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New Day

1 Dead, 5 Hurt in Graduation Party Shooting in Philadelphia; Pete Buttigieg Returns to South Bend after Police Shooting; Trump Campaign Fires Pollsters after Leak of Dismal Polls; Pompeo: Military Options on the Table to Deal with Iran; Police Draw Guns on Family After Child Takes Doll; 10th Suspect in David Ortiz Shooting to Appear in Court. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 17, 2019 - 06:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: A gunman opens fire at a graduation party in Philadelphia, killing one and injuring several others.

[05:59:14] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's people outside watching. Many of them are in disbelief.

RICHARD ROSS JR., COMMISSIONER, PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: We don't know if the shooter or shooters left on foot or if they left in a car. Hopefully, people will be able to provide more information.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They were fake polls. We are winning in every single state that we've polled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president grew furious when polls showing the president losing in key states. Now pollsters for the campaign are being fired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the data points that he believes drive his own sense of strength in these states.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Monday, June 17, 6 a.m. here in New York. Alisyn is off. Erica Hill with me this morning. Great to have you here.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Always good to be with you.

BERMAN: All right. We have breaking news as we come on the air this morning. A wave of violence and a manhunt underway in Philadelphia after a deadly attack on a graduation party. At least one person is dead there.

HILL: Across the city this weekend, at least 16 shootings and several of them, including that attack on the graduation party, deadly. CNN's Polo Sandoval is live in Philadelphia this morning with these

breaking details -- Polo.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, good morning.

Behind me that field where police say that graduation party shooting took place. I have to say, it really was an eerie scene earlier this morning. It's as if time stood still here from the unfinished plate of barbecue to a child's blanket that was left behind.

Investigators now here on the case. Police say that at least one gunman walked up to this party on the city's southwest side that opened fire, wounding at least six people, one of them fatally. The survivors, who are currently recovering, their ages ranging from 15 to 17.

This -- Philadelphia's police commissioner saying now the search is on for not just a motive but also, they're trying to find out if it was just one gunman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSS: There was nothing that suggested there was a fight that preceded this, at least according to the people here. Again, we don't know if the shooter or shooters left on foot or if they left in a car. We're trying to get as much information. Hopefully, there'll be some cameras. You know, some of the people out here will be able to provide more information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: It was a very busy weekend for police here in Philadelphia over this Father's Day weekend. According to affiliate KYW, at least 16 shooting-related incidents investigated here in Philadelphia alone.

Guys, back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Polo Sandoval for us in Philadelphia. Polo, stand by. Let us know more when you hear more.

There's some other breaking news this morning. Democratic presidential candidate, South Bend mayor -- South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg has pulled himself off the campaign trail to be in his home city this morning. This is in response to a deadly police shooting there.

Our Ryan Young is live in South Bend.

And Ryan, Mayor Buttigieg has said he's learned a lesson about being more upfront during events like this. What does that mean?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think people want to hear more from the mayor, especially with incidents like this.

Look, the apartment behind me, that's where this whole incident happened around 3:30 in the morning. Apparently, there was a call about a man going through some cars. When police arrived here, they say they discovered a man who was about 53 years old. And according to officers, he had a knife. And he didn't put the knife down when they said, "Put the knife down," so they opened fire.

They killed the man here, but the man's family saying, look, they've never known him to have a knife or be violent before. So there's been a lot of questions in this community.

Moving forward, the mayor canceled some events, came home, and listen to what he had to say during a news conference late last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've had prior cases of use of force incidents and officer-involved shootings where I hesitated, frankly, to get in front of cameras, because we didn't know very much; and it was out of our hands.

But what I learned, what I was told by people in the community is that it is important to open channels of communication to try to be clear on where the city is, even if we don't find ourselves in the position to be able to say or do much right away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Now, the mayor was supposed to give a speech in New York. Instead, his husband will give a speech there. But there's still a lot of questions in this community. The officer who was involved in this, of course, is on paid administrative leave, as his case is still being investigated. Still the very early stages -- Erica.

HILL: All right, Ryan. Thank you. We know you'll stay on top of that for us, as well.

President Trump's re-election campaign firing several pollsters after internal polling which showed Mr. Trump lagging behind Joe Biden in key states was leaked. The president insisting those numbers don't exist as he prepares to kick off his 2020 election bid tomorrow.

Joe Johns is live at the White House this morning with more -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

This is another little window into what the Trump campaign has been worried about as the president gears up to kick off his re-election effort. And the evidence continues to suggest that Joe Biden's strength in the polls is at least part of that.

But it's also a window into who gets fired in Trump world and why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): As President Trump prepares to kick off his re- election bid in Florida tomorrow, CNN has learned the Trump campaign fired several pollsters after leaked internal data revealed the president lagged behind 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden in several key battleground states, something Mr. Trump denied in an interview with ABC News.

TRUMP: And it's really suppression polling. It's fake polling. But in that case, it was just made-up polling. And I had -- I had the same thing...

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Made up?

TRUMP: Made up. They give you phony numbers. They give you numbers. They said that they have access to numbers which I don't believe they have access to. They want to suppress the minds of people, so they don't bother going out and --

STEPHANOPOULOS: You think --

JOHNS: The Trump campaign also rejecting the poll's accuracy, writing in a statement, "These leaked numbers are ancient," adding, "Since then, we've seen huge swings in the president's favor."

[06:05:00] A person familiar with the matter tells CNN the president is fuming. Another source saying Trump is now obsessed with the numbers, asking regularly for updates or newer polls. The White House echoing President Trump's rejection of the polls last week.

(on camera): Did the president tell his aides to deny that internal showing him trailing Joe Biden?

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, I think the polling got it completely wrong in 2016. I don't think it's right now. I'm not -- I'm not worried about polling.

JOHNS (voice-over): The president again downplaying how important they are to him.

TRUMP: Ultimately, it doesn't matter.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But why does it bother you so much?

TRUMP: Because it's untrue. I like the truth. You know, I'm actually a very honest guy. If I thought they were correct, I wouldn't be complaining at all.

JOHNS: Mr. Trump also explaining why he held off from firing Robert Mueller, despite Mueller's report describing how the president did try to fire him.

TRUMP: I wasn't going to fire, you know why? Because I watched Richard Nixon go around firing everybody, and that didn't work out too well.

JOHNS: A new NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll shows a 10 percent increase of Americans who say Congress has enough evidence to begin impeachment hearings against President Trump, while 48 percent say Congress should not begin impeachment hearings.

(END VIDEOTAPE) JOHNS: And a little footnote to that, the president tweeting at Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, suggesting Democrats are calling for impeachment for political reasons. The congresswoman suggesting the Democrats need to start an impeachment inquiry and also that this would be based on the president's own behavior.

John, back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Joe johns at the White House, let us know if more heads roll this morning.

One thing, just to button on that. The White House confirmed, the Trump campaign confirmed to ABC News that those polls were, in fact, accurate, just that they were old, despite the fact the president saying they are untrue.

We are learning this morning that the president's national security team is expected to meet this week to discuss whether to send more U.S. troops to the Middle East. This is in response to the attack on two tankers in a vital shipping route last week that the U.S. blames on Iran.

A key Senate ally of the president is calling for a retaliatory military strike.

CNN's Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, the secretary of state says the United States is considering a full range of options.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: A full range of options at this point, but sources are telling us don't look for ground combat forces. Don't look for military strikes any time soon. The secretary of state laying out more of his thinking on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: You have to put it in the context of 40 years of behavior inside the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is -- this is consistent with how they have reacted previously.

In the last 40 days, we've seen a number of activities, not just these past two, but four other commercial ships which challenged the international norms of freedom of navigation. The United States is considering a full range of options.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So what are we looking at? Sources are telling us look, possibly, for more Patriot missile batteries, more ships, more fighter aircraft. All of this to build up this current strategy, which remains defense and deterrence of Iran.

Now, the Iranians say they were not responsible for the attacks on those tanker aircraft. There are a fair numbers of countries out there that want more evidence from the United States. And right now, one of the big concerns: Iran's weapons are getting much better. Those missiles are getting much better every day -- Erica, John.

HILL: Barbara Starr with the latest for us there. Barbara, thank you.

And more breaking news when it comes to Iran. Iran announcing it will soon break the Iranian stockpile limit set by the historic nuclear deal.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is live in Tehran this morning those breaking details -- Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Erica.

You're absolutely right. The Iranians announcing that they will scale back their commitments according to the nuclear deal. But as Barbara was saying, also categorically saying that they were not behind the attacks on those tankers. Instead, throwing things back at the U.S.

The head of Iran's parliament saying he believes the U.S. was behind the tanker attack. Now, he didn't offer any evidence, but he says he believes it's because U.S. sanctions in Iran are not working.

He also took a jab at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. I want to read you a little bit of what Ali Larijani said. This is a quote: "Is it diplomacy so start a face-off with a revolutionary nation with acts of economic terrorism," he asks, "which they themselves call the toughest ever? Is it diplomacy, Mr. Pompeo, to renege on one's promises in the nuclear agreement?"

So the Iranians, of course, saying that it is the U.S. that obviously exited the deal, but at the same time, they're also now saying that they are scaling back their commitments while staying in the deal.

And certainly, what they announced today is very significant. They say that they have already considerably ramped up their production of low enriched uranium. And they say within ten days, they will reach the ceiling limit that they themselves have set. And they said that after those ten days, they would be more than willing to continue and even accelerate their low uranium production.

[06:10:02] They, of course, want sanctions relief as fast as possible. And they certainly are saying, guys, that they are not backing down to pressure from the United States, guys.

BERMAN: All right. Frederik, Pleitgen for us in Tehran. Fred, we'll let you know what we hear from the administration on that news that ten days from now, the Iranians will have reached their limit.

We have shocking video this morning from Arizona. Police guns drawn on a family after a 4-year-old takes a doll.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) car right now! Get out the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) car right now!

IESHA HARPER, CHILD TOOK DOLL FROM STORE: Can I open this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, get out now!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: New developments behind this video. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:12] HILL: New this morning, shocking video out of Phoenix shows officers point their guns on a family whose 4-year-old took a doll from a store.

CNN's Scott McLean is live with more.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Erica.

This started out as a shoplifting call involving a couple of items from a dollar store. Now this family involved is preparing to file a $10 million lawsuit against the city of Phoenix and the police department.

Now, in the cell phone videos that were released last week, you see police handcuff Dravon Ames, push him up against the side of a vehicle, and then kick one of his legs out from under him.

You also see police approach the vehicle carrying his fiancee, a pregnant Iesha Harper and their two kids, with their guns drawn. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) car!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to get shot!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) car right now!

HARPER: Can I open this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, get out now. Get out the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) car.

HARPER: OK. All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) car!

HARPER: I'm not doing anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you recording it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm recording it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands up.

HARPER: You have to open it. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands up.

HARPER: Don't point it at my kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up.

HARPER: I can't put my hands up. I've got a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) baby in my hands. I can't. I'm pregnant. Officer, he's overdoing -- you're overdoing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: Now, the version of events that was written up in the police report is much more benign than what you saw there. Iesha Harper actually told CNN that she thought she was going to get shot in front of her kids.

Now, eventually, a bystander arrives, offers to take those kids, and police handcuff her.

Now, police had caught up with this family not far from the dollar store where people had told police that they had walked out of the store without paying. According to police, Ames actually admitted to stealing from the store, and his daughter, his 4-year-old daughter had taken a doll without paying.

The couple were detained, but they weren't actually charged with anything, and so they were released. And so a lot of people in Phoenix are wondering why police were so heavy-handed, especially since we're talking about just petty shoplifting here.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego called the officers' actions completely inappropriate. She promised to speed up the process of getting body cameras to all officers in the city.

Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams, she said that she was disturbed by the actions and language of one officer and that she promised an internal investigation, though the department is no longer commenting because of this pending litigation -- John, Erica.

BERMAN: Really interesting to see that. Scott, thank you so much for that report.

And again, that was video from a bystander there, which is why the mayor says that every police officer has to have video cameras on their body, to see that.

And the issue here is the tactics. Simply put, was it necessary to go in this hot to get suspected shoplifters? And the video tells the story.

HILL: Exactly. And the fact that a woman is -- there's a 4-year-old and holding this 1-year-old and eventually hands them off, that -- even the mayor pointing out, the mayor saying as a mother, she finds it beyond upsetting. We're actually going to speak with a member of the family. We're

going to speak with Dravon Ames and his attorney a little bit later this morning, hear from them where things stand this morning and also what that was like for them.

BERMAN: You hear them saying at the end there, "You're overdoing it. You're overdoing it."

All right. This morning we're getting word that officials believe they are moving closer to arresting the mastermind behind the shooting of David Ortiz. This comes as a tenth suspect in the attack appears in court today.

Patrick Oppmann live for us in the Dominican Republic. And Patrick, what does it mean that they believe they're getting closer here?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, prosecutors say this could be a key week. They have promised to us that very soon, they will not only announce the motive. We still don't know why David Ortiz was the target of an organized assassination plot, but they say they will lay that all out to us very soon, as well as who is the mastermind of this plot.

And the prosecutors told the media here that that mastermind will not see the sun for 40 years, that he will be behind bars very soon.

There are at least ten suspects already in prison here, facing charges. The tenth is due to be arraigned this afternoon. People here are somewhat skeptical of the police and of prosecutors, because two of the suspects were already in prison, serving unrelated homicide charges and yet, somehow, they were able to be intrinsically involved in the plotting for the hit on David Ortiz.

Of course, it all comes back to why would anybody want Big Papi killed? That is -- remains to be the question. And who gave the order. Prosecutors say they will let us know that all very soon.

HILL: Patrick Oppmann with the latest for us there.

[06:20:03] Meantime, David Ortiz's wife and son posting heartfelt Father's Day messages on social media as the former Red Sox star is being treated still at a Boston hospital one week, of course, after being shot.

CNN Alexandra Field is live there this morning with more for us.

Good morning.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Erica. Good morning.

Yes, Big Papi, David Ortiz, remaining in the hospital. We know he went through several surgeries last week. His wife has been releasing statements, keeping people up-to-date on the baseball legend's progress as he works his way toward recovery.

Of course, that bullet went into his back and then into his stomach, so he was undergoing some extensive operations last week.

But this week, really, his family sending their messages of love to Big Papi himself on Instagram for Father's Day. His wife posting a loving message with a number of pictures of Big Papi, urging people to focus on what really matters, saying that the holiday has brought a new awareness of what's important in life.

One of his children also posting pictures on Instagram and telling his father that there is only greatness ahead. Certainly, that is a sentiment that is echoed by Big Papi's fans across Boston. They are hoping for a speedy recovery and certainly hoping that they will see the star make an appearance at some point this summer right here at Fenway Park -- John.

BERMAN: Indeed, we are hoping that, Alexandra. I might just have to get up there for that one. Thanks so much.

All right. Team USA has punched their ticket to the World Cup round -- to the knockout stage after a convincing win. Coy Wire has much more in "The Bleacher Report."

Coy, the best player on the team wasn't even on Team USA.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's true. You know, John, that your team is dominant when the losing goalie gets named player of the match for holding you to three goals.

How one-sided was this? The U.S. took 26 shots. Chile, just one.

Captain Carli Lloyd, breaker of records. We'll call her goaleesee. Scoring twice to become the first player to score in six straight World Cup matches.

And how about a golf clap for a celebration? The 36-year-old poking fun at those who criticized the U.S. for celebrations in their 13-0 win over Thailand. This 3-0 win here advances the Americans to the next stage. Next up, Sweden on Thursday, determining the winner of group F.

Gary Woodland makes history while winning his first-ever major title at the U.S. Open. His 13 under par is the lowest winning score ever in six U.S. Opens at the famed Pebble Beach course. The 35-year-old does it on his biggest stage. A Father's Day he'll never forget.

Two years ago, Woodland and his wife were expecting twins, but they lost one of the babies during pregnancy. Their son Jackson was just three pounds when he was born prematurely. Now he's a healthy young fella, and he will celebrate his second birthday one week from today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY WOODLAND, WINNER, U.S. OPEN: There's a lot more to life than winning golf tournaments. And I know I have a miracle at home. I know even if I would have shot 80 today and lost this tournament by 10 shots, I'm still going to go home to a miracle child who I have the responsibility of making sure that he has a great life. And that's what I'm excited about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: John, I'll tell you, Gary and his wife Gabby and Jackson are going to have some new additions. They are expecting twin girls in August.

BERMAN: I know a little something about twins.

WIRE: I know you do.

BERMAN: They've got a lot coming their way. A very happy Father's Day to him. What a day it was for that whole family. Thanks so much, Coy.

HILL: So great.

The do-anything-to-win strategy consuming the White House. Why the Trump 2020 campaign may be in trouble before it even officially begins. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:28:00] BERMAN: A new report just out in "The Washington Post" this morning suggests an overwhelming do anything to win attitude taking over the Trump White House. This is what it says.

"Slumping in the polls and at war with his political rivals, President Trump has signaled a willingness to act with impunity in his drive for re-election, taking steps over the past week that demonstrate a disregard for legal boundaries meant to hold him accountable and protect the sanctity of American democracy."

Let's bring in Tim Naftali, former director of the Nixon Presidential Library and a CNN presidential historian; Anna Palmer, senior Washington correspondent for "Politico"; and Joe Lockhart, former Clinton White House press secretary.

Joe, that's the at atmosphere at the White House right now, and it's within that atmosphere that the president, when his own campaign pollsters did a poll which showed him trailing in key states, and then that poll was leaked, what did he do? He fired some of the pollsters. What does that tell you?

JOE LOCKHART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's -- it's a microcosm of the entire Trump administration, which is first, the story comes out; he denies it. Then the actual info -- actually, he says it's fake and that he doesn't have polls like that, and he describes these polls as terrible things.

Then his staff denies it along. And then the actual poll leaks. And he continues to deny it. And then he fires the pollsters and then continues to deny it.

The -- the interesting thing is it's seven, eight days since these -- first story. We're still talking about it. It's like the worst press management.

You know, the best answer would be, "We don't talk about our internal polls. We're going to win."

But it does highlight the fact that, for all of his ability to drive a narrative on Twitter every morning, that it's lacking strategy. It's just whatever he feels like that morning. And it's -- that's creating a lot of difficulty, I think, for them for the White House.

HILL: Well, also in terms of what we've heard, too, that part of this was also about mollifying Donald Trump. And that this was about, basically, keeping a president happy, because he'd been fuming about it for so many days. And when he doesn't even mean to, he ends up driving the narrative in that fashion, as well, Anna.

ANNA PALMER, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "POLITICO": I think what this shows really is the president's obsession.

END