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233rd U.S. Mass Shooting In 2022; School District Police Chief Says He Won't Release Any Further Information While Funerals Are Ongoing; Germany To Send Air Defense Missiles System To Ukraine. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired June 02, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:06]
NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And I'm Nick Watt. Just ahead. The carnage continues from Buffalo to Uvalde and now Tulsa. The U.S. records its 233rd mass shooting of the year. As Russian troops continue their advanced in a key city in eastern Ukraine. Moscow accuses the U.S. of adding fuel to the fire in Russia's unprovoked war.
Plus. We're live near Buckingham Palace as the U.K. get set for a four-day party with the queen.
For the second time in eight days, there's been a mass shooting in the United States that once again appears to have targeted the vulnerable. A gunman in Tulsa, Oklahoma killed four people in a building on a hospital campus and wounded at least several others. Police say they arrived on the scene very quickly. And that fast response may have kept the death toll from rising. The carnage unfolding in what's meant to be a place of healing.
And in Uvalde, Texas last week, bloodshed in what's meant to be a place of learning. Funerals are being held all week for the 21 victims of the elementary school massacre. This comes as the police response to that shooting comes under greater scrutiny. More on that in a moment. In Tulsa, it's believed the gunman killed himself. Police know his name, but are not releasing it yet. A Tulsa city council member told CNN the attacker had been searching for a specific physician.
We cannot yet verify that information. Our Gary Tuchman picks up the story.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is still a robust police presence here at the St. Francis Hospital campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma after the latest mass shooting in the United States. A man walked into one of the doctor's office buildings right behind me. It's called the Natalie building. There are orthopedics and oncologist to work inside there and shot and killed four people on the second floor.
Police are telling us this was not a random shooting that he targeted that particular office on the second floor. They're not telling us specifically though, what he targeted. We're also being told something very critical here that within three minutes after they got the report, the police say they were inside the building. Super important because we know what happened in Texas inside that school, the delay in getting inside the school.
Here when the police walked in the building they're saying they heard the gunshots. Then the gunshots stopped, they opened the door, they saw a person lying there dead. Then they saw the gunman with a pistol and a rifle line dead. It's very possible if they didn't get in there as soon as they did, he would have kept shooting. Either way, there's a lot of investigating still to do. This man's name has not been released.
He is in his 30s. One of the reasons they're not releasing the name is because earlier in the day, there was a bomb threat at a nearby home or business. Police are saying they are related this bomb threat and this man who went inside the hospital. They're still investigating that either way, it's very important for us not to get desensitized to this. Once again, a mash shooter in the United States, four people who came in here either to get medical treatment escorts somebody to get medical treatment or people who worked here are dead.
This is Gary Tuchman, CNN in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
WATT: Meantime, in Uvalde, Texas questions continue to mount amidst shifting and unsettling details about the police response as that tragedy unfolded. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz caught up with the school district police chief who led that response and has largely stayed out of the public eye ever since. Pete Arredondo is the commanding officer who decided not to go into the classrooms but to keep officers waiting outside.
For over an hour, the gunman was inside a school full of children, some calling 911, pleading for help. Arredondo declined to answer our questions about the massacre.
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SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: I just want your reaction to Director McCraw saying that you were responsible for the decision to go into that room. How do you explain yourself to the parents?
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PETE ARREDONDO, UVALDE SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE CHIEF: We're going to be respectful to the families.
PROKUPECZ: I understand that, but you have an opportunity to explain yourself to the parents.
ARREDONDO: And just so, you know, we're going to do that eventually, obviously.
PROKUPECZ: When? ARREDONDO: And whenever this is done, we'll let the families quit grieving, then we'll do that obviously. And just so -- and just so everybody -- and just so everybody --
(CROSSTALK)
PROKUPECZ: But you understand how the ceremony -- how the family --
ARREDONDO: Just so everybody knows, we have been in contact with DPS every day.
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WATT: I want to bring in Steve Moore who was a retired Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI. He is joining us from here in Los Angeles.
[02:05:01]
WATT: Steve, what we're seeing in Uvalde, number one with that wait before they went into the classroom and now with all of this conflicting information, what do you think is going on here? Is this local cops out of their depth? Is this overlapping jurisdictions, territorial? What is happening?
STEVE MOORE, RETIRED SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: I think you're going to have a little bit of each of it. But mainly, I think they may be out of their depth. But what is concerning me is that some of this information that they're not giving, that they didn't give for the first few days, or gave incorrectly are the exact things that we are getting within minutes from the Tulsa police.
The two responses are absolutely miles apart and how they're -- how they occurred and how they've been reported to the public.
WATT: And I mean, Steve, you know, what we've seen in Tulsa is what you're supposed to do. I mean, we learned this lesson from Columbine 20 plus years ago, you go in and as you say, you know, in Tulsa, they were in within three minutes. In Uvalde, it took more than an hour. I mean, Tulsa is how you're supposed to respond, right?
MOORE: Absolutely. And what we've learned when studying these things, is sometimes when people see police officers entering the building coming to get them, they will -- they will not want to be -- not want to give the police the satisfaction of killing themselves. I believe that this person probably took his life when he knew that the police were in route to his exact location. And this is why you have to go in whether or not the person kills themselves, or you have to take them out.
It's essential that you go in, and Tulsa has shown us that -- I think it was within six to eight minutes after the initial call came in. They were in the room with him. That's how you do it.
WATT: I mean, can you even try to explain what we believe was Chief Arredondo's reaction to wait for over an hour to treat this like a barricaded suspect not an active shooter? I mean, is there any way of explaining that decision?
MOORE: I can't -- I can't, I'm trying to wrap my mind around it. But he was trained in December, which was what, five, six months ago. And then he held training for his officers in March two months ago. He either didn't understand the concept of active shooter, or he wasn't willing to put himself or his officers in deadly danger. But that's his job. That's his duty. I can't logically explain it, except that he either didn't understand it, or wasn't ready to do it.
WATT: And I also feel for the families, obviously, at this time, which is the most horrific time in their lives. They're now getting all this conflicting information. And we actually even have Chief Arredondo almost hiding behind those grieving families say, out of respect for the families, you know, we can't talk to you. I mean, it doesn't get much lower than that.
MOORE: It doesn't because the one way you can respect the parents is to tell the truth. The one way -- I mean right now, if he had any -- right now, the way to respect the families, the way to honor the kids, is to tell the truth and be open about it.
WATT: Steve Moore, thank you very much for your time and your thoughts. Appreciate it.
MOORE: Thank you.
WATT: Russia is another step closer to taking full control of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine. The Regional governor says Russian forces now occupy about 80 percent of the city. Capturing all of Severodonetsk is a principal goal of Vladimir Putin's army as it moves across the Donbas. Local officials describe intense street fighting most buildings now in ruins, food, water and other essentials are running out for the up to 15,000 people who remain.
Meanwhile, Ukraine reports two people hurt after Russian cruise missiles struck a railway in the western part of the country near the border with Slovakia. And Kyiv's Regional Police confirm more than 1300 people have been killed in villages near the capital since Russia invaded in late February. The U.K. now joining the U.S. and sending advanced longer range rocket systems to Ukraine. The British defense secretary says the launchers will be able to hit targets up to 80 kilometers away.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he is sending his country's most modern air defense system to Ukraine. He says the Irish tea battery will be able to protect and in entire city from Russian air attacks.
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WATT: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is defending Washington's decision to send those rockets systems to Ukraine. The Kremlin says it adds fuel to the fire. Blinken says the weapons are for defense.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, PENTAGON SECRETARY OF STATE: Specifically, with regard to weapons systems being provided, the Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory.
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WATT: Joining me now from Canberra, Australia, Malcolm Davis is a senior analyst of defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Malcolm, first off, these new weapons systems that are being sent to Ukraine. Are they going to make any difference?
MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST OF DEFENSE STRATEGY AND CAPABILITY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Look, I think they will, in the sense that they'll give the Ukrainians longer range punch against the Russian forces. You're talking about battlefield rockets with 70 to 80 kilometer range, as compared to towed howitzers that have about 25 to 30 kilometers.
So, it essentially doubles the engagement range for Ukraine against Russian forces, allowing them to stand off further, be less exposed to Russian attack and still be able to attack Russian forces a greater range.
WATT: But I'm assuming it's going to be too late for Severodonetsk or not?
DAVIS: Yes, I think that you have to see these battlefield rockets in terms of leveling out Russian -- against Russian capabilities rather than allowing Ukrainians to retake Severodonetsk. The battle for Severodonetsk and by extension Kramatorsk in the Donbas, I think, is a close quarters battle. The rockets will give some additional capability. But they don't have sufficient range really to look --to strike deeply into the Russian rear to attack those logistical nodes that would severely impair Russia's ability to sustain their advance.
So, they are very useful in terms of preventing Russia from advancing further. But they're not necessarily going to translate into a Ukrainian ability to retake territory, at least not in the short term.
WATT: And do you feel that the Russians have perhaps learned some lessons from, you know, the battles around Kyiv and elsewhere in the country where they were repulsed by the Ukrainian forces? Are they sort of digging in deeper down in the -- down in the southeast there, as you mentioned, making it harder for the Ukrainians to then retake territory?
DAVIS: I think they have relearned some of the lessons that they essentially threw aside in the first phase of the war. They're starting to think again about combined arms tactics, which is how you employ armored forces like tanks and fighting vehicles, alongside the infantry and artillery. They're starting to more effectively use airpower in the Donbas front, in the south around Mariupol and leading towards Kherson.
They're pinning down Ukrainian forces rather than essentially allowing them to join the fight in the Donbas. So, I do think the Russians at the moment seem to be retaining some of the momentum. Now the question is, how long can they sustain these advances, these incremental advances in the center around Donbas before the Ukrainians with the assistance of Western material support begin to push back. But certainly the Russians have had some successes of recent days.
WATT: I mean, the other question, of course, is how long can the Ukrainians hang on? I mean, you know, they are getting more material, as you said, from the West but, you know, I read somewhere today that they think they're losing, you know, 100 men a day out there in the East. I mean, just in terms of human beings, how much longer can they sustain this?
DAVIS: They are running high casualty rates, certainly. And I think we are now in a competition between Ukraine's ability to acquire advanced military technologies like HIMARS at those battlefield rockets. We were talking about versus Russia's ability to reconstitute and rebuild their forces and pour in additional forces. The Russians are trying to reconstitute that battalion tactical groups that have been shredded in the initial phase of the war.
And so, they have a problem of trying to rebuild those groups. They've got poor morale. They're trying to reconstitute logistics, they're broken. So, it really is a race between Russia's ability to reconstitute whilst at the same time as defend versus Ukraine's ability to bring into service that western material support that is so vital.
WATT: Malcolm Davis in Canberra. Thanks very much for joining us.
DAVIS: Thank you.
WATT: Still ahead. Britain's Queen Elizabeth is marketing 70 years is on the throne. A look at the celebrations planned for the monarchs Platinum Jubilee.
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WATT: That's after the break.
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WATT (voice over): You are looking at live pictures of Buckingham Palace as the United Kingdom and nations across the Commonwealth get ready to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee.
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WATT: This new portrait of Britain's longest reigning monarch was released on Wednesday to mark the beginning of the commemoration. The Queen ascended the throne in 1952 at the age of 25. CNN's Anna Stewart as a prime spot for the celebrations. She joins us live along the Mile in history. So, it's going to be a big party. What do we expect today and over the weekend? A four-day party really, lots of events to come. This is actually the first Platinum Jubilee anyone's ever experienced. You can hear the excitement here in the Mile. People have been camping out overnight just to be here for today. And it's going to kick off today, Nick, with a -- the Trooping the Color. This is an event that happens every year for the Queen's birthday. It's really steeped in tradition.
And more of the Royal events I would say. This is actually the one on the calendar that has the most pomp and pageantry of anything other than I think, a coronation. Now this has roots in battle warfare. This is when one regiment of the household division shows its colors, its flags, and essentially that was so that the ranks could all recognize the flag and battle. Now it's much more symbolic.
This is a moment for the regiments, the household division, the Queen's sort of personal troops to show their respects, their commitment, and it's a big precession, a big ceremony. It will kick off in around three hours. You will see a royal procession coming down the Mile with the escorts from the Household Cavalry. The Queen will not be in that procession this year due to mobility issues.
You will see Prince Charles, you will see Prince William, you will see princess and probably in their regimental uniforms because all of them colonels of various regiments. Prince William is the colonel of the Irish Guards Regiment. So he'll have a big role because Irish Guards are the ones that are actually Trooping the Color today. They will come down the Mile, they will go to Horse Guards Parade.
There will be a big ceremony there for the actual passing of the color. And then we will see them coming back this year. This is interesting. This is the change. The Queen will be on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to take the salute due to conflicts. It will be much easier for her to do it there. And then next she's going to be joined by other members of the royal family for the flypast, aircraft, from the army, the Navy, the Royal Air Force.
We will even see some Spitfires and Hurricanes from World War II. We will be met missing some members of the royal family from years gone past. So this will only be working members of the royal family. So you will not see Prince Andrew and you will not see Prince Harry or his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Nick?
[02:20:13]
WATT: And Anna, you mentioned mobility issues there. The Queen is fairly elderly. How much do we expect we'll actually see of her over the weekend?
SETWART: So we're expecting to see her today on the balcony. I think that really is the key moment, I think to kick off the jubilee celebrations. But you're right. We're not entirely sure how involved Her Majesty will be in all of the events coming forwards. For instance, there's a big party here at Buckingham Palace on Saturday nights. There's a service of Thanksgiving tomorrow at St. Paul's Cathedral. But we're being told that she wants to be as involved as possible.
She's very excited about the coming days. I think we're going to hear on a day by day basis whether she's feeling up to it, because she is suffering with toll from episodic mobility issues. And we don't really know more than that, but it's hoped she will definitely be part of this today. We hope to see her lots in the coming days. Four days of parties, Nick and I'm already very, very excited.
WATT: Anna Stewart in London. Don't get too excited. Enjoy the weekend. Remember, you got a job to do. Thanks very much. And joining us now also from London is historian and archaeologist Elizabeth Norton. She's also the author of England's Queens: The Biography and The Lives of Tudor Women. So Elizabeth, as we've just been talking about, Anna and I, nobody else has ever sat in the throne this long, 70 years, the first Platinum Jubilee.
Just tell us a bit about kind of what that means in this, you know, spread of English-British royal history.
ELIZABETH NORTON, AUTHOR, ENGLAND'S QUEENS: THE BIOGRAPHY: Hello. Yes. So, it's an -- it's a remarkable achievement. The Queen's great, great grandmother Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee which is 60 years in which of course, the current Queen celebrated 10 years ago. But a Platinum Jubilee in Britain is unheard of. And it's just such a remarkable and wonderful achievement to come to the throne as an adult monarch and then to reign for 70 years plus, because of course, she passed the Jubilee date back in February.
It's a staggering achievement and really cements the Queen's place, I would say as the personification of sort of the last 70 years or so.
WATT: Now, Anna just mentioned that on the balcony, we're not going to see Harry or Meghan, or Prince Andrew. The significance of that.
NORTON: So, it has been decided that it will only be working Royals appearing on the balcony. We're used to seeing quite big family groups. Really, it's usually seen as a celebration of the royal family but it's going to be a much more -- much smaller group this time. So, we expect to see the Queen, three of her children, so of course the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward.
We'll see Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and his family. We'll see some of the Queen's cousins. We'll see sort of some members of the royal family but we will not be seeing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan. They are present for Trooping the Color, they'll be watching from a window on Horse Guards Parade with other non-working royals but they won't be there on the balcony.
And of course, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, the Queen's second son also won't be present on the balcony. I think it's quite a sensible decision to limit the family group in this way. Certainly, there's been a lot of controversy, particularly regarding the Duke of York, Prince Andrew and he will very much not be in evidence during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. He's probably only going to really appear during the service of Thanksgiving tomorrow. Harry and Meghan, it's wonderful that they've come back for the Jubilee. I think it's really positive because of course, they are active members of the family. If not, although not active royals. But I think it's a sensible decision to limit the group on the balcony, just to the working roles and also to celebrate their role. The fact that they are still working, attending events, I think it's a really positive move.
WATT: You know, her reign has been long and great in many aspects. But it's -- it hasn't been plain sailing the whole time. And, you know, particularly in the past few years with the Prince Andrew issue, with the Harry issue. I mean, even you know, the Diana, Prince Charles and Camilla, their weird phone call. I mean, she seemed to have this sort of enigmatic presence, this little lady in the hat with this slight distance.
I wonder, do you feel that the monarchy can actually survive without her once she is gone?
NORTON: It's certainly going to be a change. And I mean, I think there is a real sense with this Jubilee that this is in some respects, the last hurrah of an error if you like, you know, it's a passing of an era because of course the Queen can't live forever. And I think is going to be a real challenge for the monarchy after the Queen's death because the monarchy is so associated with her.
[02:25:09]
NORTON: She is undoubtedly the most popular member of the family. Hasn't always been the case, certainly in the 90s. Particularly with the death of Princess Diana, the divorces of the Queen's children. The fire at Windsor Castle hit her very hard in the 90s. So she hasn't always necessarily been the most popular member of the family, but I think undoubtedly not now. She is the focus of the royal family.
So it's going to be difficult I think. Prince Charles will, of course become king after the Queen's death. Whether he can have the same popularity or, you know, carry the same public support, I think it's going to be -- it's going to be choppy waters, I think for a few years, possibly decades after the Queen.
QUEST: Yes. But for now, for this weekend, I mean, what's the atmosphere like over there in London? You know, is everyone up for a bit of a post COVID knees up? Everyone excited?
NORTON: I think everyone is excited. I mean, I walk around and I see flags. But I know there are plenty of street parties. There's one in my street that's been organized. And I think everyone is really excited because of course everyone has been cooped up for the past two years. And it's a chance to let your hair down and celebrate. And whatever people's feelings are about the monarchy or the wider royal family, I think we can all recognize that 70 years on the throne and still working at 96 is a -- is a major achievement.
So there's an atmosphere of celebration here. And I think also it's quite poignant because, you know, it is likely to be the last Jubilee that we have for quite some time. And I think that's recognized as well but in general, everyone just wants to party.
WATT: Fantastic. Elizabeth Norton, thanks very much for joining us. CNN coverage of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee begins in less than two hours with Max Foster outside Buckingham Palace. You can watch the celebrations at 9:00 a.m. in London. That's 4:00 in the afternoon in Hong Kong.
And in the Battle of he said she said, both ends both end up paying up. Movie stars Johnny Depp and Amber Heard each claim some victory in their defamation lawsuits but at a steep cost. More on the verdict just ahead.
Plus, live under tough COVID restrictions with no clear end in sight. We'll show you the day to day grind in Beijing as the city fights a COVID outbreak.
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WATT: The Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard court battle, one of the most-watched celebrity trials in American history, is finally over. Depp sued his ex-wife for defamation, she countersued. And in the end, the jury found that the movie stars had libeled each other. Both actors will have to pay damages, but Depp emerged with a bigger cash award. And arguably the bigger victory. CNN's Chloe Melas has more.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you find that Mr. Depp has proven, by clear evidence, that Ms. Heard acted with actual malice? Answer, yes.
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (voiceover): Amber Heard, stoic, as the jury finds she did defame Johnny Depp in a 2018 op-ed in the "Washington Post". The jury, awarding Depp millions in damages.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As against Amber Heard, we the jury, award compensatory damages in the amount of $10 million.
MELAS (voiceover): As fans cheered outside the courtroom, another $5 million in punitive damages was awarded, cut to 350,000 under State Law. Depp's victory, also a win for the PR battle he fought out of court. But it doesn't come without fault of his own. On Heard's counterclaim, Depp was found libel for a statement claiming Heard setup Depp by faking abuse and calling the police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you find that Ms. Heard has proven all the elements of defamation? Answer, yes.
MELAS (voiceover): The jury awarded Heard $2 million in damages, but she lost on two other claims. In a statement, Heard admitting that she is heartbroken and disappointed beyond words. Adding, "I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated." Depp himself, not in the courtroom, after a weekend concert in London. A source telling CNN he watched the verdict from there. Releasing this statement, "Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that."
The case hinged on the 2018 op-ed by Heard who detailed allegations of abuse at the hands of Depp. Though, she didn't mention Depp by name, he denied the claims and said the op-ed ruined his reputation.
JOHNNY DEPP, ACTOR: I never, did I, myself, reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way.
MELAS (voiceover): Both testified and describe violent incidents, which took place in Australia in 2015 while he was there filming a movie. Depp testified Heard threw a large bottle at him which caused him to lose part of a finger.
DEPP: Then I looked down and realize that the tip of my finger have been severed.
MELAS (voiceover): Heard painted Depp as someone who struggled with addiction and was abusive verbally and physically.
AMBER HEARD, ACTRESS: On my pubic bone. He was pressing --
MELAS (voiceover): Closing arguments focused on the alleged abuse.
CAMILLE VASQUEZ, JOHNNY DEPP'S ATTORNEY: Mr. Depp is not the abuser.
BENJAMIN ROTTENBORN, AMBER HEARD'S ATTORNEY: Mr. Depp simply cannot prove to you that he never once abused Amber.
MELAS (voiceover): Heard noting the focus on alleged abuse likely hurt her case. Saying today, "I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of freedom of speech."
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MELAS (on camera): Now, shortly after the verdict, a spokesperson for Amber Heard told CNN that she plans to appeal. Chloe Melas, CNN, New York.
WATT: Quarantines, mandatory testing, and a ghost town vibe. That's been the reality in Beijing for weeks as the city fights to contain a COVID outbreak. Selina Wang, now shows us what life has been like under those strict COVID restrictions.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): This is part of my daily routine in Beijing.
WANG (on camera): All right. Getting my temperature checked.
WANG (voiceover): Mandatory testing for the city's 20 million-plus residents.
WANG (on camera): I've got to show them my passport and they have to type it in every single time.
WANG (voiceover): Beijing halted almost all public activity for weeks. Over just a few dozen daily COVID cases.
WANG (on camera): Nonessential stores have been shut down, including schools and gyms. And all in restaurant dining is banned indefinitely.
WANG (voiceover): The capital recently reopened some venues like malls and parks with limited capacity. And visitors have to show proof of a recent COVID test. But still, the biggest crowds often appear to be parades of COVID workers, spraying disinfectant all over the streets.
WANG (on camera): So, it's green. I'm good to go in. I need this green code to enter any area in Beijing. If it turns red, then I could be stuck at home or sent to quarantine. Through these smartphone apps, authorities can carefully track the movements of virtually all of Chinas 1.4 billion people. Grocery shelves here fully stocked. Beijing officials clearly trying to show people that no matter how long this partial lockdown lasts for, people are going to be fed.
[02:35:00]
WANG (voiceover): Not like in Shanghai where --
WANG (on camera): You spend too much time by a lock downed building, your QR code could turn red.
WANG (voiceover): Just one positive COVID case can get an entire building bust to government quarantine, this is just one of the many high-risk areas in Beijing. Residents avoid even transiting through the red dots on the map.
WANG (voiceover): It's lunchtime and Beijing's most popular food district, normally people here would be gathered, crowded shoulder to shoulder. But now, it is essentially a ghost town. And even here, there are signs reminding people to avoid crowds, and security guards on the loudspeakers telling people to distance themselves.
But after more than two years of these on and off restrictions, people are getting frustrated. Every part of our days are tracked and surveilled. People are concerned that this control is here to stay long after COVID is gone. Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
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WATT: Residents on America's Southeast Coast are feeling the effects of climate change in a very dramatic way. It's forcing them to take extraordinary measures to protect their communities. Stay with us.
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WATT: Elon musk is apparently giving his Tesla employees an ultimatum, return full-time to the office or else. Musk told executives in a leaked e-mail that anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum, and I mean minimum, of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla. He added, if you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned. A Twitter user asked Musk, what he would tell people who think that attitude is antiquated. Musk said, they should pretend to work somewhere else.
Rising sea levels and beach erosion are impacting many coastal communities, including those in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Residents there are coping with a very rule effect of climate changes. Homes are washed away and historic cemeteries are threatened by the encroaching tides. It's prompting tough questions about what can be saved. CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir has more.
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DAVE HALLAC, SUPERINTENDENT, CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE: This home, we have been notified by the Dare County building inspector is in a state of potential imminent collapse.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): When these houses were built in the '80s, this beach ran hundreds of feet toward the horizon.
HALLAC: I don't believe it's even high tide yet.
WEIR (voiceover): Now, the water is at the doorstep in this part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. And the beach is eroding by a dozen feet a year.
HALLAC: You suspect next year it's going to be 12 to 15 feet bad?
WEIR (on camera): 12 to 15 feet bad.
HALLAC: And then the next year, and the next year, and the next year.
WEIR (on camera): I see.
[02:40:00]
WEIR (voiceover): And while most locals understand that barrier islands move over time, few imagine this would happen this fast. Especially the new owner of this $275,000 getaway who never got a chance to sleep here before a mediocre storm took it away, or the half-million-dollar places that collapsed a few days earlier and spread nail-filled debris along 15 miles of public beaches. At least nine more houses on this stretched are condemned. And the sea, is taking more than just houses.
DAWN TAYLOR, OUTER BANKS RESIDENT: This is our heritage --
WEIR (on camera): Look at that.
TAYLOR: -- that we want to save.
WEIR (on camera): Wow. Oh, my goodness. It's right there on the edge. WEIR (voiceover): As a proud daughter of the Outer Banks, Dawn Taylor, spends her days trying to save the graves.
TAYLOR: We're missing the remains of our loved ones due to the tide. Up and down the coast, we have multiple cemeteries here that had neither near the demises due to the rising sea level.
WEIR (on camera): And so, when you think about the lives, the history, the families that we're talking about, you put it in those terms, the fundamental question of the age of sea level rises, what is worth saving? And who can afford to save it?
BERNARD MANSHEIM, CHARLESTON RESIDENT: And we watch the water bubble up through those vents --
WEIR (on camera): Is that right.
MANSHEIM: -- into the house.
WEIR (voiceover): Down to Carolina Coast in Charleston, the man chimes decide to raise their 450-ton mansion with a system of hydraulic jacks.
WEIR (on camera): Can I ask what something like this cost?
MANSHEIM: My answer is many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
WEIR (on camera): Right.
MANSHEIM: It's something, hopefully, that'll last another hundred years.
WEIR (voiceover): Whether it does may depend on whether Charleston can afford plans for a billion-dollar seawall. Which would only protect the most valuable 20 percent of the city.
HALLAC: This house was actually moved to this -- this is a new location.
WEIR (voiceover): Back in the Outer Banks, some are moving their houses as far as they can afford.
WEIR (on camera): They moved it from right there to right there.
HALLAC: I think that was as far as they could go.
WEIR (voiceover): Meanwhile, Noah projects at least a foot of sea- level rise here in the mid-century. With 10 times as many flooding events like this one which filled driveways with five feet of sand.
READE CORBETT, DR. COASTAL STUDIES INSTITUTE, EAST CARDINA UNIVERSITY: This isn't just happening on the Outer Banks. It's happening around the world.
WEIR (on camera): This is a story that's about anybody who lives anywhere near the ocean from Southern Maine to Padre Island, right? CORBETT: Right. I mean, these processes are happening everywhere.
WEIR (on camera): Yes.
WEIR (voiceover): But it is not as evident on the mainland because State counties and towns dredge, pump, and truck millions of dollars- worth of sand so tourists and real estate buyers will keep coming.
CORBETT: If you start a nourishment program, when is the next nourishment? Five years, seven years down the road? When you get to that point and you have to think about the economics. Yes, it's $25 million, $30 million.
WEIR (on camera): So, if you play that out, it really comes down, like, have or have not communities fortifying themselves, right? It is --
CORBETT: It is challenging when it comes down to the taxpayers. It is not that we can't work with the environment. We can't work with the change. We can. And we have for years.
WEIR (on camera): You just can't do it the way you used to do.
CORBETT: We've got to do it differently.
WEIR (voiceover): Bill weir, CNN, Rodanthe, North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT: Thanks for joining us. I'm Nick Watt. World Sport is next after this short break. You are watching CNN.
[02:45:00]
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We can argue all night as to whether the jury got it right, as to whether what we heard about drug use and other issues The language used as it relates to Amber Heard and other women, whether it's improper, we can have that discussion. But from a legal perspective, wow, just shocking to me that he carried the day and the seven-member jury was unanimous.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST, DON LEMON TONIGHT: I was shocked especially with a public figure because, you know, the bar for defamation is really high, slander and defamation. But they are both public figures so maybe that played into it.
Amber released the statement saying that she is heartbroken over the verdict. She says, I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback -- it sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously. What's your reaction to that, Areva?
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: I agree with it wholeheartedly. And let me just say this, Don, no doubt I agree with Joey that in terms of legally what happened, Johnny Depp is the big winner. He got a 15-minute -- $15 million civil judgment against Amber Heard. The jury accepted all of his claims. They found him incredible and basically found her not to be a creditable witness. They rejected the notion that she was abused at all.
So, even though there was evidence of multiple occurrences with respect to physical abuse, the juries didn't relieve it. They rejected it. But I do think this is a huge loss for women. Another rich and powerful man wins the day. Women who have been afraid to come forward to talk about abuse and powerful men, I think will be further discouraged from doing so. I think it would chill those, you know, the speech that women have a constitutional right to use, to talk about these kinds of allegations.
The #MeToo move, this is the biggest trial we've seen in this era. And in the biggest trial that we've seen in a time period when we say we are believing women resoundingly, this jury did not believe the woman. And I was shocked by that. Not just the social media, you know, attacks on Amber Heard. How she was vilified in the social media but even this jury.
And shouldn't be lost on this, Don, that there were five men on this seven-panel jury, not to say that that per se had anything to do with it, but I think that's going to be an interesting study as we learn more about who these five men are. How men are thinking in this moment about the #MeToo movement. We know there's some backlash in the movement. And men thinking -- some men thinking it went too far. And maybe some sociologist or someone studying this will say it's an effort to, kind of, right the ship as it relates to these types of allegations. But I'm saddened by it as rights -- lawyer that's represented because I know how hard it is for women to talk about being abused.
LEMON: Will this --
MARTIN: And this is going to make it even harder.
LEMON: Yes, there's so much to talk about. We can go on and on but unfortunately, I don't have the time, at this moment. We'll get back to this conversation though, this is not the end of course. Thank you both. I appreciate it.
JACKSON: Thank you.
LEMON: President Biden questioned on what he knew and when he knew it about the baby formula shortage effecting families across the country. His surprising answer next.
Plus, another shooting tonight. At least four people dead in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We're going to have the latest at the top of the hour.
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[02:50:00]
This White House is dealing with one crisis after another, after another. Latest explosion of gun violence, historic inflation, even the critical shortage of baby formula. I want to go now to our Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
Kaitlan, good evening to you. Thanks for joining us. What is the White House saying tonight about the shooting in Tulsa?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, we know that President Biden has been briefed on it. They are keeping an eye on it. Seeing what's happened. We know that at least four people have been killed so far. But it's really, you know, you're talking about one crisis after another. It's also one shooting after another that the White House is having to deal with. Because it seems like every other day, almost, President Biden is being briefed on this given.
Tonight, he was briefed on what happened in Tulsa. Eight days ago, it was what happened in Texas. And before that -- 18 days before that of course it was what happed in Buffalo, New York. And so, this is something that has become this reoccurring issue for the White House in recent days.
And, Don, we should note that it came today, reporters asked President Biden if he felt confident that anything was going to happen in congress when it came to guns. Obviously, that's been the big discussion here, as you've seen what's been happening out in the nation. He said he's served in Congress, Don, he has never confident that Congress is going to get something done. That we're waiting to see where those negotiations play out.
LEMON: You also had the opportunity to ask the president tonight about what he knew about -- what he knew or knows about the baby formula shortage and why the government didn't react faster to this. What did you learn, Kaitlan?
COLLINS: Yes, this has been a big question. And the President kind of gave this puzzling answer given you've heard from the White House officials who've said since February when that plant closed, of course, that was the one that caused so many of the shortage issues. Issues that you're seeing playing out in the nation right now. They said they have been working on this since day one which would have been mid-February when the FDA had that plant shuttered its doors. Try to work on its issues, the contamination issues that they were having.
But the President told us today that it was actually weeks into the crisis before he knew he depth of what was going on, just how bad this shortage truly was. And, Don, we should note that what you're about to hear from President Biden came as he was having this conversation with baby formula manufacturers. He was talking to them and asking them if they knew when this plant closed in mid-February. That they were going to have the level of issues that they were. That it was going to see the impact that it did. And he told us he did not find out until weeks later just how bad it was going to be.
[02:55:00]
COLLINS: The FDA have been more aware of that when they took months to conduct the inspection to interview people at this plant after the complaints were made and then only shuttered it in February? JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, the real problem occurred when it started -- when it got shuttered. So, you're saying we -- they should have anticipated, it would be shuttered. The answer is --
COLLINS: They got -- Mr. President.
BIDEN: Well, here's the deal. I became aware of this problem sometime in -- after April -- in early April about how intense it was. And so, we did everything in our power from that point on. And that's all I can tell you right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: So, Don, of course, White House officials have not answered why the President was not informed until at least six weeks after this plant was shuttered, about just how severe these shortages were going to be when it came to baby formula. And you heard executives talk today this issue is so concentrated. There are so baby -- so few baby formula makers in the United States that they knew it was going to have a really severe impact.
And it also raises question, Don -- questions, Don, about how quickly the FDA was acting because lawmakers say they got complaints about this back in the fall. That the FDA was slow to interview people. They were slow to conduct those investigations. And, of course, slow to shutter that factory which did not happen until February.
So, big questions were why the President, himself, was not informed since the White House has said this was a whole of government approach since February.
LEMON: Kaitlan Collins in Washington. Kaitlan, thank you very much for that.
At least four dead tonight after a gunman opened fire in a hospital campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We're live on the scene next.
[03:00:00]
