cnn's arlette saenz is in uvalde. the president visited the site of that school memorial today. >> reporter: yes, jim, certainly an incredibly emotional day for president biden and first lady jill biden as they are here on the ground in the community of uvalde, texas, grieving with the community in the wake of that horrific massacre at the elementary school right behind me. at this moment president biden is meeting privately with survivors and family members of the victims lost, 19 children and 2 teachers gunned down. the president first made the stop here at the memorial at robb elementary school taking in each of the photos, the crosses representing each of the lives lost. he and his wife spent some time looking into the eyes of these children in those photos to fully take in the moment and the experience of what these families are enduring at this time. even while the president has been here with the goal of offering comfort, he has also been pushed by members of the community to do more. here at the elementary sch

cnn's arlette saenz is in uvalde. arlette, the president is once again offering comfort after yet another mass shooting in this country. >> reporter: this is something we've seen president biden do time and time again. but today he is here in the community of uvalde, texas, wanting to offer some type of solace, some type of comfort to the families who lost so many loved ones in that horrific massacre here at robb elementary school behind me earlier this week. now the president right now is privately meeting with survivors and the family members of victims. he's been meeting with them for almost two and a half hours. the white house really blocking off a significant amount of his time here on the ground in uvalde to hear directly from those family members who lost loved ones. but first president biden stopped here at the memorial site at robb elementary. he and first lady jill biden took about 20 minutes reading each of the names, seeing and taking in the life-sized photos of these 19 children and two teachers who were

arlette saenz, cnn, the white house. >>> joining me now is the head of the u.s. and americas program at chatham house in london. and it is good to see you. we just heard there about the comfort and support that the president and first lady will be bringing. and they are very genuine on these trips. throughout the entire united states, most people see that especially given what is doing on in their own personal lives. but what more do they have to do especially when, you know, this tragedy is punctuated by the fact that they were just in buffalo two weeks ago? >> it is a very difficult trip for the president and the first lady. but incredibly important to remember that as divided as the american public might be and the majority of americans are actually on the side of wanting more gun control, but there won't be any parents in america that won't grieve for these children. so i think that president biden really calling on the unity of all parents and that deep feeling that we all have for those families and that community. it will be the number one thing, but there

arlette saenz, you were there with the president earlier. arlette, you have covered president biden for so many years. you have covered so many, unfortunately, so many of these instances where he can relate to people who are part of a club no one wants to be in, which is a club of people who have to bury their children. >> reporter: that's right. the president often points back to his own personal experience, his young baby daughter and wife in a car accident and seven years ago, beau biden to brain cancer. and here at robb elementary school. my eyes are set on his, the so-called beast, the vehicle that he rides in. so we'll let you know as soon as he's out and about to approach the memorial. of course, he's here with his wife, first lady jill biden. a long time teacher and educator, also a very personal moment for her as well. i actually see the first lady. she has now stepped out of the motorcade and will soon be meeting her husband to walk over to the memorial site where you'll see 21 crosses for the 19 children and 2 teachers who were lo

cnn's arlette saenz is in uvalde with all the details for you. >> reporter: president biden spent about seven hours on the ground here in uvalde, texas, on sunday, trying to offer some sense of solace and comfort to the families grieving the loss of those 19 young children and two teachers, gunned down here at robb elementary school just last tuesday. the president and first lady spent about three hours meeting with survivors of that shooting as well as the families of the victims. and cnn spoke with one of the family members who was in that meeting, vincent salazar, who lost his young daughter lela salazar, and talked to us about his conversation with the president. >> it was really all about my daughter. that's all we talked about. like i said, they were very gracious, they showed compassion. and that's all we were here for, you know what i'm saying? he listened to everything and we listened to him. he shed some tears, we shed some tears. >> reporter: the president also spent some time here in uvalde meeting with first responders and law enforcement officers who responded that day of

arlette saenz has more on how the u.s. is combatting the crisis. >> reporter: president biden is invoking the defense production act to try to alleviate the baby formula shortage, a major step as the white house has scrambled to try to address this issue causing so much anxiety for american families. it is a 1950s era law that allows the federal government to have more control over industrial domestic production. and what the president is doing, he is directing suppliers to provide the resources needed to manufacture formula, things like ingredients. additionally, the administration is starting operation fly formula, the president sending a letter to the secretaries of agricultural as well as health and human services telling them to utilize commercial defense department planes to try to import formula products from overseas into the u.s. the fda earlier this week had already announced that they were making it easier for overseas companies to send their formula to the united states, but those approval processes are still u

. >> let's start with cnn white house correspondent arlette saenz. arlette, despite the worries about higher prices and product shortages, president biden is today pointing to successes he sees in his economic agenda. >> yeah, jake. president biden really has been leaning into the idea of deficit reduction. one thing that the president is very cognizant of is that americans are looking for action when it comes to things like the economy and inflation. so he is trying to point to progress that his administration has made since taking office. pointing to had fact that they have reduced the national deficit by $350 billion last year, and that they are set to pay down the federal debt for the first time in six years. of course, they are also playing to senator joe manchin when they talk about deficit reduction has manchin has said any future economic agenda would need to include reduction in the deficit. the president trying to ease some of the concerns of americans when it comes to the economy and inflation, but it's unclear whether he'll be rewarded fo

with us now, cnn white house correspondent arlette saenz and cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr. what is on the president's agenda? >> reporter: just to start off, forgive the noise, there's construction here at the white house, but president biden is on air force one flying to asia for his first trip to the region as president. as he wants to reinforce that that region remains a central focus of his foreign policy. now, officials have said that he had hoped to get to the region much earlier in his presidency, but he had been constrained due to covid concerns as well as other brewing crises, including the war in ukraine. the president will first travel to seoul, south korea, where he will meet with the country's new leader. this comes as there are also provocations coming from north korea in the region as the president is getting ready to head over on this trip. after south korea, the president will be heading to japan, where he will meet with the country's prime minister, as well as participate in a series of with the quad leaders. that includes japan, australia, and india. as

cnn's arlette saenz has more. >> reporter: president biden is preparing to spend several hours on the ground in uvalde, texas, to try to offer comfort to those grieving families dealing with the losses of two teachers and 19 young children following that shooting at robb elementary school earlier this week. the president and first lady will depart sunday morning from their home in wilmington, delaware, then travel down to texas where the president is expected to meet with community leaders, religious leaders, and most importantly, the families who have lost their loved ones. president biden time and time again has gone into these types of communities to try to grieve and offer comfort with them in the wake of their losses. of course, the president himself has a very strong personal experience with loss as well, having lost his wife and young baby daughter in a car accident. additionally, his son later in life, beau biden, who passed away from cancer. but ahead of this visit to uvalde, texas, president biden spoke at a commencement ceremony at the university of delaware where he talked

arlette saenz and kate bennett joining us now with more on this. so we're getting details about what this new u.s. security package for ukraine entails. walk us through that? >> president biden yesterday announcing that the u.s. would be sending another $150 million worth of security assistance as the u.s. wants to make sure they have the tools and equipment they need to defend themselves against this russian invasion of their country. now, if you take a look at what exactly this package will entail, it includes artillery rounds, also counter artillery radar and jamming equipment and other field equipment. now this is going to come from existing u.s. stockpiles and this $150 million that the president authorized is nearly exhausting the funds that the u.s. currently had a to be able to give to ukraine. last week president biden asked congress to pass another $33 billion worth of assistance for ukraine. that would include military assistance as well as humanitarian and economic assistance. but that currently remains tied up on capitol hill. the pres

arlette saenz, cnn, traveling with the president in uvalde, texas. >> we are learning more from survivors and families. cnn's dana bash had a heartbreaking conversation with the 9-year-old son who survived the massacre. event that may haunt him for the rest of his life. >> he shot four bullets into our class. our teacher got shot in her leg and her torso. she's all right. >> he was never in your classroom because your teacher locked the door and broke the key? >> uh-huh. >> did you see his face? >> yes. >> through the window? >> were you hiding under desks, where were you in the classroom? i was hiding under a taeble nex to the wall. it goes to the end of the wall to the start of the wall, it is like a very big table. i could still see his face. >> horrifying memories for that young boy. h here is daniel's mother speaking about the trauma her son is still experiencing. >> the first night he didn't want to talk about it obviously, it was okay, i told him you need to cry it out. you are scared. it is okay. he has not stepped foot into his room since the incident. i am working to get him cou

our white house correspondent arlette saenz is working the story for us. arlette, walk us through this encouraging news from the white house. >> well, wolf, this marks a major step as the white house has been scrambling to find ways to alleviate this issue that is affecting so many american families. the president tonight announcing that he will invoke the defense production act, something he had been facing some pressure to do. this is a 1950s era law that allows the federal government to have more authority to direct domestic production. and in this scenario, the president is pushing suppliers to prioritize the delivery of resources, things like ingredients directly to the manufacturers so they can produce more formula. additionally, the president is also setting up something called operation fly formula. he's directing the health and human services department as well as the agriculture department to use commercial defense department planes to try to import and fly products from overseas into the united states. we know that the fda earlier this week had

arlette saenz, the white house. >> earlier, i spoke with the head of the u.s. americas program. and i asked what americans are looking for as the president travels to texas. >> it's a very difficult trip for the president and first lady, but it's incredibly important to remember that as divided as the american public might be and the majority of americans are actually on the side of wanting more gun control, but there won't be any parents in america that won't grieve for these children. and so i think president biden really calling on the unity of all parents and that deep feeling that we all have for those families and that community. it will be the number one thing, but there will quickly be a desire, and there already s for the president to be able to do something, not only for the community but for the broader question of gun violence, of school shootings which we know the numbers have spiked dramatically over the last year, and this is where, as we all know, it gets incredibly difficult. but the number one thing that the president has on his side is public opinion. and the

. >>> let's start with cnn's arlette saenz live at the white house for us this hour. arlette, what is the white house saying and doing about the shortage and this crisis? >> reporter: kate, this baby formula shortage is causing anxiety for so many american families and the white house is scrambling trying to address the issue. yesterday the white house announced a series of very limited steps they're taking to try to address the shortage. that includes urging states to expand the types of formula that are available through government nutritional assistance programs. additionally, the u.s. -- the white house is pushing the ftc as well as states to look into price gouging and they're trying to find ways to import more formula from overseas. we are told that the white house is strongly considering the defense production act to try to boost supply. one thing that the white house is really concerned in this moment is the hoarding of formulas. they pointed to one bright spot in that more formula has been produced by companies like gerber and wrreckit prior to wh was being p

cnn white house correspondent arlette saenz joins me now. the president wanted to fill out the economic picture ahead of this announcement. tell us more about what he said. >> reporter: president biden really has been leaning into this idea of deficit reduction in recent weeks. the president is

cnn white house correspondent arlette saenz joins me now. the president wanted to fill out the economic picture ahead of this announcement. tell us more about what he said. >> reporter: president biden really has been leaning into this idea of deficit reduction in recent weeks. the president is very cognizant of the fact that americans are looking for action be it on the economy or inflation, and that is why you see the president holding events like this one today where he is touting some of the progress the administration has made as the treasury department is estimating the federal deficit will fall by $1.5 trillion. now, the president is also making a play for senator joe manchin with all this talk about deficit reduction as joe manchin has repeatedly said that any economic agenda that passes through congress must reduce the deficit. take a listen to how president biden describes some of the progress that's been made and how he believes his economic agenda will ease some of those economic pressures. >> the bottom line is the deficit went

. >> arlette saenz at the white house, thank you. >>> u.s. marshals have found a car associated with the escaped alabama inmate and missing corrections officer, who are on the run. we have details ahead. and right now in havana, cuba, first responders are searching for survivors after an explosion rocked a hotel. look at these pictures. we'll take you there next. and he gets one-on-one cocoaching when he needs it. so ben is feeling pretty zen. that's t the planning effect from fidelity when my genetic reports told me about my heart health, i was able to take action. and i got a kit for my mom, too, so she can get her own meaningful health info. this mother's day, start a new health journey together with mom with $50 off every kit. san francisco is getting back on its feet. people are heading back to the office and out with friends across the city. prop a ensures that muni delivers you there quickly and safely. with less wait time and fewer delays. and a focus on health and safety in every neighborhood through zero emissions fleets. best of al

. >> arlette saenz is live at the white house. what are the steps the white house is taking to help alleviate the shortage for parents? >> reporter: this is causing anxiety for so many american families and the white house is scrambling to find ways to respond. you heard white house press secretary jen psaki struggle to offer a clear answer about which federal agency would best answer questions and concerns that parents might have in this moment. yesterday president biden jumped on the phone with manufacturers and retailers like walmart and target to talk about the challenges that they're facing. the white house is also rolling out very limited actions that they are taking in response to this crisis. that includes pushing for states to allow for a wider variety of formulas to be purchased through government nutritional assistance programs. they're also asking the ftc and states to crack down on possible price gouging and additionally the administration is looking for ways to increase the import of formulas from overseas. the white