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Isa Soares Tonight
Hospital Hit in Deadly Russian Attack in Dnipro; Turkey Gears Up for Presidential Runoff; A Man Opens a Plane's Door in Midair in South Korea; German Police Investigating Roger Waters Over Performance; Debt Limit Negotiators Inch Closer to Deal. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired May 26, 2023 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Isa Soares. Tonight, a Russian attack on a
medical site in Dnipro kills two and injures dozens more. I'll be speaking to Medecins Sans Frontieres as they support emergency services there in the
aftermath.
In the final stretch for Turkey as the country prepares for the runoff presidential election on Sunday. Will President Erdogan hold on to power?
Plus, a terrifying experience for passengers in South Korea as a man allegedly opened the door of a flight of a plane, mid-flight. We'll have
the latest on that investigation.
Now, a Russian attack on a Ukrainian medical site is being called a war crime. But the mayor there says it could have been even worse. Ukrainian
authorities report a wave of Russian attacks in several regions overnight. Rescue teams raced to save lives and put out the flames in Dnipro.
Officials say the attacks there hit a hospital and veterinary clinic.
At least, two people were killed and children are among 31 people injured. The mayor says it's a miracle doctors were changing shifts when the attack
happened. It means fewer people were working in the hospital during the strike. Well, meanwhile, Russians are reporting attacks inside the Belgorod
region, close to where the cross-border raid happened earlier this week.
While further away, an explosion has been reported in the Russian city of Krasnodar, a social media video appears to show a drone flying above the
city moments later, there's some kind of blast. Well, for more on Russia's attack on a Ukrainian hospital. CNN's Sam Kiley filed this report from
Dnipro.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Dnipro like so many other Ukrainian cities, is no stranger now to scenes like this
after more than a year of Russian bombardment. Now, this, though, is a medical clinic. A neurological medical clinic. It's one of dozens of
hospitals and other medical structures that the Russians have attacked.
According to the World Health Organization, close to a 1,000 medical personnel and other medical facilities as well as buildings have been
bombed by the Russians over the last year. And according to the French government, that amounts to a war crime. But even if this wasn't
deliberately targeted, we are in a residential area.
There's an apartment building there. There's more medical facilities just down the road, there are more apartments here, and indeed a sports stadium
and a construction. Now, we've seen the systematic destruction in Syria, of medical facilities by the Russians, and that continues. And for the last
year and a bit, we've seen it here, again, by the Russians. Sam Kiley, CNN, in Dnipro.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, Medecins San Frontieres is supporting emergency services in Dnipro after this recent wave of strikes. The volunteer group is also
known as Doctors Without Borders, and its Head of Mission for Ukraine, Joseph Dantona joins me now live from Kyiv. Thank you so much for your
time.
We know that the search for victims in Dnipro is still ongoing. Can you tell us what your teams found at the scene there, and how MSF is actually
assisting at this time?
JOSEPH DANTONA, HEAD OF MISSION, MSF UKRAINE: Yes, thank you for having me. Our teams arrived at the scene this morning after the missile strikes. This
was a strike on a medical facility as well as neighboring residential buildings. It caused widespread damage and loss of life. Ukrainian first
responders and Ukrainian health system providers responded initially to care of all the medical needs on-site, of people injured.
[14:05:00]
And then took care of the medical needs of the people they transported to hospitals. MSF responded ourselves, and we provided psychological first aid
to people affected by the missile strike and the resulting destruction. We have also provided in Dnipro this morning various medical donations to the
hospitals. Because they are experiencing a large influx of patients.
We donate mass casualty kits, as well as medical supplies, disposables for the treatment of the type of injuries we see in patients experiencing this
level of violence.
MACFARLANE: And we were reporting there that this attack happened during the change-over of staff at the facility. So this could have been a lot
worse. Can you give us any insight on the type of patients that were being treated at this facility, and whether the numbers you're seeing of injured
and dead correlate with what we already know?
DANTONA: So, I'd like to speak to the general point about targeting medical facilities and medical staff. I mean, it's just completely unacceptable.
It's a breach of humanitarian principles, and to be honest with you, this is not an isolated incident in this war. It's not an isolated incident in
Dnipro, and sad to say, it's not an isolated incident this week.
Sunday night into Monday morning, I was in Dnipro personally, and an emergency department was targeted. It was hit by missiles, and there was
wide scale damage and destruction of emergency vehicles. The type of facility at this point does not matter. This is a consistent effort that we
are seeing on the ground.
MACFARLANE: And to your point, Joseph, we were reporting just then, I think it's been 967 attacks, according to the W.H.O. on healthcare facilities
since the outbreak of war so far. All of which, as you say are war crimes. Have medical facilities been able to adapt in order to keep functioning
amongst this barrage of attacks?
DANTONA: They have to adapt, but it's -- in this context, they shouldn't have to. Medical facilities should not be targeted, full stop. Our
intervention in Ukraine is centered on psychological first aid, and a lot of times, we find ourselves administering that first aid to medical
providers. That's because they are on, whether they are on the frontline or whether they are distant from the frontline, they are being targeted.
Our psychological first aid, it's the level of anxiety, of stress, of depression. We're seeing in civilian populations and medical providers who
are treating civilians is increasing rapidly.
MACFARLANE: I read that in one of the MSF reports, you had said that in some cases, land mines have been used or placed by Russian forces inside
hospitals, functioning hospitals, previously under Russian occupation. I mean, that is shockingly inhumane, but how normal is it to see that type of
warfare used against hospitals?
DANTONA: I can't speak specifically to what you're referencing. But we see it every day. Hospitals, medical facilities, clinics, individual
practitioners are targeted and consistently in harm's way.
MACFARLANE: Joseph, we really appreciate you at this time, coming on to give us an update on what your teams are facing in Dnipro and of course,
everywhere across Ukraine, as these attacks continue. Thanks very much.
DANTONA: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: Well, as Russia gains ground in its brutal assault on Bakhmut, former American Special Forces soldier was killed. He had been working
alongside Ukrainian troops and was the victim of Russia's relentless shelling of the city. Now, a CNN investigation has pieced together the
details surrounding his death, and it helps tell the story of the battle for Bakhmut.
Well, CNN's Clare Sebastian has the story for us. And Clare, I believe this retired army veteran was named a few weeks ago, his nickname he had been in
Ukraine since the Spring of 2022. So, what more are you learning? What details are you learning about his death?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So we learned about his death just about ten days ago. And we didn't know it at the time, but that was just a
few days before Wagner and then Russia claimed victory over the whole of Bakhmut, something by the way that Ukraine still disputes.
[14:10:00]
They say they're still defending a small part of the city, but in this sort of non-linear chaotic, very destructive battle, it was hard to know how
Russia arrived at that claim of victory. How these sort of final few pieces, as they tell it fell into their hands. And as we look at the
circumstances around nicknames death and how that unfolded, it really helped us to sort of build up a picture of how the battle over those final
scraps of this really not very big city unfolded. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, HEAD OF WAGNER MERCENARY GROUP: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Under cover of darkness, a Russian military blogger films Wagner's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, heading into what he calls the
nest. The Russian nickname for a group of what were once a high-rise residential building on the western edge of Bakhmut, one of the last areas
to fall under Russian control.
Prigozhin is taken to see a body, we're not showing it, as it's graphic. An American citizen, identified by these documents and a friend as Nicholas
Maimer, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces soldier.
PERRY BLACKBURN, FRIEND OF NICHOLAS MAIMER: On the night of the 14th, 15th, Nick was in the Bakhmut area, he was with some other fellow territory
defense soldiers, and they came under attack, and unfortunately, the area that Nick was in, that particular building, took a direct hit from an
artillery round, and the area that he was at in that building collapsed in on him, and he was unable to make it out.
SEBASTIAN: By piecing together the circumstances of Maimer's death, CNN has built up a picture of the intense battle for these final scraps of a town
that has come to symbolize the destructiveness of Russia's war.
PRIGOZHIN: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SEBASTIAN: This is where they pulled our American out, says Prigozhin, pointing to the building where he says Maimer was found, that same building
also identified by Maimer's friend, Perry Blackburn, based on information he got from a member of the same brigade Maimer was within Bakhmut. Here it
is on a satellite image on May 13th, intact.
Then, just two days later, the day after the night, Maimer is believed to have died, this plume of smoke, evidence of that southern artillery hit. A
few days after that, an obvious crater in the building's roof.
BLACKBURN: I mean, its World War II tactics using 2023 technology. And so, the idea of, you know, a constant bombardment of artillery and missile
strikes is a usual thing there. But for us in the U.S., we're a lot more clinical than that.
SEBASTIAN: Over just a few days, this entire area evidence of those tactics. Satellite images revealing a battle fought from high-rise to high-
rise, chunks blown out of apartment blocks, even a school. All of this damage appearing within just two days.
"The enemy has been beaten out of the nest", says this Wagner fighter in video published on May 20th by Russian state news outlet "Izvestia". CNN
has geo-located the video, it was shot from inside the building where Nicholas Maimer died. You can see this distinctive light blue building,
once a daycare center, and in a distance, the spire of a partially destroyed church.
Here are all three locations seen from above. After nine months of slow, brutal fighting, Nicholas Maimer had found himself in the midst of a
fierce, fast onslaught.
BLACKBURN: Nick wasn't with them when they withdrew from the building. And they were trying to recover, do a recovery operation when it was a -- you
know, reoccupied by the Russians. So, they weren't able to do it.
SEBASTIAN (on camera): And then Wagner got there first.
BLACKBURN: Wagner got there first.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SEBASTIAN: So I think what we take from this, as he said -- the friend of Nicholas Maimer, these World War II tactics, and Ukrainian officials have
previously called it Syria tactics, this kind of scorched policy. But also the critical role that Wagner played here. And now we have questions of
over why they have made this elaborate show in the last day.
They're starting to withdraw from the city, the Ukrainians say because it's exhausting. Wagner says it's because they -- you know, secured victory in
that city. But it really raises the questions about what their plans are next, since it's clear that Yevgeny Prigozhin is not going to disappear
back into the shadows.
MACFARLANE: Yes, very clear, important to have this kind of clarity, I think at this stage. Clare, thank you. Now, a bitter presidential campaign
in Turkey is entering the very final stretch. As Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks to extend his decades-long grip on power. A runoff election Sunday will
decide not only who leads the key NATO state that sits at the cross-roads of Asia and Europe, but the direction of its domestic and foreign policy as
well for years to come.
Mr. Erdogan appears set to defeat a stiff challenge from a secular opposition leader, who has increasingly taken a turn to the right in the
campaign's final days. Well, let's bring in CNN's Nada Bashir for us, she's live in Istanbul.
[14:15:00]
And Nada, we know that campaigning is still ongoing, but as I mentioned there, we saw Kilicdaroglu turn to embrace more right-wing policies
following that first vote. So, will it make a difference? What chances do the opposition still have at this point?
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, Christina, when we saw those initial results two weeks ago, of course, the opposition alliance under the
leadership of Kemal Kilicdaroglu was successful in achieving nearly 45 percent of the vote. That is still a significant feat for an opposition
alliance that has long been divided and fragmented.
But of course, they are looking to beat President Erdogan who has remained in power for over two decades now. And of course, over these next few days
or hours, rather, they are looking to score as many votes as they can from the other parties who haven't made it through to this runoff. So, we have
seen Kilicdaroglu and other members of this alliance turning to these policies, trying to publicize policies which have been held and discussed
before, but perhaps not as publicized as we are seeing now in recent days.
As you mentioned, they're particularly focusing on the refugee issue. Kemal Kilicdaroglu looking towards this nationalist policies, but of course, we
also saw earlier in the week, well, the third-party in that initial vote, led by Sinan Ogan, pledging his support for President Erdogan. Now, it is
crucial, because of course, they were successful in achieving 5 percent of the vote.
President Erdogan's AK Party successful in achieving 49.5 percent of the vote, just short of that majority they needed to successfully declare a
victory. So, there has been talk around the potential for Erdogan to be a sort of kingmaker in this battle for the presidency. Of course, we've also
seen other political members of his party backing Kilicdaroglu. So it's not set.
Of course, it remains to be seen where those votes transfer between President Erdogan and Kemal Kilicdaroglu. But look, there's only a short
amount of time left before people in Turkey go to the polls. And we are still seeing these campaign rallies taking place today. We saw the
opposition party taking part in a large-scale rally in Iskodar(ph) neighborhood of Istanbul, just across the street.
We were there at an AK Party rally in support of President Erdogan. In fact, the country's own Interior Minister took part in this rally,
addressing supporters there. So, this is certainly still not over, there are certainly still a backup(ph) to be had, but of course, there's a lot of
pressure now mounting, because if President Erdogan is successful in being re-elected as the president, again, this is another term after being in
power for more than 20 years.
He has made a lot of promises. He's facing a significant amount of criticism when it comes to the economy, to the government's handling of the
earthquake in February, which killed more than 50,000 people, left millions more displaced. And of course, real questions, real fears and concerns over
the state of democracy here in Turkey. So certainly, a huge challenge ahead, even if President Erdogan is successful. Christina?
MACFARLANE: Yes, so much at stake in these elections in 48 hours still left to go. Nada Bashir there live from Istanbul. Thank you. And be sure to
watch CNN's special live coverage of the 2023 Turkey elections hosted by Becky Anderson. That's this Sunday, 6:00 p.m. here in London, 8:00 p.m. in
Ankara, right here on CNN.
All right, still to come tonight, air rushing into the cabin of an airplane minutes before landing. We'll show you. Plus, that looming deadline to
reach a U.S. debt-ceiling agreement is causing some serious nail-biting. Where things stand with just six days to go.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
MACFARLANE: Now, to a terrifying experience during an Asiana Airlines flight in South Korea. A man apparently opened the aircraft door during the
flight a few minutes before landing. We're told the plane safely landed, but at this stage, there are more questions than there are answers in this
video you can see here, as our Paula Hancocks explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is every traveler's worst nightmare. An emergency door opening while the aeroplane
is still in the air. Asiana Airlines says two to three minutes before landing, while the aircraft was about 700 feet from the ground, a man in
his 30s sitting in the emergency seat opened the door.
A less than one hour long flight from Daejeon to Daegu in South Korea turned into a nightmare for 200 passengers and crew.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Maybe the man tried to get off the plan. A flight attendant said help. And about ten passengers stood up
and pulled him in.
HANCOCKS: Police arrested the man, saying he confessed to opening the door, but gave no reason.
KIM JONG-CHAN, POLICE OFFICER (through translator): We weren't able to talk properly with him. He was not in a good mental state. He could not even
hold himself up.
HANCOCKS: Daegu's education office says 48 students were also on board, traveling to a junior sports festival. But for aviation experts, the most
pressing question is, how is it even possible for the door to open while still in flight?
GEOFFREY THOMAS, AIRLINERATINGS.COM: It seems impossible that the door could be opened in the first place, and then against the air stream,
technically impossible. But somehow, rather, it has happened.
HANCOCKS: Airbus said in a statement, we are looking into the circumstances of this incident, aircraft doors can usually only be opened upon touchdown.
Asiana says the cabin was automatically depressurized before landing. Twelve people were treated for hyper ventilation, nine of them in hospital.
Officials say all injuries were minor. A relatively benign outcome, considering the obvious danger. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, a South Korea government has now launched an investigation. And I want to bring in CNN's Richard Quest live --
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Right --
MACFARLANE: From London to discuss this. Richard, so many questions here. I think the key one posed in that report, which is, you would have thought
flying at 700 feet that it would be impossible to open the door, especially against the air flow, but apparently not. I mean, how likely is it that
there was a fault with the plane door here?
QUEST: Well, it was the air-flow that we're talking about, that's really interesting, because your -- these doors are not that easy to open. I mean,
there's a lot of tug and push and pull, and you've got to twist it round and then push it out into the -- and then moves off to the side. Looking at
the video from there, it does not look like it's been fully open.
It's sort of still out. And that raises the question, how he managed to do that into the air-flow of 160, 170 miles an hour, which should have kept it
in. The bigger question, of course, which people will be worried about is the idea of a decompression. Could the plane -- could the door had been
opened higher, the answer to that is no.
The air pressure inside versus outside, when the plane is at altitude, could not be opened. It is simply a physical impossibility. This plane was
at 700 feet. So the plane had already depressurized to equalize to the ground level, and therefore that's why that was not an issue. But the
question or the issue of being able to push it out into the air-flow, that will need to be looked at because these plane doors are heavy, and they're
not easily opened.
[14:25:00]
MACFARLANE: Yes, but answers an important question, as to how much worse this could have been, had it been at a higher altitude. But if you're
saying --
QUEST: Yes, maybe --
MACFARLANE: That was impossible, then I suppose it would only have been at this height.
QUEST: Well, yes, from the idea of the pressure, yes. You -- the traditional answer, and I'd say that because, you know, it will be the one
case that proves me wrong. The traditional answer is, you cannot open a plane door at altitude, because the external pressure and the internal
pressure means that the door -- the way the door is constructed with the lid on it, it's actually pushing out already.
So, to open the door, you have to pull it in and push it out, and you can't do that at altitude or when the plane is fully pressurized. What's
fascinating here, of course, is how this man managed to open the door, didn't fall out, and managed -- the plane -- the plane, I don't think --
well, I don't think I know, the plane was never in any danger. The actual aircraft itself was never in any danger. However, for the passengers
around, it would have been a terrifying and most disagreeable incident.
MACFARLANE: Absolutely. And I had actually been reading reports, saying that people close to the door were, in fact, passing out as they came into
land. Because, you know, one wonders what the long-term impacts of these passengers might be. I know some of them are in hospital. Richard, what are
the consequences likely to be here for this man who did this? I mean, I presume there's going to be legal ramifications for him.
QUEST: Well, I think you have to start with the first question, of course, is whether there are mental health issues. If there are mental health
issues, then we're in a completely different area. We're not talking about criminality per se, we're talking about treatment for whatever he may have
been suffering from, and what ails him. If he's just bloody-minded and decided he wanted to have a bit of fun, then they'll throw the book at him.
And they will not only possibly be a period of imprisonment, fines, he'll certainly be banned from Asiana for the foreseeable future. But let's not
jump ahead of ourselves here, judging from what I'm hearing, judging by what the policeman was saying, this man -- this sounds like he's not in a
very strong mental health situation, and therefore, that's where the focus will be.
And what are you going to do? At the end of the day, these things happen, other passengers rallied. The flight crew -- the flight attendants did what
they could. It happened at 700 feet, so the plane was just about depressurized for landing, but it was still very nasty.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and we are just grateful, I suppose, that there were no -- you know, there's no further incident to come from this. Richard, a final
point to you, I don't know if you saw this, being the aviation --
QUEST: Yes --
MACFARLANE: Expert that you are, but over the last few days, we saw that a pilot got locked out of a Southwest -- southwestern plane in San Diego and
had --
QUEST: Yes --
MACFARLANE: To crawl back through the window. I think we have some footage of it here. And this apparently happened, Richard, because the last
passenger to get off the plane accidentally locked the door behind him, which I didn't actually know could happen on an aircraft.
QUEST: Yes, well --
MACFARLANE: Apparently --
QUEST: Yes, you can -- I mean, obviously, the door could be opened outside and inside, but clearly, in this case, there was a lock involved as well,
and therefore, the 737 was locked from inside, and he had to go through the window. Now, interesting about the window, these are the same windows by
the way, but if the flight crew, the pilots had to evacuate in an emergency, they would go from the cockpit out through those windows.
So, they are designed for people to climb in and out of. But as you can see from this picture, it's a large pilot and a small window, and I'm guessing
there were a lot of red faces all round.
MACFARLANE: Yes, let's hope he doesn't have to do that often. Richard Quest, great as always to have you with us to break this down. Appreciate
it.
QUEST: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: And stay tuned for Richard, he'll be back at the top of the hour. Still to come tonight, though, a deal could be shaking up for the
U.S. debt limit, as the deadline nears for a possible default. We'll have the details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:02:19]
MACFARLANE: Now German police are investigating rock legend Roger Waters for alleged incitement over performance in Berlin that stirred up
controversy. The Pink Floyd founder appeared on stage in a satirical Nazi- style costume pretending to fire a prop gun. Nazi imagery is prohibited in Germany, but it's worth noting the performance is similar to the one from
Pink Floyd's The Wall, an overtly anti-authoritarian album and the character is not meant to be a sympathetic one.
Well, the routine has been part of Waters' show for decades. Scott McLean joins me now to discuss this more. So, Scott, this is not the first time
that Waters has done this act and not the first time in Berlin either. However, there is now a criminal investigation that has been launched
against him. What more are you learning about that?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so this requires a lot of context on both sides. First off, the performance, as you mentioned, is meant to, sort
of, depict the 1979 album The Wall, where the protagonist hallucinates that he's a fascist dictator. Obviously, the uniform resembles a Nazi uniform.
It's got the red armband and all, but instead of a swastika, it's got two crossed hammers, which is imagery that you'll find in the album. It's meant
to be satire. As you said, he's been doing it for decades. But this is the first time that it's, well, that there's been a criminal probe into.
"The Berlin police have said this about it. The context of the clothing worn is deemed capable of approving, glorifying, or justifying the violent
and arbitrary rule of the Nazi regime in a manner that violates the dignity of the victims and thereby disrupts public peace." So the performance has
actually been controversial for a while, so much so that the city officials in Frankfurt, where the tour is going this Sunday, actually tried to get
the venue to cancel it and it ended up in German court. The court actually ruled with Waters saying that while his performance uses "symbolism,
manifestly based on that of the national socialist regime, aka Nazis, it did not glorify or relativize the crimes of the Nazis or identify with Nazi
racist ideology."
MACFARLANE: Interesting. I mean, Waters himself is known as being a bit of a provocateur. And his defenders, his supporters, have said that, you know,
this is just part of a satirical act of his. So has Waters himself responded to these allegations at all?
MCLEAN: Yes, and to your point, he is a very harsh critic of the State of Israel. In fact, earlier this week, he called it, the State of Israel, a
tyrannical racist regime. He's also been critical of the German government for its 2019 vote to designate the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
movement against Israel as anti-Semitic, but he has always consistently denied that he is anti-Semitic himself. And after that court ruling came
down in Germany in his favor, he went on a podcast and explained the performance this way. Listen.
[14:35:07]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER WATERS, MUSICIAN: Well, I can be allowed to do the show because it's theater, darling. The idea that nobody can dress up in a (BLEEP) Nazi
uniform ever, to do anything, in a theater or a film, is ludicrous, obviously.
KATIE HALPER, PODCASTER: And also, just so people know, you don't dress up as him, in a pro-Himmler pro-Nazi way.
WATERS: No.
HALPER: It's a scathing critique.
WATERS: Quite right.
HALPER: You were playing a villainous character.
WATERS: It's a parody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: So that explanation not necessarily satisfying the critics. The state, or the Israeli Foreign Ministry has taken issue with the performance
more broadly. And some Jewish groups in Frankfurt are also planning to protest his performance there this Sunday,
MACFARLANE: Understandably. Controversial fit, or not, Scott, thanks very much.
MCLEAN: You bet.
MACFARLANE: Now in Washington, stress levels are soaring over that looming deadline for debt limit talks. Sources say U.S. President Joe Biden and
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are nearing a deal that would raise the debt ceiling for two years. McCarthy said his team in the White House made
progress last night but acknowledges that it's crunch time. Negotiators have just six days left to reach a compromise. Otherwise, the U.S. could
default on its debts and send the global economy into a tailspin.
Our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill with more on what might be taking shape. And Manu, the holiday weekend in the
U.S., of course, is just ahead of us. So, the timeline is a bit concerning here because there are still a lot of procedural hoops to jump through,
even with a deal on the table. So, do we have any idea when we can expect this to happen?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there are two steps here. First, there actually needs to be a deal, then second, move through
the United States Congress in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, get the votes, get that all through, and just do that in a matter of days. A
process that usually takes months, they're trying to condense over a matter of a handful of days, all with the U.S. economy hanging in the balance.
And the question right now is, can they get a deal? Yes, there have been some progress made in the negotiation between the U.S. House Speaker Kevin
McCarthy, and the President Joe Biden, and his team, have had a number of discussions for several days now on how to cut spending and tie that for
increasing the borrowing limit that's set now at $31.4 trillion. But there are significant issues that are still dividing them. One of them the issue
of so-called work requirements for people who benefit from certain social safety net programs here in the United States, that includes food stamps,
as well as temporary assistance programs for needy families. Republicans are demanding people who benefit from those programs have to abide by
certain work requirements.
Democrats have pushed back and said that would hurt the poor and hurt other people who have benefited from that program, and have tried to reject any
effort to impose that as part of this negotiation. But I just caught up with one of the key negotiators in the room, Congressman Garret Graves, who
told me, "Hell no, Republicans will not drop that demand for work requirements as part of this deal to avert a debt default." So that all
raises the question what can actually be done. If they were to get a deal as soon as tonight, then they would have to actually draft it into
legislative text. That's going to take at least two days to put together, and then move to the house, that would be three days before there'll be a
vote in the U.S. House, and then it could take up to a week to move it through the U.S. Senate.
So there are a lot of questions here, especially given the warning from the Treasury Department that a default could occur as soon as June 1st, if not
the early June. So that raises a lot of questions about whether a deal can be reached, whether they can get the votes and sell it to both chambers,
and if they can actually avert this potential economic disaster. But right now, all the focus is on the speaker's office and the White House, if they
can actually get there, uncertain at the moment, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, let's just talk a little bit more about that economic disaster, because if they don't reach a deal by June 1st, or even
if they reach a deal kind of at that point, what would the consequences be here of the U.S. defaulting?
MCLEAN: Yes, it's never happened before. So, there are a lot of fears that it could have not just spooked the markets and send it into a tailspin, the
U.S. credit rating could be downgraded. It would cost more money for the United States government to continue to borrow money. So, we'd actually
rack up more money in the U.S. debt.
And there are real practical effects, the U.S. would not be able to pay off some of its bills and they would have to start to prioritize which payments
to make, including Social Security checks that go out to individuals here in the U.S. That among a whole wide range of other programs that they are
required to continue to fund, can they continue to do that?
So, the ramifications could be long-lasting, it could be drastic, or perhaps just a blip if they're able to get this done quickly and get
through both chambers of Congress, which is why everyone is watching these negotiations so closely. Can they avoid what has been avoided for this
long, debt default? It is still unclear as the haggle behind the scenes to try to get some sort of agreement, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, let's hope it never comes to that.
[14:40:01]
Manu Raju there live on Capitol Hill. Thanks very much.
All right. Still to come tonight, this is no movie. Stay out of the water. A tourist is bit by shot in the Caribbean.
And later, scientists are confused, sailors are scared, ships are sinking, and killer whales are to blame. The details of a dangerous ocean mystery
when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Unfortunate developments in the effort to reestablish the cheetah population in India, another cub has died, marking the sixth death
in nearly two months.
Cheetahs have been extinct in India for decades and the controversial transfer program with South Africa started last year. But the big cats are
having a tough time, which was predicted. Wildlife experts say their reintroduction phase is the most difficult as the cheetahs get to know
their new environment. And for the cubs born in India, the cause of death included heat, dehydration, and weakness.
Now millions of Americans are heading to the beach this Memorial Day weekend, but authorities are on edge after a number of shark attacks in
recent weeks. A 15-year-old girl was injured by an apparent sharp bite while surfing last weekend. That was in New Jersey. And just a few days
earlier, two men in Florida were attacked while fishing and it's not just in the U.S., an American woman was bit by shark in Turks and Caicos.
Beachgoers are now being urged to stay vigilant in the waters.
And from Rockaway Beach, New York, our Miguel Marquez is joining us. So Miguel, what is it that beachgoers need to look out for here? Is it just
fins in the water or something else?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I mean, officials here in New York are being very clear that the beaches are safe and we're going to
make sure they're safe this summer. It's very, very rare to get bit by a shark but you do not want to be on the wrong end of the shark at the wrong
time. So they're saying if you see seals, or you see schools of fish, birds sort of going into the water, stay away from those areas because the shark
could mistake you for food. This is, after all, their front yard and backyard.
But look, this is Rockaway Beach in New York City in Queens right next to JFK Airport. People have been out here all day enjoying the surf. We did
speak to one surfer today who says they thought they saw a six-foot thrasher shark off the shore here. And another surfer said this is the only
place he's ever seen a shark and it came at him and then swam off.
[14:45:02]
Most of the time, sharks, they say, are shy and will not attack humans. But sometimes, they mistake humans for prey. In that situation, in the Turks
and Caicos, that may have been the situation that person was snorkeling out beyond the reef, it took her leg off. That's how bad that attack was. And
she was only saved because of some very fast-thinking. personnel from a tour boat that was nearby.
There was this young woman who was surfing down in New Jersey, just south of here in southern New Jersey. She was only bit on her foot with which
wasn't bad. And then there was a young woman in Florida, she was in the shallow part of the ocean of just near the shore. And she got bit by a
shark. So, it can happen almost anywhere almost any time. But beware that this is their front yard, their backyard, you do not want to be mistaken
for lunch or dinner. Back to you.
MACFARLANE: Absolutely not, Miguel. This is literally my worst nightmare that would unfold here. Do we have -- do we know why there is an increase
of attacks? I mean, if this is an increase of attacks at this time? Is this some sort of time of year or what are authorities saying?
MARQUEZ: Well, so interestingly, worldwide, the attacks have gone down somewhat. But in New York, for instance, they had a record number of
incidents with sharks last year, it -- along new Long Island, excuse me. And so this year, they're going to increase the number of drones, shark
spotting drones, and boats in the water around the beaches to make sure that if they do see one, they can get people out of the water. They wait an
hour or so and they can allow people to go back. So, it's just it's a matter of people being in the water when sharks are present. And sharks are
up and down the Atlantic coast all the time. Back to you.
MACFARLANE: Thank you. All right, Miguel Marquez, you stay safe out there, Miguel, this weekend.
All right. So scientists are mystified over why killer whales are attacking and sinking boats off the coast of southern Spain and other fish-related
news. On Wednesday, a group of orcas slammed into a sailing boat, damaging the rudder and tearing a hole in the bottom. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Spanish authorities towed the ship back to Port. Orcas sank three boats earlier this year and there have been dozens of other attacks.
Scientists say there could be multiple reasons for the strange behavior. One theory is that a female orca may have been traumatized by a boat
collision and began taking it out on other ships. The rest of the whales then learn to follow suit. Blimey.
Another theory is that this is simply a game that juvenile orcas are playing for fun. Either way, Spanish authorities are warning sailors to
leave the area immediately if they see any strange behavior. Don't need to be told twice, too.
Still to come tonight, the potential for artificial intelligence to assist in medical discoveries. We'll check out one example that could help fight a
super bug. Details straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:45]
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. More than a decade after a motorbike accident left a Dutch man paralyzed, he's now learning to walk again, thanks to a
major breakthrough in neurological technology. Gert-Jan Oskam's recovery was tracked in the medical journal, Nature, outlining how he regained the
use of his arms and legs, thanks to special implant devices. They help bridge the communication gap between his brain and spinal cord. CNN spoke
to the doctors who performed the surgery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOCELYNE BLOCH, NEUROSCIENTIST, UNIVERSITY OF LAUSANNE: When I was there just for the first day when we were preprogramming the stimulator with the
brain implant, I thought that he would only execute slight movements at the very beginning. But he was so fast that the very first day, we asked him to
stand up and to do a few steps and it worked. And all the team -- he was not here unfortunately, he thought it would happen later, and so we were
all in tears.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Amazing. Oskam was the first participant in the trial, but researchers are hopeful about future possibilities.
Now the power of artificial intelligence and medical research is helping develop a new type of antibiotic. A study found the compound may work
against a dangerous superbug that's been resistant to other drugs. CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. So Elizabeth,
tell us how exactly this discovery was made using AI.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Christina, this is so interesting. What they did is the researchers said, look, we need to test
lots and lots of lots of different drugs and compounds to see what might work against this terrible, terrible bacteria that kills so many people.
Now conventionally, if you're going to do that, it's going to take you, you know, moths or even years to test out, say one million compounds.
But with the AI, in just days, you can test out a hundred million compounds and really, this is sort of a matter of finding like a needle in a
haystack, you need to test out a lot, a lot, a lot of these in order to see what works. And what they did is they gave a mouse a wound with this --
infected with this bacteria. They tried it out and it worked. And it also worked when they brought an infected tissue from human beings.
Now still, having said that, this is very, very far away from actually ending up on the market. There is so much more research that needs to be
done, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Yes. But speeding up the process there, as you say. And why was finding an antibiotic for this particular bacteria important?
COHEN: This particular bacteria is so deadly, because it's very, very smart. It's figured out ways to circumvent the antibiotics that we give
much of the time, sometimes all of the time. So when you look at folks who get this infection, and it's mostly usually people who are in hospitals,
and usually the sickest people in hospitals, one out of four of them who get it within a month of diagnosis, they're dead. One out of four. That's
an incredibly high percentage. The World Health Organization has put this bacteria at the top of their most wanted list, that it is their priority
pathogen for finding an antibiotic that works.
MACFARLANE: It's so funny because we have been reporting so often on the sort of downsides to AI, the nefarious uses. And, of course, this is a
really positive one, as you're saying. Are there any other good applications for AI that have been looked at that could keep us healthy in
this field?
COHEN: Yes, absolutely. So last year, I visited labs at MIT, and what they're doing is they're looking at AI to look Add women's mammogram. So,
you know, a radiologist's eye is quite good, but it doesn't necessarily see everything. And it turns out, at least from when they look at it this way ,
that the computer's eye is actually better. You still need radiologists, you still need humans, but the computer was able to sort of dice it and
slice it and look at it in more detail. So that's just one of the ways that AI is being used. But I have to say, for all of this, it's kind of at the
beginning stages, a lot more work needs to be done.
MACFARLANE: Yes, but it's a good first step, isn't it? Elizabeth Cohen there. Thanks very much.
Now, Virgin Galactic is one small step from taking tourists to the edge of space for the astronomical price of $450,000.
[14:55:00]
Billionaire Richard Branson's company successfully tested its supersonic plane on Thursday, carrying its crew about 80 kilometers above Earth.
Commercial passengers are expected experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see Earth's curved horizon. About 90 minutes after
takeoff, Virgin Galactic tweeted "Touchdown, VSS Unity. Our crew and spaceship are back on Earth."
Now she's an icon, she's a legend, she is the moment. And for many girls and many boys, Barbie was there when no one else was. And now, this Titus
icon is about to get a big screen moment, but what happens when life and plastic is not always so fantastic? Take a look at the newest trailer from
the Greta Gerwig's upcoming movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SINGER: When my heart breaks --
MARGOT ROBBIE AS BARBIE, ACTRESS: Some things have been happening that might be related.
SINGER: When my world shakes --
ROBBIE: Cold shower falling off my roof, but my heels are on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: I am wearing my Barbie pink in readiness for this. Barbie, there's no law against being fabulous. Barbie hits the theaters on July
21st. Do not miss it.
And thank you for watching tonight. Stay with CNN. QUEST is coming up just after this short break.
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END
