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Tornado Hits Texas Panhandle, One of 7 Reported; Jury to Resume Deliberations in Synagogue Shooting; U.S. Government Agencies Hit in Global Cyberattack; GOP Struggles to Back Up Biden "Bribery" Accusation. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 16, 2023 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:08]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now on EARLY START, a deadly tornado levels part of a town in the Texas panhandle.

Plus, the death penalty case against a synagogue mass shooter now in the hands of a Pittsburgh jury.

And the U.S. Supreme Court just hours away from issuing new rulings as student debt relief and affirmative action hang in the balance.

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ROMANS: Welcome to our viewers in the United States around the world. Happy Friday, everybody. It is Friday. I'm Christine Romans.

We begin, though, with the far north end of the Texas panhandle.

The National Weather Service confirming a tornado strike in the small town of Perryton, Texas. The twister plowed a trail of destruction right through the heart of that city. Perryton's fire chief confirming at least three deaths and damage to as many as 200 homes. A nearby hospital says that it treated 50 to 100 people for injuries, including collapsed lungs, head injuries, and broken bones. Cleanup is, of course, underway.

Congressman Ronny Jackson who represents Perryton is asking people to help anyway they can.

I want to bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam in the CNN Weather Center.

Derek, this was just one of seven tornadoes reported Thursday, along with, what, nearly 200 storms. Are we looking at anything like this for today?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, unfortunately, Christine, we have another active day ahead of us. The tornadoes in Texas are absolutely devastating to see. And let's focus on the more immediate threat, what's happening now.

We have severe thunderstorm watches stretching from Texas through to Louisiana, all the way to the Gulf Coast. Flash flood warnings, tornado warnings, let's get to that tornado warning which is in the Florida panhandle. You can see it just west of the Branford region. This is near the Big Bend of Florida. There is Tallahassee. Here is Jacksonville for that geographical perspective.

This is valid through the next 15 minutes or so, as we've been monitoring the storm all morning. This is part of the larger, severe weather setup that we have, a slight risk that is at level two of five from the Gulf Coast, stretching all the way Little Rock. Notice, too, the other areas across Kansas, eastern sections of Colorado, under the threat of severe weather today.

The other weather story that we're covering is the massive amounts of rain that have fallen, over a foot of rain has taken place just outside the Pensacola region. This is from the storm system that is over the tray same area, a storm that produced rainfall over the same locations for several hours. Some of that rainfall occurring within a three hour time span.

This is a radar estimated rainfall total over the next two days, you can see the southeast has been in a very unsettled weather pattern, but focusing in on Pensacola. Pensacola Beach, look at this, unconfirmed reports, of 10 to 15 inches of rain, where you see that shading of a pink and white. That is a dangerous and life-threatening amount of precipitation in such a short period of time. National weather service picking up on that, social media show some of the flash flooding that is ongoing.

By the way, flash flood warning particularly dangerous situation. That is valid through 5:45 this morning. And this is part of a broader picture here. You can see the flash flood watches that are in place across the south, a few other flash flood warnings associated with that storm. That is producing a tornado across the Big Bend.

But going back to parenting Texas, just, Christine, seeing some of the aerial footage of the devastation there, heartbreak for the people this morning about what they're going to find when they see first light.

ROMANS: Yeah, it really does. All right. Thank you so much for that, Derek, and will brace for today, too.

All right. A federal jury resumes deliberating this morning in the trial of Robert Bowers, the man accused of killing 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018. The jury started deliberations on Thursday after hearing closing arguments from prosecutors and an attorney for Bowers.

CNN's Danny Freeman has more for us this morning from Pittsburgh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sacred house of worship turned into a hunting ground. That's how federal prosecutors describe the Tree of Life Synagogue as they began closing arguments Thursday morning. The prosecution detailed the brutal executions of each of 11 worshippers, six of whom were shot in the head, and recalled the chaotic morning captured by 911 calls and body camera video.

All to prove their case that defendant Robert Bowers killed Jewish people just because they were Jewish. The prosecution brought up a testimony of worshipper Dan Leger, the nurse who said he instinctively rushed toward the gunfire that morning but was shot in the stomach. He lay on these stairs pretending to be dad and prayed his yarmulke falling off his head. Body camera evidence showed first responders carrying Leger to safety.

The prosecution also spoke about 97-year-old Rose Mallinger, and how the grandmother had with her daughter Andrea underneath the pew, Bowers sought them out and deliberately shot both of them, killing Rose.

The prosecution said motive stemmed from years of anti-immigrant and antisemitic online posts made by Bowers, leading up to the shooting, and his admission to police that day that, quote, all Jews had to die.

[05:05:09]

In his closing argument, the defense did not dispute that Bowers killed the 11 worshippers, and wounded six other people. Instead Bowers' attorneys attempted to reframe his motives, saying Bowers killed these worshippers not because they were Jewish, but because one congregation supported a refugee resettlement group. The defense argued, hatred of immigrants motivated the attack, while acknowledging his statements to police about those motives were unexpected, shocking, and irrational.

While the most graphic pieces of evidence were not made public, the pictures released tell the story. Bullet holes in a memorial wall, shattered windows, a gun near a bloody children's book. And this prayer book, pierced by the gunman.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: A worldwide hacking spree by Russian cyber criminals has now hit the federal government. Senior officials say the Russian hackers have not made any ransom demands, meaning it is unclear what their motive is.

More now from CNN's Natasha Bertrand in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Several U.S. federal government agencies have been hit in the global cyberattack in which hackers have managed to exploit a flaw in a widely used software. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told CNN on Thursday that it is, quote, providing support to several agencies which have experienced intrusions affecting their movement applications and is, quote, working urgently to understand impacts and timely remediation.

Now, Move It a widely used file transfer software that hackers appeared to have found a vulnerability in earlier this year and began exploiting in late May. Progress, the U.S. firm that owns the Move It software, has now urged victims to update their software packages and has issued security advice.

Now, so far, the U.S. Department of Energy is the only federal agency to confirm publicly that it was hit, saying in a statement that records from two of its entities were compromised and that the department is investigating the incident.

But, look, the hackers have used the vulnerability not only to target federal agencies but state governments and academic institutions, including Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Georgia statewide university system.

In terms of who is behind the hack, a Russian-speaking ransomware group known as Clop last week claimed credit for some of the cyberattacks which have also affected employees of the BBC, British Airways, oil giant Shell, and state governments in Minnesota and Illinois among others.

But the Russian hackers were the first to exploit the vulnerability, experts say that other groups may now have access to a software code that is needed to conduct the attacks and are simply taking advantage of it. So, broadly, the new hacking campaign really shows the widespread impacts that a single software flaw can have if it is exploited by these skilled criminals and putting new pressure on federal officials who have pledged to combat the ransomware attacks that have hobbled schools, hospitals and local governments across the U.S.

Natasha Bertrand, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Republicans on Capitol Hill seem to be of two minds about audio recordings purportedly made by foreign nationals who allegedly bribed then Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Many Republicans are demanding answers from the FBI about these supposed tapes, and simultaneously, admitting that they do not know if these tapes even exist.

CNN's Sara Murray explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: A bold and unsubstantiated claim from a senior Senate Republican.

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA): The foreign national who allegedly bribed Joe and Hunter Biden allegedly has audio recordings of his conversation with them, 17 such recordings.

MURRAY: Even prompting members of his own party to pump the brakes. SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): I'm not aware that we have verified that

those recordings exist.

MURRAY: Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says a foreign national has audiotapes of Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, related to an alleged bribery scheme involving the foreign national when Biden was vice president. The existence of the tape allegedly documented in an FBI document known as an FD-1023.

GRASSLEY: These recordings were allegedly kept as the sort of insurance policy for the foreign national in case that he got into a tight spot.

MURRAY: Now, Grassley tells CNN even he isn't sure if the tapes are real.

GRASSLEY: I just know they exist because of what the report says. Now, maybe they don't exist. But how will I know until the FBI tells us, are they showing us their work?

MURRAY: This as fellow Republicans question the legitimacy of the tape and the foreigner making these salacious claims.

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): I don't know if they are legit or not but we know the foreign national claims that he has them.

JOHNSON: This could be coming from a very corrupt oligarch who could be making this stuff up.

COMER: The Committee on Oversight and Accountability will come to order.

[05:10:03]

MURRAY: The tapes of the latest unverified allegation Republicans have raised as they investigate the Biden family's business dealings, and the work of the FBI.

When these allegations came to light under the Trump administration, then Attorney General Bill Barr tapped Pittsburgh U.S. Attorneys Scott Brady to look into them. Investigators were unable to corroborate the claims.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): It was thoroughly checked out by the Trump Justice Department and they couldn't find anything there.

MURRAY: But some of the allegations were passed along to Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who is overseeing an ongoing criminal investigation into Hunter Biden.

BILL BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: It was provided to the ongoing investigation in Delaware to follow up on.

MURRAY: On Capitol Hill this week, the FBI's deputy director refused to discuss the tapes.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Do you have those 17 recordings?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to comment on any investigative matters, Senator.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY (on camera): Now, the FBI has repeatedly stressed that this form at the center of the FD-1023s, they document unverified allegations. As for the White House, it has dismissed these claims against Joe Biden in a statement. White House spokesperson says that everything in their so-called investigation seems to be mysteriously missing. Informants, audiotapes, and most importantly of all any credible evidence.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

ROMANS: All right. Sara, thank you for that. And just a short time ago, Pope Francis emerged from a Rome hospital and headed home. The 86-year-old pontiff that you can see here was wheeled out of the hospital where he spent more than a week following abdominal surgery.

CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau is live in Rome for us.

Barbie, what we know about the pope's current condition and how did he seem to you?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, he looked pretty good and that is, of course, considering that he is 86 years old, he's got multiple health problems and you just spent ten days in the hospital. But he was very animated, he was greeting well-wishers, he was talking to the press, thanking the press for their service. You know, he expressed a lot of pain for a recent shipwreck of migrants in the Mediterranean.

You know, he was himself, very much. We assume that he is obviously going to have to recover for a while but we were told that he will be, on Sunday, delivering his angelus at that noon prayer where he blesses the people who gathered in St. Peter's Square.

So, if he's ready to do that, we expect that he is ready to get back to work. This is the pope that's hard to keep down, you know, the second abdominal surgery that he has had in two years, the second hospitalization in the hospital behind me in this year alone.

So, you know, 86 years old and he's doing pretty good, I have to say, considering all that he has been through. And so, we are all hoping, of course, that recovery continues so that he can keep his busy schedule up -- Christine.

ROMANS: Yeah, very busy schedule.

All right. Barbie, thank you so much for that.

Just ahead, what Republicans and Democrats could do if the Supreme Court strikes down student loan relief. That's as early as today.

Plus, the one investigation Donald Trump doesn't have to worry about anymore.

And we are now just hours away from finding out f UPS delivery workers will soon walk off the job.

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[05:17:04]

ROMANS: Welcome back.

The Supreme Court could rule as early as today on a pair of legal challenges brought by Republican led states against President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. Borrowers could see up to $20,000 in debt relief.

CNN's Karin Caifa has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARIN CAIFA, CNN REPORTER: This is when we really start eyeing the Supreme Court for its final major opinions of the term, and one of those rulings will impact millions of Americans. Their decision on President Biden's student loan forgiveness program. But, no matter the outcome and the court, federal student loan borrowers do have some work to do in the coming weeks.

(voice-over): The Department of Education offering clarity for federal student loan borrowers. Student loan interest will resume on September 1st and payments will resume in October, definitively ending the pandemic cause that started in March 2020. For some, it will mean a major shift in budgeting.

JAYLOR HERBIN, CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING: A lot of this were using this for everyday use for -- to repay car bills, get their car fixed, home improvements, there are a lot of things that have happened in these three years.

CAIFA: Jaylor Herbin of the Center for Responsible Lending says borrowers use the summer months to get their finances in order.

HERBIN: It is enough time for you to reach out to those servicer and ask the questions that she was asked. How will this impact me? What are the changes that will take place from what previously took place? Or I'm a new graduate, what do we need to know about my account? How can I make sure that I do not go into default?

CAIFA: The Department of Education says that it will be in direct communication with borrowers before repayments are due. Borrowers are also waiting to see if the Biden administration student loan forgiveness program can legally move forward. Two lawsuits accusing the Biden White House of overreach reached the Supreme Court, their ruling is imminent. The Biden administration estimates that more than 40 million low and middle income federal student loan borrowers would qualify for some debt cancellation.

No debt has been canceled, it almost 16 million eligible borrowers have approved for relief by the government last year. If the court strikes down the plan, it's possible the Biden administration would go back to try to make some changes and try again, though that could take several months.

In Washington, I'm Karin Caifa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: It will be a big change for millions of people. So, what's going to happen with student debt payments? That's the question at the top of mind for millions Americans.

Let's bring in Mary Jo Terry, cofounder of Yrefy, a student loan refinancing company.

So, so good to see you here this morning. We're waiting for the Supreme Court to make a decision on this, but since March 2020, it has been out of sight, out of mind for millions of student loan borrowers.

So that is likely to change soon, right?

MARY JO TERRY, CO-FOUNDER, YREFY: Absolutely, it is anticipated that student loan payments will go back into effect, with borrowers having to make payments as early as August, the beginning of September. For those of you who have not looked at student loan payments that have allocated this debt elsewhere, it's a good idea to go to studentaid.gov, look at who your servicer is, how it's changed, as well as what your monthly payment is going to be. That could have a dramatic impact on your household.

ROMANS: A few days ago, Senate Republicans introduced this slate of bills to tackle student loan debt.

[05:20:05]

So, you know, many Republicans have been against the Biden plan all along, but it seems as though they are at least recognizing that this is a mountain of debt that is a problem for so many middle class Americans. What's the gist of their package?

TERRY: They actually introduced five bills and in each of the bills is actually focused at the university level to limit the amount of parent plus and grand plus loans that are available to try to limit the amount of borrowing required. Streamline the number of repayment options so that you basically pay based on your household expense, or just strictly a standard and really create bills that will require the -- school to form you as you go along.

As a freshman, sophomore, junior -- know what you're s, know your payment duration is, know what you should expect. And also really requiring schools to be a little bit more accountable in their reporting on grad rates, success rates, degrees, as well as limiting colleges and universities integrate programs for having to spend the amount of debt that they know that degree will never pay back. So that is really kind of the gist of the Republicans five bills that are sitting out there. ROMANS: We also heard from a group of Democrats this week including

Bernie Sanders for this College For All Act that was first conceived back in 2015. Essentially, I guess, it would be making taxes on Wall Street trades to pay for debt relief.

TERRY: Yeah, the idea is actually to double Pell grant. So for the lowest earning individuals in the U.S. they probably would not have to pay for college, it would essentially be covered. They also want to create grant programs at the state level. Each state has different requirements and different social and economic needs and gives them an opportunity to create programs to make students in their state to successful. And actually tax, to your point Wall Street all tax stock trades, bonds, and other securities so that they can create a fund where if you want to go to community college, essentially a free community college option for all.

ROMANS: You know, it's interesting though, Mary Jo, because underlying all of this is just skyrocketing inflation and cost for the college experience. So any of these plans actually lower the underlying problem which is that kids are taking out too much debt?

TERRY: Well, what they are trying to do with the Republican plan is grad plus loans. If you do not have access to grad plus loans, it's going to force the price of grad programs down because you do not have that access to funding. They are trying to go at it at that level. They are also trying to make sure that you have the ability to compare one institution to another institution, one college to another college, community college versus a four year private, so you can understand how much debt you are going to get into.

They are going to increase interest counseling so that you absolutely have to acknowledge what you are taking on, whether it is grants, scholarships, or debt. In either program, it is great that this is in the headlines because student loan debt is a huge national issue and it needs to be addressed, whether through the Supreme Court or any place in the Senate.

ROMANS: Yeah, we know the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that one in five borrowers have underlying factors -- risk factors for not being able to pay on time. That's a problem. That's a big group of people.

Mary Jo Terry of Yrefy, thank you so much.

TERRY: Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. Quick hits across America now.

A federal grand jury has formally indicted former airman Jack Teixeira on charges of posting classified national security documents on social media sites. He remains in custody.

A tragic fire inside an RV has killed five dogs, all boxers, just ahead of this weekend's kennel club dog show in Tampa. No word on what caused that fire. The Westchester County D.A. has closed the criminal probe into the

Trump golf course into New York without filing charges. Prosecutors have been looking into whether the club tried to improperly lower its tax burden.

All right. Coming up, the mysterious deaths of a California couple at a hotel in Mexico, and later today, for the first time, a Biden cabinet official heads to China.

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[05:28:48]

ROMANS: The Greek Coast Guard reporting they have now arrested nine crew members who are on the migrant boat that sank off the coast of Greece Wednesday. They are accused of human trafficking. It comes as hopes of finding more survivors dwindle this morning. Seventy-eight people were killed, hundreds are still missing, including children. Reports of up to 40 children in the haul of that boat.

CNN's Melissa Bell joins us live from Kalamata, Greece.

It's just awful. This must be one of the worst disasters in the Mediterranean. Tell us what is happening with the rescue right now.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, the Greek authorities are describing it, Christine, as the worst tragedy, the biggest emergency operation they have had to carry it out off the coast over the last few years. And it is the scale, of course, 750 people are now believed to have been on that boat that went down in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It's now been more than 48 hours, as you, say it's unlikely that any more survivors will be found.

Most of those who survived have now been taken to Athens, they left this morning, with at least one or two able to be reunited through a fence, with family members who have come to see if their loved ones were amongst those who made it out. But it is the tales they brought back with him that are particularly harrowing.

You mentioned, Christine, that figure of 40 children believed by the United Nations to have been on board.