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New Day Saturday

Gun Control Groups Spend Nearly $1M On Ads Against GOP Senators; President Trump Reignites Feud With Progressive Congresswomen; Protesters March During 11th Weekend Of Pro-Democracy Rallies; China State Media Blames U.S. For Instigating A Revolution; Dale Earnhardt Jr. And Family Escape Fiery Jet Crash; Four Women File Lawsuit Against Actor, Scientology Church; Colorado Police Shooting Victim's Family Want Independent Probe; High Great Lakes Water Levels Threaten Homes And Businesses. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired August 17, 2019 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shaky markets and unpredictable trade talks are stoking fears of a recession.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have no choice but to vote for me because your 401(k)s, down the tubes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Basco no longer has remaining family after his wife was killed in the shooting. Not only did hundreds of people show up to the service but more than 400 flower arrangements and cards were sent in from all around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three 2020 hopefuls made their pitch to African- American church leaders, black millennial voters in Atlanta.

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Christ does not strengthen you to sit on the sidelines. This is not a spectator sport!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scrambling to get out, are Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife Amy and two pilots. Their first concern is Dale's 1-year-old daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really is a miracle that they got out before the flames overtook the plane.

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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you. In every state this weekend, people will come together to call for gun control legislation. These rallies are organized by every town for gun safety and moms demand action. They're set to take place in more than 100 locations in response to mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Now, advocacy groups are calling for the Senate to approval universal background checks and red flag laws which allow authorities to temporarily take away firearms from a person who's deemed a danger to themselves or to the public. Gun-control groups are also spending nearly millions on ads against several Republican lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

BLACKWELL: The El Paso strong rally is set for this afternoon as more victims of the shooting are laid to rest there. One of them, 63-year- old Margie Reckard.

PAUL: There were nearly 1,000 people who showed up last night to help her husband, Antonio Basco, say good-bye to his wife. Here's our Natasha Chen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Antonio Basco was married to his wife Marjorie Reckard for 22 years. But some of the people who packed into the memorial service may have only learned of her name within the last two weeks. And that's because Basco and the funeral parlor put out the message that Basco no longer has remaining family after his wife was killed in the shooting. So, the outpouring of love from the community has been overwhelming.

Not only did hundreds of people show up to the service but more than 400 flower arrangements and cards were sent in from all around the world. Flowers from Germany, cards from Japan and New Zealand. Basco spent about an hour receiving guests inside before the service itself. All the donated flowers here will be transported on Sunday to the site of the memorial where the shooting happened, and that's where Basco continues to go every day to pay respect to his wife. It's also where we met someone who wanted to tell us that this community has only been reinvigorated after the shooting to love all humankind -- no matter the color, no matter the citizenship.

Today, we're expecting a rally from Moms Demand Action. We're going to see college students registering voters; they want to inform people about gun safety measures. We also saw Mexican officials this week coming to the memorial. They say because Mexican nationals were among those killed that they hope Mexico can be part of the discussion in the U.S. about gun legislation, now that Mexicans are also suffering the consequences of gun violence in America. Natasha Chen, CNN, El Paso, Texas.

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BLACKWELL: With us now from Washington is Margaret Talev, she is the Politics and White House Editor for Axios and CNN Political Analyst. Margaret, good to have you back.

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So, let's start here. These recess rallies that are happening this weekend in every state and in Washington, D.C., is what's intended to be collective pressure on congress and the president, is this having the intended resonance with lawmakers? TALEV: Well, Victor, I think we're going to know in a few weeks. But

there's an understanding that August is one of these sorts of months where campaigns like this are kind of in a make-or-break time. Congress is in recess. The pollsters for people like presidents and lawmakers are doing polling trying to understand public opinion and how it could affect elections and leadership consequences, and so there's an understanding I think among the folks who would like to see some of the legislation that maintained pressure is the best way to ensure momentum coming back after labor day. But is it enough?

And I think that's, you know, still yet to be determined. We've seen the president talk on the one hand about his support for background checks and on the other hand we've seen him have some emphasis on mental health and the idea that it's not the guns but the people who use the guns. So, what does that mean? What is he actually prepared to support? And if -- depending on how strongly he comes out, will senate Republicans follow? These are the big questions. So, we know what the house wants to do. We know when congress is coming back. But where will it all go?

[07:05:14] BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about the president and congress separately and let's start with the president. In this reporting from White House Reporter Jeremy Diamond, who says that after the shootings, the president talked about -- talked a lot about these meaningful background checks that he wants passed. He mentioned background checks 18 times during his Q&A with reporters soon after the shootings in El Paso and in Dayton.

During his next public remarks just this past Tuesday, he used the term only three times. And then on Thursday, when reporters pressed him on the progress, he used the term once and then didn't mention it at all during his rally in New Hampshire. Is the president now coming to terms with maybe over promising again as he did after Parkland, or what do you see here?

TALEV: Well, we've seen in these tragedies the president almost always comes out of the gate saying, you know, that -- intimating that he's going to do something, but so far that sort of action hasn't taken effect. This may be different. There's a thinking that the president has said himself that he thinks there's been a pivotal shift in thinking among elected Republican lawmakers. But some of the polling that we've seen in the recent weeks has shown some of the nuances of that.

There was a Fox poll out last week that showed that there is widespread support nationally among Republican voters for some kind of gun control reform efforts like background checks, but that it doesn't extend as far as, you know, assault weapons ban, that sort of thing. But that the messaging on how you talk about it matters. That for Republican voters, the mental health issue is a much more resonant issue than, than if you just have a plain and simple gun-control message.

So, some of the nuance in the way the president's been talking about this does seem to reflect China understand public opinion among his base where it's so crucial in an election year. And also trying to understand what Senate Republicans would actually do. I think the short answer to the question is there are a lot of Democrats on Capitol Hill who would like to take a vote this but are not sure where it's going to go beyond that house vote.

BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about the house vote because we know that House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler says that a week before congress comes back after Labor Day that the Judiciary Committee is going to take votes on several gun-related issues: Red Flag Laws, banning high- capacity magazines, expanded background checks. If there is a space for consensus on some legislation, what's the prognosis for the way this is happening in the house with this committee, and these specific proposals?

TALEV: Yes. I mean, I think that's why you're seeing them come back early because time is probably of the essence on this. Public opinion right now is galvanized toward it. This slides into mid-September and closer to -- in earnest the full 2020 race. You're going to see congressional willingness to act sort of Peter out. So, time may be of the essence.

But also, look at this legislation. It exists in kind of clusters in distinct separate pots where people can coalesce around one bill if not all of the bills, and where you're not seeing an emphasis at this point on kind of going for it with the assault weapons ban. These are more manageable pieces, generally speaking, that there's a belief that you can get Democratic unity on. And maybe even a couple of Republican votes.

And that's been part of the internal debate among the Democratic caucus is should they sort of go big knowing that, that kind of legislation probably could not get very far in the senate, or should they go with, you know, sort of discreet package that can get sort of unity among Democratic voters and a good chance of passage, a better chance of passage with Republicans.

But so far, this still absolutely hinges ultimately, not the political messaging but the outcome of any legislation, on whether the president is really willing to put his own name and his support behind any of this.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we've seen the dwindling of the messages, the mentions even of background checks. We'll see if he holds the pressure on Mitch McConnell to bring a vote. Margaret Talev, good to have you.

TALEV: Thanks, Victor.

PAUL: All right. Let's talk about the flare-up in President Trump's ongoing feud with the four progressive Democratic congresswomen dubbed "The Squad," of course.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Sarah Westwood joins us now. Sarah, so the latest fight is over this proposed visit to Israel by Representative Rashida Tlaib, also Representative Ilhan Omar. Tlaib saying that she's not going to go after getting that humanitarian visa. SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor. And the

president in yet another escalation of this feud with the squad last night implied without evidence that perhaps Tlaib's situation was some kind of setup. Those were the president's words. Obviously, there's no evidence of that, Tlaib had applied for permission to enter Israel on humanitarian grounds to visit her grandmother in the west bank. Then, after that was granted she herself reversed course after some pressure from Palestinian-Americans, from people who oppose Israel's policies, and so that had become its own sort of separate mess after the president had waded into Israel's decision to bar those two congresswomen from entry by saying Israel would demonstrate weakness if they allowed those sitting members of congress to enter their country.

[07:10:33] But this is really just part of a feud that has been running for months now with President Trump and the four Democratic house freshmen known as "The Squad." President Trump had sort of started off attacking those four women for their most liberal policy proposals. For example, he was critical of the Green New Deal that was spearheaded by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Perhaps, one of the highest profile members of the squad, but he really brought that feud in a new direction last month when he told those four women that they should "go back to where they came from before they start criticizing the U.S.

Obviously, the president at that time was accused of racism in attacking the four Democratic congresswomen. But this is really all part of President Trump's strategy to try to elevate these four progressive house members, some of the most liberal members of congress right now, and make them the face of the Democratic party. He doesn't want his eventual Democratic opponent in 2020 to be able to distance themselves from the most liberal policy proposals of these four women. He wants to define them all together as socialists. The down side of the strategy for President Trump besides the obvious, besides inviting accusations of racism on his self is also, though, that he has caused Democrats to unite and rally around these members of congress.

For example, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar had been criticized in the past for remarks that some cast as anti-Semitic. But here, you now have the entire Democratic Party rallying to her defense after President Trump pressured Israel to bar her entry from Israel. So, we have seen President Trump cause the house Democratic caucus to paper over some of their riffs, some of these feuds because of president has had these relentless attacks on these members of congress, Victor and Christi.

PAUL: All right. Sarah Westwood, thank you so much for the update.

BLACKWELL: NASCAR driver turned broadcaster: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is taking a weekend off after surviving a plane crash. Coming up, you're going to hear from the witnesses who saw Dale Jr., his wife, and young daughter escape that burning wreckage.

PAUL: And an 11th straight weekend of demonstrations right now in Hong Kong. Tens of thousands in the streets. Beijing is flexing its muscles on the border, though, now with mainland China. We'll take you there.

BLACKWELL: And Actor and Director Peter Fonda has died. We're going to look at the highlights of his career, ahead.

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[07:16:12] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The (INAUDIBLE) still hasn't answered us at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here to protect my home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So, those are just some of the images coming to us this morning as tens of thousands of marchers are in the streets of Hong Kong right now. Pro-democracy protesters filling the streets for the 11th straight weekend of demonstrations there. A number of counter protesters supporting the police are also joining together. Joining their forces.

BLACKWELL: Now, just across the border, in mainland China, we're seeing these dozens of paramilitary forces together. One officer told CNN they're on a temporary assignment but would not explain why the troops were stationed there. Let's go now to CNN's Paula Hancocks, live in Hong Kong with the latest. Good morning. Although where you are sun's down, going into the evening. We see that this is typically the time of the protest where the energy shifts, and if it becomes violent, this is when it does. What are you seeing around you, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor and Christi, at this point the protests that were legal have now ended. People have dispersed. We're hearing that there are others that have started protesting outside the police station nearly will head to there right after this. But as you say, it's not just pro-democracy protesters are out on the streets today. Also, pro-police protesters, showing that this is a city divided. But 11 weeks in, let's just reminds ourselves how we got this point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS: This was the umbrella movement, a 2014 pro-democracy push in Hong Kong. Tens of thousands took to the streets, but no government concessions were given. The demonstrations ended, but the resentment remained. Five years later, a controversial bill is proposed that could see Hong Kong as extradited to mainland China to stand trial. Frustrations boiled over. At the peak of the past two months, organizers believe up to two million people were on the streets. Police say, far less. Either way, it was a massive part of Hong Kong. Trying to protect itself status as a special administrative region of China, one country, two systems. Chief Executive Carrie Lam responded.

CARRIE LAM, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF HONG KONG: There are still lingering doubts about the government's sincerity or worries whether the government will restart the process in the legislative council. So, I reiterate here there is no such plan. The bill is dead.

HANCOCKS: But it was not the full withdrawal that protesters wanted. There are still fears it could be resurrected quickly. Civil disobedience on some occasions turned to criminal damage, breaking into the legislative counsel building in the center of town occupying the seat of power in Hong Kong before police cleared protesters out. The demands grew. An independent investigation into police actions, the release of all those arrested, conditions unpalatable to authorities.

Protesters claimed police have used excessive force, teargas in train stations, baton charges in shopping malls, and viral social media videos of clashes used to make their claim. The police counter saying they are constantly being attacked by certain elements, saying if they don't use violence, we don't use force. It's a stalemate that is hard to break as the protesters have no leader -- a fluid movement that communicates on social media.

U.S. President Donald Trump even suggested China's President Xi Jinping could meet with protesters and have it sorted within 15 minutes. No side believes that would ever happen. Joshua Wong was a protest leader in 2014, subsequently spending a month behind bars.

JOSHUA WONG, PROTESTER: Without a single individual leader, it's less chance for Beijing authorities to target a politician and to silence the voice of activist and to stop the protests without any kind of criminalization.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:20: 22] HANCOCKS: There are some tactics being used by both police and protesters being criticized for being excessive. Both sides now appear to be digging in. Victor and Christi.

BLACKWELL: So, Paula, I want to ask about those paramilitary forces in Shenzhen. Most analyst could not imagine that Beijing would order them into Hong Kong. But just detail for us how significant it would be if those forces were to intervene in Hong Kong?

HANCOCKS: Well, it would be unprecedented, Victor. The fact that CNN was able to film those paramilitaries in that area in Shenzhen, the fact that Matt Rivers was able to talk to one of the police officers who said they were on temporary assignment shows in part why they are there. It is also so they can be seen for a domestic point of view but also by protesters here. And bear in mind, there are -- there is a military presence -- Chinese military presence here in Hong Kong every single day.

The PLA is here; there's about 6,000 military personnel that are here. But you don't see them on the streets. They're very careful, they're very sensitive to the one country, two systems that Hong Kong has hold very dear and very close. So, it would be extremely significant. At this point, there doesn't appear to be any indication it would happen and there's no belief here that it would happen.

PAUL: All right. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much. BLACKWELL: An incredible escape for NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

and his family after -- you'll see it on the right of the screen, there it is -- the plane they were on crashed in Tennessee. We have the latest on the investigation.

PAUL: And a Colorado shooting victim's family wants an independent investigation saying there is not a shred of evidence that their son presented "an imminent threat."

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[07:25:52] PAUL: So, we want to begin with you with some new video that was taken moments after a private plane carrying NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed in Tennessee.

BLACKWELL: Now, watch the video because you'll see here Dale Jr. and then his wife and their 1-year-old daughter climb out of that burning plane. Watch closely there. Then, they're quickly followed by the family dog, the plane's pilot. Now, this is all happening while this plane is on fire. You see the smoke and then the flames just kick up. The NTSB says the plane slid off a runway Thursday afternoon after making a hard landing.

PAUL: And the thing is it bounced twice, at least twice, before the right rear landing gear collapsed. And then you see there the smoke and the flames that ensued. Listen to the 911 calls here, too, from people who were watching the family escape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just crashed right across the street right in the highway. There's fire everywhere. There's somebody getting out. Now they're -- they're trying to get out now. There's a baby, one, two, three, four, five -- five people and a dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Dave Faherty from CNN-affiliate, WSOC, has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE FAHERTY, WSOC REPORTER: You can see black smoke pouring out of the back of the plane and a man running toward the wreckage. Moments later flames shoot up from one of the wings just seconds before the door to the plane pops open. Scrambling to get out are Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife Amy and two pilots. Their first concern is Dale's 1- year-old daughter, she was handed to the first person off the burning plane who rushed her to safety. The video shows one person falling to the ground. And then, the family's dog running from the wreckage. These two women called 911 from their office nearby. Watching in horror as flames spread across the plane.

LACY PASQUALE, WITNESSED PLANE CRASH: I just couldn't believe it was happening, especially right here in front of our office. And then when we saw them escape and them hand a child out, both of our hearts just sank. BETH BARE, WITNESSED PLANE CRASH: It was really scary. There wasn't

much time for them to get out. And it really is a miracle that they got out before the flames overtook the plane.

FAHERTY: Both women say it was just 30 seconds to a minute later before a second explosion caused flames to engulf much of the plane. We could see NTSB investigators around the plane for much of the day, feet away skid marks in the grass from the Cesna Citation Business Jet at the end of the runway before it went through a fence and ended up on the four-lane highway. For much of the day, race fans stopped by to see the wreckage including Bobby Loveless and his son whose middle name is Dale after Junior's father.

What do you want to say to Dale and his family tonight?

DUSTIN PARLIER, RACING FAN: That you're in our prayers, and just be blessed. Make a quick recovery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: That was Dave Faherty reporting. Now, the NTSB, they've started the investigation. They've interviewed the pilots, recovered the plane's flight data recorder to figure out exactly what happened.

PAUL: Yes, hopefully they will. Coy Wire with us now. And you cannot talk about this without talking about the historical significance in this family --

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: That's right. One can only imagine what was going through Dale Jr.'s mind. He's trying to escape a plane crash with his wife, his 1-year-old daughter, given what happened to his father. NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt Sr., passed away in 2001. He died in a crash at Daytona Motor Speedway while junior was driving in the same race. So, imagine the weight of emotion the Earnhardt family's feeling through all this, escaping that plane crash just seconds before it burst into flames.

When senior died, he was actually driving slowly on the final lap to hold back other drivers so that his son could win the race. His car got bumped, crashed into a wall. Dale Jr. went on to finish second, not knowing his father had died. Junior has since gone on to be one of the biggest names in the history of the sport, winning 26 races over his career including two at Daytona. Fans voted him NASCAR's most popular driver in 15 consecutive seasons before his retirement in 2017.

He's now an analyst for NBC's NASCAR coverage. That's why he and his family were on their way to Tennessee for tonight's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He will not be part of the broadcast this evening so that he can with his family during this heavy and emotional time.

[07:30:05] PAUL: Understandably. Yes, no doubt.

BLACKWELL: All right.

PAUL: Thank you, Coy. BLACKWELL: Thank you, Coy. Four women are suing actor Danny Masterson and the Church of Scientology for stalking and physical invasion of privacy. We'll talk about this story and others with our legal expert, next.

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PAUL: 33 minutes past the hour. So, glad to have you with us here. You know, the Huffington Post is reporting, for women who accused actor Danny Masterson of raping or sexually assaulting them, have filed a lawsuit.

Now, Masterson and the Church of Scientology are accused of stalking, physical invasion of privacy, conspiracy to obstruct justice. Masterson calls the accusations, "ridiculous". But Joey Jackson, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney is with us now.

And I have to ask you, Joey, considering that there is a documented history of intimidating by the Church of Scientology when you're talking about an organization that has as much power as they do, what does -- what does a case like this look like against them?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Christi, good morning to you. And so, starting with the case itself, of course, we know it's a civil complaint. Now, that's an important distinction because the allegations are very troubling, very serious. And they arise to the level of criminality, right?

They were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department, the district attorney is investigating. And, of course, if it's a crime, it's another matter. It has not gotten there yet.

And so, right now, what it looks like is that it's a civil complaint, making all the allegations you mentioned. Right? Which are horrific in nature about the stalking, the intimidation, the false imprisonment, the human trafficking, the controlling, the abuse, et cetera.

And so, what occurs in the details that they layout as these woman's essentially suggest that this place, Scientology has run a mock. Right? So, the lawsuit focuses on Scientology itself is an organization. It focuses on the leader and it focuses on the gentleman we just saw, Madison in terms of the misconduct.

And so, if these allegations are proven in a court of law, not beyond the reasonable doubt like in a criminal law, but by preponderance of the evidence. Is it more likely than not that you did this, then, it looks like ultimately a money judgment?

But, still, with the investigation of the LAPD, nothing has come forward yet in terms of criminal allegations. That's not to say that it could not happen moving forward.

PAUL: Well, the LAPD in L.A. County D.A., as I understand, they say they have investigated multiple allegations of rape against him for the last three years. JACKSON: Right.

PAUL: Here is what he is saying about this. This is a statement from Masterson, who says, "This is beyond ridiculous. I'm not going to fight my ex-girlfriend in the media like she's been baiting me to do for more than two years. I'll beat her in court, and look forward to it because the public will finally be able to learn the truth and see how I've been railroaded by this woman. And once her lawsuit is thrown out, I intend to sue her, and the others who jumped on the bandwagon, for the damage they caused me and my family."

What evidence needs to be present, Joey?

JACKSON: So, what happens is, is that we should mention that of the four women, three are -- three were in Scientology themselves, right?

PAUL: Scientology. Yes.

JACKSON: So, they were involved in it.

PAUL: And two were ex-girlfriends.

JACKSON: Yes, and two were ex-girlfriends. And so, the issue becomes look, does that muddy the waters to the extent that there was some consensual relationship? Though Scientology and apparently its teachings, would suggest that you don't go forward with the police, you keep it internal.

So, the evidence to your point is being stymied in some ways because if there are other people who've witnessed this, apparently, they're not saying much. And so, then, does it become a he say, she say.

You know, if there's physical evidence, would that suggest then, was it consensual, was it not, they were ex-girlfriends. So, it could become complicated than -- you know, like that. But there could be other things out. There we don't know, perhaps, e-mail exchanges, text mail exchanges.

We don't know what surveillance or other type of cell phone video footage or anything is out there. And so, ultimately it's going to be won by the evidence if there is evidence to come forward. But I would not look, for again, witnesses who are Scientologists to be supporting this lawsuit, the laws of Scientology, apparently, teach very much against that.

PAUL: All right. Hey, let's switch gears here to this other case. This family of a man shot in the back by police in Colorado. Well, the family's calling for an independent investigation.

The body camera video that was just released yesterday shows two officers firing their weapons as 19-year-old De'Von Bailey is running from them.

I want to just give you a heads-up here, this is hard to watch. But you need it for the context of what we're going to talk about. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. ALAN VANTLAND, COLORADO SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Put your hands up. All right. So we got a report of two people, similar descriptions, possibly having a gun, all right? So don't reach for your waists, we're going to just check and make sure that you don't have a weapon, all right?

Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Get your hands up! Get your hands up! Get your hands up!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Joey, I want your reaction first and foremost to what you see there.

JACKSON: It's horrifying. It's just unbelievable. Now, here is the point. The point is this, yes, a gun was found after the fact, and they'll make hay about that. You don't, and you're not subjected to the death penalty for having a gun. The critical question becomes what was being done with the gun in the event he had one, which they're suggesting he did at the time of the shooting.

Was the officer in imminent danger? Was the gun brandish? Was the officer in fear in any way? You don't shoot at someone in the back and kill them just because they run away from the police officer. That is not a death penalty case.

I should hasten to add, yesterday, Eric Garner's stepfather was buried. Was at the services yesterday and looking at the front row, right? With all the moms. Tamir Rice's mom, Michael Brown's mom. You name it. You know, Sean Bell's mom. Just all of them there.

It's sickening and it's saddening, and I mention that because yet another mom will be there.

Now, the Bureau of Investigations of Colorado which is the state entity has been asked to investigate in this case. I would hope that they do that. Because I believe local officials are too close involved and too closely connected to the district attorney's office, in my view, to make a sound judgment that would be objective and non- biased. But I am horrified by what I see. It looks like it did not need to happen at all.

PAUL: Police may argue that he ran.

JACKSON: Right.

PAUL: Yes, I mean they were right there and that the officer did not seem to be out of control. I mean, he seems to be giving him the information that he needed and just said, "Just hold still, we're going to do this," and then he ran. To that, you say what?

[07:40:01] JACKSON: So, let me say this. A couple of things. The first thing is, is that I always -- when I speak to people, I say, comply now grieve later. Whatever your grievances may be, don't run from the police, comply with the police, do what they tell you to do.

Having said that, right? That's textbook, but in real life, things happen, and that happened.

The issue is not whether you run. People run from the police every day. The issue is where the officers in immediate fear for their life? And if the answers to that question is no, how do you justify the shooting?

The officers will also argue, Christi, that we were informed that one of the gentlemen had a gun, that they were involved in a robbery, where they brandished the weapon, and all that informs their judgment as to whether they should be in a heightened state of alertness. I get that.

Again, it turns on what they did when they were there, and the reasonableness of their conduct. And when you shoot someone in the back three times as the apparent autopsy indicated, and once in the right elbow, that suggests to me, they're running away, not approaching you, where's the imminent fear, where is the reasonableness, this is a travesty, needs to be investigated thoroughly.

PAUL: Joey Jackson, always appreciate your insight. Thank you, sir.

JACKSON: Thank you, Christi.

PAUL: Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: So, high water levels across the Great Lakes are threatening homes, and businesses, and lives. We'll talk to the Fishtown Preservation Society which is struggling to keep its town above water.

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[07:45:29] BLACKWELL: 15 minutes until the top of the hour now. All along the Great Lakes coastlines, record high water levels of threatening homes and businesses. Beaches have disappeared, roads, bridges, parks have closed. In some cases, people have been swept away.

PAUL: I mean, look at the pictures we were getting in. There's even concern another year of high lake levels could adversely affect tourism. This Fishtown's a popular, historic fishing village on a peninsula there that's almost completely underwater.

Executive director of the Fishtown Preservation Society is with us now. Here, Amanda Holmes. Amanda, thank you so much for being with us.

Talk to us about your immediate -- most urgent concerns right now and how people are dealing with it?

AMANDA HOLMES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FISHTOWN PRESERVATION SOCIETY: Well, what we've had is over the years, there have been increasing water issues for Fishtown. But this spring with there were very heavy rainfalls that we had -- so, like the inches at a time would come in.

And since we're on Lake Michigan, we have a little river and there's also an inland lake that's 26 miles long. We were getting hit by water from all sides. And we haven't been underwater all the time. They'll be points though when the winds are right and the waters hit that, that is when the water would come up over the docks and seriously impact the businesses and the infrastructure.

So, when people visit, the water it'd be just below the level of the docks. But on occasion would come surging up over the docks. And it's quite an alarming thing when that happens.

BLACKWELL: So, we're watching and it's really remarkable to see how close that water is to passing those docks. Obviously, if this goes on for another year, there will be significant concerns about tourism. But just walk us through what does this mean for everyday life for people who lived it.

HOLMES: Well, it puts everybody on edge. That's one thing for sure. Because you never know when it's going to come over and when it's not. And we've all had to just adapt on a daily basis to be ready to sandbag, to -- you have everyone been installing some pumps, you're sweeping, you're putting -- you know, just to block the water from coming in.

It is actually drawn a lot of people because they're very worried about this amazing place. It's a -- the local and state treasurer for the state of Michigan.

And what we actually do have in place are plans to preserve our infrastructure. And that's something we've been working on for years. It just happens that the high water has come along at exactly the time that we've been working to want to implement some plans.

Unfortunately, also the high water has severely increased the costs of that. We want be beginning to implement those plans in mid-October. But now, we're very short of funds because of the increased cost, because of the increased damage.

PAUL: So, how much money have they budgeted and how much do they think it's actually going to take now that this is part of the equation?

HOLMES: We had been budgeting about $1.6 million. And it's -- the word I'm using right now is significantly higher because we're still working on what those numbers are. And right now, at this point, we have about 700,000 in hand and we're working on other gifts. But obviously, to be able to do this work, it's going to take a significant amount more than that.

And it's a community that loves this place, and actually, that community extends across the country. People who come here are from -- they come from all over the world. And when we originally saved Fishtown in -- excuse me, 2007 from development, donations came in from every single state in the country. BLACKWELL: You know, one of the -- and reading about this and, you know, the concern at the Great Lakes more broadly is that one tragedy that sticks out is that there have been 29 drownings in Lake Michigan, that's up 53 percent this year over this period last year.

The threat to life, I think, we should highlight as well in addition to property is this attributable to just this one season or is this the trend we're seeing with this climate crisis.

HOLMES: Well, the Great Lakes, they seem that we call them lakes. But they really have their own character how the waves hit, how the winds are work and there are just the way that the water runs along the shore.

But you have increased pressure of storms, more water that just makes that much more severe. You never take the Great Lakes lightly. But right now, they're much more serious. And even in Fishtown with the river rushing the way it does, we have a lot of signage up.

And they letting people know you just have to -- it used to be -- when the waters are lower, you don't have a concern. But now, it's not the same river that you used to know.

BLACKWELL: All right, Amanda Holmes, thank you so much for spending some time with us. Again, $1.6 million was the goal. Significantly more needed now with the waters from the recent season. Our best people there in Fishtown.

[07:50:01] PAUL: Thank you.

HOLMES: Thank you very much. Check our web site. We'd be glad to have anyone who is interested, come check us out. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right.

PAUL: Thanks, Amanda. Listen, still to come, actor and director Peter Fonda, he has died. We're taking a look at, at the highlights of his career next.

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ANNOUNCER: "STAYING WELL", brought to you by MiraLAX. It works with the water in your body to unblock your system naturally.

PAUL: Well, there's a new study showing, too much social media can really hurt teenagers replacing healthy activities, particularly, like sleep and exercise. So, this week's "STAYING WELL" takes us into how to stay healthy online.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC SAITZ, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: You know, social media took me down a really dark path. I got incredibly depressed off of the image that society projects on us through the social media channels.

JEFF NALIN, PSYCHOLOGIST, PARADIGM TREATMENT CENTERS: The things that we see that people come in whether as a result of social media are things like getting depressed and hard on themselves, or they have a tendency to get really anxious.

There's a lot of studies that are starting to touch on this. Because the big problem is the emotional disconnection that when you're on social media more and connected more theoretically, you feel more isolated.

[07:55:15] SAITZ: I finally realized that I couldn't go more than 15, 20 minutes without checking my phone and seeing what was going on.

NALIN: One of the behavioral things that we'll do with families here, an app that measures it or giving somebody real-time frames, you know, alarms that go off.

Keeping things like this from getting out of control is about monitoring it, paying attention to it, and talking about it. There's therapists, there's treatment centers.

You know, you got to keep on top of it, but it sounds like you're doing them.

SAITZ: You know, I'm trying. You know, I'm taking it one day at a time.

NALIN: And the most important thing is that you're reconnecting or connecting with people on a real level.

It's good to see you in a different place.

SAITZ: It's good to be in a different place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Classic from actor and director Peter Fonda. He died yesterday in Los Angeles. Now, his career was defined by his role as Wyatt in that 69 blockbuster, Easy Rider.

Fonda was nominated for an academy award for the screenplay.

PAUL: And he was nominated for best actor for the title role in Ulee's Gold in 1998. Now, the family said, he died at his home from respiratory failure due to lung cancer. He was 79 years old.

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