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Vigils Held Across Britain in Memory of MP Jo Cox; Burying the Victims in Orlando; Russian Track and Field Athletes Likely Banned from Olympics; Victory for Iraqi Forces Retaking Major Parts of Fallujah. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired June 18, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:47] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Vigils held across Britain in memory of the slain parliament member, Jo Cox. Her suspected killer set to appear in court in the coming hours charged with murder.

Plus, Orlando, Florida beginning to bury the victims of the Pulse Nightclub massacre. Investigators continue digging in to the shooter's past.

And a big victory for Iraqi forces, raising their flag in Fallujah. Authorities say they have retaken major parts of the key city from ISIS

Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Richard Quest in Birstall, in England. You are watching "CNN NEWSROOM".

Good morning to you from Birstall in West Yorkshire in Northern England where local people here today are waking up to the news that Thomas Mair, a local resident himself has been charged in the brutal killing of the British politician, Jo Cox. Mair is to appear in Westminster Magistrates' Court in London later today. It's believed he will appear in person. He's been charged with murder, grievous bodily harm amongst a variety of other counts. He's been accused of stabbing and shooting the Member of Parliament, the 41-year-old, Jo Cox, just yards away now from where I am standing.

It's being called by West Yorkshire police an isolated but a targeted attack. The police are looking into whether Mair has any ties to right-wing extremism and into reports that he had suffered mental health issues. Court is about to start in London. It's not known which of the cases he will be, whether he will be first on the list or further down the docket. At Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, it is Phil Black. Phil?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Richard, yes, the courthouse has opened here and proceedings are on the way. You like to point and you're right, we're not sure where he will appear or what time he will appear in the cases become before this court. It's today but it is expected that he will appear in person. Now, what to expect in terms of the proceeding, it is likely that it will be pretty brief. The usual process is for a first appearance in this magistrate's court. The charges are presented. We know those charges are murder, grievous bodily harm and (inaudible) the gun that he was -- that he is alleged to have used and later have possessed. It will determine whether he should stay in custody. And of course, that is very likely because of the serious nature of these charges. This is just the first step in the judicial process but they formalized the charges against him, formalizes or is likely to formalize the fact that he will be remanded in custody while the police investigation continues, which you've been touching on there as they continue to build this case, to shape this idea of who this man is and what may have driven him to commit such a crime of having (inaudible), Richard?

QUEST: And it was particularly telling yesterday in the statement from West Yorkshire police that they do describe this as an isolated incident, but a targeted attack, Phil.

BLACK: That's right. In the limited information that they have made public, they have made it pretty clear that they believe this had -- that he acted alone. Although, there is a question to be answered about how he came to own the firearm that is said to have been used. That's an important part of the investigation. It's difficult to get a gun in this country, how did he get it, who helps in this way?

[05:05:02] Beyond that, the police are being very best (ph), other than to say that, yes, they are considering his mental history and the priority line of inquiry, which you touched on there links to right- wing extremist groups. But now that the judicial process is under way, the police themselves won't be saying much more publicly. They will be building a case that ultimately they hope will be presented before a court, and then based upon that evidence, it will be left to a jury to decide this man's guilt arrest.

QUEST: Phil Black at Westminster Magistrates' Court. Phil, when there is more to report, please come back. And of course CNN will bring the latest details.

Let's just pause for a moment to let me show you where I am. This is the -- I describe it as a makeshift memorial. It is the main statue in the market square where, as you can see, local residents, and I have to say, in the last hour or so, the number of people arriving here has grown quite considerably. Of all ages, all races, all religions have been coming, paying their respects along with the flowers that are here from the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who, of course, made his own memorial flowers yesterday.

Because Jo Cox spent much of her life in public service, she got her start in a variety chargeable work before entering the world of politics. And once at Westminster, she was a rising star, fighting for the many causes that she stood for. Her colleagues are obviously now not only singing her praises, but they are remembering even if they are on opposite sides of the coming E.U. referendum. They put their politics aside and here, they remember Jo Cox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: If we truly want to honor Jo, then what we should do is recognize that her values, service, community, tolerance, the value she lived by and worked by, those are the values that we need to redouble in our national life in the months and in the years to come.

JEREMY CORBYN, LABOUR PARTY LEADER: Jo was an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman, taken from us in her early 40s when she had so much to give and so much of her life ahead of her. It's a tragedy beyond tragedy what has happened yesterday. In her memory, we will not allow those people that spread hatred and poison to divide our society. We will strengthen our democracy, strengthen our free speech. She was a truly wonderful woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, those two leaders have set the tone for the rest of the country. The campaigning ahead of the E.U. referendum has abruptly stopped. Several events set for this weekend, big events, on a national scale, have been canceled. Overall, it is unclear how Cox's death is going to impact the referendum, if indeed it is at all, when Britains will vote to leave or remain in the E.U. on June the 23rd. That's next Thursday. The fighting over that decision is likely to resume shortly.

The British rule makers held a vigil for their colleagues in front of the U.K. Parliament building. CNN's Will Ripley reports on this impromptu memorial at the Palace of Westminster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Throughout the day, people have been gathering here at the Palace of Westminster, one of London's most iconic landmarks. There were tourists, there were Londoners stopping by and seeing this beautiful seat of the British government but also seeing this, a spontaneous memorial that continues to grow as people come to express and share this feeling of disbelief, this feeling of sadness and a feeling of what this country has lost.

A divided nation, united in grief, the fierce debate over Britain's future on hold. Now is not the time for politics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tragic. The young woman fought for maximum (ph) work.

RIPLEY: Crowd gathered in Parliament Square to honor the life of Jo Cox.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just tragedy for somebody who seems is coming to politics for all the right reasons.

RIPLEY: The married mother of two, only 41, served in House of Commons just 13 months, long enough for former Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, to say she already made an impact. ED MILIBAND, FORMER LABOUR PARTY LEADER: She was in it for right reasons. She was an aide worker. She was somebody who devoted herself to humanitarian causes, somebody who had worked around the world and she came to parliament to further those causes.

RIPLEY: Like most in her opposition party, Cox was working hard to convince voters that Britain should stay in the European Union. She was also a champion for the migrant community, a remarkable bitter debate, even in this country with more than half of MPs say they have been stalked or harassed.

[05:10:03] Despite the threats, Cox continued the British tradition of meeting her constituents face-to-face, which allowed her suspected killer to get close to her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a moment of reflection for all of us on the tone of our politics. And I think in a way, we should be inspired by Jo's life.

RIPLEY: Even Nigel Firage, one of the loudest voices supporting the Brexit was here to pay his respects, joining so many others beneath the majestic Palace of Westminster. MPs from the both sides of the U.K. debate have been recalled and are expected to gather here Monday to honor a life and career brutally cut short.

The most powerful moment of the evening, a two-minute moment of silence when Big Ben struck 8:00. And even though they were easily more that a thousand people standing here in Parliament Square, you could not hear anybody speaking. People were simply here in disbelief and sadness and hope that perhaps this tragedy will help the country move forward with a greater sense of mutual respect and unity.

Will Ripley, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Now, joining me here at the memorial in Birstall is Sharon and Rebekah. Good morning to you ladies.

SHARON LIGHT, FRIEND OF JO COX: Good morning.

QUEST: Good morning.

REBEKAH LIGHT, FRIEND OF JO COX: Good morning.

QUEST: You came here, you lay flowers. You came here with your family, why? Why did you think it was important?

S. LIGHT: Just because Jo was a treasured member of our community. Even though she's only been in our MP for 15 months, she's now taken, you know, our issues down to parliament and really made a stand about what affects us. And she was such a lovely lady. I just couldn't not come.

QUEST: You are seeing something that, you know, those of us in the older generation have never seen anything quite like this before. What do you make of it?

R. LIGHT: It's a bit like scary because like it's so close to like where I live and I don't really think that something like that would actually happen. Like, it's hard -- a bit hard to believe.

QUEST: That's really important, isn't it, for the younger generation. How do you explain to your daughter -- how does one make sense of the senseless?

S. LIGHT: I really don't know. All we can do, at the moment, because everyone is in shock, is just to try to bring the younger children down here. Bring flowers, and let them pay their respects. And then as time goes on, then try to make sense of it. But at the moment, it's just too fresh to make any sense of what's going on that there is no sense to that.

QUEST: Was it important for you to come here?

R. LIGHT: Yeah. I wanted to like show that I cared and, like, try and like understand in, like, what happened and show that even though, like, she's passed away, that we still, like, care about her.

QUEST: We've talked a lot over the last couple of weeks about the way in which the referendum, the debate over Europe, the nastiness of it. Do you think this is going to change? Do you hope it changes?

S. LIGHT: I do hope it changes. I mean, I really find it hard to believe that Jo lost her life just because of the European, you know, debate. That is totally senseless. And I hope, if that is the case, that it just for people to make them realize that, you know, it's not that important. What's important is that we all look after each other and we all support each other and really, as Jo wanted to do, you know, have a warm community.

QUEST: Thank you so much for coming and talking to us -- to me this morning.

S. LIGHT: Thank you.

QUEST: I really appreciate it. Thank you, indeed. Nice.

And so, here in Birstall, this is very much the mood. It's a very quiet and somber. I have to say, for the first time since I've been here, the sun is shining. Over the past 24 hours, it has been absolutely bucketing down with rain. And I would expect, George, in the hours ahead, that, you know, more people will come, more people will visit, more people will be here to pay their respects.

HOWELL: All the while, an important political vote looms at the same time that nation coming together to mourn. Richard Quest, thank you so much. This is "CNN NEWSROOM".

Still ahead, Iraq claims it struck a major blow to ISIS. The very latest on Falluja as we return. Plus, a major blow to Russian sport, the Olympic dreams for Russian track and field athletes may have evaporated. That story ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:17:22] HOWELL: Welcome back to "CNN NEWSROOM". I'm George Howell.

In Brazil, reports say that police have charged seven men in connection with the rape of a teenage girl in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian state media say that police filed the charges Friday and they include statutory rape and the release of pornographic material with a minor. A case sparked to backlash with outrage on social media after video of the victim naked and unconscious was posted to Twitter last month.

Now, to a developing story we're following out of Belgium. Police there have arrested 12 people believed to be planning new terror attacks. Prosecutor say the police questioned 40 suspects after dozens of raids on homes and garages Friday night and into Saturday morning. These searches spread through 16 different municipalities. So far, no word on what the alleged attack plans were. The police vowed, per capita, Belgium has the highest number of foreign fighters in Syria of any western European nation.

In Iraq, the government says that it has retaken the center of Falluja from ISIS. Following the story, CNN's Arwa Damon joins us live this hour. Arwa, it's good to have you. So, what can you tell us about the prime minister congratulating the country and security forces about retaking the heart of Falluja? But, we understand that there are still pockets of resistance.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are, George, but a fairly confident prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, came out on Iraqi national television last night and said that they had managed to fulfill their promise to liberate Falluja from ISIS, vowing that the effort would continue until they all of the country had been cleared of the terrorist organization. Now that being said, the military did release a statement earlier today saying that 60 percent of the city had been cleared. Still, a very significant victory. Falluja, both symbolic and strategic, strategic because of its location, symbolic because it was the first city to actually initially fall to ISIS.

And in the weeks as this offensive has been ongoing, especially as the fighting has intensified, civilians desperate to try flee, so desperate, in fact, some of them were actually swimming across the Euphrates river. They were trying to get out of Falluja, trying to flee the fighting, but also trying to reach safe ground because they have effectively been under siege for months as the Iraqi security forces encircle the city and ISIS according to numerous reports that we have been receiving would actually attempt to kill anyone who they caught trying to flee.

[05:20:03] And it really is, as is always the case, the civilians that bear the brunt of the ice of rule and life under ISIS, but also of these military offensives against it as the Iraqi security forces have been moving through, trying to continue to clear out the rest of the city, clear out these so-called pockets of resistance that have been coming across the ISIS tactics that are now becoming quite familiar. Various different bobby traps, roads and buildings, pretty tough spot (ph).

However, what has been interesting for some is that they have not met the level of resistance from ISIS fighters as they were, perhaps, necessarily expecting. According to some resident who did manage to flee in their reports to various NGOs that are on the ground trying to assist them, they said that yesterday morning they noticed that a number of ISIS fighters had abandoned their positions at some key checkpoints, which then led to a flood of humanity trying to get out of the city. People literally grabbing whatever it was that they could, tens of thousands of them, George, walking for hours and hours trying to reach these makeshift refugee camps where humanitarian organizations are struggling to try to keep up with the influx.

And in fact, the governor of Anbar Province tweeting that, yes, Falluja was being liberated from ISIS. However, there was an impending possible humanitarian catastrophe that was going to have to be dealt with. But at this stage, it does seem as if, at least in the city of Falluja itself, some fairly significant gains, much needed gains being made by the Iraqi security forces.

HOWELL: As security forces, they are making gains. But at the same time, as you point out, so many people that are caught up in the middle of all this as the fighting continues. Arwa Damon, live for us. Thank you for your reporting.

Russia's track and field athletes are now unlikely to compete at the Rio Olympics. The governing body for World Athletics is maintaining a competition ban saying that Russia has not sufficiently dealt with widespread doping. The International Olympic Committee is expected to decide on Tuesday whether to uphold the ban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN COE, PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATHLETICS FEDERATIONS: My sympathies will always be with athletes. But we have to deal with this issue. We have to deal with this issue. And we have to make sure that the generations to come, the athletes are competing. The public have confidence in what they are watching. And we have athletes in safe and secure systems. And the message that we put out today I think absolutely underpins that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Following the story live from Moscow, our international -- senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, joins us live. Matthew, the Russian president saying the governing body for World Athletics is doling out too broad of a punishment.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean Vladimir Putin just doesn't understand why this punishment came down, why the ban against Russian track and field athletes is being upheld. He said that Russians are equality appalled when they see someone has been doping and when they hear about and they're prosecuting those responsible, they say. But why should clean athletes be punished for the crimes of others? It's a line that's been repeated by athletes themselves who have never been found to be positive in any doping tests. It's a line repeated by the Russian Sports Ministry. And it's something that was addressed by the IAAF yesterday that when they gave their ruling that the ban on international competition for Russian track and field athletes was upheld.

Rune Anderson who's the anti-doping expert at the IAAF saying, that look, the problem is, the situation in Russia is so complicated, the problems of doping in the country are so deep that it's hard to tell who is a clean athlete and who is not one. And so, that's the reason they say that this blanket ban on track and field athletes from Russia has been upheld so these individuals cannot compete at the Rio Olympics, which is coming up in, what, just under 50 days from now. There has been reaction and more dimension from Vladimir Putin. But in the streets of Russia as well, a country that is fanatical about its sport, about a sport, rather, there's also a great deal of concern about the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's wrong when athletes use doping and banned substances and they probably think that everyone everywhere takes is here. That's why they made this decision. We do not understand them. And it's a pity that it happened especially as some of our favorite athletes just returned to sports and wanted to compete in the Olympics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I view this decision as a violation of Russia's rights and a violation of our interests in sports. I completely disagree with it. I will probably be crying all night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: All right. There are a lot of disquiet among ordinary Russians about this decision. They won't see their big sport stars competing at the Rio games. There is still a hope, at least that's what the Russians think. They are appealing to the International Olympic Committee, the IOC, to look again at this decision by the IAAF to see whether certain individual athletes who have never been found positive can compete at the games.

[05:25:08] The Russian Sports Ministry issued an appeal to the IOC yesterday saying think not just about the dreams that have been shattered of the athletes, but think about the Olympic Games themselves. The games they will be diminished if the Russian team is not taking part, George.

HOWELL: Senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, live in Moscow following the story. Matthew, thank you.

The Olympics in Rio less than 50 days away and that city's governor has declared a state of emergency. This order is meant to authorize more funding so that Rio can meet its obligations. However, it is not clear who will pay the bills and supply the money.

Brazil has been struggling through its worst recession since the 1930s. Games officials say the emergency declaration has no impact on the Olympics, which, again, starts August 5th. The governing body for European Football is responding, once again, to unruly fans at the Euro 2016 Championship.

At the Croatia, Czech Republic match on Friday, fans threw flairs on the field and punches in the stands. Play was suspended during the violence with Croatia up, 2-1. UEFA says it will hold disciplinary proceeding due to the incident. A UEFA spokesman told CNN, the association strongly condemns such acts. The match ended in a 2-2 draw after the Czech Republic got an equalizer with a penalty.

This is CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead, the E.U referendum debate is on hold after the sudden death, the sudden murder of British MP, how the U.K. has united in mourning, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:14] QUEST: Good day to you, to viewers in the United States and around the world. You're watching the "CNN NEWSROOM". I'm Richard Quest in Birstall, West Yorkshire in Northern England.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, live at CNN World headquarters in Atlanta with the headlines we're following for you this hour.

Richard will have more on this through the hour. But all over England, people are mourning the loss of a beloved politician. Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in her home district at Birstall Thursday. Political leaders have suspended campaigning ahead of the E.U. referendum to Remember Cox's life.

It is now unlikely that Russia's track and field team will compete at the Rio Olympics. The governing body for World Athletics is maintaining a competition ban saying that Russia has not sufficiently dealt with widespread doping. The International Olympic Committee is expected to decide on Tuesday whether to uphold the ban.

In Iraq, the prime minister there says the government troops have seized Falluja's key city from ISIS. In a public address on Friday, he said, pockets of resistance remain in the city, but will be cleared to the coming hours. The operation to retake Falluja began last month.

QUEST: The man charged with murdering the British MP, Jo Cox, is to appear in court today. Thomas Mair is accused of stabbing and shooting the 41-year-old MP at her home district here just a few yards away from where I am in Birstall.

Cox's house for now stopped all the campaigning ahead of the E.U. referendum on the United Kingdom's future within the European Union. Instead, people on both sides of the political divide have put aside their disagreements and they have come together to mourn.

Earlier, we spoke to a former colleague of Jo Cox and he explained how he tried to lead the way on humanitarian aide for Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HAMISH BRETTON-GORDON, MEDICS UNDER FIRE DIRECTOR: She was championing the Syrians of what was happening there. And she said with her background and humanitarians fought, she understood the requirements and her relentless energy to try and galvanize, particularly the British government, but others to do something. And in particular with my military background and being in Syria a number of times, I advice her on her own group on what could be done. I will say, help run a charity for orphan and we have 34 hospitals in Syria based on which have been bombed by (inaudible) and to advise her on how we could create safe zones and no-bomb zones around the hospital.

But I think that the thing that she most got involved in is the idea of getting humanitarian support into Syria by using airdrops. And with my experience, it's in Iraq and Afghanistan being on the receiving end of airdrops in the Air Force. What I was trying to articulate to her and I think she really understood it and was that actually it would be burble (ph) for us to put large amounts of aide into Syria. And she championed that in the British government and asked many questions. And in fact, you know, it was very key I think in persuading for the parliament, the British Foreign Secretary to get the international Syrian support group to agree to airdrops.

And sadly, at the moment, that is being stalled. But I really hope that somebody takes up a legacy and mantle in this area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Thomas Mair who is believed to be appearing in court anytime now, his neighbors say he was a quiet and a man who mostly kept himself to himself. However, disturbing details are emerging about Mair accused of killing Jo Cox.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen, with the heart of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Britain remains in a state of shock and outrage after the violent murder of parliamentarian Jo Cox. And now, details about the suspect have emerged. 52-year-old Thomas Mair is in police custody. British media reports, he lives alone in this house near Leeds, his neighbor shocked as the news.

DIANA PETERS, SUSPECT'S NEIGHBOR: This is totally unexpected. Mair, he was very mild-mannered, kept himself to himself, would never, I would have thought of even foreseen (ph) of doing this, never mind actually doing it.

PLEITGEN: Labour MP, Jo Cox, devoted a lot of energy fighting to help refugees and people affected by conflicts around the world, leading to the question, could racism have been a possible motive in her killing.

Thomas Mair appears to have showed interest in white supremacy in the past purchasing material from the American white supremacist group, the National Alliance as late as 2013 according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and also subscribing to a South African pro- apartheid group's magazine in the 1980s.

[05:35:14] There are also questions about Mair's mental health. His brother Scott Mair reportedly telling "The Sun" newspaper, that he had "a history of mental illness", but has had help, and further, "We are struggling to believe what has happened. My brother is not a violent man and is not that political."

According to English media reports, Mair received treatment at this mental health clinic outside Leeds. The clinic staff would not confirm the reports. Mair also volunteered as a gardener at this park. Local staff here had confirmed to us that Thomas Mair volunteered here as a gardener both in 2010 and in 2011. They described his presence here as sporadic. Now on a local newspaper, he was also quoted as saying that volunteering as a gardener here had done a lot to help with his apparent mental issues.

As this complex investigation in to the murder of Jo Cox and the possible motives for the killing continue to captivate a nation in disbelief and mourning. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Leeds, England.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, before we return to George in Atlanta, let me bring you the details of what we believe Thomas Mair said in court a short while ago when he made his appearance. Forgive me while I'm just getting reports of what was said.

Thomas Mair has been accused of murder in the case of this. It's believed he gave his name as death to traitors, freedom for Britain as he appeared in court over the killing over the killing of the MP Jo Cox.

So, Mair has been transferred from Northern England to the capital to Westminster. And it is believed that he has made what is so clearly an inflammatory statement as he gave his name as death to traitors. We'll have more details. We'll confirm all these details for you in just a moment or two when we have more details of how there's proceedings follow through. Now, I return to George at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

HOWELL: Richard, thank you so much. Staying in touch again with you as you continue to get those latest details. Our Richard Quest, live for us.

New evidence suggests the Orlando shooter may have prepared four weeks for the attacks. What he was doing, straight ahead.

Plus, a U.S. politician is apologizing to the LGBT community. He says, he perpetuated homophobia, hear what he had to say, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:41:14] HOWELL: In Orlando, Florida, law enforcement officials tell CNN the behavior of the gunman in the weeks leading up to the Pulse Nightclub massacre, suggested premeditated murder. Officials say Omar Mateen gave his wife access to bank his accounts and added her name to his life insurance. Records also show he transferred share of his home to his sister for just $10. We are also learning more about Mateen's past from his former neighbor. He lived by him when the shooter was a teenager. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINCENT KRESTALUDE, FORMER NEIGHBOR OF MATEEN FAMILY: At that time, he seemed to be a loner, you know, he never -- I never saw him with any friends from school over at the house. He never went anywhere. He just kind of hung around in the neighborhood. He was very antagonizing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: There were so many lives lost from this terrible shooting, gone but not forgotten. We hear now from three men who knew many of the Orlando shooting victims speaking about their beloved friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIOVANNI NIEVES, KNEW ORLANDO SHOOTING VICTIMS: My name is Giovanni Nieves and I knew five beautiful souls that lost their lives at the Pulse shooting.

SCOTT BERSHKA (PH), KNEW ORLANDO SHOOTING VICTIMS: Scott Bershka (ph). I knew at least 10 of the individuals that passed this past Saturday.

ERIC ROUNDTREE, KNEW ORLANDO SHOOTING VICTIMS: My name is Eric Roundtree. Everyone calls me "Tree" and I lost 17 friends at Pulse Nightclub.

BERSHKA: I woke up Sunday morning and just opened my laptop and on the very first page, it said shooting at Pulse Nightclub, Orlando, 20 dead. Right away, I knew is that I was going to know someone.

NIEVES: It was like 7:00 in the morning when I got the first call. And the first thing I saw was the post that Pulse said, get out of Pulse and keep running.

BERSHKA: I had 27 text messages that said, "Are you OK? Please call me."

ROADTREE: No one there are answering or posting in Facebook or Instagram, or talking to anybody else. It's really hard to not think the worst.

NIEVES: If my friends weren't in the hospital, then they were on the floor of Pulse.

ROADTREE: I've talked to other OPD officers and they say one of the worse parts is walking over the bodies and there's phones ringing -- there's phones ringing over and over again, and you can't pick them up.

BERSHKA: You just thought, "This isn't real. This isn't happening. It's not happening in the greatest place on earth, Orlando, where everyone does go to get away." They don't bring the bad stuff with them normally. They try to let go of it here.

ROADTREE: The hardest part for me was hanging the bells.

BERSHKA: The 49 bells representing each person that had fallen.

ROADTREE: Because like a final pat of the shovel on the grave, you know, it's like the bell they mean, OK this life is not here anymore. I got a tattoo. It's a cross, faith, you know, pulse, the heart beat and the initials of the people that I was closest with.

BERSHKA: They were young. They had a very long life ahead of them. And my heart is the heaviest it's ever been because, for some reason, it just keeps happening in places where we somewhat feel the safest.

NIEVES: The gay community, we only have each other. Since I can remember, we've only had each other. We're the only ones we cling to, because we face so much rejection from all other communities surrounding us.

BERSHKA: Ten years ago, I went block around holding my partner's hand and felt safe.

ROADTREE: Because that's what it means, it's so difficult for us to, you know, false pretense. You know, people go to have fun because they view it as a safe place to have fun. You know, being my size and the way I look, it was not always easy to be accepted by people.

[05:45:02] I didn't have to try to be accepted by, you know, the gay community, like they were just there with open arms. The amount of compassion people have for each other is just unbelievable.

NIEVES: To see that everybody else in the community have come together and stand -- stood strong and say we are with you, it means a lot.

ROADTREE: I think at the end, it's like you can come back bigger and stronger than everyone before. That sounds like it brought a lot of people together.

BERSHKA: We'll make good come from this. We will make our voices heard even louder now. If you didn't hear us before, you're going to hear us now. If you didn't think the rainbow was bright on us before, the rainbow will shine brighter now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: You know, for me to have been there covering that story and to heard the stories from all these many, many people who lost loved ones. Now, I think back also a year ago at the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. It's just there are no words here. Your heart goes out for these many people who lost their loved ones.

The lieutenant governor for the State of Utah says he is sorry for his role in perpetuating homophobia. Republicans Spencer Cox, first apologized to the U.S. LGBT Community on Monday, the day after the shooting on Orlando. He told my colleague, Don Lemon, he regrets not standing up sooner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GOVERNOR SPENCER COX (R), UTAH: I wish there was one thing I could point to, but it's really been kind of a journey over the last 20 years. And specifically, as I've got to know more people from the LGBT Community, just their love, their kindness, their patience with me, it's amazing, when you try to reach out and get to know and love someone different than you, you find out remarkably that we're really not that different. And I know that sounds simplistic, but I think it's the truth and it certainly has been in my life.

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HOWELL: Cox also suggested that his political party needs to do better on gay issues.

This is "CNN NEWSROOM". Still ahead, the murder of the British MP is raw in the hearts of many. Ahead, the community Jo Cox served says goodbye to the mother and to the lawmaker. Stay with us.

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ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher and this is your "Road to Rio" update. The Russian track and field team will not be allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics after the International Association of Athletics Federations voted unanimously to extend its ban on Friday.

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COE: Although good progress has been made, the IAAF council was unanimous that RUSA had not met the reinstatement conditions and that Russian athletes could not credibly return to international competition without undermining the confidence of their competitors and the public.

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ASHER: The IAAF did leave the door open for some Russians to compete at Rio as independent athletes.

Brazilian football icon Pele was awarded the Olympic order, the highest award given by the International Olympics Committee. The football star received his necklace of rings and laurels at the Pele Museum in Sao Paulo on Thursday. Now, surprisingly, Pele never played in the Olympics and Brazil has actually never won an Olympic gold medal for football.

And you are never too old to raise the Olympic flame. 107-year-old Aida Mendes carried the torch through the Brazilian City of Macapa on Thursday.

[05:49:58] And that is your "Road to Rio" update. I'm Zain Asher. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:51:11] QUEST: Welcome back to Birstall. Breaking news now in the Jo Cox Murder Case. You will be aware that Thomas Mair, the 52-year- old man, local resident who has been accused of her murder has just appeared at the Magistrate's Court, where there was an extraordinary outburst when he was asked his name. Phil Black is in -- is outside the Magistrate's Court at Westminster. Phil, what did Mair reply to the question, what's his name?

BLACK: It's the only time he spoke during this brief proceeding, Richard. He was asked his name. He said, my name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain. He didn't elaborate on that, didn't reply to his age or his current address. The prosecutor then outlined many of the basic facts as we understand them. And as the police alleged, they took place, the nature of the attack, the fact that Jo Cox was shot three times, stabbed repeatedly, a man intervened, tried to help Jo Cox but was stabbed in the stomach.

Prosecutor also spoke about what witnesses heard while the attack was under way. And this is something that we've been hearing about. The prosecutor said that Thomas Mair has said to him, repeatedly made comments like Britain first, keep Britain first, keep Britain independent. The proceedings, they did not last long, but he has been remanded in custody. He will stay in prison and the court here has ordered a psychiatric evaluation. But certainly, the significant line to come from this brief procedure appearance here at Westminster Magistrate's Court was that when he was asked his name, Thomas Mair replied with that line in which he said, my name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain. Richard.

QUEST: So, Phil, we are into an entirely different environment now, aren't we? What West Yorkshire police said yesterday about having a priority in the investigation for right-wing extremism, the words of Mair, out of his own mouth, in court this morning, justified that suggestion.

BLACK: Those words from his mouth certainly and also according to the prosecutor, items that have been found inside his home, items suggesting that he has laying so interest in that sort of right-wing extremism. And, yes, you are right that incredibly powerful statement, when asked his name, that certainly very clearly points to that as well. But there's also another question here that needs to be answered which police have touched on. There is the history of mental health issues. They say they're investigating that. And as I mentioned, the court here has now investigating a thorough mental health evaluation of Thomas Mair.

QUEST: So, Phil Black who is at Westminster Magistrate's Court with the breaking news on that. Reverend Paul Knight is the local vicar for the area, the local reverend, organized the vigil that took place the other night. He joins me now. Reverend, good to see you, sir.

PAUL KNIGHT, VICAR OF BIRSTALL: Good morning.

QUEST: So, we have these other developments which I necessarily asked you to come as the man of the clock to comment on this morning. But it now does appear, reverend, that there is a political dimension to this, be so ever-unpleasant or ever dark.

KNIGHT: And that's sadness, isn't it? That is something that's a disagreement confessed into anger and even violence. And we are suffering from the consequences of that in this particular case, it seems.

[05:50:07] QUEST: That's the call now, just talking to one or two people here. We can dance around this as much as we like, but it would appear that the tone and nature of the referendum campaign finally caused this man to crack and commit this heinous act.

KNIGHT: And I'm sure that will help people to reflect on the whole scene and what's been happening and on their way of looking at the arguments. And certainly watching TV over the last two weeks, we've seen some of that and we would want there to be reason to debate so that people can come to a conclusion. Of course that's the Democratic way, isn't it? And here in Birstall, of course we're suffering from that in a particular way. And our thoughts particularly this morning with Mr. Kenny who helped to try and save Jo and is himself injured and is a local person. I think we ought to be praying and supporting him and his family.

But also, yesterday, we saw that wonderful -- these politicians came down and they showed their respect here. But at St. Peter's Church, we were able to welcome them personally into the church for their own private sorrow and bereavement. And that was very privilege and they signed the book of condolence there as well.

QUEST: Paul Knight, thank you very much indeed.

KNIGHT: I appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

QUEST: Thank you. Reverend, Paul Knight joining me.

And so, there, we have the developments of the morning and the extraordinary development of Thomas Mair just shouting in court or saying his name as death to traitors, Britain first. That will be, certainly, for the hours ahead as the Brexit campaign continues.

Around the world, around the clock, this is CNN. I'm Richard Quest in Birstall.

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