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Many Mourn On Five-Year Anniversary Of Pulse Nightclub Shooting; Unruly Passenger Causes Delta Air Lines Flight To Be Diverted; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Discusses G7 Summit And Differences Between President Biden And Former President Trump; President Biden Will Not Hold Joint Press Conference With Russian President Vladimir Putin; Shortage Of Workers And Funding For Childcare In U.S. Hampering Parents' Ability To Return To Workforce. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired June 12, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

DON RIDDELL, CNN ANCHOR: But these players were absolutely distraught. The Finnish players were distraught. The fans in the crowd, some 16,000 fans at this game, they were distraught. Many of them couldn't even look at what was going on.

The game was suspended. This is an image that has given people a lot of hope. This photograph emerged about 30 minutes ago. It would appear to show Eriksen awake and alert as he was being taken off the field. But as you can see, they put the sheets around the stretcher because they really didn't want anybody taking pictures. And at this point, nobody knew, we really didn't know anything.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And so, Don, it was caught on the camera, but were they in the middle of the play? Was there a break? I realize you said that he was on the field, but what was happening just prior to his collapse?

RIDDELL: Well, the game was approaching halftime. We were three minutes before the halftime. The game was in full flow, the score between Denmark and Finland, the opening game for them in this tournament, was goalless at this point. The game was happening. But as soon as he collapsed, it became very apparent very quickly that this was very serious. So the game was paused while he received treatment, and it was then suspended.

The game remains suspended. I guess there is a chance that UEFA will want to try and complete the game, and I can tell you why they would want to complete the game, because it's a tournament with a lot of games, and they can't afford to fall behind. But I'm not sure what emotional and mental state any of these kinds of players will be in.

WHITFIELD: We are so glad that things appear to be looking up for him. Don Riddell, thank you so much for that, keep us posted.

All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Today marks five years since the horrific mass shooting at the Pulse

nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people were killed, dozens more wounded. The victims were mostly Latino members of the LGBTQ community. Five years and thousands more victims of gun violence later, there's no end in sight to this epidemic.

And just this weekend, at least 13 people were hospitalized in downtown Austin, Texas, after someone opened fire in one of the city's busiest nightlife areas. Two of the victims are in critical condition.

Nine people were shot in Savannah, Georgia, one of whom died. That shooting happened at a housing project just three blocks away from the city's police headquarters. And then five people were shot and wounded in Dallas, Texas, including a four-year-old girl. Police say the child is in stable condition, and the four adults did not suffer life- threatening injuries.

Two more people were killed in a shooting outside Seattle, Washington, another in Chicago, Illinois, with nine more wounded. There have been 267 mass shootings so far this year according to the Gun Violence Archive. For context, let's look at this again. There were 382 in all of 2016, including that horrible tragedy at the Pulse nightclub. Memorial events are happening throughout the day in Orlando.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez. Javier Jorge-Reyes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A short time ago, the First United Methodist Church of Orlando rang bells 49 times in remembrance of the 49 lives lost five years ago today.

Natasha Chen joining us outside of Orlando right now. So Natasha, show us what you are hearing from the people there.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, there has been about a week long of events that have led up to this day. This community, this area is feeling this anniversary deeply, trying to remember those who were lost, including the group behind me. This the DeLand Pride Organization, and they are meeting up right now at a bar outside of Orlando, and they will be walking soon down the street to read the 49 names of the victims from five years ago. This is just one of, as we mentioned, many events this week today.

And I did get a chance to speak to the organizer here, who told me that this pride group actually was formed in response to the shooting, and she said many central Florida pride organizations sprung up that way. The woman who founded this, her son lost friends in that shooting.

I did also speak to the owner of the Pulse nightclub who is now the CEO of onePULSE Foundation. We talked about the fact that there have been more mass shootings, perhaps a feeling like the problem is growing and not getting any better. She says this is because of our way, our nation's way of apparently solving problems with violence. Here is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:05]

BARBARA POMA, CEO, ONEPULSE FOUNDATION: There is a gun violence problem. There is a hate problem. There is a problem bigger than where anyone is really talking about, I think, is why is that how we are solving problems, through violence and through hateful acts? Why? What make you think that person's life is not valuable?

What message do you think you are really sending? Again, it goes back to commonalities. This person had parents. This person may have had children that you just murdered and the lives that you destroyed. Is anything really gained by that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: She is going to be spending the afternoon with the victims' families and survivors. They did lose a staff member that night as well. And then there will be a memorial event tonight at that Pulse nightclub location at 7:00 p.m., Fred.

WHITFIELD: It is a very tender and difficult time right now. Natasha Chen, thank you so much in Orlando.

Just last hour, I spoke with Pulse nightclub survivor Brandon Wolf about his hope that the lawmakers will do their part to make changes in this country to help stop mass shootings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON WOLF, PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I do find a lot of hope and optimism in the fact that we have allies again in the White House. Remember that at this time last year, Donald Trump was releasing a statement saying that he was going to take back protections for transgender people going to see their doctor.

But I will be honest with you, I am existentially exhausted. I am so tired of statements. I am so tired of hashtags and thoughts and prayers. I'm so tired of archaic Senate procedure being used as an excuse to do nothing while people in our communities are dying.

I have turned my entire life upside down to fight for a world that my best friends would be proud of, and all I'm asking is for the people that we have elected, the people that we pay to get things done in Washington, D.C., to actually do something.

Most of America agrees that our status quo on gun safety isn't working. Most of America doesn't want to send their kid to school and bring them home in a body bag. Most of America wants to go to be able to go a grocery store without being afraid that they'll find an AR-15 on aisle three. Most of America wants something different to happen around guns.

They want to be protected. They want to be kept safe. And I know that America is also existentially exhausted with the excuses and obstacles that have been put in the way of progress. I really want something different to happen. I really want my elected officials to show up to work, to grow a spine, and to do the things that need to be done to keep our community safer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Brandon Wolf. Again, there have been 267 mass shootings in America since the beginning of this year.

New today, we are now learning that the unruly passenger who forced a Delta flight to divert after threatening to take down the plane was actually an off-duty Delta flight attendant according to a Delta spokesperson. The shocking video here by a witness as a group of passengers rushed to the front of the plane to help wrestle the man down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep him down. Keep him down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Polo Sandoval is joining us with more on this. You are the one who broke the news and shared with us that the suspect is actually an off-duty flight attendant for Delta?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. The authorities in Oklahoma City, which is actually where that flight made an unscheduled but safe landing in order to address the situation, to confirm that this individual had, according to several witnesses, claimed said that they would take the plane down.

According to that Delta spokesman confirms that it was in fact one of their flight attendants who was traveling aboard that flight, off duty at the time of this incident, according to them and multiple witness accounts, what initially started this is when this individual made started to use the onboard P.A. system to make various announcements, and when the aircrew tried to address that, that is what initially started this altercation, which is what led to that video that you just showed a few moments ago after what is described as this individual attacking two of the flight attendants on board.

That's when many of these extremely brave passengers sprang into action to try to contribute to the efforts of trying to contain the situation and restrain this individual, which they successfully were able to do. And that is when that flight, Delta flight 1730 that left Los Angeles en route to Atlanta, was then able to make that safe landing in Oklahoma City where authorities boarded the flight and then detained this individual.

We are still trying to find out exactly more about, obviously, this person's state of mind, what could have led to this in the first place. But really, that Delta spokesperson, Fred, just applauding the efforts of not only their crew on board that was working the flight, but also these passengers that sprang into action to try to get control of the situation.

[14:10:07]

WHITFIELD: All right, quite extraordinary. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Up next, face-to-face diplomacy is back. Right now, President Biden is at the G7 summit, and in a just few days he will be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson weighs in on the critical Biden-Putin summit in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, some pretty important meetings today in England as leaders of the world's major economies come together for the second day of the G7 summit. The agenda is pretty clear, the world is trying to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.

But leaders are also renewing their alliances in the face of the ever changing and more complicated world stage. Before today's meetings, CNN's Clarissa Ward spoke one-on-one with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and she is joining us now.

[14:15:01]

So, Clarissa, what did Johnson have to say? He expressed a certain level of optimism, did he not?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He absolutely did, Fredricka, unsurprisingly. The prime minister is certainly well- known for his optimism, and I think he felt that he is thriving in this moment, hosting this G7 summit, feeling that it's a terribly important G7 summit because there is a renewed sense of urgency in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the challenges to democracies from autocracies.

And we started out by asking him whether he felt there was a marked difference in the tone with President Biden as opposed to President Trump. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: It is absolutely true that with President Biden, with Joe Biden, you sort of feel that he is a great believer in the trans-Atlantic alliance, in the special relationship, whatever you want to call it, with the United Kingdom. He shares our priorities on tackling climate change.

WARD: And President Trump did not would you say?

JOHNSON: And there is going to be a huge amount on that tomorrow. He shares our objectives on improving female education around the world. WARD: He also famously referred to you as a physical and emotional

clone of President Trump. I just wonder how you responded to that and whether the relationship is in a better place now?

JOHNSON: The relationship is in extremely good order. And I think that the premise of the U.K. has a job to do to get on with whoever is the president of the United States, that's what we do. But in this particular case, I want you to know that the relationship is extremely good and getting better all of the time.

WARD: Was it fair to call you a clone?

JOHNSON: Look, I am not going to -- people say all sorts of things about me. I think if I spent my time disputing this or that, we wouldn't get a lot done. We're getting a huge amount done here at the G7. It's going well. It's beautiful weather. It's fantastic to see President Biden and the first lady.

WARD: So can we just talk about next week quickly?

JOHNSON: Yes.

WARD: President Putin.

JOHNSON: Yes.

WARD: President Biden will be meeting with President Putin.

JOHNSON: Yes.

WARD: President Biden famously said that he thought President Putin is a killer. Do you believe President Putin is a killer?

JOHNSON: I certainly believe that President Putin has done things that are unconscionable, and I'm fairly certain that he authorized the poisonings in Salisbury that led to the death of an innocent, wholly innocent member of the British public, the attempted poisoning of the Skripals. You've seen what's happening to his leading opponent, Alexei Navalny, who is in prison on trumped up charges and is effectively being tortured.

And so I think that what Joe Biden will be doing when he goes to see Putin will be giving some pretty tough messages. And that's something I wholly approve of. And I did the same last time I saw Mr. Putin myself. I said, look, there isn't going to be a normalization of relations between your country and obviously Russia and the U.K. until Russia changes its behavior. That is just the sad fact of it. So I think that President Biden will be saying the same.

WARD: How would you judge it as a successful summit, then? What's the metric for success with this summit?

JOHNSON: If I could just comment about this summit, which is the one we are actually at, I think this has already been a very important moment, because the world has come together for the first time in well over a year to work on how to beat the pandemic, and to come up with a new treaty --

WARD: Do you accept that your government mishandled the pandemic in the early days? Would you say that's a fair categorization?

JOHNSON: I think it was an unprecedented event in our lifetimes, and of course, we'll look back on everything that happened, what went wrong, and learn from it. But at the moment, we are focusing on the vaccine rollout, which is amongst the fastest in the world, and which is giving a great deal of immunity to the people. And it actually has enabled this summit to go ahead.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WARD (on camera): And of course, everyone here in the U.K., Fredricka, is really wanting to know whether this country is going to go ahead to open up on the back of that successful vaccination program. There has been a lot of concern, because the rate of infection has been steadily rising here in the U.K. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that he wouldn't reveal the answer to that question until Monday.

But he did say that he wants to have an irreversible roadmap to getting through this pandemic, and because of that desire, he needs to be very cautious.

[14:20:02]

It's possible, therefore, that he is really paving the way for some bad news potentially for the people on the U.K. on Monday that this country will not be able to go ahead and fully open up as planned, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: That was a great wide-ranging conversation. Thank you so much, Clarissa Ward. Appreciate that.

Let's talk more now about today's G7 meeting. With us right now, Angela Stent who is the director of the Center of Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies at Georgetown University, and the author of "The Limits of Partnership, U.S.-Russian Relations in the 21st Century." And Julian Zelizer is a historian and professor at Princeton University. Good to see both of you professors.

Angela, you first. This meeting has a very different tone already than the last meeting with former President Trump involved. Are you sensing a different tone, even kind of a joyfulness? And does that set the stage for real progress, potentially?

ANGELA STENT, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR EURASIAN, RUSSIAN, AND EAST EUROPEAN STUDIES, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: There is a great sense of relief. You only have to look at everybody's faces and the body language when their interacting.

The Europeans were in shell shock, really, for four years with a U.S. president who denigrated the alliance, he denigrated European Union, he denigrated NATO. He didn't particularly like the G7. And now they have a president who is recommitting himself to the alliance, praising the European Union and NATO, and wanting to work with our allies face all these challenges dealing with the pandemic, the economic issues, and all of the other things.

So I think they are definitely quite relieved. They want to work him. But there is also a little weariness, because they realized that for four years, they had to deal with something they never thought they would have to deal with. And the concern is, is this now just going to be for four years having President Biden there, who knows what comes afterwards? So I think that wariness will take some time, I think, to dissipate.

WHITFIELD: Interesting, some caution. So Julian, President Biden, and he brings a fair bit of international experience to the table at this meeting. How does it compare with past presidents, and how much of an impact might it potentially make?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, we really haven't had this since President George H.W. Bush who came into office with the deep expertise about foreign policy after having worked on the issue for well over a decade, and who had great relationships with other foreign leaders. And I think that's what Biden brings to the table.

And in this challenge to show that the U.S. can be credible, and that it is committed to these kinds of alliances, there is no one better positioned right now to do that and to try to overcome some of that very real weariness that exists, and to deal with fault lines over the issues such as China.

WHITFIELD: And Angela, a big part of these meetings is about relationships, and we already heard from the French President Macron saying of Biden, glad that he was part of this recommitment, and saying that he is already showing a willingness to cooperate. So how much is riding, really, on the leadership of the U.S. in terms of gauging what real progress can happen from this G7 summit?

STENT: Oh, I think a tremendous amount is riding on it. The other relationship that was really shattered during the Trump administration was the relationship with Germany and particularly the attitude of President Trump towards Chancellor Merkel. And again, she has been very explicit about how happy she is to see that President Biden is there, and that they can work together.

All of these countries do look to the United States for leadership. They realize that without the U.S., it is much more challenging. As was mentioned, they have the deal with a rising China. The disagreements, I think, with the U.S. about how to deal with that, they are all sitting down and talking about how to deal with Russia, and I think, again, this is what they have wanted.

They want that leadership. And I think that the U.S. is also, of course, waiting for them to live up to their commitments, too.

WHITFIELD: And as it pertains to the upcoming meeting between Biden and Putin, Julian, all eyes will be on it. Nobody expects it to be anything like Putin and Trump meeting in Helsinki. And already we have heard Putin say that how he would describe Trump. He was an extraordinary individual. He was talented, a colorful individual. And his description of Biden radically different. That there is going

to be some advantages and some disadvantages. He is not necessarily criticizing Biden, and I wonder what this says about the expectations of each of these leaders ahead of the meeting.

ZELIZER: Well, certainly for Biden, this is difficult, because the shadow of what happened with President Trump looms very large.

[14:25:02]

And on the one hand, President Biden needs to signal and show that the United States will take a tough and firm stand toward Russia and toward many of issues that have been discussed. On the other hand, Biden is a practitioner of diplomacy, also isn't going to get out on the public stage and not be cautious in how he uses his words. So he's trying to find the balance of how to do that. I think having a separate press conference is one strategy.

But Putin will certainly goad him in any kind of private encounter, and this is a big challenge for Biden to handle well and to distinguish himself from the previous administration, not just in terms of rhetoric, but also in terms of substance.

WHITFIELD: Of really doing. And then Angela, Putin, I wonder if he is anxious the reset, because he did describe in the interview that U.S.- Russian relations has deteriorated over the years. Is that a megaphone signal from him, subliminal message that perhaps he, too, is hoping for a repaired relationship, or is that just talk?

STENT: So I think what he is hoping and he will get is he has a summit with a new U.S. president, and this, again, reaffirms that Russia is a great power. It's a power that has to be talked to. He appears to want the same thing as President Biden inasmuch as both of them realize that we have to reestablish a dialogue on what we call strategic stability, lessening the dangers of nuclear war, talking about how we deal with crisis so that they don't escalate.

The Russians want that, and the U.S. wants that. We are the world's two nuclear superpowers. Between us we have 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons. I think that is what Putin wants. I think for rest of it, there may be discussions on some regional areas where we will be cooperating or talking. Afghanistan is one of them.

The Russians are concerned about what is going to happen when the U.S. and the NATO troops are out. Climate is another issue. So there are various other issues that he probably would also like to come out and say, well, we are working with the U.S. on this.

But of course, on the whole set of other issues which have to do with the cyber interference, which have to do with the human rights situation in Russia, all of those things, he is not going to concede anything. I have no doubt that President Biden will have things to say to President Putin about that.

And again, I would agree that it's very good that they're not going to do a joint press conference, because you never know what kind of surprise Putin might pull there. But I think Putin has an interest in making this work to the extent that Russia comes out looking like a more responsible player.

WHITFIELD: Wow, you underscore, as much as there are contrasts, there are also these commonalities. Interesting.

Professors Angela Stent and Julian Zelizer, thanks to both of you, appreciate it.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, a severe drought is crippling the western U.S. and providing prime conditions for wildfires. We're on the ground next to show how officials are preparing and the warnings that they are giving to residents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:32:44]

WHITFIELD: The western U.S. is in the middle of a crippling drought. This week, the biggest reservoir in the country dropped to its lowest water level since the Hoover Dam started filling it in the 1930s. More than 20 million people rely on it as a water source. A top fire official in California says the drought could make for another devastating wildfire season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GARCIA, FIRE CHIEF, ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST: As you look up and down the state of California as an example, but across the west, and we monitor the drought monitor, we have just seen it move into exceptional drought through about 80 percent of California, which is hugely alarming. That's water storage, right, that's vegetation, that's snowpack and all those factors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Paul Vercammen is with us out of Los Angeles. So Paul, what is the level of concern there with no end in sight to this drought?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is just absolutely alarming. I'm here in Sierra Madre, California. You might remember this is one of those foothill communities that was menaced last year by the Bobcat fire. And Chief Garcia, who runs the Angeles National Forest, remember 115,000 acres were burned here, he is going to raise, he's telling CNN, the danger level from high to very high.

That usually does not happen until after July 4th, but the road behind me leads into this forest, everything back there is dried out. The chief is saying that they usually don't see the moisture sort of out of the vegetation until August, but now those plants are already so dry. And he is telling people to be prepared as they move into this very high danger level.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT GARCIA, FIRE CHIEF, ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST: We reach a point across multiple western states where there is, no matter how many we have, there's not enough fire engines to put one in every driveway. Over 90 percent of our fires in California are human caused, and so that's an eye-opening statistic that those 90 percent are largely preventable.

As you go out and enjoy the national forests, be extremely careful with barbeques and use of fire, but also be extremely alert, because these things happen fast. We have many examples of recreationists, hikers, campers being caught off guard, no way out, and those kind of scenarios.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And so with the raising of that threat level, that means that people can't just go ahead and camp and set those fires anywhere. They have to be within the prescribed campgrounds or areas, the ring of rocks, if you will, for the campfires.

[14:35:09]

Also, we should note about this very high threat level, it is said that these fires can spread rapidly, and they can last longer. In this forest last year, that Bobcat fire, it seemed like it burned for months. It started on September 6th, and it wasn't until late in December that they said officially that it had been completely contained. So very dry out west, lots of people on pins and needles as the weather heats up, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, with extreme caution. Paul Vercammen, thank you so much in Los Angeles.

Coming up next, some pretty scary moments on the pitch during a Euro 2020 match after a Danish player collapses during play. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, this is breaking news into CNN. The Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland halted moments ago after a player, Christian Eriksen, collapsed on the field and needed to be resuscitated. The terrifying moment was caught on camera.

CNN's Don Riddell, host of WORLD SPORT, joining me now. Don, what more do we know?

RIDDELL: Well, the situation does seem to be much better, Fred. I must be honest with you, I rushed into the studio here at CNN an hour-and- a-half ago thinking that I might be about to break the news that a player had died during a match, during a major world football tournament. Fortunately, that is not the case. But for a considerable period of time, it seemed to be a very, very desperate situation. The good news is that Christian Eriksen is in hospital. He is being

treated. He has actually spoken to the players, and within the last 10 minutes this game has resumed. It paused just three minutes before halftime when Eriksen collapsed, and he was treated in the corner of the stadium where he fell for an extended period of time. It did seem to be a fairly frantic medical situation with CPR clearly being performed on this Danish international soccer player.

His teammates formed a protective cordon around him. Everybody in the stadium was in a state of despair. There were tears from his teammates, from his opponents, from the Finland team, fans in the stadium were hugging each other. They were crying, many couldn't even watch what was happening.

The game was suspended. There was a crisis meeting between UEFA, which is European football's governing body, and both teams, and they have decided to continue. I suspect the conversation with Eriksen from his hospital bed will have helped his teammates make the decision to be able to play on.

The Finnish team applauded the Danish players back onto the stadium when they resumed a short time ago. And this game will now continue. It's the first game of this tournament. The tournament only began yesterday, the first game for these two teams being played in Copenhagen.

And you know, Fred, sometimes sport is only a game, but sometimes sport transcends the occasion. And I think what we are seeing today is both those things at the same time.

We have all realized in the last couple of hours that this is only a game, but I think the way the players reacted, the way the fans have reacted, and the fact that this game is now continuing, this game is now about so much more than just a game of football.

WHITFIELD: And so now we are showing the image that we weren't able to show and didn't show out of respect for the player earlier. And when just evaluating that, was it the case that he was hitting the ball with his head, and then collapsed? Or what are we seeing just ahead of him collapsing?

RIDDELL: It seemed to be very, very innocuous, didn't it? It didn't seem as though anything crazy or untoward had happened. Look at him. He is running towards the sideline, and he falls down in fairly dramatic fashion. Look at the players running towards him. They realized immediately. The referee realized immediately.

Sometimes in soccer and in other sports games the referees aren't quite aware of how serious some situations are. But I think the speed at which he realized and the speed at which they got him treatment might be well in the end has made the difference today and resulted in a much more positive story than some of us were fearing an hour or so ago.

WHITFIELD: Of course, we are hoping and praying for a speedy recovery, and it is good to see his eyes were open in the one still image, so hopefully that means he is going to be OK. Don Riddell, thank you so much.

Coming up, when you are the queen, you can cut the cake any way you want to, including with a sword.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:09]

WHITFIELD: All right, over the course of her reign as Britain's monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has met with 13 out of the last 14 U.S. presidents. The one president she did not meet with, Lyndon Johnson. Although she isn't one of the seven leaders of the world's richest nations at the G7, she did meet with them on Friday for a group photo, and the Queen prompted some chuckles with this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN ELIZABETH: Are you supposed to be looking as if you're enjoying it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, definitely.

(LAUGHTER)

BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: We have been enjoying ourselves in spite of appearances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: She got a little humor there. The 95-year-old British monarch also decided that she would cut a cake with a sword.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN ELIZABETH: I didn't think this was going to work with two hands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a knife.

QUEEN ELIZABETH: I know there is.

(LAUGHTER)

QUEEN ELIZABETH: This is something that is more unusual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Unusual that is. Well, after a few moments of struggling with trying to cut the cake with that sword, there you see Camilla, the Queen with her help, Camilla's help, the Queen was able to finally cut the cake. And then she grabbed the handle again. So why with the sword? Because she wanted to, and she is the Queen. She gets to do what she wants.

So it has been a challenge the last few months for the royal family. They are still mourning the loss of Prince Philip and combatting frequent headlines about Harry and Meghan, and now Queen Elizabeth's youngest child, Prince Edward, is speaking exclusively to CNN's Max Foster about his father's legacy, how the Queen is coping, and the elephant in the room, the family rift.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:50:00]

PRINCE EDWARD, EARL OF WESSEX: It's very sad. We've all been there before. We've all had excessive intrusion and attention on our lives. And we've all dealt with it in different ways. And listen, we wish them the best of luck. It's a really hard decision. Fantastic news about the baby. That is great. I hope they are very happy with that. And it's just - families are families, aren't they, really.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Lots of stuff and lots of families. He is right about that.

Now, meet a woman who is making it easier for those with mobility challenges to get into nature in today's "The Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

VIRGINIA ROSE, FOUNDER, BIRDABILITY: I had just turned 14. I was riding my horse. He ran under some wires. I fell off, broke my back, and I've been in a wheelchair ever since.

It wasn't until much later in my life I realized that being in nature was providing something for me that I had never had before. Spending three and four hours birding every time I went out, I was not lonely. I was completely absorbed.

My name is Virginia Rose. I'm the founder of Birdability. It is a foundation whose purpose is to make sure that we are identifying the trails that are accessible.

I just am not sure that people who have mobility challenges know that they can do this, and I wanted them to have this same joy and the same empowerment that I had had. When it you go to the Birdability map, you will see a place where you can take the survey. You will run through the list of all the different access considerations. That site will be on the map for the next person who is disabled looking for a place to bird.

We now have over 500 birding sites. It's critical for people who have mobility challenges to be able to access the outdoors. I think they will find themselves there the way I did.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:04] WHITFIELD: On this Saturday, Vice President Kamala Harris surprising D.C. residents this afternoon, making a brief appearance at the city's pride parade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Happy Pride!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: There she is. Harris said while Americans should celebrate their accomplishments during pride month, there is still so much more work to do.

As businesses welcome workers back to the office, many parents are experiencing a big problem, finding childcare. Here is CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Mornings at Wonderspring Early Education in west Philadelphia start with circle time. The infants are fed and sung to. The toddlers play with blocks and toys, All under the watchful eye of these childcare workers for eight hours a day, every day, called teachers here.

ZAKIYYAH BOONE, CEO, WONDERSPRING EARLY EDUCATION: They are teachers. They're not just daycare workers. We're not caring for days. We're caring for children.

YURKEVICH: But childcare workers, 98 percent women and almost half people of color, are paid poverty level wages to watch, care for, and teach America's youngest, earning a median salary of about $24,000. And now there's a shortage of people for this critical work.

BOONE: Finding teachers today is quite a challenge.

YURKEVICH: These classrooms at one of Wonderspring centers sit empty because 30 percent of their positions are open, just above national numbers, showing a nearly 20 percent loss in the childcare workforce since the pandemic.

BOONE: I can't just sell more toilet paper in order to earn more money to pay my teachers more. I also can't just randomly charge the families 25, 30, 40 percent more in tuition. I have to be able to have funding to do that.

YURKEVICH: The American Rescue Plan allotted $39 billion for childcare centers, but more money is needed. Both the American Families Plan and infrastructure bill would provide billions to these centers.

LEA J.E. AUSTIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF CHILDCARE EMPLOYMENT AT U.C. BERKELEY: Public funding is the answer to ensure affordable or free access to early care and education for families and to ensure livable wages for the early care and education workforce.

YURKEVICH: Livable wages and less of a burden of cost on parents.

TOMIA MITCHELL-HAAS, WAITLISTED FOR CHILD CARE: I was quoted around $4,300, which is actually not the same price as my rent, but more than my rent.

YURKEVICH: And that's if parents can even find a childcare center with openings. Wonderspring has a wait list of 100 families. In Los Angeles, Tomia Mitchell-Haas have spent months looking for childcare for her two-year-old Ari (ph) and four-year-old Cy (ph).

MITCHELL-HAAS: I'm on a couple of waitlists. I felt like no one thought of what this is doing to a single mom who still has to work as well.

YURKEVICH: She's a teacher herself, working from home throughout the pandemic.