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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Canadian Government Launches Probe Into Sub Implosion; Crews Search For Cause Of Sub's Failure; Sources: Special Counsel Gives Fake Electors Limited Immunity In Exchange For Testimony; Biden Campaign Makes Abortion Key Issue; Kansas Abortion Clinics See Uptick in Women From States With Abortion Bans Seeking Reproductive Care; CNN Investigation Casts Doubt On Greek Coast Guard's Account Of Deadly Shipwreck. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 23, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:02]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: He can hit a three pretty nicely, too. He just led the French basketball league in average points, rebounds and blocks per game. He was named the league's MVP.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: The Spurs said they've been watching since him since he was 15. He's 7'4", taller than Shaq, LeBron, even Boris, but I'm not sure if he has a better shot than Boris. We have to establish that.

SANCHEZ: He most definitely has a better shot than me, but I'm not scared of him. I'll go right to the hole.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: The same robot that found the Titanic sub is back at the wreckage site.

THE LEAD starts right now.

What went so tragically wrong causing the implosion that killed five people on that voyage to see the Titanic wreckage? First, on CNN. A new mission today for that remote vehicle that discovered the sub debris.

Plus, a CNN exclusive. Fake electors compelled to testify, as the special counsel investigation looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 election heats up.

And in the shadow of Trump, 2024 Republican hopefuls converge on a conservative conference, and try to separate themselves on one of the most divisive issues of this election cycle.

(MUSIC)

PHILLIP: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Abby Philip in for Jake Tapper here in Washington.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: And I'm Anderson Cooper, in St. John's, Newfoundland, where the Titan sub started its ill-fated journey, just one week ago today.

Now, this afternoon, the Canadian government announced it's launching an investigation into the implosion of the sub, which killed all five people onboard.

The Titan's mothership is set to arrive back here, at this port, in St. John's late tonight, or early tomorrow morning. The Polar Prince took the sub out to sea and lowered it into the water before the Titan lost communications, as you know, an hour 45 minutes into that dive, to see the Titanic.

The company whose remote operated vehicle, the ROV, discovered the sub yesterday, has told CNN another mission to the debris site is underway today. That information could help investigators ultimately figure out a timeline, and a cause of the tragic accident, although that may take some time. That investigation will likely be aided by from data from the U.S. Navy, which detected noise it's consistent with an implosion on Sunday. That information was determined at the time to be not definitive.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is with me now here on the scene.

So, there's another mission to the debris site. It seems unlikely that they would actually be able to bring anything up at this stage.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That would be a much more tricky and difficult thing for them to do it sounds like. They do have gear to do it, but it would mean getting cabling gear down there and then yanking it up. The subs they'd have down there right now do not have the capability to do that. They are trying to finally map it out to understand the dynamics of that implosion, hoping for some idea.

This as the Canadian transportation safety board announced his own official investigation of this tragic incident.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (voice-over): A day of mourning, flag half staff, a rose for each victim of the Titan.

JOHN PASCHALL, PAUL-HENRI NARGEOLET'S STEPSON: He was this big, lovable guy who's a prankster, but he cared so much about his family.

MARQUEZ: John Paschall speaking about Paul-Henri Nargeolet, his stepfather -- experienced deepwater diver, known as Mr. Titanic for the number of dives he made to the ship.

PASCHALL: Now, honestly, when he told me he was going back out for this expedition, when I saw him in May, I really honestly didn't think twice about it. I just said, okay, great. Have fun, keep safe, and I'll see you in July.

MARQUEZ: The implosion of the Titan, underscoring the controversial design of the deepwater sub and the materials, carbon fiber and Titanium. It had reached the Titanic several times before, but the ocean, at those depths? Unforgiving.

TOM DETTWEILLER, PRESIDENT, TKD ENTERPRISES, OCEAN OPERATIONS AND ENGINEERING CONSULTANT: This device was built much different than most people having submersibles, instead of using a sphere, which is very strong under pressure, instead, used two hemispheres on each end. And then a cylinder in between, made of carbon fiber. It looks like it was that portion made of carbon fiber that failed.

MARQUEZ: The world of deepwater submersibles small, very close, and highly specialized, making the rounds in that community, a possible last transmission from PH Nargeolet, to the mothership, the Polar Prince.

DAVID GALLO, RMS TITANIC INC. SENIOR ADVISER FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES: The other thing I heard that, PH had contacted the surface ship, and said there was a problem, we're dropping weights in surfacing immediately. Now, I can't verify that. That, to me, meant something really happened very quickly.

MARQUEZ: Most of the ships participating in the massive search and rescue mission now returning to homeport. Some still on the scene, mapping the debris field, looking for clues in the shadow of the Titanic, trying to understand with certainty what caused this latest tragedy, in this isolated corner of the Atlantic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (on camera): So, now, it is not only the Polar Prince, that mothership, that's coming back to here in St. John's, it looks like several other ships are returning here, ships returning to their home ports in the U.S. But others will still out there for the next week or so, gathering data, and possibly maybe if they can figure out, pull up some of that debris down there to figure out what exactly caused this implosion -- Anderson.

COOPER: Miguel, thanks.

I want to bring in Andrew Norris. He is a retired Coast Guard captain.

Andrew, appreciate you joining us. This debris field is nearly 13,000 feet under the water. We know the larger field is about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, according to Coast Guard. It's pitch black, it's freezing cold.

How do you go about mapping debris in these kind of conditions, with the vehicles they have on-site?

CAPTAIN ANDREW NORRIS, U.S. COAST GUARD (RET.): First of, all thank you for inviting me here today. As with everything associated with this search and associated activities, it's going to be extremely difficult. Operating at those depths, there's not many bits of equipment or gear that can even do it. Those pieces of gear will have probably some visuals, so they'll be cameras with lights. At that depth, there's no ambient light, so you can only feel division is only what's illuminated by the lights, and that they may also be equipped with some sort of side scan sonar, or something of that nature, that will send out the sound signal, which will then be retrieved, analyzed and then conclusions drawn from what sonar signal says.

COOPER: To finally understand exactly what caused the implosion, correct me if I'm wrong, do you need to bring up pieces of the whole -- pieces of the craft? To actually bring that up, how long is something in operation like that?

NORRIS: Yeah, so, the casualty investigation of this nature, I heard that Canada has convened a marine board. And so, an investigation of this nature is ultimately going to attempt to determine the cause of the casualty, as much as possible.

So, in that case, for example, parts of the hole that might be able to indicate where the fault occurred, where the actual implosion site was, that could give some clues as to issues with the material, issues with the construction. So, there is some use for the actual shards, the shreds of debris. Also, there's information that there were some sensors, hole sensors, on this submersible.

So, ideally, those are in black boxes I don't believe, as we can see with airplanes. Nonetheless, those answers could have some information, they would certainly be looking to retrieve those and glean whatever information it is that they may be able to get.

COOPER: You are in the U.S. Navy as well. A senior official told CNN, that the Navy detected an acoustic signature which they said was consistent with an implosion on Sunday, in the area, the general area, where the Titan was diving. They determined it was not definitive. Apparently, that information was immediately, according to the officials, sent to the incident commander.

Who would make the decision, whether or not to release that information? Because they didn't release that information to the public. And yet, they later released information that banging sounds, or some sort of sounds, had been heard. Who would decide how that information is released?

NORRIS: Well, with an incident command system like that, that was stood up, there is a public affairs component to it. But I would imagine that the decision was made at the very highest levels of the incident command. And they're faced with I think very difficult circumstances with that information. With that information, they probably had 95 percent certainty from the start that it had imploded.

But, nonetheless, the information wasn't definitive. And there was a chance that the people were still alive, and so, they had to make a difficult decision, not only in terms of continuing with the search, but also in terms of how the information is managed.

There's very much a public affairs component to these types of things. And also, you know, there is the families, friends and loved ones of the people that are aboard.

[16:10:05]

And so, how the information is dealt with is a difficult question.

COOPER: Yeah, Andrew Norris, I appreciate you being with us. Thanks very much.

Joining me now here is Titanic diver and expert, Larry Daley. He was also friends with Paul Henri Nargeolet who lost his life on the Titan sub.

Larry, I appreciate you being with us under the circumstances. What was -- what was Paul Henri like?

LARRY DALEY, FRIEND OF TITAN SUB PASSENGER PAUL-HENRI NARGEOLET: PH was a really good friend of mine. I met him 25 years ago in St. John's, when I was involved with expedition on the-- I show up to help out, do logistics for the ship that was here in port with the submersible on it, that hey were using, which was the Nautil (ph), the French group, that was their sub.

When I went on board to get introduced, PH was the co-expedition leader. We introduced ourselves, immediately became friends, and work together on that expedition over a couple of weeks, and then several after that. So, he's always been a mentor to me as well. This is really hard time for me.

COOPER: What do you make of what we know now?

DALEY: There's so much going on, you know, I guess we'll know more as they scan the sea floor with the ROVs. They have very capable assets. The expedition I first work with PH in '98 was actually going out and doing science and recovering artifacts. We're down to have miles down with one submersible, and picking up teacups on the sea floor.

COOPER: He was -- he was -- Paul-Henri was involved with the retrieval of thousands of artifacts over the years.

DALEY: Yeah, many. I think was over 5,000 collected in the last 30- plus years or more, for conservation and, you know, exhibits.

COOPER: They have the capabilities of bringing up small, delicate objects from those depths. It's just a question of getting the equipment on site and the desire to do that.

DALEY: Well, in '96, they went out to get the big piece. The big piece is the piece of the hull that's now an exhibit I think in the Luxor in Las Vegas. It was down deep, big piece of steel. So, they got down so far in '96, they dropped in lower water. And then back in '98, they went out -- that expedition, they actually raise that, big, you know, several thousand pound I think it was -- piece, thousand pounds anyway. Got it to the surface, using what I remember, they used out there was a diesel inflatable bags that lifted it to the surface to recover it.

So, technology 25 years ago was great. We're in 2023, I can't see any issue getting as much as they can.

COOPER: Yeah. Well, listen, I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend.

DALEY: Yeah. No, I appreciate it. Thank you.

COOPER: Yeah, I wish you the best, we'll keep you and follow this, Larry Daley.

Ahead, a closer look at the red flags from the OceanGate. I'll speak with an engineer who raised concerns about this submersible back in 2018.

PHILLIP: And also on THE LEAD: the 2020 election is back in the crosshairs, this time, fake electors given immunity in exchange for testimony in the special counsel investigation.

Plus, the strain on states seen it now as safe haven for abortion, one year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:58]

COOPER: We're back from S. John's, with more in our world lead in the catastrophic implosion of the sub that killed five people and avoids to the Titanic.

PHILLIP: That's right, Anderson. Right now, investigators are beginning to look at what caused this implosion. There's one big question. Could OceanGate be faulted for this tragedy?

CNN's Gabe Cohen is with us.

So, Gabe, you've been learning all about the scrutiny that this company was under before this dive. What are you hearing?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And, Abby, it is a long list of concerns that were raised, even before all of this unfolded. We have this 2018 letter written by the head of a submarine organization, who raised concerns, this was for Stockton Rush questioning the experimental approach as he put it, to Titan, and that it could have serious consequences. Especially, they were concerned that the vessel had not gone through independent testing, and it wasn't certified by an industry group.

Then there are these two former employees, who raised concerns about the Titan's carbon fiber hull, while the structure, while Titan was actually being built. And, look, Stockton Rush said, again and again, Abby, in interviews, that the vessel was safe, they had gone through the proper testing, that they even touted these partnerships -- NASA, the University of Washington, Boeing -- saying that that gave them credit really. It showed how safe it was.

But those so-called partners have started distancing themselves from OceanGate in recent days. We know both Boeing and the University of Washington have flat out denied partnering with Titan. UW tells CNN, OceanGate used their testing tanks for Titan, but no UW researchers were actually involved, and they didn't validate any of the OceanGate equipment. And then Boeing firmly told CNN, the company was not a partner on Titan, and did not design or build it, declining to comment on it any further.

And then, NASA, whose collaboration Rush really frequently raised, told CNN, that they consulted on materials and manufacturing process for the submersible. But did not actually conduct any testing and manufacturing, they certainly did not give the vessel any sort of approval.

So, no surprise that you would see some of these folks starting to backtrack a little bit, but really, a firm stance.

PHILLIP: Yeah. I mean, it's still stunning, and really very telling what some of the statements say and what they don't say.

Gabe Cohen, thank you very much for that.

Anderson?

COOPER: Yeah, the language of the company was using was very vague about their so-called partnerships.

We want to take a closer look at OceanGate, some of the red flags raised in the past. Last night, I spoke with filmmaker and deep sea explorer, James Cameron, the director of the movie "Titanic" obviously. He's made more than 30 dives that in the Titanic wreckage, and gone three times deeper than the Titanic site in another dive.

Listen to what he believes is the danger of using carbon fiber composite in a vessel such as OceanGate's Titan tub.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CAMERON, "TITANIC" DIRECTOR: We always understood that this was the wrong material for submersible hulls because with each pressure cycle, you can have progressive damage. But even in my own sub, which had a steel hull, I knew that if I dove several two or three times, it was probably good to go, because you can cycle steel hundreds of times, if not thousands of times.

[16:20:09]

But that's not the case with composite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Joining us is Bart Kemper. He's an engineer who, along with a dozen other experts in the submersible craft industry, raised concerns in 2018 about how OceanGate's Titan vessel was made, and warned of the company's, quote, experimental approach could result and what they called catastrophic outcome.

Bart, I appreciate you joining us.

You know, you hear James Cameron talking about the sort of the repeated use and perhaps degradation overtime of this carbon composite material. Is it likely that that is what occurred here? And had it gone through, had this gone through years of testing, a lot more elaborate sort of, you know, industry testing as you and others have recommended, or raise questions about, would those concerns have been lessened? Without even worked out? BART KEMPER, WARNED OF POTENTIAL TITAN SUB ISSUES IN 2018: Yes,

Anderson. The deal is that the standard of care is using codes and standards, the work that's already been worked out, we often say codes of standard was written in blood because all the lessons learned the hard way are captured and we make updates.

This is decades and decades of work, where people from all over the industries working together to develop these codes of standards. And separately but reinforcing, this using a jurisdictional or third-party oversight, in this case, classification societies.

The argument was by Stockton Rush, he wanted to do more innovation. He wanted to do something different. That's not a wrong idea, but when you introduce new technology and new innovations, you also increase the uncertainty. That's where you supposed to be using a process called validation and verification to address that.

So, it's not necessarily that the steel can have failures, and there's other high-end applications that use carbon fiber. It's all in the details. And we don't have those details.

COOPER: James Cameron made the point with me, innovation is one thing, and he certainly has done a lot of innovative work under the sea, and pushed boundaries and not gone through some safety industry protocols, testing on vehicles he himself has designed and that he himself has used to go down to extremely deep depths. The point he made, he would never have brought a passenger on board a vessel like that.

Do you think it's appropriate to bring one thing is experimental research and pushing the boundaries for science, another thing to bring paying passengers. If you think that appropriate on an experimental craft like this?

KEMPER: Well, that's a matter for the jurisdictional authorities to look at because they were classing all the people going down as mission specialists. They were not classing them as passengers.

You're absolutely right. Once you're taking on passengers, that puts you in a different classification even in international waters. However, what was being offered publicly, by OceanGate, was these were not passengers. These were mission specialists.

So, there's that issue. Everyone has an opinion about it. But that's the official stance on the organization -- that's the dispute that's going to be interesting to see how that resolves.

COOPER: Yeah, one thing to give somebody a uniform in a patch and call them a mission specialist. And have them out there for several days, it's another thing to actually have somebody who's really trained and knows all the risks, going into these vessels.

Bart Kemper, I appreciate you being with us. We're going to have an hour-long look at this underwater tragedy. I'll host "THE WHOLE STORY" Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern here on CNN.

Abby?

PHILLIP: Yeah, Anderson.

And next on THE LEAD, the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. What new activity in that case may signal after a year of very little movement.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:38]

COOPER: I'm Anderson Cooper, live from St. John's, where the Titan sub began its journey that ended in tragedy.

Today, Canada's transportation safety board launched its own investigation, looking into the implosion and into the Polar Prince, the support vessel that carried the Titan sub out from this port for the expedition.

I'll have more from St. John's, Abby, coming up.

PHILLIP: We'll be right back with you, Anderson, in just a few minutes.

But in our law and justice lead, a CNN exclusive in the special counsel's probe into January 6th. Sources say at least two fake electors have received limited immunity in exchange for their testimony to a federal grand jury here in Washington. Now, this comes after a year of very little movement in that fake electors portion of the investigation. Sources say that this new action could signal the prosecutors are nearing a charging decision.

CNN's Paula Reid, who is one of the reporters who broke the story, and CNN legal analyst, Elliot Williams, join me now.

Paula, what do we know about the deal that special counsel, Jack Smith, has given or offered to these electors in exchange for their testimony?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So, the fake electors scheme, this is one of the more complicated aspects of January 6th. This was a plan to try and reverse the outcome of the 2020 election by assembling these slates of fake electors who would pledge their support of former President Trump. It involves a sprawling cast of characters, many of whom are local GOP officials, folks in Trump's orbit.

[16:30:03]

But now, the fact that they're granting them this limited immunity in order to testify really nail down this particular aspect of the January 6th investigation, it does suggest that they may be nearing charges on this part of the January 6th probe. We know the January 6th side of the special counsel investigation, it is far more complicated, it is more sprawling, and we've always expected it would take much longer than the Mar-a-Lago investigation. PHILLIP: The January 6th investigation that the special counsel is

doing is also now coming after their congressional probe. In the congressional probe, the fake electors plot was not a huge part of what they were looking into.

What do you think is the significance of Jack Smith diving in here?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's a lot of significance. One, a looks like he's gathering evidence. And they're moving along.

Now, it's important to note, it doesn't necessarily mean that Donald Trump himself will or could eventually be a defended in the case. Because, given the amount of time it's taken to investigate, it's clear that it's sprawling. There are numbers of people being investigated, including in possibly going up to the president. What seems that they could not have gotten this evidence out of other people, or from other places, they have to extend this immunity to these witnesses. It does seem, as Paul had said there, moving along, we'll get somewhere soon.

PHILLIP: So, the charges in the classified documents case, Paula, really only involved Trump and Walt Nauta, his body man if you will. But could there be a larger pool of people who are imperiled here in a January 6th probe?

REID: Absolutely, again, this is such a complicated case. They're looking at not only the actions around Election Day, leading up to January 6th, after January 6th efforts to pressure the states, the fake electors raising money. There's so many aspects, so many people involved in all of these different alleged schemes. And a lot of it was done very publicly.

So, based on our reporting, we know some people that have been focused on questions that have been asked before the grand jury are, Rudy Giuliani, remember, he was a key player in a lot of these efforts. Sidney Powell, one of former President Trump's former attorneys, and former Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark.

To Elliot's point, the big question a lot of people have, what about former President Trump? Based on our reporting right now, it's not clear if he is a target, we know that witnesses have been asked about him. About his actions, what he was saying, what he was doing, leading up to January 6th, on January 6th, and after.

But at this point, it's just unclear, if you will be charged, but there's some other folks who probably aren't sleeping very well tonight?

PHILLIP: Yeah. And, Elliot, one other aspect of this, according to reporting, prosecutors looking into potential financial crimes, money laundering, the raising of millions of dollars off of these election lies. Do you think that could be a source of legal peril if you lied and raised in order to raise money?

WILLIAMS: I think it's a particular source of legal peril, number one, Abby, because it's sort of straightforward to prove. You just have to prove the untruth, that the untruth that went into an email or solicitation, and you send it to somebody else. That's wire fraud, that's potential mail fraud.

And a lot of these questions around January 6th are actually far more complicated, when you're dealing with when a candidate for office makes a statement. How do you charge him based on protected?

This is none of that. This is simply raising money off of lies. That's fraud, and also potentially campaign finance violations, far more straightforward to prove and a great source of peril for the president possibly.

PHILLIP: All right. Well, Paula Reid, and Elliot Williams, thank you both very much. Have a great weekend.

And ahead for us, a woman told CNN that she traveled overnight hundreds of miles from her home in secret from her family for a specific procedure. Why she says she had no other choice.

(OMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:37:52]

PHILLIP: And tomorrow will mark one year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade and abortion rights are front and center in both sides of the campaign trail. Right now, President Biden and Vice President Harris are meeting with key reproductive groups here in the nation's capital, to mark the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, as Democrats continue to use abortion restrictions to motivate their voters. While across town, at the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Republican presidential hopefuls are running to the right of Donald Trump on the issue of abortion.

CNN's Jessica Dean is here with us.

So, Jessica, you've been at Faith and Freedom all day. What have they been saying?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was really interesting to see this broad spectrum at Faith and Freedom, Abby. We've watched this play out over the last year, since the Dobbs decision. As Republicans have really struggled to kind of coalesce around an idea and a message moving forward for what comes next in the abortion fight.

And so, we're seeing that play out in this 2024 field, that continues to get larger by the day. We heard from four vice president, Mike Pence, who's been one of the contenders that lead the most heavily into this messaging today. He called for a 15-week federal ban, and he called on all of his rivals to do the same.

I let you listen more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some you'll hear from at this very podium will say that the Supreme Court returned the issue of abortion only to the states, and nothing should be done at the federal level. Others will say that continuing the fight to life could produce state legislation that's too harsh. Some of even gone on to blame the overturning of Roe v. Wade for election losses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And it's interesting to hear him use the word harsh there, Abby. His former running mate, former President Donald Trump, has yet to be pinned down on anything around a federal ban. He really has not come out directly and said if he would support that or not. He was asked about the six-week abortion bill that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and now the 2024 rival signed in Florida earlier this year. And that's when the former president said that some in the pro-life community had called that harsh.

[16:40:00]

DeSantis pushed back against that and said that he really found it to be humane, that he believed it was the right thing to do.

One more thing that we noticed today is that Governor DeSantis spoke last in his whole cohort of people that were speaking. We're going to hear from the former president tomorrow, President Trump. But he did his normal -- his normal stump speech.

And he did talk about the six-week ban, but only briefly. Again, he was talking to a large crowd of evangelicals. This was the crowd to do that with.

PHILLIP: That's really incredibly notable. And also, to add to what you said about what Mike Pence said, he was also referring to Trump there when he talked about people blaming, as he calls, at the pro- life movement for election losses. That was about Trump too.

Jessica Dean, thank you very much for that report.

And since last year's Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe, 14 states have banned or severely restrict abortions, mostly, in the South. Meaning that abortion seekers have had to travel hundreds of miles to try to get that procedure.

CNN's Kyung Lah reports now from a key safe haven state of Kansas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What else are you going to do? Where else you're going to go?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a road she doesn't want to travel. Yet, she has no other choice.

You have to drive like over 100 miles from Texas just to get any kind of assistance.

She's driven 12 hours overnight to get here from her home in Houston, to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Kansas City, Kansas, the closest clinic, where she can legally obtain an abortion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand, you know, the Bible question. I am Christian.

LAH: A 35-year-old woman asked us to conceal her identity. No one in her family, including her abusive former partner, knows she left Texas, where abortion is completely banned with very limited exceptions. She wants you to know what life is like, a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

And you have three kids already?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I do. They're great. But they are three kids. It's a lot. So, I can't continue to, you know, I don't know, get more behind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi there. I'm Dr. Sandoval. We're going to do the ultrasound if that's okay?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

LAH: Because of the crush of appointments at Kansas, she had to wait three weeks for hers. Her plan? Drive home right after the abortion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coming from far away?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Texas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I'm sorry.

LAH: But she learns she's too far along in her pregnancy for what the clinic can give her today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We stop doing one day procedures at about 18 weeks, or beyond on that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know, I'm sorry. I know you're facing all these barriers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no idea.

DR. SELINA SANDOVAL, PHYSICIAN, PLANNED PARENTHOOD GREAT PLAINS: Fortunately, this is the new world we live in right now. This is the reality that we have to take our patience through.

LAH: The new world, since the fall of Roe, has upended abortion care.

Especially in Kansas.

Voters in the Republican-controlled state stunned the country last August, rejecting a proposed state constitutional amendment, keeping abortion legal, and keeping abortion services available at Planned Parenthood Great Plains in Kansas. SANDOVAL: Kansas is the main center point of a lot of the patients

coming out of the South. We're their first access point. The majority of our patients are coming from Oklahoma and Texas right now.

LAH: Dr. Sandoval is seeing 47 patients today. A typical day, since the laws changed.

SANDOVAL: I wish we could see more. To be honest, we're really not meeting the demand. Right now, PPGP, we're sending around only to see around 15 percent of the patients that call us for an appointment I'm sorry that their decisions and their futures determine upon where they live and the money that they have access to. That's frustrating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A whole 24 hours. And I've accomplished nothing, that's just drive time.

LAH: What happens to you now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go home, same predicament I was in when I left. And broke, more broke than I was. So --

LAH: What are you going to do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't even gotten that for. I don't know yet.

LAH: You're running out of time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am. Yeah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: We've since connected with a woman in that story. She says she does have an appointment for next week here in Kansas, she's not sure if he's going to bail to come back because of her job, and because of the struggle with childcare.

Abby, we did just get some news from the California department of public health, just a short time ago. They released a number about the state of abortions here in the state of Kansas and a very much mirrors what we saw in that clinic. Those women from out of state driving into Kansas seeking an abortion more than double the women here in Kansas who try to get an abortion, who do get an abortion. The state that is leading all the others in coming into the state, Texas -- Abby.

[16:45:05]

PHILLIP: Yeah. Kyung, a really critical part of the story. Thank you very much for bringing it back to us.

And coming up next, another tragedy at sea, how some survivors are contradicting government officials after a boat full of migrants sank off of the coast of Greece.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: We are back from St. John's, the site where the Titan started its ill-fated journey as the investigation picks up here. A search for answers is happening for another deadly sea disaster, this one in the Mediterranean, where more than 700 migrants were crammed on a boat that sank last week off the coast of Greece.

[16:50:03]

PHILLIP: And the testimonies from survivors depict chaos and desperation. An investigation by CNN's Jomana Karadsheh raises some questions about the statements from Greek officials, about what actually led to this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The desperate, exhausting wait for the promise of a new life in Europe, these Pakistanis crammed into a small room by smugglers in Libya. Some of them believed to be among the hundreds presumed dead. These last images before they embarked on their ill-fated journey.

About 750 refugees and migrants were packed into this fishing vessel bound for Italy, before it capsized off the coast of Greece. Only 104 survived and with them, the harrowing accounts of what they've been through

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I can still hear the voice of a woman calling out for help. You could swim, or move the floating bodies out of your way.

KARADSHEH: The Syrian survivor spoke to us from Greece. He asked for his identity to be concealed for security reasons. His, and other accounts obtained by CNN, not only contradict the Greek version of events, but point to fault on the part of the Greek coast guard.

Greece authorities who watched and were in the communication with the boat for an entire day insists that it was not in distress, and refused assistance. Our investigation tells a very different story.

Just before 1:00 p.m. on June 13th, the boat was first spotted by the E.U.'s border patrol agency Frontex which says it notified Greek authorities of a, quote, heavily overcrowded fishing vessel. Those on board were in distress, lost at sea with no food or water for days, according to survivors, and activists in touch with the boat throughout the day.

At about 7:00 p.m., an activist in Italy recorded one of the calls capturing the horror on board.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE Can I notify the coast guard that six people died --

KARADSHEH: As activists repeatedly relayed calls for rescue to authorities, two merchant vessels approached the boat, instructed by the Greek coast guard to provide about with food and water. But as darkness fell, 10:40 p.m., a Greek coast guard vessel moves in, now the only ship on the scene, three hours later, the haunting last words from the boat to the activist group alarm phone. Hello my friend, the ship you send is -- and the line cuts out.

What happens next is likely to raise more questions, as the investigations continue. Survivors tell us it was a botched attempt by the Greek coast guard to tow their boat that caused it to capsize.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They decided to throw us a rope. So the guys at the front tied it. They towed us. The boat tilted to the right, everyone was screaming. People began falling into the sea. The boat capsized. People couldn't get out from under the boat.

KARADSHEH: The Greek coast guard have declined our request for an interview, but in previous comments, they've denied towing the troller, saying when it capsized, they were not even next to it. How could they be telling it? Instead, they blamed a, quote, shift in weight, probably caused by panic.

But Greek authorities have been accused of systematically and violently pushing back migrants and refugees. Video like this one released by the Turkish government captured a now well-documented practice, which it denies.

This deadly incident is not just about what they may have done, it's also about what they didn't do.

VINCENT COCHETEL, UNHCR SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SITUATION: It was clear that it is part of a trafficking movement from Libya to Europe. So the authorities have the responsibility to intervene to save lives. As fortress Europe hardens its immigration policies to deter some of the world's most vulnerable, this disaster will almost certainly not be the last.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH (on camera): And, Anderson, as you heard there, Greek authorities are telling us that they are continuing to investigate this incident. But the Greek Coast Guard, Greek authorities, in the past, over the past few years, have been accused of violently pushing back migrants and refugees. We've never really seen any results of investigations in the past. So the question is right now whether there should be any sort of international independent investigation -- Anderson.

COOPER: Yeah, this has been going on and on.

Jomana Karadsheh, I appreciate it -- Abby.

PHILLIP: Let's turn now to CNN's Alex Marquardt. He is over in "THE SITUATION ROOM" tonight for Wolf Blitzer.

So, Alex, what do you have coming up?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: Well, Abby, we are going to be looking at draft guidance from the FDA. Four researchers who are looking at treating patients with psychedelic drugs. The FDA now saying that they are seeing initial promise when it comes to using these psychedelic drugs to treat things like PTSD, anxiety, substance abuse, and other conditions, and we will be speaking with one of the world's foremost experts about all of this. That's coming up at the top of the hour in "THE SITUATION ROOM", along with a lot more news.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:25]

PHILLIP: Just 12 days after a fiery truck crash caused a section of the I-95 to collapse, Philadelphia officials announced the reopening of six lanes of traffic. The firefighters who responded to the truck crash were the very first to ride over the new lanes. They were joined by Philly sports team's mascots, which would make a one Jake Tapper very happy.

Now this, is just a temporary fix to get traffic flowing. For now, while a longer and more arduous process of rebuilding that bridge takes place.

And coming up, on Sunday, on "STATE OF THE UNION", U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Republican presidential candidate, Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota. But that's it -- that Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and again at noon here on CNN.

And also, in that lineup on Sunday morning, I'll see you on Sunday for "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY" at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN.

But now, back to Anderson Cooper, and over to Alex Marquardt in "THE SITUATION ROOM".