because you scratch the surface of that and you know that this country's traumatized, that just to the north, in the suburbs, north of Ukrainian capital, terrible human rights abuses of the type we've not seen for generation in Europe, the destruction of infrastructure, the millions of people that have been displaced around the country, but there is this resilience here still -- a commitment to continue fighting no matter what.

[19:05:02]

BURNETT: All right. Matthew Chance, thank you very much, live from Kyiv tonight.

And OUTFRONT now, Dan Rice. He's now the special adviser to General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of all Ukrainian forces. And also with me, retired Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, former assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs as well.

So, General Kimmitt, let me begin with you.

I mention the latest assessment from the U.K. intelligence arm of the defenses ministry. They say Russia is likely to control the whole of Luhansk region, that oblast in the Donbas, within two weeks. When you look at what's happening on the ground, do you think this is accurate, that Russia is making these sorts of gains?

BRIGADIER GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, I really do. I think the British intelligence is about right, but I think it's important to understand that the fight is for the entire Donbas. The Russian separatist pretty well control Luhansk before the war started. So, I think it's important that these battles are taking place showing that the Russians are gaining a bit, but I don't think this is going to end up being a strategic victory for the Russians if they take Luhansk back because the real goal is to take the entire Donbas and they're nowhere near doing that now.

BURNETT: Right. And, of course, that I guess is the big point, Dan. You know, President Zelenskyy now says Russia controls 20 percent of Ukraine. To anybody listening, that sounds like a lot. It is a lot. It's double what they had, you know, claims to control prior to the invasion, right, when they had Crimea and just parts of the Donbas.

So, obviously, you spent time with the general, the commander in chief of the armed forces, General Zaluzhnyi. What is he -- what is his state of mind right now?

DAN RICE, SPECIAL ADVISER TO UKRAINIAN COMMANDER IN CHIEF: Well, I think they have done an amazing job from 2014 through 2022 to get ready and prepare for this war. So the rest of the world might not realize but when Russia took Crimea in the Donbas in 2014, that Ukraine knew they were coming back for the rest.

And so, they've been preparing a war footing and they really did an amazing job and U.S. Army Special Forces 10th Group actually prepared them for this battle very well, trained 26,000 Ukrainians and as did our National Guard and Western NATO nations.

So, they trained them, they armed them and they got them ready for this. So I think the world owes Congress and you don't say this very often, but thank you Congress, they actually did right. I think two, three administrations, and six different Congresses did it right.

General Zaluzhnyi I think right now is very confident they can win. They have actually --

BURNETT: Even with the steady setbacks, they maybe small but they are consistent now?

RICE: Absolutely. I think winning the battle of Kyiv was an amazing military victory and that was really largely due to better leadership, better strategy and really two weapon systems, the Stinger, which keeps the Russian aircraft running the air, and then the Javelin, which could reach out and have 93 percent kill rate in combat. So it would stall the convoys coming through the four major avenues of advance.

So they'd hit javelins and then they pour artillery. Artillery killed most of the Russians, the 30,000 Russians but javelins are key. It changed warfare really so to speak, because of its lethality and its precision.

Now on the offense going back and trying to regain that land, that's not necessarily the weapons they need. They need javelins and stingers, but they really need artillery. They're outgunned just tremendously, 20 to one in some areas. You can't have infantry, both artillery and those infantry. You can't infantry advancing across these open planes.

BURNETT: It's very open. It's very open, yeah.

RICE: So he thinks if he has the right weapons and basically he needs long-range artillery from the West, he needs multiple long range rocket systems which have just been approved, which is fantastic, and needs drones to see the enemy and scout it, electronic warfare, gets the drones knock out. But if he has that, he thinks they can take it and they don't want to concede Crimea or the Donbas.

BURNETT: And, General, when you say that's Western thinking, right? They're saying go back to the lines before 2014 which I think does kind of shock some politicians in the West, right? They kind of see that as something, a no-go line.

But, General Kimmitt, when you hear President Biden say it appears to me that at some point along the line there's going to have to be a negotiated settlement here, I see daylight, big daylight between him and Zelenskyy because there is no negotiated settlement where Ukraine is taking back territory in Donbas or Crimea.

KIMMITT: I think that's right. Look, President Zelenskyy is not only the military commander but also is the chief rallier for the Ukrainian troops. I don't necessarily believe he can keep the troops in the field at some point if he believes that in his heart of hearts, that he has got to make a negotiated settlement at some point.

But look, wars end when both sides feel they're losing. Both sides now think they're winning but I really believe that having been an artillery officer for 30 years, and understanding how the Russians fight, I think at this point, it's going to end up being much like the frontlines of World War I, a frozen conflict where neither side can do much more than inflict tremendous losses on both sides and unable to take significant amounts of land from this point forward.

[19:10:13]

I hope I'm wrong, the Ukrainians deserve more than that, but that's the reality.

BURNETT: And so, General Kimmitt, do you expect the losses that Zelenskyy talked about, 60 to 100 Ukrainians a day, they're staggering, do you expect that that will continue?

KIMMITT: I do. In fact, I think it could very well be this new general they brought in, Dvornikov, he certainly understands the Russian tactics using fires instead of maneuvers, I think will continue to rubble the area in front of him and unfortunately that area is going to have not only infrastructure but it's going to have a whole lot of civilians as well, and Ukrainian troops.

BURNETT: And, Dan, a final word to you. The commanding general, is he prepared for that, the troops prepared for that, this continued staggering loss rate?

RICE: Yes, I went on battlefield with several of the commanders and toured the battle of Kyiv battlefield and they are resolute in this. And, you know, when you hear him talk about Donbas and Crimea, if you think about it, after they took that, a kid that was ten years old is now drafted in the Russian army fighting against his own people in Ukraine.

They can't tolerate that. So even if this is a stalemate like I believe General Kimmitt is correct, it could end up in a stalemate, they want to continue to sanction, have the world punish Russia until Russia has to pull out. So I think the negotiated settlement could be Russia pulling out after they realize that they have to get out or the sanctions aren't going to be relieved.

BURNETT: We'll see, of course, whether there's that will from the West. You know, so much of this, of course, depends on governments that are not Ukrainian.

Thank you both so very much. Appreciate your time.

RICE: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, top Trump White House aide indicted, arrested, brought to court today and then lashed out at the judge. Wait until see our Evan Perez was actually there inside the courtroom. He's OUTFRONT next. Plus, Texas State Senator Gutierrez, he's going to be back. He tells

us the commander who led the response to the elementary school shooting in Texas didn't even have a police radio with him during the massacre. So did Pete Arredondo know about the repeated 911 calls? Senator Gutierrez is my guest.

And Biden blaming one person for the rising price of food and gas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: This is the Putin price hike. Putin price hike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:16:08]

BURNETT: Tonight, two major developments related to House Select Committee's investigation into January 6th. Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro, facing a judge after being indicted and arrested for refusing to comply with the subpoena from the committee. He's the second former Trump aide to be indicted and charged with contempt of Congress.

And "The New York Times" tonight reporting that on January 5th, the day before the insurrection, then Vice President Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, told his lead Secret Service agent that Trump was going to publicly turn against Pence and that it could create a security risk for Pence. That's a pretty stunning thing.

Now, Secret Service official tells CNN that they insist the concern about violence directed at Pence or any risk posed by Trump's actions was never communicated, but obviously, you know, this is a pretty incredible thing to say.

Evan Perez is OUTFRONT.

And, Evan, you were in the courtroom, let's start with Navarro when he faced the judge, and I know that there was fireworks for lack of a better word. What did you see?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You know, it was practically Festivus. It was an airing of grievances by Peter Navarro. You know, these hearings, Erin, as you know tend to be very short, they're brief, they're -- you know, magistrate simply lays out what the charges you're facing and you're on your way.

In this case, Peter Navarro decided to explain why he believes he should not be charged with these two counts, but by the Justice Department for contempt of Congress. And he went into not only his grievances against the FBI, against prosecutors. He said that the committee is a sham committee. He said this is an abuse of power by Congress and the Justice Department.

He also complained about the fact that he lives just across the street from the FBI, building across the street from the FBI and he was not arrested there, he was arrested instead at national airport. He was on his way to take a flight to Nashville, he says.

Obviously, this was a bit of a performance by Peter Navarro and the judge warned him that, you know, we know you like to talk to the cameras, be careful what you say when you leave and, of course, he went to the cameras at the end of the hearing, Erin and told us that among the punishments he endured today was that the FBI -- sorry, the U.S. Marshals threw him in the jail cell of John Hinckley Jr. That's how it went.

BURNETT: And immediately, the performance art. I mean it is pretty incredible to imagine. In a sense, it's -- oh, just make a mockery of the system.

Evan, please stay with me.

I want to bring Elie Honig to the conversation, senior legal analyst and former assistant U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York.

So, Elie, before Peter Navarro, I actually want to start with the Mike Pence news, because his chief of staff reportedly warns the Secret Service, that Trump was going to turn on Pence publicly the day before the insurrection, and then, of course, the next day, that happened. Just to remind everyone, here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: Mike Pence, I hope you'll stand up for the good of our Constitution and for the good of our country. And if you're not, I'm going to be very disappointed in you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. So he said he's going to turn and he does, and then the day before the insurrection, according to "The New York Times", Short says to Secret Service that this could create a specific security risk for Pence, right? So this is like, a security risk, right, actually something could physically happen to him, also turned out to be true as we remember from the mob chanting "Hang Mike Pence, hang Mike Pence", he's escorted out. His life is in danger.

So, Elie, what does it tell you that the former vice-president's chief of staff reportedly warns the Secret Service the day before the insurrection that essentially, there could be violence at the Capitol where Mike Pence was going to be? That's what -- that's what this warning would sum up as.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, Erin, tells me all the signals were there. One of the big questions we're all going to be looking for as we head into these hearings next week is to what extent to the administration know that there was a risk of violence the next day. Marc Short knew, he predicted it almost to a tee and that's not because Marc Short is some magical soothsayer. It's because the information was right there.

And one of the main things Marc Short bases his ultimately correct prediction of violence on was Donald Trump's own words and actions.

And, Erin, it also underscores for me the real key witnesses we hear from at the hearings, we don't know specifically, I think it's very unlikely we hear Donald Trump's inner circle, the Mark Meadows, Kevin McCarthies. But there's a whole world of aides and deputies and assistants and chiefs of staff like Marc Short that can tell the tale. So I'm looking at people like Marc Short as potentially crucial witness as we get into this.

BURNETT: So, Evan, I just want to -- I just want to emphasize here, if Marc Short, you know, communicated as the "New York Times" is reporting, then he's telling the Secret Service that he thought that there could be a security risk at the Capitol because that's where Mike Pence was going to be during the protest, okay, on January 5th, that's when they knew, right? So that's why, I want to keep emphasizing how significant this is, that he would have raised a flag on this.

And I know, Evan, that Select Committee is going to hold its first public hearing on Thursday night. We know that Short is expected to be called to testify before the committee. So what do you think happens here?

PEREZ: Well, look. I think this makes Marc Short and the testimony from the other aides of Mike Pence -- look, we're not going to hear from Mike Pence, the former Vice President Pence, but what we're going to hear from are people very, very close in and people who were in his presence, people who were there as he was being evacuated from the Senate. And so, what that's going to help the committee draw a picture of is exactly what they were hearing, not only from the former president in the days leading up to the day, but also just the day itself, right?

And what we know now, what has emerged in the last few days is that they had a plan, they had a plan to try to get Pence to essentially recuse himself or remove himself from the equation and perhaps put Senator Grassley to put, to get in some ways, set aside the election results. Again, for the committee, they want to be able to draw a picture not only of all the different ways pence was pressured, but also what else they had in mind as their plan b.

BURNETT: Look, for history books, for accuracy, and in the near term, of course, politically for the midterms, how these public hearings go and what's in this report is immensely important. Eli, we know hundreds of people have gone -- have fed into that, okay? But Peter Navarro is not among them, right? He gets indicted and the whole performance act today, but indicted two months after the House referred him for the DOJ for contempt.

You know, we've not heard from Steve Bannon. We've now heard from Dan Scavino, right, who was there with social media for the president. We haven't heard from Mark Meadows, chief of staff, no indictments, and we're not going to hear from these guys as you point out.

So, can the committee deliver what it needs to deliver, a full and fair and nothing the same story, without them? HONIG: I still think they can, Erin. Look, as a prosecutor, you don't

always get to put everyone you want on the stand. A lot of bad guys in the prosecution, I'm not necessarily saying that's exactly here, but a lot of the main people you want to question, you can't, they won't. They'll take the Fifth. They refuse to testify.

So, you can make a case, though, based on other witnesses, you can make a case based on documents, on texts, on recordings and one thing about the indictment today of Peter Navarro, I think it sends a message from DOJ to any other witnesses out there. We've seen all too many people sort of casually brush off these congressional subpoenas without consequences, well, this is very real.

Peter Navarro can put all the histrionics that he wants, but the reality is, if he is convicted here, he will go to federal prison at least a month, that's what the law says.

So there are real consequences here and anyone else out there on the borderline, should I comply next week, or should I comply, will take a lesson from this that there could be real criminal consequences.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you both.

And next, terrifying new details about one of the 911 calls of a child made to police during the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas.

Plus, a major announcement today in Pennsylvania's razor thin Senate primary, a race that pit Trump-backed Dr. Mehmet Oz against retired hedge fund and treasury executive, David McCormick.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:28:47]

BURNETT: Tonight, without his radio, Police Chief Pete Arredondo, the incident commander during the Robb Elementary School shooting did not have a police radio with him during the massacre. This is according to State Senator Roland Gutierrez whom I'll speak with in just a moment. But we're finding this out as a teacher's aide who was wrongly accused of leaving a door propped open, allowing the gunman in, is now taking legal action.

Omar Jimenez is OUTFRONT in Uvalde.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was supposed to be an end-of-the-year class party, before it became a nightmare.

DON FLANARY, ATTORNEY FOR TEACHER'S AIDE: She saw everything from the time he wrecked, to the time she was taken out of there.

JIMENEZ: Special education aide Emilia Marin was meeting a coworker with food for the party when she saw a car crash. So, her lawyer says she propped the door open, went back inside to get her phone and called 911 to report the accident. Then, she returned to the door. FLANARY: She looks and sees him. He has a weapon that she can't

identify but a big weapon slung over him and he hops over the fence and starts running towards her.

JIMENEZ: So she kicks the door shut.

And she expects it to lock?

FLANARY: Absolutely, she thought it would lock.

[19:30:01]

JIMENEZ: Marin scrambles into a nearby classroom as she begins to hear gunshots.

FLANARY: He's inside now. She hides. The 911 call drops, they don't call her back. She doesn't attempt to call back because she doesn't want to make any noise.

There's some sort of counter that she gets under, but it's exposed. She said at that point she thought she was going to die and she made her peace with death.

JIMENEZ: So she hears every single gunshot.

FLANARY: Every single gun shot.

JIMENEZ: But she was one of the lucky ones who survived. Days later, though, she hears law enforcement say she had left the door the shooter used open.

And she's second-guessing herself?

FLANARY: Right. Yeah. It made her second guess her own memoirs memories and she already spoke to the FBI and the Rangers and told them what happened.

JIMENEZ: The Rangers eventually publicly corrected the record. As community grieves, a flurry of unanswered questions linger, including more about Texas schools police chief Pete Arredondo acting as incident commander during the shooting.

STATE SENATOR ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D), TEXAS: I had been told this person, the incident commander did not have radio communication, and I don't know as to why.

JIMENEZ: That question if the 911 calls were properly relayed to first responders on the scene.

One of those 911 calls came from a 10-year-old student who is inside the classroom and according to transcripts reviewed by "The New York Times", the student said: There is a lot of bodies and I don't want to die. My teacher is dead. My teacher is dead. Please send help.

Send help for my teacher. She is shot but still alive. The call lasted about 17 minutes. Gunfire was heard in the background

at times and the call was made more than 30 minutes after the shooting began, "The Times" reports.

The teaching aide, Emilia Marin now filed legal documents to get a deposition from Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the gun used in the shooting with her attorney saying because the shooter got the weapons on his 18th birthday, he was likely planning the purchases beforehand.

FLANARY: So, his motivations to get that gun was from since he was a minor. Are there, you know, gun companies that are marketing to minors? Is that what they're doing? How many mass shootings do we have to have by 18-year-old men? It's just cookie-cutter. So what are they doing to change?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ (on camera): And it's worth noting that presupposition doesn't formally accuse the gun manufacturer of wrongdoing. Instead, it's looking to investigate whether Emilia Marin has any basis to file a claim against Daniel Defense. Separately tonight, we've been following the first school board meeting, I should say, in Uvalde since the shooting happened.

And parents have been stepping up and sharing their pain about how they've been processing. One mother got there and pleaded with the school board to help keep her son safe saying my son is deathly afraid of school now and the school superintendant said he didn't have any updates on the investigation but reiterated that these students will not be going back to Robb Elementary and will share a plan on what their school and in the future when they have one -- Erin.

BURNETT: Omar, thank you very much.

And I want to go now to Texas sate senator, Democrat Roland Gutierrez.

And, Senator, I appreciate your time again tonight.

What more can you tell me about Chief Arredondo's communications at the school from what you know?

GUTIERREZ: Well, Erin, there's not a whole lot I can tell you. It's pretty sad that I'm here having to break news like I did yesterday. That's not really what my role should be nor what I want it to be, and I don't want to lose sight of what we're really talking about.

Today, I went to a funeral where I saw a little fourth grade girl in a coffin and I consoled her parents as best I could, and I would like the focus to be on that. But I understand the world wants to know where the failures happened. The failures clearly happened with law enforcement at every level.

A real concern with regard to him not having that communication is why in the world does anybody keep suggesting that he's the incident commander if he doesn't have the necessary communications at the time? And so, if indeed, he doesn't have his radio, how in the world are the other law enforcement agencies suggesting that that man is the incident commander?

The folks that are accountable to the legislature are the state troopers. I asked a report of how many there were in that hallway and what time. What I got in oral statement from law enforcement was anywhere between two and 13 officers in that hallway.

Why in the world did they kowtow to Mr. Arredondo or anybody else suggesting that he is the incident commander? None of this makes sense to me. And with all of that, little children might have died that could have been saved.

BURNETT: Yes, I mean when you say how many of them were there and they answer because they are accountable to you in the state legislature, two to 13 of them, two to 13 of them there during that entire time, right, 40-plus minutes while children were killed.

You did tell me last night, Senator, that you had requested the detailed report to get all this information and more, and they -- and that it was not going to be released today.

Do you have any update on that? They told you when you're going to get it?

GUTIERREZ: No, so what I've been told is I am no longer getting reports and neither is the media. That it's now in the hands of the district attorney's office in that region, and that, you know, she is going to be entitled and in charge of the entire investigation going forward from here.

My point as a policy maker, the third function of my job is to make sure this doesn't happen again. How in the world are we going to be able to do anything if we can't figure out what happened in that building in those 40 minutes? The governor wants to talk about school safety. I think that the issues here are bigger than that. How in the world are we going to find out if the school is safe or not if we don't have the information?

The errors that occurred here, the systemic failure, human errors that ended up with this terrible loss of life, everybody is accountable. Every one of those law enforcement agencies that were in the building, including the legislatures and including our governor who has done nothing on this issue, this is now the seventh massacre and he's refused to do anything about this issue.

BURNETT: Senator, I mentioned the 911 call, from a 10-year-old girl, Chloe Torres. She is still alive, thank God, but obviously, so many of her classmates are not.

One of the calls, quote: There's a lot of bodies. I don't want to die, my teacher is dead, my teacher is dead, please send help, send help for my teacher. She is shot, but still alive.

That call lasted 17 minutes. The gunman was still firing during that call. So more people died. What more are you learning, Senator? Do you know anything more about

what happened in that room while police stood outside and heard it for 45 minutes?

GUTIERREZ: What I issued yesterday a press conference probably left more unanswered questions. But again, we need law enforcement to have these briefings, not the local elected official or the senator from the area.

What I know is that the police department dispatched the calls and they have a list of 17 different first responders that they dispatch those calls to, including the school district is on that list, DPS is included on that list. Along with other police, along with sheriff's department and so on, along with the federal government, the CBP.

And so, what we don't know is who those calls were dispatched to. Which of those agencies? We don't even know if those calls were dispatched to the ISD chief, Arredondo. We know he didn't have his radio at this time to be able to get them, whether he was communicated that information or not.

And so, if every one of those officers or those units are receiving those 911 calls, and I've got a very, very big concern. But unfortunately, right now, you and I are not getting that information, and it appears that folks are hiding behind a so-called criminal investigation when I really think that the public and community at large in Uvalde needs to know the very specific answers of how their local law enforcement failed, and how their state law enforcement failed.

BURNETT: Senator, thank you very much, I appreciate you taking the time tonight.

GUTIERREZ: Thank you, ma'am.

BURNETT: And next, Biden, touting the new jobs report. Yet, voters are blaming him for inflation which is getting worse. So what more can Biden do?

And Queen Elizabeth will miss a second day of celebrations for the jubilee as millions across England mark her 70 years on the throne.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:43:14]

BURNETT: New tonight, Republican David McCormick moments ago conceding the Pennsylvania Senate primary to Trump-backed candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz. McCormick acknowledging he's going to come up short in the statewide recount, no claims of fraud and all that kind of business, all just graciously conceding. The news comes as Oz's Democratic opponent, Lt. Governor John Fetterman says today that he, quote, almost died, after he suffered that stroke last month. He adds that it will, quote, take more time to get back on the campaign trail.

Van Jones is OUTFRONT now, former special adviser to President Obama, and, of course, our esteemed political commentator.

So, Van, I want to start there. Obviously, Dave McCormick, you know, just forget the fraud, forget all that, just a gracious concession. It's nice to see that in American politics.

We're now down to Oz and Fetterman in this race. It is going to be one of the most important in the midterms, could decide who controls the Senate. You now have Fetterman, you know, admitting that he almost died. It's going to take more time to get back on the campaign trail.

You got Oz, now, the Republican candidate. This is obviously a crucial race and it is going to be unpredictable.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I mean, this is kind of Hollywood stuff in that, you know, Fetterman is known for being the strong guy, he's strong, he's independent, he says what he means, he means what he says, he dresses like a biker, you know? And now he's in a hospital bed kind of looking weak, that's the one thing you don't want to do is look weak.

So I think, you know, it's making people really nervous. At the same time, you know, the condition that he has, a condition a lot of people have. It's not like he's got something that medical interventions don't make a difference for -- they do. So I think you'll see him back on the campaign trail being the tough, strong guy you expect from him. Democrats need that from him.

[19:45:02]

But this Oz/McCormick showdown, what a nail biter, 970 votes separating Dr. Oz from McCormick. McCormick has to be applauded for being a gentleman. He -- the recount's not over. He said look, I can do math. He's a hedge fund guy.

I can do math, I can't overcome this, I'm going to concede. That shows a depth of character unfortunately, that's been missing. On the other hand, now you have oz.

Nobody is pointing this out, Trump is supporting someone who would be the first Muslim in the U.S. Senate ever but never mentions that. So a very interesting thing. You got a celebrity Muslim against a very unusual, unconventional Democrat. It's going to be a big match-up, but I think it's a big blow to people who backed McCormick, traditional conservatives who thought they could stop Donald Trump.

BURNETT: Right, right, and so many people, listen to all of this, 970 votes, would be just yelling fraud, and it is, you know, I don't want to sit here and say how amazing it is or isn't but I think in the world we live in, it's important to emphasize how significant it is that he's doing the right thing.

This comes, Van, as, when you talk about control of the Senate. President Biden has a problem with the economy, right, and now he gets jobs out in May, 390,000. He says it's excellent. He acknowledges that inflation is a problem today. Here's how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no denying that high prices particularly around gasoline and food are real problem for people. But there's every reason for the American people to feel confident that we'll meet these challenges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Van, Gallup says only 14 percent of Americans say the economy is in good or excellent shape, 85 percent say poor or fair. How alarmed should Biden be?

JONES: Yeah, pretty alarmed I think they are over there.

Here's a problem -- his job numbers are good, but what that means is 300,000 people who were sad last month are happy this month they have a job. But 300 million people who are sad last month still sad because of inflation. In other words, good job numbers are good. You judge the president on that, but they only affect the people who got the job, which is always going to be a minority.

Inflation hits everybody. Inflation picks the pocket of everybody. So you got 300 million sad Americans versus 300,000 happy Americans, that's his problem. So, you know, he's got to do more on inflation.

BURNETT: Yep, and that is, of course, the big crisis. You get those jobs and money isn't going to buy you as much as before. So even that a double-edged sword.

Van, thank you.

JONES: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, Republicans have called the Uvalde school shooting a mental health issue. But when it comes to treating mental health, it does not seem to be a priority in states that lean Republican.

Plus, reactions mixed as Prince Harry and Meghan appear at Queen Elizabeth's platinum jubilee.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:52:10]

BURNETT: Survivors and relatives of victims from both Uvalde and Buffalo shootings are going to testify on Capitol Hill next week. As discussions on gun policy continue, GOP, of course, always focused on mental illness as the root cause of gun violence. So, does it add up?

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the wake of mass shootings, there appears to be a blueprint for some Republican leaders. Brush off talk of gun control -- SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): It's never been about guns.

FOREMAN: Call the killers crazy.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: We need to make it far easier to confine the violent and mentally deranged into mental institutions.

FOREMAN: And insists mental health is what matters.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: We, as a government, need to find a way to target that mental health challenge and do something about it.

FOREMAN: Yet, there is little evidence of top Republican lawmakers broadly supporting such efforts. In a 2017 survey of how much a state's budget goes to mental healthcare, the state that is led the pack went Democratic in the 2020 presidential race, outpacing those that led Republican. In terms of number of adults seeking care, low out of pocket costs and providers per capita, another ranking found not one of those red states in the top 10.

SETH NORRHOLM, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We certainly know as mental health providers that our healthcare system is flawed and the resources not there.

FOREMAN: Neuroscientist Seth Norrholm suggests it's all a bit of a red herring anyway because he says the vast majority of shooters are not mentally ill.

NORRHOLM: In most cases, what you're seeing is planned out. Somebody who is cruel to animals or a history of violence, that's more a personality trait. That's more who they are.

FOREMAN: What's more, the claims are not evenly applied. A study of more than 200 mass shootings found in the media, white shooters were framed as good people suffering from extreme life circumstances and were 19 times more likely to be frame framed as suffering from mental illness compared to Black shooters.

Still, within days of the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings, the beat on the right went on.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Look, Gendron and Ramos were very obviously mentally ill. The people around them knew that.

FOREMAN: And even as Texas faces yet another slaughter, Republican Governor Greg Abbott keeps holding on to that idea.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge, period.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (on camera): Certainly, there are Republican leaders who support mental healthcare and Governor Abbott's office told CNN he's put a lot of funding and effort into it. Yet, when an advocacy group ranked the states in terms of access to mental healthcare, Texas was dead last -- Erin.

BURNETT: Incredible. Tom, thank you.

[19:55:01]

And next, the circumstance of Queen Elizabeth celebrating 70 years on the throne.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Tonight, Queen Elizabeth celebrating 70 years on the throne. She didn't participate in the ceremonies, though, today, staying home after experiencing what they described as discomfort. The rest of the royals were there including Harry and Meghan who were met with mixed reactions.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BURNETT: Here's a look at what we've seen so far in the platinum jubilee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're excited about the jubilee.

(CHEERS)

(MUSIC)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your majesty, congratulations on your platinum jubilee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To salute our majesty for her service, but also the atmosphere brings the nation together, doesn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love the queen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's once in a lifetime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Thanks for joining us.

"AC360" begins now.