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Chris Christie To Announce White House Run Today; Prince Harry Testifies Against U.K. Tabloids; Neighbor Shoots, Kills Florida Mother of 4; Remembering D-Day 79 Years Later; Cuba Gooding Jr. Settles Rape Case Ahead of Trial. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 06, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R), FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: Wanted him to do what was best for the country, and he failed me even worse than he failed you.

So I'm not going to stand around and let this happen. Now, if I decide to run, I'll be able to try to do something directly about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, polls, early ones at this point, obviously, have shown that he clearly has some work to do in will what has been an ever-growing GOP field in this race, which includes former President Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, form Governor Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott. The list goes on.

It gives you an idea of the work that would need to be done at this point.

Last time around, former Governor Christie finished sixth in New Hampshire, in the New Hampshire primary, despite holding dozens of town halls here in the state.

By kicking things off with the town hall this time around, it is clear they think that this time will be a different result. And we'll have to see what the process toward that result looks like.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: As you pointed out, Omar, some of the polling for Christie, a majority of the Republican voters said they would never support him. He has his work cut out for him tonight in New Hampshire.

Omar Jimenez, live from Manchester, thank you so much.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Now to the prince and the privacy lawsuit. Prince Harry leaving a London courtroom a short while ago. He actually spent hours on the stand today in this case against a U.K. tabloid group. He was accusing the publisher of hacking phones and other illegal

methods to get some private information.

Harry testifying is something that you just don't see. This is extremely rare for a royal. Not since 1891 has a senior royal actually given evidence in a British court.

Today, defense lawyers for the Mirror Group Newspapers used Harry's words against him.

They were citing excerpts from his blockbuster memoir, "Spare." And they were showing how often -- the memoir actually shows how often the palace cooperates with the media on certain stories.

Let's get to CNN anchor and royal correspondent, Max Foster, in London following the case.

Max, this was very interesting. What he testified to. Tell us about it.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR & CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is basically highlighting 33 Mirror articles, or parts of articles from different parts of the Mirror Group, and saying that these were a source on information that were obtained illegally.

So they're going through each one of the articles. And lots of embarrassing details, about ex-girlfriends, about his time at Eton. So lots of detail in there.

The lawyer for the Mirror Group is going through each one of them really grilling Harry on why he thinks they were based on hacking. Actually, undermining that.

Harry is not always across the details. His broader point is that the British tabloid media needs reform. And that's his mission.

For example, there was a story about Harry and William having an argument really, or a discussion about whether or not they should meet Diana's former butler. There's disagreement about that.

There was a story that appeared where Harry called him a two-faced expletive, as is reported -- this is Harry speaking, of course - "and believes this could have come directly from voicemail that I left."

He suggested that he might have used that expletive in the voicemail to William. So that's an example is the type of stories we're talking about here.

And more broadly, he's very damning about the British government, about the papers. He talks about Piers Morgan, a former "Daily Mirror" editor, saying he and his band of journalists got into my mother's private and sensitive messages made him physically sick.

Not just hacking Harry's phone but others around him, too, including Diana.

KEILAR: Yes. Max, thank you so much. We'll continue to watch this case. Max Foster for us in London.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: There are growing calls for justice after a Florida mother of four is shot and killed by a neighbor over a long-standing feud involving the victim's children. Police are investigating but her family is demanding to know why no one has been arrested.

Plus, some dramatic scenes to share with you out of France as people take to the streets. We'll tell you why protesters are calling it a final stand against the country's pension reform law.

[13:34:18]

Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We're back in a few moments.

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SANCHEZ: The family of a mother of four, who was shot and killed by a neighbor in Florida, are demanding justice. Authorities say that Ajika Owens was shot through her neighbor's front door. The police report identifies the shooter as a white woman.

Apparently, there was a long-running dispute involving Owen's kids. She had reportedly gone to confront her neighbor about an incident on Friday night when the neighbor opened fire.

CNN's Carlos Suarez has been following this story for us.

Carlos, authorities have not arrested this neighbor who shot Owens, and they're pointing to Florida's Stand Your Ground law as a reason why.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Boris. So the sheriff's office in Marion County says they're still looking to whether the shooting was in self-defense.

That's an argument that the victim's family says really doesn't hold weight. They're calling it an unjustified killing and they want an arrest now.

35-year-old A.J. Owens was killed on Friday north of Orlando in Ocala, Florida. Authorities say Owens knocked on the door of a neighbor, who, minutes earlier, had an issue with Owens' children playing outside.

The victim's family said that the woman had previously harassed the children, calling them racial slurs and using the "N" word.

[13:40:01]

Owens' mother said her daughter wanted to know why the woman kept an iPad that the children left behind and why she threw a pair of skates at them.

Here's more about what that victim's mother said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA DIAS, MOTHER OF AJIKE OWENS: As a mother, the protector of her children, she wanted to know why this happened. She knocked on Susan's door. A closed, locked door. The door never opened.

My daughter, my grandchildren's mother, was shot and killed with her 9-year-old son standing next to her. She had no weapon. She posed no imminent threat to anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: So the sheriff of Marion County said authorities haven't made an arrest yet because, again, they're taking a close look at Florida's Stand Your Ground law.

Adding that authorities are still interviewing other neighbors as well as Owens' 9-year-old son, who was standing next to his mom when she was shot through the door.

Here now is what the sheriff added to all of this yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY WOODS, SHERIFF, MARION COUNTY, FL, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: What we have to rule out is whether this deadly force was justified or not before we can make the arrest.

And sometimes it becomes difficult and sometimes it becomes an obstacle. But only a temporary obstacle. Because it will be moved and the final answer will come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: The sheriff's office said that some of those interviews are taking place today.

And the sheriff said these neighbors, they had issues before with at least six calls made to 911 since 2021. Almost all the calls involved some sort of issue between the neighbor as well as the kids playing out in this yard where this took place.

The name of the 58-year-old neighbor who shot Owen has not been released by authorities in Marion County -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: The 9-year-old boy having to answer questions about witnessing his mother get shot, such an excruciating detail.

Carlos Suarez, thank you for that report.

Let's get some perspective now from an expert, attorney and legal affairs commentator, Areva Martin.

Areva, on the issue of there being an arrest, the sheriff of Marion County said, explicitly, quote:

"What a lot of people don't understand is that law has specific instructions for us in law enforcement. Any time that we think or perceive or believe that that might come into play, we cannot make an arrest. The law specifically says that."

He's talking about the Stand Your Ground law.

So what evidence would investigators need to go ahead and arrest this neighbor?

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY & CNN LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, Boris, this is such a tragic story. A mother trying to protect her children, loses her life to senseless gun violence. And it happens in the presence of her 9-year-old son.

My heart just aches for this entire family as a mother of three myself.

Florida has this Stand Your Ground law enacted in 2005. And it allows people to meet force with force.

Basically, if someone believes, or reasonably believes that his life and/or safety is in danger as a result of an overt or perceived act or threat from someone else, they can use deadly forceful.

The question in this case was, what was the perceived threat?

We know that miss Owens was not armed with any weapon. She didn't have a knife or a gun. There's no evidence that she had done anything to cross the threshold of the home of the shooter.

The door wasn't broken down. The lock wasn't broke. There was nothing to suggest that she had engaged in any kind of conduct that would be a reasonable three to the shooter.

Many believe this is racial in many ways. The shooter was a white woman. This is an African-American mother of four.

We know that the Stand Your Ground law has a racially disparate impact, in that it is applied and treated differently when the victims are African-Americans.

SANCHEZ: Area, the other aspect of this that could come into play is the fact this was an ongoing dispute. Somewhere between six and eight previous calls to police over what the sheriff described as children being children.

I'm wondering what you make of that.

MARTIN: It begs the question, Boris, as to how come the shooter didn't call the police yet a seventh time.

Obviously, they had called law enforcement -- someone had called on them six different occasions to mediate the dispute between these neighbors. And to resort to using violence just seems so extreme in a situation when someone is at your door.

[13:45:10] We've seen it all too often when someone is innocently murdered, shot and killed because someone has the unreasonable perception.

And again, we know there are these biases that people have as it relates to African-Americans and a belief that we are somehow inherently dangerous.

There are so many other outcomes that could have happened with respect to this case.

And then there is the question, Boris, if police know that this woman threw an item, whether it's the skate or an iPad and struck a child, why hasn't she been arrested for assaulting the child that was struck by this item?

Lots of questions as to why this law enforcement agency is not moving quicker to bring some kind of justice to this family.

SANCHEZ: Areva Martin, as always, we appreciate getting your perspective on these matters. Thank you so much.

Brianna?

KEILAR: Here's a look at some of the other headlines we're following at this hour.

For the second time in about a year, a bridge in India that was being built has collapsed. Just an incredible sight.

The nearly two-mile bridge sank into the Ganges River Sunday. Officials launched an investigation into the quality of construction. CNN has not been able to confirm reports of any injuries.

We're also watching a 14th day of protests across France. Police firing tear gas at demonstrators in Paris.

The nationwide marches are a response to President Emmanuel Macron's moving the retirement age from 62 to 64. That is expected to take effect in September.

But French union leaders say today is likely one of the last days they will rally ahead of a debate Thursday in the National Assembly.

And today marks 79 years since D-Day, the allied invasion of France, the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany.

To this day, it remains the largest amphibious invasion in history, with more than 160,000 allied troops crossing the English Channel and storming the beaches of Normandy. More than 13,000 troops parachuted in behind enemy lines.

Today, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with veterans in Normandy to mark this solemn occasion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEN. LLOYD AUSTIN, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Every D-Day, citizen by citizen, we remember that we each have the ability and the responsibility to fight for the principles that drove the allied armies forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The greatest of the Greatest Generation. So few still remaining. But there are actually a few dozen there for the anniversary today.

Boris, all of them around 100 years old.

SANCHEZ: And where would we be without their sacrifice?

Still ahead, both parties in a federal civil rape case against Oscar- winning actor, Cuba Gooding Jr., have, quote, "resolved the matter." We'll break down what that means when we come back.

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[13:52:47]

KEILAR: New developments today in a legal battle for actor, Cuba Gooding Jr. Just moments before the Oscar winner was set to go to trial in a federal rape case, they reached a settlement.

Gooding was accused by an anonymous woman of raping her twice over a decade ago.

CNN's Chloe Melas is following all of these developments.

Chloe, this was headed for trial. This happened just moments beforehand. It is interesting this somewhat recently the judge said this woman would have to reveal her identity.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Right. So I just want to back up here. This was supposed to have a jury selection today, Brianna. You hit the nail on the head.

We were just moments away from all this starting and they came forward and said, this isn't going to be moving forward, and they have resolved things amicably, the two parties involved.

This woman's identity has been anonymous the entire time. The judge ruling Friday she would have to reveal herself in order for the trial to go forward.

Two sources telling me this fell apart as soon as that happened Friday and lawyers were both sides, attorneys for Gooding and the lawyer for the woman, Gloria Allred, they were going back and forth all weekend trying to figure this out and coming to some sort of an amicable resolution.

And we are still waiting on the details of that.

I just want to be clear that this woman, she claims that Cuba Gooding Jr. raped her this 2013 at a hotel in Manhattan.

And when she filed this, Brianna, it was under the New York City Victims of Gender Motivated Violence Protection Law, which allowed her to keep her anonymity up until Friday when the wheels essentially fell off this case.

KEILAR: This isn't the first time, we should note, that Cuba Gooding Jr. has been in the headlines for legal reasons.

MELAS: Yes, so last year, he pled guilty to forcibly touching a woman. He took a plea deal and wasn't going to have to see any jail time because of it.

This is just the latest instance in Cuba Gooding Jr. unfortunately making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

We've reached out to him for comment. We've tried to get him to interview. But he has been laying low in the midst of these allegations that keep coming forward against him.

[13:55:04]

But as for now, he's not going to be in court, at least for this allegation.

KEILAR: All right, Chloe Melas, thank you for the very latest on that.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: Still to come, a catastrophe on the Dnipro River. Ukraine accusing Russia of destroying a critical dam, leading to flooding and evacuations.

And the PGA tour making a deal that could transform the sport of golf, agreeing to a partnership with its former nemesis.

This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Stay tuned.

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