Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Tropical Storm Elsa Threatens Condo Rescue; England Plans To Lift COVID Restrictions; 400+ Shootings In U.S. Over Holiday Weekend; Hong Kong Police Say, Six Students Arrested in Local Terrorism Plot; Demolition Allows Teams to Search in New Areas; At Least 150 Killed, 400-Plus Shootings over Holiday Weekend. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 06, 2021 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:53]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paul Newton. Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM. A tropical storm threatens search and rescue efforts at the Surfside tower collapse in Florida. We'll have a live weather update on the conditions.

Plus, England prepares to loosen its COVID restrictions. Even as the country's Prime Minister warns the pandemic is far from over.

And a surge in gun violence over the holiday weekend in the U.S. leaves at least 150 people dead and many searching for answers.

At this hour, search and rescue crews in Surfside Florida are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Elsa moving across the Gulf of Mexico at this hour. Now, the Miami area is not expected to take a direct hit. That's good news. But the thing is that heavy rain and gusty winds could complicate the search for survivors and that deadly building collapse. The storm comes just as rescue teams got a major boost in their efforts. CNN's Leyla Santiago explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The controlled demolition of the rest of the Champlain Tower South building Sunday has opened the way for search and rescue teams to run their efforts official save and continue their work safely.

MAYOR DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA (D) MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA: The search and rescue team has been able to search all sections of the grid on the collapse following the building demolition. Now that the entire area is safe to search.

SANTIAGO: The potential threat of Tropical Storm Elsa also impacted the decision making.

MAYOR CHARLES BURKETT, SURFSUDE, FLORIDA: The worst thing that could have happened in was to have a storm come in and blow that building down on top of the pile.

SANTIAGO: Rescue teams halted their work temporarily but resumed just over an hour after the demolition began. Today, workers hoping to access voids in the rubble that they couldn't before the remaining tower was brought down.

BURKETT: The activity on that site, which I just came from a few minutes ago, is more active and greater than I've ever seen since the beginning of this crisis.

SANTIAGO: This as new condo documents obtained by CNN show that a presentation was prepared for residents last fall and winter. On quote, "Why we have to do all this now" The garage lacked waterproofing and "water has gotten underneath and caused additional damage to the concrete." Over the weekend in Miami Beach, two different nearby condominiums were evacuated and an abundance of caution.

One just miles north of Champlain Towers due to reported unsafe structural and electrical conditions. Then firefighters ordered residents to evacuate a low-rise condominium complex after a building inspector flagged a floor system failure in a vacant unit and damage to an exterior wall, according to a city spokesperson.

Officials say the priority right now is search and rescue of victims. But investigators continue to search for answers.

MAYOR DAN GELBER, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: If we find out that this was entirely avoidable which, you know, because of action or inaction. You know, it's still an obviously a tragedy. But it makes it just so much more acute and so important for us to act.

SANTIAGO: For some the demolition of the remaining tower was emotional. Yet it allowed others to finally make their first visit to the site of the tragedy.

MERCY MACDOWELL, FRIEND IS UNACCOUNTED FOR: I wasn't able to come are there because the side of the building, still affected me greatly. And today because the building came down, I think I managed to make it all the way up to the memorial site.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANTIAGO (on camera): And, you know, when we visited that Memorial that you saw at the end of the story there. It's just a block away from where the building collapsed. We could still see the dust in the air and we certainly saw a lot of raw pain. People sobbing trying to make sense of what has happened here. I spoke to one couple from New York who said this reminded a lot of 9/11 as they watched the rescuers or rescue crews continue to just dig and dig.

[02:05:06]

SANTIAGO: And I also spoke to some people who say that when that building was demolished, it took some hope along with it, while others say that that's exactly what they needed to be able to start moving forward. Leyla, Santiago, CNN, Surfside Florida.

NEWTON: Joining me now is Matthys Levy, a consulting engineer and professor at Columbia University. He is also the author of Why Buildings Fall Down, How Structures Fail. Again, thank you for being with us, Mr. Levy. And yes, the title of the book especially intriguing to so many people right now. Listen, we've had some new information come out in recent days about how perhaps this building might have fallen down so catastrophically. Have you been able to glean any information from -- new information from everything you've seen?

MATTHYS LEVY, CONSULTING ENGINEER: Well, based on everything I've seen, I obviously have given you some thought and I have an idea of what may have happened. But nothing will be determined directly until we've had a chance to really look at the re and study the design, the original design, as well as the maintenance issue, which is I think, is critical here.

NEWTON: We talk about the maintenance issue being critical. And that's what I mean about new information because people tend to be looking for one trigger event. Could it really have been just one trigger event? Would it just be the concrete or the platform by the pool? Would it just be the fact that the rebar seems to have been compromised? Or would have been a combination of things?

LEVY: It's not that a combination of things. It's, you know, the pool -- anyway points the pool, but the pool, I don't think is the -- the pool itself is not the issue. It's the deck that comes up to the building, that may be part of the issue. And also a deck (INAUDIBLE) is supported by columns. And those columns may have been compromised. They may have contributed to the collapse.

NEWTON: When we get to the maintenance of buildings, and let's point out this building wasn't really that old, yes, for decades, but not that old. So when we start looking at other buildings that are now being inspected in Miami and beyond, quite frankly, how -- what do you tell people who are concerned who are living in buildings that are not well maintained? I mean, is this just a very rare, catastrophic event or do we now need to take a harder look at these buildings?

LEVY: Maybe we should pay attention to maintenance. I mean, nothing forever all by itself. You have to maintain it. And the issue here is that there was a warning signs from engineers who looked at the building three years ago and identified certain areas that seem to be in the same (INAUDIBLE) and should have been tackled immediately. Not wait three years before doing something about it.

NEWTON: Understood. But there are other buildings in Miami and elsewhere beyond that have the same kind of inspection reports. What do you do about that?

LEVY: This will, you know, one of -- one of the problems around Miami and anything along the shoreline, is the fact that you are dealing with a saltwater environment to begin with. That's very corrosive, it attacks concrete, it attacks the reinforcing steel and concrete. You have to be very cognizant of that. And if you want to keep your building up to a certain higher standard, you have to keep putting money into maintenance.

NEWTON: When you look at the research that you've done through your career and going back to your central question of your book, why structures fail? I mean, what is the central answer to that? This was absolutely catastrophic. This wasn't a balcony falling. This wasn't one side of the building. This wasn't chunks of concrete even falling off.

LEVY: No. It might be some innate flaw, most likely, and that flaw allowed the progression of the collapse. It was not as the collapse that happened today only because something happened yesterday. It's something that happened over a long period of time, it was not taken care of. Starting with the day the building was built. Some of the reinforcing may not have been in the right place, may have been moved.

Some of the concrete may not have been protected by waterproofing. These are all issues that have been raised in the last two weeks. And I think we need answers.

NEWTON: OK. We'll leave it there. Matthys Levy, thanks so much for your expertise. Appreciate it.

LEVY: You're very welcome.

[02:10:04]

NEWTON: Now of course earlier we were talking about Tropical Storm Elsa and it's already delayed search and rescue crews in Surfside. For more on when and where the storm is set to make landfall in Florida, I want to bring in meteorologists Tyler Mauldin. This is an interesting storm and the fact that perhaps it's moved further away from Surfside, but the winds alone could cause trouble.

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's a very lopsided system and it's very much loaded on the eastern or right side. And what's on the right side of the system, well, that's going to be the peninsula Florida. And in Surfside we should expect some gusty stormy squalls to push through on Tuesday. And then once we get to Wednesday and Thursdays back to the normal South Florida rainy season weather.

We do have showers and thunderstorms pushing through South Florida right now. And that's directly related to Elsa. We have one band push through -- we actually had a really intense man push through earlier this afternoon. And now these are -- aren't as intense, but you can see they're lining up right over Surfside. And this is despite Elsa being about 150 miles to the south of Miami. It's 80 miles to the south of Key West.

It's now to the north of Havana, Cuba, it's hit the Florida straits. It has strengthened as of the 2:00 a.m. update, still a 60-mile per hour storm, gust as high as 70. And on this track is going to push to the north. And that's why we have tropical storm warnings in effect from Key West all the way up to the Big Bend of Florida. We do expect it to make landfall along the Big Bend of Florida.

And despite the fact that it's going to parallel the Florida peninsula and say right off shore we are still going to see some impacts across the peninsula Florida, Paula, especially across the West Coast.

NEWTON: Yes. It'll be interesting to track that storm. The winds definitely as you warned us already can pack upon. Tyler, thanks appreciate it.

U.S. health officials are sounding the alarm but a potentially dangerous combination. Low vaccination rates and a more contagious COVID variant. Now new data shows recent COVID-19 infection rates are on average -- are an average of three times higher in less vaccinated states. And as the Delta variant spreads, there's an urgent push to get more shots in arm. CNN's Lucy Kafanov has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite having missed its target to get at least one shot into 70 percent of U.S. adults by July 4th the White House is celebrating.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today. We're closer than ever, to declaring our independence from a deadly virus.

KAFANOV: Welcoming 1000 essential workers and military personnel on the South Lawn this weekend.

BIDEN: The virus hasn't been vanquished. We know this. It no longer controls our lives.

KAFANOV: Touting progress and vaccinating just over 67 percent of American adults, as the more infectious Delta variant continues to spread.

JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Or much further along than anyone would have anticipated at this point. If you're not vaccinating, you are not protected. So we're going to double down on our efforts to vaccinate millions of more Americans across July and August.

KAFANOV: For the unvaccinated it's a major threat.

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, GRADY HEALTH: The problem is in areas of the country where you don't have a significant percentage of the population immunize, particularly young people. And in those places the Delta variant is going to spread because it's highly transmissible and it's going to infect a lot of those people that are not yet vaccinated or have not yet been infected with COVID.

KAFANOV: More than 99 percent of U.S. COVID-19 deaths in June were among unvaccinated people according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR NATIONAL, INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGIES AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: If you look at the number of deaths, about 99.2 percent of them are unvaccinated. We have a big country with disparity in the willingness to be vaccinated.

KAFANOV: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Wyoming among those falling behind on vaccinations, prompting fears about a looming surge in cases.

FAUCI: You might expect to see spikes in certain regions in certain states, cities or counties. I don't think you're going to be seeing anything nationwide because fortunately, we have a substantial proportion of the population vaccinated.

KAFANOV: Thanks to vaccines, America does appear to be on the road to recovery, making the nation's second pandemic birthday celebration look very different from the last.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAFANOV (on camera): And vaccination is key to curbing the spread of the virus. New data from Johns Hopkins University shows that states with below average vaccination rates have almost tripled the rate of new COVID-19 cases compared to states with above average vaccination rates. Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Denver.

NEWTON: U.S. troops may be leaving but the war in Afghanistan isn't going anywhere. Attacks from the Taliban have some Afghan forces so shaken. They fled the country. We'll have details.

And another school target by gunmen in Nigeria.

[02:15:01]

NEWTON: Some students may be rescued but scores more are captured details. Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: New reports claim about 1000 Afghan troops have now fled the battlefield seeking shelter in neighboring Tajikistan. It comes as Afghan officials in the northern province of Takhar say Taliban forces failed to capture its capital city being held by -- backed by government forces. And even armed civilians. Now, meantime, the Afghan government is trying to figure out what to do with the key military site after the U.S. withdrew.

CNNs Anna Coren reports from Bagram Air Base.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are here at Bagram Air Base. This is the first time we've been given access to this facility since U.S. and NATO forces departed on Friday. Essentially ending America's involvement in the war. It was the hive of activity at the height of this war. It has now been handed over to the Afghans and currently there are some 3000 troops on the base assessing what the Americans have left.

Behind me is a delegation from the National Security Council assigned by President Ghani to strategize and work out how they are going to use Bagram Air Base moving forward.

[02:20:09]

COREN: But it certainly is a strange place to be. It feels a bit like a disorganized junkyard, we know the air hangars in the background that those hangers are still locked. We were out at the runways which three kilometers long and it was absolutely deserted. Wasn't so long ago that there were fighter jets, cargo planes and surveillance aircraft landing and departing constantly, as I say it is now quiet.

And then here, you have like a car yard. There are hundreds of vehicles that the Americans have left, whether it be four-wheel drives, pickup trucks, but this is what the Afghans are now having to assess. What is in their arsenal to continue this war. And we know that the security situation on the ground is deteriorating a lot faster than then many realize that Taliban have taken over 150 provinces in just the last two months.

One of the vice presidents of Afghanistan has said that tens of thousands of people in the countryside where the fighting is happening are fleeing to the cities and that has been backed up by the United Nations that says more than 56,000 people have had to flee four provinces in the north east. It is alarming and very concerning for Afghans on the ground. We spoke to two one military personnel who said it feels like an old friend has left without saying goodbye.

There is a deep sense of abandonment here in Afghanistan. But as the Americans have spelt out, other than limited air support. This war is now up to Afghanistan to fight.

Anna Coen, CNN Bagram Air Base.

NEWTON: So Anna pointed out a lot of challenges there. And earlier I spoke with CNN military analyst, Colonel Cedric Leighton. I asked him why after so long, the Afghan government still can't defeat the Taliban. Here's part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLONEL CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The government in Afghanistan, for whatever reason, has not been able to develop a strategy to counter the Taliban efforts in this regard, you know, people, I guess, have a very short memory in some cases, because the Taliban was a very brutal regime when they were in charge in Afghanistan before 2001. But the government in Afghanistan, the current government a is very much in a creature of habit, I guess, would be the best way to put it.

And because of that they are unwilling to not only learn what the Taliban are doing, but they also have no capacity to emulate what the Taliban are doing and counter them at their own game. By -- and because of that, they are not only incapable of achieving victory but they're also going to lose in the battle for the soul of the Afghan nation. And that's what we're seeing here. We're seeing the blues, a very well-orchestrated campaign.

We're seeing the government of Afghanistan lose the territory that we and they fought so hard to gain. And that's going to really create a very big, difficult strategic situation for us as this unfolds.

NEWTON: Yes. And you know it is going to affect the most vulnerable groups in Afghanistan as well. You have to say, now that this problem will come again to the doorstep of the White House. I've -- it's been refreshing that at least the military commanders themselves in the U.S. have been in the field in Afghanistan and the U.S. have been very blunt. They think this could be the beginning of a civil war in Afghanistan.

Is there anything the Biden administration can do at this late stage? And I'm talking about whether it is air support in any way. Special Operations. Anything that they can do now strategically, even though they have pulled out to try and turn this around?

LEIGHTON: Well, they certainly could give the Afghan government a guarantee of their support, and what we call close air support. For example, you know, given a scenario where a couple that would be under attack, it would be something, you know, for the United States to offer that to the current Afghan Government. But my understanding is that the President of the United States has actually refused to do that.

And that also weakens the hand of the Afghan government. Other things that we could do is provide a concerted stream of intelligence to the Afghan forces and allow them to use actionable intelligence that the United States and its allies have gathered in Afghanistan. But I don't think we've integrated them very well into our -- what we call our tactics, techniques and procedures.

And because of that, we're not only abandoning them but we're also allowing them to fail, because we're not giving them information that they could potentially use to defend themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:25:08]

NEWTON: Our thanks there to Colonel Cedric Leighton for his insights.

Now Nigerian authorities are said to be in hot pursuit of gunmen who raided a private school and kidnap scores of students. Now people say at least 26 students and a teacher have been rescued. Officials in Kaduna say the attackers captured about 140 students. Armed men have been targeting schools and even hospitals for abductions for ransom. This is the 10th mass school kidnapping in northwest Nigeria since December. And we will continue to follow that story.

Now England is getting ready to eliminate COVID restrictions even though paces are creeping back up. We'll ask an Oxford expert why now and if this is a dangerous plan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Paul Newton and this is CNN NEWSROOM. The British Prime Minister says July 19 is when authorities plan to lift COVID restrictions in England even though cases keep arising there. Tens of thousands of new infections have been recorded in recent days due to the spread of course, that highly contagious Delta variant. Boris Johnson says the ongoing effectiveness of the vaccine rollout is why his country can afford loosen safety measures instead of tightening them. But he stressed that the U.K. will still have to live with this virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I would distress from the outset that this pandemic is far from over.

[02:30:04]

It certainly won't be over by the 19th . And as we predicted in the roadmap in February, we're seeing cases rise fairly rapidly. That could be 50,000 cases detected per day by the 19th and, again, as we predicted, we're seeing rising hospital admissions, and we must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from COVID.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN NEWSROOM: Sobering messages, Dr. Peter Drobac is with me now from us from Oxford, England. He is an infectious disease and global health expert, at the University of Oxford.

So, you heard Boris Johnson approach, you know he will find support for this throughout England and beyond, the fact that, look, this is a virus we have to live with. Do you believe though that he is moving too quickly?

DR. PETER DROBAC, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: I do. It is quite a stunning reversal. And what concerns me a little bit is this is kind of all or nothing approach, that is only either, you know, all lock downs or we have to get rid of everything.

Normally, we see restrictions being lifted when cases are falling. What's, of course, fairly unique about this situation is that we're currently seeing an exponential rise in cases, 25,000 a day, and climbing quite quickly across the U.K.

Now, the key thing here of course is because the relatively high level of vaccinations, about 50 percent of the population, it's weakened the so-called link between cases and hospitalizations. So, hospitalizations are rising, but low.

I think the government is really betting on the idea that we can tolerate a steep rise in cases without seeing pressure on the health system or a steep rise on deaths and, frankly, really thinking about this and why would we even remove mask mandates, which are demonstrated to significantly slow the spread.

Yes, I think the government is really betting on the vaccines to work, but saying, look, a third wave is here, we're better off letting as many non-vaccinated people get us infected as possible now rather than in the fall and winter during flu season when it could be more difficult. I think that's a fairly significant gamble. NEWTON: Yes, that is quite a gamble, especially because we heard

Boris Johnson himself say there that he expected a sharp rise in cases, and for that to continue.

What makes this even more worrisome though is news out of Israel that vaccines, at least so far, they feel in that country, seem to now be a bit less effective against severe disease now. They're saying much of that is owing to the delta variant. How alarmed do you think all of us should be about this?

DROBAC: Well, the delta variant is quickly becoming the dominant strain, not just in the U.K., and Israel, but, really, across the world and Israel -- excuse me India showed us what happened when delta spreads in a setting of low vaccination.

Israel and the U.K. now, are case studies for what to expect in high vaccination countries. And it is significant that, you know, the vaccines are still effective, and I want to emphasize that, very effective, particulate preventing hospitalization and death. However, vaccines are comparatively less effective against the delta variant.

And so that number that we just heard of this new report out of Israel, at about 64 percent effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine is concerning, right, because that is only about a third.

And so what you worry about in a setting like what we're facing in the U.K., as cases start to rise predominantly in the younger portion of the population, is how much this transmission then going to come back into the population of folks who have already been vaccinated. And I think that, you know, we're going to will find out.

To me, there's a little bit too much uncertainty to take this fairly brazen approach.

NEWTON: Yes, especially given the new warning from the Israeli government there.

I don't have a lot of time left but I have to ask you. You know, this is going to appeal to many people who just want to get on with life, and I put it to you, that in the U.K. and elsewhere, thousands of people did, unfortunately, die from respiratory viruses, flu, what have you, every year.

DR. DROBAC: Well, certainly, that's true. But if you think about that, you know, we're not facing the --- we weren't facing the exponential growth potential of a virus like COVID-19, and this has been the largest peacetime mass casualty event in well over a century. And, of course, we're not facing that same level of risk that we were back in early 2020. But this is far from over.

I know everybody is tired. Everybody wants to get back to normal. Everyone wants this to be over, but just wishing it to go away isn't going to make it go away. And I think we need to continue to work together as individuals but also I think government to take responsibility to continue to manage this pandemic. NEWTON: Yes. And when you consider that you won't even have to have a mask perhaps on public transport in England, that certainly is sobering.

Dr. Peter Drobac thanks so much. I appreciate it.

DR. DROBAC: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, teenagers under arrest in Hong Kong are being accused of terrorism. Police say, they seized these weapons and materials. We'll be live in Hong Kong, next.

[02:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Just hours ago, Hong Kong police announced they have foiled a suspected bomb plot and arrested nine suspects, six of them high school students. Police say, they were targeting courts and transportation facilities, but had yet to make and explosives.

Authorities say they seized these materials and weapons, which, apparently, included on operations manual for an attack this month.

We want to get straight to Kristie Lu Stout, who has been following this developing story from Hong Kong.

Now what can you tell us about this investigation, because it is just so startling, six high school students?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a startling development, especially during this time of tightening Chinese control and deepening polarization here in Hong Kong. Hong Kong police, on a press conference earlier today, said that they had thwarted a suspected terror plot, after arresting nine people, including six teenagers, six high school students, on suspicion of terrorist offenses, under the national security law.

According to Hong Kong police, they say that the nine people had been to the hospital in the Kowloon area in Hong Kong, where they had intended to create homemade bombs. According to Hong Kong police, they say that they intended to target public facilities across Hong Kong, including public transport and courts, as well as cross tunnel -- across harbor tunnels

Of the nine who were arrested, five are men, four are women, six, again, high school students, teenagers. All of these individuals are believed to be part of an independence for Hong Kong organization called Returning Valiant, which is active on social media platforms, including Facebook.

Here is Steve Li, the senior superintendent of Hong Kong police, giving more details about the arrests and the operation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVE LI, SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT, HONG KONG POLICE: To establish a homemade lab to manufacture improvised explosive devices in the middle of a busy city is very insane.

[02:40:00]

I think everyone would agree with that. It is very irresponsible. It is very painful to see young people getting involved. It is a heinous act to lure young people into participating in this kind of activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, as for who is funding this operation, Hong Kong police would only say the main source of financing the operation was arrested by Hong Kong police.

Now, these arrests coincide with ongoing claims by the leadership here in Hong Kong that terrorism remains a threat despite the imposition for over a year now of the national security law. We heard from Carrie Lam, earlier today, who warned of underground terrorist activity. Paula?

NEWTON: Okay. Kristie, thanks so much for staying on top of this story, Kristie Lu Stout out there for us live from Hong Kong

Philippine officials have ordered a probe into Sunday's deadly military plane crash. On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte visited the camp where the dead and dozens of wounded have been taken.

The plane was carrying troops to an island in the Southern Philippines when it missed the runway and crashed. At least 50 people including three civilians were killed. It is the country's worst military air disaster and decades.

And I want to thank you for joining us here on CNN Newsroom. If you are an international viewer, World Sport is next. If you are watching right here in the United States, I will be right back with more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:00]

NEWTON: Search crews say they now have safe access to the entire- debris field in that Florida building collapse. Now, the remaining part of the Champlain Towers South building was demolished late Sunday. The Miami-Dade mayor says the pile of rubble next to the building was all that was holding it up. Since then, four more bodies have been recovered, bringing the death toll to 28.

Surfside's mayor says the search for the 117 people still missing will continue until everyone is found.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CHARLES BURKETT, SURFSIDE, FLORIDA: Now, that the damaged building is down, the site is staffed with a tremendous amount of search and rescue workers, the heavy equipment is now able to move around the site, as needed.

We're operating at 100 percent capacity and I am very excited about that. And I believe, I sense that the families were too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, a high-rise building in San Francisco is under renewed scrutiny after the Florida condo collapse. Millennium Tower, the city's tallest residential building, has been sinking for years.

CNN's Dan Simon has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With its soaring panoramic views and world-class amenities, the Millennium Tower in Downtown San Francisco opened to great fanfare in April of 2009. At 58 storeys, it's the city's tallest-residential building with over $400 multimillion units. Among its early residents, former NFL Quarterback and 49ers icon Joe Montana.

JOE MONTANA, FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK AND 49ERS ICON: It was built as one of the top ten most luxurious buildings in the world. It had its own gym, its own pool, its own theater.

SIMON: Frank Jernigan and Andrew Faulk paid more than 4 million for their condo on the 50th floor. Five years later, they received the troubling news, the high-rise was not only sinking, it was also tilting, as illustrated in this now-infamous video.

FRANK JERNIGAN, MILLENNIUM TOWER RESIDENT: It was the very first time we did it. He got the marble out and said I'm going to roll this and see what it does. It rolls about ten feet out slows to a stop and then turns around and starts rolling back and picks up speed as it goes past him.

ANDREW FAULK, MILLENNIUM TOWER RESIDENT: And so, he's like oh, my God.

SIMON: 60 Minutes called this 2017 segment the leaning tower of San Francisco and showed the alarming stress gauges and cracks in the building's basement.

The Millennium's current engineer at record, Ronald Hamburger, telling CNN that as of today, the building has now sunk and tilted 18 inches.

DENNIS HERRERA, CITY ATTORNEY: This morning, my office filed a lawsuit against the developer of the Millennium Tower.

SIMON: After years of lawsuits, hearings and finger pointing, a retrofit announced last October will anchor the building to bedrock, which, to the duration of critics, had not been done originally. Instead, the foundation was built in the deep sand. Experts determined that adjacent projects and a process called dewatering had weakened the soil under the tower causing it to sink. The high-profile ordeal may be all the more relevant in the wake of the Surfside catastrophe, with questions arising whether some of the nation's buildings might possibly be at risk.

JERNIGAN: these people were lying in bed comfortably at night with no warning, whatsoever, and our hearts just go out to them.

NIALL MCCARTHY, RESIDENTS' ATTORNEY: When you have a high rise, that collapses, and you had a situation in San Francisco we had a high rise that was sinking and tilting it affects people's peace of mind . SIMON: Attorney Niall McCarthy represented about a hundred of the tower's residents who saw their property values plummet. He says, under an agreed settlement, residents received a significant portion of their loss.

In a statement to CNN, Millennium's engineer said, any potential comparisons between Surfside and the Millennium Tower would be, quote, reckless and premature, adding that the building was designed with earthquake resistance, remains safe, and is in no danger of collapse.

The $100 million fix is set to be completed next year, but Frank and Andrew won't be there to see its completion.

FAULK: We got out our suitcases. We put everything in and we left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON (on camera): Even with all the problems, people, of course, continue to buy and sell units inside the building, and as for that $100 million dollar project that's underway, it is not designed to repair any damage, according to the plan but it is designed to prevent the building from sinking any further, and to recover some of the tilt. How much? About 50 percent over the next couple of decades.

Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

NEWTON: America is in the middle of a deadly surge in gun violence. At least 150 people were killed by gun violence in more than 400 shootings across the country during the 4th of July holiday weekend.

[02:50:03]

That's according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive. And these numbers are expected to rise as more data comes in.

CNN's Josh Campbell has more.

JOSH CAMPBELL CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: An incredibly violent 4th of July weekend across the United States as we continue to see this deadly wave of shooting after shooting from coast to coast.

According to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive, at least 150 people were killed by gun violence in more than 400 shootings across the country since Friday as major cities nationwide confront a surge in violent crime. Just a few examples, in Ft. Worth, Texas, eight people were injured Sunday morning in a shooting near a car wash after an argument transpired between a group of men, one of whom opened fire towards a group of people. Most of the victims are believed to be innocent bystanders, police said.

In Norfolk, Virginia, four children were shot on Friday afternoon, including a six-year-old girl. The victims also included a 14-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. Norfolk Police said an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

In Dallas, Texas, police responding to two separate shootings on July 4th, one of which involved five men who were shot, three of the victims were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, one victim had been shot multiple times in a street disturbance, authorities said.

In Chicago, 14 people were killed, including a National Guard member, that according to CNN-affiliate WLS, this over the weekend, during various incidents of gun violence in that city. Two police officers were wounded while dispersing a crowd.

Of course, these are more than just statistics. We're talking about people. And the body count from America's gun violence epidemic continues to rise seemingly with no end in sight.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

NEWTON: Now, America's violent weekend also included a fatal shooting on a golf course here in Georgia. Now, police are still looking for the suspect who drove onto the course Saturday in a pickup truck and fatally shot 41-year-old pro golfer Gene Siller. Two bodies were later discovered in the bed of the truck, both dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

CNN's Ryan Young has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a peaceful dude. He built community, didn't have one enemy.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A golf pro and two others dead after a bizarre incident on a country club golf course. It happened Saturday afternoon at the Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, just north of Atlanta. Witnesses say a man who police are still looking for drove a white pickup truck onto the course. Golf pro Gene Siller went to see what was going on and was shot near the 10th hole. A member of the club told CNN-affiliate WXIA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it happened, it was all in the moment, you know, 4th of July, you're thinking fireworks and it's not fireworks and there's a guy on the ground.

YOUNG: Police say 41-year-old Siller was found with an apparent gunshot wound to the head and pronounced dead at the scene.

SEBASTIAN SCHUTTE, FRIEND OF GENE SILLER: A really nice guy, greeted everyone, treated everyone with respect, you know, a really good guy.

YOUNG: Officers then made another shocking discovery inside the bed of the truck parked on the green, the bodies of two men both with apparent gunshot wounds. Police identified one of the victims as Paul Pierson, the registered owner of the Dodge Ram pickup truck. The other victim has yet to be identified and police haven't said the victims knew each other.

Officials have said little about the suspect, but nearby Kennesaw State University sent out an emergency alert to students and Faculty. In a series of tweets, the school's emergency management department described the suspect as a Hispanic male with long hair, 6'1, 170 pounds, with a darker complexion, wearing a white or tan T-shirt, work pants and possibly a hat.

Investigators are still trying to figure out if it was a targeted or random incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It concerns me that no police officer has been down our driveway. Maybe there's more news out there they know about that has leveled the concern in their eyes, but it does concern me.

YOUNG: In a statement, PGA's president said, quote, we are truly heartbroken to hear about the senseless murder that took place yesterday in Pinetree Country Club in Georgia that took the life of PGA member Gene Siller.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Siller's family. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

SCHUTTE: It didn't hit me until later you know that this happened at our country club and I still can't believe it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: Many of the community members here tell me they are fans of the law enforcement officers who work in this neighborhood. They're not used to needing them for something like this. They want to see more of them patrolling the neighborhood after an incident like this.

If you look over my shoulder, you can see the track marks that lead toward the water that's apparently where this incident took place. Then over here, you can see the flowers over my shoulder. That's apparently where either some family and friends gathered a little earlier to put something down as a memorial to that fallen golf pro. This really has shaken this neighborhood.

[02:55:00]

Reporting in Kennesaw, Georgia, Ryan Young, CNN.

NEWTON: The CEO of a widely used software vendor says it's hard to gauge the full impact of a major ransomware attack to his company. Now, the U.S.-based firm Kaseya says fewer than 1,500 businesses around the world have been affected by the recent breach. A criminal hacking group was demanding $70 million in ransom for a decrypter tool. The company says it met with the FBI and cybersecurity authorities Monday night.

Experts say it's likely one of the largest supply chain attacks from a non-nation state ever, and hackers are getting just more aggressive. The White House is urging companies to report if their systems have been compromised as more Americans return to work today after the 4th of July holiday.

Movie fans and Hollywood stars are remembering accomplished producer and director Richard Donner. He died Monday at age 91. Donner had a remarkable six-decade career making so many beloved movies, including Superman and the Goonies. Steven Spielberg remembered Donner as all heart all the time, and gifted across so many genres.

Donner also helped bring new life to the buddy movie with his work on the Lethal Weapon franchise. He also directed classic episodes of The Twilight Zone early in his career, including Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, starring a very young William Shatner.

And that does it for me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Paula Newton. Rosemary Church will pick things up after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00]