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Belgian Police Arrest Man Acting Suspiciously; Brexit Vote Two Days Away; Trump Campaign Facing Cash Crunch; Orlando Shooter 911 Transcript Released; Gun Amendments Fail in Senate; Russian Track Athletes May Be Banned from Olympics. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 21, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[03:00:00] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and of course, all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for your company.
Some breaking news now out of Brussels, agents from France Press cites Belgium media reporting police have arrested a man near a shopping center who was acting suspiciously which triggered a bomb threat response.
Now it happened early Tuesday morning in the center of the Belgium capital.
The Prime Minister is meeting with the country's crisis response center over the possible bomb threat.
And CNN's Erin McLaughlin joins us now on the phone from Brussels. So, Erin, what more are you able to tell us about this?
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rosemary.
We're still reaching out to the Belgium authorities for our own confirmation. But what I can tell you the Belgian media is reporting that an anti-terror operation underway at shopping mall right in the heart of Brussels, one suspect has been arrested.
The suspect, according to Belgium media, possibly carrying explosives. That arrest took place at 5.30 this morning. And we're now hearing from eyewitness in the area that the area around the shopping mall itself which was sealed off is now back open.
All of this having triggered a crisis meeting with the Belgium Prime Minister at the helm, which we understand is now underway. Now, just to give you a little bit of context for all of this is follows on a series of terror raids that took place Friday into Saturday.
And dozens of homes were searched by Belgian police across 16 municipalities here in Brussels. Prosecutors at the time saying that the results from an ongoing investigation is predicated what they characterized to be an immediate intervention.
And Belgian state broadcaster, RTBF was reporting that the overnight raid were made over the week after messages were intercepted indicating attacks having been planned, a possible targets being places where Belgium football fans congregate to watch the Euro 2016.
Now it's unclear if those raids which took place Friday into Saturday are any way connected to the arrest made raids in the early hours of this morning.
CHURCH: And, Erin, I know it is early at this point trying to determine and trying to piece this together. One man arrested. When do you think we're likely to learn more from authorities about what exactly is happening at this moment, and more perhaps on the man arrested.
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, hopefully very shortly as I mentioned there is that crisis meeting taking place. And the Belgium prosecutor at the moment, we are reaching out to for, for their comments.
So, hopefully, we will get more details as to the exact nature of this man, the suspect, what he was doing at the mall hours of the morning. That early in the morning, that early at a shopping mall right in the heart of Brussels. And we expect to get more information on that shortly.
CHURCH: All right, our Erin McLaughlin joining us on the line there from Brussels. One suspect arrested in this possible Brussels bomb threat. And we know this crisis meeting is underway. We hope to bring you more details. Of course we'll stay right on top of this story.
Donald Trump's presidential campaign is facing another setback. New filings show the billionaire is facing a historic cash crunch heading into the summer campaign. Trump's camp has just over a million in the bank, that's tens of millions less than his democratic opponent.
Hillary Clinton's campaign is at $42 million. A new Monmouth University shows Clinton leading Trump by eight points among likely U.S. voters.
Meanwhile, Trump fired his top campaign manager Monday. You probably heard a lot about that. Senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta has more.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The uprising against Donald Trump sharp billboard campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski had been building for weeks.
Then over the weekend, campaign sources tell CNN, the mutiny began, with Trump's daughter, Ivanka, her husband and campaign adviser Jared Kushner along with Trump's sons and campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, all pleading with Trump to fire Lewandowski.
As one source has put it, the family was not happy. Another adviser added, Manafort, a Lewandowski rival told Trump, it's him or me.
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DANA BASH, CNN'S CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Why were you fired? COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP CAMAPIGN MANAGER: I don't know. I
don't know the answer to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Lewandowski told CNN's Dana Bash he had no idea why he was fired. But sources say the family was outraged over Lewandowski handling of Michelle Fields, the reporter he grab on video leading to charges that were after dropped.
[03:05:05] Other campaign sources accused Lewandowski of egging on Trump's more inflammatory remarks. Notably, on a Mexican-American judge overseeing the lawsuit against Trump University.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This judge is of Mexican heritage, I'm building a wall, OK. I'm building a wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: As one Trump staffer tweeted, "Ding dong, the witch is dead." Lewandowski brush that off.
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LEWANDOWSKI: In all campaigns, you've got detractors and you've got supporters. Things change as the campaign evolves. And I said to him it's been an honor and privilege to be part of this, and I mean that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But the shake-up comes after a brutal stress for Trump, including sagging poll numbers way down by a series of unforced errors. The latest Monmouth poll out today shows Trump trailing Hillary Clinton by seven points in a general election matchup. And while Trump advisers are downplaying Lewandowski's departure.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think, you know, we're shifting to a new phase in the campaign as we approach to convention.
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ACOSTA: They're pointing to a new campaign structure that's now in place. Manafort is now fully in charge of the campaign right under Trump. While the role of trump's daughter, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner are clearly growing inside the campaign.
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TRUMP: Jared is a very successful real estate person, but I actually think he likes politics more than he likes real estate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But Trump has not always taken their advice.
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TRUMP: Ivanka would say be more presidential, and I start to think and I said I can. You know, being presidential is easy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The question now for the Trump campaign GOP sources say is whether the candidate will change as well, or just continue to stir controversy like with his comments this weekend about the Orlando shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And if you had somebody with a gun strapped onto their hip...
(CROWD BOOING)
... somebody with a gun strapped onto their ankle, and you had bullets going in the opposite direction right at this animal who did this you would have had a very, very different result. Believe me, folks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: And the man arrested for grabbing a police officer's gun at a Trump rally admits he wanted to kill the republican candidate. Police arrested 19-year-old Michael Sanford after he tried to pull the officer's weapon from its holster Saturday in Las Vegas.
He is now charged with violating two federal laws and could face a decade in prison if convicted.
The crucial vote on whether or not the U.K. will stay in the European Union is still a few days away. It's too close to call. But the latest polls are easing some investors' fears by suggesting the leave campaign is losing momentum.
The European markets just opened. Let's look at those numbers, you can see the London FTSE down half a percent there, it had had been up about 3 percent the day before. In Paris down .36 percent, and you can see there too in Asia, the markets are up, for the Nikkei Hang Seng and in Australia but down there in China with the Shanghai Composite.
All right. Well, most Asian markets are betting that the -- they're looking at the Brexit and they were betting on the, let's say an opinion polls suggesting that Britain would perhaps stay in the European Union, but we don't know at this point.
Now the final debate of the campaign will happen in front of a live audience Tuesday night at Wembley Arena. Our Phil Black joins us now from London with the details. So, Phil,
global markets reacting though, were reacting positively, today not so sure certainly as the European markets open.
But there was a suggestion that Britain may vote to stay in the E.U. But just how close is this and how is this final debate likely to impact the outcome?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, there has been talk of a shift in momentum back to the remain campaigns, especially since the shooting death of the Britain M.P., Jo Cox, last week, someone who was very firmly in favor of Britain staying within the European Union.
But polling suggests it is still simply too close to poll. So, this final two days of campaigning are all about securing the undecided, the waivers, the people who are yet to commit one way or the other.
It's a reason why the remain camp is very much focusing at the moment on the whole permanence of what they say is the very long term consequences of this stressing the once in a generation nature of this big political question.
And you're right, tonight, this is all going to trashed out before an audience of around 6,000 people at Wembley Arena here in London, between around six panelists divided between the two campaigns.
[03:10:00] On one side, you're going to have the recently elected Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, very much in favor of Britain staying with the European Union. Up against his predecessor as London Mayor, but still a very prominent conservative politician leading figure in the Brexit camp, that is Boris Johnson.
So, it will be a big television event to be sure, and certainly they will be working very hard on both sides. And we're going to be seeing this a lot of this over the next several days. Both sides really trying to get the people who are undecided to really lock down and really confirm the view in the way that they hope they will.
CHURCH: Yes. They are the people they're after. And of course, billionaire George Souris is warning that a Brexit vote will mean a huge drop in the pound. What impact is that likely to happen on voting?
BLACK: Well, there have been a lot warnings about the financial impact, particularly from the remain campaign. And that has been broadly labeled as project fear, and somewhat dismissed by the people who are arguing that Britain should leave the European Union.
Today, George Souris, the very famous financial speculator writes in The Guardian newspaper that he believes that because of that ready dismissal of the financial warnings people are simply underestimating the true nature of the financial impact that a Brexit vote will have.
And of course, he is an expert in currency matters and so he makes the point. He wrote this, he says, "It would have at least one very clear and immediate affect that will touch every household. The value of the pound will decline precipitously. It will also have an immediate and dramatic impact on financial market, investment prices and job."
How much is he predicting it could decline? Well, this is where it's pretty startling. He is talking about a drop by at least 15 percent, and possibly more than 20 percent. And he thinks that that becomes even more likely after the rally on the pound yesterday.
We saw the security biggest one day gains in about seven years or so. So, it's a very serious warning from a financial figure with a great deal of credibility. He is warning that people simply are underestimating the effects, and he's warning about the possible impact over Brexit, but he's talking about that we could end with what he describes as a Black Friday. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Yes, and we'll see in just a matter of days whether his warning has an impact on the outcome of that vote. It's just after 8 in the morning there in London, talking to our Phil Black. Many thanks to you for joining us.
Well, let's check some other news now in the Jordanian military say that car bomb near the Syrian border has killed several soldiers in an apparent terror attack.
It happened early morning local time in an area called the Berm, it's directly across from a refugee camp, housing tens of thousands of Syrian refugees banned from entering Jordan.
Jordan's deputy Prime Minister condemned the attack and called the soldier's heroes.
Mexico's President is calling for an investigation into violent teacher protests. Official say eight people were killed and dozens more wounded in clashes between teachers, police, and local resident Sunday.
Teachers across Mexico are protesting national education reforms that would change how they are evaluated.
Oakland, California, has named its fourth police chief in just over a week, that have happened has been rocked by a sex scandal and allegations of racist text messages. Three police chiefs have been fired or resigned in the past nine days.
The FBI has released a full transcript of the 911 calls made by the gunman in the Orlando shootings, its providing new light in the shooter's state of mind during the rampage that killed 49 people at a gay nightclub.
Our Pamela Brown has the details.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Omar Mateen makes his first call to 911, 33 minutes after the first reports of gunfire at Pulse Nightclub, telling the operator in Arabic, "Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God." He goes on to say, "I'm in Orlando and I did the shootings." Mateen also pledges his allegiance to ISIS.
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RONALD HOPPER, FBI ORLANDO ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT: We currently have no evidence that he was directed by a foreign terrorist group but was radicalized domestically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The gunman then spends around 28 minutes on the phone with hostage negotiators, at one point demanding that America stop bombing Syria and Iraq. When the negotiator ask Mateen what he had done, he response "you already know what I did." He later states "in the next few days you're going to see more of this type of action going on."
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HOPPER: While the killer made these killer statements he did so in a chilling, calm, and deliberate matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Mateen also claims he has explosives saying "there is some vehicle outside that has some bombs just to let you know." He says, I'm going to ignite it if they try to do anything stupid."
Later, Mateen tells a negotiator he has a vest, and describes it like as the kind they, quote, "used in France," an apparent reference to the Paris bombings in November and he threatens to put suicide vest on four victims.
[03:15:09] The SWAT team commander told CNN that ramped up the risk for both civilians and first responders.
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MARK CANTY, ORLANDO SWAT COMMANDER: We're way too close because if his explosives go off and we're all within thousand feet and all we could be killed.
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BROWN: No explosives were found. The partial police transcript shows at 5.14 a.m., nearly three hours after the attacks began, shots were fired again, a minute later the gunman was reported down. Today, officials defended their handling of the three-hour ordeal.
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JOHN MINA, ORLANDO POLICE DEPARTMENT CHIEF: Our officers were within the club within minutes and engaged the suspect in gunfire, and that is important because that engagement and that initial entry caused him to retreat, stop shooting and barricade himself in the bathroom with hostages.
So, during that time our officers were intermittently in and out of the club saving people, and rescuing people from inside the club.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Initially, this was only a partial transcript with the words, ISIS and al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS omitted because the Department of Justice didn't want to fuel the terrorists' propaganda. But then there was fears backlash including from the House Speaker Paul Ryan, who says it was preposterous to omit those words.
So, after this backlash, the FBI and DOJ sent out the full transcript with those words. I'm told by officials at the Department of Justice that they were surprised by the reaction of those reactions.
Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: The U.S. Senate has failed to pass a series of gun amendments introduced in the wake of the Orlando massacre. We will hear from both sides of the gun control debate. That's next.
Plus, we'll tell you why this image of a little girl standing on top of a toilet is going viral on social media.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes, and this is your road to Rio update.
Olympic tickets went on sale at kiosks across Rio on Monday, while they've been available online for months, this was the first opportunity for fans to purchase them in person.
Official say more than four million tickets have sold so far. They expect demand to pick up as we get closer to the start of the games.
A Rio hospital is reeling after a deadly shootout, some two dozen heavily armed gunmen forced their way into this hospital on Sunday.
[03:19:59] Police say to free a fellow gunman who was being treated there for a gunshot wound.
One patient was killed, a nurse and a police officer wounded, and the gang members, they escaped. The downtown hospital where this happened is one of five medical facilities recommended for tourists.
Meanwhile, hundreds of police officers took part in a huge security drill in Rio on Sunday night, they were rehearsing for opening ceremonies at the Maracana soccer stadium in Rio. While the drill cause some traffic headaches, authorities say everything ran smoothly.
A pair of skydivers joined the Olympic torch relay over the weekend, a parachuting torch bearer carrying the flame from high above the Amazon jungle, safely down to the ground below. The torch now passing through several indigenous communities on its way closer to Rio.
That is your road to Rio update. I'm Michael Holmes.
CHURCH: Belgium media report police have arrested a man near a shopping center who was acting suspiciously and triggered a bomb threat response.
It happened early Tuesday morning in the center of the Belgium capital. Reuters reports that no explosives were found on the suspect, and that's according to police.
The message "stand with Orlando" was displayed outside the National Rifle Association headquarters in the U.S. Last weekend's nightclub shooting has reignited a long-running debate over gun control in America.
And in a sign of how divided the country and politicians are over the issue, the Senate has failed to pass any of a series of gun control measures.
One week after the most deadly mass shooting in modern U.S. history, the Senate gathered Monday to vote on four gun control measures. As most had predicted, a glaring partisan divide played out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motion has not agreed to.
CHURCH: After democrats pushed hard to secure a vote in the Upper House, two measures were proposed by each side and all of them failed to pass.
Had any been approved by the Senate their prospects seemed dim in the lower House. While Congress stalls, what do Americans think about gun policy. Support for stronger firearm laws rose to 55 percent in the latest CNN/ORC poll. The highest number since just one month after the shootings in Newton, Connecticut in January 2013.
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CHRIS MURPHY, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRAT: I don't think democracy allows for this Congress to be so out of step with the American public for very long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But a closer look at the party divide reveals a more nuanced picture, 78 percent of democrats favor more restrictive laws, while 68 percent of republicans oppose them. Independents tilt in favor of stricter laws 53 percent to 44 percent, there's no doubt in the stark contrast between the U.S. and other developed nations when it comes to gun violence.
There were 2.9 gun-related murders per 100,000 people in the U.S. in 2012. The number in the U.K. where the sale of firearms is heavily restricted was point 1 in 100,000 during the same year.
The recently deadly shooting of politician Jo Cox and its potential impact on the upcoming referendum on E.U. membership has gripped Britain, a nation where only 10 percent of murders are committed with guns.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was undecided, but it is possibly tend to be more to vote in than out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Back across the pond in the wake of the Orlando terror attack, 80 percent of Americans want to see gun ownership banned for those on U.S. government maintained terror watch lists. But apart from mass shootings, isolated murders committed with guns also plague American life.
Perhaps nowhere is this more tragically apparent than in Chicago, where shootings are both routine and grim. Thirteen were killed and a further 42 injured in shootings over the Father's Day weekend alone.
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protecting the right to bear arms has become the key bone of contention in the fight over gun restrictions. And the 2016 presidential race is keeping with that trend.
Hillary Clinton is urging greater restrictions and Donald Trump has won the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, the most influential protector of gun rights.
And while the politicians debate and Orlando mourns, across the U.S. people are buying more guns proving this issue is complicated way beyond rhetoric and poll numbers.
[03:25:06] We are going to hear from both sides of the U.S. gun debate now. We want to begin with Andy Parker in Collinsville, Virginia. His daughter is the TV reporter who was fatally shot during a live newscast last year. And he has since become a vocal advocate for gun control in Virginia.
Thank you, sir, for joining us, and I'm so sorry for your loss. And now of course you have to deal with this rejection by the U.S. Senate. Four gun control measures introduced as a result of the Orlando shooting. What was your response when you heard the Senate had rejected all four measures?
ANDY PARKER, ALISON PARKER'S FATHER: Rosemary, it makes my blood boil. It's -- unfortunately, it's not a surprise. Because the -- every republican in the Senate and one democrat, they value their check from the NRA more than they value saving lives in this country.
CHURCH: OK, that powerful words, and of course, it is important worth pointing out here, that these measures would have strengthened background checks, they would have prevented the sale of guns to people on the government terror watch list.
Why do you think senators couldn't get enough bipartisan support for these measures despite pressure, so much pressure to put measures in place? Do you think it's simply that they want this from the gun lobby?
PARKER: Unfortunately, that's exactly what it is, Rosemary, and I wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Daily News, this week, that essentially calls them traitors. I mean, this is treason. When the definition of treason is aiding and abetting the enemy, and when you allow terrorist that are on the -- or potential terrorists that are on a no-fly list, they can't get on an airplane, but my God, we want to protect their rights to buy weapons.
I mean, what -- what else can you call it? The vast majority of the American people want sensible gun legislation, they want background checks. We're not coming after everybody's guns. We just want to keep guns out of the wrong hands. And when these -- when these politicians reject the will of the American people it undermines the government, it's treason.
CHURCH: The thing is, that this is clearly not the end of the matter. There is a lot of pressure as you point out from the public. They want to see some sort of measures in place. So, what do you think needs to happen next? What needs to be the next step, because this is clearly the initial step here.
PARKER: Well, you know, at some point -- you know, there is going to be a reckoning here, and the American people -- you know, there has been so much gun violence and so many people that have been affected by it, that I think the American people are ready to say, you know, this is enough.
And no matter what the gun lobby -- no matter how much money that they put into the pockets of the politicians, I think it's, you know, it's like marriage equality. It's like slavery.
I mean, at some point people are going to have enough. And I think that the fact that the -- you know, that this issue has come up in the presidential campaign. That it is -- it keeps gaining momentum, something is going to happen here.
Because clearly these politicians on the republican side with the senator from Minnesota being the lone exception on the democratic side, everybody else gets the message but these guys don't.
CHURCH: All right. Andy Parker, thank you so much for talking with us. We do appreciate it.
PARKER: Thank you.
CHURCH: And in just a moment, we will get the argument on the other side of this debate. But let's take a quick break, and still to come.
While voters try to make up their minds about the Brexit, there is a plea from Europe. We'll have that for you. Stay with us.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to you all. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church. We want to bring you up to date on the main stories we're watching.
Belgium media report police have arrested a man near a shopping center who was acting suspiciously and triggered a bomb threat response. There's live pictures here, it happened early Tuesday morning in the center of the Belgium capital. Reuters report that no explosives were found on the suspect, that according to police.
Donald Trump has fired controversial campaign manager Corey Lewandowski just weeks before the republican convention. Sources say Trump's children were the driving force behind that suspicion.
Voting in the U.K. pivotal referendum on E.U. membership is just two days away. The final live debate is set to Tuesday night in London's Wembley Arena. The vote is too close to call but the latest polls suggest the leave side is losing momentum.
All right, we do want to go back now to the story we were talking about just a few minutes ago. In fact, the issue of gun control in the United States. Now, we heard from an advocate in favor of restricting gun sales.
For the other side of the debate, we spoke with John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and author of the forthcoming "The War on guns." He questions why the measures were introduced in the first place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN LOTT, CRIME PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER PRESIDENT: None of those bills or amendments would have affected the Orlando case, none of them would have stopped the single mass public shooting had they been in place during the entire Obama administration or even, you know, decades before that.
So, I understand the desire for people to try to do something, but let's try to do something that actually is related to the attacks that we see happen.
And one that's common in these cases, time after time, is that they keep occurring in places where people aren't allowed to defend themselves. You know, whether it's the Orlando case or San Bernardino or others and it just seems like that should be the issue that we talk about.
CHURCH: So, what are you proposing when you say that?
LOTT: Well, what I'm proposing is rules that would get rid of a lot of these gun-free zones. You know, you have -- in Orlando, Florida is only one of 10 states that ban people being able to go and take permit-concealed handguns, in areas that serve alcohol like that.
[03:35:01] CHURCH: But, sir, this is as you say, was a nightclub. You're not proposing that people within a nightclub, where they're drinking, people get uptight, even if they bump up against each other. You're proposing that people in a situation like that, in an environment like that be armed?
LOTT: Forty states allow people to be armed in that situation. And yet, with all the decades and all the states that we have having those rules you can't point to a single example that would illustrate the type of problem that you just said. What you find is that the type of people who go through the process to
get a concealed handgun permit tend to be extremely law abiding. Now some of those states kind of treat people like designated drivers, if you go in there you're not allowed to drink, or others will make to the crime if you get drunk while you're carrying.
But, you know, the question is, what past it might happen. Let's look at the fact that 40 states allow what I was just talking about for Florida. And you can't point to a single problem like the one you were worried about.
CHURCH: The American people for the most part want to see some kind of gun control measures in place, so when the proposed measures would have strengthened background checks and would have prevented the sale on guns to people on government terror watch list.
Why do you have a problem with that, what is wrong with having more comprehensive background checks to make sure the person who has that gun is stable or doesn't have any intentions to create some form of terror as a result of having and owning that gun?
LOTT: Right, there are two types of laws. First of all, I just want to point out that there is not one mass public shooting that you can point to that would have been stopped with those laws being in place. But the other thing is that we need to fix the problems with the current background check system before we go and expand it.
I'll give you a simple example. The late Senator Ted Kennedy, there were five times when he was stopped from applying because he had a name similar to somebody that was on the no-fly list. Would you count that as five times we stop a terrorist from carrying? Presumably not.
It means one thing to stop somebody who has a felon from buying a gun, it's known to stop somebody who their name similar to a felon from buying a gun. And there is no reason why we should have virtually everybody who gets stopped being the wrong person. Beyond the...
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: John Lott, thank you so much for talking with us and sharing your viewpoint. We appreciate it.
LOTT: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And amid the gun control debate in Washington, a photo on Facebook is catching many people's attention. A mother shared this picture of her daughter standing on top of a toilet. Which appears innocent at first glance, but Stacey Feeley says her daughter was practicing for a lockdown drill at her pre-school.
Stacey Feeley joins us now via Skype from Travers City in Michigan. Thank you so much for being with us. Now Stacey, we saw the picture of your lovely little girl. Talk to us about why you took that picture and what you hope to accomplish with that. STACEY FEELEY, SILIKIDS CEO: Sure. Thanks you for having me. I took
the picture initially because I thought she was doing something cute. And when I learned later that she was practicing for a lockdown drill I was totally taken aback.
And you know, I spent lots of times signing petitions and doing things in regards to gun control. But I wanted, you know, initially, I just wanted my family and friends to really see some of the things that they do, and how they are being affected or how my children were being affected by some of the things that are going on today, and how society and what our children are doing after schools, and how it's changing, and how different it is.
CHURCH: It is certainly a powerful picture, we're looking at there, I mean, a powerful and a message across America. But also for our global audience, a lot of people were surprised to see such a young child going through a drill like that. What do you want to see happen in terms of gun control in America?
FEELEY: I want them to know that this is my child, that their children, their grandchildren, their great grandchildren and future generations to come and, you know, this is a society that they're growing up in.
And as politicians they single handedly have a hand in shaping and building that society that is setting the way for the way we go. And I just, I can't imagine that they're OK with this picture.
CHURCH: It is a powerful measure in that one picture. Stacey Feeley, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
FEELEY: Thank you.
Well, the referendum rhetoric in Britain has been a bit less toxic.
[03:40:01] There is a message of unity from Europe, we need you. That is the plea from the president of the European Council president, Donald Tusk.
Earlier, he urges the British people to stay with us. Sir Richard Branson has launched his own campaign to keep Britain in the E.U. Virgin Group employees around 50,000 people in Britain. And Branson says a Brexit would be devastating for the U.K.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BRANSON, VIRGIN GROUP FOUNDER: If we were to give it up I think it would be pretty catastrophic for long-term future of Great Britain. But it will also I think pretty catastrophic for long-term future of Europe.
I think as far as Great Britain is concerned, it would be a financial disaster. We would see the pound collapsing and trade being stifled. And, you know, a danger that things like the financial center of Europe being in London, they could easily move to Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And Sir Bill Cash is a member of parliament who has been warning the European Union is a corrupt super state for 30 years now. He joins us from London. Thank you, sir, for talking with us.
(CROSSTALK)
BILL CASH, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Great to speak to you.
CHURCH: Now of course you want Britain to leave the E.U., but just days before that vote is held new opinion polls suggest the leave campaign has lost momentum.
Now, it is too close to call. But many are suggesting the remain campaign could very well win. What is your reaction to that?
CASH: Well, I don't think you can go by it at all. Those of us who are members of parliament actually are listening to people on the ground. Opinion polls are extremely bad as far as the last general election are concerned. They got it all wrong.
And frankly, at the moment, I believe that the British people are poised to leave. But having said that, I do listen to what both Donald Tusk and Richard Branson just said. As you recall Donald Tusk, the reality is that they say they need us.
But actually what's happening is our democracy, and our sovereignty is being undermined. American viewers would understand this very well. They would never contemplate the idea of having majority voting most of it done behind closed doors without proper open discussion in their parliament.
And also, for example, the Supreme Court being overruled by another Supreme Court or America being governed by other countries. And that is the democratic question for which people fought and died, including if I may say, Americans, in the last World War to maintain our democracy.
And as far as Richard Branson is concerned, he is completely wrong. All of these huge great big businessmen, there are many, many of them making an enormous noise at the moment. But the bottom line...
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: Well, what about billionaire George Souris?
CASH: Yes.
CHURCH: I mean, he is saying that a Brexit will have incredible impact on the pound.
CASH: Yes.
CHURCH: And that's going to have some sort of influence on those undecided voters, isn't it? CASH: Well, he made a complete killing the last time around if you
remember when we were going into the single currency, and all those sort of things, and the ERM, but, you know, really and truly, the bottom line on all of this is this, that the really big businesses are actually have got it wrong over and over again.
They got it wrong over the ERM, Exchange Rate Mechanism, which caused a catastrophe for British business. They got it completely wrong over the euro.
And can I just say something about the single market which everyone goes all about. The fact is that we have a deficit in goods and services, imports and exports with the other 27 member states of 67 billion pounds a year.
And we have a global trade surplus in the same goods and services for the rest of the world of over 30 billion, which went up by 8 billion alone last year.
So, what I'm really saying is that we got a democratic argument, we got an economic argument. The democratic argument is absolutely crystal clear. People should govern themselves and I know that American viewers will understand that very well.
As respect to the question of trade, actually we have got a fantastic opportunity with the rest of the world. And the fact is that the E.U., which runs our trade policy, not ourselves, the E.U. runs it, the European Commission actually has failed to engage and to achieve five different trade deals.
CHURCH: Right.
CASH: It just doesn't work. Europe is dysfunctional, protests and riots all over Europe. And more and more people are turning against it. And half the countries of Europe now want referendums because they know it doesn't work.
CHURCH: It is a divisive issue for sure, and of course, the undecided voters there, the people you're trying to appeal to, it is too close to call at this point. But we will know come Thursday when people across Britain vote on this.
Many thanks to you, Sir Bill Cash for talking with us. I appreciate it.
CASH: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, for a closer look at the U.K. referendum including how much your vote could matter, if you're in Britain, just head over to CNN.com/referendum.
[03:45:04] And we'll take a quick break here. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: The International Olympic Committee is hours away from deciding whether Russia's track and field athletes can compete in the 2016 games. The world governing body for athletics banned the team after a report uncovered widespread doping.
Senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is live from Russia with the very latest. So, Matthew, obviously, Russia wanting to see the outcome here that has seen their athletes competing. But what is the sense, how this is likely to end?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think first, on Friday, when IAAF, the world governing athletics body made its decision that it was going to keep the ban on Russian track and field athletes in place.
There was first of all anger, but there was also some hope expressed by the sports ministry here and by various athletes. That there could be reprieve from International Olympic Committee.
But, I mean, that was always water poured on that by Lord Coe, the president of the IAAF saying that it's them will decide whether the athletes can compete internationally or not.
And, you know, in the days since then it sort of emerged that the IOC are most likely going to back up the IAAF in that ban. They may even consider looking at banning all Russian athletes not today but later on this next month, that banning all Russian athletes from taking part in the Olympics.
And so, it's just going from bad to worse it seems for the Russians. There was a big investigation, of course as a result of various revelations and allegations and reports about the state of doping in this country.
And although progress has been made according to the IAAF, there is still a deep-seated culture that their latest report says in terms of the tolerance towards doping.
[03:49:59] So, in terms of Russian athletes, particularly track and field athletes going to Rio when it starts then next month, it's looking pretty bad, Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Our Matthew Chance bringing us the latest on the Russian doping story, 10.49 in the morning in Russia. Many thanks to you, Matthew.
Well, so far, some New Yorkers are not worried about a possible Brexit. Why financial experts say they should be. Back with that in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes, and this is your road to Rio update.
Olympic tickets went on sale at kiosks across Rio on Monday, while they've been available online for months, this was the first opportunity for fans to purchase them in person.
Official say more than four million tickets have sold so far. They expect demand to pick up as we get closer to the start of the games.
A Rio hospital is reeling after a deadly shootout, some two dozen heavily armed gunmen forced their way into this hospital on Sunday.
Police say to free a fellow gunman who was being treated there for a gunshot wound.
One patient was killed, a nurse and a police officer wounded, and the gang members, they escaped. The downtown hospital where this happened is one of five medical facilities recommended for tourists.
Meanwhile, hundreds of police officers took part in a huge security drill in Rio on Sunday night, they were rehearsing for opening ceremonies at the Maracana soccer stadium in Rio. While the drill cause some traffic headaches, authorities say everything ran smoothly.
A pair of skydivers joined the Olympic torch relay over the weekend, a parachuting torch bearer carrying the flame from high above the Amazon jungle, safely down to the ground below. The torch now passing through several indigenous communities on its way closer to Rio.
That is your road to Rio update. I'm Michael Holmes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: We are just two days away from the U.K.'s referendum on whether or not to leave the European Union. The feelings about the Brexit are not very strong for some New Yorkers.
But Clare Sebastian reports the financial experts say there is plenty to worry about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brexit, it sounds like a store.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the business capital of the world, New York City...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea.
SEBASTIAN: ... there is some confusion around the world Brexit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was like a breath mint or something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know, a watch company?
SEBASTIAN: It's actually a British exit from the European Union.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
SEBASTIAN: You think that is something you should care about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SEBASTIAN: The message on Wall Street, it's time to start caring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It absolutely will have an impact on Americans 401K's and their other investments.
[03:55:02] SEBASTIAN: The threat of Brexit is already having an impact, it's one of the reasons for current market volatility.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is definitely fear.
SEBASTIAN: Even a Fed rate rise on hold.
JANET YELLEN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: It is one of the factors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a tsunami, this is China melting down. This is Lehman going out of business, in my opinion.
SEBASTIAN: It's not the first warning. The U.S. president has said that trade with the U.K. could suffer, last year that was worth $56 billion to U.S. businesses.
BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: Our focus is in negotiating with a big block of the European Union to get a trade agreement done. And U.K. is going to be in the back of the queue.
SEBASTIAN: The more optimistic in New York's banking community say that is premature.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not going to turn around to the U.K. and say, no, you can't on Jaguars on. So, what we're going to do is extend out any trade relationships.
SEBASTIAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until we figure out a new work out process.
SEBASTIAN: Three and a half thousand miles from the U.K., it is hard to imagine what Brexit would feel like. One talk show host use another British export to explain it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at it this way, when Zane left, One Direction was OK. But if Harry leaves, that's it. It's over.
SEBASTIAN: That warning still lost on some New Yorkers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that like a word scramble thing?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: A word scramble for sure, an economic scramble for the U.S., well, it depends who you ask.
Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, New York.
CHURCH: And another thing to worry about. Thanks for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Remember to connect with me any time on Twitter @rosemarycnn.
Early Start is next for our viewers here in the U.S. For everyone else, stay tuned for more news with Max Foster in London.
Have a great day.
[04:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
