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Donald Trump Holds Rally in Las Vegas; Some Victims of Orlando Shooting Laid to Rest; Law Enforcement Reviewing Surveillance Video of Orlando Nightclub Shooting; Interview with Melissa Etheridge; Some Republicans Attempting to Change Convention Rules to Possibly Oust Donald Trump as GOP Nominee at Republican National Convention; Iraq Forces Continue to Fight ISIS in Fallujah; Walt Disney World Increasing Signage Warning of Wildlife Near Properties. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired June 18, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he even mentioned he watched her die or something along those lines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love her so much, I love her so much I can't believe it. But there is a divine reason for this. She was ready. But I'm not ready for her to go. I love her with all of my heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is her full name, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tammy Marie Myers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, watch "The Hunt" tomorrow night at 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.

The next hour of CNN begins right now, live from Orlando.

All right, we'll get back to the investigation here at the Pulse Nightclub one week after 49 were killed. But now let's go to Las Vegas where Donald Trump is expected to take to the stage at any moment now. In the race for the White House, the Republican presumptive nominee has been appealing to gun rights advocates in recent days, in particular arguing that if club-goers here in Orlando had been armed fewer people would have been killed.

Let's go to CNN White House Producer Kristen Holmes who is at that Las Vegas rally inside now where things are getting under way. So Kristen, how much will happened here in Orlando dominate Donald Trump's words there today in Las Vegas?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Fred, I think we can certainly expect to hear more on Orlando while we are here in Vegas, particularly when it comes to the topic of gun control. As you mentioned, calling for easier access to guns, calling for more people to be armed.

Now, we heard him say this in Houston, saying this could have been prevented that there would have been less casualties, less victims had that happened.

Now, I just want to give a quick reminder that in the immediate aftermath in Orlando, Trump caused waves within the Republican Party, tweeting that he wanted to meet with the NRA to talk about how to stop people on the terror watch list from getting access to guns. Now, this is something that we don't know if this is actually going to happen. This meeting, that was the last word we had of it there.

And this is something the Democrats have called for for a long time. And since we heard that, since we saw that tweet, since he got some pushback from the Republican Party he has also been slamming Democrats on this issue of guns. And I think that we can expect to hear more of that today. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you so much from Las Vegas. We'll get back out to Las Vegas when Donald Trump takes to the stand there.

Meanwhile, right here in Orlando, four people remain in critical condition at the city's regional medical center, nearly a week now after that mass shooting that killed 49 people. Funerals for Cory James Connell, Stanley Alvmodovar III, Antonio Davon Brown, Joel Rayon Paniagua, and Luis Vielma are all being held today. And we just learned that two deputies escorting one of those funeral processions was injured when a women drove into the procession, hitting them. Both of those deputies were taken to the hospital. CNN's Ed Lavandera joining me now on how this happened. What is the scene there?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the authorities here in Orlando described that the driver that drove into that procession is someone who was being impatient as the procession was making its way through, so clearly not the kind of thing that deputies here and law enforcement want to be dealing with on a day like today a day full of sorrow, and a day also where you see the investigative work continue.

Here you see behind us the law enforcement presence there at the Pulse Nightclub is still very tense. We do know that investigators have been able to retrieve surveillance videos from inside the club. They will begin pouring over those videos, extensively videos, that will essentially show the gruesomeness of what occurred inside of there. But obviously it will be something important to investigators as they piece together what unfolded and how it unfolded inside of the nightclub.

And also one of the other thing the investigators are clearly looking at is the days and weeks leading up to the attack, piecing together the timeline of Omar Mateen and what he did and how he laid out his attack. Investigators have said that this is not something that Omar Mateen just planned at the spur of the moment and simply just carried out on a whim. This was heavily planned out. They point to law enforcement sources tell us over the last few days the steps that Mateen went through to prepare for all of this, things like spending thousands of dollars obviously on the weaponry that was used, also going to great lengths to change and put in his wife's name as well the bank accounts and life insurance documents, important documents to them. Also law enforcement sources also told us that Mateen had also bought

an expensive piece of jewelry for his wife. Mateen also showed up at prayer services on Friday before making his way up here to Orlando on Saturday. So all of that timeline being pieced together here by law enforcement officials. Fredricka?

[14:00:08] WHITFIELD: And add that Florida Governor Rick Scott has had some kind words for the work of those first responders.

LAVANDERA: Yes, you know, you can't really say enough about the first responders that were the first ones here on scene in the chaotic and frightening hours. The governor of Florida writing a letter to those first responders, talking about how the entire world was thankful for the brave action of those who selflessly placed themselves in the line of fire. He says he will never forget the stories that he heard this week of the heroism and courage, and that they will forever remember the fearlessness of the officer and deputies who immediately responded to this attack and ran into the darkness not fully understanding the danger ahead.

So those first responders here in the initial hours and those initial days, but the scene here handed over essentially to those law enforcement officials doing the gruesome heavy task of piecing together this investigation and continuing to work on that front, which here almost a week later continues here in Orlando, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you so much, appreciate that.

All right, so let's talk about more on what investigators are focusing in on. I want to bring in retired major case investigator James Copenhaver. Good to see you. All right, so they have this surveillance video not being revealed to the public, understandable why not. What are investigators going to look at specifically? What do they hoping to be revealed in this kind of video?

JAMES COPENHAVER, RETIRED MAJOR CASE INVESTIGATOR: You know, what I would look for as an investigator is was he at the club prior to the shooting and making this attack? Was he in there the night of casing, if you will, and making sure that everyone was corralled back near those restroom where he held them all hostage. That would be the first thing. But next you want to see how many shots were fired, and more importantly, were there any patrons that had been armed that were firing shots, too, such as friendly fire.

WHITFIELD: And how will that be a teaching moment? Earlier when I was talking to law enforcement experts, they talked about how it's important, whatever is learned here has to be used as a tool in prevention or trying to tackle other kinds of cases. Like what in particular, would you think?

COPENHAVER: Well, in this case, some of the public are complaining it took so long to go back and rescue the hostages. So there were bomb making materials potentially with this guy. And they're going to go back and literally look at every bit of the surveillance and find what he did prior to the attack? Did he show any telltale signs that they can look for in other attackers?

And also more importantly their response time and how they entered the building. We only heard of one OPD officer getting shot in his Kevlar helmet, so thank God nobody was injured. But they are certainly going to look at their tactics to make sure they're up to par and sound

WHITFIELD: And 49 people killed, one gunman here. he is not here to answer the questions. But what is your understanding, or what does your gut tell you about the armor, how he was able to fire off so many bullets that would kill so many and wound so many?

COPENHAVER: Training, you know. The guy acted as if he trained. He was ready for this battle. In his mind it was something he was preparing for months, maybe even a year, going back even to changing his financial status with his house. So he certainly practices, trained.

I probably would suggest to you before this investigation is done you will find his wife probably admitting that he probably exchanged magazines in the home, practicing on getting his timing down to make a rapid magazine change for this massacre. So a lot of preplanning on the killer's part and a lot of training.

WHITFIELD: And giving himself an advantage because there are people who say they recall him frequenting this club at least over a year's time. So he may have really understood the nooks and crannies, the vulnerabilities of this building?

COPENHAVER: Oh, absolutely. You can go to any county website and look at the property appraiser's office and get a layout of any building in any city. So I'm sure he planned for that. But better yet, he drove to the scene. So he was actually casing it out. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't find some type of video or pictures on his devices where he may have taken pictures prior to the attack to get familiar with the inside.

WHITFIELD: What does your gut say about potentially his wife's knowledge, involvement, et cetera?

COPENHAVER: I think just based on her own admissions and confessions thus far that certainly implicates her of having knowledge of this crime. And, you know, did she conceal the crime? I'm going to say yes because she had an abundant amount of time to call the authorities while they were texting and communicating while he was in the club. So in terms of concealing what he had done, she is absolutely I think complicit in the whole thing.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much for your expertise, appreciate it.

Still to come, musician Melissa Etheridge will be joining me to discuss her song dedicated to the victims of the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub.

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WHITFIELD: Oh, that is just a small sample of a chilling new song by musician and singer Melissa Etheridge honoring the victims of the Orlando Nightclub shooting. She wrote and recorded the song "Pulse" just days after the tragedy. And joining me right now on phone, she is on tour and she is with us to talk about the song and why she wrote and recorded it so quickly. Melissa Etheridge, thank you so much for being here.

MELISSA ETHERIDGE, SINGER/SONGWRITER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So it has a very uplifting beat. I can hear you if you can hear me. This is Fredricka right outside the Pulse Nightclub outside here in Orlando. So talk to me about your inspiration of your song, "Pulse," and how quick you were able to write something with such an uplifting kind of beat.

ETHERIDGE: Well, I'm out here on tour on the east coast. And I had gotten off my bus Sunday morning and, you know, and turned on my phone and started seeing the reports. And just like every one of us, I just was knocked over. And, you know, being an LGBT person and having spent so much time in my life in gay bars.

[14:00:01] And I know that, you know, the community that it is. It's not your regular bar. It's a place where people go to be themselves. And it's a beautiful place. On a Saturday night at 2:00 a.m., it's a pumping place and awesome. And it's filled with vitality and youth and life. And to have that struck down in such a violent way it just -- it really, really hurt. It physically hurt.

And I had the day off. I was in my apartment in New York City. I was looking out. I have a view of the Freedom Tower, which is, you know, where the World Trade Center was. And it just got overwhelming to me. So I picked up my guitar, which is a source of comfort for me. And I -- I instantly started writing. And I -- just, you know, I didn't write it for anybody but myself. But as it was going along, I just called my -- I have a producer friend, musician Jerry Wonda, and said, hey, any chance you guys got some time in the studio tomorrow? And we recorded it Monday. And I told my manager I just want to give it to the world. It might help, it might feel good, it might give some sort of place for all of us to put our emotions. And, you know, there is no making sense of this, but it's just a place where we can start.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that is so amazing and such a quick turnaround. So what has been the response thus far that you can tell? ETHERIDGE: It has been -- it's been so amazing. It has been- the

outpouring of love on my Twitter, on my Facebook on just all of social media, it is -- it's doing what I hoped it would. It's a place to lean on.

Last night they -- they had I guess at Orlando Universal, where, you know, six of the victims worked there. They had a special private thing for the employees. And, you know, they played in song. And that is just what I wanted. I just want it to be -- music has always given us a place to put feelings and thoughts that we have no other way to put it. It's a part of our humanity that remains intact that music allows us to feel that our mind won't. And that is exactly what I'm hoping this allows us to do.

WHITFIELD: Your song is a tribute. You talk about the vitality and the nightclub and the people who go there and have been enjoying that space. There have been memorials dotted all across the city. We've seen them from the white crosses that are up around the lake to represent each of the 49 victims and to the flowers that are being left and even notes. What is your hope about this kind of comfort and support that is being exhibited in so many ways and the lasting effect of how that is being received particularly for the LGBT community?

ETHERIDGE: Well, I look at the LGBT community and I realize that this is such a horrible tragedy that out of the ashes of this, out -- out of the blood and ashes that we can put together our own inner strength and understand that the only way we can get past this and get our society to move past this is to be LGBT, to be gay, to stand up, to come out, to change hearts and minds, to walk through the fear, to say this is who I am. I am your neighbor, I am your family. I work with you. I am part of this -- the fabric this amazing human race, which our day-to-day struggle is to understand our diversity.

I think all of us grew up in a time where it was, like, this is your group. This is your color, your belief. And you have to stay in here and is wrong. And that doesn't work anymore, not in this day and age. It's about diversity. It's about celebrating that, yes, I'm LGBT and I feel this and I love this way. And you know what, there is someone who is not. And that's fine, too. And we all coexist. And that is the only way we can move forward. And that is the only light I can see at the end of this is that we all came to an understanding that no more. This is the hate, the -- you know, the bathroom laws, the trying to legislate morality does not work because diversity is what makes our country strong.

[14:00:02] WHITFIELD: Melissa Etheridge, thank you so much. It's a beautiful song and beautiful tribute for the 49 people killed here and the dozens others injured. The song is "Pulse." Melissa Etheridge, thanks so much for taking time out of your touring. And we'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We continue to look into the investigation of the Pulse nightclub shooting. One week ago, 49 people killed.

Meantime, live pictures right now. We're going to take you to Yosemite National Park in California. The president is there. He and the first family are spending their weekend there celebrating the nation's parks. He's addressing initiatives that his administration has made to protect national parks. This year the U.S. National Park Service is celebrating its 100-year anniversary.

And overseas, we're also following new developments in Iraq. This new video showing downtown Fallujah where the Iraqi military has pushed ISIS out. Iraq says the critical city is now mostly free from the terror group's control. Fallujah is 40 miles west from Baghdad. It's been under ISIS control since early 2014.

[14:25:08] CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is live for us now in Baghdad. So Ben, we're looking at the images today. You have also witnessed the continued ground battle firsthand. Explain everything that you have been assessing.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we were able to get inside Fallujah riding inside an Iraqi Army Humvee. And from there what we saw is block after block of buildings and homes essentially pancakes, utterly destroyed. This is the result of a very long and intensive artillery barrage as well as air strikes by the Iraqi Air Force and the U.S. led coalition forces.

Once we go to the middle of the town, which Iraq officials are saying is mostly liberated, what we saw is there was some very serious pockets of resistance. In fact, we were on one of the main streets of Fallujah, and what we saw was that directly in front of us just 250 yards ahead of us there was this massive gun battle going on between Iraqi forces and ISIS fighters, but we could not see them.

One block over on our left, another street battle, another block over on our right, same thing was going on. So there is clearly still a lot to be done before this city can actually be declared totally liberated from ISIS. And it's going to be weeks if not months before residents can actually move back in.

And we just Republican a statement from the Iraq prime minister's office underscoring another problem. During ISIS' two and a half rule of Fallujah, apparently they had no organized campaigns for vaccinations. So now the Iraqi authorities are scrambling to get cholera vaccines, typhoid vaccines, because the worry is that given there are tens of thousands of civilians who are either still inside the city or have fled are very vulnerable given their lack of food and clean water over the last months, very vulnerable to disease. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And so, Ben, I wonder if this sends a message of encouragement for so many really across the world who have questioned the vitality, the real responsibility of the Iraqi forces and whether they could handle this. This seems like, you know, a real feather in their cap, to what extent?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly there are critics who say that the Iraqi army still is lacking in terms of logistics, command and control, and its leadership. But one must admit that what we've seen over the last year and a half is that of course with the assistance of the U.S.-led coalition, with American and other coalition partners training of the Iraqi foes and helping equipment, Iraqi forces have been able to retake a series of cities that ISIS took over within the last two years.

They have taken back Tikrit, Baiji, Ramadi, now Fallujah is almost completely in Iraqi hands. And what we're seeing now is that Iraqi forces are moving north in preparation for the eventual battle that is expected to be the so-called mother of all battles in Iraq in this war against ISIS, Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq which was taken over by is in June of 2014.

So certainly the Iraqi officials are saying, look, we have been able to drive ISIS back. And they seem to be very enthusiastic. I spoke to the defense minister just the other day. He told me this is the beginning of the end of ISIS in Iraq. He is hoping that by the end of the year, and that may be a bit optimistic, they will be able to finally crush ISIS completely in this country. Of course, then there is Syria, and that is another issue altogether. But at least in Iraq there definitely has been progress.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thank you so much from Baghdad.

All right, next, anybody but Trump? That is the message some Republicans are still driving home just one month ahead of the RNC. What we are learning about the push to try to change the convention rules at the last minute. Trump has a rally in Las Vegas this hour. Will he confront this? All of that next.

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[14:32:41] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back to Orlando. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Meantime, take a look at these live pictures right now out of Las Vegas with Donald Trump right there at his rally that's underway. Meanwhile, there is a new effort to stop the Republican presumptive nominee is gaining some steam ahead of the convention. We'll continue to monitor the comments from Donald Trump.

But CNN is getting news details about a coalition of other Republican delegates that is pushing for a, quote, "conscience clause" that would free convention delegates who are bound to Donald Trump. Let's talk about this with Rebecca Berg. She is a national political reporter for Real Clear Politics. And Julian Zelizer, historian and professor at Princeton University. Good to see both of you.

So Rebecca, you first. This really is unusual is it not? I mean, how serious is this new push, and how many, you know, of the Republican leadership are behind this kind of conscience clause? REBECCA BERG, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, REAL CLEAR POLITICS: Well,

of course it is very unusual, Fredricka. Usually when you have a Republican nominee, it is the nominee at the convention. And so short of the contested convention, usually there isn't this sort of potential drama that you face leading into the actual convention meeting.

But this is a very atypical situation. Donald Trump in public polling right now is not breaking 40 percent. His unfavorables are however around 70 percent. This is not what you would usually see with a major party nominee for the presidency. And so Republicans are understandably panicking, especially with Donald Trump's response within the past week to the tragedy from Orlando. They're not confident in what they are seeing from him in terms of the pivot or lack thereof to the general election.

And so what we're seeing right now in terms of a potential insurrection from Cleveland is not yet coming from the leadership level. We've seen actually Republican leader for the most part endorse Donald Trump. But this is coming from a few dozen delegates. And so the chances of this succeeding are still very, very slim. But the fact this is happening at all is quite notable.

WHITFIELD: So Julian, a few dozen delegates are Republicans who would be on board with this. But it certainly doesn't send a message of unification that the Republican Party is unifying, coalescing around Donald Trump, especially now that he is the presumptive nominee. How problematic is this for Republican leadership, particularly those who are saying we do want to embrace, coalesce around Donald Trump?

[14:35:17] JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Well, everything is problematic for the Republicans right now. On the one hand if they say let's stick with our nominee, they understand that they're playing with something that is pretty politically explosive. They don't know what he is going to do. They're watching their poll numbers fall.

On the other hand, if they get behind this effort, the fear that they have is that they anger, all the Trump supporters who say he won, he won, it's not contested. It's not an open convention. And it's not that they will get angry. It's that they won't vote. They won't support the Republican nominee. So they're in a real hard spot right now. But it is notable --

WHITFIELD: You get the feeling they wouldn't vote period, or decide to vote for --

ZELIZER: I think --

WHITFIELD: A libertarian, reserving their vote?

ZELIZER: I think Trump voters are an unknown commodity in some ways for the Republican leadership. Certainly there is a fear that they won't vote at all, and they are going to need as many votes as possible to defeat Hillary Clinton. But then obviously if they vote for the libertarian ticket or some independent Trump nominee, meaning Trump running on another ticket, all of those are fears that are circulating in the Republican leadership circles.

WHITFIELD: And Rebecca, Paul Ryan, he would be saying you have to vote your conscience. You have to feel comfortable with, you know, who you're voting for. Is he essentially saying he is on board with this conscience clause? Or is he saying, this is America, you can do anything you want to do? Or is he walking a real tightrope here that he is trying to also show a unified Republican party?

BERG: I don't think that is encouraging any sort of insurrection at all. What it is, though, and we're seeing from Republican leaders kind of across the board, is although they have endorsed Donald Trump and you look at someone like Mitch McConnell, even Reince Priebus, the chair of the Republican National Committee, these leaders have endorsed Donald Trump. But many Republican elected officials endorsing him are not out there actively campaigning for him because they still feel very uncomfortable with his candidacy. And so what they want is for Republicans who are running in very competitive Senate races or House races who are worried about their reelection chances, they want to give them this space and hope that Donald Trump gives them the space --

WHITFIELD: OK, actually, Rebecca, hold tight right there, because actually Donald Trump is addressing this right now. Let's listen in from Las Vegas.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How would you like to have a party win -- and he is married to a great lawyer so she understands this better than Wayne does, but Wayne has a much better voice, right? But how would you like to have a party where myself and others travel the country and work for a long time -- that was shorter than I thought, because remember I was supposed to maybe be able to pull it out pulled it out two months before the convention. Do you remember?

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TRUMP: Do you remember when they said 1,237, that is the delegates, 1,237, he cannot reach that number. He cannot reach that number. And I kept saying, what is the big deal? And one of the people who probably has not quite given up yet, one of the people was trying to buy up all of the second ballot people, right? And I kept saying, let them have them because it's expensive to get them.

And by the way, I spent less money than any other candidate and I ended up in first place, and they ended up boom.

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TRUMP: So now I hear after beating them fair and square -- I mean, I beat them fair and square. Actually a couple of the commentators that are negative people, actually, because most of them are, but a couple of the commentators that are negative people said whether you like him or you don't, he beat them fair and square.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And then they said, he didn't beat them by a little bit. He beat them by a lot. We beat them by a lot, right?

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: So how would you like to have a somebody goes out and beats them by a lot and wins not only the vote, largest in the history of the party, not only wins 37 states and nobody else was even like remotely close. I mean, some of these guys have none. How would you like to have that? A guy sets an all-time record, gets almost 14 million votes over a period of like nine months, he gets 37 states.

[14:40:00] He gets tremendous support. He has sold out arenas no matter where he goes. Yesterday in Houston people said they have never seen crowds like that. One of the reporters, a very good reporter actually from NBC --

WHITFIELD: All right, Julian Zelizer, Rebecca Berg back with me. Donald Trump responding, saying, you know, how could it be that there would be this contingent of people who wanted to de-legitimatize his fair-and-square win? So Julian, this is his counterpunch, so to speak.

ZELIZER: Well, it's based on the principle in party politics that we've had since the '70s, and he is not incorrect to say that the principle if you win enough vote in the primaries and caucuses that the party won't overturn that decision. That is why we moved away from the party centered process of smoke-filled rooms and that's what we have.

So he is going to rely on what has been the precedent to counteract this effort to overturn the democratic wish within the Republican Party. And I think he has a lot of strength in making that argument.

WHITFIELD: Rebecca?

BERG: Well, I absolutely agree with that. I mean, this is going to be, in my mind, the biggest obstacle to any sort of reasonable, viable insurrection among Republicans to take down Donald Trump at the convention. Because how then do they explain to its voters that the primary process actually has no bearing and didn't matter in this case, because in their minds the voters got it wrong and picked the wrong candidate. That would be a very difficult sell.

And still the fact remains, even if Republicans made that decision to move forward with removing Donald Trump through the convention process, Donald Trump would not go away. He would either run as an independent, a write-in candidate, or just be out there giving interviews and constantly taking on the Republican Party. So they really are not in a good place.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it right there. Rebecca Berg, Julian Zelizer, thank you so much to both of you, appreciate it.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

BERG: Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right, tomorrow morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort joining Dana Bash to discuss this last-ditch effort by the GOP. That's tomorrow, 9:00 a.m. eastern. We'll be right back right after this.

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[14:45:52] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Orlando where mourners here, seeing so many tributes for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, including 49 wooden crosses lining the lake outside the Orlando Regional Medical Center built by hand by one man. These crosses are another symbol for friends and family to honor their loved ones.

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WHITFIELD: Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez and Jonathan Antonio Vega, a name for each cross placed at Orlando's beauty lake, 49 white crosses for the 49 killed in the nation's worst mass shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very somber, very, very somber. We live in a large city, but it feels like a hometown, especially within the gay community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It hit home, close to the heart.

WHITFIELD: Each marker with a name and photo placed here by Greg Zanis of Illinois.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to love your brother and neighbor, quit all that judging.

WHITFIELD: Love for people he never even met fuelled his 1,200 mile drive from Aurora, Illinois, to Orlando, putting his hand-built crosses in place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just need to honor them. We look like we're a religious country and we're not. We have so much trouble.

WHITFIELD: Symbols he said, after he coped with the shooting death of his father-in-law 20 years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just put the red hearts on there just to show love.

WHITFIELD: This time his poignant tribute attracted dozens from dawn to dusk in Orlando. Over the years the carpenter says he stopped building houses to make crosses for victims, including those in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut. At least 13,000 crosses in all across the country.

No community could ever wish for a memorial like this, but Jeannette McCoy, who was with her friend Angel Colon, who she feels was shot while trying to protect her, this has become a place of reflection and healing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's something that we're going to have to live with and somehow cope and come together as humans.

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[14:51:45] WHITFIELD: Hello, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Orlando where Walt Disney World is adding warning signs and fences to nine of its beaches. The changes come in the wake of Tuesday's deadly gator attack on a toddler. Meanwhile, the boy's family breaking its silence and asking for privacy as they mourn the death of their son, Lane Graves. CNN's Brynn Gingras is following these latest developments from Orlando. Brynn?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Yes, good afternoon. We've learned basically from a Walt Disney spokesperson that they've released at the latter half of this week, assessing all of the properties, the beachfronts, the waterfronts, trying to figure out exactly where this extra signage is needed.

And we've also seen employees walking on these beach front properties and placing those signs, new signs in addition to the no swimming sign that was there when the alligator dragged the two-year-old Lane Graves into the water. So some of these new signs, here's what they look like. We're told different messages. One, "Danger, alligators and snakes in the area. Stay away from the water. Do not feed the wildlife."

So in addition to those signs we are also hearing that some of the fences are being put up, temporary fences around some of these waterfronts to make sure people do stay away in the hopes that something like this does not happen again.

We're also told by a spokesperson that employees are being instructed to talk to people who are visiting the resorts and also just kind of educate each other about staying away from wildlife, learning how to interact with it and what is necessary in order to get them out of these sorts of situations, and if needed the people who they are supposed to call.

And as you said, Fred, in the midst of all of this, the Graves family, they returned home back to Nebraska, and they have this painful task, of course, of laying their two-year-old son, Lane, to rest later this week. We know that when they returned the neighbors welcomed them. They put up blue ribbons on their home sort of to just give them emotional support that they so much needed.

And they did release a statement to us, and part of that statement was thanking every one of us from across the country for that emotional support. Let me read you part of that. It says "Melissa and I continue to deal with the loss of our beloved boy, Lane, and are overwhelmed with the support and love we have received from family and friends in our communication as well as from around the country."

And of course also in that statement they did ask for their privacy, saying they are not going to give any interviews as they do begin this process of laying their son to rest and continuing their grieving. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Terribly tragic. All right, thanks so much, Brynn Gingras.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:58:04] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. A look at our top stories right now. An assistant state attorney in Florida has been suspended for controversial Facebook postings after the Orlando attack here at this nightclub behind me. Kenneth Lewis is with Florida's Ninth Judicial District. Lewis was suspended for posts last Sunday morning hours after the shootings here. In one post he wrote Orlando, quote, "is a melting pot of third-world miscreants and ghetto thugs." And, quote, he later said, quote, "All Orlando nightclubs should be permanently closed with or without random gunman. They are zoos, utter cesspools of debauchery."

While Donald Trump is selling himself as the strongest presidential candidate heading into November, Democrats are hitting back hard. Senator Elizabeth Warren slammed the billionaire as a salesman who duped people out of their money with his failed Trump University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Now, rather than investing in a high-quality instructors and counselors to teach classes, Donald Trump put together an army of salespeople to sell, sell, sell those classes. It was like a used car dealership, except that is not fair to used car dealerships.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And she again called Trump "fraudster-in-chief."

And Chelsea Clinton has become a mom for the second time. Clinton and her husband just announced their newest addition, tweeting "Marc and I are overwhelmed with gratitude and love as we celebrate the birth of their son, Aidan Clinton-Mezvinsky. The couple already has a daughter named Charlotte.

All right, thanks so much for being with me here in Orlando. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll see you again tomorrow in Atlanta. Jim Sciutto has more from the Newsroom starting right now.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, you are live in the CNN news room. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. Heartbroken family and friends are gathering today in Orlando to say their final goodbyes.