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Judge Overturns California's Ban On Assault Weapons; Mexico Midterms; Peru Runoff Election; Israeli Political Turmoil; U.S. President Joe Biden To Attend G7 Summit In U.K.; No Decision Yet On Final Step Of U.K. Lockdown; Kemp Booed At Georgia Republican Party Convention; Burkina Faso Massacre; Belmont Stakes; Hungary Lifts Restrictions On Large Weddings. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired June 06, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of your watching here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, there's outrage from the loved ones of mass shooting victims and praise from gun rights activists after a judge hands down a controversial decision on assault style weapons.

Plus Mexico is hours away from one of their largest elections every and one of their deadliest in recent memory.

And G7 finance ministers agree to a landmark tax deal targeting multinational companies. Why it's a big win for U.S. President Joe Biden as he prepares for his trip to Europe. We're live in London with the latest.

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BRUNHUBER: California's governor says he isn't backing down from the fight for commonsense gun laws after a federal judge threw out America's first-ever ban on assault weapons. The judge sparked outrage when he compared an AR-15 to a Swiss army knife.

That gun is the semiautomatic version of the rifles used by the military in the U.S. and other countries and, as you can see here, it has been used repeatedly in the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history.

Take a look at this map here. Each of those red dots signifies a mass shooting this year alone. Victims and survivors of gun violence fear that California's ruling will only lead to more carnage. CNN's Polo Sandoval reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): California's ban on certain semi-automatic rifles has weathered decades of opposition until now.

San Diego U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled to overturn it, passed in 1989 on the heels of an elementary school shooting in Stockton, California that left five children dead. The law was touted as California's first assault weapons act. It established what an assault weapon is and made them illegal to buy or possess in California.

This week, Judge Benitez ruled that ban was unconstitutional and deprived law-abiding Californians of weapons allowed in other states, weapons he compared to Swiss Army knives.

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BRANDON WOLF, PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING SURVIVOR: If a Swiss Army knife had been used at Pulse, we would have had a birthday party for my best friend last week, not a vigil. The weapons we are talking about don't come with a nail file and a corkscrew just in case you get lost in the woods with a bottle of wine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): In his ruling, Judge Benitez wrote, "Firearms deemed as 'assault weapons' are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles."

Benitez's decision is being celebrated by pro-gun groups. One suing the State of California on this case said that it was "delighted with the outcome." But those calling for stricter gun laws are outraged.

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KRIS BROWN, PRESIDENT, BRADY MOVEMENT: Frankly, the wording in that ruling sounds like it's taken directly from an email or a memo written by the National Rifle Association.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): First nominated by President George W. Bush in 2003, Judge Benitez has a history of butting heads with the State of California in its efforts for stricter gun laws. In 2017, he issued an initial injunction blocking the State's high-capacity magazine ban. Eventually, a federal appeals court upheld his ruling declaring the ban unconstitutional.

And last year, Benitez blocked a law requiring background checks for ammo purchases calling the law defective and a burden on the second amendment in his opinion granting a preliminary injunction.

The state says it is appealing to the latest ruling. Among the families of those lost to mass shootings, there is a sense of fear that would happen to their loved ones could happen again.

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FRED GUTTENBERG, FATHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM: I'm upset for the loss of my daughter and for all the other victims but I am fearful because I know there's someone out there right now who will go out and buy an AR-15 because of this Judge and use it.

RICHARD MARTINEZ, FATHER OF MASS SHOOTING VICTIM: This ruling, if it were to stand, would make our country a more dangerous place. Assault weapons, assault-style weapons make our country more dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

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BRUNHUBER: The National Rifle Association is a big fan of the judge's decision, calling it well reasoned and principled. The group says the ruling, quote, "demonstrates the importance of appointing judges who accurately apply the original meaning of our Constitution."

As you can imagine, the response of several California politicians to the decision has been blistering.

California's governor tweeted, quote, "Overturning California's assault weapon ban and comparing an AR-15 to a Swiss army knife is a disgusting slap in the face to those who have lost loved ones to gun violence. This is a direct threat to public safety of innocent Californians, we won't stand for it."

U.S. House Speaker and California Democrat Nancy Pelosi blasted the decision, writing in a tweet, "If upheld, it poses a clear and serious threat to public safety and innocent lives. House-passed rules must be enacted now."

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BRUNHUBER: Robyn Thomas is executive director of Giffords Law Center and joins me now from San Francisco.

Thanks so much for being here with us.

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BRUNHUBER: You've been working for years to fight for gun safety. So I want to start by getting your reaction to this setback and what effect it might have.

ROBYN THOMAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GIFFORDS LAW CENTER: Well, this is an incredibly disappointing decision. It is completely an outlier from other decisions federal courts have issued, ruling on the validity of assault weapon bans.

So it's an inappropriate and alarming decision and obviously one that we're very disappointed in but one that we don't expect will carry on, as it goes up through the appeal process.

BRUNHUBER: Among the many mass shootings I had the misfortune to cover from California, I was in San Bernardino, where the killers used AR-15 style rifles, bought legally, despite the ban, one constitutional expert I spoke to, who agreed with the general principles expressed in this ruling, felt that this idea of so-called assault rifles was sort of an artificial distinction that doesn't really have much practical merit.

And the bans haven't shown any significant effect in preventing mass shootings.

Is there any proof that they even work?

THOMAS: There is absolutely proof that these restrictions do work. So I find that factual inaccuracy to be really disappointing to hear. Certainly it is important that we have an intelligent and thoughtful conversation about how we define what is appropriate for civilian use for self-defense.

I think the irony of this situation is that, if you look at the judge's opinion, he talks about these weapons being appropriate, both for the battlefield and for home defense.

And I just want to pause for a second and mention how absurd that is, of a statement, that the same weapon being appropriate for the battlefield and home defense certainly doesn't speak to it not being an assault weapon.

So certainly, we can have a conversation about these weapons and whether they're appropriate for civilian use.

On top of that, there is a fair number of studies that show that assault weapon restrictions, both at the federal level as well as the state level, are effective at reducing mass shootings and other fatalities.

BRUNHUBER: You mentioned the language the judge wrote.

The judge wrote, quote, "Like the Swiss Army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment."

A lot of people resenting the comparison to a Swiss Army knife. Many critics say it's a very guns-rights reading of the Second Amendment and guns rights supporters are hoping that it reflects the views of the Supreme Court, where, as you sort of allude to, this case might end up.

So in this case, in the others that may wind up in front of this particular Supreme Court, how optimistic are you given the 6-3 conservative majority?

THOMAS: The truth is that the Supreme Court, even with a 5-4 conservative majority, rejected taking up cases on the Second Amendment, almost 100 of them over the last 10 years.

So even with a conservative majority, the Supreme Court has been reluctant to greatly expand Second Amendment rights to upend gun regulations across the country. As it stands, we already have very, very few, almost no gun regulations at the federal level.

Some states have stepped in to fill the gap. But the Supreme Court has been reluctant to step in and strike down appropriately decided regulations on guns that make our communities safer.

Certainly, since the new confirmation of justice Barrett, we've seen a large number of cases being relitigated or brought forward again in the hopes it will go up to the Supreme Court. But I don't believe that the court will choose to expand the right greatly, because it simply puts too many Americans' lives at risk.

BRUNHUBER: Then there's the ongoing political battle on this issue. There's been so many high-profile and tragic gun deaths this year. The president has called on Congress to tighten gun laws, particularly on the assault-style weapons.

Nancy Pelosi tweeted yesterday, "House-passed gun violence prevention bills must be enacted now."

But then any action is sort of running into that buzzsaw that is the Senate these days. Democrats just don't have the votes to get it past a Republican filibuster.

What can be done politically?

THOMAS: It's exactly because there is so little action at the federal level, because our national leaders are not taking steps to pass federal regulation, that states need to have the ability to pass laws to make our communities safer.

It's astounding how little regulation we have at the federal level. And states like California have really taken significant comprehensive steps to pass regulation. And as a result, gun violence and gun death in states like California is significantly lower, four times lower, than in some states, where you have very weak gun regulation.

So not only is it important that they have that autonomy but it's also -- there is an absolutely clear correlation between strong gun laws and lower gun death rates.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you, Robyn Thomas, really appreciate it.

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THOMAS: Thank you so much for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Judy Weldon was a teacher who lived through a mass shooting in 1989 at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California. She explained how the ruling affects survivors of gun violence like her.

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JUDY WELDON, CLEVELAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING SURVIVOR: First of all, it's a devastating blow to survivors and all the families of survivors, who experienced almost as much trauma. There are so many people who have had to flee bullets. And just that alone, even if they're not injured, is traumatic.

So it's devastating but it's also his behavior. This judge's behavior is grossly irresponsible.

And his descriptions of the AR-15, that it is an ordinary weapon, that it is popular, since when does popularity enter into following the laws?

His whole description and his whole ruling is terribly flawed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Mexico is just hours away from a historic election.

Can the president's party come away with a solid majority in Congress?

Plus Israel's longest-serving prime minister is most likely on his way out. But he isn't leaving without a fight.

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BRUNHUBER: Voters in Mexico are just hours away from one of the largest elections held in that country and the outcome will be widely seen as a referendum on the Mexican president.

Over 21,000 seats are up for grabs, including all 500 deputies in the lower house of congress as well as many state governors and thousands of state and local officials. It's also been one of the deadliest elections in recent memory.

Since September, over 90 politicians have been killed. At least 35 of them were candidates in today's elections. CNN's Matt Rivers has more.

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ABEL MURRIETA, CAJEME POLITICAL CANDIDATE: (Speaking Spanish).

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here is Abel Murrieta, a candidate for local office in the Mexican municipality of Cajeme. Crime was his number one issue.

MURRIETA: (Speaking Spanish).

RIVERS (voice-over): But just one day after filming this ad, he was dead, shot and killed May 13th in broad daylight on a busy street while handing out campaign flyers. State authorities say he was deliberately targeted but don't know by

whom. Suspects or not, though, it's just further proof that, in Mexico, politics can be deadly. From September of last year through May 25th, at least 88 politicians or candidates have been killed, according to a Mexican consulting firm.

They're a part of the more than 565 politicians or candidates overall that have been targeted by some sort of crime, ranging from murder to assault to threats, the firm says. The government says it believes both numbers are actually far lower, though they don't say how they tallied their numbers. But still, it admits there's a problem.

"It's a difficult time for these campaigns," says Mexico's president. "We're going to keep protecting them."

Though Mexico has consistently failed to protect its candidates, political assassinations have been a problem for decades. But this year is particularly bad.

ANA MARIA SALAZAR, PUBLIC SECURITY EXPERT: I do think that this is going to be considered one of the most violent elections in Mexican history.

RIVERS (voice-over): Security experts like Ana Maria Salazar say politicians are killed for a number of reasons but it most often involves organized crime. In many cases, criminal groups want their preferred candidate in office.

So they might target others they don't like, especially candidates who make crime a centerpiece of their campaign.

SALAZAR: Candidates that talk the way Abel Murrieta speak clearly are going to run bigger risks.

RIVERS (voice-over): Murrieta was known for challenging criminal groups and drug cartels. As a private lawyer, he was also representing an outspoken family with dual U.S.-Mexico citizenship that lost nine of its members when they were murdered by suspected cartel members in Mexico in late 2019.

Adrian LeBaron tweeted shortly after Murrieta was killed, saying, in part, quote, "They have killed my defender.

"What do we call this?

"The rule of law?"

RIVERS: Do you believe he was killed because of his opposition to the cartels?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He was always exposing them. To me, he died a martyr.

RIVERS (voice-over): Authorities have not identified any suspects or motive in Murrieta's murder but the victims seem to know he was at risk, saying this a few days before he died. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).

RIVERS (voice-over): He went on to say, the streets belong to the people, not to criminals. And some of those people turned up here to his funeral. They gave him a standing ovation as his coffin was led out -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

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BRUNHUBER: Peru's presidential runoff is coming down to the wire. Voters will choose between two candidates with dramatically different visions for Peru's future. It's a race that has polarized the electorate in a country still reeling from multiple crises.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR: When a country is afraid of a power grab, it makes presidential candidates sign a pledge, promising that they will walk away from the highest office in the land at the end of their term.

That's what happened in Peru last month when religious leaders convinced both presidential candidates to make such a pledge and to do it in public.

The South American country is so polarized that the 2 candidates who made it to the second round are extreme opposites, whose combined vote in the first round didn't even reach 33 percent.

[05:20:00]

ROMO (voice-over): On the far left, Pedro Castillo is an elementary school teacher and union leader from a Marxist-Leninist party who became known for leading a strike in 2017. The 51-year-old denies that he is a Communist. He has also been accused in the past of being a member of Shining Path, a terrorist group. But he has rejected those accusations as well.

Hunger, poverty and inequality are the true forms of terrorism afflicting people in Peru, Castillo recently said at a rally.

On the far right, Keiko Fujimori is vying for presidency for the third time after failed attempts in 2011 and 2016. The 46-year-old is the daughter of Alberto Fujimori, a president who ruled Peru between 1990 and 2000 and is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights violations.

The former congresswoman has been herself in jail three times, as part of an investigation for her alleged role in the Odebrecht bribe scandal in Peru. She denies all allegations of wrongdoing.

"I've been unjustly sent to prison three times, which separated me from my daughters for 16 months," she said.

Nearly 70 percent of Peruvian voters, who had chosen a different candidate in the first round, are now scratching their heads at the choices in front of them.

"This is like Sodom and Gomorrah for me," says this voter, who criticizes the candidates for running negative campaigns instead of focusing on what they can do to improve the country.

That's probably why Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa says voters will have to choose the lesser of two evils and supports Fujimori.

ROMO: There have been four presidents in Peru over the last five years; three of them occupied the presidency during an especially tumultuous 9-day period last September. And all of the last six presidents have been in trouble with the law, including one who took his life in 2019 as he was about to be arrested for accusations related to the Odebrecht corruption scandal.

ROMO (voice-over): This week a revised COVID-19 death toll put Peru at the top of the countries with the highest death rates per capital in the world. Yet campaigning didn't stop. Now many wonder if political instability will be a thing of the past or the new normal. Neither candidate is expected to have a majority in Congress -- Rafael Romo, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: The head of Israeli's domestic security agency says there could be incitement of violence in the coming days. It's an unprecedented warning coming ahead of a pitched political contest for Israel's future.

A new coalition government is trying to unseat prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He's held the job for 12 consecutive years. On Monday, the speaker of the Knesset is set to announce the coalition to lawmakers, which will kick off the process, requiring a vote of confidence in seven days.

So by June 14th, Netanyahu might be out. Oren Liebermann joins me now from Jerusalem.

Oren, so a tumultuous week ahead. Take us through the timeline here.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: If everything goes well for this coalition, trying to replace prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, by next Monday, they will have done so.

Netanyahu will be out of the prime minister's residence, out of the prime minister's office. But it's not a done deal yet. Netanyahu still has time and room to maneuver, because this coalition is made up of eight parties with different and disparate interests.

Netanyahu and his allies in the Likud Party and other parties are looking for fissures and cracks to break this coalition. Because it's a bare majority, a 61-seat coalition, all you need to do is find one person to defect and vote against and this whole effort to replace Netanyahu is scuttled. Certainly, it likely sends Israel to a fifth election. But Netanyahu

would remain in power. That said, the growing assessment here is that this 61-seat coalition will hold together, at least temporarily, to get sworn in, either on Wednesday or the following Monday, and replace Netanyahu.

From there, of course, that was their first mission. Then they have the much more difficult task of actually governing. Netanyahu will be a very powerful voice as head of the opposition.

So tumultuous, yes, and it may not end just because the new government has been sworn in. Israel has been dealing with effectively a political nightmare going on for a couple of years now.

And perhaps even if there is a new government, that's not going to simply melt away with a fully functioning government here. That is the goal. We'll see how that works out for them, Kim. We'll know by tomorrow whether the swearing-in is scheduled for Wednesday.

[05:25:00]

LIEBERMANN: Or whether it will drag out to Monday the 14th.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely, we'll follow that story throughout the week. Another story making headlines in Israel, a reporter arrested by Israeli security forces during a protest.

What can you tell us about that?

LIEBERMANN: This was just yesterday in the neighborhood in East Jerusalem, a reporter for Al Jazeera arrested covering a sit-in on the 54th anniversary of the occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

While covering this protest, she says she was arrested or held and detained by Israeli police because she says she wasn't given an opportunity to get her ID card, despite the fact that she was wearing a protective vest that said press.

Police released a statement, saying there was a man and woman, her and her cameraman, who refused to show ID, so they were detained. But this is a reminder of what happened to Al Jazeera, when their media offices in Gaza were bombed by the IDF, offices that also contained offices for the Associated Press.

The IDF claimed there was Hamas presence in the building but has yet to offer evidence or proof for that claim. Al Jazeera objected in the strongest terms, saying it was a brutal arrest and showed an Israeli police disregard for fundamental human rights.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks, Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem, appreciate it.

Ahead on CNN, G7 finance leaders agree to a landmark tax deal, targeting multinational companies. We'll explain why it's a big win for President Biden as he prepares for his trip to Europe. Plus if you're having trouble keeping up with all the cyber attacks

just here in the U.S., you're not alone. See why they probably won't stop anytime soon.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

The U.S. will donate about 750,000 COVID vaccine doses to Taiwan. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth announced the donation during a visit to Taiwan Sunday. The island has been fighting a surge in COVID cases and officials there have been asking the U.S. to share some of the vaccines it plans to donate to the world.

Taiwan has also accused China of hampering its efforts to obtain vaccines, which Beijing denies.

U.S. President Joe Biden will head to the U.K., Belgium and Switzerland in the coming days. It's his first overseas trip since taking office. The White House says his visit will highlight America's commitment to restoring alliances.

He's also attending the G7 summit to advance issues like economic recovery after the pandemic. In an op-ed for "The Washington Post," Biden elaborated on his agenda, saying the U.S. must lead the world from a position of strength.

He wrote in part, "As America's economic recovery helps propel the global economy, we will be stronger and more capable when we are flanked by nations that share our values and our vision for the future by other democracies. That's the agenda I will advance at every stop."

The president is getting a lot of support ahead of his trip. On Saturday, G7 finance ministers put their support behind the Biden plan to overhaul the global tax system. They agreed to back a global minimum tax of at least 15 percent on large multinational corporations.

The group also agreed large companies should pay taxes where they generate sales and not just where they have a physical presence.

Governments have long grappled over the challenges of taxing companies operating in multiple countries. U.S. Treasury Secretary calls the deal significant.

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JANET YELLEN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: It's complicated. This negotiation has been going on for, I believe, eight years. It stalled under the Trump administration. And so I really consider this an historic achievement and it is -- it shows that multilateral collaboration can be successful.

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BRUNHUBER: For more on this, let's turn to CNN's Nina dos Santos in London.

This tax deal could have huge implications.

What more can you tell us at this point?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: Yes, big implications for countries, big implications for companies as well, many of whom are U.S. companies as well. Many tech titans have done awfully well during the course of this pandemic because so many of us have been locked in their houses.

Indeed, I'm broadcasting from my study, given the current rules in this country, people still more or less have to work from home. And that means that there's been a lot of sales taking place in some parts of the world that some of these companies are still allowed, if they have a headquarters in a tax-efficient jurisdiction.

They can still bill and move those profits and revenues through those jurisdictions. That is the type of loophole these G7 nations, some of the richest countries in the world, have presented a united front to try and stop.

It comes at an important time. As you heard Janet Yellen saying, this has been on the cards for some time but we couldn't get the political weight behind it. Now essentially they need the extra revenues to recover the economies after the pandemic.

As I said, some of these firms have been doing quite well. So it is important for those companies who are going to be affected; it's also going to be important for those countries that aren't part of the G7.

What we've got coming up in the next month or so is the G20. So you can expect a broader push for those G20 countries to be encouraged strongly to adopt this tax move.

Then probably there's also going to be a broader push among the OECD nations, a broader catchment of rich countries around the world, a think tank that's been lobbying this for a long time.

You can expect this to be the start of increased requirements for compliance and a new tax rating that could share more of the profits from some of these multinational corporations.

What was so crucial about what Janet Yellen just said there was that she said multilateralism is still alive. That means collective action to change things is still alive at the highest political echelons, especially when it comes to fiscal policy here.

BRUNHUBER: What a contrast with what we've seen the last couple of years. Turning to British prime minister Boris Johnson, he was making headlines by calling for G7 leaders to vaccinate the world by the end of next year.

What's behind this?

Again, more collective action, isn't it?

DOS SANTOS: But what's really interesting about this call from Boris Johnson, as you said, ahead of the G7 summit that's going to be taking place among world leaders.

[05:35:00]

DOS SANTOS: Because obviously the finance ministers had their meeting over the course of the weekend here at London. Later on Friday we're going to see the world leaders come together.

Boris Johnson's issuing this rallying cry, essentially saying, we want all of you to sign on to a pledge to donate your excess vaccination stocks or find some way of helping all countries in the world to vaccinate their people by the end of 2022.

It's something of an about-face for Boris Johnson. The reality is the U.K. government until recently has been coming under increasing pressure for not committing to its own deadline of how many excess doses they have to actually donate to the United Nations COVAX vaccination scheme.

The U.S. has donated or pledged to donate 25 million doses. France has pledged to donate 500,000 doses. The U.K. has so far only said they will donate surplus supply. And U.K. has one of the biggest supplies, it has earmarked 400 million doses for a population that's over 60 million.

And this is one of the countries that has one of the best success stories so far around the world, in terms of how many people it's vaccinated. More than half of U.K. Britons have been offered two doses of a vaccination. And they're already talking about potentially vaccinating schoolchildren over the course of the summer holidays.

BRUNHUBER: Thank you so much, Nina dos Santos in London.

Another issue on the U.S. President's agenda, ransomware attacks that are now on the rise. As we saw with Colonial Pipeline in April, a successful attack can lead to widespread chaos.

In recent months, a major gas pipeline, dozens of government agencies, a city's water supply in Florida and one of the world's top meat producers have all been hit and that's just been in the U.S.

Now earlier I spoke with Allan Liska, a senior intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, about these threats and here's what he said.

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ALLAN LISKA, SENIOR INTELLIGENCE ANALYST, RECORDED FUTURE: When you think about it, specifically when we talk about ransomware in the case of Colonial Pipeline, right now, there are hundreds of threat actors that are trying to gain access to vulnerable systems.

And they have such a wide variety of attack vectors they can go after, that it's very difficult to basically protect against all of them, which is why you really need a defense and depth strategy. But you also need cooperation amongst governments to try and make it more expensive for threat actors to carry out ransomware attacks.

BRUNHUBER: I want to get to the international component a bit later. But right now, in terms of the domestic response to this right now, the U.S. has no cybersecurity requirements for companies that basically aren't related to electricity, nuclear, banking. There have been proposed legislation that would have set the cybersecurity standards for many industries but that was blocked in 2012 by Republicans.

But business groups as well lobbied hard to defeat the legislation.

Why are they so dead set against regulation?

Even if it is expensive to go through all of this, you'd think it would be in their long-term interest.

LISKA: It actually would be in their long-term interest. But I think you hit the nail on the head, that, in the short term, it's going to cost them a lot of money to come up to compliance, to be compliant with what the government is going to recommend that they have to implement. And they don't want to do that, unfortunately.

We see that time and time again in these instances, whether it's ransomware or something else, where there were security controls that just weren't in place that should have been there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The White House says President Biden will bring up cyber threats during his summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Geneva later this month.

Several months after the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump is still pushing his claim that he won the 2020 race. The former president was in North Carolina Saturday, where he gave a speech at the state's Republican Party convention.

In his first public appearance in three months, Trump claimed his defeat to Joe Biden was the, quote, "crime of the century." He also slammed Dr. Anthony Fauci and demanded that China pay for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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TRUMP: But Fauci has perhaps never been more wrong than when he denied the virus and where it came from. The time has come for America and the world to demand reparations and accountability from the Communist Party of China. We all should declare, within one unified voice that China must pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Of course, Trump didn't mention his own handling of the pandemic or how that may have been a factor in his loss to Joe Biden. But he did hint at a possible run in 2024, saying he's looking forward to that particular year.

[05:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: Trump's influence was also felt during the Georgia Republican Party convention on Saturday. Listen to this as governor Brian Kemp takes the stage in front of a Trump-friendly crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): As you can hear, lots of boos for governor Kemp there. That's just a snippet of what went on there. He angered many Trump supporters last year when he refused to help overturn the election results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Republicans at the convention reportedly passed a resolution, calling on Kemp and other officials to, quote, "repair the damage that has been done." While Kemp dodged any formal vote of disapproval, the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" reports the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, was censured by the party.

Still ahead, a massacre in West Africa. A live report on Burkina Faso's worst militant attack in years.

And one of golf's biggest stars tests positive for COVID-19. The emotional moment he was told he couldn't continue, despite being the tournament leader.

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BRUNHUBER: Burkina Faso is in a nation in mourning right now following a militant attack on the village of Solhan about 150 miles northeast of the capital. Officials say over 130 civilians were killed when gunmen stormed a village Friday night. David McKenzie is following the story from Johannesburg.

What more can you tell us?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This border region between Mali and Niger and Burkina Faso is effectively lawless. And the horrifying impact of that was this attack by gunmen, according to the president of Burkina Faso and state media, in the late Friday, potentially early Saturday hours during nighttime.

[05:45:00]

MCKENZIE: They described indiscriminate firing, burning of houses, the market and scores of people. Over and above that, over 100 people, including 7 children, according to the U.N., killed in this massacre. Scores of people fleeing to neighboring villages, according to the head of the Red Cross there, and many, many injured.

Three days of national mourning declared by the president, as you said. And they vowed to go after this group, though no one has claimed responsibility.

It is an area where an Al Qaeda-affiliated group as well as an ISIS- affiliated group operate with near impunity. It's just the latest attack on the civilian population of that border region, though an attack on a terrible scale.

BRUNHUBER: You say -- I mean, no one's claimed responsibility.

So is there any word of a possible motive for the attack?

MCKENZIE: Certainly, there are multiple motives going on with these attacks. Many attacks like this on civilians happen without breaking through into the international news.

But the tragedy is more than 1 million people in Burkina Faso alone, in the last two years, have had to flee their homes. That area, that border region, is largely ungovernable.

And an attack of this scale does sometimes indicate that this is a group of militants that are doing a reprisal attack. Many of these villages have gotten together vigilante groups, anti-Islamic defense or anti-jihadi, I should say, defense groups.

So it has the hallmarks of that kind of response, where a large number of people are tragically killed in what is often a reprisal attack.

Now several years ago, these militants would generally attack military outposts, U.N. Blue Helmet outposts, French soldiers in the region. But those attacks have expanded into wholesale attacks, which often have an ethnic dimension.

And the fact that there isn't an ability by these national governments, because, in part of the political instability in the region, to take on these militants, shows that the Sahel region, it really is one of the most insecure places on Earth.

BRUNHUBER: Tragic. Thanks so much, David McKenzie in Johannesburg, appreciate it.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER: Essential Quality won the 153rd Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

The early betting favorite finished just ahead of Hot Rod Charlie to claim victory. Essential Quality is owned by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

A limited crowd of 11,000 was allowed to attend the race. Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit wasn't allowed to run because of a failed drug test.

It was an emotional moment at golf's Memorial Tournament in Ohio as the tournament leader was forced to withdraw because of a positive COVID-19 test. CNN's Patrick Snell has the details.

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BRUNHUBER: COVID is no longer an excuse to put off getting married, at least in Hungary. That country is lifting restrictions as more people are vaccinated. That means couples who had postponed large weddings can finally say I do. Michael Holmes has more.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A walk down the aisle, in front of family and friends, including a champagne toast and kisses of congratulation. More than a week ago, large weddings in Hungary were not allowed. Too many ways, COVID could be transmitted.

But as the country recently surpassed 5 million people vaccinated, more than half the population, it eased up on some of its restrictions.

[05:55:00]

HOLMES (voice-over): Couples can now invite up to 200 people to share their special day.

So wedding bells are ringing, once again, for this couple, Eniko and Marton, who met in 2016, she worked in a clinic. He was a paramedic. They have had to cancel their wedding twice because of the pandemic.

MARTON ASZALOS, PARAMEDIC (through translator): We had to coordinate with everyone yet again. We had to replan, rethink, find a new place. Now we have the third venue we are making a contract with. It was difficult but we solved it.

HOLMES (voice-over): The coronavirus, causing so much loss in the world and the delay of life events, one wedding planner says that 70 percent of the weddings he booked last year were postponed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These couples have been planning their wedding since 2019. So in the past 1.5 years, they've been sitting on an emotional rollercoaster.

HOLMES (voice-over): Eniko and Marton got married in a civil ceremony but are now practicing their walks (ph) in their full wedding finery for the wedding of their dreams, which is back on, later this summer, in front of more than 100 guests.

ENIKO TOKACS-MATHE, CLINIC WORKER (through translator): Before, I was thinking that my main worries would be whether we managed to lift in the dance, whether my makeup and hair would be good. But now I hope all the guests and relatives will be healthy and that we can celebrate together.

HOLMES (voice-over): A photo shoot on the Danube captures their excitement, as they get ready to say that long overdue "I do," this time, surrounded by the people they love -- Michael Holmes, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: It's not just wedding ceremonies returning to normal. Prepandemic honeymoon options, like cruises, will soon be back on the table.

Royal Caribbean announced Friday it will resume cruises from ports in Florida and Texas starting next month.

That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For our viewers in the U.S. and Canada, "NEW DAY" is next. For everyone else, it's connecting Africa.