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New Day Saturday

President Biden Holds Talks With South Korea's President Yoon; Russia Claims Control Of Battered Steel Plant; Biden Shifts Foreign Policy Focus To Asia Hoping To Counter China; Parents Struggle To Locate Formula For Baby Born Premature; January 6 Committee Probing Capitol Tour GOP Rep. Gave On Eve Of Attack; Low Oil Tank Levels: Signs Of A Shortage Higher Diesel Prices; Buffalo Reflects On Stories Of Survival And Acts Of Heroism In Racist Mass Shooting. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired May 21, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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


[07:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To, to kind of do our part and try to help out in any way possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Buffalo feels like family and it won't be easy, but this city will bounce back. Boris and Amara, I'll leave you with something that bills legend, Bruce Smith, said while visiting the site this week, he said, I bet you this racist didn't count on the outpouring of love and the strengthening of the community is taking place right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And a few people know how much the bills mean to that community like you do, Coy Wire. Thanks for sharing that story with us, Coy. The next hour of NEW DAY starts right now.

Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. I'm Boris Sanchez.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker in for Christi Paul. President Biden steps onto the world stage, meets with his South Korean counterpart to strengthen their alliances in the tensions in the region with North Korea, back at home his domestic challenges are mounting.

SANCHEZ: One of them includes the baby formula shortage. We have parents this morning that share their story as they struggle to find supply for their premature baby.

WALKER: And the January 6th Committee zeroes in on a GOP congressman over a tour he gave of the Capitol complex the day before the insurrection.

SANCHEZ: Plus, a scorcher of a weekend over 35 million people bracing for record hot temperatures. We're going to break down your forecast and tell you what you can expect. We begin with a crucial overseas trip for President Biden. The

president in Seoul, South Korea on a visit aimed at shoring up us alliances and strengthening economic ties.

WALKER: Mr. Biden arrived at the state dinner in Seoul just moments ago giving a toast. This is his first trip to Asia as president. He met with South Korea's newly elected president, Yoon Suk-Yeol, earlier today, telling him that the ties between the U.S. and South Korea have never been stronger or more vital.

SANCHEZ: The president's trip comes as he faces myriad problems back home from the shortage of baby formula to spiking inflation and now rising COVID cases. High on the president's overseas agenda: the North Korean nuclear threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's critically important that we have a very close trilateral relationship including economically as well as, as militarily.

Today, President Yoon and I, committed to strengthening our close engagement and worked together to take on challenges of regional security, including addressing the threat posed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea by further strengthening our deterrence posture and working toward a complete denuclearization of the peninsula, of the Korean peninsula.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: In a joint statement, Mr. Biden and South Korean President Yoon said they agreed to expand joint military exercises as a deterrence against Kim Jong-un in North Korea. The decision, a reversal from the Trump administration, which scaled back exercises on the Korean peninsula. Let's go now live to Seoul, South Korea and CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins there. I know it's after 8:00 p.m. there in Seoul. Kaitlan, tell us more about the significance of this announcement that the U.S. and South Korea are planning to expand these joint military exercises.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it tells you two things. One, which President Biden just noted upon his arrival at this state dinner, which really the first stop making South Korea the first stop, shows that they, he does want to revitalize these ties between South Korea and the United States -- something a relationship really that had deteriorated under former President Trump, something he says he wants to work on while he's here, but also, showcasing support against North Korea.

And a firm commitment with South Korea as they say that there is a rising concern given the fact that U.S. intelligence has assessed there could be a missile test while President Biden is on the ground here in the region. And so, that's how they talked about this commitment of not only continuing these joint military exercises, but potentially expanding them and this is what the South Korean president said that meant to him earlier today. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOON SUK-YEOL, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA (through translation): We're seeing North Korea advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities. And President Biden and I, shared grave concerns and more than anything else. We believe that this is something that merits our utmost attention. The key to our combined defense capability is the combined military exercises and we are going to step up our exercises and we will be coordinating between ourselves regarding the deployment of U.S. strategic military assets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:00]

COLLINS: And that is a South Korean president that we should know has just been elected, he has only been in office for a matter of days and one of his first major events is hosting the president of the United States here. Of course, this is a visit that is going to continue tomorrow before President Biden then heads on to Tokyo, where he's going to meet with the Japanese leaders -- that is going to be another major aspect of this visit.

One thing I should note, while President Biden was on the ground here in Seoul today, he did sign that $40 billion aid package, a massive aid package, that the United States is sending to Ukraine, mainly to send them more weapons as they are continuing to defend themselves against this Russian invasion. That was a bill that actually had to be flown here to Seoul for the President's signature. He did so off camera today, but the White House has confirmed that he signed that bill, Boris and Amara.

SANCHEZ: An important moment happening as the president visits Asia. Kaitlan Collins from Seoul, thank you so much.

Let's pivot to Europe now because as President Biden is shifting his focus, Russia's war against Ukraine rages on. Russia is claiming it is now in complete control of that as Azovstal steel plant and Mariupol that had been the last stronghold for Ukrainian fighters in that area.

WALKER: CNN National Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us now live from Lviv. Suzanne, please bring us up to speed on the latest developments at that steel plant and elsewhere, if you will.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The latest development, I just really want to bring this forward here is that President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, just in a TV broadcast interview moments ago, has said that he is vowing to end this war with diplomacy. Certainly, not indicating a surrender of any sort, but his intention and his will to end this carnage that is happening here to his people in Ukraine.

Now just to underscore that one of the wives of the Ukrainian military, and a soldier having left that facility the steel plant, saying that her husband leaves one hell to go to another hell. A lot of concern over the whereabouts and what happens, the fate of those individuals. But Russian officials giving us the statistics that CNN cannot independently confirm that more than 500 had evacuated that plant yesterday, that essentially the plant was empty.

Again, we cannot confirm that that in fact is the case. But there are more than 2000, who have evacuated some seriously wounded at a hospital under Russian control, most of them in a Russian-controlled detention center nearby. Again, the Russian officials say that they will treat them in accordance with international law in a humanitarian way, but at the same time, say that some of these individuals will be interrogated and potentially move on to be tried for potential crimes.

And so, a lot of concern over just the fate of those Ukrainian soldiers now in Russia's hands, but clearly a win for Russia in terms of achieving one of its goals -- getting from Russia creating that land bridge across Russian-backed territory onto Crimea and then on to the sea. And so, the fighting however, still continues.

I want you to see this video, particularly, this is out of the Kharkiv region, this is a cultural center, a cultural center that was blown up, a target of the Russians here. The President Zelenskyy, so angry, saying this is absolute evil, absolute stupidity, calling that seven injured, that building demolished, and still, we look to the east where the fighting continues.

WALKER: Absolute evil. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you very much for your reporting.

Joining us now to dive deeper into President Biden's challenges on the world stage is CNN Global Affairs Analyst Aaron David Miller, he is a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment. A good morning to Aaron, thanks so much for being with us this morning. So, you know, as we know, President Biden shifting his foreign policy focus to Asia, of course, he's been preoccupied as much of the world has with Ukraine. First off, tell us big picture here. What's the big goal? What are the priorities? What does he want to achieve while he's in Asia?

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think there are three, three priorities -- and number one is to reinforce existing bilateral security commitments. We have treaty alliances with both South Korea and Japan, they're critically important. They're also among the world's largest economies. That's number one.

Number two is to expand existing cooperation in an effort to -- the administration doesn't want to admit it, but in an effort to actually counter and blunt the rise of China and this can be achieved through the meeting of the Quad, which will occur in Tokyo with the president. And the president will unveil a new economic initiative the Indo-Pac, Indo Pacific Economic Framework, which is not a traditional treaty -- excuse me, economic trade agreement, but it is an effort to, to rope others into dealing with Israel like digital infrastructure, infrastructure, and climate. So, that's the second.

[07:10:17]

And the third is to have goals that are realistic, because this is a complicated region. You have a North Korea that is on the verge, perhaps of launching another ballistic missile. And you have countries that really don't want to choose -- make, make clear choices between the United States and China. South Korea is one, because China is their largest trading partner. So, I think the administration will, will because they're in friendly territory, come away with some, some successes here. But I think the road ahead is going to continue to be quite challenging.

WALKER: Let's talk about China then for a moment because obviously, one of the goals, as you're mentioning is for Biden to say, hey, look, you know, we are committed to countering what we see as a growingly assertive China. What do you think the message is for China, especially as you know, Russia, has invaded Ukraine in what is an unprovoked war? And of course, there are concerns. I've heard experts make parallels to that and to, you know, the potential of, you know, China's aggression in Taiwan?

MILLER: Well, I think we have to get over the notion that, that the -- you use the word pivot, pivot implies that you're turning from one parameter to another. And I think what Ukraine demonstrated not only so far, the solidity of a Russian Chinese Alliance, but the United States and its allies are going to have to figure out a way to basically to do a twofer to confront, contain, and if possible, cooperate with, with two countries that are determined allied with one another -- China and Russia -- and determined to oppose U.S. influence in many parts of the world.

So, I think the, the idea of containing China, a country, I think, that wants not to overturn the existing system, but to play a pre- eminent role in it is going to be the priority, but at the same time of Ukraine war, it's not going to end early and it likely may not end well. It's going to continue for quite some time, and administration is going to have to figure out a way to do both.

WALKER: Yes. Well, you talk about doing a twofer, though, are you concerned, you know, especially as a world has been so focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and what we've been seeing is this ramp up of missile tests by North Korea? You know, how big is that threat right now?

MILLER: The threat of an actual launch of intercontinental ballistic missile launched with a nuclear warhead against the United States, I think the chances of that is small. The reality is North Korea is a de facto, we haven't recognized it, and won't, a nuclear weapons state. And the best you're going to be able to do over time, even if you commit yourself to denuclearization as a longtime goal is to constrain and restrain that threat.

So, there are no easy fixes here. It'll be interesting to see this huge outbreak of COVID in North Korea, whether or not and they're now publicly admitting it, whether or not this might provide an opening for the United States and other countries -- the South Koreans have also offered in an effort to, to get Kim Jong-un into some sort of opening. But I think at the moment, Amara, he's not interested in diplomacy, he's interested in demonstrating that he's there, he can hurt the United States and its allies. And we don't have a solution to that problem for now, other than deterrence, and perhaps at some point diplomacy. WALKER: Yes, a lot on his plate for President Biden on this first trip to Asia as president. Aaron David Miller, appreciate you this morning. Thanks so much.

MILLER: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Now to a CNN exclusive. Marine Veteran, Trevor Reed, who was recently freed after nearly three years in a Russian prison, is speaking out about what he suffered. He talked to CNN's Jake Tapper about the extreme conditions he lived under describing blood and waste on the walls of a cell he was in with known killers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: What was the worst conditions that you, that you had that you experienced during that time? T

TREVOR REED, MARINE VETERAN: The psychiatric treatment facility, I was in there with seven other prisoners in the south. They all had severe serious psychological health issues. Most of them, so over 50 percent of them in that cell were in there for murder, or like multiple murders, sexual assault and murder. Just really disturbed individuals. And inside of that, so you know, that was not a good place. There's blood all over the walls. There were prisoners had killed themselves or killed other prisoners or attempted to do that.

[07:15:10]

The toilets just a hole in the floor and there's, you know, crap everywhere, all over the floor on the walls. There's people in there also that walk around -- they look like zombies.

TAPPER: Were you afraid of your life?

REED: I mean, I did not sleep there for a couple of days. So, I was too, too worried about you know who was in the cell with me to actually sleep.

TAPPER: You thought they might kill you?

REED: Yes, I thought that was a possibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Russian officials have defended the conditions that Trevor was kept in as satisfactory or in line with Russian law. It's a conversation you will not want to miss and you won't find it anywhere else. A special report, "FINALLY HOME: THE TREVOR REED INTERVIEW" airs tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

WALKER: And still to come this morning, the U.S. is stepping up shipments and production to get baby formula to millions of American families, but those still struggling to find formula say it's coming a little too late.

Plus, the community in mourning. We return to Buffalo a week after a gunman went on a racially motivated rampage as the first victims were laid to rest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:30]

WALKER: So, the FDA admits it will be weeks before baby formula gets back to normal supply levels, but it adds families may see the situation improving in the coming days with the string of developments. In an unusual move, the Defense Department is directing a military plane to leave some time this weekend to transport the first pallets of baby formula the U.S. procured from overseas.

SANCHEZ: European formula maker, Danone, announced it is stepping up production for its specialty formulas. Meantime, U.K.-based, Reckitt, which is the second largest maker of formula in the United States, specified it's increasing production by 35 percent. And the FDA says that it's in touch with clinics preparing to hospitalized kids due to a lack of specialty formula.

WALKER: And this just into our newsroom: President Biden just signed a new bill into law in response to the severe shortage. It allows the waiver of certain program requirements in the special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children known as WIC.

SANCHEZ: Our next guests are struggling to feed their baby because of the formula shortage. It's become nearly impossible to find the special kind of formula their baby needs because she was born three months early. Joining us now are Mac and Emily Jaehnert. Thank you both for sharing part of your weekend with us. First, congratulations on McKenzie, she looks adorable. She's overcome so much already, right? She spent more than 100 days in the NICU. I'm wondering what this process of finding formula for her has been like?

MAC JAEHNERT, FATHER OF A NEW BORN BABY: It's been a frustrating, heartbreaking, unnecessary challenge for a kid who's already overcome so much.

SANCHEZ: And practically, what does that look like? I've seen you Mac going to half a dozen stores looking for formula and coming up empty.

M. JAEHNERT: Yes, there are no cans of NeoSure on, on store shelves in the state of Washington. I have put 1000 miles on my car in the last week trying to find cans of NeoSure for my baby and for the parents of other premature children in our community, and there's none to be found. This is a specialty formula that you cannot, you cannot switch babies from -- you know, medically fragile children, from one specialty formula to another on a whim without having significant consequences and ramifications that, you know, we're very worried about right now and a lot of parents who are completely out are facing right now.

SANCHEZ: Emily, help us understand what that's like, this specific kind of formula is something her doctors have prescribed. What do you fear might happen if she doesn't get it?

EMILY JAEHNERT, MOTHER OF A NEW BORN BABY: I fear that she'll fall off of her growth chart more than she already is hanging on to it. I fear that she'll, you know, have upset stomach that it won't sit well with her, that she won't get the nutrition that she needs, that this particular formula right now is providing for her. So, if you switch up those essential vitamins, those essential things that are in that formula for something that isn't necessarily going to help her grow and help her stay healthy, I don't know what that would do to my child -- and that is terrifying.

SANCHEZ: And so, what's your message to lawmakers as they try to tackle this problem? From what I've read and reports, it seems like something that's been building up for some time.

M. JAEHNERT: That's what we're hearing too. And if that's the case, I would really love for someone to figure out why we weren't warned. As the parents of premature kids, you know, who are dependent on this product, we were not warned in any way proactively by the manufacturer, you know, by, by anyone who is in a position to know, and who know that a critical shortage was coming. This absolutely blindsided us. So, who -- when, when did they know and why weren't we warned of this shortage, because it has put a lot of families in a really devastating position.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no question. I can hear the emotion in your voice. I can't imagine what you're going through. It doesn't sound even though we just outlined things that are being done to help the situation, it doesn't sound like there's an easy solution within the next few weeks, if not months, what's your plan what happens if, if you can't get the formula?

[07:25:09]

M. JAEHNERT: You know, I don't know, at the moment, we're going to have to consider all of our options, and some of those options are really bleak. Our daughter is on the first percentile of the growth chart. She cannot afford to fall any lower. So, finding -- we need to find baby formula that, that she can take that has the requisite amount of calories, and that is in very short supply right now. Even if it comes back, there is, there are costs to transition babies from one formula to the other, and we're dead -- we're terrified about what that could do to a kid who is just barely hanging on from being out of the hospital right now.

SANCHEZ: I'm so scared for you, and our heart goes out to you. I'd like to keep in contact to make sure that you get the help that you need, and we keep our viewers informed of how they might be able to even help you. Is there any message you'd like to share with people watching about what they might be able to do?

M. JAEHNERT: You know, if you have any cans of NeoSure in your closet, if you're, if you're a former parent of a preemie who's trans, their kid has transitioned on to solids, you know, donate it to a food bank. We've been fortunate to get our story out there, and we have people who have offered to send us cans and we know that help is on the way specifically to us.

But that is not the case for most parents who are dealing with this right now. So, if you can, if you can find some, donate it, make sure that whatever supply exists right now gets to the people who need it most before they expire. It's, it's just really tragic, and I can't believe we're having to do this right now in, in 2022.

SANCHEZ: Emily and Mac Jaehnert, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. We're pulling for you and for McKenzie, thanks so much.

M. JAEHNERT: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

WALKER: It's terrifying and it's angering to hear their story and this is one of, you know, millions of families who are going through this and this should not be happening as he said and 2022.

Well, release the tapes -- that's the growing call from GOP leaders after the January 6th Committee says he wants to know more about one Republican lawmaker's tour of the Capitol the day before the deadly insurrection. What we're learning, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:38]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): The January 6 committee now says it has evidence that Republican Congressman Barry Loudermilk of Georgia led a tour of the U.S. Capitol complex the day before pro- Trump rioters stormed the building.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): The committee sent a letter to Loudermilk requesting his voluntary cooperation with their ongoing probe. CNN Capitol Hill reporter Annie Grayer has been following this story for us.

Annie, good to see you. So, Loudermilk has previously called the group he met with at the capitol as "peaceful" people we met at church. What do you make of this new information?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER (on camera): Well, Amara, this is the first time the January 6 committee has reached out to a lawmaker to speak about tours given at the Capitol days before the riot.

That congressman, as you mentioned, is Barry Loudermilk. And the committee wants to speak with him about a tour that he gave on January 5th in the Capitol Complex.

Now, the reason the committee wants to speak with Loudermilk is shortly after the attack last year. Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill claimed that she witnessed Republican members of Congress give what she called reconnaissance tours to rioters to show them around the Capitol in the days leading up to the attack.

Now, Loudermilk vehemently denies that he gave such a tour claiming that on January 5th, he was meeting with families from his district, including children and that he was in the House office buildings, and not in the Capitol itself at all.

But this is somebody that the committee wants to speak to. And it's important to know that this -- they want this conversation to happen before their big public hearings coming up next month on June 9th.

SANCHEZ: And Annie, there are court documents that appear to show former President Trump's direct role potentially in that election plot. Is that correct?

GRAYER: Well, Boris, yes, new court documents came out that show that Donald Trump was communicating directly with former -- with his former right-wing lawyer John Eastman.

Those Court documents show that Trump even wrote handwritten notes to Eastman and that the two were talking about plans to overturn the election. These court documents came in a new court filing, part of a case between the January 6 committee, and John Eastman, because the committee really wants documents that Eastman has, as part of its investigation, because Eastman was very central to this plan of overturning the election.

You might remember Eastman as the lawyer who a federal judge called said that was more likely than not to have planned a crime after the election with Trump.

Now, no charge has been made. But this is an ongoing court case that the committee really wants documents from.

WALKER: Fascinating stuff. Annie Grayer, thank you for that.

Next, oil tanks sitting nearly empty and New York harbor fueling warnings that diesel prices are about to skyrocket.

And Stanley Tucci steps out of Italy and explores out Italian migrants have transformed the food scene in his adopted hometown of London.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mashed potato here?

STANLEY TUCCI, CNN HOST (on camera): Yes.

[07:35:02]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scallops.

TUCCI: Oh my God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just going to go to the grill.

TUCCI: Two minutes on the grill, and then it's time for some pyrotechnics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is dangerous, yes.

TUCCI: That's nice. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, now, few drops of amalfi lemon and salt.

TUCCI: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we adding the two main ingredients. This is the (INAUDIBLE).

TUCCI: It's like a candy, practically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's (INAUDIBLE) that --

TUCCI: Whoa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK?

TUCCI: Whoa!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, (INAUDIBLE), bread soaked in vinegar, anchovies, parsley, capers, egg whites, and garlic.

Calabrian xtra-virgin olive oil.

TUCCI: Oh my.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Juniper branches here, just to give a bit of decoration to the dish.

TUCCI: Right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scallops here.

TUCCI: That's beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER (voice-over): We can catch an all new episode of "STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY" tomorrow night at 9:00, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:37]

SANCHEZ: Americans across the country are feeling pain at the pump as gas prices continue to skyrocket. Just this week, diesel hit a new record of 75 percent from just a year ago.

WALKER: Now, key tanks like these in New York that supply places in the Northeast are running dry. And the consequences could have ripple effects across the country.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENTON CINQUEGRANA, CHIEF OIL ANALYST, OIL PRICE INFORMATION SERVICE: That could be gasoline, it can be diesel, it can be jet fuel, so, but that fuel is eventually going to be distributed.

Right now, those tank levels are pretty low, though.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Is that concerning for you?

CINQUEGRANA: Absolutely.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): These oil tanks in New York harbor sit at alarmingly low levels not seen in 30 years, as demand outpaces supply.

CINQUEGRANA: Over there.

YURKEVICH: This is one of seven critical Fuel points across the country, supplying our nation's gas stations, planes, trucks, and homes. Critical to fueling the U.S. supply chain.

CINQUEGRANA: And really high diesel prices get passed on to the consumer. And whether that's for construction, whether that's for delivering groceries to the grocery store where you're going to buy whatever it is you need.

YURKEVICH: U.S. diesel prices are already at record highs with particular pain here in the Northeast.

And now, with tankers like these, exporting much needed diesel to Europe, instead of supplying the U.S., prices are spiking higher.

But there are also fewer U.S. diesel refineries after years of closures to make up that difference in supply.

CINQUEGRANA: Right now, there is just a global shortage of diesel. It's really tight.

YURKEVICH: Katie Child, owner of Berkshire Energy Depot in New Haven Connecticut is responsible for setting the price of diesel here.

YURKEVICH (on camera): How does it feel to have to make the price higher every day?

KATIE CHILD, OWNER, BERKSHIRE ENERGY DEPOT: You can see the pain in their face when they come in and see the price and you just -- you apologize and say I'm sorry. And just there's nothing -- there's nothing I can do about it.

YURKEVICH: She's a small business owner who services other small businesses and says the record prices have lost her customers.

When prices are high, people shop around more. (INAUDIBLE) you save, you know, $0.10 down the road, you're going to go there.

YURKEVICH: Hudson Square pharmacy back in New York is also facing the same problem. Everything from cereal to toilet paper is more expensive.

AL SOLMAN, OWBER, HUDSON SQUARE PHARMACY: We do pay a guest surcharge too. Now that gas has gone up a lot, we've noticed on our bills. $2, $3, $5 surcharge for gasoline.

YURKEVICH: That extra charge has to be recouped from somewhere.

SOLMAN: Once the price has become a little too much, then, we just have to pass it on to the consumer.

YURKEVICH: But the consumer holds some power to turn the tide of high prices. A relentless buying and spending inflicted on a brittle supply chain are contributing to the high price of diesel.

CINQUEGRANA: And at some point, the consumers are going say, all right, enough is enough. I got to -- I got to slow down because this is taking too much of my disposable income.

If we do have a pullback in economic activity, that might help like kind of level off supplies, but for the time being, things are really tight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Thanks to Vanessa Yurkevich for that report.

Yet another mass shooting that have shaken a community. The grief and shock of the racist massacre remains in Buffalo one week later. But up next, survivors are sharing stories of heroism.

[07:44:05]

SANCHEZ: How they're moving forward after an unthinkable tragedy?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: One week has passed since the mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York that left 10 people dead and an entire community on edge.

SANCHEZ: On Friday, the first funeral service was held for one of the victims, Deacon Hayward Patterson, he was a 67-year-old taxi driver, a father of three, who was helping a passenger outside the supermarket when the gunman opened fire.

CNN's Brian Todd has more on how survivors of the shooting are reflecting on that day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That racist young man took my mother away.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nearly a week after a racist attack on Buffalo's east side left 10 people dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How dare you!

TODD: Grief and shock are now giving way to a community trying to figure out how it will move forward amid stories of heroism and survival. 8-year-old Londin Thomas went to tops friendly market to gather supplies for a family cookout.

LONDIN THOMAS, EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SURVIVOR OF BUFFALO SHOOTING: He went to the back of the store where the milk is and might we -- it was the door was locked and we cannot get out.

[07:50:05]

TODD: As bullets rip through the store she hid in a cooler with her dad.

THOMAS: I was scared for my mom. And then I know what happened to her because she was at the front and I was back.

JULIA THOMAS, BUFFALO SHOOTING SURVIVOR: 20 minutes later they gave me my (INAUDIBLE) and that was the most longest way I grave a knife.

TODD: Leticia Rogers tried to call 911 when the shooting started, but says she was hung up on by the operator.

LETISHA ROGERS, TOPS EMPLOYEE WHO CALLED 911; I gave her the address. And I said, please send help. There was a person in the store shooting. And she proceeded to say to me, what? I can't hear you. Why are you whispering?

You don't have to whisper. They can't hear you. So, I said, ma'am, he is still in the store, he is still shooting and I'm promise, I'm -- he's literally still shooting in the background.

And I feel like what she hung up on me she never called back. I feel like she left me to die.

TODD: In her eventual escape, Rogers recognize two people she knew dead on the floor. One was Deacon Hayward Patterson, the first victim to be laid to rest Friday in Buffalo.

GERALD SLACK JR., FRIEND OF BUFFALO SHOOTING VICTIM DEACON HAYWARD PATTERSON: He would help people out Tops all the time. You know, he helped senior citizens and different people get to the grocery store and help unpack the groceries and drop off their groceries.

And, you know, he just loved people. He was actually loading groceries into the back of a vehicle, helping somebody else, and got shot in the back. He didn't even see a comment.

TODD: The other was Aaron Salter, a security guard and retired Buffalo Police Lieutenant who fired shots at the gunman and is now being hailed as a hero,

AARON SALTER III, SON OF TOPS SECURITY GUARD KILLED AT SHOOTING: Which chokes me up the most is I know that if my dad, you know, if I -- if my dad was evenly matched with him, even though he was -- you know, he came with all that hate, and my dad was evenly matched with him, it would have been a different outcome. TODD: The only food option for miles around, the Tops Friendly Market is more than just a grocery store to this community. Jerome Bridges says he was ready to take a bullet to protect his customers.

JEROME BRIDGES, TOPS EMPLOYEE AND SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I just want to make sure I kept him customers and my other three co-workers very safe. So, even if I were to die, it would have been, you know, me dying, protecting them.

TODD: Geneva Smith Johnson knew five victims killed in the shooting.

GENEVA SMITH-JOHNSON, KNEW FIVE VICTIMS OF BUFFALO SHOOTING: I can't see myself going back in there. It can recover. There won't be a while before recovery occur. It's not going to happen overnight. It's going to take a while.

TODD: Marvin Morris grew up here. He says the community fought hard to bring a grocery store to the neighborhood and says they'll fight for more investment in the wake of the attack.

MARVIN MORRIS, GREW UP IN BUFFALO: This area, the east side of Buffalo, predominantly black, you know, community is a food desert. And so, this is the only store in the neighborhood that offers full service groceries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Pre-reporting from CNN's Brian Todd. Brian, thank you for that.

One person is dead after a powerful tornado ripped through a city in Michigan.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): The situation in Gaylord next.

[07:57:36]

SANCHEZ (on camera): This morning, 1000s of people are waking up without power and under curfew after a tornado killed one person and injured more than 40 others in northern Michigan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear that (INAUDIBLE)? My window, Jesus.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): Witnesses describe hearing what sounded like a freight train as the tornado shredded through the town of Gaylord.

A local official reported it went right through the downtown area. You see the damage on your screen. The tornado came as a shock to many because they're relatively rare in Michigan.

The state's governor has now declared a state of emergency.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ (on camera): Meantime, over 35 million people across the Northeast are under heat advisories today with temperatures expected to climb well into the 90s.

New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and more, including here in D.C. all expected to be hit by the rising heat and humidity.

AMARA: You feeling it there? I'm feeling it here too, right? CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar, what more can you tell us?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): It's a pretty widespread event. You've got a lot of states that are going to be looking at the potential for record highs not only today, but also potentially two days in a row looking at several records for tomorrow.

In all, at least 60 locations have the potential to break record highs at some point this weekend. You even have heat advisories out across portions of the Northeast that stretches from Northern Delaware all the way into New Hampshire.

Again, this is the combination to have not just the temperature, but also factoring in the humidity too. And this is early season, folks. This is only the middle of -- the middle to end of May.

Areas like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., all potentially hitting their record high for today. Some of those same cities even potentially tomorrow.

The only chance you're going to get to see a little bit of a cool off is going to be in the form of some showers and thunderstorms. And this is a pretty wide reaching system. This stretches all the way from Maine back down to the Texas -- New Mexico border. This is where you have the potential for severe storms.

So, Syracuse, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, stretching all the way down through Dallas, where you have the potential for damaging winds, some large hail that could exceed golf ball size, and also the potential for some isolated tornadoes.

This is the same system that pushed through areas of Michigan yesterday now making its way farther off to the east.

While we do have some ongoing showers this morning. The bulk of the strongest to the severe storms will hold off until the afternoon and continue into the evening hours. Once that front moves through, you really see a big drop off in temperatures.

[08:00:04]

CHINCHAR: New York, going from 91 Sunday down to 65 on Tuesday.

WALKER: Oh yes. That's a big swing.