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Three Killed, 11 Injured In Philly Mass Shooting; Trump Mobilizing MAGA Army To Defend Him Ahead Of 1/6 Hearings; Former Wisconsin Judge Killed At Home In Targeted Attack. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 05, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:19]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, we begin with a deadly night in America as several mass shootings across the country claimed nearly a dozen lives and injured many more.

In Philadelphia, a manhunt is underway after three people were killed and 11 injured when several people opened fire on South Street, a popular restaurant and bar area. Police say they were patrolling the area when several people just started shooting into the crowd.

In a press conference held moments ago, police vowed to arrest all those responsible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMISSIONER DANIELLE OUTLAW, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: We are were absolutely devastated -- devastated by this incident and we mourn the lives lost and the dozens and dozens of lives affected by this tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In Chattanooga, Tennessee, three people are dead and 17 injured following a shooting outside a nightclub. It is the second mass shooting in that city in the past week.

In Mesa, Arizona, two people were killed and two others injured in a shooting outside a bar.

In Lexington, Kentucky one person was killed and another injured in a shooting at a funeral.

In Phoenix, one person was killed and eight others injured in a shooting outside a strip mall.

And in Summerton, South Carolina, one woman was killed and seven teenagers were injured when someone opened fire on a graduation party.

And these are just shootings that CNN has details on.

Let's go now to that terrifying shooting in Philadelphia. CNN's Polo Sandoval is there.

Polo, police just wrapped up that news conference a short time ago. What other updates do you have?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Philadelphia's Police Commissioner, Fred, calling not just the shooting that we witnessed here take place yesterday, but also several others that we saw yesterday take place calling this violence unthinkable, calling it horrendous as well in some comments she shared just a few moments ago, also offering an update on the latest on this investigation.

We now know a little bit more about what led to that shooting that left three people dead on this very popular entertainment district and shopping district and at least 11 others injured. Investigators saying just a few minutes ago, this started as an altercation, and a few moments later, shots were being fired.

We understand that police officers were already on patrol here in this entertainment district and were able to respond not just to administer first aid and emergency care to the injured, but also to engage at least one of those gunmen.

The Police Commissioner saying that they believe that they managed to wound one gunman before he dropped his pistol and then manage to flee. They're working to track him down.

But they now have two of what they believe to be five handguns or at least five firearms that were used during, again, this altercation that turned extremely violent yesterday.

I want you to hear from Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, who again, says that she is just frustrated with the level of violence that she has seen in her city. And sadly, it is on pace to either matching or even exceeding the number of violent incidents that they saw last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OUTLAW: These incidents have an exponential effect on our community, and it not only impacts the individual that has been directly victimized, but it victimizes their loved ones, their families and their neighbors, neighborhoods all over the world.

It's unacceptable. It's beyond unacceptable. And we're still using every resource available to get to the bottom of what occurred, not just out there last night, but behind this gun violence in this city, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: You can certainly at least hear the level of frustration in the voice of Police Commissioner Outlaw because again, there were three shootings yesterday. The second one that happened not far from here that left another person dead.

Now, in terms of this mass casualty incident here, and we do know that again, there were three people dead, they include two men and one woman. As for the 11 injured, their ages ranging from 17 to 69 years old. Their current state or at least her condition ranges from stable to critical as well.

Again, we understand based on what police just said a little while ago, that many of those people who were involved were innocent bystanders -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Terrible. And many of them in terms of those injured, the Police Commissioner said they were ranging in ages from 17 to 69 and three killed. They were all in their 20s. Really sad.

All right, thank you so much, Polo Sandoval. Appreciate that.

Here to talk more about all of this, Juliette Kayyem. She is a CNN national security analyst and a former Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

Juliette, good to see you again. I mean, sadly to talk about yet more you know, mass shootings.

Police were already in this area in Philadelphia, saw the shooters opening fire. I mean, you heard the Commissioner describe it, you know, and she says they are all devastated.

How do you assess this -- all that's happened?

[15:05:18]

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think, it shows the futility of all these defensive measures that we're hearing, mostly from the GOP to help secure facilities. So 19 kids get killed at a school. So we're talking about arming veterans and having single doors and all of this, so then there's a hospital. And so you know, then we're talking about more security.

And then there's an open party, two parties, three parties, however, many happened last night, throughout the United States. So when you're going to close off streets, you're going to have checks for just walking down the street.

And I think it's just important for people know that in each of these incidents, there were different law enforcement responses.

So Texas, we certainly know was abysmal. At the hospital, they got there within a couple of minutes. And here, you know, here in Philadelphia, the police are there. Right?

So what's the common theme here is that it is guns, and that we really can't just be talking about defense.

You know, Fred, I say, I laugh, but when the Police Commissioner rightfully said, there's no -- this is an isolated incident, there is no ongoing threat. And I thought that's actually not true. I mean, none of these are -- they are not isolated, and the idea that we're not -- WHITFIELD: Sadly, the ongoing threat is everywhere, anywhere at any

time.

KAYYEM: Everywhere.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

KAYYEM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So when hear soft targets, you know, meaning crowded places where people are much more vulnerable to attacks, like we have just seen people outside a nightclub, people walking down the street, which is what everybody else is doing on the weekend at a place where there are a lot of restaurants and bars, et cetera, and the Commissioner said, it is impacting everyone -- the victims, the family members, the community -- and they want to get to the bottom of it and they're vowing to get to the bottom of it.

But how does any jurisdiction do that? Right now, when we're seeing the spate of violence and gun-related mass shootings, how do we collectively as a nation, get to the bottom of it? How do you start that?

KAYYEM: Right. So I think we have to not think of sort of a single solution at this stage. Of course, the increase in crime that we're seeing in these cities, and these are unlike the school shooting, right? These are some conflict or someone is targeting someone and they go after them in a bar, is of course the sort of fortifying your security.

But as I said, there is only so much you can do. They had a police presence there. You can have more surveillance, more lights, curfews, even if it comes to that.

The second is, of course, the solution with the weaponry that is killing lots of people very quickly. And I'm -- you know me, I don't talk about safe, I talk about safer, and safer is where we have to get, we just need to stop, we need to lower these numbers. And one of the reasons why these numbers are so high is because of the speed of the weapons compared to even the best law enforcement response.

And then, you know, and then we have -- you know, I guess, third is the longer issue, I know people talk about mental health and those are debates, but really, it is just about a nation that views conflict, disagreements, isolation, as resolve through guns. We are so unique that way.

I mean, I just -- I travel -- I used to travel the world before COVID, and you just -- I don't think we quite grasp how fundamentally in awe, and not in a good way the rest of the world is and our tolerance for this kind of violence.

WHITFIELD: You're talking about a culture of violence.

KAYYEM: The culture. Right, we call it gun culture, but I mean, we could have a responsible gun culture, that's an option, right? And lots of countries also have that. There's lots of weapons in other countries as well, personal use of guns, but we just -- we need to begin to talk about responsible gun culture and that is the debate that the NRA is unwilling to have, that many in the GOP are unwilling to have, although you are starting to see some pushes with the GOP or some acknowledgment from the GOP.

Yes, somebody -- I mean, responsible should be something we can agree with, right? Responsible gun ownership.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, Juliette Kayyem, good to see you. Thank you so much.

KAYYEM: Yes, see you again, unfortunately.

WHITFIELD: All right, yes, I know, sadly. Thank you.

All right, coming up. We're just days away from the first public primetime January 6 hearings and CNN is learning that former President Trump is mobilizing his MAGA warriors -- they're calling it a MAGA army -- to come to his defense while the hearings play out. We'll discuss next.

[15:10:08]

WHITFIELD: Plus, a surprise appearance from the Queen herself right there, dazzling in emerald and celebrations continue for her Platinum Jubilee. She stepped out onto the Palace balcony to greet onlookers and give the Queen wave right there.

We'll have highlights from the festivities straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this week in what should be one of the most historic moments in American history, the January 6 Committee will begin revealing their findings to the public in the first of a series of primetime hearings.

The Committee has interviewed or deposed more than a thousand witnesses and collected more than 135,000 documents as it investigates the Capitol riot. The panel is promising to release disturbing new evidence and witness testimony.

CNN national security reporter, Zachary Cohen, joining us now with more on this. Zach, what can we expect when this first primetime hearing gets underway on Thursday.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Fredricka, yes. I think one thing we can expect is this is not going to look like a normal congressional hearing.

[15:15:10]

COHEN: The Committee has made clear that they are trying to present these findings in the most compelling way possible. And this first hearing this week is really expected to set the tone for that because the stakes are so high.

Now, what the Committee has said is that we can expect to see previously unreleased footage or unreleased material around January 6, we can also expect them to run through a summary of their findings about a coordinated effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Now, it remains to be seen exactly how the Committee will present that case, but Democratic Congressman David Cicilline did say that he expects the new evidence that is presented during the hearings to be really compelling and really damaging. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D-RI): There will be I think, substantial evidence that really demonstrates the coordination and the planning and the effort, despite the fact that they understood that Donald Trump lost the election, and even once the insurrection began, and the violence began, there were ongoing efforts to persuade the former President to stop the violence and call on folks to go home and he refused to do it.

I think the American people are going to learn facts about the planning and execution of this that will be very disturbing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So as you mentioned there, we can expect Donald Trump to be a consistent theme through line throughout these hearings. We can also expect that the former President will likely try to mount some sort of a counterprogramming response as the hearings are ongoing. But we know that Trump will be a focus, it just remains to be seen how the Committee will ultimately present its findings.

WHITFIELD: All right, Zach, and you also have new reporting on how the former President Trump is mobilizing his supporters on Capitol Hill to defend him during these hearings. What are you learning?

COHEN: Fredricka, our sources are telling us that the former President has already reached out to several of his most staunch allies on Capitol Hill and made clear that he expects them to mount this defense in real time as the Committees are playing out -- as these hearings are playing out.

Now, some of these top Republicans have already answered his call, including Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader. Now, he is expected to oversee, really the broad response and the counterprogramming that is still taking shape, and we could get more information on that when some of the other allies meet with Trump this week or as that meeting is expected to play out.

Now, it is interesting too, though, because we were hearing from a lot of Republican sources that some of the party would prefer, they just ignore the Committee's hearings, that they would rather -- that Republicans focus on other issues that are more important to their base, like inflation, like certain shortages in the baby formula. So it's going to be really interesting to see how the party and if the

party coalesces around one strategy, or if we see different lawmakers and different operatives sort of doing their own thing.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, Zach Cohen, thanks so much.

All right, joining me to talk more about all of these -- these high stakes hearings, Carrie Cordero is with me now. She is a CNN national security analyst.

Carrie, so good to see you.

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thanks you.

WHITFIELD: So we understand, this panel plans to lay it all out, lay out the case at these hearings with the beginning, a middle, and an end that there will be like in chapter form. How important is that that the committee starts off strong, tries to grab the attention of the American public? Because after all, it is primetime for the very reason of trying to get more eyeballs, right?

CORDERO: Sure. I mean, obviously, a big part of the Committee strategy is to make this compelling for the public to retell the story of what transpired on January 6, because it has been many, many months since there was an original hearing of some of the officers who were in the actual events themselves.

And so this is the opportunity for the community to reintroduce itself to tell the story of what happened, and to start to put together some of the pieces of how we got to that point of violence and that attack on the Capitol.

And so to my mind, Fred, the big question that remains unanswered is whether or not there was political leadership involved in inciting the actual violence. It's that connection between the political strategy to overturn the election and the violence that occurred that I think is one thing that I certainly will be interested to hear what the Committee has to say about.

WHITFIELD: So there has been a promise by this Committee that there will be new evidence, testimony, some of which involves, you know, what the former President knew about the insurrection and when. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: I think when you look at the totality of the evidence, and some of these are my personal opinions. I look at the totality of the evidence, it's pretty apparent that at some points, President Trump knew what was going on, obviously, right?

I mean, if you're having meetings within the White House, if you're having individuals that you're paying out there you know, doing lawsuits, you know, the 64 or 65 lawsuits, if you're pushing this sort of -- even on Twitter and social media, which is very important, which I think the Committee is going to concentrate on -- if you look at what's happening in the message that's being pushed by President Trump himself and social media and other individuals, you start to see this pipeline of information that's very damaging and it's pushing things like Stop the Steal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:20:05]

WHITFIELD: And when you talk about -- you'll be interested to see what kind of political leadership involvement there may have been. We've already heard about texts and e-mails that talk about, you know, how close people were to the President to get him to call things off, which already inferred that he may have been the direct instigator of the insurrection.

Do you believe we are going to hear testimony that will indeed be more specific about the President's involvement before, during, and after?

CORDERO: I think we'll hear more testimony about the actual strategy that took place and this could involve the involvement of the President and his advisers as well, and those who were close to him both in government and out of government.

But the strategy to actually overturn the election, just based on the news reports that we've seen come out so far and information about the committee's work that has been reported in the past weeks and months, we know that there really was a strategy to overturn the election, there was pressure placed on state election officials, there was pressure placed on Justice Department officials.

And so those were deliberate efforts that were instituted to try to get the election to be overturned and not certified to allow the actual elected President to take hold.

So there is that piece, which I do expect, we will hear more about, and then there is the violence piece, the actual physical force that was used to try to prevent the certification of the election on January 6. And so I hope we also hear more about that piece of it.

WHITFIELD: And how about the pressure on the former Vice President? I mean, "The New York Times" saying in its report that a top aide to the former Vice President Mike Pence warned the Secret Service, that President Trump could turn on the Vice President and that the aide feared for Pence's safety on the eve of the riot.

And of course, now we've since learned that the Secret Service is saying, or at least some members of the Secret Service saying they don't know anything about those kinds of warnings. Is that detail that is going to be important and paramount in a hearing like this?

CORDERO: I hope that the Committee does explore that through witness and whether -- we don't know whether there is documentary evidence that supports that allegation that was reported by "The New York Times." But to my mind, in terms of things that I've read over the last

several days, that's one of the most important serious new facts that I have seen emerge, because again, it draws the connection between the violence that occurred and the fact that an adviser or a close adviser to Vice President Pence was fearful that the efforts that were going on in the White House to overturn and in the political movement, to overturn the election actually could result in violence and harm to the Vice President is obviously extraordinarily significant.

WHITFIELD: And we've been talking about all this, you know, alleged instigation surrounding the insurrection. And now, new CNN reporting is talking about the kind of investigation that the former President might be involved in by trying to mobilize some of his allies and supporters on Capitol Hill, and we don't know to what extent either be, you know, disruptive to people paying attention to the information that is coming out of this hearing.

CORDERO: Right. I mean, that remains a question what that actually means when there are reports of the President trying to inspire -- certainly, he is going to want political supporters to be speaking to the media, presumably,; whether that involves anything else, the Committee itself, the January 6 Committee, which will be conducting this hearing, doesn't have individuals who are political supporters of him in terms of members of Congress, the Republican participants support the work of the Committee.

Allies of his in Congress did not support the work of the Committee and have not, at least as far as we know, participated in it.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Carrie Cordero, good to see you. Thank you so much. It's going to be a potentially riveting week.

CORDERO: Thanks, Fred. Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead. The plot thickens. New details in the case of a former Judge found murdered inside his home. Officials are calling it a targeted attack. More on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:46]

WHITFIELD: In Wisconsin, a former Judge was shot and killed in his home in what officials are calling a targeted attack. A source tells CNN the suspected gunman had a hit list that included a high-ranking member of Congress and two governors.

Earlier a Judge whose son was killed in a similar targeted attack reacted to the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE ESTHER SALAS, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE, DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY: My heart is broken. Another family is going to have to endure what Mark and I have been living with for now 23 months. It is -- it is senseless, it is dangerous, and we need to start protecting Judges all over this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Nadia Romero is in Wisconsin where authorities are continuing to investigate. Nadia, what are you learning?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we're learning new details about the suspect. Fifty-six-year-old Douglas Uhde, and we know that at least here in the State of Wisconsin, his criminal history dates back to at least 2002 were convictions for armed burglary and firearm charges.

And it would have been in 2005 that the suspect and the Judge -- former Judge John Roemer would have crossed paths in the Courtroom. I want to be clear here. The suspect has not been charged related to his death or in this incident so far, but there are still so many unanswered questions about this case, how the suspect might have any kind of a link to the Judge and the other people who were targeted on his hit list.

[15:30:14]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH KAUL, WISCONSIN ATTORNEY GENERAL: This incident appears to be a targeted act.

ROMERO (voice over): Some political leaders across the country targets on a hit list and a former Wisconsin County Circuit Court Judge dead. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers reacting to the death of John Roemer.

GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): Somebody that devoted his life or a good share of his life being a jurist in the state, in rural Wisconsin and that's hard work. To be targeted like that, it makes me frankly sick to my stomach.

ROMERO (voice over): Authorities say they were called to Roemer's home early Friday morning.

KAUL: The Juneau County Sheriff's Office received a call notifying law enforcement of an armed person and two shots fired in the Township of New Lisbon.

ROMERO (voice over): After failed negotiations with the suspect in this house about 80 miles northwest of Madison, the Juneau County Special Tactics and Response Team entered the home to find former Judge John Roemer dead.

SHERIFF BRENT H. OLESON, JUNEAU COUNTY, WISCONSIN: I would estimate between Juneau County Sheriff's Office and local agencies and the State Patrol, we probably had approximately 30 officers out there.

ROMERO (voice over): The suspect, 56-year-old Douglas Uhde in critical condition after a self-inflicted wound in the basement. According to authorities, Judge Roemer wasn't the suspect's only target.

KAUL: The individual who is the suspect appears to have had other targets as well. It appears to be related to the judicial system.

ROMERO (voice over): Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer among those targeted, sources tell CNN.

KAUL: We've been in contact with the individuals who were identified as potentially being targets.

ROMERO (voice over): Governor Whitmer's office releasing this statement reading in part: "Governor Whitmer has demonstrated repeatedly that she is tough and she will not be bullied or intimidated from doing her job."

Authorities say the targeting was based on some sort of Court cases, but law enforcement remain tight-lipped on many details regarding the suspect's motive and possible connection to the Judge and others targeted.

KAUL: This is an ongoing investigation, so we can't go any further at this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMERO (on camera): So the U.S. Marshal Service released an audit last year showing that threats against Judges are up 89 percent when you look at 2016 compared to 2019. So in the audit, they were clear, they know there are more threats, but they also say they just don't have the resources to detect those threats and to keep Judges safe.

Fred, there are renewed efforts now to protect Judges and one piece of legislation would make their addresses are not available to the public to hopefully limit these kinds of attacks from happening again -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nadia Romero, thank you so much.

Still ahead, a grieving nation shaken in the wake of a string of mass shootings. I'll talk with a licensed therapist about the collective grief that we are all feeling and how we can begin to cope.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:34]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

A nine-year-old girl who was injured during the shooting at Robb Elementary has been released from the hospital according to the University Health Center in San Antonio. The tweet also said a 10- year-old girl remains in serious condition.

And this week on Capitol Hill, survivors and parents of victims of the shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York are expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee.

CNN's Nick Valencia is in Uvalde for us. So Nick, what's the latest from there?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I just spoke by phone to Uvalde District Attorney Christina Busbee.

Earlier this week, when the Texas DPS stopped answering media questions, they referred all inquiries to Busbee, but she is not answering our questions either.

Earlier this week, when a CNN crew caught up with her, she quite literally ran away from us and today, she hung up with us.

It was on Friday that we were expecting a report from Texas DPS, that didn't happen. I called her to ask her if she had received that report yet, only for her to say that she is not commenting on the case.

And for a case that requires a lot of answers and has a lot of outstanding questions, it is quite simply just unacceptable that we're not getting any answers.

A community here is still scarred from this. They have been fractured by this according to a former City Councilman who I spoke to also by phone earlier. Rogelio Munoz says that speaking as a Uvaldean, he believes that mistakes were made, and while he has no direct knowledge of the investigation, he believes that Texas DPS has thrown the local police here under the bus.

He says Pete Arredondo made mistakes that day, but he is not the only one. Here is part of what he had to say to me.

He said: "Ask yourself, DPS responded fairly quickly, too, and you have a local police force with four or five people. Don't you think there's a hierarchy of command that happens when more experienced people show up? Arredondo made mistakes that day, but he's not the only one."

We are quickly approaching two weeks since the shooting and police have yet to offer a full explanation about what happened -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Nick, what more can you tell us about this week's testimony on Capitol Hill involving parents and children from Uvalde?

VALENCIA: Yes. The House Committee is expected to hear testimony from a fourth grader here from Robb Elementary, one of the survivors of this school shooting. Not only are victims and parents of those victims speaking out from Uvalde, but also Buffalo.

[15:40:00]

VALENCIA: And the Chairwoman, the Chairperson of the Committee, Democrat from New York Carolyn Maloney says that she hopes her colleagues listen to the testimony with an open heart. They're trying to emphasize and underscore the personal devastation of America's gun epidemic, and we know that that fourth grader hear from Robb Elementary that she had to cover herself in her classmate's blood and play dead just so the gunman would spare her life -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes, tragic. Nick Valencia, thank you so much.

So what happened in Uvalde, Buffalo, New York has us all asking, you know, what is the collective impact that these shootings are having on our nation's children? And really all of us?

With me now is Jody Baumstein, she is a licensed therapist at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. So good to see you. Sadly, our meetings keep coming as a result of things like this.

So all of us will talk about how we -- we feel very traumatized about what happened in Uvalde, what happened in Buffalo, and so many other cities and beyond. But then we're really not even sure you know, what to do with our feelings.

So what does it mean when we are saying that we feel traumatized about what's happened?

JODY BAUMSTEIN, LICENSED THERAPIST, CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA: Well, I think it's important to recognize that you don't have to directly experience something to have a traumatic response to it. So even if you weren't in the school, for instance, you can still be just hearing about it and have a response.

What happens in the brain is basically we perceive threat, and then we go into survival mode. What is it going to look like? It depends on the person, but it can be everything from having really intrusive thoughts. So we don't want to think about it, but it keeps coming up.

So we're having nightmares or we're having flashbacks. We might experience avoidance of people, places, or things that remind us of it. And we might also just be really alert and on edge.

So we might have trouble sleeping or focusing, but then there's also this big shift in our mood and the way that we think. So we might all of a sudden start perceiving the world to be an incredibly dangerous place or we might think, "I've done something wrong to deserve this."

WHITFIELD: And I think that that does seem like the response that so many are really expressing about, you know, now, it's making them fearful about going to everyday places, places they have felt some comfort, but no longer.

And then what does it mean, when we say we might be sharing this collective grief?

BAUMSTEIN: It is the response that the whole community might be having. So, I think what's important here is to recognize that if we all start feeling a certain way, it kind of seeps out in our everyday interactions. The good news is not only can we collectively grieve, we can collectively cope and heal.

So there are a lot of these narratives right now of oh, well, you should only grieve for a certain amount of time, or you're doing it the wrong way. And what is doing is it is adding this layer of shame on top of the very complex layers of grief and stress --

WHITFIELD: Because there really is no right way.

BAUMSTEIN: Correct. But if we hold these core beliefs that we should not express our feelings, or we should somehow be doing this better, then we just feel worse.

So the good news is collectively, we can all start to embody these beliefs that it's okay to feel, it's okay to take the time you need to express yourself. And that in turn is going to help kids as they're growing up to learn that they can also do this in a way that feels right for them.

WHITFIELD: So what do we do with these feelings, because not all of us may have access to, you know, professional consult or reaching out to people like you, but instead are feeling like "I don't have any other options, but to internalize it," but then that can't always be good. And you're not really sure who you want to share your feelings with because that might not go well, either.

So what do we do with our feelings? Is there a collective way to advise us on what we do, do with these anxieties and feelings?

BAUMSTEIN: Right. It is a great question, and I think what most people are actually looking for is to find the sweet spot. So sometimes, we want to desensitize and we want to avoid, but we know that avoidance only fuels anxiety, and really prolongs the healing.

So the sweet spot we are looking for is this capacity to feel it, but not be consumed by it. So how do we do that? We need to name it. We can't heal what we don't even know, we can't heal what we don't name.

So naming it and then figuring out what you need in that moment, which really requires a level of self-compassion, because what you need sometimes might be, you need to upregulate, meaning you need to do something that gets your body going.

So you go for a walk or you dance it out. And other times, you might really need to down regulate and do something that's soothing.

Also, people are going to need to take breaks from the media because remember, like we talked about with the brain, if we feel like we are under threat, we're going to stay in that stressed out state, which is not good on the body. We know that it is going to impact our ability to focus. It's going to impact our ability to sleep. It is going to impact our relationships.

So we need to somehow shut down the brain and say, "I am safe and I am okay."

WHITFIELD: Yes. So our kids, last time you were here, you were talking about how to talk to our kids about what was taking place in Ukraine and I think I shared with you, my kids, so many kids have had -- have just peppered me with a whole lot of questions about it.

[15:45:10]

WHITFIELD: This is different. I'm seeing an interesting, but different response from my kids who are nine. So they're the ages of these little kids, you know, in Uvalde, who went through this horrific experience and lost their lives, and while they have said to me, expressed their concern about what's happening, and what their school does in a situation of a potential mass shooter. They haven't asked me any more questions, and I'm actually worried about them not wanting to know more or telling me how they're feeling.

So should we be pulling this out of our kids, or just waiting for them to express themselves when they have a question or a thought, as it pertains to these mass shootings?

BAUMSTEIN: It's a great question. And it's hard to know that. So I think your instincts are good, we know that they're exposed to it. So therefore, we do want to create space for them to talk about it. However, we don't want to force it because we know that if we just keep harping on it, they might actually do the opposite and kind of shut down.

So one of my favorite things to do is just get them to express it in other ways. We don't always have to verbalize it, sometimes we're not ready. So engage them and things that they love. If they love basketball, and you're playing a game of horse, talk to them. If they love Candyland, every time you hit a what -- a double blue, you have to talk about something that you're feeling scared about.

And by doing that, you're giving them alternative ways to express themselves that feel much less intimidating and threatening and just show them that it can come out in everyday conversations. It doesn't have to be this big event where we sit down at the table and we all process our emotions. It can be these everyday conversations.

WHITFIELD: All great advice. Jody Baumstein, we always love you being here. Sadly, the circumstances are very unsettling that end up eliciting the invitation, but thank you for being here.

BAUMSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: We appreciate it. Thank you.

All right, we'll be right back.

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[15:51:42]

WHITFIELD: All right, for the first time since they served there in World War Two, a group of veterans are returning to the beaches of Normandy, France to mark the 78th Anniversary of D-Day.

This week, the former soldiers many of them in their mid-90s flew on the first ever nonstop passenger flight from Atlanta to Deauville Airport in France. And thanks to a sponsorship from Delta Air Lines and the Best Defense Foundation, the group will take part in a week of festivities.

They'll also be honored with the highest French Order of Merit. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT SABETAY, 97-YEAR-OLD WORLD WAR II VETERAN: I hope they appreciate what we did in World War Two to save France at that time, and when you say nearly, most of Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: D-Day remains the largest invasion of air, land, and sea in history and marked a significant turning point in World War Two. Forty five hundred members of the Allied Forces died in that invasion.

And today marks the end of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. After skipping some events earlier this weekend due to experiencing some discomfort on Thursday, the Queen surprised everyone when she stepped out onto the balcony at Buckingham Palace today. Here how the crowd reacted when they saw the 96-year-old monarch emerge.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

WHITFIELD: With a whole lot of excitement there, the Queen was flanked as you see by three generations of Royals. On the left, her son Prince Charles and wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; and on the right, Prince William, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and their three children.

After the festivities concluded, the Queen issued a written statement saying she is humbled and deeply touched by everyone who celebrated her reign that spanned seven decades, and quoting now, "I have been inspired by the kindness, joy, and kinship that has been so evident in recent days. And I hope this renewed sense of togetherness will be felt for many years to come."

All right, thank you, everybody for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta right after this.

But first, this week's "Taking Care of Business."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANA JAVERI KADRI, CEO AND FOUNDER, DIASPORA CO.: We're aiming to really disrupt the spice trade.

My name is Sana Javeri Kadri. I am the founder and CEO of Diaspora Co.

Diaspora Co. is a single origin spice company. We are trying to take the existing spice trade which was stale, unequal, unjust, and make it delicious rooted in culture, and equity.

As a queer Indian woman who looks like this, who is young, I think the biggest challenge is people not taking me seriously. The only way that this will change is if we show up and we take up space.

So often, farmers in South Asia that I have interacted with are stuck in this cycle of debt. On average, we are paying our farm partners six times more than the market price in order for them to thrive.

We started with just one spice, pragati turmeric, and we now have over 30 spices sourced from 150 farms.

I love cooking. It is my way of showing people love.

Today, we'll be making a spicy cup of chai, a shrimp curry, and howdy doodles (ph).

[15:55:10]

KADRI: Probably the most exciting thing that we're doing right now is that Asha, our recipe editor and I are officially writing a cookbook.

I've always been really proud to call us a queer business, a space where everybody feels able to be their full selves rooting in equity and liberation and freedom and then joy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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