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Fifth Body Found In Champlain Towers Wreckage; 2018 Report Found "Major" Damage In Champlain Towers South; First Cruise Ship In 15 Months Departs U.S. Port; New Zealand Suspends Quarantine-Free Travel With Australia For Three Days; Families Hold Onto Hope After Florida Building Collapse; Floyd Family Reacts To Chauvin Sentencing; Record-Breaking June Heat. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 27, 2021 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And we want to welcome our viewers here, in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton.

Ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM, what caused the unspeakable tragedy in Miami?

CNN now learning that an engineer raised concerns years before that condo collapsed.

And in the wake of Derek Chauvin's sentencing for George Floyd's murder, I'll ask a former police commissioner whether his killing was a turning point for policing in America.

Plus, the historic heat wave baking the Pacific Northwest. We are live at the CNN Weather Center with more on the irreversible damage the climate crisis is causing right around the globe.

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NEWTON: And we begin, once again, in Surfside, Florida, where search- and-rescue operations are growing more aggressive after another body was found in the wreckage of a 12-story building collapse.

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NEWTON (voice-over): This is what's left of Champlain Towers' South condominiums after part of the structure came crashing down, in just a matter of seconds, Thursday. Right now, the death toll stands at five.

And unfortunately, the whereabouts of 156 others is, still, unknown. The mayor of Miami-Dade County gave an update on the search, Saturday evening.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA (D), MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL: Our teams have been working around the clock as always to search for survivors, they have not stopped.

And today, our search and rescue teams found another body in the rubble. And as well, our search has revealed some human remains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Tough words to hear there, from the mayor.

Meantime, we have learned that major structural problems with the building were flagged back in 2018. And that's leading to concerns about the nearby North Tower and just how safe it is, at the moment.

With each passing hour, meantime, families grow ever more anxious for news about their loved ones. CNN's Isabel Rosales has the latest from Surfside, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The intense search and rescue has not stopped and it will not stop. The mission is just too important; 156 people, still, unaccounted for but, today, a heartbreaking discovery.

CAVA: Our teams have been working, around the clock as always, to search for survivors. They have not stopped.

ROSALES (voice-over): Search teams discovering another body in the rubble from Thursday's partial collapse of a condo building in Surfside, Florida.

CAVA: As well, our search has revealed some human remains.

ROSALES (voice-over): Officials relying on DNA testing to identify the victims. According to the Miami-Dade mayor, family members of the unaccounted have, all, provided DNA samples.

MAGARY RAMSEY, DAUGHTER OF MISSING WOMAN: Although, we're burdened with such despair, we are burdened with heavy hearts, at the moment, we're lifted up by a lot of the faith in the miracles that God can create.

ROSALES (voice-over): Loved ones holding on to hope, as crews make progress in containing a fire in the rubble that has drastically affected search-and-rescue efforts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Currently, we're searching the entire debris field.

MAYOR CHARLES BURKETT (I-FL), SURFSIDE: We are going to do a very deep dive, into why this building fell down.

ROSALES (voice-over): A report on the building from 2018 included concerns about structural damage. A consultant said failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially.

Morabito Consultants, who issued the report, says they are deeply troubled by this building collapse and that, they are working closely with the investigating authorities to understand why the structure failed.

ROSALES: And the mayor there, of Miami-Dade, says that they are currently working on accommodating requests from the family members who actually visit, pray and reflect there at the site -- in Surfside, Florida, Isabel Rosales.

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NEWTON: Rafael Romo joins me now from Miami.

And it has been, unfortunately, quite another dispiriting day.

What is going on now, especially as we've heard that at least they have been able to extinguish the fire?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR: It is one more night of waiting, Paula. And you think about the families who are still waiting for an answer to find out what happened to their loved ones.

There was a development a few hours ago, the mayor of Miami-Dade said that they can confirm that 5 people have died.

[02:05:00]

ROMO: Their identities have been sent to their families. And the reality is, you can get this idea that people are just hoping for the best.

But they are really expecting the worst. I had the opportunity to talk to a man, who is waiting to hear news from his mother and grandmother. He was telling me that the last time he spoke to his mother was Wednesday night.

You get this idea that this happened all of a sudden, that there were no previous warnings. And what he was telling me was that, even the night before his mother cannot sleep because she was hearing all kinds of weird noises.

Then there is that report from 2018, an inspection conducted back then, that indicated that there were cracks in the concrete and different things that had to be taken care of right away.

So the stories begin to surface, painting a picture of a property, a building, a residential building, that had issues for years that explained what happened here, Paula.

NEWTON: And again, you can't even imagine how infuriated the family must be, just hearing this and, at the same time, they are just still hoping that some of their loved ones will really be safe, be rescued and that this will not turn into a recovery mission.

We heard that authorities went to the community center there, where they were all gathered. We heard that this was contentious.

ROMO: A lot of people feel like authorities have not done as much as they should've done and that they haven't moved fast enough. Authorities are saying that this is a very complicated scene because they have to remove debris in many portions, hand by hand so as to not compromise the possibility that survivors that may still be trapped under the rubble be put in jeopardy once again.

The other story that is beginning to surface here, Paula, is people who live in the surrounding buildings, they are now afraid that some of the same issues that led to the collapse of this building may be found in their own buildings.

So they coming to us even, asking us whether it is safe to remain in the buildings. Of course, we say we don't know that, that authorities are the ones to determine that. We spoke to authorities earlier but they said at this point any evacuation is going to be voluntary. They are not telling residents they have to leave right away.

But definitely there has to be an expectation, also in the building right next door, that was built by the same company in very the same year. so a lot of unanswered questions here, Paula.

NEWTON: Can you imagine how chilling it is for people in that building, in the surrounding buildings, to go to sleep on this evening?

Rafael Romo, thank you so much for being with us, appreciate it.

Now we are also hearing from a man who witnessed the immediate aftermath of Thursday's tragedy. Daniel Groves was on vacation with his family, staying at a nearby hotel, when he heard a loud explosion that, he says, literally, shook the building.

Now he spoke with CNN earlier about what was going through his mind, as he and his family tried to rush to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL GROVES, CONDO COLLAPSE WITNESS: I was on the second floor, right by the pool, so in the middle of that blue hotel, the Solaris hotel, right there, right beside it. I was in the second floor; I mean, literally dead asleep. It's 1:20 in the morning; my wife and I were sleeping.

It literally sounded like a bomb going off, the loudest thing I had ever heard in my life, from a dead sleep. The whole building shook. I felt like we were in the worst earthquake in my life.

I immediately -- we're talking about 15 seconds -- immediately ran to the window, pulled the blinds aside. I couldn't see but four or five feet in front of me.

I said, "We're in a tornado, babe, get up. We're in the tornado."

Right as I said that, the alarms go off and we run right into the next room, grab our kids and take off outside, leaving everything in the room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Terrifying account there.

Meantime, a 2018 field survey is raising questions about the structural integrity of the building. The report revealed alarming concerns about concrete below the pool deck and in the parking garage.

Part of it reads as follows, "Abundant cracking and spalling of various degrees was observed in the concrete columns, beams and walls. Though some of this damage is minor, most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion."

Spalling is a term used for concrete that has cracked or crumbled. Now the firm behind the report has released a statement confirming these details.

[02:10:00]

NEWTON: It says an estimate was provided to make, in their words, extensive and necessary repairs.

Now I spoke, earlier, about rescue efforts with the -- about the 2018 report with John Butler. He is the fire chief for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in Virginia. Here's some of what he had to say.

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JOHN BUTLER, FIRE CHIEF, FAIRFAX COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT: You're talking about the fires with unknown origin, that seem to be under control right now. But there are secondary collapses or potentially disrupting void spaces where there could be life still worth saving.

So the complexities are so much and conveying this repeatedly to the families is imperative -- and to the community. We have to keep expressing the complexities of the operations such as this without ever giving up hope at this point.

NEWTON: And we have to say they have not had any luck with the weather at all.

How important do you think it is that at least this fire has been contained or extinguished even?

BUTLER: That is one hazard, one risk that has been somewhat abated. Like I said, there are so many things, the weather, the work/rest cycles for the responders. And as incident commanders and fire chiefs and sponsoring agency chiefs for technical rescue teams, we have to continuously look out for the safety and the wellness of those who are responding and trying to make rescues.

NEWTON: Yes, absolutely, you do. I've been shoulder to shoulder with your crew in disasters and I've seen that work firsthand. You are indefatigable and even you're saying the conditions there in Miami right now are the most difficult that many of these people have seen.

BUTLER: Yes.

NEWTON: How troubling is it for you to hear about that structural damage -- not suggesting that you know what's going on on the ground -- but when you hear something like that, how troubling is it?

BUTLER: There is so much yet to be understood and researched and validated. Like you said, not being on the scene or not having intimate knowledge of what is going on, I'd be stretching it to make an assessment or an observation.

Concrete is one of the strongest materials we have for structures as we know. But it is also, once it is compromised, kind of the entire integrity of the structure can come down. But we know very little right now.

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NEWTON: And that was Fairfax County Fire and Rescue chief, John Butler.

Now you can help the collapse victims and their families. Please go to cnn.com/impact. You will find links there to charitable organizations, verified by CNN. Again, that's cnn.com/impact.

OK, when we come back, cruises in the U.S. are setting sail once more. We are aboard the first cruise ship to leave port.

And Sydney, Australia, under a two-week lockdown as a neighborhood outbreak grows. We will go, live, to Canberra and speak with an infectious disease specialist.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I turned down going to the Bahamas. I'd rather be on a cruise ship to go in, to do what (INAUDIBLE). We've taken all the precautions you have. And then, very stringent with everything the CDC and that is what he we are about.

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NEWTON: So cruises in the United States are setting sail once again. After more than a year, the Celebrity Edge left from Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday for a seven-night voyage. CNN's Natasha Chen is on board and has details.

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NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Moments ago, we pulled away from port here on the Celebrity Edge, the first cruise ship to depart from a U.S. port in more than 15 months. The last time this ship sailed was March of 2020.

Of course, things are very different today. We are sailing at reduced capacity, 40 percent of the capacity, when this ship can normally hold nearly 3,000 people. Also, 100 percent of the crew is vaccinated; 99 percent of the passengers are vaccinated.

We met passengers that are extremely excited to get back on a cruise ship. In fact, some couldn't contain themselves. Others told us that the vaccination policy is, actually, one reason why they felt comfortable coming back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You missed my cartwheels, didn't you?

I did cartwheels just a minute ago. You missed me.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's how excited I am. I am really excited just to be back, cruising. Nothing like it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The feeling today is -- is hoping that they'd have it figured out. OK?

That's -- that's the feeling, is that I hope they have it figured out and I hope they keep us all safe.

CHEN: Other cruises have been departing but from the Bahamas. Again, this is the first to depart from a U.S. port after going through stringent CDC guidelines. And if you are hearing the horn go off and passengers cheering, it is because, again, moments ago, we pulled away from port. And people are extremely excited to be back on a cruise.

This particular cruise is going to Mexico and the Western Caribbean. The captain, Kate McCue, the first and, still, only American female captain, said today that this was an emotional moment, just seeing all the crew come back after more than 15 months of seeing the ships sitting idle.

The next time you see us, we will be in Mexico -- Natasha Chen, CNN, on the Celebrity Edge in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

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NEWTON: Now parts of Australia's Northern Territory has just gone into a government-ordered 48-hour lockdown. And that's including its largest city, Darwin. Now as a COVID outbreak in the Sydney area, at this moment, now, is getting larger, an outbreak in the famous Bondi Beach neighborhood rose to 110 cases Sunday after a two-week stay-at- home order was imposed in greater Sydney.

Now officials say the two-day lockdown in the Northern Territory is not related to the Sydney outbreak.

New Zealand, meantime, has suspended quarantine-free travel with Australia for three days. Officials say the decision was made because of Australian outbreaks in, quote, "differing stages of containment."

[02:20:00]

NEWTON: Dr. Sanjaya Senanayake is an infectious diseases specialist and associate professor of medicine at the Australian National University Medical School. He joins me now live from Canberra.

I have to say, there's been intense focus on Australia throughout the pandemic because you guys seem to have gotten many, many things right. And yet, now, when we look to your country, we see that, perhaps, the Delta variant may be leading to these outbreaks. But containing the virus seems to getting more difficult.

What do you think is happening, in terms of Australia's strategy?

And how you move from this issue of containment to actually getting more people vaccinated?

DR. SANJAYA SENANAYAKE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, AUSTRALIA NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: Yes, Paula, you are quite right. It's all about getting people vaccinated and sort of that magical number's around 80 percent of the global population, fully vaccinated.

And while we are trying to do this, more infectious variants are appearing. So the Delta variant is thought to be about 60 percent more infectious than the Alpha variant. So in other words, it's about twice as infectious as the original Wuhan strain.

So that makes it much more difficult to control an outbreak if it occurs. And hence, Sydney has gone into a lockdown for the first time since COVID began.

NEWTON: Extraordinary, really, when you think about that because as I said, we -- we looked to Australia, throughout much of this pandemic to show us how it's done, right?

And that included other places, like whether it was Taiwan or New Zealand. And yet, they are dealing with new outbreaks, however small they may be. You say that people around the globe need to get vaccinated. And -- and yet, you're not very optimistic, in terms of how quickly we will be able to do that.

SENANAYAKE: Right. Yes. So at the moment, compared to when I talked about this a couple months ago at our national press club, the speed of the global vaccination rollout has really increased.

So almost 3 billion people have received a dose of vaccine. And we are getting about 43 million people vaccinated a day, which is great. And if we maintain this current rate of vaccination about nine months, we'd have achieved that target we were talking about earlier.

However, the issue is that developed countries, rich countries, are vaccinating 30 times faster than poorer countries. So we will get to a stage where the developed rich countries have done their vaccination.

And then, suddenly, their vaccination rate could slow down, prolonging the whole issue and leading to the emergence of more transmissible, more dangerous and more vaccine-resistant variants.

NEWTON: Yes, we are still dealing with slightly more than 10 percent of the global population that's anywhere near a vaccine at this point.

I want to go back to the issue, in Australia, because I do think it illustrates a lot of, sometimes, what we miss. Australia's vaccination rate isn't very high. They, perhaps, could have mitigated this kind of a lockdown, if not outbreaks.

Why not?

Why haven't they been vaccinating?

Why haven't you guys been vaccinating more quickly?

SENANAYAKE: You are quite right, Paula. To some extent, it's been a tale or a game of two halves. In the first half, you've had countries like Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand really controlling COVID well, while Northern Hemisphere nations have been doing a fairly ordinary job.

But in the second half, when it's come to the vaccine rollout, everything's been reversed. And places like the U.S. and the U.K. have almost got 50 percent of their populations two doses of vaccines.

Now part of Australia's issue, where we have had about 25 percent of the population receive one dose of vaccine and about 3 percent fully vaccinated, part of it was we started a bit late. The government was keen to see what the international vaccine rollout was like for a month or two.

So it ended up being that we started in late February. Then we had supply issues. And supply issues are still in the background, particularly, the Pfizer vaccine. And really, the backbone of our vaccine program has been the AstraZeneca vaccine, for which one of our vaccine manufacturers is producing about 1 million doses a week.

But unfortunately, there's been hesitancy around the clotting issue, the rare clotting issue --

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NEWTON: Right, which has been a problem, yes, with AstraZeneca.

But I want to ask you, if Australia is having trouble with both the availability of vaccine and then vaccine hesitancy, how hopeful are you that, even though we have this, you know, the scientific discovery of these vaccines, that it's actually going to make a difference to the way we handle COVID in the next, let's say, two or three years?

SENANAYAKE: Look, I think we will, eventually, get there, certainly --

(CROSSTALK)

NEWTON: Eventually?

SENANAYAKE: -- in Australia.

Yes, eventually, Paula. But I think, particularly with the Pfizer vaccine, we see more of that in Australia. There'll be more acceptance and we will get things moving.

[02:25:00]

SENANAYAKE: And certainly, the vaccination rate in Australia has, certainly, accelerated. We are getting about 140,000 a day.

But you are right. The slower we are -- and I will take Africa as an example -- less than 1 percent or about 1 percent of all people in Africa have received a dose of vaccine. And they are now seeing a lot of COVID, including the Delta variant.

We don't control things in those parts of the world. Then new variants will appear, which are resistant to the vaccines. So Pfizer and AstraZeneca seem to be quite effective against the Delta variant; perhaps, not as effective as earlier. But if we get more, more developed variants or evolved variants, it will be a problem with the current vaccines.

NEWTON: Yes. And unfortunately, every time we go through this, we realize this is not over, despite the great discovery of the vaccines. Appreciate you being with us to show us the perspective.

SENANAYAKE: Thank you, Paula.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy newspaper has published its final edition. The paper says it was forced to close after Chinese authorities froze millions in assets and several journalists were arrested under China's national security law.

Now the news sent shock waves through Hong Kong's media industry and drew swift backlash from international leaders. CNN's Ivan Watson has more.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A final show of defiance, this, the emotional end to a 26-year journey for Hong Kong's biggest, loudest, pro-democracy newspaper, "Apple Daily."

WATSON: In the predawn hours, the final edition is now being printed. And the headline here says, "Hong Kong's painful farewell in the rain."

WATSON (voice-over): Outside "Apple Daily's" offices, an impromptu gathering of demonstrators.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not go gentle into the good night.

WATSON (voice-over): Chanting slogans, waving lights and tying yellow ribbons on the gates of the "Apple Daily" complex.

That show of support carried on well into the morning, as a million copies of "Apple Daily's" final edition hit the newsstands. Lines of people snaked through the streets, as readers bought up the final chapter of the tabloid-style newspaper.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what does this newspaper signify to you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democracy, freedom and space, dignity, identity -- a lot.

WATSON (voice-over): For more than two decades, "Apple Daily" divided opinion in Hong Kong, valued by those who shared its liberal values and loathed by conservatives, who accused it of causing chaos.

The death of the paper ringing alarm bells about freedom of the press in Hong Kong.

U.K. foreign secretary Dominic Raab said, "The paper's closure was a chilling blow to freedom of expression in Hong Kong."

A sentiment echoed by the foreign correspondent clubs in Taiwan and Hong Kong, while the U.S. consulate general posted this picture, reading, "Press freedom," with an apple.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you feel now that you're (INAUDIBLE) the last issue?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Horrible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you feel horrible about it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't have a choice.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm, basically, reading all the messages that -- that the authority prescribe for us.

WATSON (voice-over): Newsstands now brace for the absence of the apple-bearing masthead that has been a staple for decades, founded in 1995 by Jimmy Lai, who channeled wealth earned from textiles into Next Digital, the parent company of "Apple Daily."

Its tabloid sensibilities made it a market leader and gave Lai a huge platform in Hong Kong, one now all but crushed by the government's escalating campaign against dissent. The government denies this accusation, insisting it's still OK to

criticize the authorities. But officials argue, they targeted the newspaper, not because of its journalism but because of alleged acts that endanger national security.

Now its assets frozen, its top editors under arrest, including founder Jimmy Lai, who sits in jail, barred from speaking to the press. The newspaper that was a noisy thorn in the government's side has now gone silent -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: A makeshift memorial is growing near the condo building that collapsed in Surfside, Florida. And CNN spoke with the person who helped start that memorial. Why he felt called to do it. That's just ahead.

And for dozens of families whose loved ones are missing, the agonizing wait for answers is taking place abroad. How the U.S. is working to get them to the site of the rescue operation.

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NEWTON: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I am Paula Newton. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

And we are returning to our top story, to Florida, and the latest on the catastrophic building collapse in the city of Surfside. Now search-and-rescue teams are, again, at this hour, working through the night after another body was found in the rubble Saturday. At least five people have, now, been confirmed dead.

But 156 others are, still, unaccounted for. Families awaiting news of their loved ones have been gathering at the family reunification center a few blocks from the disaster site. And after 72 hours now, so many say the hardest part of it all is just not knowing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. RAMSEY: The worst thing is not to know. And so, I'm very -- at first, it was difficult because we weren't knowing a lot. And now, officials have been great. DeSantis has come in and we are getting updates every -- twice a day. And they are being very detailed.

They'll sit with us and give us more detail, exactly, where they're going, where they're boring and that's kind alleviating the heart a little bit because, like I said, knowing, whatever the outcome may be, you hope that they didn't suffer if something did occur. But knowing is -- is a little bit healing, in itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And, of course, it's devastating but necessary development. Families are providing DNA samples to help officials identify any victims.

Now people are putting up pictures of the missing just a few blocks away from the collapsed building. They are also bringing flowers and candles. And as you can see there, there are moments of reflection.

[02:35:00]

NEWTON: Families have been gathering, along with people who are, simply, devastated by what happened. Now CNN spoke with one of the people, who helped set up the memorial wall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE SOTO, MEMORIAL BUILDER: What were those families thinking for those last 10 seconds?

If they were woken up by the loud sound of the first collapse, you know, what were they thinking?

Were they able to hug their loved one?

Were they able to tell them I love you?

Were they able to recognize, this is the moment that, you know, that -- that maybe this is the last moment of our lives?

So what I am experiencing here, it's been very moving. I have seen a lot of people go up to the memorial, you know, shed tears. I have hugged a lot of people.

So it's been very moving to have a place where the community can come together, apart from everything that has to do with the government and trying to find answers and just have a place where they can have a spiritual connection with somebody else, that is also suffering with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now emergency officials are asking people to call them if they have relatives who are still unaccounted for. Now the impact of this tragedy extends far beyond South Florida. Many of those still unaccounted for are from Latin American countries. Their loved ones, outside the U.S., are watching the situation unfold from afar.

CNN's Matt Rivers has more now, from Mexico City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so many American families are awaiting news, any sort of word on the fate of their loved ones as a result of this partial collapse. So, too, are dozens of Latin American families whose loved ones are

among those that are missing. Remember there are multiple South American countries that have citizens that are among the dozens and dozens of people that remain unaccounted for at this point.

We've done some reporting over the last several days, talking to different family members from some of those South American countries. And the consistent theme we hear is that, among the worst of all of this is just the lack of information, the lack of any sort of news on the fates of their missing family members.

We know this is an international response. Both Israel and Mexico saying that they have sent workers, rescue workers, to try and help with the international effort, with the search and rescue effort that is currently underway in South Florida.

We also know the U.S. government, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio's office trying to expedite visas for the foreign nationals who have family members who are among those missing at this juncture.

I tried to get family members the ability to even come to South Florida and be their present as these rescue efforts continue but, unfortunately, we know that the more time goes by, as each hour ticks by, the chances of finding people alive in that debris continues to go down -- Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now former president Donald Trump is kicking off what you could call his revenge tour. On Saturday, he held a campaign-style rally in Ohio, the first one since he egged on his supporters just before the Capitol insurrection.

Now the rally was part of his effort to oust Republicans who crossed him after the 2020 election. Among them is Ohio representative Anthony Gonzales, who voted to impeach Trump.

Now in true Trump fashion, the former president mocked and derided Gonzales. And he also went after Vice President Kamala Harris, who visited the U.S.-Mexican border for the first time Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Kamala Harris, your vice president, only went to the border yesterday, for the one, simple reason because I announced that I was going next week. And I am, at the request of Texas governor Abbott and the Border Patrol.

I am going to the border next week. Oh, if I didn't do that, I don't know if she was ever going to go. I really don't know.

Was she ever going to go?

I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NEWTON: Trump's tour will be a major litmus test of how much sway he still has over his Republican base.

OK. There is much more to come here on CNN, including reaction to the lengthy sentence given to a former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.

We will also look at what the data says on policing in America and get perspective from one of America's most experienced police chiefs. Stay with us.

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PHILONISE FLOYD, GEORGE'S BROTHER: The fact that Gianna will grow up knowing that her father will make a difference in the world. But the fact that that she cannot have a sweet 16, she cannot have him walk her down the aisle, she will not be able to have prom with a daddy dance, this is not something realistic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: One of George Floyd's brothers there, reacting to Derek Chauvin's 22.5-year sentence. Now the former Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer is now back in a restricted housing unit after receiving his sentence for Floyd's murder last year. State corrections authorities haven't decided, yet, where Chauvin will serve his time.

On Friday, he addressed the Floyd family, in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEREK CHAUVIN, FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICER: I want to give my condolences to the Floyd family. There's going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest. And I hope things will give you some peace of mind. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: George Floyd was a 46-year-old father, whose encounter with Chauvin. And his final moments captured on a mobile phone by a horrified onlooker changed the direction of justice in America. Floyd's death sparked worldwide protests, demanding an end to police brutality.

Now according to the research group, Mapping Police Violence, 482 people in the United States have been killed by police through mid- June of this year alone. Now their data show that Black Americans bear the brunt of this violence. In 2020, Black people made up 28 percent of those killed by police,

despite the fact that they only make up 13 percent of the population. Now according to the group, as of May 31st, there were only eight days -- eight days -- this year in which police did not kill someone.

Now the group's data shows as well that most police killings begin with low-level offenses, like traffic stops or mental health checks. And just to give you an idea of how complicated this picture is, the group National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund say more police officers have died this year than in 2020.

And the number of officers killed due to all traffic-related causes, from stops to accidents and collisions, has risen 44 percent over the year before.

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NEWTON: Charles Ramsey is a CNN senior law enforcement analyst and a former Philadelphia police commissioner.

I want to thank you for joining us. You know, I listened, carefully, to your reaction when the sentencing was announced, 22.5 years.

[02:45:00]

NEWTON: You believe a stronger, longer sentence would have sent a better message here?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I actually thought that there would be a longer sentence. I was actually thinking in the range of 25 to 30. But the judge made his decision, 22.5 years. He based it on the evidence that he had available to him.

He was there. He listened to all the testimony. He took into consideration aggravating and mitigating factors. And that's what he -- that's what he came up with. And I -- I respect that. I think Judge Cahill did an excellent job in presiding over this trial.

So you know, whereas, I, personally, thought it would be higher, I'm not the judge. He is and he made the decision and I am OK with it.

NEWTON: Certainly, while there was mixed reaction, there was, also, I would say, a sense of relief, among many, including members of George Floyd's family, who -- who thought, perhaps, this sentence should have been longer but were, in a sense, relieved, as well.

You know, we continue to highlight, obviously, the statistics here. And whether it's in interactions with police or with the judicial system, itself, minorities, obviously, especially Black men, are so disadvantaged.

Do you believe, finally, that the murder of George Floyd will be or can be, a turning point?

C. RAMSEY: Well, I actually think the turning point started, actually, in Ferguson, Missouri, with Michael Brown, when the attention began to be focused on policing, in a different way.

Now that was not something that was captured on video. But it, certainly, did send shock waves throughout the country. I know, there were cities across America that had protests, as a result of that particular incident.

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NEWTON: But just --

C. RAMSEY: There have been several other --

NEWTON: -- just to push back a little bit, though, you know, when you look at the issue of Tamir Rice, do you actually think that?

You know, his birthday, he just would have been turning 19. His mom says, look, there is no justice. And just to remind everyone, he was a 12-year-old boy, who was shot, dead, by police. No one has been prosecuted, in that event, yet.

C. RAMSEY: Well, but all these situations are different. Tamir Rice had a gun, a toy gun but it looked like a real gun. It was a replica gun.

And someone saw him. He was shooting it toward people. They called the police. There was some tactical issues and so forth. The child never should have been shot. But you have to look at all these things individually.

Every time an officer uses force doesn't make it criminal. And so, we could debate, back and forth, whether or not that particular case should have resulted in a criminal proceeding or not. I'm not as familiar with that one as I am with George Floyd, certainly, which was, clearly, a case of murder on the part of the police officer, Derek Chauvin.

But each of these cases are different. And, you know, the use of force is a topic that, obviously, is on the front burner in American policing. There are things that need to happen in terms of better training, better equipment and so forth, deescalation, all those kinds of things.

But the bottom line is there is going to be some -- some situations in which deadly force will be used by police and it will be justified.

NEWTON: But --

C. RAMSEY: The cases we are talking about. They -- it was not justified.

NEWTON: -- but to that end, though, you know, you bring up a good point. This is a very complicated situation and a very complicated profession. You are a veteran of that profession.

Do you feel American policing is in crisis, in some way? Because arguably, the United States needs police protection perhaps more than it ever has. There is this police reform bill in front of Congress right now. You know, President Biden has said, go ahead, divert the money from the COVID funds to try and get more overtime, more community policing on the streets.

How do you think all of this is going to shake out?

You know, I'm in Atlanta right now. Many citizens here are very concerned about increasing crime. And you can replicate that in dozens of communities across the United States.

C. RAMSEY: Well, you can replicate it. And there is a couple things. Number one, we should be looking at the entire criminal justice system, not just policing.

Policing needs reform, no question. But I would argue very strongly, that we should look at the entire criminal justice system because police are not the only part of that system, where there are issues of -- of concern. We do have to find a way to get a handle on crime.

Is there a crisis right now?

I -- I believe it is. We're having very difficult times in recruiting in departments across the country. This is not a time when policing is very popular with young people. So we're losing officers faster than we're able to hire.

At the same time, we have an increase in crime and violent crime in cities across America, multiple factors that figure into why that's taking place. But the bottom line is, this is not the time to defund or think that you can get rid of police.

I think what we need to do is have thoughtful discussion on, what's the best way of dealing with this?

And we need short-term and long-term strategies in order to have a -- a real impact on violent crime in America.

[02:50:00]

NEWTON: Really appreciate it. Charles Ramsey for us.

C. RAMSEY: Thank you.

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NEWTON: We will be right back with more news in a moment.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NEWTON (voice-over): That's one way to beat the heat. We've all been there. More than 18 million people are under excessive heat warnings across the Western United States. Portland, Oregon, 108 degrees Fahrenheit or a bit past 42 degrees Celsius for you who can do the conversion. That was on Saturday.

It's going to keep going here. Seattle, Washington, is breaking records in triple digits as well. Saturday morning was the second hottest of all time.

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[02:55:00]

NEWTON: I'm Paula Newton. Thank you for your company. Kim Brunhuber picks things up from here with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.