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Former Wisconsin Judge Killed In Plot Against Government Officials; Select Committee Holds First Public Hearing Next Thursday; Baby Formula Plant In Michigan Resumes Work Amid Shortage; Teacher's Aide Falsely Blamed For Propping Door Open Speaks Out; More Than 10m In Path Of Massive Storm As It Strikes Florida; Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired June 04, 2022 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:30]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, ahead of the January 6th RIOT, a warning that President Trump was going to turn on Pence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGGIE HABERMAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK TIMES": This is an extraordinary moment, to think that there was a chief of staff to a sitting vice president so concerned about the potential threat that is being created by a pressure campaign led and encouraged by the president who picked this vice president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Plus water rescues under way in Miami as a tropical cyclone makes its way onshore with more than 10 million people in its path.

And celebrating 70 years on the throne. Who is attending the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and who isn't.

NEWSROOM starts now.

Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

We begin in Wisconsin where a former judge is now dead, targeted in a bizarre plot to kill government officials. Former Juneau County circuit court judge John Roemer was gunned down in his home on Friday. Police say the suspect also shot himself. Sources say the gunman was also planning attacks on Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

CNN's Whitney Wild has the details for us today. Whitney, what more are you learning?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredericka, sources tell CNN that the suspect had a list of targets and officials say this that was somehow related to the judicial system.

Just how? Was it one case, was it several cases? We just don't have those details yet, but it's something we're certainly keeping our eye on.

Police say that this all began on 6:30 a.m. Friday when someone ran out of Judge Roemer's home and called 911 because that person had heard two shots fired outside that home. Throughout the morning, police tried to negotiate with the suspect who was inside. But eventually, after a few hours, those negotiations broke down and at around 10:15, tactical teams were finally able to get inside where they found 68-year-old former circuit court judge John Roemer dead and the 56-year-old suspect inside with a self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Here is what they have also learned about this suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH KAUL, WISCONSIN ATTORNEY GENERAL: This, as I mentioned before, does appear to be a targeted act. And the individual who is a suspect appears to have had other targets as well. It appears to be related to the judicial system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: And while this is an isolated incident, police saying that there's no risk to anybody beyond Judge Roemer.

The reality is this fits into this greater threat landscape we've been talking a lot about, Fredericka. Federal officials have been warning for many months now about antigovernment sentiment and this heightened threat landscape.

And so law enforcement around the country is certainly watching this case because it exemplifies a real fear of someone trying to carry out a grievance against a highly visible figure, a judge -- a former judge, and actually committing to that act of violence against something law enforcement is particularly concerned about.

WHITFIELD: Very frightening and a horrible outcome. Whitney Wild, thanks so much.

All right. And this stunning new report in the "New York Times" says that a top aide to former Vice President Mike Pence warned the Secret Service that President Trump could turn on the vice president. And the aide feared for Pence's safety on the eve of the Capitol riot.

The Times' report claims that Pence's chief of staff Marc Short warned the Secret Service of his safety concerns one day before the insurrection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HABERMAN: This is an extraordinary moment, to think that there was a chief of staff to a sitting vice president so concerned about the potential threat that is being created by a pressure campaign, led and encouraged by the president who picked this vice president. It is jarring and it just takes a minute to absorb.

Marc Short had a conversation, according to sources, with Tim Peebles (ph) the lead Secret Service agent, saying exactly what you just said, that the president was going to turn on Pence and that, you know, they might have a security risk.

Short, as I understand it, did not have a sense of what that threat could look like. I don't believe, based on my reporting, that he envisioned, you know, what we saw on January 6th the way we saw it.

[11:04:47]

HABERMAN: But what he did realize is that the former president had supporters who were very reactive to him, who basically acted, you know -- responded to things he would say, and he could see, you know, one person, two people, three people, you know, several people, doing something that could be problematic safety-wise for the vice president, just based on this pressure that the former president was exerting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And a Secret Service official disputed this exchange and told CNN that concerns about violence directed at Pence or any risk posed by the former president's actions was never communicated to them.

Meanwhile, two former Trump administration officials will not face charges for contempt of Congress in the January 6th investigation. The Justice Department said it won't indict former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino. The select committee begins its first public prime time hearings this Thursday. The panel is expected to reveal new evidence and witness testimony.

CNN national security reporter Zach Cohen joining us right now. Zach, walk us through the decision to not charge these men and how it might impact the overall investigation.

ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Fredericka, the January 6th committee said last night that they found this decision from the Department of Justice to be puzzling.

They don't understand why Dan Scavino and Mark Meadows were not indicted for essentially refusing to cooperate with the investigation, especially because the committee has emphasized that both men are key witnesses in their probe.

And that's something that they reiterated in a statement last night, saying that they undoubtedly have knowledge of former president Donald Trump's role in the efforts to overturn the 2020 election and in the events of January 6th.

Now, that's why they believe that Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino should have been obligated to respond and cooperate in light of the committee subpoena and they want the Department of Justice to explain why it decided not to move forward and pursue charges against them.

So look, it is complicated. Both men are former senior White House officials. They do have some executive privilege protections because of their role.

Also because both men did to a certain extent cooperate with the committee or at least engaged and started negotiations about being willing to cooperate. That's something that other witnesses who defied the committee outright have not.

And they have seen indictments come down.

WHITFIELD: All right. Then in contrast, another Trump ally is facing charges for his refusal to cooperate with the January 6th investigation. So what do we know about that?

COHEN: That's right, Trump's former economic adviser Peter Navarro was indicted yesterday and arrested at an airport by the FBI.

Look, Navarro is a little bit of a different story than Scavino and Meadows. Navarro essentially ignored the committee after he was subpoenaed back in February.

He claimed that President Donald Trump had asserted privilege and it became clear to the committee fairly quickly that he had no intention of cooperating.

They referred him for criminal charges back in April and now he faces, you know, the possibility of up to a year in jail if he was convicted for each count of contempt of Congress that he's been charged with, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. Zach Cohen, good to see you. Thanks so much.

And this quick programming note, a look inside the Watergate scandal like never before with both Woodward and Bernstein, the Watergate prosecutors, and the man who turned on Nixon, White House counsel John Dean.

A complete picture of how it happened and how it set the stage for future White House scandals.

The new "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES WATERGATE: BLUEPRINT FOR A SCANDAL" premieres tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tomorrow a new "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES".

RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no intention of ever walking away from the job that the people elected me to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: experience Watergate like never before. Hear what happened behind closed doors from the people who were there -- The journalists. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most people didn't believe the stories we were

writing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigators, the lawmakers and the ultimate inside man.

JOHN DEAN, FORMER NIXON WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Many have tried to dissect the events of Watergate. I lived them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conspiracy, extortion, blackmail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The wiretapping. It was explosive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nixon engaged in activities that were criminal to secure his victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And see how this pivotal moment still echoes 50 years later.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you have a president who thinks he can do anything, we're in trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "WATERGATE: BLUEPRINT FOR A SCANDAL" premieres tomorrow at 9:00 only on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And still ahead, millions of people are under tropical storm warnings in South Florida as nearly a foot of rain pummels the region.

Plus some hope for parents nationwide in the scramble to feed their children amid the baby formula shortage. Production at a leading formula maker starts back up today.

We're live, next.

[11:09:41]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Today Abbott Nutrition is restarting its baby formula manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan after months long shutdown. Baby formula should become available to consumers starting June 20th.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joining us live from Sturgis. So Polo, what are we learning about this resumed operation at the plant today?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remember Fred, the closure of this plant -- the temporary closure of this plant has been cited time and time again by both the Biden administration officials and even industry experts as one of the main reasons for why parents have been dealing with this formula shortage for months now so there's certainly hope not only here in Sturgis, Michigan but really throughout the country that the sort of restarting of operations at the plant that you see behind me today as of the last update from Abbott Nutrition will certainly finally bring even more relief.

But this is not going to happen overnight. Abbott Nutrition officials have been very clear in saying that their priority right now will be to start to manufacture Elicare during the initial release that could potentially happen on or about June 20th.

[11:15:00]

SANDOVAL: So that's a little bit over two weeks before some of the first batches of that formula actually hits store shelves here. That is -- that particular formula is a hypo hypoallergenic product meant to assist in the nutritional needs of children with special nutritional needs.

And also eventually though the goal is to expand to Similac, for example, the more general use formula for parents that will hopefully go a very long way here.

Again this is as of the last update from Abbott Nutrition that indicated that today, after reaching an agreement with the FDA, they would be able to resume operations here.

So certainly what we're getting here on the ground is that that is something that officials have been waiting to see for a very long time now, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Polo, what changes did Abbott agree to in order to get the operations restarted?

SANDOVAL: So you recall in about mid-May, that's when Abbott Nutrition announced that they had reached a consent decree, basically a legal agreement with the Food and Drug Administration to implement various changes after they performed those inspections after that recall in February.

And among them it included reviewing and updating their procedures and protocols when it came to maintenance, when it came to the water systems here at the plant as well as upgrading the plant itself.

But the ultimate goal, according to Abbott Nutrition, would be to regain that confidence of parents across the country.

The company recognized their role in the shortage that we've been experiencing already for several months now.

And it's also important to remember, Fred, that this sort of restarting of the manufacturing here at the Sturgis plant, this is happening in the same week that the office of inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services announced that they would be reviewing the FDA's actions.

Really, how fast they responded, or at least their initial response to that recall in February to see if anything could have been done to try to prevent this particular point in this crisis that parents are still dealing with.

So again, an important reminder, even though this plant is expected to resume those operations today, it's still going to be some weeks before we finally begin to see some of that formula hit store shelves.

WHITFIELD: All right. Taking all the time. Thank you so much, Polo Sandoval in Sturgis, Michigan.

All right. Coming up, live pictures right now of relentless rain and wind barreling across south Florida right now as a cyclone is on track to intensify into a tropical storm sometime today. We'll bring you the latest path, next.

[11:17:20]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ten days after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas there's growing frustration over continued gaps in information provided by authorities.

At a closed door meeting of the Uvalde school board last night the superintendent announced students will not be returning to Robb Elementary School.

Families also expressed frustration the school board didn't have answers about security once students do return to the classroom.

We're also now hearing from the teacher's aide who was initially accused of propping open the school door where the gunman entered the building.

CNN's Omar Jimenez has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) -- year class party before it became a nightmare.

DAN FLANARY, ATTORNEY FOR TEACHER'S AIDE: She saw everything from the time he wrecked to the time she was taken out of there.

JIMENEZ: Special education aide Emilia Maren was meeting a co-worker with food for the party when she saw a car crash. So, her lawyer says, she propped the door open, went back inside to get her phone and called 911 to report the accident. Then she returned to the door.

FLANARY: And she looks and sees him and he has a weapon that she can't identify but a big weapon slung over him and he hops over the fence and starts running towards her.

JIMENEZ: So she kicks the door shut.

Did she expect it to lock?

FLANARY: Absolutely. She thought it was going to be locked. JIMENEZ: Maren scrambles into to a nearby classroom as she begins to hear gunshots.

FLANARY: He's inside now. She hides. The 911 call drops. They don't call her back. She doesn't attempt a callback because she doesn't want to make any noise.

There's some sort of counter that she gets under but it's exposed. She said that she thought at that point she was going to die and she made her peace with that.

JIMENEZ: So she hears every single gunshot.

FLANARY: Every single gunshot.

JIMENEZ: But she was one of the lucky ones who survived.

Days later, though, she hears law enforcement say she had left the door the shooter used open.

And she's second-guessing herself.

FLANARY: Right, it made her second-guess her own memories. And she had already spoken to the FBI and the rangers and told them what happened.

JIMENEZ: The rangers eventually publicly corrected the record. As the community grieves, a flurry of unanswered questions linger, including more about Texas school's police chief Pete Arradondo, acting as incident commander during the shooting.

ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D), TEXAS SENATE SENATOR: I have been told this person did not have -- this person being the incident commander -- did not have radio communication. And I don't know as to why.

JIMENEZ: And questioned if the 911 calls were properly relayed to first responders on the scene. One of those 911 calls came from a 10- year-old student who was inside the classroom. And according to transcripts reviewed by the "New York Times", the student said, "There is a lot of bodies.

And I don't want to die. My teacher is dead. My teacher is dead. Please send help. Send help for my teacher. She is shot but still alive."

[11:24:50]

JIMENEZ: The call lasted about 17 minutes. Gunfire was heard in the background at times. And the call was made more than 30 minutes after the shooting began, the "Times" reports.

The teaching aide, Emilia Maren, has now filed legal documents to get a deposition from Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the gun used in the shooting with her attorney saying because the shooter got the weapons on his 18th birthday, he was likely planning the purchases beforehand. FLANARY: So his motivation is to get that gun when he was a minor. Are

there, you know, gun companies that are marketing to minors? Is that what they're doing? How many mass shootings do we have to have by 18- year-old men? It's cookie cutter. So what are they doing to change?

JIMENEZ: Now, it's worth noting this pre-suit petition does not formally accuse the gun manufacturer of any wrongdoing. Instead, it seeks to allow Emilia Maren to investigate whether she has a basis to file a claim against Daniel Defense.

Omar Jimenez, CNN -- Uvalde, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring in now Juliette Kayyem. She's a CNN national security analyst and a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

And she is also the author of the book, "The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning To Live In An Age Of Disasters". Good to see you, Juliette.

So we just heard a Texas state senator there say the incident commander didn't have a radio with him or wasn't in radio contact. What do you suppose the explanation might be behind that?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, if it's true, because let's just start every story about this school shooting that no one is a trustworthy narrator at this stage -- whether it's the locals, the police chief, the state, random people who are giving quotes.

But if this is true, it explains an operational glitch that we need to understand why he didn't have a radio, but it does not in my mind explain the overall failures that we just -- you know, basically that the incident commander did not believe this to be an active shooter situation and to use normal protocols for rapid deployment.

A mere lack of communication would not be enough. He's hearing -- he has some situational awareness. He's already been told that someone is in there. He knows that there's gunshots. And so to me, that might be one cause, but it doesn't explain the overall failures.

And honestly, I don't think you're going to find a single point of failure. I think you're going to find multiple ones over the course of whatever investigation we can trust.

WHITFIELD: So you say the lack of communication is not enough. At what point does instinct, you know, prevail or override what might be protocol that everyone understands to be in place, or a failure of communication? When does instinct simply say, we need to go in there and assist and help?

KAYYEM: Yes and it's training that instinct. In other words, it's not just that we know it. I mean we know this department as well as almost every single one in the country now knows what active shooter protocols are. So it's not just did they -- did their gut tell them the right thing.

They've actually been trained for this. We know that they have done training at least twice before.

And the reason why the training is important is because it will tell you what we know to be true, that in active shooter situations, systems will collapse.

You may not get information, you may get conflicting information, you know, you may not know what's going on.

The only thing you know through the totality of active shooter cases is that the best course is to eliminate the threat. And then everything else will fall into place, so to speak.

I mean in other words, then you'll have an understanding of how bad it is, who can be saved. And so in some ways, you know, maybe his instinct told him to stand back and he really needed to overcome that instinct and get people in there.

Because we just know from history, and it's not a hidden history, that the best first course is eliminate the threat, all else follows.

WHITFIELD: Right. So with all of that, we're also learning now more about the heartbreaking 911 calls that came from these kids and teachers inside the classrooms. We also don't know if those calls were relayed to the police, you know, who were inside the building.

Is this another reason why we need answers from authorities, you know, a real play by play on what was said, a timeline? And here it is now ten days after the fact.

KAYYEM: Yes. I mean, I think that's right. What communication was being relayed? That's also going to tell us, unfortunately, if children were alive and then weren't able to be saved because of the delay.

In one of the recordings that I've seen, someone said that a teacher is still alive, that is clearly one of the teachers who died. And so we don't know of any teachers that were shot and survived.

[11:29:57]

KAYYEM: And so I think that that's going to give us a timeline. And just as I was saying at the beginning, Fred, like I don't know who that reliable investigator is. The DOJ investigation is coming in.

It is going to bump up against all of this very weird, I would say, to quote our reporters out there, a very weird reaction by the state, by the locals, by the school police in terms of protecting themselves and just random narratives that don't seem to make sense.

Maybe DOJ can make sense of it. I have to say, you know, a lot of our law enforcement analysts are saying this is like the worst response they've ever seen. I agree with them. This is also the worst after- action I've ever seen. I've never seen anything like this. I think part of it is because the politics of the state coming in and wanting to make sure that we view this as not about guns. I don't know what it is, but I've never seen anything like this either.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean you underscore the lack of communication or this communication breakdown. But might these mistakes also be classified as failure to act, and if indeed that is the case, a failure to act, does that mean there would be a potential criminal charges that could be imposed?

KAYYEM: The criminal standard is pretty forgiving of law enforcement. I mean, in other words, as we've seen in a lot of these police brutality cases, I mean, it has to be pretty knowing and pretty illegal. And mere negligence is not seen as sufficient, in most cases, unless it's a gross criminal negligence.

I think what you're going to see as we're starting to get hints of now is serious civil liability against the city, individuals, and even potentially the state and the gun manufacturers, as we're seeing in this case.

But I would not hold my breath on criminal charges at this stage. It's really hard in those instances to say that that was a crime rather than just a total absence of duty and responsibility and trust and all the things that those kids expected of a police department.

WHITFIELD: So a lot of proposals have been, you know, pitched. And among them, Senator Lindsey Graham is suggesting this week that the country start considering the use of retired and former service members to guard our public schools. What do you think of that suggestion?

KAYYEM: So, I mean the use of law enforcement in schools is a complicated history. I mean sometimes it does work. But in most of these instances it's outside law enforcement that generally help.

And you know, look, you don't just stick armed people into schools. There has to be training, protocols, understanding of the environment, deconfliction training because you don't want someone pulling out a gun I mean I have kinds in high school, every time you know, there's a raised voice or some mishap. You actually have to train for a very unique environment.

But I also want to make it clear, to that approach, whether it's a single door or defense, whatever -- what we're seeing in all these cases, or the sort of common thread across all of them, is that whether the law enforcement action is great.

So compare Tulsa a few days later, and I can't believe that we can have such close comparisons, where you had them rush in, the assailant is alone or shoots himself because he knows there's nowhere to go, or you have in Texas the most horrific response, no matter what you're having at least three, four, five people dead. We've seen this in almost all the cases.

And why is that? Because our weapons are able to kill -- are used in a way that kills very quickly and then they're also used by people who ought to not have them.

And so that's why this increasing the age from 18 to 21, the data is clear that you would rid yourself of some of these challenges, even if you can't rid yourself of the weapons, the red flag laws as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good to see you, Juliette Kayyem, thanks so much.

KAYYEM: Thank you. Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, millions of people are under tropical storm warnings in south Florida as nearly a foot of rain and heavy wind pummels the region.

The latest forecast, next

[11:34:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now south Florida is being pummeled as potential tropical cyclone 1 makes its slow turn toward the Atlantic. More than 10 million people are under tropical storm warnings in Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas.

The National Weather Service extended a flash flood warning for Miami and Fort Lauderdale until noon. Over 11 inches of rain already drenching Miami streets, causing massive headaches for drives -- drivers rather, stranded in that deluge.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is in Fort Lauderdale for us. That is a lot of water, Carlos, why in the world are people driving through it?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Yes. After covering many storms over the years, you're always amazed at the facts that folks still want to do what they do out here.

[11:39:52]

SUAREZ: We are finally getting a bit of a break with the rain out here. And it is welcome, because in Fort Lauderdale alone, just under 8 inches of rain has fallen over a 24-hour period. That number, as you said, is a whole lot greater down in Miami where there has been serious flooding in the downtown and the financial district of the city of Miami.

We're talking about nearly a foot of rain over the last 24 hours. That led to a number of cars being stalled. In fact the city of Miami, they had firefighters go out in six elevated trucks to try to get some drivers that were stranded in their cars, to get them out safely.

And right now the effort down there, other than trying to get some of these roads reopened, is they're trying to get the word out on where folks can go and find their cars.

That many vehicles, we're told, had been towed from across the city of Miami, that they're now trying to concentrate their time and effort in getting their owners to come pick them back up.

The story remained the same across Alligator Alley in Fort Myers and Naples, where that part of the state also saw 6 to 8 inches of rain. That is something that forecasters have been calling for for the last several days. They said all along that this was going to be a rain event and it has held firm.

Right now, again here in the city of Fort Lauderdale, just under 8 inches of rain over a 24-hour period. The forecasting right now shows that a lot of the worst of the weather is going to move out of the area later on this afternoon into the early evening hours.

So right now, it's just trying to get a lot of folks away from some of these blocked roads, which as you can see behind me, they're not really taking a whole lot of -- they're not heeding the advice, which is you want to just avoid areas that might have some of this record number of flooding, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Well, Some might regret it later because at a minimum there will be a lot of totaled cars after this storm.

All right. Carlos Suarez, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. The big question right now, how much longer will this storm system cause disruptions. For that we bring in meteorologist Tyler Mauldin in the CNN Weather Center. Tyler, any relief in sight? And how potentially dangerous is this storm?

TYLER MAULDIN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Hi, Fredericka.

So the National Hurricane Center's 11:00 a.m. update is in. there's very little change wit it. There are two changes though that I want to take everyone through.

Number one, the center is now over land and it's about 50 miles or so to the northeast of Naples. Outside of that, the only other change is the fact that the National Hurricane Center has started dropping counties from the tropical storm warning across the southern peninsula of Florida.

They have yet to upgrade it to a tropical depression or a tropical storm despite tropical storm-force winds. And that's because it's so disorganized on satellite imagery.

There's the center right there. And it's really broad. The thunderstorms are well away from the center. So it doesn't look like a healthy tropical system at all.

Despite that, we are getting tropical storm-force conditions. We've got the gusty squalls coming through. And this is leading to blinding rain -- heavy rain at that. And it's been raining in south Florida for more than 24 hours now. It's been raining since Friday morning. That has led to Miami, Florida picking up nearly a foot of rainfall in just 24 hours.

It doesn't take much in south Florida to spark some flooding. Regular afternoon thunderstorms can spark flooding there. So a foot of rainfall in the Miami area is definitely going to lead to standing water on the roadways.

We continue to see the rain fall flow from south to north. You can see it's actually beginning to dry out across southwest Florida. But from Palm Beach County all the way down to Miami-Dade County, we're seeing some showers and thunderstorms continuing to flow over.

We have picked up roughly 4 to 6 inches of rainfall across, that's the consensus across south Florida. But again, some isolated areas have picked up well north of 6 inches, nearly a foot again, in Miami.

Flood watch continues for the southern half of the peninsula of Florida. We have a flash flood warning in effect for southern Palm Beach County. We have a flash flood warning also in Broward and Miami- Dade as well.

It's going to take a little while for this rain to taper off. We expect 2 to 3 more inches of rainfall on top of what we've already seen. And Fredericka, we don't expect it to taper off until probably later this afternoon and then we can completely say goodbye, the state of Florida can completely say goodbye to this thing by midnight.

WHITFIELD: Ok. All right. I know they cannot wait.

All right Tyler Mauldin, thank you so much.

All right. Still Ahead, despite the Queen's absence, the Platinum Jubilee celebrations well, they carry on. We'll take you live to London, next.

[11:44:29]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, the Epsom Derby is under way near London. The iconic race kicks off day three -- that's Buckingham Palace right there, but the race kicks off day three of the four-day celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen herself, well she's not at the race. Buckingham palace saying the 94-year-old monarch is continuing to have mobility issues. Later this evening there will be a huge party in the Queen's honor at the palace.

The royal family gathering yesterday for what's called a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral. The gathering did include Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, as you see right there. While William and Kate made a visit to Wales with their kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Kate Williams is a CNN royal historian. So good to see you.

so let's start with the Queen's health. What do we know? What does this mean mobility issues?

[11:49:54]

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Well, we understand that it's very difficult for her to walk. She's using a stick now and it was quite an arduous day when she was out there on the balcony with the trooping {ph) of the color.

But we've had an update on her health and Zara Tindall, her granddaughter, Princess Anne's daughter, saying that she's feeling well and she's going to spend the day watching the ceremony in her comfortable clothes at Windsor Castle.

So I think that, you know, she's 96. She's got incredible health. It seems amazing doesn't it, Fred, that just ten years ago the London Olympics we always thought she was jumping out of a helicopter.

Well now, you know, it's catching up with her a bit but still, you know, she's still in good form and I think is really enjoying all the celebrations at home. She's enjoying. We'll see her again I think quite soon this week.

WHITFIELD: Ok. 96, I mean that's very impressive.

So Prince Charles has stepped in for the Queen at some of the events. What is the significance of that?

WILLIAMS: Yes, it's very significant, so obviously he's stepping in because the Queen does need to rest. But also at the same time the Queen is so popular, this huge jubilee in London has been taken over, a giant celebration.

She knows she's so popular, so respected and she wants there to be a seamless transition to the next monarchy so that we get used to seeing Charles in these kingly roles opening parliament, at the thanksgiving service and today really hosting this giant party at Buckingham Palace which is going on behind me, all these pop stars from Diana Ross to Ed Sheeran that we're going to get used to seeing Charles.

So there really won't be a big change when the Queen is no longer here.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and that this is happening is a very big deal. But perhaps for an American audience, may not, you know, understand the complete gravity of it all. I mean help give some context as to just how historic, how grand this jubilee is.

WILLIAMS: It's so historic. We'll never see another one again. I mean I don't think I'll ever see a Queen again in my lifetime but we will never see a monarch who's reigned for 70 years.

I mean she's the longest reigning British monarch in history and she's nearly the longest reigning monarch in the world. She's just got to beat Louis XIV of France who built Versailles. He did come to the throne as a very small child. So he has a head start.

She's reigned for so long and when you think that she was born just after World War I in 1926 and she's seen all of the 20th century -- most of the 21st. She's an icon in terms of historic significance and we will never see a monarchy like this ever again.

WHITFIELD: No. I mean, becoming a Queen, you know, in her early 20s, I mean, it's pretty incredible and now celebrating 70 years on the throne.

So let's talk about the other stars, right, because they do have that star power still, Prince Harry and Meghan, the duchess of Sussex.

They did make this trip to England for the jubilee but how was their arrival. How has it really been received even though perhaps they don't have the prominence that they might have had many moons ago, but how have they been received?

WILLIAMS: It's been -- people have been really thrilled to see them. There's been huge amounts of coverage. Giant pictures in the newspaper of Meghan in her Dior outfit and her hat and at the thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral, a big ceremony yesterday.

They came in and there were these huge cheers. I was there reporting, huge cheers from the crowd. People were thrilled to see them.

And I think it really reminds us, as you say, of this star power the Sussexes have got, giant star power even though they're no longer major royal family members. And I think it does suggest, you know, how much they could have given to the royal family had they stayed in the model they were talking about.

But that's over now but still there's a lot of excitement to see them and people I think are thrilled to hear that they brought Lilibet with her. She's turning one today their little girl and the Queen has met her and presumably given her a birthday present.

WHITFIELD: And let's speak to the opulence because that is just, you know, so engaging as well. I mean, people were oohing and aahing over what everybody was wearing and how they looked for Harry and Meghan's wedding. And then now you have this event.

I feel like it's reached that same level of just this eye candy, just watching these events unfold and seeing everybody in their, you know, Sunday or royal best. Describe for us what goes into making a jubilee of this stature like this.

WILLIAMS: Well, it really is ten years of planning. The whole of London has been taken over. I'm in Green Park now which is normally just trees and flowers and it's all with these giant seating areas, everyone can watch the party, just outside the palace all these pop stars coming.

And, you know, as you say all the royals in their finery and we're going to have a giant pageant tomorrow on Sunday. Let's hope it doesn't rain in which the gold state coach the Queen traveled to the coronation in, that's going to be a focal point with apparently a video of the young Queen in it looking realistic waving out.

[11:54:52] WILLIAMS: There's all these incredible moments. I mean it's incredibly costly. I think it cost a fortune but it really is a huge moment to celebrate in Britain. There are street parties going on -- cakes, cookies, everyone is having a really wonderful party and so far the weather has played ball.

But it is, I think, a giant opulent moment and the palace I think, know we're never going to see this again. And I think into the future will look back on now and they'll think it's the high watermark of monarchy. Monarchy has this oldest significance, is talked about, is discussed. I don't think it will be the same again in the future.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And is it your feeling too that perhaps the Queen preserving her energy, yes, skipping day two and three publicly so that on day four we're seeing her and that golden carriage that you spoke of.

WILLIAMS: Well, we might very well see the Queen tomorrow but actually in the carriage it's so interesting -- it's a video of the Queen. It's like a holograph of her as a 25-year-old, 26-year-old woman.

And I find that so interesting that maybe this is the future of monarchy. We've got a Abba run tour in U.K. now of holographs of Abba. Maybe that's the future.

The Queen went round the world 40 times, she said I have to be seen to be believed. Maybe in the future, we'll have a video version of the monarch. But yes it's going to be a huge celebration and I think that we will -- the Queen has found it tiring but also very gratifying to see her family come together to support her and see all this excitement and thrill from the crowds.

WHITFIELD: Well, if anyone can pull any of it off it would be the Queen.

Kate Williams, thank you so much. Good to see you.

All right, coming up, from gun violence to record high inflation, to a major baby formula shortage -- a heap of problems for the Biden White House to tackle as multiple crises escalate at once. Will it undermine potentially his presidency? We'll discuss straight ahead.

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