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At Least 26 Dead in West Virginia Flooding; Obama Slams G.O.P. for Inaction on Reforms; Trump on "Brexit," America is Next; EU Leaders Demand Quick "Brexit" as Economic Fallout Grows; E.U. Leaders Demand Quick "Brexit" As Economic Fallout Grows; U.S. Braces For Impact Of "Brexit" Divorce; Democrats Vow To Keep Up Their Fight On Guns; Manziel Facing Domestic Violence Allegations. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired June 25, 2016 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:19] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It's 11:00 on the East Coast. I'm Frederica Whitfield. NEWSROOM starts right now.

We begin with the latest breaking news out of West Virginia, where rescues are under way at this hour. Historic flooding killing at least 26 people. It's the deadliest flash flooding in the U.S. in six years. The water so violent and rising so rapidly, people were force to take shelter on their rooftops. Last night emergency crews finished building a temporary road allowing 500 people to escape a shopping center. They had been stranded there for more than 24 hours.

Brynn Gingras is live for us in the town of Clendenin, one of the areas hardest hit by the floods. It's about an hour northeast of Charleston, West Virginia.

Brynn?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. I mean, real damage really all around us. To my left behind me, this grocery store, there's a mobile home that got rip up by the water and is now resting against that grocery store. Businesses as well. As you look at this, here's a gas station that's covered in mud, which really covers a lot of the streets in this town.

And the pumps are full of water, so they can't do business. That's why that caution tape is up. And I got to tell you, we've been walking around, we've been talking to people and people are just sort of driving through this town and the best word to describe it is they are just stunned. They said they are used to flooding but nothing like this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS (voice-over): Homes swept away, bridges unhinged and streets completely submerged. It's a scene of desolation in West Virginia and what's been called a 1,000 year event.

GOV. EARL RAY TOMBLIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I can tell you from watching the footage, the damage is widespread and devastating.

GINGRAS: The heavy flooding has lifted rivers and creeks clear out of their banks leaving thousands stranded and without power, gas or water. Some houses launched from their foundations by the gushing water exploded into flames.

CW SIGMAN, KAMAWHA COUNTY COMMISSION: There's a lot of just utter devastation in some areas where the homes are gone. And a lot of areas, the homes are covered in water. And once the water went down, it's covered in mud.

GINGRAS: 44 counties and counting have declared a state of emergency with 200 National Guard members deployed to help with rescue and response efforts.

TOMBLIN: Unfortunately, we've dealt with weather emergencies all too often in the past several years. So we were prepared to act quickly.

GINGRAS: Summersville lake located in the battered town of Richwood rose 38 inches in just 24 hours. And as the water levels reached their highest in half a century, officials were forced to open all three dam valves, something they haven't done in nearly 15 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy. In my 26 years, I've never seen it this bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I've seen stuff floating down the river. And we had a flood and I think it was in 2003 and it's nothing like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: And here's a closer look at that mud that is really covering a lot of the streets here in Clendenin. It's just thick. Almost turning into clay.

I also want to give you a good perspective of how high this water got. Here's the water mark at this restaurant. It's about, it's got to be over 6 feet.

As we kind of zoom in into the restaurant, you can see all the furniture just tossed around by the water. This is a good idea of what people are seeing when they actually get home. All their furniture is just all around the place. And, unfortunately, some people don't even have a home to go back to.

And, Fred, I should mention, the 26 deaths, three of those discovered overnight by sheriff's deputies, three people drown in their homes. And, unfortunately, the sheriff's department says that number may go up as those rescue efforts continue throughout today.

WHITFIELD: All right, tragic situation. Thanks so much, Brynn Gingras. Appreciate it. We'll check back with you.

Meantime, joining me on the phone is Dale Petry. He is the director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for that county in West Virginia.

So, Dale, what's the latest on the rescue efforts that Brynn was talking about, that potentially there maybe other people missing.

DALE PETRY, DIRECTOR, HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, we had over 300 water-related rescues. Right now, we still have 153 going on. We still are looking for people. The water levels have receded, which has helped us a lot, but there are still areas we haven't gotten to and there's -- we're going to some of the houses that we couldn't even get to earlier just to see if there's anybody in there.

WHITFIELD: Remarkably there were a lot of rooftop rescues. People discovered the water got so high so quickly, there really had no place to go.

In your estimation, has everyone been rescued from rooftops?

[11:05:00] PETRY: Yes, everyone was being rescued from rooftops. We are still searching areas and seeing if anyone calls with missing person so we can further investigate this.

WHITFIELD: And then what is the greatest need that you can tell right now. We heard from Brynn. We talked about it. There were people who evacuated, when they come back, they may find that they have lost everything. They don't potentially have a place to live.

So what are the greatest needs?

PETRY: Well, recovery is the stage we're in right now. We are handing out cleaning kits. We are handing out food and water to those we can get it to right now. We have a shelter open for people to stay in until we can get some type of long-term housing for them and working closely with the Red Cross.

During the complete incident, we had police, fire -- over 100 firefighters and volunteer firefighters and everybody's been really busy trying to help everybody up there. We just try to get the supplies to the folks that need it right now.

WHITFIELD: Do you have a number of those unaccounted for?

PETRY: We haven't gotten any recently. We've cleared a couple today that was in other areas. But right now we don't have any pending calls of a missing person. But we've got our hopes up.

WHITFIELD: All right. We wish up the best. And for all those who were hit hard by this flash flood there in that area, we also wish them the best as well.

All right. Now, I want to talk about something, a vote that has been heard around the world. More than 30 million people voted in Britain's Brexit referendum. And 52 percent choosing to leave the European Union.

Today's newspaper headline showcasing the wide-range of reactions around the world.

Here are some of them, "Take a Bow," "The Birth of a New Britain."

American paper citing the upheaval and shock waves sent through financial markets as well.

The Brexit bombshell landed in perfect time for Donald Trump. He is in Scotland. He remains there today promoting his golf course there. And giving himself a prime back drop to explain why Brexit bodes well for him, tweeting this, "So funny, crooked Hillary called Brexit so incorrectly and now she says that she is the one to deal with the UK. All talk, no action."

Let's go to CNN political reporter Sara Murray, who is in Ayrshire, Scotland travelling with Donald Trump.

So, Sara, Trump also put some blame for Brexit on President Obama.

What more to his jargon today?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He's been going after Hillary Clinton and President Obama, essentially saying they misunderstand the mood of voters, not only abroad, but also in the United States.

And he was asked repeatedly today, though, what about the tumult we've seen in financial markets. What could this do for the American economy? And he sort of brushed that aside. Essentially saying that he thinks markets will be fine. He doesn't think that Brexit will impact the U.S. economy.

And when asked what he would do to calm financial markets to this point if you were president, this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: If you were president right now, are there any actions that you would take immediately to reassure the financial markets, something different than what President Obama is doing.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I would have done a lot of things different than he did. I mean, he's very --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: What would you do?

TRUMP: Number one, being at $19 trillion. Yes, we've doubled up our debt since Obama became president. Being at $19 trillion, going up to $21 trillion, that's really dangerous what he's done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: So you heard CNN's Jeremy Diamond asking Donald Trump about that. And he was sort of giving a longer-term answer there saying what he wants to do as president is resolve the U.S. debt, which of course is the tall order and not necessarily the kind of thing you could do on short notice like this, when we have a moment like the Brexit which just stun financial markets.

Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Well, it seems to be the inference, but still he didn't answer the question in specificity of what would you have done any differently.

How much criticism is he getting there, whether be in Scotland or the UK as a whole in his comments immediately following the vote, saying that it would, to some degree, be to his debt benefit that more people might even come to term vary as a result of, you know, the drop of the pound.

MURRAY: Well, he stood by those comments again today. And I think what he really did is he just opened another door for Hillary Clinton and her campaign to criticize him, which is what we saw yesterday.

We essentially saw her campaign painting Donald Trump as a guy who was just out to benefit his own interest, who is not out to help the working-class people of America.

Now, of course, Trump has scoffed at this saying that Hillary Clinton is out of touch. And we've seen a little bit of back and forth on that front. But it will be interesting to see if this carries over and it continues to be part of the discussion next week, or if Donald Trump heads back to the U.S. and everyone moves on.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sara Murray, thank you so much. Appreciate it. We'll check back with you.

MURRAY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, the polarizing debate over gun control in this country rocked Washington this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Think about what just happened in Orlando a few days ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[11:13:10] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. President Barack Obama returns to Washington in just a few hours after a West Coast trip. While in Seattle, Washington, he weighed in on gun control, nearly two weeks after that mass shooting in Orlando, the worst in U.S. history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Think about what just happened in Orlando a few days ago. We can protect more of our kids, our people from the horrors of gun violence. Just a couple of weeks after the worst mass shooting in modern history, Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked any new gun safety reforms. Republicans in the House wouldn't even allow a vote on them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN investigations correspondent Chris Frates joining us now from Washington.

So, Chris, it was a historic week on Capitol Hill with Democrats holding a sit-in on the House floor demanding a vote on gun control. But where do things stand now, especially since that sit-in did end?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Fred. You know, there was a lot of sound and even some fury this week as lawmakers debated tightening the nation's gun laws. But when it was all over, the status quo, it stood up, it brushed itself off and it walked away unchanged.

Here's how things went down. The Senate debated measures to prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns and a tightened up background checks. And all five proposals including a bipartisan compromise failed.

Now over on the House side, Republicans refused to bring up any gun control measures for a vote. That infuriated House Democrats, who staged a 25-hour sit-in on the House floor. That was led by Congressman John Lewis, who you might remember organized sit-ins at segregated lunch counters during the Civil Rights movement. He led the protest in the House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:15:00] REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: Don't we have raw courage to make at least a down payment on ending gun violence in America? We can no longer wait. We can no longer be patient. So today we come to the well of the House to dramatize the need for action. Not next month, not next year, but now! Today!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: Now President Obama weighed in on the sit-in on Twitter tweeting, quote, "Thank you, John Lewis for leading on gun violence, where we need it most."

But Republican House speaker Paul Ryan, he accused Democrats of creating chaos and threatening democracy with what he called a "political stunt."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RYAN, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: One of the things that makes our country strong is our institutions. No matter how bad things get in this country, we have a basic structure that ensures a functioning democracy. We can disagree on policies, but we do so within the bounds of order and respect for the system. Otherwise, it all falls apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRATES: Now, in the middle of the night Republicans adjourned for a break that's going to last until July 5th, and Democrats vowed to renew their fight when the House returns then.

Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Frates in Washington. Thanks so much for that. Appreciate it.

All right, still ahead, why Donald Trump is betting Brexit will help him win the White House.

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[11:20:13] WHITFIELD: All right, the United Kingdom no longer united after a divisive vote to leave the EU. And that has many here in the U.S. questioning how Brexit could affect our upcoming presidential election.

And CNN's Stephen Collinson writes, quote, "British voters just shattered political convention in a stunning repudiation of the ruling establishment. Donald Trump is betting America is about to do the same."

Stephen Collinson joining me now.

So, Stephen, is this being used as a measuring stick of what could potentially happen in November here in the U.S.?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Hey, Fred, I think there are obviously differences between the U.S. political system and situation and the one that's prevailing, you know, in the run up to the referendum in the UK. But there are certainly consistent themes both of these countries are experiencing in their politics right now.

We've had in the U.S. and the U.K. a real debate of immigration. We've had a backlash against establishment elites and politics. We've had a sort of an uprising from voters -- less wealthy voters, who are feeling the pinch from globalization.

So there are common themes. And I think what Donald Trump is going to hope is that those themes that were decisive in the UK referendum are going to be decisive in our election in November.

And I think what this vote in the UK also showed is that when establishment politicians give voters warnings that you might not want to tear up the political system because bad things can happen, it can result in chaos, they don't necessarily listen.

That's an argument that David Cameron made to voters in the UK. It's an argument that the Clinton campaign is making to voters, and warning them don't vote for Donald Trump in November. WHITFIELD: So Donald Trump seem to be using this to his advantage. He tweeted almost immediately after the vote saying, "Many people are equating Brexit and what is going on in Great Britain with what is happening in the U.S. People want their country back."

So this is a national strategy Trump has been using for quite some time. But do you see some real parallels between his strategy of this nationalistic approach and the protectionism argument that Brits have been making, particularly in the lead party?

COLLINSON: Yes. I mean, there is a definite sense that in the UK, the pro-Brexit people argued that Britain's control over their own country and their own lives and their own circumstances have been usurped by Brussels.

Donald Trump is making a similar argument that Washington is taking away control of people's lives from, you know, heartland Americans.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders was making a similar argument saying that Wall Street had taken away control. So there is that parallel.

There are few caveats, though. The UK is a much less diverse ethnic -- diverse ethnically as a country than the U.S. is. So, you know, when Donald Trump makes that kind of nationalistic protectionist argument in the U.S., it might work with his segment of, you know, Trump voters, it's not so popular with, you know, Hispanic voters, for example, or other sort of more diverse Democratic consistencies. So it's not an easy parallel.

The other thing I would say is that, you know, in Britain, they were voting yes or no, yes to stay in Europe or to leave Europe.

In the United States we're having an election that's, you know, an election -- it's not a yes or no question, it's not a binary question. It's a contest of personalities about who is best prepared be the commander-in-chief. So it's a much different more complicated question in many ways. So it would be wrong to overdo the parallels.

WHITFIELD: And is it also, or was it also a yes or no vote in Greta Britain in terms of whether there were real monetary gains for Great Britain to continue to be a part of the EU, which originally that was kind of the big, argument, the big impetus about promising prosperity, and so you have those in the Leave party who were questioning whether that has been effective or not.

COLLINSON: Right. That was definitely the argument made by David Cameron, the prime minister, who said, look, we can be a lot better off if we stay in the EU. If we leave, there's going to be economic chaos. We don't know how, you know, how it is going to turn out.

But I think the economic argument in Britain was actually overtaken, first of all, by the idea of immigration. That there are people believing that there's this flows of immigrants coming to the country they can't control. So, you know, the abstract issue of economics was less important than the whole question of immigration. And I think, you know, it's often overlooked that even pro-EU voters, many of them have -- you know, they're not -- Britons aren't necessarily in love with Europe and in love with the idea of the EU. There's a great deal of Euro skepticism. So that was also a drive of the vote. That's something that we're not going to see in the U.S. election in November.

WHITFIELD: All right, Stephen Collinson, thanks so much. Good to see you. Appreciate it.

All right, still ahead, the concerns over other countries potentially wishing to leave the EU just as Great Britain has just voted. And what's next for the region as a whole.

Nima Elbagir is following that story.

Nima?

[11:25:04] NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brexit now threatening to tear even deeper the political fault lines within the heart of Europe's mainland. That's after the break, Fred.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Frederica Whitfield. Welcome back.

All right. So almost half of UK voters wanted to stay in the European Union. And some voters who've wanted Brexit are now having doubts.

Just one day after the referendum, many Brits are now looking for a plan B to Brexit. More than a million people have signed a petition for a do-over. Parliament considers any petition that gets more than 100,000 signatures for a debate.

Let's go to CNN's senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir who is at 10 Downing Street.

So, Nima, are Brits having a bit of buyer's remorse and what about this petition? What could it potentially lead to?

ELBAGIR: Well, one actual leave votes liken it to a nationwide hangover. You had the euphoria, you had the excitement, and then people woke up the next morning and went, oh, what does this actually mean? Because both sides were big on ideas and big on slogans, but nobody was really giving people the details of what this practically meant?

And what it has practically meant to this point is a pound that has dived, the stock exchange that is, you know, very shaky. And house prices potentially losing between 10 to 15 points. And that's here in the Capitol.

The reality is that referendums here are always a little sticky because they are not constitutionally for the members of parliament until you have either 75 percent turnout, or you have over 60 percent voting for either side.

We didn't have either of that. So for those who woke up on Friday morning and thought, oh God, it's happened, this is a get-out-of-jail free card. But the political ramifications would be huge, not just here, but on the continent itself.

We've already had Germany saying, well, you want a divorce, so in essence, pack your stuff and get out of the house as quickly as possible with as little damage as possible. So the potential that European leaders could sit across the negotiating table from whomever becomes the incumbent in October and say, you wanted to leave, your press have been deeply insulting about Europe for years now.

And we're going to give you really good terms so what you can go back to British voters and say, well, look, Europe has now bowed to what you want, maybe we could do another referendum.

At the moment all of this is of course wild speculation, but it really goes to the heart of the fact that people here didn't really, it seems, understand what they were voting for -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then this vote also reveals a real generational divide, doesn't it? I understand that among those under 25, something like three quarters of them wanted Great Britain to stay within the E.U. Why the big difference?

ELBAGIR: A lot of these -- yes, a lot of the younger generation have been saying to us, you know, we had the possibility of being able to work and live and study in 27 countries, to pursue our dreams across this 27 country wide open heartland.

That's going to be snatched from us and it been snatched from us by our parents' and grandparents' generation. One person said to me did they just not feel like they had anything to live for? They wanted to make our lives awful? I mean, the height of sentiment here.

I was actually on public transport and someone from outside of London was saying this is actually a good thing, we can now regulate immigration, we can do this, we can do that and someone leaned over and said you're in London. London voted to remain. Remember that.

And it just sent a ripple across the entire subway car and that is the kind of -- it is a result of the divisive campaign, the ugliness of the campaign, but also now those who have feeling like those who have not have made it worse for everyone -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Clearly you don't have to be in parliament to see the very passionate, heated debates but on the tube as well. Nima Elbagir, thank you so much. We'll check back with you. Appreciate it.

All right, let's talk a little bit more, though, where we can. Kim Dozier is a CNN global affairs analyst, Jeffrey Kleintop is the chief global investment strategist for Charles Schwab, and Larry Sabato is the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

All right, good to see you all of you. You all represent variations of backgrounds, but that's how complicated this topic and this Brexit really is because it potentially impacts so many different corners.

So Jeffrey to you first, you know, what does this mean for people in America from the financial perspective, investors, people who are waking to the news, checking their 401ks and then wondering the hit -- you know, the Dow took, 600 points down immediately that day, but then what about for the long term?

JEFFREY KLEINTOP, CHIEF GLOBAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, CHARLES SCHWAB: Well, there a few direct implications. One, our dollar went up as investors saw it, the safe haven of U.S. investments for around the world. That can negatively impact U.S. corporate sales around the world as our goods are more highly priced.

Second, it means the fed rate hikes are probably off the table for the second half of this year as the fed assesses what the global impact is. But the primary impact is the lower stock market and the impact on confidence that may have.

I'm reminded of the 2012 debt crisis in Europe and the impact that have, it led to a recession in Europe and a drag on growth in the U.S., though not a recession. But we see a double-digit stock market decline.

That's why investors in their 401(k) should have diversified asset allocations and not look to jump in or out emotionally on these types of moves in the market.

WHITFIELD: We've heard a lot of comparisons being made, you know, some arguing that this wouldn't be as bad as the Lehman brothers fiasco. Why is that the barometer? Why are comparisons being made with that? Is it because, you know, it wasn't that long ago, and people are still feeling the effects and hoping to build upon their losses from them?

KLEINTOP: It was a surprise as this vote was. It was a shock to the system, though a much more leveraged shock, and an economy that had really grown and had excesses in spending and debt and many other things that led to a long decline. That was a two-year 50 percent decline in the stock market.

People are worried about seeing one of those again. This is quite different and that it's more of a shock, akin to maybe the 2011 debt ceiling debacle we saw the downgrade in the U.S. or the 2011 debt crisis in Europe. Very different than the Lehman crisis in many ways.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Larry, the president of the United States was very quick to remind the U.K. that even despite his feelings before this vote happened, the U.K. and America still remain great friends, great alliances will be uninterrupted. This is what he said specifically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: While the U.K.'s relationship with the E.U. will change, one thing that will not change is the special relationship that exists between our two nations. That will endure. The E.U. will remain one of our indispensable partners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:35:03]WHITFIELD: So, Larry, why does this almost when you just look at the body language of President Obama, almost look like this was a personal hit? What does this do for the remainder of his presidency or how does it potentially impact the next administration?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UVA'S CENTER FOR POLITICS: I'm sure he's very disappointed, Fred. Clearly he wanted Britain to remain in the E.U. and it made things easier for the United States in lots of ways, but I'm sure his basic worry is that maybe some of the economists who predicted a recession, a recession that might eventually drag the United States into recession were correct.

Maybe not. Most economists I think now are reconsidering that. But if that happens, it will have an impact on the election and it won't be favorable to the incumbent White House party, the Democrats. But I think all of that is pretty unlikely.

And I think at least from the political perspective, Fred, most analysts should take a chill pill. They are drawing far too many parallels between what happened in Britain in a referendum, not a candidate election, a referendum in June about our November election between two live human beings for the most powerful office in the world.

WHITFIELD: So you think too much is being made of it as it pertains to parallels with the race for the White House?

SABATO: Yes, unless there is a recession, I think that that's true.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Kim, now let talk about the alliance between the U.S. and Great Britain, particularly huge when it comes to fighting global terrorism. And the questions remain now about whether this kind of vote, it kind of separation from the E.U. will in any way undermine that.

Because back to a lot of conversations that have taken place since the vote, I mean, there are the discussions about this isolationism, that, you know, particular communities are interpreting this as an anti- immigration vote.

How does this translate into security, the continued commitment between the U.K. and the U.S. to fight global terrorism?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, the alliance between the U.S. and the U.K. is going to remain strong, unshakeable. You're also not going to see an effect to the five is relationship between the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

However, what the U.S. is losing is a representative at the European Union policy table. Britain was that for the White House for things like the Transatlantic trade deal that the White House is trying to secure, for convincing the European Union nations to keep up their sanctions against Russia over its military involvement in Ukraine. Britain used to be the one carrying the water on that. Now after a couple of years, if all this divorce goes through, they're not going to have that. It also complicates intelligence sharing at a time when you need intelligence sharing streamlined and the different nations were moving towards that through something called Europol, the European police organization, now the British police won't have a seat at that table.

WHITFIELD: And then Kim, why is it that Vladimir Putin seems to be celebrating in this decision? It's almost like and I told so moment for him.

DOZIER: Well, Putin has been trying to use all sorts of ways to intimidate countries along the border with Russia to try to get those countries to lift the sanctions and to go along with Russian policy. Britain had helped stiffen the spines of some members of the E.U. against that. That's why you saw the Russian there say this was a good day for Russia.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kim Dozier, Larry Sabato, Jeffrey Kleintop, thanks to all of you. Appreciate it.

Arty, straight ahead, a Democratic lawmakers' sit-in on Capitol Hill, well, that got a little fiery this week when one representative in particular got interrupted during his plea for a vote. We'll talk with Congressman Brad Sherman about that moment and the push for gun control next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:42:37]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The fight for gun control laws got rather emotional this week. Frustrations reached a boiling point on Capitol Hill when Democrats staged a sit-in and Republicans pushed for recess.

At one point, Representative Gohmert, a Republican interrupted Democratic Representative Brad Sherman and here's a clip.

(VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Congressman Sherman was involved in that altercation. He's joining us right now. OK, so take me back to that moment. What was your interpretation of what was being said by the other representative? What was your response?

REPRESENTATIVE BRAD SHERMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, I was interrupted earlier in the speech by several other Republicans, but the real problem here is we didn't have regular order on the floor of the House because the speaker will not allow us to deal with common sense gun safety laws.

The whole country wants us to deal with those, the Senate has had half a dozen votes. All we were trying to do was get a vote in the floor of the House. That would have been a regular debate, we wouldn't have had altercations, we wouldn't have sit-ins, and we wouldn't have had people interrupting each other.

We can debate calmly and according to the rules, if only the speaker will let us debate when America wants us to debate.

WHITFIELD: So what do you say to the House speaker who said this was not respectful, it defies decorum, and he essentially said that this sort of protest is more obstructionist, it's an interruption as opposed to it being an impetus to help push anything forward?

SHERMAN: Well, this was an act of desperation because it's the speaker who has blocked the Congress. He won't allow us to vote on common sense gun safety. The Senate, as I said, has had several votes. We haven't had one.

So it was desperate measure to try to get the House to do the people's business and I hope that when we reconvene right after Independence Day that the speaker will relent and let us have a vote on perhaps the Collins bill or any other of the proposals that has substantial support.

WHITFIELD: In what way would you hope there was a continuation after 4th of July holiday break? This sit-in was largely pushed by, you know, well-known civil rights icon, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.

[11:45:06]With this sit-in, he helped remind people of the effectiveness of sit-ins that he was involved in during the civil rights movement, and this is an extension of that.

While this sit-in did end and the holiday break is now something all lawmakers are participating in, in what way will this protest or this demonstration continue? If not by way of a sit in but how?

SHERMAN: My hope is that it doesn't continue because my hope is that we go back to doing the people's business in an orderly way. That would mean the speaker would let us vote on the Collins bill or any of the other several bills that are pending that have substantial support.

WHITFIELD: Do you have any reason to feel hopeful that that will happen?

SHERMAN: Yes, because the American people focused on this and, frankly, I think the speaker has lost in the court of public opinion. We're talking about common sense, no-fly/no buy. That's overwhelmingly popular with the American people.

Had he simply dealt with this in the regular order, you'd be talking to me about Brexit, but instead we're talking about the need to have a no-fly/no buy.

That is to say that if you're so dangerous that you can't sit next to me on a plane even when I know you don't have a gun because you've gone through all the detectors, et cetera, then for God sakes you shouldn't be sitting next to me on a park bench with a gun that you just purchased. So if someone is so dangerous that we have to impede their ability to travel by air, then we ought to impede them buying a gun and just as I was saying before Gohmert interrupted me on floor, to protect our civil liberties, we need an effective system to let people who shouldn't be on the list get off the list.

So we should have the best list we can have, protect people civil liberties, but for God sakes, if you're so dangerous, you can't sit next to me on a plane, don't buy an assault weapon.

WHITFIELD: OK. So Congressman Sherman, you did just bring it up, Brexit. I do want to ask you about that. There have been some parallels analysts have made about what has happened -- as a result of Brexit and the parallels being made to the race for the White House. Do you think that's reasonable?

Can you equate the ambition behind the Brexit, you know, vote, the nationalism, the protectionism, the same kind of language that a particular presumptive Republican candidate, Donald Trump, is also extending to the American people?

SHERMAN: Well, remember, this was 52-48 in their electorate. We have a completely different electorate and different issues. So one certainly can't predict our vote as a result. But it does show that the elites need to listen to the people.

And what we have is a situation of this Transpacific Partnership. Hillary's against it, Bernie's against it, Trump is against it, and I hope that the president would announce that he will not use the connivance of coming to Congress for the lame duck after the election and trying to get its approval.

Because we need to reassure the American that the elites are listening to them and overwhelmingly the American people have said we don't want bad trade deals, we only want trade deals that raise wages in the United States.

We should be talking to Britain about a trade deal with Britain. That's a country with a high unionization rate and high wage rates. Instead this TPP deal is with Vietnam with 40 cent, 50 cent an hour workers.

I don't want have to compete against my people, in my district compete with people with 40 or 50 cent an hour labor especially when we are not going to be selling anything to Vietnam, they'll just be selling things here. They've got a communist system so they don't have a free market anyway.

WHITFIELD: All right, Representative Brad Sherman, thank you so much for joining us from Washington. Appreciate it.

SHERMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, for the first time a rainbow flag is flying at parliament and tens of thousands of people are marching through London for the Pride Parade. So this year's theme, no filter is energizing the crowd, as more people are expected to attend and show support for the LBGT community.

There's also a larger police presence after the recent massacre at the gay nightclub in Orlando. The parade plans to stop for a moment to remember the victims of that attack.

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[11:53:24]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. So the laboratory that is set to do the drug testing for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro tells CNN that it will seek reaccreditation in July. The World Anti-Doping Agency suspended the lab Friday, just six weeks now before the games in Rio is set to begin.

An agency spokesman was unable to give a specific reason for the suspension of this independent lab. It was slated to be open 24 hours a day during the Olympic Games. Lab officials say they're confident that they will be reaccredited before the Olympics kick off in August.

Meantime, there's another twist in the saga of former NFL quarterback, Johnny Manziel. Now his own father says jail might be the best place for his son. Andy Scholes is here with more.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Fred, it's been a sad downward spiral for the 2012 Heisman trophy winner. Things have not been going well, at least in terms of the media for Johnny. Now family members speaking out about their concern for Manziel's well- being.

His father told ESPN yesterday that his son, quote, "is a druggy and he needs help." Paul Manziel also said jail would be the best place for his son. Now, Paul Manziel went on to say, quote, "Two things are going to happen here. He's either going to die or he's going to figure out that he needs help."

Now, this comes on the same day that Manziel's lawyer accidentally texted details about the alleged domestic violence incident with his ex-girlfriend, to the "Associated Press." The lawyer texted them, accidentally, to the AP.

Attorney Bob Hint (ph) reportedly said "He's seeking a plea deal because he doubts Manziel can remain clean and sober." Manziel was released by the Browns in March and he's been spotted partying several times since his release from the Browns.

[11:55:12]WHITFIELD: And I say oh, no, to the texting, because that is horrible now, between the relationship of lawyer and client, but now accidentally information that is supposed to remain between the client and --

SCHOLES: And he says the lawyer because he's under indictment in the state of Texas for that domestic violence. That case is still pending, and that's the one they're supposedly looking for a plea deal in, because as I just said, Manziel's lawyer highly doubts that his client can remain sober before the case -- WHITFIELD: This has become a real mess.

SCHOLES: It certainly has.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, unfortunate news, but I'm sure glad to see you.

SCHOLES: Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: It's been a while.

SCHOLES: Yes, it certainly has.

WHITFIELD: All right, good. Don't remain a stranger.

SCHOLES: All right.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks, Andy. Appreciate it. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts after a quick break.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Hello, again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with the vote being called an earthquake in Europe. More than 30 million people voted in Britain's Brexit referendum, 52 percent choosing to leave the European Union. In today's newspaper headlines showcase a wide range of reactions around the world. Take a look.

"Take a bow, the birth of a new Britain." American papers citing the upheaval and shock waves sending through financial markets as well. The Brexit bombshell landed in perfect --