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Texas School Shooting; Russia's War On Ukraine; NRA Convention Goes On. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired May 28, 2022 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. We want to get right to our top story.

Another frustrating revision as to how the massive shooting in Texas unfolded.

Now officials say officers were on the scene for more than an hour before finally confronting and killing the gunman. For much of that time, police actually were waiting in the hallway, even as the gunman fired more shots and children inside the classroom he was holed up in called 9-1-1.

Jason Carroll now reports top police officials say it was a mistake to not engage the shooter earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): I was misled. I am livid about what happened.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Texas Governor Greg Abbott aiming his ire at law enforcement.

ABBOTT: My expectation is that the law enforcement leaders that are leading the investigations which includes the Texas Rangers and the FBI, they get to the bottom of every fact with absolute certainty.

CARROLL (voice-over): After damning new admissions from Texas authorities.

MCCRAW: It was the wrong decision, period.

CARROLL (voice-over): The incident commander making the decision not to immediately enter the classroom the gunman was in.

MCCRAW: A decision was made that this was a barricaded subject. The situation, there was time to retrieve the keys and wait for a tactical team with the equipment to go ahead and breach the door and take on the subject at that point.

CARROLL (voice-over): Officials explained how the shooter got into the school.

MCCRAW: Well, we knew the shooter entered, Ramos, was propped open by a teacher.

CARROLL (voice-over): Investigators clarifying the timeline as police arrived.

MCCRAW: The three initial police officers that arrived went directly to the door and two receive grazing wounds at that time from the suspect while the door was closed; 11:37, there was more gunfire, another 16 rounds were fired; 11:37, one at 11:37 and 16 seconds, 11:38, 11:40, 11:44 and 11:51, a police sergeant and USB agents started to arrive.

At 12:03, the officers continued to arrive in the hallway and there were as many as 19 officers at that time in that hallway.

CARROLL (voice-over): Officers did not enter the room until a janitor provided keys.

MCCRAW: They breached the door using keys that they're able to get from the janitor. Because both doors were locked, though both of the classrooms that he shot into were locked when officers arrived. They killed the suspect at that time.

CARROLL (voice-over): In that crucial time, survivors inside both classrooms, made desperate calls to 9-1-1.

MCCRAW: She identified herself, whispered, she's in room 112. At 12:10, she called back in room 12, advised there are multiple dead. 12:13, again, she called on the phone; again at 12:16, she has called back and said there was eight to nine students alive.

CARROLL (voice-over): Minutes later, a student called.

MCCRAW: Student child called back, was told to stay on the line and be very quiet. She told 9-1-1 he shut the door. At approximate 12:43 and 12:47, she asked 9-1-1 to please send the police now.

CARROLL (voice-over): Alfred Garza says his daughter, Amerie, may have been one of those students who tried to call 9-1-1. She was killed during the shooting.

ALFRED GARZA, AMERIE JO'S FATHER: Something's got to be done now. You know, what are we going?

Where do we go from here?

You know, you were wrong. What do we do now?

You know, it is my question, what are we going to do?

CARROLL: The accountability you're talking about.

GARZA: The accountability, you know. Somebody's got to be responsible. CARROLL (voice-over): Warning signs missed.

MCCRAW: That Ramos asked his sister to help him buy him a gun. She flatly refused. That was in September of '21.

CARROLL (voice-over): With social media group chats and posts as far back as last February, offering red flags.

MCCRAW: He had Instagram, a four-group chat and it was discussed that Ramos being a school shooter. That was on February 28th of 2022.

On March 14th, there was an Instagram posting by the subject in quotations, "10 more days."

[05:05:00]

MCCRAW: A user replied, "Are you going to shoot up a school or something?"

The subject replied, "No. And stop asking dumb questions and you will see."

CARROLL: The governor here says he expects new laws to be passed to address what happened here, asking both the FBI and the Texas Rangers to investigate every law enforcement official that was involved with what happened -- Jason Carroll, CNN, Uvalde, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: We want to keep our focus on the victims and the families and those who have been affected by this horrific act of violence. All have been identified. CNN's Boris Sanchez has their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three days after 21 innocent lives were taken, we're learning more about the loved ones this small town is grieving.

DORA MENDOZA, AMERIE JO GARZA'S GRANDMOTHER: Don't forget them, please. Do something about it, I beg you.

SANCHEZ: Miranda Mathis was 11 years old. A friend of her mother's told "The Washington Post," Miranda was a fun, spunky, bright girl.

Ten-year-old Rogelio Torres, his aunt telling CNN affiliate KSET, he was a, quote, "very intelligent, hardworking and helpful person. He'll be missed and never forgotten."

Maite Rodriguez, also 10 years old, her mother, Anna, says Maite dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and wanted to attend college at Texas A&M. In a touching Facebook tribute, Anna calls her daughter, quote, "sweet, charismatic, loving, caring, loyal, free, ambitious, funny, silly, goal driven and her best friend."

Other victims' names have also been confirmed. Layla Salazar, 11 years old; Makenna Lee Elrod, Alithia Ramirez and Jayce Luevanos, all 10 years old.

And in a tragic twist, the husband of Irma Garcia, one of the murdered teachers, has also died. According to the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Joe Garcia suffered a heart attack after news of his wife's death and passed away on Thursday. The couple had been married more than 24 years and were high school sweethearts.

EDUARDO MORALES, SACRED HEART UVALDE: They came to mass every Sunday.

SANCHEZ: Father Eduardo Morales of Sacred Heart Church in Uvalde knew the family well.

MORALES: I told the community that in my own family when we have had a death, that it's church and prayer that has gotten us through all this. Not that it takes the pain away.

SANCHEZ: The Garcias among a list of names of lives cut too short: Eva Mireles, Amerie Garza, Uziyah Garcia, Xavier Lopez, Jose Flores Jr., Lexi Rubio, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, Jacklyn Casarez, Tess Mata, Nevaeh Bravo, Ellie Garcia, Jailah Silguero, Elijah Torres, names that will forever be etched in the memories of those touched and affected by this horrible tragedy.

GEORGE RODRIGUEZ, JOSE FLORES JR.'S GRANDFATHER: The state, the nation, show him to the world. I want everybody to know him. When he died, I died with him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now a fourth grader who survived the massacre is sharing disturbing details about what she saw that tragic day. CNN producer Nora Neus had an exclusive conversation with an 11-year-old survivor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NORA NEUS, CNN PRODUCER: She says the shooter looked one of her teachers in the eye, said, "Good night," and then shot her. Then he opened fire, shooting the other teacher and a lot of Miah's friends. And she heard screams and then heard him shooting in that classroom, heard a lot of gunshots.

After the shots stopped, though, she says he started playing music, sad music.

I asked her, you know, "How would you describe it?"

And she said, "It just was sad like you want people to die."

She says she actually put her hands in the blood from her friend who lay next to her -- she was already dead -- and then smeared the blood all over herself all over her body so that she could play dead.

She told me that she assumed the police just weren't there yet. But then afterward, she heard the grownups say that the police were there but waiting outside. And that's the first time that she really started crying in the interview. She'd been pretty stoic up until then. [05:10:00]

NEUS: But that's when she started crying, saying she just didn't understand why, like they didn't come in and get her.

"Why wouldn't they come in?

"Why wouldn't they come in?"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Others explained how they hid from the gunman as bullets were flying around them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAYDEN PEREZ, ROBB ELEMENTARY SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Five of us hiding there and then the rest under a table. but that didn't stop one of my friends getting hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened to your friend?

PEREZ: The shooter shot through the window and hurting my friend and my teacher, like my teacher got hurt on, I don't know which but she got hit, like hit on the side. And then my friend got like shot through the nose.

EDWARD TIMOTHY SILVA, ROBB ELEMENTARY SHOOTING SURVIVOR: A lady came to the classroom and knocked on our doors with the purple shirt. She said, go and hide.

And we turned off all the lights and went to the back of the classroom and put desks in front of us and we were hiding.

I had a fear of guns now because I am scared someone might shoot me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: The two funeral homes in Uvalde say they'll cover arrangements for all 21 victims at no cost to the families. Funeral arrangements for nine of the victims have been announced and are set to begin next week

The Russian army appears to be capturing a key city in Eastern Ukraine. That story is ahead.

Plus, Kyiv admits it's outgunned in Eastern Ukraine and is appealing to the West for more powerful weapons to hold Russia's advance.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) NEWTON: Russian media is reporting an ominous new development in

Ukraine. Kherson says it's officially closed its borders with Ukraine for, quote, "security reasons." Ukraine's saying all of Kherson's exits to Ukraine have been blocked for weeks now.

The U.S. is expected to begin supplying Ukraine with one of its most fearsome weapons. The Pentagon confirms it's looking at Ukraine's request for multilaunch rocket system. Ukraine made that request as the Russian military encroaches on the key city of Sievierodonetsk.

The Russians have moved on to the outskirts but denied the city is surrounded or that it's been cut off.

Adding to Kyiv's urgency, images of Russian crews repairing railroads near Kyiv.

Now despite the enormous difficulties, Ukraine's president said he's confident his military will prevail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): That is why we have to increase our defense, increase our resistance and Donbas will be Ukraine again, even if Russia will bring all suffering and ruination to Donbas. We will rebuild every town, every community. There is no real alternative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: As we have been telling you, Sievierodonetsk is a critical city for Russia. The neighboring town of Lysychansk appears to be the Russian army's next objective. More from Nick Paton Walsh.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Here's how it feels when Russia is coming. This is Sievierodonetsk in Putin's crosshairs. Only one bridge left, we are told; almost anything that moves is shelled.

Across that river, next in line is here, this twin city, Lysychansk. The remnants of its once 100,000 people facing an enemy they rarely see. Only here can you feel the loathing. The police are here helping evacuate the last needy, essentially, to collect as many people with disabilities and need as much help as they can to get them out.

For Ekaterina, age 74, the war so far has swelled around her one room flat. It is time for her and her husband to go, once and perhaps for all.

EKATERINA, LYSYCHANSK RESIDENT (through translator): I didn't collect any of my things. I don't know where I will live. It's better they kill me. You know, I have nowhere to hide. We have on room. I lie opposite the shelling. In the last minute, I thought if I'm going to suffer like this, better they kill me. WALSH: These moments are the correct way to measure Putin's invasion. Not in tanks lost, alliances forged or buildings hammered but in twilight days, totally uprooted in tiny moments of inconsolable panic.

EKATERINA (through translator): When is this grief going to end?

WALSH: This briefcase, carefully packed by Valentin, contains all documents for whatever is that comes next.

Closer to Russian-backed separatists areas of Ukraine, loyalties are not simple. This large young family, which like so much of the town has relatives in Russia but no gas or electricity, seems to prefer an outdoor stove in the basement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What's the choice?

Live on the street?

WALSH: They do not seem to perturbed despite the blasts and say they want peace. Sometimes you feel they don't want you to know who's side they are on, especially this man when we mention America.

[05:20:00]

VALENTIN, LYSYCHANSK RESIDENT (through translator): You arm us, so we fight Russia in our country?

Have I got that right?

I don't understand this war. We're afraid of death.

WALSH: But still, their world is underground, with fine dust in the damp air. Their kitten born into the war, their children's sleep broken by shelling.

At the cemetery, the cost is starker. It has three types of mass graves. This line already filled with some of the 160 dead, whose relatives cannot bury them yet.

This one, half filled with the bodies collected daily. Their names recorded on each bag and this one, yawning empty, a sign of the savagery they know is to come -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Lysychansk, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Joining me now from Washington, D.C., is CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton.

If we could start with the state of play, right, on the battlefield, does what you're seeing now demonstrate real success on Russia's part?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Paula, several things are going on here. Obviously, Ukraine has kept its gains around Kyiv. And most of its gains around Kharkiv.

But in the Donbas area, the area Russians have declared part of their war aims, they're making some progress. In particular they're going in the direction of the town Slovyansk. And what that means is they're looking for all of the road junctions that are in essence covering the area that the Ukrainian forces are currently occupying.

So they want to cut off the Ukrainian forces that are in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. And they want to capture the entirety of those provinces for Russia and, in particular, the Luhansk province.

That is an area with only a small, relatively small territory that belongs to the Ukrainians in terms of the forces they have there right now. So what the Russians want to do is capture that. And they'll probably do that within the next few days to a week if the current trends continue.

NEWTON: In terms of what this will mean, they have now said that, look, this might be the turning point in the war that Russia has been waiting for.

LEIGHTON: It could. But Russians have several problems they have to deal with. For example, their logistical train and the ability for them to in essence replenish all their forces is still called into question.

They had difficulties when they were trying to capture Kyiv. I think they've gotten better at replenishing their weapons stocks. We also know that a lot of the battalion groups, strength between 800 to 1,000 men each, they're now probably around 600 men each.

So some of the tactical units they're using are smaller in size than what they had before. However the number of troops in total that the Russians can bring into the theater of war that they're fighting in right now is probably greater than what the Ukrainians have.

So it's possible that the Russians could at least get some gains in this territory. But the Ukrainians are also getting a lot of weapons from the U.S. and other NATO countries. And that could in essence turn the tide back in favor of the Ukrainians.

NEWTON: And let's talk about those weapons. CNN is reporting is that the U.S. will announce as early next week they'll send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine.

Why is that significant and how could that change this conflict?

LEIGHTON: These weapons are very significant because they have longer ranges associated with them. Depending on type of munition you use, they could range up to 300 kilometers or 186 miles.

That could potentially get the Ukrainians into territory that is Russia proper and beyond the area that the Russians occupied in Ukraine. So that, you know, may have some political and geopolitical ramifications. But from a weapons and tactics standpoint, these weapons are highly

significant and, quite frankly, necessary for the Ukrainians to have in order for them to regain the advantage in the east

[05:25:00]

NEWTON: It's not lost on President Zelenskyy, the material support, that his cause for that is fragile. Former president Donald Trump even said at the NRA convention on Friday that, before we nation build the rest of the world, we should be building safe schools for our own nation.

That kind of equivalency hasn't been made on either side of the aisle, quite frankly.

What do you make of what he's saying.

LEIGHTON: I think it's a false equivalency. We need to be able to not only support forces that are standing for democracy around the world but we also need to make sure that those forces can succeed.

And the attack by Russia on Ukraine, we have to remember, was a completely unprovoked attack. It was an attack that destroyed the sovereignty of a nation. And it's also an attack that calls into question the entire world order.

The material support to fight these kinds of attacks, it's going to be a real problem for not only the United States but the rest of the Western world when it comes to defending the world order and making sure that our children can exist in a world that's as free and fair as we would like it to be.

And that's the ultimate goal. It's a necessary goal and this is something that's at least as worthy as safe schools and a safe society.

NEWTON: Yes, and interesting that the former president has opened up that line of debate. I'm sure we'll hear more about it in the coming months. Colonel, thank you.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Paula. Always good to be with you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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NEWTON: Now a developing story out of the West Bank. Health officials say Israeli troops have shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in Bethlehem in the West Bank. His family members said he was killed while trying to hide from the troops in the garage.

Israel's military said they opened fire after a group of attackers threw stones and Molotov cocktails at them. The teen would be a second minor killed by Israeli troops in less than a week. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been growing for weeks and have left dozens of people dead.

Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, why the mother of a child who survived the Texas school shooting said a substitute teacher saved her daughter's life.

And the NRA taking heat for holding its convention in Texas just days after the Uvalde shooting. Protesters are making their voices heard, outside, that's ahead.

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[05:30:00]

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NEWTON: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Want to go back now to Uvalde, Texas, where there's outrage and confusion after officials revised the details and timeline of Tuesday's horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School.

On Friday authorities revealed that 77 minutes passed between the time the gunman entered the school until when a tactical team finally entered a classroom where the 18-year-old gunman was holed up with the children and two teachers.

While officers were waiting in the hallway, students locked inside the room, just a mere feet from the shooter, called 9-1-1, pleading for help. Officials now admit that mistakes were made, while the Texas governor said he's infuriated by the misinformation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCRAW: I have a little bit of hindsight, where I'm sitting now. Of course, it was not the right decision, it was the wrong decision. Very. There's no excuse that. But again, I wasn't there. But I was telling you, from what we know, that we believe there should have been entry into that as soon as you can.

ABBOTT: I was misled. I am livid about what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: The two funeral homes in Uvalde said they'll cover in fact the funeral arrangements for all 21 victims at no cost to families, 19 children and two teachers, whose lives were cut far too short by gun violence.

We're also hearing from the parents of children who survived this nightmare. One woman told CNN that her daughter and several other children are alive today because of the quick-thinking of a substitute teacher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER GAITAN, SURVIVOR'S MOTHER: My daughter had let me know that they heard shootings outside that were hitting the windows, that they didn't break. So the teacher, you know, quickly told them, hurry, get behind a table. Shut off the lights.

And that's exactly what they did. And apparently he did open the door and he thought nobody was in there. And he went on. And it is amazing to know that, if she thought so quick to what to do and got it -- and I mean, it's amazing.

It's amazing how she thought so quick in a moment of, you know, trauma, you know. It is. But yes. She is, she saved that classroom's life.

I had asked her where she was when it first started. She said she was by the door, sharpening her pencil. She remembers that she got down and they hid behind the table. She was like, I was right by the front door.

I'm like, don't your doors automatic lock?

She said, no, Mom, we had a substitute. She didn't have a key to lock the door. That just made it even more horrifying to know that, even a substitute teacher couldn't protect the students of that classroom because of the right resources, because of the lack of information or even to let them know they should always be prepared for that.

It's sad that she couldn't. But I'm glad she acted the way she did and fast as she did because she did save those kids in that class.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:00]

NEWTON: She added it should have been mandatory, of course, to keep the doors locked every morning, with more than 150 kids, think about that, inside that building.

Despite the mass shooting, days earlier in Uvalde, the NRA forged ahead with its annual convention in Houston. Texas governor Abbott cancelled his in-person appearance. Instead, his remarks were pre- recorded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBOTT: In Uvalde the gunman committed a felony under Texas law before he even pulled the trigger. It's a felony to possess a firearm on school premises. But that did not stop him.

And what he did on campus is capital murder. That's a crime that would have subjected him to the death penalty in Texas. Well, just as laws didn't stop the killer, we will not let his evil act stop us from uniting the community that he tried to destroy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: A profile of musicians, in fact, former president Donald Trump made an appearance. His address include his standard accusations against Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: A now familiar parade of cynical politicians seeking to exploit the tears of sobbing families to increase their own power and take away our constitutional rights, every time a disturbed or a demented person commits such a hideous crime, there's also an effort by some in our society to use the suffering of others to advance their own extreme political agenda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: As you can hear there, that didn't stop protesters calling for gun reform from making their voices heard, shouting at NRA members as they walked into that convention center.

Last hour I spoke with the co-founder of Black Lives Matter in Houston and involved organizing protesters, I asked him what he thought it would take to create meaningful gun reform in the United States and what a best case scenario would look like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHTON P. WOODS, CO-FOUNDER, BLACK LIVES MATTER, HOUSTON: The best case scenario right now would be to have governor Abbott call a special session to repeal the laws that were passed in 2019 and last year in 2021 that made what happened in Uvalde easier to happen.

We can call it evil if we want to. But this is just as bad as governor Abbott reducing this down to a mental health issue, where we don't have a great mental health care system. I'm sorry, non-existent mental health care system. We use our jails to address mental health.

But we must address the lack of health care access. We must address gun violence in a way that doesn't scapegoat the fact that Ted Cruz uses rhetoric that got children killed. Governor Abbott passed laws that got children killed. They must be held accountable and they must do their jobs.

NEWTON: Mr. Woods, though, even Daniel Hogg, on our air, a survivor from Parkland, said look, if everyone's just talking over each other, a compromise won't be possible. He's optimistic.

Are you optimistic that that compromise is possible?

And what does it look like?

Is it only on background checks?

Is it maybe moving the age?

What could be possible here?

WOODS: Well, you know, a lot of times as a Black person I'm still thinking about the 87-year-old woman who was murdered in Buffalo in a grocery store, who lived through Jim Crow. And she was told she had to wait. She was told she had to wait for incremental change.

Our children deserve better. These are Black and Brown kids, AAPI kids. And even our white kids, our children in general, should not have to wait for incremental change. So yes, compromise is important.

As an activist who goes to the Texas legislature and works with elected officials to actually author bills and get them passed, from my experience, what we need is background checks. Yes, we need a ban on automatic weapons. Yes, we need all of the above. And we need it all to happen right away.

We can't just put one little piece in here, one little piece in there, because, while we can't stop all bad things from happening, we need to make sure we take a holistic approach and go with an all of the above strategy.

NEWTON: You know this is true, that now that law enforcement response, unfortunately, was detailed, right, in the last 24 hours, it was painfully inadequate, so painful for those families to hear it.

And now you must worry, though, that that will again allow the gun lobby to deflect.

[05:40:00]

NEWTON: The bottom line is, an 18-year-old was allowed to buy battlefield weapons to slaughter children. Again we heard it from the NRA. They're saying it was a law enforcement response. How do you counter that?

You know, the bottom line is an 18-year old was allowed to buy battlefield weapons to slaughter children.

And yet we heard it again from the NRA, right?

They're saying -- they're deflecting, saying it was a law enforcement response.

How do you counter that?

Because I can tell you, it does not look like this will mean fewer guns in America.

WOODS: Well, it's not about necessarily attacking the Second Amendment. I believe in the Second Amendment right. What I don't believe in is having automatic weapons on the streets. For anybody. Right?

We need to demilitarize the police. We need to make sure that people don't have access to AR-15s or guns that shoot bullets that shatter. Right? We're talking about children who are unrecognizable. We're talking about people who were unrecognizable after the Pulse Orlando shooting.

Why do we need these things on the street?

When governor Abbott passed into law through special session last year the ideology carried by Republicans and they're rated by the NRA that you can have a weapon open carry on campus. You can get a weapon without a license. You don't have to have a background check. There is blood on their hands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Thanks to Ashton P. Woods there. We'll be right back in a moment.

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NEWTON: A sobering forecast about the Colorado River Basin, which supplies water for drinking and agriculture to millions in the Western United States. Lake Mead, the largest reservoir, will likely drop another 12 feet in fall. And that's far lower than what experts had predicted.

The reservoir has been on a steep decline. Drought conditions worsened in the Western United States this week. Officials say 11 percent of California is in exceptional drought conditions, the worst designation. Now after a week of zero rain and record high temperatures, drought conditions also worsen in New Mexico and southern Nevada.

[05:45:00]

NEWTON: Experts noted some improvement in parts of Texas and Oklahoma after heavy rain this week.

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NEWTON: We'll be right back in a moment.

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[05:50:00]

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NEWTON: Some prominent figures in the sports world have been making headlines by taking a stand and demanding change after the horrific Texas school shooting. San Francisco Giants manager, Gabe Kapler is one. He says he will no longer come out onto the field for the national anthem.

He told reporters that he doesn't think America is living up to its ideals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABE KAPLER, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS MANAGER: I just don't plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel like there's -- I feel better about the direction of our country. So that'll be the step.

I don't expect it to move the needle necessarily. It's just something that I feel strongly enough about to take that step.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And just one voice among many. "CNN SPORT's" Andy Scholes looks at how other athletes and teams are demanding action from Washington to end America's epidemic of gun violence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: In the wake of what happened in Uvalde, sports figures and teams have been using their voice to advocate for change. The Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, on the day of the shooting, was very emotional, demanding politicians do more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE KERR, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS HEAD COACH: When are we going to do something?

I'm tired -- I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. We are being held hostage by 50 senators in Washington, who refuse to even put it to a vote, despite what we, the American people, want.

They won't vote on it because they want to hold onto their own power. It's pathetic. I've had enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES (voice-over): On Wednesday, the Heat and Celtics held a moment of silence for the lives lost. And then their public address announcer delivered this message.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Heat urges you to contact your state senators by calling (202) 224-3121 to leave a message, demanding their support for common sense gun laws. You can also make change at the ballot box. Visit heat.com/vote to register and let your voice be heard this fall.

SCHOLES (voice-over): The Warriors, a very similar message advocating for common sense gun laws before game 5 of the Western Conference finals. Kerr again speaking out that day, saying, "We as a country need to start thinking of gun control as a public health issue."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERR: For whatever reason, it's a political issue. But it's really a public health issue. So as soon as we can just shift the dynamic to this being a public health issue, then you get momentum.

So what I'm asking people to do is to get involved in their local communities. I've got lots of friends who are Democrats, Republicans. And all I know is that they all want gun violence to go away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES (voice-over): The Yankees and the Rays in Major League Baseball meanwhile, teaming up. Instead of tweeting about their game, they presented facts about gun violence in our country.

The Rays adding, "This cannot become normal. We cannot become numb. We cannot look the other way. We all know, if nothing changes, nothing changes."

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[05:55:00]

SCHOLES: Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, meanwhile, says politicians have failed the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE ROBERTS, L.A. DODGERS MANAGER: How there can be a bipartisan consensus on an issue like this is very disheartening. It's very irresponsible by our nation's leaders. And something needs to be done and be proactive about it because like everyone has said, enough is enough.

When is enough enough?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: LeBron James tweeting that, "There simply has to be change. Has to be."

While NFL Network's Rich Eisen made a passionate plea for something to be done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH EISEN, NFL NETWORK: We cannot give up. We cannot give up as a society and we cannot give up on giving our two cents and keeping the pressure on those in power, who do nothing about it.

Children murdered in their classroom, murdered, in their classroom. And you're already seeing the responses from those in power, who refuse to do anything about it, saying it's about anything else other than easy legal access to assault weaponry. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And sports teams and figures have in the past been very powerful helping to enact social change. And they're once again using their platform to try to make a difference.

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NEWTON: That wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton. For viewers in the U.S. and Canada, "NEW DAY" is next.