forces are close to encircling bakhmut. the u.s. is downplaying the strategic significance if russia wins this round of the war. also tonight, republicans are presented with the sharpest contrast yet between donald trump and ron desantis. we re breaking down dueling speeches by the former president and the current florida governor as they gear up for a potential 2024 primary showdown. and a series of new airline scares is raising serious questions about aviation safety here in the united states. from a bird strike that caused engine failure and smoke in the cabin to the wings of two commercial jets clipping on the many close cal? welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we begin on the front lines of eastern ukraine right now, where the battle for bakhmut is growing more urgent by the hour. russian fighters making gains as they move to surround the city. cnn s alex marquardt is joining us live
president biden said his policies are not to blame. i think our policies help not hurt. think about what they say the vast majority of the of the economists think this is going to be a really tough problem to solve but it is not because of spending. we brought down the deficit by. spring and kevin he s former chairman of the council of economic advisers under president trump and distinguished visiting fellow at the hoover institution. so kevin, welcome. the scout but was this is going to be the peak of inflation, how do you see it? yes, you and i ve talked about this before. one of the things i like to do is look at the more recent numbers instead of the change over the whole last year. because at the beginning of the year inflation was not so bad. the average, last three months of consumer price inflation and then annualize it right now is going up at 10% at an annual rate which is about what you and i i promised on your show a few months ago was going to hit. if you l
the president visits a family farm in illinois today. a new government makes clear that inflation is here to stay. it suggests the worst might be behind us. the consumer price index rose 8.3% compared with last year. that s a big number. 8.3%. it s down from a 40-year high from last month. look at it month to month. inflation 0.3% in april. that s down from the 1.2% gain in march. a closely watched data point within the report was up not down. beware of anyone who tells you they are certain things are trending for the better. even if inflation is retreating from the highest tide, prices are still up at the fastest rate in nearly 40 years. we start with a look inside these numbers and with cnn s christine romans. reporter: issue number one for the american family. the cost of living. so many categories it has been going up for almost a year now. those headline numbers in normal times would be very, very scary. they appear to be moderating, leveling off, peaking as one econom
woman s lacrosse team from a historically black college said it was racially profiled during a traffic stop in georgia. the case now capturing the attention of capitol hill. welcome to the lead i m jake taper. we start with politics lead as what is soon to be a bipartisan rejection of the bill aimed at preserving abortion rights nationwide. the senate is voting on the women s health protection act. but the bill was widely con condemned by republicans, even who support abortion rights and democratic senator joe manchin, because the three say it went further than codifying roe v. wade. it would eliminate any states preexisting restrictions on abortion. senator manchin explained his no vote to cnn earlier today. the bill we have today to vote on, i respect people who support, but make no mistake, it is roe v. wade codification. it s an expansion. it wipes 500 state laws off the books. it expands abortion. and with that, that s not what we are to do. democratic leaders admi
taken them, so they re now four years behind spacex. i think now that they have gotten this flight off, i agree with derrick, this was a critical mission not just for nasa, but for boeing to demonstrate, to give them confidence to demonstrate they have the capability to do this. we re far from complete. we have got to get off the centar, do some tests on the cst 100 over the next day and tomorrow hopefully we ll have a perfect docking, spend eight days on the international space station and then undock and come home. the ultimate test is how does the spacecraft handle the intense heat and pressure of re-entry, and then as the landing out in the desert, does it go the way we want it to go. only once they have touched down out in the desert ten days from now or eight days from now will we be able to take our breath and say we had a successful flight. such a good point as we watch these live images and they continue their mission, their journey into space at this very moment.