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"Mutiny" In Russia Illuminates Vladimir Putin's Authority; Today: Supreme Court Expected To Release New Opinions; LSU Blows Out Florida To Win College World Series. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired June 27, 2023 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:30:10]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This weekend's Wagner Group rebellion in Russia has shattered any preconceived image of President Vladimir Putin and his authority. It's also called into question his political future for the first time in 23 years.
CNN's Randi Kaye has more on his rise to power.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is the ultimate alpha male or at least he'd like the world to believe that. Vladimir Putin always presenting himself as the picture of strength, often shirtless, captured hunting, or taking a submarine down deep in the Black Sea.
Putin was born in October 1952 in what is now St. Petersburg. In 1975, he joined the KGB as an intelligence officer. In 1999, then-President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin prime minister. In 2000, Putin was elected president of Russia. At the time, even President George Bush was impressed though it didn't last.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy.
KAYE (voice-over): Putin was reelected in 2004. By 2008, he'd reached the term limit under Russia's constitution so he got creative and switched jobs with then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. So Medvedev was elected president of Russia and named Putin as prime minister -- a move that raised questions about how much power Medvedev really had.
In office, Medvedev changed the constitution, extending presidential terms from four years to six years before Putin was reelected president again in 2012.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (translated): We have demonstrated that nobody can impose anything on us.
KAYE (voice-over): Putin has ruled Russia for more than two decades and his power is undeniable. He escalated the war in Chechnya, invaded Ukraine, and his government allegedly interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, though he's denied that.
He also allegedly had a hand in disposing of his critics, like former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who died weeks after drinking a cup of poison-laced tea. Litvinenko blamed Putin. The Kremlin denied his involvement.
Still, Putin won his last election in 2018 with more than 76 percent of the vote. His critics have slammed the election as unfair, citing tight control over the media and election monitors. Some critics have suggested Putin has used his reign not to better the lives of the Russian people but to enrich himself through theft and corruption.
Bill Browder, who once invested heavily in Russia, is now one of Vladimir Putin's toughest critics.
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "WATCH GPS": Can you estimate his net worth?
BILL BROWDER, CEO, FINANCIER, POLITICAL ACTIVIST, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, HERMITAGE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Two hundred billion.
KAYE (voice-over): Exact details about Putin's wealth are hard to come by. These photos from inside one of Putin's lavish homes were shared with CNN by an independent Russian journalist who left the country.
ROMAN BADANIN, INDEPENDENT RUSSIAN JOURNALIST: And this man loves gold (INAUDIBLE) and he loves his rich life very much.
KAYE (voice-over): Putin also likes to keep his private life private, but news of his longtime mistress with whom he reportedly has children has made headlines. These are pictures of Putin with Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast who is about 30 years younger than Putin. She and Putin met more than a decade ago but are rarely seen together.
PUTIN: Russia has a long and rich experience.
KAYE (voice-over): Despite his grip on power now suddenly in question Putin is expected to rule at least until 2024 when at age 71 he will end his fourth presidential term. However, he signed legislation in 2021 that would allow him to run for two more terms, which could mean he may be in office until 2036.
Randi Kaye, CNN.
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ROMANS: Remarkable. Thanks, Randi.
All right, a romantic gesture has sparked outrage in Rome. In a tweet, Italy's culture minister calls for a tourist to be sanctioned after he was filmed allegedly carving his name and his fiance's name into the Roman Colosseum. The tweet shows him using keys to carve into the wall of the nearly 2,000-year-old amphitheater. The inscription there reads "Ivan + Haley 23," according to an Italian news agency. The man could face fines or a prison term if convicted. All right. Coming up, the key decisions the Supreme Court is excepted to make in the last week of the summer session. And 2,000 years. A breakdown of the life sentences the convicted Club Q murderer was handed down.
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[05:38:46]
ROMANS: In just a few hours, the Supreme Court is expected to release a new batch of opinions. It is the final week of the summer session. And while we don't know exactly which decisions will come down today, CNN's Jessica Schneider is breaking down all of those big cases the country is waiting for.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We are in the final week of the Supreme Court with the justices set to release a handful of consequential opinions in the coming days.
So, first, the court will weigh in on affirmative action. They'll decide whether colleges and universities can continue to consider race as a factor in the admissions process. Affirmative action has been allowed in most states and at most schools for more than four decades. But many court watchers believe that this conservative court will prohibit the use of race in admissions decisions, drastically changing the way students are admitted to schools across the country.
Next, we are waiting on a decision about whether the Biden administration can implement its student loan forgiveness program. That would wipe out up to $20,000 of debt for potentially millions of borrowers.
Now, the Biden administration did meet a lot of resistance from the justices at the arguments. The conservative justices, in particular -- they pointed to the hefty price tag it costs -- $400 billion. And they also asked if the Department of Education really has the authority to wipe out debt to more than 40 million people. So we should get a final answer by the end of this week.
[05:40:08]
Also, we're waiting for a decision on whether a wedding website designer can refuse to make websites for same-sex couples. She argues that a Colorado law compelling her to serve all customers violates her free speech since she's a writer who only wants to create websites for things that she believes in.
And finally, the Supreme Court could decide whether to adopt a controversial election doctrine called the Independent State Legislature Theory. It does give the ultimate authority over federal elections and the rules to state lawmakers. Now, this was a theory that was pushed by Trump's allies when they tried to overturn the 2020 election and that's why a decision from the Supreme Court could be so consequential on that. So a lot remaining in the final few days of the term and we'll find out more about what those opinions are beginning Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.
Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
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ROMANS: All right, quick hits across America now.
The shooter in the Colorado LGBTQ massacre gets five life sentences plus 2,200 years after pleading guilty Monday. Anderson Aldrich killed five people and injured 19 others at Club Q in 2022.
A convicted murderer in Florida elbows his lawyer just before sentencing. Joseph Zieler was sentenced to death Monday for killing a young girl and her babysitter 33 years ago.
And the CDC is warning about the first locally acquired cases of malaria in the U.S. in 20 years. They have detected five cases over the last two months -- four in Florida and one in Texas.
All right, coming up here on EARLY START, why our next guest says chaos in Russia could actually have a positive effect on the global economy.
And another big win for LSU. The Bleacher Report, next.
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[05:46:05]
ROMANS: All right, your Romans' Numeral this morning, 1.27 million. Americans believe they will need 1.27 million bucks to retire comfortably. Northwestern Mutual says that number had increased from $1.25 million last year. The average amount U.S. adults actually have saved for retirement is just over 89 grand, up three percent from last year.
All right. Looking at markets around the world right now, Asian markets finished mixed. China's premier predicts five percent economic growth there this year. European markets also mixed here this morning, although now I'd say leaning slightly lower.
And on Wall Street, stock index futures barely positive this morning. Markets really unphased by Russia's weekend drama but slipped at the close yesterday, dragged down by tech shares. Tesla shares fell by six percent. Meta and Alphabet also down about two percent each.
Russia, of course, is a major oil producer. Crude oil prices initially rose on signs of instability in Russia but have slipped back. Gas prices have remained low. Gas prices fell a penny overnight to $3.56 a gallon, well below the $4.90 a gallon we saw at this time last year.
On deck today, consumer confidence numbers and new home sales due out later this morning.
All right, let's bring in Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Good morning, Mark.
I wanted to get your thoughts on the weekend drama in Russia. I mean, I guess it's a reminder that Russia's war in Ukraine is bad for the world and very disruptive for global economies.
You write this this weekend. "The global economy would get a big boost if Russia's internal conflict forced it to curtail its war in Ukraine more quickly. The war has done serious economic damage, and while the Western response has cushioned the blow, ending the aggression would lift a dark economic pall."
Is there a chance that a weakened Putin could be good for the resolution of this conflict?
MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ANALYTICS (via Webex by Cisco): Well, good morning, Christine.
Yes. I mean, I think the -- you know, there's a lot of paths this can go down, obviously. The most likely scenario is the status quo -- Putin remains in power. Diminished, but remains in power and continues to prosecute the war. And that's not good. It creates a lot of uncertainty in global energy, agricultural markets, and there's a pall over the global economy. But the global economy has figured out a way around. It's kind of navigating through.
But there is a scenario where this puts tremendous pressure on Putin to wind down and ultimately withdraw from Ukraine. And I think that would be an unambiguous positive -- obviously for the people of Ukraine but for the global economy -- because it lifts that critical uncertainty and stabilizes global commodity prices, oil prices, and that's a big plus for global growth.
Now, obviously, there's other darker paths that we can entertain but I think the more optimistic path is the more likely path.
ROMANS: You mentioned oil prices. They've been relatively stable here. Is that concerns about global growth is keeping demand weak? What is your read on what's happening with oil -- global oil prices.
ZANDI: Yes, its -- that's been great, right? We've had $70 oil per barrel. The price for a gallon of regular unleaded three buck-fifty, still above what it was pre-pandemic but well down from where we were a year ago. We were paying five bucks a gallon at that point -- a record high.
And it goes to demand and supply. As you point out, demand has been soft particularly because the Chinese economy has been kind of struggling here to get off the ground with its end of its no-COVID policy. And China is clearly a big consumer of oil. So if their economy is soft and not consuming oil that keeps more supplies on the market. So that's been -- that's been good.
And then demand here in the U.S. also, Christine, moving in the right direction. If you go before the pandemic we were consuming 21 million barrels of oil a day. Now we're consuming 20 million barrels of oil a day. It goes to lots of different things, including remote work and less commuting.
ROMANS: Yes.
ZANDI: So, less demand, more -- and continue supply -- that means stable oil prices.
[05:50:00]
ROMANS: Mark, you wrote a piece for CNN last week called "Why I'm betting against a U.S. recession." I want to read a line from it. "Consumers are the firewall between recession and a growing economy, and the firewall is holding firm."
This has been the longest recession watch in the history of recession watches and the consumer has continued to surprise us every single time. And the White House is actually sort of positioning this week to really start focusing again about Bidenomics. You know, some big broadband investments, infrastructure spending -- thing that the White House is trying to do show that it's building the economy from the middle out, not the top down.
What's your sense of whether we can really skirt that recession and that -- is the -- are the Biden policies helping?
ZANDI: But I don't want to be Pollyannish. Obviously, in a world of high inflation and a Federal Reserve that's raising interest rates aggressively to quell that inflation, historically, we've landed in a recession. But I think we've got a fighting chance this time to get through without one.
And you point out consumers are really hanging tough for lots of reasons, including a lot of what economists call excess saving -- savings they built up during the pandemic because they couldn't spend and because of government support. The American Rescue Plan being some -- a piece of legislation passed early on in the Biden administration to help the economy.
And I think in -- you know, there's -- you know, pluses and minuses with Biden's economics policies but I think on net, it's a positive. I mean, I think it's unambiguous that we are back to full employment. That means a very low unemployment rate very quickly because of the very aggressive policies.
And I do think things like the infrastructure plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Chips Act which incents semiconductor producers to come back here and produce at home, will help the economy longer-run. I mean, we are left with a larger debt load and I do think that's a longer-term issue. So not an ambiguous plus but I think generally, the economic policies have been -- have been pretty good.
ROMANS: All right, Mark Zandi. Nice to see you this morning. Thank you so much.
ZANDI: Sure thing.
ROMANS: All right. President Biden has announced a $40 billion investment in high-speed internet. It's part of the bipartisan infrastructure plan that was signed into law last year that we were just talking about. President Biden says this funding, along with other federal investments, aims to connect every person in America to reliable internet by the year 2030.
Around 8 1/2 million homes and businesses across the U.S. are not connected to the internet. That's about seven percent of the population.
All right. Ahead on "CNN THIS MORNING" more on the audio obtained by CNN of former President Trump talking about the classified documents he had in his possession.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As president, I could have declassified it --
STAFFER: Yeah.
TRUMP: -- but now I can't, you know? But this is still a secret.
STAFFER: Yeah. Now we have a problem.
TRUMP: Isn't that interesting?
STAFFER: Yeah.
TRUMP: It's so cool.
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ROMANS: All right. The LSU Tigers are the kings of college baseball after blowing out Florida to win the school's seventh national championship.
Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Christine.
So this was quite the wild College World Series. Game one, a thriller that LSU won by one in extra innings. Game two, Florida scored 24 runs in that record-setting blowout. But last night, all LSU in the winner- take-all game three.
Now, the Gators first two batters actually both getting hits and scoring in this one, but Florida then only got three hits the rest of the night.
LSU, meanwhile -- they got their bats going in the second, scoring six runs. They then blew the game wide open, scoring four more in the fourth. LSU, in the end, gets to do that ultimate dogpile as they win their seventh national title -- the first since 2009 -- beating Florida 18-4.
Tiger's ace Paul Skenes, who was amazing in Omaha but didn't have to come in last night -- he was named the World Series Most Outstanding Player.
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PAUL SKENES, COLLEGE WORLD SERIES MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER: It's what I came here to do. It's what all of us came here to do and we did it, so it's extremely gratifying. Yeah, I wanted it and I was available, but the game was not close enough so I didn't end up throwing.
DYLAN CREWS, LSU OUTFIELDER: Oh my gosh. This is what I've dreamed of ever since I was a freshman. This moment right here, holding this trophy, it's the best feeling in the world. I can't -- I can't put words to it. We're champions, baby. Bring it back to LSU. Let's go!
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SCHOLES: All right, and the NHL handing out its awards last night in Nashville. No surprise Connor McDavid went home the big winner, collecting three of the top individual honors, including the coveted Hart trophy for the league's MVP. And McDavid got 195 out of 196 first-place votes. The guy who didn't vote for him first somehow voted for him fifth, which was definitely a headscratcher. McDavid led the NHL in goals, assists, and points last season.
All right. Brittney Griner, meanwhile, has been named as a starter for the WNBA's All-Star Game on July 15 in Las Vegas. This is going to be here ninth appearance and sixth as a starter.
Griner said she's grateful for the honor after missing all of last season while she was detained in Russia.
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BRITTNEY GRINER, NINE-TIME WNBA ALL-STAR NOMINEE: You know, I'm honored to -- any time that I get voted in as an all-star I know it's going to be a great time. I didn't even think it was going to be in this seat, you know, like a while ago. But like I said, I'm just honored to be at All-Star and go down to Vegas and make it a good one.
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SCHOLES: All right. And finally, check out this moment from the European Athletics Team Championships. So, Belgian shot putter Jolien Boumkwo filling in for an injured teammate in the 100-meter hurdles. Boumkwo not exactly demonstrating expert form here but she was all smiles after finishing well behind the other competitors.
And she spoke with CNN's Don Riddell about this unique experience.
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JOLIEN BOUMKWO, THROWS SHOT PUT FOR BELGIUM: In my head, it looks a bit more elegant than what I -- what I seen on the video. But it could be worse as well. So I'm just happy that I have a touchable memory of a great moment like that.
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[06:00:18]
SCHOLES: Yes, what a team player there, Christine.
ROMANS: Yes.
SCHOLES: It would have been disqualified if it had not been for Jolien stepping up.
Romans: Oh, my gosh -- and the hurdles are terrifying even when you know what you're doing.
SCHOLES: They are.
ROMANS: But good for her. Good for her.
All right. Thanks, Andy Scholes.
SCHOLES: All right.
ROMANS: Thanks for joining me. I'm Christine Romans. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
