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Air Rage Incidents are Out of Control; As Cyberattacks Grow, so does Efforts to Track Ransoms; Nonprofit Founder Help Students Overcome Learning Differences. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 13, 2021 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: White House counsel and his wife.

Plus, flight attendants on the front lines as air rage incidents spike in the skies.

And we're learning just how serious the situation was when a Danish soccer player collapsed right in the middle of a game. The team's doctor saying he was, quote, "gone before being brought back to life."

I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Great to you have along with us on this Sunday. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And new tonight, a sensitive Justice Department probe under then President Donald Trump obtained the personal phone data of his White House counsel at the time, Don McGahn. That revelation coming just days after we learned the DOJ secretly seized the Apple data of two House Democrats around that same time in 2018. It's raising new questions about the scope of this data sweeps, and what top officials inside Trump's Justice Department knew or didn't know.

CNN's Paula Reid is following these developments. Paula, this story has a lot of moving parts. Connect the dots for us.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: All right, Pam. Tonight here's what we know that in February of 2018 the Justice Department requested from Apple records from then White House counsel Don McGahn and his wife. But to underscore how extraordinary a request this is, at the time McGahn was the top lawyer for the president of the United States. And Apple was barred from disclosing this request until May of this year. So that means the Justice Department had to go back to court repeatedly to keep this a secret.

Now a source familiar tells CNN that then Attorney General Jeff Sessions and then deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein were not aware of this request.

But, Pam, you and I have covered the Justice Department for a long time. Clearly something here does not add up. How is it possible that the two top Justice officials would not be aware of an extraordinary request like this? Now at this point we don't know if McGahn was the target of an

investigation or if he was swept up in an investigation into someone else. But an important piece of context is that a few weeks before this request, we know that former president Trump was frustrated with his White House counsel. He had been pressuring him to fire then special counsel Robert Mueller. McGahn had resisted and the president was frustrated that McGahn was not willing to cover up this incident that was really a key in the obstruction of Justice part of that probe.

Now earlier today our colleague Jim Acosta spoke with former National Security adviser, Ambassador John Bolton. Here was his take on all this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER UNDER TRUMP: I'm prepared to believe the worst. I think we're operating in a --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: And what does that -- what does that mean, the worst? The worst means --

BOLTON: That Trump would attempt to do things for political purposes and subvert the course of justice. But we're still operating in a large fact vacuum here.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Now Democratic lawmakers are calling for top Justice officials to come to the Hill to testify in the wake of this news as well as reporting on the fact that the Justice Department also made secret demands for the records of reporters and at least two Democratic lawmakers.

BROWN: And Paula, is DOJ saying anything else tonight? I mean, like you said, it really strains credulity to think these top officials at DOJ didn't know about something so significant, the collection of information of the president's White House counsel at the time, the fact that these lawmakers, their information had been turned over. Even if DOJ went to Apple and didn't know it was their information, Apple came back with them with the subscriber information presumably and everything else.

And then as you pointed out, they kept going back to get these gag orders renewed. So what are your sources saying about this idea that Rosenstein and Sessions and Bill Barr are all claiming they knew nothing about this?

REID: Right now we're still reporting, and there are certainly sources have suggested to me that it's highly unlikely that the deputy attorney general had no knowledge of this. And if he really didn't, well, what was the breakdown? And if there was some sort of breakdown, if someone did make a mistake, not realized that the numbers that they were seeking were for lawmakers, again that seems highly unlikely, but if that was the case, when the new administration came in, why didn't they bring in reporters? Have a press conference? Disclose what went on, ask the Office of

Inspector General for an investigation? Why did we have to find out about this first from "The New York Times"? There are so many unanswered questions tonight, Pam. Of course, us and the rest of the team will continue to work them.

BROWN: Yes. It is. We've been trying to report this out. It's been very difficult. We hope we can give more information in the coming days. Hopefully DOJ will be more forthcoming.

Paula Reid, thank you so much.

Well, now let's bring in one of the House Democrats whose data was targeted in this secret DOJ probe, Congressman Eric Swalwell.

Nice to see you, Congressman.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): You too, Pam. Thanks for having me back.

BROWN: OK. First off, do you have any new information?

[19:05:01]

As you just heard me talking to Paula, it's been really hard to connect these dots because of the fact vacuum we're in. Can you provide any more information?

SWALWELL: No. We're going into this new week, of course, Pam, you know, this is an important story, but we're also remembering all the victims of gun violence as we celebrate -- not celebrate, as we remember the five-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. But this is still an important story. And we welcome the call for an inspector general by the deputy attorney general. But there is also options for Congress and we're going to be exploring them this week as far as what we can learn independently because an inspector general report will not be able to compel the testimony of former attorneys general Sessions, Whitaker and Barr. And it seems like they're pretty key witnesses in this.

BROWN: OK. So let's talk about those options. And by the way, we have been covering the gun violence extensively in the Pulse Nightclub five-year anniversary.

SWALWELL: Thank you.

BROWN: But I want to get back to this story. What options are you looking at? And do you expect subpoenas to be issued to them?

SWALWELL: Well, Pam, frankly, I'll leave that to the speaker and the committees of relevant jurisdiction, that's Intelligence, Judiciary, Oversight. But, yes, if an inspector general cannot find out whether Donald Trump had ordered these investigations or whether the attorneys general to please Trump were running these investigations, the only way to do that would be through Congress. But it's too early to say that. But I really want to know the answer. Because, Pam, Donald Trump is not going away. He's running for

president again. He thinks he's going to be in office in August. And so he may not be so patient if he ever gets close to power again. He may not wait for a grand jury investigation. And my fear is that any American who speaks out against the president can find themselves not with an investigation but straight to jail because Donald Trump is only getting not less corrupt, but more corrupt.

BROWN: Let me just ask you quickly, have you gotten any more clarity on whether you were actually the target of any investigation on the DOJ or if your information was swept up in another investigation?

SWALWELL: No, Pam. I have not. That's a question that I would like answered, knowing that myself on record, Chairman Schiff's records were a part of a grand jury investigation. And again, what I hope troubles people, especially Donald Trump supporters, is that they themselves probably fear abuses by big brother, and now you see that the biggest brother of the United States government has ever seen is Donald Trump who would go after his enemies whether it's Don McGahn, Mr. Schiff, myself, and reward his friends like reducing the sentences of Roger Stone and making the investigation and the guilty plea from Michael Flynn go away. That's just no way that we would want to operate in these United States.

BROWN: And again, there are still so much we don't know, right? But what we do know is that Donald Trump was calling for DOJ to investigate his political adversaries. And now we know your information was collected, Congressman Schiff's was, but we're still trying to piece this all together. Trump's former attorneys general and deputy AG all claimed, they're telling people around them, according to sources I've spoken with, that they were unaware. That you and Schiff were ensnared in this probe. What do you say to that?

SWALWELL: Don't buy it. That's not the way the department works. I know from my experience on the Intelligence Committee that for special matters whether it involves the members of Congress or senior members, you know, in the press that this would go to the attorney general's office. But, Pam, I also want people to know, I'm not above the law. If I do something wrong, just like any American, my records, you know, with a warrant, should be reviewed.

But I've been on the Intelligence Committee going on seven years now. And I've been around before this investigation took place, where there were leaks, unfortunately, of classified information. Information that I and many others knew about. And no investigation into me or others took place. That's why it looks so targeted. That it was timed to when Chairman Schiff and myself were raising concerns about President Trump's connections to the Russians.

BROWN: Yes. And the gag order certainly raises questions that they continue to renew and it expired. You got the e-mail in May from Apple which is the only reason you got the e-mail, Schiff got the e-mail, and then "The New York Times" reported it. Are you concerned or frustrated or annoyed that you haven't gotten more information from DOJ about all of this? I mean, it was last month when you got that e- mail. SWALWELL: Absolutely. And not because of myself but because of the

time that it's going to take for us to understand what Donald Trump did and how we're going to have to legislate to move the honor code which typically said Republican or Democratic president, you didn't go after enemies, and codify that into the rule of law. And so it's really just the passage of time which has cost us the ability to make these reforms sooner.

But one other point on the timing. You know, Don McGahn's records were, you know, one person -- you could argue that they were being looked at during the Mueller investigation. And that was a properly predicated investigation.

[19:10:02]

However, the fact that the investigation just closed this May tells me that they were look at his records well beyond the Mueller investigation which I think would put this more in the column of McGahn likely also being politically targeted.

BROWN: And a source is telling CNN tonight that special counsel Robert Mueller did not seek to collect Don McGahn's records. Again, raising even more questions on this. Have you heard from your Republican colleagues on the committee about this? I saw Matt Gaetz released a statement. Of course he's got his own issues with DOJ. But have you heard from any other Republican colleagues?

SWALWELL: I look forward to seeing them tomorrow. We have our weekly briefing on the Intel Committee tomorrow evening. And I do look forward to talking to them because this should concern all of us if a president started to, you know, was allowed to act this way without any recourse.

BROWN: Do you think this is a bigger problem, bigger than just Trump potentially abusing power but really an executive branch problem here?

SWALWELL: Yes. I do believe that Donald Trump exploited this honor code that I talked about, that we just assume presidents would not order their attorneys general to do this. And now it looks like this may have been the case. We need to learn more. And so now we need to move this, as I said, into the rule of law. Adam Schiff has what's called the Protecting our Democracy Act which would make a lot of reforms. But a lot of things that we thought never could happen before happened under Donald Trump including the worst thing to happen --

BROWN: They also happened under President Obama with the seizure of information from 20 AP reporters. But go ahead.

SWALWELL: Yes. And that was wrong. But that did not appear to be politically motivated. Here, it looks like it was politically targeting his opponents. And again, the worst thing that he did was to send mob to kill Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi and to stop the count of the electoral college. So everything we thought a president never would do, Donald Trump did and now it's a question of what are we willing to do to preserve the republic? BROWN: Really quick on that note. I want to ask you, sources tell me

that DOJ looked at whether they should open an investigation into Trump, whether he actually incited the violence through his speech. And they determined, DOJ determined that, no, his speech was inflammatory but it wasn't specific enough to be a direct to cause that violence. Director Wray said on the Hill that he was unaware of an investigation into Trump, though he then sort of backtracked, saying he could neither confirm nor deny. What is your reaction to that?

SWALWELL: Well, I disagree with that, you know, line of approach. But I'll respect their independence. I'll just say, Pam, I hope they are truly being independent and not being even handed. And there's a difference. That, you know, if they're just sweeping it under the rug because it was a former president and we don't do that, this was not just any old former president. So I do hope it was an independent analysis and that's something that we're going to have to look into.

BROWN: All right. Congressman Eric Swalwell, thanks for joining the show.

SWALWELL: My pleasure. Thanks, Pam.

BROWN: And coming up on this Sunday, the president of a major flight attendant union calls for members heroes as air rage incidents spike putting them on the front line against unruly passengers. She joins me live.

And new standout reporting from our Nick Patton Walsh tonight on why cyberattacks have doubled in a year and the astonishing amount of ransom money that's being paid out.

But first, President Biden arrives in Brussels to meet with NATO leaders before he then jets to Geneva for his hotly anticipated meeting with the Russian president. CNN military analyst and retired lieutenant general Mark Hertling joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:17:34]

BROWN: Leaders of the G7 wrapped up their first in-person meeting in two years today. The heads of state promising to work together to combat issues like the coronavirus, the climate crisis and the rising influence of China.

President Biden is now in Brussels where he's got work to do to repair another vital American alliance this time with NATO. And of course, all of this leads up to the main event of Biden's first foreign policy trip, Wednesday's summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The two leaders are already exchanging words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have a bilateral relationship that deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, let me make it clear, I think he's right it's a low point because I told him when I was running, when I got elected before it was -- I was sworn in, that I was going to find out whether or not he in fact did engage in trying to interfere in our election. That I was going to take a look at whether he was involved in the cybersecurity breach that occurred, et cetera. And if I did, I was going to respond. I did. I checked it out. So I had access to all the intelligence. He was engaged in those activities. I did respond and made it clear that I'd respond again.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And joining me now to discuss Biden's summit with Putin and the NATO alliance, former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, CNN medical -- military, not medical, military analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

But I bet you could give us medical analysis, too, General Hertling.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I try not to.

BROWN: So you just heard that exchange between Biden and Putin just ahead of Wednesday's summit. Is Biden trying to send a message you think?

HERTLING: I don't think he's trying to. He is sending a message, Pam. He's been pretty succinct and direct over the last couple of days, last couple of weeks, regarding Mr. Putin. This is going to be a very different engagement than we've seen from past presidents, from President Bush through Obama through Trump.

President Biden has messaged what he is going to say and I think true issues have come forward and what he believes. There is not going to be any reset buttons pushed. There is not going to be any seeing into his soul because he's already addressed those things. It should be a very interesting session on Wednesday after the other two interesting sessions he has.

BROWN: Right. He previously has called Putin a killer and he has said that he is soulless.

[19:20:03]

This will be their first time meeting face-to-face in the wake of those words. So before his summit with Putin, President Biden will meet with NATO allies. That's your old territory as the former U.S. Army Europe commander.

What are the major areas of concern for NATO right now?

HERTLING: It is going to be a jampacked ministerial -- first of all, you know that Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin are both going to be joining the president. They're going to address about 10 different major issues. First of all, the 2030 Strategic Concept. The last strategic concept NATO had came from 2010. So there's been a lot of changes in those years. The Afghanistan withdrawal, Russia's implications in both Ukraine and Belarus. China not considered a threat by the Europeans but it could certainly turn adversarial with the amount of actions that China is taking within the European footprint and in Africa.

The number of U.S. forces in Europe and, of course, the old favorite, defense spending and how much different countries are going to spend in terms of contributions to NATO.

BROWN: Defense spending, that was a big one for Donald Trump. The memory of Trump's handling of the NATO alliance definitely hangs over this meeting. What's the impact and can President Biden get that relationship back on track?

HERTLING: Well, I believe he can, and he already is, although there is going to be some skepticism from our European allies because while they welcome Biden and they see a change in the tide with President Biden, they also know that we are prone as Americans to be victims of the back and forth of politics.

And truthfully, Pam, having lived 12 of my years in Europe and watching CNN and other news broadcasts from overseas, what is fascinating to me is we often forget that the Europeans have an eye on our actions every single day. So where as President Biden is going to be portraying strength, just turning on that CNN international is going to show that we still have some major problems as a reflection of our election reform, the things that are going on with gun control, violence in America.

So he is going to be welcomed as the new leader of America to be sure. But there are still some skepticism on the part of our NATO allies.

BROWN: Really interesting perspective. General Mark Hertling, thank you so much.

HERTLING: Thank you, Pam.

BROWN: And he talked about violence in America, we are following breaking news tonight on that mass shooting in Texas. CNN's Ed Lavandera is live from Austin with an update for us as soon as we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:26:51]

BROWN: As the coronavirus pandemic begins to improve, another deadly epidemic worsens. Gun violence is rising to unnerving levels with at least 272 mass shootings in the U.S. since the beginning of 2021, according to data compiled by CNN and the Gun Violence Archive. Now for reference, that's about 40 percent higher than at this point in 2020 and 65 percent higher than this point in 2019.

Just since Friday alone, mass shootings have taken the lives of at least nine Americans and injured 48 across six states. And that's not even counting incidents like what happened in Columbus, Georgia, where a suspect is connected to three separate shootings in less than 24 hours.

But now for some breaking news out of Austin, the scene of a mass shooting in downtown early Saturday, we have just learned that one of the victims has now died.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins me now. Ed, what more can you tell us?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Austin Police just a short while ago putting out a statement that says that one of the 14 shooting victims has died and that is 25-year-old Douglas John Kanter, a 25-year-old victim. This as police have said very little about the shooting today. And last we know is that one suspect has been arrested. We don't have any confirmed details on who that suspect is.

And that police here in Austin continue to look for the second suspect they believe was involved in the shooting that ended up in wounding 13 people and now killing the first victim. This was a chaotic scene here on Sixth Street in the iconic entertainment district of Austin, Texas. This happened early morning Saturday. There was a biker rally going on. Thousands of people filling up the streets. That led to the chaotic scenes there as officers raced to the scene responding to the gunfire. Witnesses described how chaotic it was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOAH RAMIREZ, WITNESSED MASS SHOOTING IN AUSTIN: I just recall seeing, you know, a few bodies on the floor, police officers running with their guns drawn. People running and fleeing the scene. It just immediately turned to what do we do next? Where do we go? What is the next step from here? Because we're obviously involved in an active shooter situation directly below us.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: We've repeatedly tried to reach out to Austin Police today to get updates on the search for the second suspect about 24 hours ago. The mayor of Austin had told us that they were closing in on arresting that second suspect. But we have no other official updates from the department today. So that search continues. But the major headline here tonight that of the 14 people that were shot last night, one person has now been confirmed dead -- Pamela.

BROWN: It's just awful. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much.

Tonight as air rage spikes, the president of the association of flight attendants is warning that the situation is, quote, "out of control" and she's worried that things will only get worse. Sarah Nelson joins me next to explain why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:00]

BROWN: The Federal Aviation Administration has already reported 2,900 incidents of unruly passengers this year. And industry insiders are warning tonight the situation will only get worse this summer. CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the latest developments -- Polo.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, you know, our colleague, Pete Muntean actually reported on this same issue less than a week ago after Federal officials reported about 2,500 incidents involving unruly passengers, that figure has now gone up by at least 400 more. So, that's certainly telling.

Now, when it comes to how many of these incidents started, now, it doesn't necessarily apply in this latest incident from Friday, many of these started as disturbances over an old polarizing issue -- mask wearing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice over): It is shaping up to be a rough summer in the skies. Friday, Atlanta bound Delta Air Lines flight became the latest to be interrupted by an unruly passenger. That problem passenger was one of the airline's own flight attendants flying off duty at the time according to a Delta spokesman.

[19:35:10]

SANDOVAL (voice over): Witnesses onboard report that he commandeered the aircraft's intercom and told them to prepare to use their oxygen masks, triggering a clash between him and the crew and some of his fellow passengers.

One witness told CNN he feared the worst during the very tense encounter.

BENJAMIN CROWLEE, WITNESS: People behind me were saying, well, that's really bad. I mean, that only happens when a plane goes down. I prayed to God to protect my family in case I was gone.

SANDOVAL (voice over): On Thursday night, a separate Delta flight from L.A. to New York was also diverted after what was described by the airline as a customer issue onboard.

On June 4th, a third Delta flight, this one from L.A. to Nashville was forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger tried breaching the cockpit door according to authorities.

Delta is not alone. Crews from American and Southwest Airlines have been among those recently subjected to belligerent passengers.

And in at least one case, physical abuse from troublesome travelers.

In May, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said he is worried as these kinds of air rage incidents seem to be repeating themselves.

STEVE DICKSON, F.A.A. ADMINISTRATOR: Those dangerous behaviors can distract, disrupt, and threaten crew member safety functions. And as a former airline captain, it's extremely concerning to me.

SANDOVAL (voice over): The spokesperson for the agency says it has received at least 2,900 reports of unruly behavior by passengers this year; 2,200 of them are related to noncompliance with a Federal mandate requiring masks on public transportation, planes included.

The spike in bad onboard behavior prompted the F.A.A. to extend a zero tolerance policy.

A spokesperson says, enforcement action has been started in over three dozen cases already. Question now, will it get even more unfriendly in the skies for the busy summer travel season on the horizon?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (on camera): Well, just how busy is it going to get this summer? Well, the U.S. Travel Association estimating that we are likely going to see about 77 percent of Americans take at least one trip this summer that is up from about 29 percent in 2020.

Now, when it comes specifically to air travel, we are expecting at least a 44 percent increase when it comes to that, Pam, meaning, those planes are going to get even more packed -- Pam.

BROWN: Well, let's hope we're not going to see an increase on the crazy incidents onboard. Thanks so much, Polo.

Sara Nelson knows a thing or two about in-flight emergencies and dealing with difficult passengers. She is the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and she says this, quote: "The situation is out of control. Another horrific event on Delta, but across the industry, reports of unruly passengers are up more than 60 times this year. Flight attendants are heroes, but we prefer not to be." And Sara nelson joins me now.

Hi, Sara. Thank you for coming on the show. Let's jump right in. What is going on here?

SARA NELSON, INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS-CWA: Thank you. Well, this is really out of control, and as a flight attendant responded to me, she said, your flight attendants are not okay. Be kind. These are only the events that are being reported. There are events every single day that flight attendants are managing.

We have commonly deescalated situations onboard and flight attendants are continuing to do that and they are serving as heroes on the frontline from the beginning of this virus. Everyone is really at a 10 here and we have to recognize that people are wanting to get out. They have been told that this mask issue is a political decision, rather than a public health necessity.

On our planes, we are continuing to require the masks because not everyone on our planes even have access to vaccine yet. We have children flying. We have people who medically can't get those vaccines. So, the safest way to travel is to continue to have those masks in place as well.

But it is causing incredible conflict because people have been set up to believe that they are at odds with one another.

BROWN: And most of these incidents have been because of the masks. Some of them have not been, like the one on Friday onboard that flight with the off duty flight attendant actually being the instigator in this case. But you quoted in "The Wall Street Journal" saying this is, quote, "pervasive." There is constant conflict onboard adding that you think in your words, "There is a potential that this can get worse." Why do you think it could get worse?

NELSON: Well, look, the problem here has been that we haven't had a consistent message from leadership from the beginning of this pandemic, and so people have been led to believe that we are at odds with each other here, and in aviation, we have to do some things that we don't have to do in other places.

You can't bring a gun or knife. You have to practically undress to get into our work space in order to make sure that you're secure. And everybody has to buckle their seat belt. We know that if we hit air turbulence, you might be thrown to the ceiling of the cabin or you also might fall on other people and hurt them, too.

So, it is not up to you to decide whether or not you believe that seatbelt is going to help you. We tell you to keep it on because it is going to keep everyone safe.

The same goes true for the masks. And so, we really need people to be following the rules and understand that there is a $35,000.00 fine and potential jail time if you're not following that. These are Federal offenses. And what we're seeing onboard really is an outcome of the stress of this pandemic.

[19:40:16]

NELSON: People have been stretched to their limits. People have been on the frontlines working. They have seen that their childcare is two- thirds of their paycheck and they have to work more to stay away from their kids longer in order to make ends meet. People are telling them to get back to work.

This is an issue of the inequities across society, and people are taking this out now in a place where they've been told that they are at odds with each other over this mask issue. But it's really about addressing the broader issues in society about inequities and treating everybody fairly and with kindness and coming together with the spirit that we're all in this together.

BROWN: Do you think suspending alcohol service onboard flights would help?

NELSON: We are calling for a suspension of alcohol service on the planes and some of the airlines have responded to that and put that in place, and in the airports. And I will tell you, we're calling for this for two reasons.

One, alcohol is often an incredible contributor to these events. But also what we're seeing is that when we called for this, we have people on both sides of the mask issue who are saying, "No. We'll follow the rules, we promise. Don't take away our alcohol." So, we know too that alcohol can be big unifier here.

So, you know, if everybody just follows the rules, we'll give you a drink, how about that?

BROWN: Right. I mean, for some people, they can't imagine flying without getting that drink onboard, so that might be the best way to get everyone to start behaving.

But as a flight attendant yourself who has dealt with unruly passengers, I have always wondered, what it is like for you? Because I've seen it myself and I've been on a flight where flight attendants have to step in and deal with someone who is drunk and being just inappropriate. What is it like?

NELSON: Look, it's very difficult because know that little problems onboard can become big problems very quickly. And so we're quickly scanning the airplane to see who our helpers can be. We're trying to see what we can do.

We are using all kinds of de-escalation tactics which in some cases may be a very stern command to this person or maybe more of a cajoling and trying to get them away from people and trying to calm the situation. But we are always aware that it's up to us to determine how to get that done and how to calm that down because we know how quickly people can get hurt.

So, it's definitely an adrenaline raiser. And we are hearing from flight attendants who are saying you know, I'm concerned about going to work now. This is so pervasive in our workplace that I'm concerned about going to work. I'm actually afraid to go to work.

And so it has really -- it has got to stop. It's out of control.

BROWN: That is so awful that they're afraid to go to work just because of how out of control this is, but I'm glad you were able to come in and shine a spotlight on it for us. Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. Thank you so much.

NELSON: Thank you. Let's all just be kind to each other, Pam. Thanks.

BROWN: Yes. It is really quite simple.

Cyberattacks worldwide, they were on the rise. And so are efforts to track the ransoms paid by victims to get systems back online.

Ahead tonight, President Obama joins Anderson Cooper for a rare one- on-one about his life post presidency. Anderson Cooper 360 Special: Barack Obama on fatherhood, leadership and legacy airs at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:50] BROWN: Corporate data, your personal information -- they are all

under attack -- and much more. We have seen more and more high profile cyberattacks in recent weeks, everything from fuel pipelines to meat producers, and in fact, in places like Europe, these serious cyberattacks have more than doubled in just the past year. Why is that?

CNN international security editor, Nick Paton Walsh has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice over): They feel almost daily now, cyberattacks, as we moved online in the pandemic, crime moved with us. In the European Union last year, new figures obtained by CNN shows significant cyberattacks doubled with hospitals horrifyingly hit harder than before, often with ransomware targeting private data.

APOSTOLOS MALATRAS, E.U. AGENCY FOR CYBERSECURITY: Because of the pandemic, a lot of services were provided online. And that happened in a kind of rush, so security was an afterthought. At the same time, people stayed indoors for a lot of time and this gave a lot of opportunities to be able to explore vulnerabilities and exploits in their system's critical infrastructure.

WALSH (voice over): The average cost of an attack doubled just so far this year to now $1.8 million, say security experts, Sophos. The highest ransom now, astronomical.

JOHN SHIER, SENIOR SECURITY ADVISOR, SOPHOS: I believe $50 million, five zero, was the sum that I heard.

WALSH (on camera): The latest are so-called triple extortions. They don't just encrypt the data on your computer until you pay up or just threaten to release it online; instead, they use that data to attack your systems again, and even to blackmail your customers.

SHIER: They are trying to be more purposeful. They try to penetrate as fully as possible so that they can then extract as much money as possible.

If you are a customer of this company whose data has been stolen, they'll threaten to release your information or they'll also call other companies that are your partners.

WALSH (on camera): And there is new ransomware known as fireless attacks that don't even require the human error of clicking on a suspicious link. They seep into the operating system of your computer and never show up as a file on the hard drive. Hard to know if it's even happened.

[19:50:05]

WALSH (voice over): The solution, say experts, like with kidnappings -- don't pay, but that's tough when privacy is key to a business's survival. This leaves police following the money, usually the Bitcoin. Ransomware criminals, Darkside, were behind the Colonial Pipeline

ransomware attacks that froze up U.S. gas stations. The F.B.I. quickly recovered half the four million dollars paid out. As this graphic of the Bitcoin short route shows, the F.B.I. traced its path relatively easily with the help of cybersecurity expert, Elliptic. Other scams, like one on Twitter last year, are a lot more complex with hundreds of crypto transfers over months.

It's in the real world, though, they get caught.

TOM ROBINSON, CHIEF SCIENTIST, ELLIPTIC: The moment criminals will cash out the dollars or euros or whatever, and so in the vast majority of cases, we do see the funds sent to an exchange. If that exchange is regulated, then they should be identifying their customers and reporting any suspicious activity.

WALSH (voice over): Still, it gets harder with tricks like mixers that enable users' cryptocurrencies to get mixed together like shuffling used dollar bills, disguising their ownership.

ROBINSON: It's about identifying who the perpetrators are, but also ensuring that it's very difficult for these criminals to cash out. That means there's less of an incentive to commit this kind of crime in the first place.

WALSH (voice over): In short, don't pay the money. But if you already have, follow it.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:30]

BROWN: One in five children in the U.S. has a learning difference, and children who face these challenges are more likely to be suspended, drop out, or end up in the juvenile justice system.

Well, the CNN Hero understands all of this because he has lived it. David Flink was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia at age 11 and he struggled throughout school.

Well, now, as an adult, he is working to make sure that children like him don't fall through the cracks of the education system. His nonprofit, Eye to Eye pairs college or high school students with learning differences with middle schoolers who have similar differences, unleashing confident, successful learners in the process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID FLINK, FOUNDER, EYE TO EYE: Eye to Eye provides a safe space that is constructed around what's right with kids, so they can talk about their experiences.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you get scared during tests? Are you like nervous or no?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have anxiety. Like, I shake a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that happens to me sometimes.

FLINK: People's hearts sing when they are seen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my shield.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My masterpiece.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really cool. I like how you used a duct tape as handle.

FLINK: My moment that I am wishing for is when the problem of stigmatizing kids because they learn differently goes away. I want them to know their brains are beautiful. I want them feeling like they know how to ask for what they need and that they can do it, and that's what we give them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Daniel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What a great idea. So heartwarming.

To learn the story David's whole story and see the magic that happens when children are seen and they are understood, just go to CNNheroes.com right now, and while you are there, as always, you can nominate whoever you think should be a CNN hero.

Well, tonight, we are learning just how serious the situation was when a Danish player on the soccer field there collapsed in the middle of a Euro 2020 tournament match. I should say, the pitch. Christian Eriksen is still in the hospital in stable condition. The team's doctor says Eriksen, quote, "was gone" when he had to be resuscitated from cardiac arrest Saturday on the pitch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MORTEN BOESEN, DENMARK TEAM DOCTOR: I should say, he was gone and we did cardiac resuscitation. It was cardiac arrest. How close were we? I don't know. We got him back after one defib. So, that's quite fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: According to his club team, Eriksen, never had COVID-19. He was not vaccinated.

After play resumed, Denmark lost the game against Finland and the team will play again on Thursday.

And we have sad news to share with you tonight. A long time actor on stage and screen, Ned Beatty has passed away of natural causes. He was known for his work in movies like "Deliverance" and "Superman." Beatty was also nominated for an Oscar for his role in the 1977 film, "Network."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED BEATTY, ACTOR: They get out there, linear programming charts, statistical decision theories, minimax solutions then compute the price cost probabilities of their transaction and investment, just like we do.

We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies, Mr. Beale.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Younger generations know Beatty's voice. He was Lotso in "Toy Story 3." Ned Beatty was 83 years old.

[20:00:00]