Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Some Victims of Orlando Shooting Laid to Rest; Iraq Forces Continue to Fight ISIS in Fallujah; Law Professor Calls for Repealing Second Amendment; Trial Begins for Man who Shot British Member of Parliament; Financial State of Emergency Called For in Rio de Janeiro Ahead of Olympic Games; Man Arrested for Sexual Assault against Teen. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired June 18, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00] MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN ANCHOR: Please tweet me @Smerconish. I'll see you next week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Aaron Roundtree. Everyone calls me Tree. And I lost 17 friends at Pulse Nightclub. They say one of the worst parts is walking over the bodies and there's phones ringing, phones ringing over and over again. And you can't pick them up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were young. They had a very long life ahead of them. And my heart is the heaviest it's ever been.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Obama is trying to make terrorism into guns.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And if we don't act, we will keep seeing more massacres like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The chasm among Republicans is widening.

TRUMP: I'm an outsider. And historically they don't love the outsiders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going down in flames. He looks like he's taking the Republican Party with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Victor Blackwell live in Orlando.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Victor. I'm Christi Paul here in Atlanta. And also ahead for you this hour, the fight to kick ISIS out of Fallujah, the Iraqi city that's witnessed so much bloodshed since Saddam Hussein has ousted. Our Ben Wedeman has been to the center of the city just within the last couple of hours to see the war of terror firsthand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can hear the thump of artillery, incoming artillery rounds within the city itself. And we're also hearing the occasional crackle of small arms fire. So even though Iraqi officials are very eager to announce that the city is nearly liberated, it does appear there are battles ongoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: We'll take you back to that in a moment. But first, the first of several funerals today for the victims of Sunday's shooting massacre is happening right now. At this moment family, friends, and I'm sure a few strangers who just want to show their support for 21- year-old Cory James Connell. They're being walked down to the facility to begin to say their final goodbyes. Cory was student at Valencia Community College. He wanted to be a firefighter. He was one of 49 people gunned down overnight Sunday in a terrorist attack on Pulse Nightclub.

Now, the tragedy is sparking an outpouring of support for the LGBT community here in Orlando. Exactly what that shooter probably did not want to happen is happening now, bringing the city closer together.

And joining me now, Patty Sheehan, she's Orlando's, actually central Florida's first openly gay city commissioner here in Orlando. We also have Blue Star who worked at Pulse Nightclub for six years right?

BLUE STAR, WORKED FOR PULSE FOR SIX YEARS: That's right.

BLACKWELL: And becoming a LGBT friendly business owner herself. You too have hugged four or five times just stance standing here.

PATTY SHEEHAN, ORLANDO CITY COMMISSIONER: Well, this is the first time we've seen even other since this happened because we've both been in different places and we're good friends. It's just been -- I haven't seen my own friends because it's just been so awful.

BLACKWELL: You had several friends who were there.

STAR: Yes.

BLACKWELL: That night, likely lost some friends.

STAR: Yes.

BLACKWELL: What are you hearing, what are you feeling a block from the club?

STAR: I sit here two days ago, and I have to tell you standing here two days later it gives me the same feeling. I walked away from this site two days ago with maybe the heaviest heart I've ever had in my entire life. I have concern for my friends. I have concern for the city. I have concern for our patrons. I have concern once all of this is said and done and we start to try to act as a community again how it's going to affect people because the effect is -- is really strong, even standing here with you right now. SHEEHAN: But I think it's up to us, Victor and Blue, I think it's up

to us and Orlando to say that we are not going to allow this hatred and discrimination that created this young monster that did this horrible crime to permeate our community and to have a lasting effect, because I think that is the best way for us to heal as a community. I keep saying it. I understand that this was horrible. And, you know, people say how could you still have faith during this horrible, horrible time. This is the time when you have to have faith. This is the time when you have to come together and you have to say "I love."

BLACKWELL: But does it last? Because unfortunately I've stood in this position doing a similar show in different cities across the country, and five days later, six days later -- this is what we hear. Five or six months, does this last?

SHAHEEN: They ticked off gait community. We were the ones who put a face to AIDS and fought discrimination in people that were dying and got federal funding put in place over tremendous odds. We are the people who have fought for our jobs. We fought discrimination for so many years. They unloaded on the wrong -- they unloaded their guns on the wrong community.

BLACKWELL: Let me ask you, you've been hosting fundraisers, putting together care packages.

[10:05:00] How are you? How is this community? Give us some of the specifics beginning the healing process.

STAR: I was thinking today where everybody was in the healing process and how last night we had an event and everybody danced as a part of healing and how amazing that was for five minutes just to not think about the outside world. And when I got done with that moment, then I thought about these victims and families that were still in the hospital and when that time of the healing process was going to start for them and how the variation of where we're all going to be as time goes by is going to shift and change so much as how do we connect.

And we do that because of the community support that we've already gotten. And I keep telling everybody, this is a marathon, not a race. When you tell me that you want to be a volunteer, I'm going to call you in three months, I'm going to call you in six months, I'm going to call you a year from now, and I expect you to stand up the same way that you did this past week.

BLACKWELL: You worked at the club, so you know the owner, you know the owner very well, Commissioner Sheehan. Will Pulse reopen?

SHEEHAN: There's been, I've heard people and they've been critical of that. And I understand Barbara's commitment to reopen it because she wanted to do it for her brother who died of AIDS. She wanted people to have a nice place to go. And now she says that it's going Pulse of not just one, but 49 additional people, a Pulse of 50. And I respect that. And I think that this community will support her as she rebuilds. And I think as the business district will support her as she rebuilds. And I do not think that there's going to be -- there will be critics,

there's critics on everything. There have been critics of -- I got criticized because I didn't say "magazine" instead of "clip." I said 49 people are dead -- that's the stupid stuff you're focusing on? There's going to be critics, but there's people lined up downtown to buy One Orlando shirts.

BLACKWELL: The decal is all over the mall. It's in every restaurant, every convenience store you go to. Something that I'm hearing now, maybe it's uniquely southern or something that is happening after this tragedy. When you say goodbye people say have a good day, be safe. They add that on the end.

Let me ask you. You talk about the healing, both of you. Part of it going to be financial support. There's the one Orlando fund that's gained nearly $8 million from individuals and corporations.

SHEEHAN: And Victor, something that we've realized through this process that we never had before is a lot of these young men and women were the primary breadwinners for their families. They were sending money home to all these other countries. And this is the first funeral here. There have been funerals that people have already gone to other places, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, I think. I'm trying to remember all the countries because there's so many countries that these young people --

BLACKWELL: And that support will be important as we move forward.

SHEEHAN: And we've got to figure out a way to get this to these parents who were supported by these kids. They were good kids and they were sending money home to their families.

BLACKWELL: As I said, it's not just the friends and the family members. It's also the colleague and the people you had dinner with and people around the community. This is a community that's real. And Blue Star, Commissioner Sheehan, thank you so much for being here this morning.

SHEEHAN: Thank you so much and thank you so much for supporting our community.

BLACKWELL: Certainly.

As family and friends gather here in Orlando, and this is the scene we've seen not just on air with these two but in quiet moments across the city, they may not say it out loud, but you know why it's happening. Authorities are still on the scene trying to piece together the killer's motive.

I want to bring in Polo Sandoval, who has been following the investigation. Some things we've learned make it clear that this was a man setting up a few elements, preparing to die.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, in order for investigators to track down and find that motive that you mentioned, they essentially have to retrace some of the steps of the killer, and that includes taking a closer look at some acts that could be considered suspicious.

For example, the suspect, at least investigators believe that he actually gave his wife access to his bank account in the days leading up to the shooting. They also believe that he added her name to the insurance policy that he held.

And then of course some of the things that we learned about this week, that he attempted to purchase large amounts of ammunition, that he tried to purchase body armor and then also the Facebook messages that not only show him going on a rant but also even threatening an attack. So again, all of that now has to be evidence to be weighed by investigators.

And then finally you also have the surveillance video. Law enforcement video telling my colleague Pamela Brown that investigations now have obtained the surveillance video from the inside of the Pulse Nightclub which will obviously be very disturbing, but nonetheless it will provide a crucial window into what happened in there. Investigators will able to see with their own eyes which, where the killer went, and of course who he targeted specifically. So again -- or if he targeted anybody specifically.

So again this is all the evidence that continues to surface now. Victor, seven days into the investigation as the community continues to heal. And as you just learned from that conversation from with the two incredible individuals, healing will happen. It's just going to take time.

[10:10:03] BLACKWELL: All right, Polo Sandoval reporting for us this morning. Polo, thank you so much. Christi will of course continue our coverage now as the funerals continue here. And I understand they'll continue throughout the week and into next weekend. We'll be back here live in Orlando. Back to you in Atlanta.

PAUL: All right, Victor, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Meanwhile, we're learning that ISIS is losing ground in Iraq. The Iraqi prime minister saying Fallujah is nearly free of ISIS militants. CNN takes you to the scene of this fierce fighting where we have been witnessing the war on terror firsthand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: It is a major blow to ISIS control in Iraq. For the first time in over two years the Iraqi flag is flying over Fallujah this morning. The prime minister saying the city is nearly free of ISIS control because the military is now patrolling the streets, fighting back the small pockets of ISIS militants who are still there. Our Ben Wedeman is live on the outskirts of Fallujah. Ben, you went into the city center just a few hours ago. What did you see?

WEDEMAN: Well, we're back in Baghdad. What we saw is that if they are pockets, there are lots of pockets. And those pockets are pretty deep. We were on one of the main streets in downtown Fallujah, and what we heard was essentially a big battle to the left of us, a large exchange of gunfire just up the street from us. And to the right, there was also an intense exchange of gunfire. So certainly there is still quite a lot of resistance by ISIS within the city, and there's no question about that.

[10:15:01] And in fact, when we left Fallujah and stopped on the outside of the city, we saw two incoming mortar rounds exploding just about 300 meters or yards away from us.

So definitely we saw a lot of Iraqi troops, federal police and army within the city moving around in Humvees, but they still seem to be running into a fair bit of resistance. What we did not see, Christi, was a single civilian. They seem to have fled the city. Or some of them may have been, may have pulled back with ISIS. More important to keep in mind, they may have been forced to pull back with ISIS. We know that ISIS has been using civilians as human shields. And there have been quite a few civilian casualties in recent days as a result of them being caught in the crossfire as this battle rages on.

PAUL: So when we hear about the fact that Fallujah is now essentially almost in Iraqi hands, I know that there are real you talked about earlier regarding IEDs and car bombs that may be left behind. So the city is far from secure, so to speak, would that be correct?

WEDEMAN: That would be very correct, Christi. It's not secure. Certainly it will be weeks if not months before civilians can move back. For one thing, there's a fair amount of destruction from all the bombardment that went on before Iraqi forces went into the city, and of course since the fighting has raged in the streets. So yes, there are IEDs. There's car bombs still in the city according to Iraqi officials.

And what we've seen in other cities, like Ramadi and other city in Anbar province not far from Fallujah, there is a big gap between when ISIS is essentially defeated in a city, and months before civilians can actually move back, if they can move back at all because many of them, their homes are utterly destroyed, the possessions oftentimes looted. So it's one thing to actually crush ISIS in a city like Fallujah. It's a completely other thing before people can actually move back.

PAUL: Very good point, thank you for giving us the sense of what's really happening there. Ben Wedeman, do stay safe to you and your crew there, thank you.

Meanwhile I know you've been watching the story all week, the family whose little boy was killed by an alligator at Disneyworld. We learned that the family is back in Nebraska and they are talking. Brynn Gingras following that story.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Christi, the Walt Disney properties are making progress and making those waterfronts and beaches safer. We'll have the very latest on that coming right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Well, the family of that little boy who was killed by a gator in Orlando has released a statement this morning. They're thanking everyone for their support. They're asking for privacy, as you can imagine, as they take on the difficult task of burying their two-year- old son, Lane Graves, who you see here. Brynn Gingras is following the story from Orlando. Good morning, Brynn.

GINGRAS: Christi, good morning to you. You can just imagine how overwhelming of an experience of emotions this family is feeling at this point.

And that's right, they did ask for privacy while they are sort of grieving through this process. And they have received a lot of support. Even when they returned home to Nebraska, their house, Christi, there were blue bows on it from their neighbors. And in that statement they really wanted to thank the people who have lent that emotional support to them. It's Melissa and Matt Graves.

That statement in part read, "Melissa and I continue to deal with the loss our beloved boy Lane and are overwhelmed with the support and love we have received from family and friends well as from around the country." So certainly they are grateful. But they certainly have a long road ahead.

Meanwhile, here at Walt Disneyworld, the employees are making progress and trying to make this area safer for not only its employees, but also of course, their guests, so an incident like this does not happen again. And they are putting up signs that we have seen, CNN crews gotten video of, and many of them, four different messages, "danger, alligators and snakes in the area," "stay away from the water," "do not feed the wildlife." These are sort of the sign and fences that we're seeing be put up across some of the properties here. Also we're told employees are telling their guests, also their employees, instructing them about the dangers that do exist on the properties and to be a little bit more aware, Christi.

PAUL: Because we know a lot of people have been saying, if you're from Florida, you're aware of the dangers. But let's face it Disneyworld is a place that people from around the world come to visit so not everybody is cognizant of that. I'm wondering, how expansive are these signs? Are they going to be around all of the water, the water places, the ponds, the lakes in Disney?

GINGRAS: It's a great point, Christi. I'm from Connecticut. I just think assume alligators are in the swamps. You don't necessarily think of them necessarily being in manmade lakes. But certainly it is something that everybody needs to be aware of, and Disney now taking responsibility for that, putting up more signage. We're told by a spokesperson that they have been able to hit nine of their waterfront and beach properties. There's about two dozen they would like to get to. So they're certainly making progress on this. But it is a process. And it is continuing at this point in the morning.

PAUL: All right, Brynn Gingras, thank you so much for the update.

Now as the push for gun control gross louder after the Orlando attack, a constitutional law professor says it's time to repeal the Second Amendment. He's sharing his thoughts with us next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. I'm Victor Blackwell live in Orlando. And the first of several funerals today for the victims of Sunday's shooting massacre is happening right now. Family and friends of 21- year-old Cory James Connell saying their final goodbyes. Cory was a student at Valencia Community College. We understand that he wanted to be a firefighter. He was one of 49 people gunned down overnight Sunday in a terrorist attack at Pulse Nightclub. The tragedy sparked an outpouring of support for the LGBT community here in Orlando and is bringing the city, we see little vignettes of this every day, closer together.

Well, this morning President Obama is using his weekly address to reflect on the massacre here in Orlando. After comforting the families of victims of another mass shooting, this week President Obama is sharpening his rhetoric and calling for action on gun control legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So this past week I've also thought a lot about dads and moms around the country who have had to explain to their children what happened in Orlando. Time and again, we've observed moments of silence for victims of terror and gun violence. Too often those moments have been followed by months of silence, by inaction that is simply inexcusable. If we're going to raise our kids in a safer, more loving world, we need to speak up for it. We need our kids to hear us speak up about the risks guns pose to our communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Their vote scheduled Monday in the Senate on four gun control measures, but successful passage of any of them right now appears unlikely.

Now, on the campaign trail, Donald Trump has accused Hillary Clinton of wanting to repeal the Second Amendment. Now, she has never said that. But this morning I have with me someone who is saying just that, David Cohen, he's a constitutional law professor at Drexel University. Professor, good morning to you.

DAVID COHEN, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR, DREXEL UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So you wrote in "Rolling Stone," let's put it up on the screen, "The Second Amendment needs to be repealed because it is outdated, a threat to liberty, and a suicide pact." Now you laid out the argument that the constitution has been updated several times. You've said that in the past that the founding fathers have made mistakes.

Let me ask you this. Even some of the most ardent supporters of gun control measures don't go as far as you go. They don't go beyond the background check and banning specific types of semiautomatic rifles. Why do you go to the repeal of the Second Amendment?

[10:30:13] COHEN: When something is written into the constitution as a right, we elevate it in our society as something beyond the democratic process. We talk about it as a constitutional right, it's better than everything else. Then I think it should be taken out of the constitution and made just like every other consumer good. That doesn't mean I think they should be banned everywhere. It just should be subject to votes and democracy. And when we have a constitutional right, that takes it off the table.

BLACKWELL: OK, so in this post Second Amendment America, who then, from your perspective, has the right to own a weapon? And is it every weapon or just specific types of weapons?

COHEN: Well, that's the thing. Taking it out of the constitution doesn't answer that question. It just says let's talk about it now just like we talk about cars, like we talk about --

(INAUDIBLE)

COHEN: -- and think about the benefits and the risks. And sometimes that means maybe in Nebraska we're going to have a different rule than in New York. Or we might have a federal rule. But we're going to subject it to democracy.

And now to be honest, if it were up to me, I would be on the side of banning almost all guns. But I'm willing to take that to the democratic process, but not against a constitutional right. When it's a constitutional right, it takes it out of the hands of democracy and says this is off the table. And it's the only consumer good that we have that is listed in the constitution. I think it has to go.

BLACKWELL: Which also opponents of your position means that it needs to be protected.

But let me say this -- that the Supreme Court has already spoken here through Heller and McDonald v. the City of Chicago. So that's been spoken on by the judicial branch. But I want to hear from a former Navy SEAL on behalf of the NRA, on this. This was posted to their YouTube channel just after the shooting here in Orlando. He speaks about the AR-15 specifically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOM RASO, FORMER NAVY SEAL: I guarantee if the founding fathers had known this gun would have been invented, they wouldn't have rewritten the Second Amendment. They would have fortified it in stone, because they knew the only way for us to stay free was by having whatever guns the bad guys have. This firearm gives average people the advantage they so desperately need and deserve, to protect their life, liberty and happiness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well you say that the founding fathers likely made a mistake. They could not have known about these types of weapons. The former Navy SEAL there says they would have fortified that right. What's your response to his saying this is the only way that people stay free?

COHEN: I mean, there's a cost-benefit analysis here. And some people think that guns make them safer. But I think the evidence that we've seen over the past several years with mass shootings seemingly every week of children, of churchgoers, of people out at a nightclub having fun and expressing themselves -- to me that cost is too high.

And I don't think the founding fathers had any conception of what society would be like today. And at this point in time, maybe they were right in 1791, I can't say about that. I wasn't there. But I can say that in 2016 that evaluation is wrong and it needs to go. They had no sense of what societies today would be like. And the constitution allows for it to be changed. And it's time to change it.

BLACKWELL: The constitution allows for the repeal of amendments. We saw it with the 18th and several other elements of the constitution being changed over the past several centuries.

But let me ask you this. Do you believe, and I want to know if we're having a theoretical conversation or if you actually believe that the Second Amendment can and will be repealed, because after Sandy Hook, I mean if the White House and those who support gun control measures couldn't get background checks, universal background checks passed after that, do you really expect that this conversation will lead to some type of repeal, some movement to repeal the Second Amendment? Or is this just a theoretical conversation?

COHEN: I think it can. I mean, look, if there weren't another mass shooting ever again in our history, no, I don't think anything would happen. But unfortunately what we're seeing is that this happens time and time again with victims that just are being slaughtered. And I think that there's a majority of people in the country who feel that they're fed up, who are being silenced by the NRA, who are being silenced by those who take to the airwaves and threaten violence about guns. And I think there's a majority who believe this.

Don't get me wrong, this is difficult. The constitutional system to amend the constitution, it takes two-thirds vote in each House of the Congress and three-quarters of the states. That's difficult. But I think with enough people speaking up, enough people saying that this part of the constitution is outdated, it's a threat to us, as we saw last weekend, and it's wrong.

[10:35:08] BLACKWELL: Yes. Well, professor, 80 percent to 90 percent and in some surveys more of Americans polled say that they support universal background checks and those haven't gone anywhere in the past several years. But we'll see what the, the chances for, for a repeal of the Second Amendment. But you at least have started this conversation. We thank you for being with us here in newsroom. Professor David Cohen, thanks so much. And, Christi, I'll send it back to you in Atlanta.

PAUL: Hey, Victor, thank you very much. A man charged with murdering a popular British politician has made his

first court appearance this morning, and he gave this chilling answer when asked his name. We're going to take you there live, tell you what happened. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: It's 39 minutes past the hour right now. Disturbing words from a man accused of murdering Jo Cox, a British member of parliament. We're talking about 52-year-old Tommy Mair. He appeared in court just a few hours ago, and when asked for his name in court, he replied, quote, "My name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain," unquote. Richard Quest is following the story. Richard, what have you heard this morning about what happened?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The caucus took place in London at Westminster magistrate's court. It's the very earliest stages, Christi, of the proceedings.

[10:40:01] It's the first time that 52-year-old Tommy Mair had appeared in court since he was charged with murder, causing grievous bodily harm, and a variety of other offenses. Those charges were laid against him overnight. Was then taken to the capital and he appeared in court.

But those words that he said, Britain, those "death to traitors" for the British, they, we can't take too much understanding as to whether this was the deep longstanding political involvement, whether it was right-wing extremism. But it's certainly given the police a direction, if you like, of motive for what was the most dreadful murder of Jo Cox. And it has clarified other evidence that has been seen and other facts. For instance, his subscription to right-wing publications, fascist publications, the paraphernalia that has been found in his house, all of these sort of pieces of jigsaws. We had wondered, Christi, we had wondered what the motive and what his intention and what his thoughts were when he appeared in court this morning. We were left in little doubt.

PAUL: I know that this has shaken the community there. And when we talk about gun violence here in America, it's very different there in England where you don't see gun violence nearly as often. Help us understand what people are, are absorbing there and how they're reacting to this, and any more information as to how he acquired that gun.

QUEST: That's one of -- the acquisition of the gun is one of the things the police announced yesterday they're looking into. It was an illegal weapon. It was also apparently either homemade or some form of old weapon. But that's an aside.

I don't want to spend too much time talking about Mair because we have seen the best and the worst in some cases today. You saw what was happening in the court proceedings. But behind me, this is the memorial, the makeshift memorial if you like. And in the last two hours we have seen the family of Jo Cox who came here, and the sister paid respects, publicly saying she was perfect. She was a human being who wanted to help people, saying that no person should ever have to go through what she had to, which was to identify the body of her slain sister.

And then the remarkable part, because at that point the family didn't just disappear off back into homes and houses. They stayed here. They made it quite clear. They were going to stay for a good 15, 20 minutes because there is a sense of community in this part of England and in this small West Yorkshire town. And for 20 minutes in front of us, they met, friends, relatives, people in the community. And that was something quite remarkable and moving on the same day that the man who is alleged to have murdered their daughter appeared in court.

PAUL: Richard, you put it so beautifully. We certainly hope that that family is feeling a little bit of comfort today as they see all of those people coming out for them. Richard Quest live for us there in England, thank you so much.

Money problems have been stalking the Olympic Games in Rio. Nick Paton Walsh is live there with more on that.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They've declared a state of emergency here because of what they call a financial calamity in the state that's supposed to be holding the Olympics in under 50 days. More after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:47:51] PAUL: You realize it's just seven weeks until the summer Olympic Games in Rio? And there are alarms sounding now over essential public services for visitors. The governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro has declared a state of emergency, saying the state government does not have enough money to insure adequate health, security, and transportation during these games. CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Rio this morning. So Nick, clarify this for us. Help us understand, what does this mean for people traveling there for the games?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it means they're coming to a city with yet another crisis bubbling up to the surface. Now this is basically the state government of Rio area, where the city of Rio de Janeiro is located, saying that they need emergency measures, a state of emergency, a "financial calamity" was the phrase used.

We know they've been close to bankruptcy, heavily in debt, $5 billion, for quite some time now. That's impacted the hospitals the Olympic tourists may end up using. It has impacted the police's ability to provide security here. That's all been ongoing.

What we didn't know that it was quite that bad that they would suddenly late yesterday say we need an emergency amount of funding. Now, local media is suggesting there may be something close to $1 billion that may come their way. This may be brinkmanship. This may be local officials trying to get money out of the federal government because they know they're in a crisis here in terms of local public services. But it brings a real sense I think of concern about what we may see

around Olympics themselves, both police and health services and transportation, things that tourists are going to be relying upon, and also probably sour the backdrop potentially if those things aren't necessarily up to scratch.

And there's of course the fact we don't really know exactly what's going on beneath the surface with Olympic finances, with the preparation for infrastructure for the Olympic Games. A key subway that's supposed to go from here behind me to the park itself to take tourists for the games, that's only going to be ready four days before the games actually begins.

There are lots of question marks here. And when you suddenly get an announcement like this, which I think frankly took many people by surprise, that just adds to the climate of uncertainty and unpredictability here, which is the last thing that anybody wants if you're going to spend a lot of money and see athletes compete in what should be a seamlessly organized competition, Christi.

[10:50:08] PAUL: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much for bringing us the latest.

And don't look for the Russian track and field team to compete under the Russian flag at the Olympics. Their ban from international competition has been extended now due to persistent widespread allegations of state sponsored doping. The IAAF says some Russian track and field athletes may compete in Rio as neutral athletes if they prove they're clean. Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked about alleged doping by CNN's Fareed Zakaria. Take a look here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, (via translator): I'm not sure I understand what this meant. The program made a change in the samples that were taken for the doping tests. If the samples are taken, they always move to the international organizations, and we cannot affect them in any way. They are never stored in the territory of the Russian Federation. They're going to Lausanne or some other city, I don't know. They can be reopened or rechecked. And we have experts that are doing that at the moment.

But the doping problem is not only related to Russia. It is the problem that is relevant for the whole sports world. And if someone is trying to politicize this area, it is a big mistake.

Let me emphasize that we've never supported any violations in sports. We have never supported that at the state level. And we will never support this. We will never support any doping or any other violations in this area, and we are going to cooperate with all the international organizations in this regard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And you can be sure to watch Fareed Zakaria's GPS special tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern right here on CNN. First, though, we want to you meet another of this year's top ten CNN

heroes. This is a mom of a child with Down syndrome helping other people with the condition reach their full potential.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NANCY GIANNI, CNN HERO: Our kids wear their diagnosis on their face. So they're judged from the minute they wake up in the morning, anywhere they go, whatever they do. So we do have a lot to prove. We have to show that we can and we will learn to do everything everybody else does, it might just take us a little bit longer. But we're going to do it, and you need to believe in us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: You can hear the passion in Nancy Gianni there. How she's changing lives of people with Down syndrome. See more at CNNheroes.com, and then nominate someone that you think should be a 2016 CNN hero. You can vote once a day at CNNheroes.com. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: The horrific story developing in Pennsylvania this morning. A man facing a list of charges, including sexual assault, after police say he fathered two children with a teenager. And here's the thing -- that teenager was allegedly given to this man as a gift by her parents. Even more disturbing was that police found 11 other girls living inside had man's home. They had no birth certificates. They weren't in school. Joe Holden our affiliate KYW has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE HOLDEN, REPORTER: Jen Betz tells us it's what she saw a stone's throw away from her home that prompted her to call Pennsylvania's child line.

JEN BETZ, NEIGHBOR: You notice these little children, these little girls, only little girls, and they would be outside very sporadically, very rarely you would see one or two.

HOLDEN: This mother's complaint has uncovered a deeply disturbing case. Police on Thursday removed 12 girls, including an infant they say were living in this house in the 400 block of Old Street Road. They had no birth certificates and weren't enrolled in any school. It's alleged this man, Lee Kaplan, was gifted the oldest of the girls by her own parents who live in Pennsylvania's Amish country. Today she is 18. They say Kaplan began a sexual relationship with her starting when she was 14. Police say she gave birth to two of Kaplan's children.

LT. JOHN KIMMEL, LOWER SOUTHAMPTON POLICE: Mr. Kaplan had her living there as some kind of repayment for a financial situation.

HOLDEN: News of the charges and allegations sent shockwaves through this community. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just amazed it could go on right under our noses.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought they were part of his family.

HOLDEN: Twelve children?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh. I never saw that.

HOLDEN: Police have also charged the couple believed to be the biological mother and father to ten of the girls. Arrest papers revealed David and David and Savilla Stoltzfus knew their daughter starting at 14 years old was engaged in a sexual relationship with Kaplan. Neighbors tell us they were often curious about living arrangements inside the home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes there are kids looking at me. I said how many kids he have?

HOLDEN: Some would call Jen Betts the hero of this story. She says it was just her motherly instinct.

BETZ: I just made the call. I just, I don't know. It's just an instinct. I felt like I wasn't going through another summer where everybody should be outside kind of thing and not see those little girls again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Listen to your gut, for sure. Joe Holden with our affiliate KYW there. By the way, all three adults are being held on $1 million bail each.

A five-year-old boy is recovering in a Denver hospital after he was attacked by a mountain lion. It happened last night near Aspen, Colorado. Now, the local sheriff's office says the boy was playing outside with his older brother when that animal attacked. The boy's mother ran out of the house and pulled him away from the animal.

This is video of the type of mountain lion we're talking about. The one involved in this attack we understand was hunted down by authorities and killed. And we know the boy is in fair condition now and his mother was treated for minor injuries and released. Yes, moms will fight whatever we have to for our kids, won't we?

Thank you so much for watching our coverage of the terror attacks in Orlando. Our continuing, we're going to turn it over to our colleague Fredricka Whitfield who is there in Orlando. Fred, good morning to you.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much Christi. It is indeed a very heavy, tough day, because yet again many people will be laid to rest. We are live from Orlando. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The Newsroom starts right now.

[11:00:00] Funerals indeed are being held today for five more of the victims killed in the attack at the Pulse Nightclub earlier.