Return to Transcripts main page

New Day Sunday

Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Expected To Meet Next Month; Tropical System Moves Off Florida Shore, Leaves Heavy Flooding Behind; Day Four Of Celebrations Honoring The Queen's 70 Years On The Throne. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired June 05, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:22]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Sunday morning comes early, doesn't it, Boris? Good morning to all of you. We're glad to have you with us. I'm Christi Paul.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Christi. I'm Boris Sanchez.

Breaking overnight, another shooting. Three people killed, nearly a dozen injured when multiple shooters fire into a crowd. The very latest from a violent night in Philadelphia straight ahead.

PAUL: And we do have some new details for you in the case of a former judge who was found murdered in his home. What police are saying about motive and other high profile targets that were on the killer's hit list.

SANCHEZ: Plus, turbulent times for the airline industry with a flurry of cancellations and delays, how they're now working to get back in the air for your summer travel season.

PAUL: And celebrating 70 years on the throne, we will most likely in our lifetime never see something like this again. We are live in London as the final day of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee gets under way.

It's so nice to have you with us on this Sunday, June 5th. Thank you so much for being here. Boris, I cannot believe we're talking about this again.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that's right, Christi. We're following developing news, another mass shooting in the United States. This time in Philadelphia, where three people are dead, at least 11 others injured.

PAUL: CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro is with us now. Evan, what are you hearing about this?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris and Christi, as you say, you know, this is a developing story, a lot still going on. There is a lot that we don't know yet. But there's one thing that we definitely do know. This is another normal moment in America in this case a beautiful Saturday night in the entertainment district of a major American city destroyed by death and gunfire because of one of these mass shootings.

Now, police say two men and one woman were killed and 11 others taken to hospital with injuries after multiple shooters fired into a crowd in this entertainment district in Philadelphia. According to the Gun Violence Archive, which is the -- which is a nonprofit group that tracks this kind of thing, this is the sixth mass shooting just this weekend which they define as four or more people injured or killed, not including the shooter.

This one in Philadelphia, police are right there on the scene. It is a busy area of the city and at a press conference around 2:00 a.m. last night the police described what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INSPECTOR D.F. PACE, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: He was -- he was within about 10 to 15 yards of the shooter watching this person shoot into the crowd when the officer engaged that shooter. You can imagine there were hundreds of individuals just enjoying South Street as they do every single weekend when this shooting broke out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Now, as I mentioned, this is not the only mass shooting this weekend. This is also not the only gun violence incident in Philadelphia this weekend. This is another incidents where, you know, it is hard to put these shootings together sometimes to figure out what to do, what to think about them. But in the case of this one, police say early investigation show that there was an extended magazine used, which is one of those things that President Biden talked about last week as trying to ban, to try to prevent some of this gun violence. But in Philadelphia, we're going to learn a lot more as we go on throughout the day, finding out the details of this latest tragedy in the United States. Boris and Christi.

PAUL: Evan McMorris-Santoro, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

We'll have more throughout the day on that developing story, by the way. But I do want to take you to Wisconsin, because there is an investigation right now after a former judge was shot and killed inside his own home. Now, officials are calling this a targeted attack. And they believe the suspect -- the suspected gunman had several high profile targets including two governors and a U.S. senator. Here is Nadia Romero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH KAUL, WISCONSIN ATTORNEY GENERAL: This incident appears to be a targeted act.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some political leaders across the country, targets on a hit list. And a former Wisconsin County Circuit Court judge dead. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers reacting to the death of John Roemer. GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): Somebody that devoted his life, a good share of his life being a jurist in the state, in rural Wisconsin, and that's hard work, to be targeted like that, it makes me frankly sick to my stomach.

ROMERO: Authorities say they were called to Roemer's home early Friday morning.

KAUL: The Juneau County Sheriff's Office received a call notifying law enforcement of an armed person and two shots fired in a township of New Lisbon.

ROMERO: After failed negotiations with the suspect, in this house about 80 miles northwest of Madison, the Juneau County Special Tactics and Response Team entered the home to find former Judge John Roemer dead.

[06:05:06]

SHERIFF BRENT H. OLESON, JUNEAU COUNTY, WISCONSIN: I would estimate between the Juneau County Sheriff's Office and local agencies and state patrol we had approximately 30 officers out there.

ROMERO: The suspect, 56-year-old Douglas Uhde, in critical condition after self-inflicted wound in the basement. According to authorities, Judge Roemer wasn't the suspect's only target.

KAUL: The individual who is the suspect appears to have had other targets as well. It appears to be related to the judicial system.

ROMERO: Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer among those targeted, sources tell CNN.

KAUL: We have been in contact with the individuals who were identified as potentially being targets.

ROMERO: Governor Whitmer's office releasing this statement reading in part, "Governor Whitmer has demonstrated repeatedly that she is tough, and she will not be bullied or intimidated from doing her job." Authorities say the targeting was based on some sort of court cases but law enforcement remain tight lipped on many details regarding the suspect's motive and possible connection to the judge and others targeted.

KAUL: This is an ongoing investigation so we can't go into it further at this point.

ROMERO: Nadia Romero, CNN, New Lisbon, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Thanks to Nadia for that report. We wanted to let you know that later this morning we're actually going to talk to a federal judge who endured a similar tragedy, back in 2020. Her son was killed in a targeted attack and now she's turning her pain into purpose advocating for new measures to protect public officials. You're going to want to stay tuned for that. We'll hear from her in the next hour.

PAUL: Meanwhile, we're days away here from the first public primetime hearing of the January 6th committee.

SANCHEZ: Yes. They're promising to reveal previously unseen material from the day of the insurrection. So let's get a preview now from CNN crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz. Katelyn, do we know exactly who is going to be called to testify and what evidence the panel is going to present?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Boris and Christi, there have been a thousand witnesses that the panel has interviewed so far and more than 100,000 documents that they have collected. And so here we are, where the House is going to be putting on a show, in a couple different hearings where they are bringing their choice witnesses forward.

So we have heard that there could be the possibility of a Justice Department panel, so some people that were in the Justice Department pushing back about Donald Trump's interests in the Justice Department, trying to find fraud. We also are understanding that there are some people who were very close advisers to Mike Pence, also pushing back against the White House's interest in trying to overturn the election or at least Mark Meadows, the chief of staff, his interest in trying to overturn the election.

So in this first hearing, it is coming up on Thursday, we don't know exactly what will be happening at that hearing, the details are a little bit scant. But right now this will be a broad overview of the 10-month investigation and we do believe that it could be teeing up additional hearings after that.

And so far all of the members of the House who have come out have given just a little bit of hints. They have said that there may be new information. They have said there may even be disturbing information. Last night, Representative David Cicilline spoke to CNN. Here's what he had to say about what's to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D-RI): There will be, I think, substantial evidence that really demonstrates the coordination and the planning and the effort despite the fact that they understood that Donald Trump lost the election. And even once the insurrection began and the violence began there was -- there were ongoing efforts to persuade the former president to stop the violence and call on folks to go home and he refused to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: So even with that teaser, from that representative who is on the committee, has seen what they have gathered, we do know the House has not gotten a hold of everything that they wanted. They referred some people for contempt because they did not get witnesses to testify. But the Justice Department, this past week, said they would not be prosecuting White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows or his deputy Dan Scavino for failing to testify or turn over documents to the House committee. Boris and Christi.

SANCHEZ: The hearing set to begin Thursday night in prime time. You can catch all the action right here on CNN. And, of course, we know, Katelyn will be watching it closely for us. Thank you so much.

Overnight we've been tracking important news out of Asia. North Korea test firing eight ballistic missiles from multiple locations, that's according to South Korea's military.

PAUL: Yes, this is just a day after the U.S. and South Korea wrapped up those joint naval drills. CNN's Paula Hancocks is live in Seoul, South Korea, this morning. Paula, what are you learning?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi and Boris, what we know at this point is that there were eight short range ballistic missiles fired from North Korea, just after 9:00 this morning. They were all within about 40 minutes of each other and they were fired from four different locations. This information coming to us from the Joint Chiefs of Staff here in South Korea.

[06:10:03]

Now, they all fell in the waters just off the east coast of Korea. And as you say, it came just one day after a joint naval drill between the U.S. and South Korean navies. And certainly there is a concern about the intensity of the firing from North Korea at the moment. This means it is the 17th missile launch this year alone.

So certainly there is some intense testing. Now, it has been widely condemned in the region. Japan's prime minister saying that it is against United Nations Security Council resolutions and has strongly protested it. They also say from the defense ministry in Japan that they believe that this is unprecedented, the fact that there was such a large number of missile launches from a number of different locations in such a short span of time.

So obviously we're watching this very closely. It shows once again that North Korea is far more concerned with testing its weapons systems at this point, and trying to push forward its capabilities than having any kind of engagement with either South Korea or with the United States.

Now, the previous time that it had a launch was just May 25th, that, of course, was just hours after the U.S. President Joe Biden had left the region. He was here in Seoul and in Tokyo the end of last month. And there were fears that North Korea could fire something and launch something while he was still in the region.

But the fact is that this intensity has not been seen for some time. We also know there has been a number of failures or perceived failures within the launches. Those are the ones that Pyongyang doesn't publicly admit to, but we're told about from officials. But even those are useful because that is how Pyongyang is learning, that is how they are managing to improve their weapons capabilities.

And we heard from Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, in January of last year saying exactly what he wanted to achieve. A wish list, if you like, of exactly which missiles, which launches, and which weapons capabilities he wanted to work on. And let us say he is systematically working his way through that wish list. So at this point, it appears that there is absolutely no interest from Pyongyang to have any kind of engagement. And once again we are seeing an intense amount of launching from the North Korea itself. Boris, Christi.

PAUL: All right. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for the update. Appreciate it.

You know what's happening, right? Formula shortages, inflation, pressure to pass gun legislation. Well, the president's problems seem to be piling up. What it could mean for the rest of his presidency and the future of his party.

Also, airlines are scrambling to keep up with the surge in summer travel. Why you could be looking at some major headaches if you're planning to get away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:53]

SANCHEZ: Some good news this morning for parents who have been struggling to find baby formula for their kids. After being shut down for months, that Abbott plant in Sturgis, Michigan, one of the largest formula producers in the country, has resumed production of its specialty formulas. Now Abbott says that the first batches should be on shelves by June 20th.

PAUL: The plant was closed and several brands of formula were recalled after an inspection found a deadly bacteria in several areas of that plant. The resulting shortage has forced President Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act. It prioritizes formula ingredients delivery to formula makers. And also Operation Fly Formula was created to import formula from abroad.

So hours from now, President Biden is returning to Washington and in doing so he's facing a growing number of challenges, including that ongoing baby formula shortage, the decades high inflation and gas prices and so far unheeded call for gun reform after 21 people were murdered in that Texas school by a suspect with an assault weapon.

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in CNN's Jasmine Wright. She's traveling with the president, joining us from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Jasmine, good morning. What does President Biden plan to do to address these mounting challenges as he heads back to D.C. later today?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER Yes, Boris, certainly a set of mounting and very complex challenges that is facing the president and it comes at a time where this White House is preparing to really launch into these midterms, trying to stave off any losses to protect their technically wins that they made in 2020 in the House and the Senate, really trying to protect their majority. But that means that it is going to be improving their poll numbers and improving really their fortunes here. So the president, we know, on inflation that he says that he understands what Americans are feeling like. We saw here in Delaware on Friday when he really touted that May jobs report that had nearly 400,000 jobs to the U.S. economy. But it comes really as there are fears that the economy may be slowing in pace. And some of that was evident in that last jobs report. So here in Delaware, the president, he said that he understands why Americans are anxious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no denying that high prices, particularly around gasoline and food, are real problem for people. And, look, I understand that families who are struggling probably don't care why the prices are up. They just want them to go down. Joe, what are you going to do to bring them down?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So there we heard the president trying to appeal directly to Americans as his administration tries to navigate, trying to bring down some of these high prices. Now on baby formula, as you have said, the president may be getting a break here as that Abbott plant comes back online, really trying to fill the shelves in the next few weeks, but they're still going to be facing questions as to whether or not they moved too late, so that parents were going to the store and seeing these bare shelves and also what they knew and when. Now, on the last thing, guns, that is probably one of the more complex issues the president is going to have to deal with over these -- over his tenure, these four years that he will be in office.

[06:20:08]

Now, we know that in the last few weeks he has dedicated a considerable amount of time to talking about gun violence, mourning with the dozens and dozens of victims on gun violence, and also laying out a bunch of policy prescriptions that he wants to see Congress take up, including an assault weapons ban. But, of course, it is going to be an uphill challenge, an uphill battle. The president has acknowledged -- the White House has acknowledged that really preparing that maybe nothing gets done before November. So, of course, a complex set of issues that is facing the president when he returns back to Washington today. Boris.

SANCHEZ: A lot of challenges in multiple fronts, Jasmine Wright, travelling with the president in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, thank you so much for walking us through that.

Let's get some perspective now with CNN political analyst and historian Julian Zelizer. Julian, appreciate you sharing part of your Sunday with us. You wrote an op-ed for CNN.com this week comparing this moment in Joe Biden's presidency to the challenges that Jimmy Carter faced in his four years in the White House. Notably Carter only served one term. Do you see Biden facing that same fate given all the challenges he's got and the political headwinds?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it is not inevitable. He does face a situation, comparable to Carter in that there are multiple crises bearing down on him from the economy to foreign policy. We need to remember former presidents have overcome difficult early years. President Reagan did that after 1982. President Obama did that after 2010. But the challenge is significant. And you can see the path that Carter fell into, being part of what Biden might confront in the coming years.

SANCHEZ: In some cases like with gun safety legislation, you have a president that is depending on a divided Senate to pass legislation that is not only complex, but extremely divisive. How do you think he can convince the American people that he's meeting the moment doing everything that he can to lower the cost of gas, to lower the cost of groceries even with Congress stalled?

ZELIZER: Well, he faces the Republican Party that is uninterested in working with him, and he has the Senators Manchin and Sinema problem within his own party. He has executive power. This is a time where he could use executive power to try to move forward in incremental ways on various problems from inflation to gun control. And secondly, he has to just keep pushing for targeted focused legislation, even if the odds are long, what the public wants to see is a president who is fighting, a president who has some sense of control, rather than being controlled by the crisis.

SANCHEZ: The challenge for him, likely, is going to be that if history is any guide, in the midterms, Republicans will control some chamber of Congress and then for two years he may wind up with an obstructionist party, not really letting him any -- not really letting him get anything done. So how does he then convince Americans that he's doing things even though, you know, he's still tied up by Congress?

ZELIZER: Well, the most important thing for him will be the easing of inflation. If the economy starts to improve, in year three and four, even if Republicans control Congress, that will benefit his administration. That's what happened to Ronald Reagan in 1983 and 1984. Then he just has to keep pushing.

I mean, he has to keep putting the issues in front of Congress, whether Democrats or Republicans control that Congress, and show the public kind of why are things being obstructed. And those are the two paths, again, in addition with executive orders.

SANCHEZ: On the other side, I wanted to ask you about something you published. You wrote -- quote -- "If the current trajectory continues, Biden could end up ushering in a new era marked by the radicalized Republican Party, headed by Trump or a more polished and politically savvy version in the form of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis."

I'm wondering what you think a more polished savvier version of Trumpism means not only for the GOP but for the country.

ZELIZER: Well, Trumpism is Republicanism at this point. So the question is who will the candidate be that reflects this? So more polished version is just someone even more savvy politically, who has a better sense of how to package this generation of Republican politics in a more mainstream way, in a way that might even broaden the coalition behind it.

And so that's what I think the question is for 2024, not whether the former president was indicative of where Republican politics has come, he is, but who is the candidate to carry that forward in the next election.

[06:25:08]

And I think that's what we're watching in primaries and that's what we're watching in the run-up to 2024.

SANCHEZ: And, Julian, quickly the first public hearing for the January 6th committee is this Thursday. What are you going to be watching for to indicate that the hearings are a success?

ZELIZER: Well, the more information produced the more of a success they are. We don't know if they'll move politics. It is unlikely. But the disclosure and the understanding of how much intentionality, how much planning was there behind the effort to overturn the election, that's the committee's responsibility. And the more they can tell us, the more they can reveal that is a mark of success for this congressional investigation.

SANCHEZ: We have got to leave the conversation there. Again, Thursday night in prime time, we will all be watching. Julian Zelizer, thanks for joining us this morning.

ZELIZER: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

PAUL: Well, we know heavy fighting is happening in eastern Ukraine this morning and the capital city of Kyiv is seeing several explosions. We have the latest for you on what's happening there. Stay close.

[06:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, explosions had rocked the area around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early this morning. Russia's war obviously raging on there in Ukraine. Thick smoke was seen rising from the city and the mayor says one person was injured.

Also today, Military officials say a Russian missile was shut down -- or was down, I should say, by Ukraine's air defense system south of Kyiv. In the city of Donetsk in the eastern part of the country, officials say five people were killed, 20 injured by multiple explosions. The Russian news agency TASS says Ukrainian forces for responsible.

Well, President Biden is postponing its meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

SANCHEZ: Yes, they were planning to meet at the end of this month. But that meeting is now expected to take place in July. And a statement, the fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi, that Washington Post journalist that was murdered by the Saudi Arabian regime, she blasted Biden's decision to sit down with the prince referred to as MBS.

She said, "President Biden's decision to meet MBS is horribly upsetting to me and supporters of freedom and justice everywhere. President Biden, if he meets MBS, will have lost his moral compass and greatly heightened my grief."

The Biden administration has been working for months to repair U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia.

PAUL: In the past, the President's been critical of the Saudis record on human rights, the war in Yemen, and the role its government played in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. CNN's Alex Marquardt explains why there's so much controversy between the two leaders' meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The relationship with Saudi Arabia is one of the most critical the United States has but is now one that has never been more troubled. Sources tell CNN the White House is working on patching things up with a likely meeting in the coming weeks that would see President Biden face to face with the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, we're getting way ahead of ourselves here.

MARQUARDT: Today, the President t old reporters there are no direct plans to visit Saudi Arabia, but admitted there's a possibility he'll visit the region. A trip to Israel is also expected.

BIDEN: What I want to do is see to it that we diminish the likelihood that there's a continuation of this, some of the senseless wars between Israel and the Arab nations. And that's what I'm focused on.

MARQUARDT: These days, Israel is actually moving closer to Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, not warring with them. The Biden team's efforts are complicated by past statements by Biden against Saudi Arabia. Candidate Biden on the campaign trail vowing to make Saudi Arabia a pariah.

BIDEN: We were not going to in fact, sell more weapons to them. We were going to in fact make them pay the price and make them in fact a pariah that they are.

MARQUARDT: Once in office, the Intelligence Community accused the Crown Prince who's known as MBS of orchestrating the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Officials, lawyers, and human rights activists continue to howl about the long list of Saudi human rights abuses.

The White House says Biden still views Saudi Arabia as a pariah. Today he played that down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the kingdom still a pariah in your eyes?

BIDEN: Look, I'm not going to change my view on human rights. But as President of the United States, my job is to bring peace if I can. Peace if I can. And that's what I'm going to try to do.

MARQUARDT: From the time Biden called Saudi Arabia a pariah until now, gas prices have risen over 80 percent driving up inflation. Since Biden took office, Russia has started a war in Ukraine. Iran's nuclear program is surging. Saudi forces are fighting Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, currently with a fragile truce, and Saudi Arabia is moving closer to China.

All critical topics the Biden needs to work on with Saudi Arabia and its controversial Crown Prince who was likely to rule for decades to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: And our thanks to Alex Marquardt for that. So, 50 years ago, the break in at the Watergate began a chain reaction that started with a cover-up and then it unraveled, of course, Nixon's presidency.

SANCHEZ: But this wasn't some bungled one-off, it was one of many strategic operations orchestrated by Nixon's inner circle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LESLEY STAHL, JOURNALIST: Haldeman had that funny crew cut, so he always looked like he was from another era. He had no humor, just the facts man, that's the way he presented himself. Dark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the questions that Haldeman asked me was, can I be loyal to Richard Nixon? It struck me as a strange question because I thought we were all on the same team.

[06:35:14]

ASHA RANGAPPA, FORMER FBI AGENT: The loyalty is about being a member of the group. That becomes the paramount value. If you're not loyal, then you get kicked out of the group. So, to maintain your tribal membership, you have to go along with whatever the leader says. And that's incredibly dangerous.

RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A vice president, a member of the cabinet, a member of Congress who is a member of the President's party, he should always consider that he is dispensable and to do what a man wants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Get a complete inside picture of how Watergate happened and how it set the stage for future White House scandals. It's the all-new CNN Original Series Watergate: Blueprint For A Scandal. And it premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m. only on CNN. Well, it's not just bad weather forcing airlines to cancel flights.

Some had to shuffle around schedules during one of the busiest travel times of the year. We'll explain why after a quick break.

[06:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're about 40 minutes past the hour. That storm that hammered parts of Florida yesterday is now officially Tropical Storm Alex, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It since moved offshore after leaving a mess in its way. You could see it there, heavy flooding in the streets of Fort Lauderdale and Miami with officials warning that some roads became inaccessible. Miami Dade rescue crews urged residents not to walk or drive through this water.

PAUL: Oh, but you know they did. Overnight, about 100 cars were stranded. One man even got stranded on a top of his car and needed to be rescued. I hope he's OK. There was a no swim advisory as well issued for certain areas due to sewer overflows. And one Beach was forced to close.

The National Weather Service says although the bulk of the storms pass, there could be some isolated showers. So, do be -- do be aware for that.

I know that you are just itching to get out. You want to travel. We all want to do it. Experts are predicting though that the summer travel season could be apparently total chaos we're told. We already saw a preview of that last weekend as thousands of flights were canceled during Memorial Day.

SANCHEZ: Yes, right now airlines are trying to cope with both a sharp increase in the number of travelers and major staffing shortages. CNN's Pete Muntean has a look at how airlines are responding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: With summer travel heating up across the country, airlines that receive billions and pandemic aid are hoping they do not melt down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to be nimble.

MUNTEAN: On an exclusive tour of American Airlines operation center, hundreds worked behind the scenes to avoid cancelling flights as an unexpected thunderstorm popped up over Dallas. Chief Operating Officer David Seymour showed me how dispatchers diverted arriving flights and reshuffled flight crews so departing flights were ready as soon as the weather clear.

How confident are you that the summer will be a smooth one when it comes to travel?

DAVID SEYMOUR, COO, AMERICAN AIRLINES: I'm confident. I think my team is confident. But we're not overconfident. MUNTEAN: U.S. airlines canceled more than 2700 flights over Memorial Day weekend and delayed another 21,000 nationwide. Delta Airlines lead cancellations after saying it will scale back at some reschedule with Coronavirus causing higher than planned worker absences.

ED BASTIAN, CEO, DELTA AIRLINES: We added capacity coming into the spring. Memorial Day was the first full test of it. And we did see some challenges.

MUNTEAN: Crew shortages have humbled the airline industry. A CNN analysis of the latest federal data shows the largest four airlines with 24,000 fewer workers than before the pandemic.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: The demand has come roaring back and they are struggling to keep up.

BRIAN KELLY, THE POINTS GUY: There are staffing shortages and weather issues. It's a perfect storm.

MUNTEAN: American Airlines says it is hired 12,000 new workers in the last year. Now, the question is whether airlines have prepared enough for passengers packing planes at levels not seen since before the pandemic.

SEYMOUR: You can't let your guard down. We have the resources to run the airline. And that's the key thing for us.

MUNTEAN: American Airlines underscores that most of its flights over Memorial Day weekend we're on time, but it offers this reality check. Workers are still calling out sick at the airline with Coronavirus. It all comes to a head when there's bad weather. Airlines in the United States canceled more than 1600 flights on Thursday, hundreds more on Friday. Boris, Christi?

SANCHEZ: Pete Muntean, thanks for that. Hey, the four day celebration that is the Queen's Platinum Jubilee comes to an end today. But the party outside of Buckingham Palace is just getting started. Get your top hats and ascots ready. We're going to take you there live next.

[06:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: That is Diana Ross performing in the U.K. for the first time in 15 years at the platinum party at the palace honoring Queen Elizabeth's 70 years on the throne. A star-studded list of performers, Alicia Keys, Duran Duran, over a dozen others as 1000s gathered outside of Buckingham Palace for the concert. Prince Charles and Prince William also gave speeches paying tribute to her.

PAUL: So, this hour the big Jubilee lunch is kicking off for the final day, this fourth day of celebrations. It's followed by the Platinum Jubilee pageant later tonight. CNN's Anna Stewart is in London. What is -- what are we going to see happen at the pageant here, Anna?

[06:50:08] ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (on camera): Well, there are thousands of street parties due to take place today up and down the country. And they are traditionally held for all sorts of Royal events, coronations, Royal weddings, and of course, every 10 years Jubilees.

Now, this one is on a very well named Elizabeth Street and it's less than a mile from Buckingham Palace, I think probably the closest street party to Buckingham Palace. And we'll show you around because it's all getting ready now. You'll see all the streets in the U.K., lots of them have flags, lots of them have flowers. Some of them are lucky enough to have this. This is actually an art installation corgi. There are 19 across the capitol in honor of the Queen who had over 30 so far in her lifetime.

Let me take you over here because there are lots of shows planned today. This is a Punch and Judy show. This is a very traditional puppet show for kids and there are several shows ready on the agenda. It's looking a bit gray, a little bit wet, a little bit miserable, pretty British weather. I'm not going to lie.

So, I think lots of people haven't set up yet, but I have, here we go, this is a proper British afternoon tea. This is what you can expect today along with a glass of bubbly. Some cucumber sandwiches, some meringues, and some berries, you know. And also, of course, the famous British scone which I got up at 4:00 a.m. to make which goes with jam and clotted cream. Christi?

PAUL: Oh, I love it. I love myself a good scone.

SANCHEZ: It's amazing.

PAUL: I just want to ask you a question. Did you say the Queen has had 30 corgis?

STEWART: She's had over 30 corgis in her lifetime. Actually, you know what? I'm going to correct myself. Not just corgis, also dorgis which is a mix between a corgi and a -- and you'll have to fill in the rest because I just honestly don't know. I'd have to Wikipedia it.

PAUL: that's fantastic. Anna Stewart, thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Save us some scones, please.

PAUL: Yes.

STEWART: Cheers.

PAUL: Or actually, just send some over. By the time we'd get there, Boris, they wouldn't be any good anymore.

SANCHEZ: I'll give it a shot.

PAUL: Although I bet Anna's would. She looks like she knows what she's doing. Anna, thank you.

So, after an underdog win over Scotland, Ukraine's World Cup fate is going to be decided today. I'm going to tell you about their incredible journey. Stay close.

[06:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Edging towards the 7:00 hour here. And the Boston Celtics are showing their support for jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner as they're preparing for tonight's NBA finals game.

SANCHEZ: Carolyn Manno has more in this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT." Good morning, Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Good morning to you both. You know, it's been 108 days now since Griner was arrested by Russian authorities on drug charges. And the State Department has called it a wrongful detention.

The NBA has been working closely with the WNBA behind the scenes to try and free her to do what they can. Marcus Martin and Jaylen Brown among those using the NBA final stage to try and keep her case front and center. The Celtics stars wearing shirts that say we are B.G. on the front and then have a QR code on the back where people can sign a change petition at change.org which calls for her release.

NBA players saying they hope that they can play a role in bringing the fellow basketball player home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAYLEN BROWN, GUARD, BOSTON CELTICS: As a collective, we wanted to come out and show our support for Brittney Griner. She's been over there for an extended amount of time and we feel like enough is enough.

JAYSON TATUM, FORWARD, BOSTON CELTICS: She's a great person to be around, right? She just enlightens the entire room with her personality. So it's extremely tough seeing what she's going through. And everybody sees and feels that and obviously we'll, you know, together and support, you know, trying to, you know, bring her back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: She is on the minds of many. That's for sure. On the court, the Celtics can take the two games to none lead over the Golden State Warriors tonight. Tip-off is at 9:00 p.m. Eastern game three on Wednesday in Boston.

Switching gears now to the NHL playoffs. The Oilers trying to avoid a three game hole against the Avs in the Western Conference Finals last night. Things look good for Edmondson at the start. They struck for an early goal just 38 seconds into the game, in fact. But they were really unable to build on that lead.

An incredible individual effort right out of the penalty box here from Colorado's JT Compher with about seven minutes to play, taking the long feed, winning the puck battle, and then putting home what would eventually be the game-winner. The Avs win by two and are now one win away from the Stanley Cup Final. That game four is tomorrow night on TNT.

Well, the Rangers will try and take a three-nothing lead on the lightning in the Eastern Conference Final a little later on this afternoon.

In tennis, Coco Gauff playing in her first Grand Slam final at the French Open yesterday. But it wasn't to be for the 18-year-old against world number one Iga Swiatek. After an early first set for the Polish star, Gauff opened up the second with a service break but she couldn't keep the momentum. She fell 6-1, 6-3. So, that is now 35 straight match wins for the top-ranked player in the world. Coco will turn her attention to winning a title to slam in doubles later on today.

Rafael Nadal can also with his record-extending 14 French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam title today. Nadal facing a first-time Grand Slam finalist in 23-year-old Casper Ruud.

And Ukraine's National Soccer Team could clinch a spot in the World Cup later today if they can win in Wales. Ukraine hadn't played a competitive game in over six months until they won in Scotland on Wednesday. The winner is actually Team USA's first opponent in Qatar this November.

And Christi and Boris, while the players are exempt from military service, those who are on the ground back home are going to be top of mind for them today. The team actually received Ukrainian flag from soldiers that are fighting on the front line. That's going to be hanging in their locker room before the game today according to the coach.

SANCHEZ: Well, a lot of emotion on the field today, no question about that. Carolyn Manno, thank you so much. The next hour of "NEW DAY" starts right now.

[07:00:00]