comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. hello to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm michael holmes. appreciate your company. coming up here on "cnn newsroom" -- ukraine getting what its president calls a much-needed boost after the latest russian attacks. new military aid from the u.s. including a precision missile system. plus, new calls for the u.s. to do more as basketball star brittney griner goes on trial on drug possession charges. and the story of two brothers looking for a better

life in america. a dream that came to a tragic end with dozens of others in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer. >> announcer: live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with michael holmes. and we begin in ukraine, where a u.s.-supplied advanced weapon is reportedly starting to gain some traction on the battlefield. a senior u.s. defense official says ukraine has used the himaz multiple rocket launchers to take out russian rockets and other target. four of those are in use in ukraine, four more on their way. meanwhile, president zelenskyy accusing russia of terrorism following friday's missile strikes on a residential area near odesa. at least 21 people were killed, 40 others wounded.

this as the u.s. announces a new batch of military aid for ukraine including those anti-aircraft missile systems. mr. zelenskyy saying the equipment will give ukraine a much much-needed boost. >> translator: i am especially grateful to the united states of america and personally to biden for the new support package for ukraine announced today which includes very powerful systems, an anti-aircraft missile system that will strengthen our air defense. we have worked hard for this supply. in total this package is worth $820 million and in addition to nasams also includes artillery, ammunition and radars. >> meanwhile, u.s. officials say russia may face more attacks from behind the front lines. they say three recent assassination attempts against pro-russian officials in kherson including one that was successful suggests a growing resistance movement in the south in russian-occupied areas.

u.s. officials believe acts like that could eventually lead to a bigger counterinsurgency movement. but back on the front lines russia pressing ahead with its grinding offensive in the east. the city of slovyansk is within striking distance of russian heavy weapons. its mayor already urging residents to evacuate. as phil black reports, ukrainian defenders are outgunned as they push back against russian forces. >> reporter: these ukrainian fighters know it won't be long now. the russians are getting closer. firing heavy munitions into this dense forest every day. vladimir shows us where cluster bombs and much bigger rounds have fallen close to their camp. incoming fire booms steadily nearby. as mykhailo proudly shows us the

advanced anti-tank weapons supplied by western allies. they were hugely effective earlier in the war. but they're not the weapons ukraine needs most for this fight in the east. "you can hear it," mykhailo says. "for every one of our heavy shots they make 10 or 20. it's because we lack artillery." outgunned by the russians. outnumbered too. "of course they're coming," maxim says, "and there are many more of them than us." the fighters in this forest a short distance from russian lines are all volunteers that signed up when the war started. for weeks they've been waiting, ready to carry out one job, to attack any russian convoys trying their luck on a nearby road. if, when the russians decide to move through and take this territory, it is unlikely these sieges will ever see them, not up close. they will just feel more of the same. heavy weapons, artillery.

the rocket fire. the big heavy weapons that russia is using to drive ukrainian forces back steadily, slowly, across this region. russia's big weapons don't just fall in the forest. slovyansk, a key city in the donbas, is now within easy range. here russia's artillery destroyed a local business. six people outside a supermarket were injured when cluster bombs dropped around them. bomblets also scattered over this apartment complex, killing a man and a pet. terrifying many more people. valentina says the explosions blew debris over her bed. every night she tries to block out the noise of war with a pillow. in bakmut, southeast of slovyansk, the explosions are even greater in number and power, tearing apart people's homes as they huddle beneath them in basements.

the russian advance on bakmut is only a short drive from this road. almost eph home has someone living in it. almost every home has felt russian firepower. but the people here still reluctant to leave. marina feels she has nowhere to go. but the strain of staying is unbearable. she says "we don't have gas. we don't have power. we don't have water. but we only want the shooting to stop." in the donbas, russia's unmatched artillery is an unstoppable force. with loose aim and no concern for civilian suffering. it is steadily overpowering ukraine's defenses. phil black, cnn, the donbas, ukraine. american basketball star brittney griner appeared in a courtroom outside moscow on friday on drug charges that could result in a -- in a

russian prison. officials with the u.s. embassy in moscow attended the proceedings, and at least one was able to speak with griner directly. senior international correspondent frederik pleitgen with the story. >> reporter: brittney griner handcuffed as she was led into the courtroom. cameras were not allowed inside the trial where the wnba star was read the charges of allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into russia. her lawyer saying griner is in strong spirits. >> she's a bit worried, but she's -- she's a tough lady. and i think she will manage. >> what do you think are the chances she can get out, that you'll get an acquittal? >> i would not comment on that. >> reporter: brittney griner was detained at a moscow airport on february 17th. prosecutors today claiming she was carrying two vaping cartridges with a total of about 0.7 grams of cannabis oil inside them. a crime in russia that can carry

a sentence of up to ten years in a prison colony. the u.s. considers brittney griner as being wrongfully detained. charge d'affaires called on russia to release brittney griner immediately. >> wrongful detention is unacceptable wherever it occurs. the united states government at the very highest levels is working very hard to bring miss griner as well as all wrongfully detained u.s. citizens safely home. >> reporter: brittney griner's trial starts as tensions between the u.s. and russia have reached a boiling point. not just over russia's invasion of ukraine. the u.s. is also calling for the immediate release of former marine paul whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in russian prison for alleged espionage. the u.s. called his conviction politically motivated. the kremlin rejects that and today also said brittney griner's trial was not political.

>> translator: you know, i cannot comment on the actions of the russian court. we don't have the right to do that and never do. i can only deal with the facts, and the facts say that a prominent athlete was detained in possession of prohibited substances that contained drugs." >> reporter: after about 2 1/2 hours brittney griner's trial was adjourned for another week, and she was led away handcuffed again. as her lawyers and u.s. authorities fight to bring the basketball star home as soon as possible. fred pleitgen, cnn, moscow. >> now, griner's wife, sherrell, says she has not been able to speak directly to brittney during this time but they have been able to exchange letters. in an exclusive conversation with cnn's abby phillip she talked about some of the physical challenges the athlete is experiencing in russian detention. >> b.g. is having to travel over five years hound trip when she goes to court in a very, very, very tiny cage with her knees

bent, feet up to the ground because it's not big enough for her to fit in. so she is experiencing a lot the days before she walks into court. >> and you can see more of abby phillips's exclusiven't view with cherelle griner. joining me from washington, d.c. is jill dougherty. adjunct professor at georgetown university and a cnn contributor. also former cnn moscow bureau chief. good to see you again, jill. let's start with how big of a bargaining chip is she for vladimir putin and what might he want in exchange for her? of course the arms dealer viktor but, his name keeps coming up. >> she's a significant person. she is a major sports figure. she's, you know, in the public eye. interestingly, you know, she was going to russia to play, which is what happens with some female athletes in basketball in the

united states. but she's really kind of -- you know, she's a significant person. and as to what would happen, yes. i mean, the prime person that you would immediately think that the russians would want to trade her for would be viktor but. back in 2002 i interviewed viktor but in the moscow bureau and at that point he was a wanted man. and still to this day is one of the biggest, you know, convicted arms dealers in the world. at that point he was providing weapons to latin america, africa, the middle east, and he actually came to the bureau. and interestingly, i went back to look at that script and he said, "i'm a businessman." and in the russian media today he was described as a russian businessman. >> yeah. certainly they'd like him back. maybe that's where this will end up. in the u.s. the thing is a cannabis offense like hers, i

think it was 0.7 grams of cannabis, would be relatively minor. what would you expect her trial to look like in terms of dare i say fairness, her ability to mount a defense? >> you know, i think in russia the way it is right now obviously most people who end up in court are convicted. but that said, i think what they would try to do is make it look very legal. so it depends on what the definition in russian law is for this offense, albeit in the united states that would be very minor, in russia it could be more important. but i think, you know, when you look at the amount, this is not a drug dealer. this is not a big amount of drugs. if she -- if it is hers indeed, as you said, it's very little. but again, as i watch the coverage and i watch how the kremlin is depicting this, i would say they have kind of a

hands-off approach saying, you know, justice must be served, this is p political. but at the same time they're parading brittney griner through the hallway, you know, with guards, armed guards, dogs, you know, every time. so i think they're getting some publicity out of this. there's no question. >> not many cases go through the russian courts that people get acqu acquitted. there's criticism that the biden administration isn't doing enough. what can it do realistically if putin wants to keep not just brittney griner but other americans too? >> you know, michael, think it is very, very difficult. relations now -- i mean, every week we've said relations are terrible. but i will tell you, i really think they are the worst that i think i've ever seen them. even in the soviet days. right now. so the political atmosphere is really toxic.

and whether the biden administration could even do a deal at this point is questionable. it really depends on what vladimir putin wants and the objective. how important would it be, let's say, if the idea is to trade her, how important is it to get viktor bout? and in many ways the russians have been trying to get limb out for years, and one of the reasons is because there were allegations that he was associated with russian intelligence. and i think that's one -- that is one of the reasons obviously that he's really important for them. >> when you stand back and look at russia today as you do basically for a living, not just this trial but the war in ukraine, also the economic damage that is being caused domestically, and that is growing virtually weekly, how putin is behaving generally. when you look at all of that, do you think putin continues to have the full support of those around him?

how secure do you think his position is? >> you know, if you are other talking about the public, there has been a little -- i just in fact looked at a poll -- i know polls are very difficult to do at any time in russia, especially now, but there is a slight uptick since the be beginning of the war to now, a 6% uptick in the very small number of people who are opposed to the war. that said, it's very difficult to even express that view. but i think the most important thing to point out right now is in the big cities like moscow and st. petersburg the russian government is trying to make it seem as if war, what war? there's no conflict. there's less and less indication on the streets that there actually is a conflict in ukraine. and i think that is part of governmental strategy. they don't want people to be at this point obsessing about

something that could be very negative, sanctions and also the russian soldiers who are coming back, you know, in coffins. so you can see that happening in moscow right now. >> yeah. some pretty poor economic numbers coming out in the last couple of weeks as well. sanctions biting. jill dougherty, as always, great to have you on, and your experience and expertise on this. >> thanks, michael. now, a string of earthquakes struck southern iran on saturday. the country's semi-official faz news agency says at least five people have been killed. 44 others sijd. iran's red crescent society says emergency teams are conducting rescue operations. according to authorities, 12 villages sustained damage, and many homes in one particular village were destroyed. coming up here on the program, from the president on down democrats pushing to protect abortion rights after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade.

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new york lawmakers are wasting no time in their efforts to protect women's reproductive rights. they passed an amendment on friday to add protection for abortion and contraception rights in the state's constitution. it's the first of several such measures before it goes to voters next year. now, all of this coming as the governor, kathy hochul, took part in a democratic governors meeting with president biden to discuss abortion rights. cnn's jeremy diamond with more on that. >> reporter: president biden on friday sitting down virtually with nine democratic governors, all of whom are working to reinforce and strengthen abortion rights protections in their states in the wake of that monumental decision by the supreme court to overturn roe vs. wade. the president reiterating his administration's commitment to ensuring that women have access to medication abortion, including by mail, and also

talking about protecting women's rights to travel from states where abortion is now outlawed to states where they can indeed access those abortion services. but two of those governors, governor kathy hochul of new york and governor lujan grisham of new mexico, both urging president biden to go further and do more, allowing abortion services to be accessible to women on federal lands including federal properties like veterans administration buildings or indian health services medical facilities. that's something, though, that the white house has effectively ruled out already. white house press secretary karine jean-pierre saying earlier this week that while it's an interesting idea they looked into ultimately they believe it could prove dangerous including because of the possibility that some of those doctor could be prosecuted under state law. so ultimately president biden reiterating what his administration has already been trying to do and also punting ultimately to november.

the president making very clear that this is now a political issue, the number one political issue perhaps for democrats in terms of a rallying galvanizing cry that they have heading into these november midterms. the president reiterated his support for a filibuster carveout that would allow abortion and policy rights to be enshrined in federal law with just 50 democratic senators. the problem is that right now two of those democratic senators oppose such a filibuster carveout and so the president saying he needs two more democratic senators to be elected in november in order to move forward. but that is ultimately where the battleground now lays, is in those november midterm elections. as the president also warned that he believes if republicans take control of the house and the senate that they will try and pass something very different, a ban on abortion nationwide. jeremy diamond, cnn, the white house. family members of those killed in the uvalde, texas elementary school shooting are

demanding answers. >> my sister was obliterated. closed casket. i couldn't touch her! i couldn't say my last good-byes! >> details on what officials say about the police investigation and why the families say it's just not good enough. that's when we come back.

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it has now been more than a month since the elementary school massacre in uvalde, texas. and family members of the victims say they're still being

ke kept in the dark about the botched police response. cnn's rosa flores reports on their push for answers. >> our kids were obliterated. my sister was obliterated. they were in closed caskets. i couldn't hug her. i couldn't touch her! i couldn't say my last good-byes! >> reporter: raw emotions turned into heated exchanges at the uvalde city council meeting thursday. after mayor don mclaughlin told the room filled with family members of the 19 children and two adults killed at robb elementary that there was no new information he could share on the investigation into the failed police response. >> why is it that children are calling 911 and you can't tell -- there's a lot of children that could have been saved. you keep protecting pete arredondo. the school board failed because

the minute this happened they should have fired him. >> ma'am, let me tell you something. i feel your pain. we all do. >> oh, no, you don't, sir. no, you don't. >> reporter: the mayor said he too is frustrated with the lack of transparency in the investigation and read this letter from the uvalde district attorney. "any release of records to that incident at this time would interfere with said ongoing investigation." >> which means if we release it and she can take us, each and every one of us to the grand jury and indict each and every one of us for it. i've had one heated argument with the district attorney. and basically got told i could go fly a kite. >> she doesn't have a heart. >> no, she doesn't. >> reporter: cnn has reached out to the uvalde d.a. about the story but so far hasn't heard back. >> over and over -- >> reporter: visibly absent from the meeting, recently elected city council member pete arredondo, the head of the texas department of public safety has identified arredondo, who was also the school district police chief, as the incident commander

and laid the blame on him for the failed police response to the deadly attack. the school district placed arredondo on administrative leave. arredondo told the "texas tribune" he didn't consider himself the incident commander. thursday was the second council meeting arredondo missed. according to the city charter, if he misses one more, he could be removed. >> if he misses a third, i don't think there's anybody up here that will tell you we won't take the action that we need to take. >> reporter: but that's no consolation for the families who want arredondo ousted. >> we want y'all to look at this not as a mayor, as a city council member. look at it as a dad. as a parent. you don't do what you can do as a mayor. go beyond that. i know there's a limit on what you can do. go beyond that. what if it was your kid? you can't say nothing.

do something. >> reporter: if arredondo misses the next city council meeting, which is scheduled for july 12th, he could be voted out by a majority of his city council peers. i reached out to arredondo's attorney and have not heard back. rosa flores, cnn, san antonio. we are learning one of the men charged in that tragic human smuggling incident in texas was already under investigation by the department of homeland security. that's according to a criminal complaint filed on wednesday. officials say he was communicating with this suspect about the smuggling, the driver of the semi truck transporting the migrants. the driver allegedly unaware the air-conditioning in the truck had stopped working, resulting in the deaths of 53 migrants. officials are calling this the deadliest human smuggling incident in u.s. history. if charged both men could face the death penalty.

for many of those brave enough to make the dangerous trip across the border, it is a chance at a better life. cnn's rafael romo has the story of two brothers killed in that tragedy who shared the same dream of reaching the u.s. >> reporter: the two brothers shared a dream. they would travel together by land through central america and mexico, hoping to reach the united states in less than two months. "we planned it all as a family so that they could have a better life," their mother says. "we wanted them to make their dreams come true." 23-year-old alejandro miguel andinno caballero and his 18-year-old brother jose redondo caballero were among the 53 migrants found dead in sweltering conditions inside a tractor-trailer this week in san antonio, texas. a homeland security investigations agent says this is the deadliest human smuggling incident in u.s. history. >> it's just horrific that any

human being would treat another human being like this. it's just horrific, and the sooner that we can get the investigation top to bottom to give us more details the better off we are. >> reporter: the brothers were not traveling alone. 24-year-old margie tamara paz, wife of the older brother, was also found dead in the tractor-trailer. 28-year-old adella ramirez was also among the four honduran nationals who died there. a friend of hers in her native cullamel, honduras, says she wanted to travel to the united states to be reunited with her family. "i'm going to leave, she told me, because the whole family wants to be together. my mother and my two sisters." most of the migrants found trapped in the tractor-trailer came from guatemala, honduras and mexico. the bexar county medical examiner's office, which is processing the bodies of the deceased, has asked for

patience. in a statement it said that a large number of victims and the expectation that most or possibly all are citizens of foreign countries will likely lead to a prolonged process. among the 16 survivors is the grandson of bonifacia sanchez, who lives in a rural area in the southern mexican state of oaxaca. asked why her grandson risked his life to get to the united states -- "because we are poor," she said. "there are no jobs here to make a living. the need is great." an answer that explains why so many continue to seek a dream that this week ended in tragedy for dozens of migrants. rafael romo, cnn. still to come here on the program, people in japan asked to ration air-conditioning, own as record-breaking temperatures continue to soar. we'll look at how people are coping.

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welcome back. parts of japan are struggling with its worst heat wave on record, with temperatures hitting around 40 degrees celsius for the seventh day in a row. the government is asking people to use less electricity, even rationing air-conditioning amid growing power shortages. cnn's blake essig with the details. >> reporter: thousands of visitors flocked to this water park in the tokyo suburbs. a little splash in the pool to cool off from the summer heat. japan has been battling a sweltering heat wave for more than a week. the capital just experienced its hottest june since recordkeeping began. >> translator: it got hot suddenly, and it's really tough. i usually keep the air-conditioner below 28 degrees celsius. it's so hot that i don't even want to walk around outside. i feel really terrible. >> reporter: people are doing whatever they can to stay cool. some carry around a personal fan while others enjoy a bit of ice

cream. offices in tokyo even went dark for hours to try to conserve electricity. as the grid strains under the demand for mass air-conditioning. plus an earthquake forced some nuclear power plants to suspend operations back in march, which pushed japan's power supply to its limits. this as temperatures in the capital hit more than 100 degrees fahrenheit, or around 38 degrees celsius in recent days. >> translator: if there's a sudden power outage, we are going to have problems in our daily life. if it gets hotter than this, i think it will not just be a warning but a serious alert that the power outage may happen for real. >> reporter: extreme conditions aren't just affecting humans. animals at tokyo zoo are also feeling the heat. >> translator: we have a veterinarian doing checkups when needed, and in some cases we are letting the animals walk freely from their enclosures to the exhibition area so they can stay in cooler zones. also, we are taking some animals

to a back room where there is good ventilation. >> reporter: japan's heat wave is just one of many happening around the world. and scientists warn of more extreme weather due to climate change. temperatures in japan are expected to ease by monday as a tropical storm enters the region. but these cooler temperatures will still be above average. blake essig, cnn, hong kong. a distressed whale is swimming freely now after being rescued by a small crew from the norwegian coast guard. local ferry operator alerted the agency, which sent a boat to help the struggling animal. the agency posting this video on its twitter feed showing a crew member cutting through a rope and buoy that had trapped the whale. you see there the whale thanking rescuers with a surprise shower there. flapping its tail, sending water spraying into the boat. some good news there.

but that thing shouldn't have been in the water to begin with. terrible. all right. up next for our international viewers, "marketplace middle east," with viewers in north america "cnn newsroom" continues with me after the break. ♪ ♪ how's he still playin'? aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength.. reduces ininflammation. don't touch my piaiano. kikick pain in the aspercreme.

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it has been four days since the january 6th committee presented one of the most vivid and damaging testimonies yet of president trump's behavior on the day of the capitol riot. and now we are learning that star witness cassidy hutchinson was contacted at least twice prior to tuesday's appearance in an apparent attempt to sway her testimony. that may be why the committee rushed to get the former white house aide before the public and under oath. it's worth noting former trump adviser steve bannon heads to trial in about two weeks for

defying a subpoena from the select committee. bannon's defense argue all mention and images of the riot should be excluded from his trial. on friday the justice department told the judge it would not go into those events in depth. for more on the continuing fallout of tuesday's bombshell testimony, here's cnn's ryan nobles. >> reporter: witness intimidation has become a serious focus of the january 6th select committee. cnn has learned that both instances the committee presented as examples of possible witness intimidation during their hearing on tuesday were directed at their witness, cassidy hutchinson. >> he knows you're loyal and you're going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition. i think most americans know that attempting to influence witnesses to testify untruthfully presents very serious concerns. >> reporter: sources say the committee bleevds that pressure was applied at the beleft of former white house chief of staff mark meadows, a claim

meadows spokesperson ben williamson rejects. "no one from the meadows camp, himself or otherwise, ever sought to intimidate or shape her conversations with the committee," williamson said in a statement to cnn. the accusations of intimidation come at the same time "the new york times" reports that organizations close to donald trump have been helping to pay for the legal fees of witnesses before the committee. it's a practice that is not uncommon or illegal, but according to the committee's former senior investigator it does raise potential problems. >> it does run the risk that they would be less cooperative than they would be if they had attorneys who were advising them who were being paid by the client, in other words, the witness themselves. >> reporter: the committee is also still working with secret service to schedule another round of depositions for two agents at the center of a dispute over the former president's conduct inside the presidential suv on january 6th. >> tony described him as being ire raitt. the president said something to

the effect of "i'm the f-ing president. take me up to the capitol now." the president reached up toward the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. mr. engel grabbed his arm, said "sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. we're going back to the west wing. we're not going to the capitol." mr. trump then used his free hand to lunge toward bobby engel and when mr. ornato had recounted this story to me he had motioned toward his clavicles. >> reporter: cnn learning that accounts of an angry trump demanding to go to the capitol over secret service objections and lunging forward in the suv started circulating among agents in the months after january 6th. cnn has learned that agent tony ornato, who was also trump's deputy chief of staff, has met with the committee on two previous occasions. some committee members say his version of events on that day were murky. >> mr. ornato did not have as

clear of memories from this period of time as i would say miss hutchinson did. >> reporter: meanwhile, the work of the committee was front and center last night in wyoming. >> the only time that the j 6 situation ever comes up is when people talk about how unfair this entire committee is. >> reporter: vice chair liz cheney's opponent harriett hageman promoting conspiracy theories about the election results while cheney accused hageman of doing trump's bidding. >> she knows it wasn't stolen. i think she can't say that it wasn't stolen because she's completely beholden to donald trump. and if she says it wasn't stolen he will not support her. >> reporter: meanwhile, the committee is still working on scheduling depositions of those two secret service agents at the center of the controversy over what happened in the presidential suv on january 6th. both tony ornato and bobby engel have said that they would be willing to come back dm and testify about their recollection of the events on january 6th. there's also another key figure

the committee is trying to come to some sort of agreement on as it relates to testimony and that's pat cipollone, the former white house counsel. scipollone has signaled >> witness intimidation is of course a serious criminal offense. in the justice department might yet take action. earlier cnn spoke with doug hay the former communications director at the republican national committee. he was asked if republicans no longer care about impropriety. have a listen. >> politically it may not be a problem. certainly in the house of representatives potentially the senate. obviously the republican party has morphed and we can't elect this guy. overwhelmingly every person was running for president 2016 said this guy is terrible. until they stopped doing that. as that happened the republican party changed and it's one thing

i take issue with what she said about mark meadows. this is exactly the mark meadows i met in 2013 and dealt with in 2014. this the mark meadows that everyone who worked in house leadership knew. read the book he's personal stories about mark meadows where he won't say it's him. but it's clearly mark meadows. this shouldn't surprise anybody where this is being pointed to now. >> do you think from the mark meadows that you know, that he would be capable of doing something like -- >> without question. >> intimidate a witness. >> without question. john baner in the book talks about a story of an unnamed member of congress that everyone knows is mark meadows. that literally got on his knees in the speakers office and said i beg you to forgive me. that's mark meadows. >> peak travel season arrived in the u.s. with the fourth of july holiday weekend. airlines and passengers bracing for chaos. and cnn report, the blame game well under way.

>> millions of passengers are descending on airports along with summer storms putting short staffed airlines to their biggest test in years. the tsa screened 2.4 million passengers at u.s. airports on thursday. just shy of a new pandemic era record. >> it feels more like 2019 than the prior two years. >> with more problems for passengers. 3.5% of all flights this year have been canceled. a 42% increase over 2019. >> airlines are facing a range of problems at the carrier and federal government level. airlines pointed to air traffic control delays caused by staffs issues a a key facility in florida. who is really to blame? when it comes to the massive cancellations. >> bottom line is the airlines are selling the tickets need to have the crews and the staff to back up the sales. >> in an e-mail to customer,

delta ceo is apologizing for cancellations saying quote the environment we're navigating today is unlike anything we have ever faced. thursday off duty delta pilots organized picket lines saying they are overworked. >> we have been flying record amounts of overtime. to end the recovery to help get passengers safely to destinations. >> at its 24/7 command center in virginia the faa is monitoring potential weather delays in cities across the country. from forecasted thunderstorms, wind and low clouds. >> no one likes to be delayed. but sometimes it happens and we always are working together to make sure that we mitigate that as much as possible. >> almost no major airline is safe from the massive cancellations. delta is going so far as to insent vising passengers to avoid this weekends travel mess. putting in place a waiver letting passengers rebook completely free of charge.

joining me now is cnn meteorologist. what are you seeing out there? >> it sounds like a bad joke to me. many of the jokes we know the answer to already. staffing shortages, increase demand, thunderstorms. what do you get? travel headaches. we have all been there. we don't want them and it's not good news coming in on the long extended holiday weekend here in the united states. you can see the map behind me we have red and when that severe thunderstorm is indicated over the eastern sea board, you know we have problems. we have up to 50 million americans under severe weather threat today. large hail damaging winds for some of the most populated areas of the u.s. d.c., philadelphia, new york to boston. those are the areas with the chances of severe storms. look at them firing up this afternoon and look out for the delays to start piling up. that snowball effect into the afternoon and evening perhaps

through the weekend. currently no airport delays as we speak. it's the middle of the night. there's active weather across the u.s. you can see some of the current radar lighting up with a few thunderstorms. in fact, i want to bring your attention to the coast of the carolinas. this escalated very quickly from the national hurricane center. what was a cluster of thunderstorms has a high likelihood of tropical development over the next 24 hours or so. in fact, the latest discussion at 2:00 a.m. this morning from the national hurricane center calls for a 60% probability of development in to a tropical storm here in the coming hours. that is going to add potential travel delays across charleston to wilmington. the system slides along the coastline bringing heavy rain along with it. and the potential for some travel delays. heavy rain along the gulf coast states. new orleans to the west we have been monitoring that. weather prediction center has a marginal to slight risk of flash

flooding. problems on the roadways as well. here are the weather delays biggest along the eastern sea board. we clear it out sunday and monday just in time for the fire works and bring back the clear skies. >> all right. that's why you and i work this weekend. it's easier that way. >> i leave on monday to south africa. >> good for you. hang out with the mother-in-law. >> that's right. >> she watches me. >> hello, shirly. >> good to see you. now for years venus attracted mass i have crowds of tourists. it's found a way to keep the numbers down. beginning in january, the city plans to introduce an entrance fee. been in the works for while but was paused because of covid-19. ticket prices will vary from three to tenu euros each day. some will be exempt, remdesivir

de de -- residents and students. i'll have more news in a moment. . fryin', flyin', savorin', favorin'. over rotini. inside a panini. egging, maining, siding, plain-ing. debunk the inglorious. one shape's victorious. kraft singles. square it.

hello, welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. appreciate you your company. coming up on cnn "newsroom," ukraine's latest military aide from the u.s. seems to be paying off. but russia's invasion only appears to be getting worse. plus american basketball star brit any griner trial begins near moscow. what's next for her case and what her family is saying. across the u.s. more than a