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January 6th Hearing Emphasizes Trump's Direct Involvement; Heavy Shelling in Severodonetsk Not Winding Down; No Resolution Yet to Blockade at Black Sea; Immigration A Steady Problem for U.S.; Iran Not Following Agreement Rules; Perfect Presentation by January 6th Committee; Truth Coming to Light; U.S. Setting Up Guardrails with China; NASA Looking for Answers From Space. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 10, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

A bipartisan congressional committee is unveiling a trove of devastating new details about the January 6th U.S. Capitol riot. And much of it makes the case that Donald Trump and his baseless election conspiracies were directly responsible.

The committee chair Bennie Thompson said the riot was methodically planned, the culmination of an attempted coup by the former president and his supporters. Republican vice chair, Liz Cheney, explained how Trump and his aides, spread lies that the election was stolen even though they knew that they were false. And she delivered a message, those who still support Trump. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): In our country, we don't swear an oath to an individual or a political party. We take our oath to defend the United States Constitution. And that oath must mean something. Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone. But your dishonor will remain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The committee heard from capitol police officer, Caroline Edwards who was knocked unconscious by rioters. They also played a 12- minute video showing some of the most violent scenes from that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: We are (Inaudible). We are trying to get compliance, but this is now defensively a riot.

UNKNOWN: Two-three nine hours, declaring a riot. UNKNOWN: Please advise that they're trying to breach into the

capitol.

UNKNOWN: Be advise that capitol police is going to start moving their resources inside. They are (Inaudible) for officers first.

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: Hey, you back up!

UNKNOWN: We're coming in if you don't bring her out. (muted).

UNKNOWN: You back up.

UNKNOWN: What really made me want to come was the fact that I had supported Trump all that time. I did believe, you know, that the election was being stolen. And Trump asked us to come.

UNKNOWN: He personally asked for us to come to D.C. that day. And I thought, for everything he's done for us, if this is the only thing he's going to ask of me, I'll do it.

UNKNOWN: Did you think President Trump mentioning going to the capitol during his speech?

UNKNOWN: Yes, so that's one of my disappointments. He said he's going to go. Go with us. That he was going to be there.

JOHN WRIGHT, RIOTER: I know why I was there and that's because he called me there. And he laid out what is happening in our government. He laid it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, now, on the primetime hearing from CNN's Ryan Nobles.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The January 6th select committee has now made its case to the American people, showing a bit of what they've been working on behind closed doors for more than 11 months. Laying out their thesis that former President Donald Trump is responsible for a plan that was hatched right around November 3rd of 2020 and culminated with the violence and chaos on Capitol Hill on January 6.

They believe that Trump is responsible for a plot to undermine the results of an election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. And they told that story by hearing from some of Trump's closest allies including his former attorney general, Bill Barr.

WILLIAM BARR, FORMER UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: Repeatedly I told the president no one is hurting terms. I did not see evidence of fraud. And you know, that would've affected the outcome of the election. And frankly, a year and a half later I haven't seen anything to change my mind on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Now, that was just a taste of a lengthy deposition that Barr gave the committee. And Barr made it clear that he told Trump repeatedly that there was just no evidence that he lost the election. And that's part of what the committee is attempting to prove.

That despite the fact that many people knew that these accusations of fraud did not have much merit behind them that Trump continued to push. And he was going to do everything he could to hold on to power.

What we saw on Thursday night was just a taste. The committee is planning several hearings, in fact, seven in all throughout the month of June. And they are going to lay out the case, point by point, so why they believe that Trump's actions were squarely to blame for what happened on January 6th.

[03:05:00]

And also make a good case that we were perilously close to a democracy being severely threatened. The next hearing will come on Monday. There will be three hearings next week. Each one with a different theme connected to this overall investigation.

The committee will then continue to work on their final product pushing for a final report in the fall.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.

BRUNHUBER: And Donald Trump responded to the hearing on his social media platform, he called the committee, political hacks who refused to play the many positive witnesses and statements and refused to talk about massive election fraud and irregularities.

All right, joining me now to talk about this from London is Leslie Vinjamuri who is the head of the U.S. and American program at Chatham House. Thank you so much for being here with us. So, I just want to start with an open-ended question. Your thoughts on what you saw last night.

LESLIE VINJAMURI, HEAD, U.S. AND THE AMERICAS PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: It was extraordinary. I think that perhaps even a more carefully and powerfully delivered than I think some of us expected, including me. I think that we were a little bit skeptical about the ability to really demonstrate and show something new.

But what we really saw in this -- in this first hearing was the very thorough attempt, and the very clear intention to demonstrate through a variety of uses of hearings, of video footage that what happened on January 6th wasn't a sort of singular event. That it was very carefully planned. That it was orchestrated.

We've seen those various steps that will be told about how we got to that point. And President Trump's very clear direction and involvement. But I think that really, remember, this is an America that has moved on considerably from January 6th. And this takes the country, the nation right back to that moment which, regardless of people's positions on the president and the state of affairs of the United States, I think that day and those attacks were deeply distressing for the vast majority of Americans.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, you know, you say that people move on. But the big lie is still so central even now to many Republicans who want to run. They sort of want to declare their allegiance to this big lie. But we heard there from Trump's inner circle, from his daughter, from Bill Barr that they all knew that this was a lie.

VINJAMURI: Yes, and I think that that's what's part of what really stands out here. Is that you see people saying that they were concerned, that they didn't believe it. Ivanka Trump saying that she believed and trusted the attorney general. And yet, you see a different -- a different statement in the public domain.

And I think we're seeing this, you know, today which is why these hearings are so important. They served two functions. One is looking back at creating a historical record attempting to build the foundations for accountability. But they also are looking forward. They are trying to influence and shape people's understandings of the very important steps that led to the events on January 6.

Also, so that they will think very carefully about what's said, what seems to be legitimately said in the public domain about the actions that people take. And also, the support that they give to the individuals involved.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And then on that note, I mean, it's so important going forward. As they say, Liz Cheney said it was a moment of maximum danger of our republic, and in many ways, the insurrection is still continuing with election rules and infrastructure under threat with so many supporters of the big lie.

Trying to make it harder for those who disagree with, who they disagree with to vote and then potentially easier to throw out future results that they don't like, which is why someone suggested that the January 6 was the trial run. So that just emphasizes how important this moment here and now is to prevent that from happening again.

VINJAMURI: Absolutely, and this is why I think the video footage, some of which hasn't been seen demonstrating, you know, very powerfully quite how violent it was, is very important. And you get individuals from the Republican Party, on other news networks saying that the only reason that these hearings are taking place is simply to distract the public from inflation and any other number of problems that are very real.

It should become very difficult to have that message heard because these video images are tremendously powerful. But we have a very divided country. We all know this. People are seeing the general question of politics over Republicanism of Democrats through the lens of a very polarized electorate.

[03:10:05]

Still, this is very, very powerful. And I think that one of the things that will really stand up as we look ahead for these hearings is Donald Trump's active engagement with far-right groups, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, that is a critical part of the story because it's what demonstrates the president's direct link to the violence on January 6th.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, we should hear a bit more about that next week for three more hearings next week. Since you are in London, before we go, I want to get an international perspective on this. Many people across the world are watching and reading all about this. How do you think what's coming out now might further influence the perception of America and the country's standing in the world?

VINJAMURI: A lot will depend on how Americans respond. I think that the video footage, the hearings, I think that people in Democratic countries in the west are shocked. They find it hard to understand that America is so divided, that the big lie continues to have so much traction. That even those who don't believe that the election was stolen are still willing to articulate this position in many very intel -- seemingly very articulate and intelligent people.

It's just simply defies the imagination for many people and the rest of the world where elections are something that are, you know conducted freely and fairly. And there's an assumption even when it's difficult that the result will be accepted. This is -- and coming from the United States, it's deeply concerning. And the rest of the world is thinking about what this means not only after the midterm elections, but especially in the next U.S. presidential election.

America's power, its influence, countries all over the world depend on America's influence and power. And they're waiting to see what will come from the election, whether the transition will be peaceful and whether they will continue to receive the support and leadership that's absolutely essential from the United States.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, not all given for sure. Leslie Vinjamuri in London. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

VINJAMURI: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is pushing back against Russia's claim that it controls a key city in the east. Next, a grueling battle for Severodonetsk which Ukraine says is far from settled.

And with the flip of a few switches, could Iran kill any chance of reviving its nuclear deal? We'll have a live report coming up. Stay with us.

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: The latest developments in Ukraine now. There is no sign of a let up in the brutal street by street battle for the city of Severodonetsk. Ukraine says it's still holding on to about a third of the city. And regional officials are denying Russia's claim that its offensives have succeeded. And in Russia, President Putin is doing some chest pumping over his

invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday, he compared himself to Peter the Great, the Russian emperor who defeated Sweden in the 18th century. Putin said he is only fighting for the land that belongs to Russia just like the famous czar did.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is keeping an eye on all developments in Ukraine. And she joins us now live from Kyiv. So, Salma, Putin basically admitting his war is just a land grab after all.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, and it really shows the very imperial intentions, the disregard for modern rules of sovereignty and nationhood. He simply dismisses Ukraine as a nation state. Essentially saying that these Russian territories, justifying this truly horrific and bloody war.

And that war right now is focused in one flush point. You mentioned that Severodonetsk one of the last strongholds for Ukrainian forces in the region of Luhansk. The situation on the ground is changing hour by hour. President Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces are having to fight over every single inch. And that battle is not going the way of Ukrainian forces. They are outmanned, they are outgunned.

This is an artillery war, Kim. And Ukrainian forces are running out of artillery. Their only saving grace at this point if you are reading the battleground is that western weapons might come in time. But again, if Russian artillery, if Russian forces are able to gain meter by meter ground before those weapons arrive, it's hard to imagine how much longer Ukrainian forces can hold up.

And already, beyond the east in the south where Russia of course has made major gains in the last few weeks since the start of this conflict, they are solidifying those gains. I want to show you that larger map where you can see that Russia has taken that sweep along the Black Sea, along the Sea of Azov. Those are key unimportant ports.

And there is a major consequence to this here, a domino effect, Kim. And that is grain. Ukraine is the bread basket of the world. And currently, there is 20 million tons of grain stuck in this country. It cannot be exported. The international community is ringing the alarm. They say this could trigger a crisis of hunger. Millions could be left starving, deprived of their basic needs.

This could trigger larger conflicts in the Middle East and Africa if this grain is unable to get out of Ukraine, if there is no way found to export it. There were talks in Ankara this week to try to find a diplomatic solution.

Foreign minister, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaking to his counterparts. Still, it is an impasse. There is no solution there yet. And again, it is because Russia controls that area along the Black Sea. Yes, Ukraine has the port of Odessa. That's the key port for exporting this grain.

[03:20:02] But Russian forces they say are preventing them from being able to put that grain on ships, send it out. This is a truly concerning chapter in the war, and one that so far has no diplomatic solution. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much for the update. Salma Abdelaziz in Kyiv.

The caravan of some 5,000 migrants is headed towards the southern border of the U.S. Now this comes as President Joe Biden is hosting the Summit of the Americas where immigration is a top agenda item. But discussions of the issues have been complicated by the Mexican president's refusal to attend the meeting after Biden wouldn't invite certain nations to attend.

CNN's Matt Rivers has more from the Mexican border.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, this is the entrance to one of the busiest migrant shelters along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. This place is called the Agape Mision Mundial shelter. It's in Tijuana, Mexico. And it is jam-packed with people. More than 400 people are staying here at the moment.

It's certainly, is not designed to house that many people. They are all over the place, migrants --

UNKNOWN: Hola.

RIVERS: Hola que tal. People are crowding this entire area. This building to your left has two floors. People are staying in both sides there. There is, basically kitchens that are set up in various parts, everyone trying to help each other out.

So, really just to survive here in Tijuana, Mexico. This kind of the scene, overcrowded migrant shelters is something that we've been seeing a lot. Over the past couple of years, but specifically in the last few months the number of people arriving all across the U.S.- Mexico border from other parts of the world, those numbers have been staggering as of late.

I mean we can show you down here, you know, this is a permanent fixed facility. And yet, these tents were just put up over the past couple of months to accommodate some of the overflow. People have come here from all over the world, everywhere from Haiti to Venezuela and then to countries in Central America.

For example, people have come here from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, even other parts of Mexico. And I specifically mentioned those four countries because the Biden administration had really hoped that the president of those four countries, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico would all be attending the currently ongoing Summit in the Americas in California right now.

And yet, the presidents of all four of those countries declined to attend. The Biden administration hope those leaders will show up to try to tackle issues like immigration. Without those presidents there it gives you some sense of how much more difficult it will be for the Biden administration, for President Biden and his staff to comprehensively discuss issues surrounding immigration at the summit, a real challenge for the administration.

Matt Rivers, CNN, Tijuana, Mexico.

BRUNHUBER: Iran has begun deactivating security cameras installed in its nuclear facility under the 2015 nuclear agreement. And the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog warns the move could deal a, quote, "fatal blow to any hopes of salvaging that deal."

Now this comes as Iran wraps up its productions of enriched uranium.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is tracking all of this live from Moscow. So, things seem poised on a knife's head here.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly seems as though the efforts to try to revive the Iran nuclear deal really are in a lot of hot water now. And I think certainly are very difficult as the International Atomic Energy Agency has criticized Iran, officially, for alleged traces of uranium that Iran, they say, has so far not explained.

The Iranians obviously now firing back, turning off some of those security cameras. It was quite interesting because the head of the IAEA, he said, right now he is extremely concerned about the future and the revival of the Iran nuclear agreement. Let's just listen to what he had to say recently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: We are in a very tense situation with the negotiations on the revival of the JCPOA at a low ep, if I can put like that with our bilateral process with Iran on the clarification of a number of outstanding issues not being successful so far. Now we are adding this to the picture. So, as you can see, it's not a very nice one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: The U.S., Kim, says it's also quite concerned about the Iranian shutting down some of those cameras. However, they also say that in the form of U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, that there is obviously still room for diplomacy and the U.S. does still hope that the deal can be revived.

Of course, it was the U.S. that exited the deal. The Iranians are still in the Iran nuclear agreement. However, they have said that they aren't complying with some of the provisions of that nuclear agreement because they say the U.S. isn't in, and they're facing those very tough sanction that was put in place by the Trump administration but have not been taken back.

The Iranians, for their part, and I think it's very important, the Iranians say they are absolutely going to stay in their position on all of this.

[03:05:02]

In fact, the Iranian President Raisi, he came out and he said that Iran will not be intimidated by what he called force. The Iranians are saying they believe that it is the western countries that are still part of the nuclear agreement, specifically the European countries, that are not being constructive, that Iran's nuclear program is still the most monitored in the world. And that 80 percent of that monitoring is still in place.

The Iranians so far, they say have deactivated to cameras. And the Iranians are saying that were monitoring some of that nuclear program. And the Iranians are saying that those two cameras that they have deactivated so far are cameras that they had put in place on top of what they are obliged to do anyway.

So, the Iranians are saying that they are, by in large, still complying with things. But they also, are quite frankly saying that that compliance can decrease again and can decrease even more if an agreement is not reached. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right. Thank you so much, Fred Pleitgen in Moscow.

And we'll have much more on the investigation into the January 6th capitol riot just ahead. Coming up, the leading Republican on the select committee reveals Donald Trump's shocking response when told that vice president's life was in danger.

Plus, the House passes gun reforms that are expected to die in the Senate. That as the U.S. adds yet another mass shooting to its record books.

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[03:30:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

For the first time since the January 6 riot at the capitol we are learning damning new details about what was going on behind the scenes that day. After months of exhaustive investigation and hundreds of interviews, U.S. House select committee is laying out its case that the insurrection wasn't simply a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters that got out of hand. Rather, it was an attempted coup by Donald Trump's most militant supporters planned in advance and orchestrated by Trump as he stubbornly refused to concede the 2020 election.

We learned in vivid detail that Trump had no intention of quelling the riot he helped start and became enraged when his closest aides begged him to intervene. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): You will hear that President Trump was yelling, and quote, "really angry at advisers" who told him he needed to be doing something more.

And aware of the rioters' chants to hang Mike Pence, the president responded with the sentiment, quote, "maybe our supporters have the right idea." Mike Pence, quote, "deserves it."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now earlier, I spoke about this with criminal defense attorney, Sara Azari and retired FBI supervisory special agent Steve Moore. And both agreed the presentation were some of the criminal proceedings more than a congressional appearing. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA AZARI, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was a sober and compelling presentation. But really it was more like a tight organized opening statement by a prosecutor than a hearing by lawmakers. You know, this was, it was almost like this is the trial of Donald J. Trump. And the lawmakers went right to the crux of this case which was there was no election fraud, and that Donald Trump knew there was no election fraud.

Everybody around him was telling him that this is fugazi. And yet he engaged in this misinformation. And then with intent, and that's key here for him to be a co-conspirator. With intent, he energized two very violent groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers to essentially incite this insurrection on January 6.

And you have to wonder, Kim, you know, is Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DOJ, are they paying attention to this and looking at this with the eye that Donald Trump could be a co-conspirator in a superseding indictment to the pending indictments against the Proud Boys that was just issued not too long ago?

And you know, that might be wishful thinking but, you know, Donald Trump, this is not the first time Donald Trump has been a co- conspirator in criminal conduct. You know he was individual one in the Michael Cohen indictment. And yet, he goes unscathed.

And so, you have to wonder whether this is just about the accountability of Donald Trump for what happened on January 6. Or is it even -- does it extend to the Trumpist, the MAGA people that are out there. Because this was a domestic terror attack on our democracy. And those people are still out there.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I want to get back to some of the points that you raised in a minute, but I just want to go to Steve now from our law enforcement perspective. I mean, those compelling videos of the attack, even if you've seen sort of videos before, I mean, what we saw last night was quite stunning.

And capitol police officer Caroline Edwards testifying she was slipping in people's blood as she battled rioters. I mean, it really laid bare the ferocity of what happened.

STEVE MOORE, RETIRED SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: Yes, it was pretty devastating the type of mob action that went in there. And I think people sometimes don't realize what goes on during these riots and who the victims are even if you don't see, you know, this big death tolls or something. If you have people who are wounded, if you lose police officers, there were deaths in this and it's important to show the magnitude of it.

[03:34:58]

BRUNHUBER: So, when it comes to conspiracy, of course, you know, criminal conspiracy has a much higher standard than maybe how lay people like myself might understand it. So, explain the causal link they have to make between Donald Trump and the insurrectionists if they want to pursue those charges.

AZARI: What we thought tonight, and this is just the beginning of these hearings, is this direct sort of, causal line between Donald

Trump and specifically the Proud Boys, right? We saw these time stamp of the footage of what the Proud Boys were doing in the morning of January 6th, and then what Donald Trump was tweeting, doing and not doing.

I thought that was really brilliant on the part of the committee, because it really sort of, ties Donald Trump in with the Proud Boys. And that's how you get to a criminal conspiracy, but again, Kim, you know, what do we do with that? Right? Let's say that now the committee with 11-month long investigation that they have done have established this intent that maybe was missing before. What will the DOJ do with this? Will Donald Trump finally be held accountable, because he is accountable.

BRUNHUBER: So, looking ahead, Sara, I mean, there are several more hearings, three hearings next week, for instance. What are you looking forward to hearing?

AZARI: Well, I think we are going to hear from more witnesses, I think that we are expecting to see text messages. I mean, tonight we saw tweets that we were familiar with, we'd seen these tweets before. The footage was more expensive, the footage had time stamps.

You know, obviously, we saw Jared, we saw Ivanka, Bill Barr, but I think as these hearings proceed and unfold, we're going to hear from more witnesses, we're going to see more documentation, and it's really going to be damning.

I mean, if this was the opening, imagine what the rest of this hearing is going to be like. And I just hope that it leads to full accountability, because we have to protect our democracy.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, Steve, ending with you, do you think we will get accountability in the end, or will this just as some people suggest, this will just be sort of, part of the historical record and no more?

MOORE: I think that it's -- as much as circumstantial evidence is extremely strong right now, I think it's going to come down to direct links and whether or not they can put a communication between them. If they can give us more than the circumstantial evidence that they presented today, not that it's weak, but the DOJ before you take a former president and prosecute him, you are going to need some very strong links.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely, right. We'll be watching as this unfolds. Sara Azari and Steve Moore in Los Angeles, thank you both so much for helping us break this down. I really appreciate it.

AZARI: Thanks, Kim. Goodnight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: We are learning new details about the police response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The New York Times is reporting what officials discussed before they finally confronted the gunman.

CNN's Omar Jimenez has details.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Law enforcement was aware there were injured individuals alive inside this classroom before deciding to breach. That's according to a New York Times review of investigative documents and videos.

I want to read you some of the high points, again, according to The Times, one, people are going to ask why we are taking so long. A law enforcement official on the scene of the shooting could be heard saying, according to a Times review of body camera transcripts, separately, we are trying to preserve the rest of the life, part of a transcript reads.

Now by our timeline, it's around 11.44 in the morning that day that officers first asked for backup, then 20 minutes later, as many as 19 officers were in that hallway. Around 12.30, again, a few minutes later after that, Chief Arredondo, Pete Arredondo, the school chief here is heard saying according to The Times, we are ready to breach but that door is locked.

Separately, one officer is heard saying if there's kids in there we need to go in there, according to The Times. It wasn't until 20 minutes after that, 12,50 p.m., the officers used a key from a janitor to breach this room and shoot this suspect.

But again, officers were aware there were injured individuals and a law enforcement official said according to The Times, people are going to be asking why we are taking so long. And now, multiple overlapping investigations later that remains the central question.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, Uvalde, Texas.

BRUNHUBER: And the U.S. saw another mass shooting Thursday, the 254th this year. Police say a gunman opened fire at co-workers at this manufacturing plant in Smithsburg, Maryland killing three people. Two others were wounded including a state trooper. Police shot and wounded the attacker who used a semiautomatic weapon.

[03:40:04]

On Wednesday, House lawmakers passed a gun reform package which would raise the minimum age for buying certain semiautomatic weapons, but the legislation isn't expected to get anywhere in the Senate. But some senators are cautiously optimistic about separate gun legislation they are working on.

U.S. and Chinese defense leaders are meeting in Singapore. Coming up, why the United States wants to set up guardrails with China. We'll have a live report from Singapore, just ahead. Stay with us.

[03:45:00]

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BRUNHUBER: In the coming hours U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart will be meeting in Singapore. Now this comes as tensions are growing over what Washington sees as China's increasingly aggressive actions in the region.

For more on this I'm joined by CNN's Oren Liebermann. So, Oren, take us what they'll be discussing and what's at stake here.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, this is an important meeting simply because it is the first person to person meeting between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Minister Wei Fenghe. The real question is, what can possibly come of this?

The two have spoken on the phone once before in late April on April 20th, about a 45-minute conversation and that at least to some extent has led to this face-to-face meeting here. It comes on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's fourth visit to the region.

The U.S. has made it clear through some senior defense officials who we had a chance to speak with, that one of the things they'd like to discuss is the chance for guardrails on the relationship between U.S. and China to make sure that competition between the world's two preeminent world powers does not lead to conflict or in miscalculation, or through escalation.

China has made it clear that it views much of the South China Sea as its own territorial waters. The U.S. has made it clear that it does not agree with that and has conducted, for example, freedom of navigation operations through the Taiwan Strait. So, the question is, what progress can really be made on more open lines of communication.

For example, something akin to the deconfliction lines that the U.S. has with Russia, even as the U.S. openly and loudly condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the U.S. is looking for more than that, not just a line at the highest levels of the militaries between the U.S. and China, but also other levels of communication, for example, between operational theater level commanders there.

Just to make sure there are ways of talking to the Chinese. The real question is, is China interested in these sorts of lines communications that would be able to make sure there isn't an open conflict between the U.S. and China.

From China's perspective, much of the problem is simply the U.S.'s presence in the region. China doesn't see a reason for the U.S. to be not only in the Indo-Pacific, but operating in the South China Sea. The U.S. sees China's actions especially recently as extraordinary unsafe and even dangerous.

For example, China's interception of not only on Australian surveillance aircraft operating in the region in the recent weeks but also a Canadian surveillance aircraft. China for its part, sees its operations as safe and professional.

Given these positions, Kim, what progress can be made? And that is the real question we hope to find out more about later on this evening. Kim, it's worth pointing out that Ukraine remains an issue here that hangs over all of this. And to underscore that point, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be speaking here or scheduled to speak tomorrow afternoon.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll check in with you later in the day, Oren Liebermann in Singapore, thank you so much.

And coming up, NASA is beginning a new study on UFOs. We'll look at what the space agency is hoping to find when we come back. Stay with us.

[03:50:00]

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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. space agency NASA says there is no evidence that space aliens are behind UFOs, but it's still assembling a team to study the sightings. NASA of course is searching for life elsewhere in the universe. But as Rachel Crane reports, the study is aimed at more practical concerns like air safety.

RACHEL CRANE, CNN INNOVATION & SPACE CORRESPONDENT: NASA is formally joining the hunt for unidentified aerial phenomenon, more commonly known as UFOs. According to top agency officials, the agency is establishing a team of independent researchers to bring a scientific perspective to investigate the, quote, "observation of events that cannot be identified as aircrafts, or known national phenomena."

The NASA is well aware that this is a controversial area of study, and was careful to stress that there was no evidence to support that UAPs or extra-terrestrial nature. But as is traditional in science, it wants to learn more about phenomenon that can't otherwise be explained.

Agency officials saying that establishing this team is, quote, "high risk, but high impact." As they believe UAPs are a potential national security issue, as well as an air safety issue. NASA hopes its investigation will complement the work of the Pentagon, as well as other intelligence agencies that have investigated UAPs.

This announcement comes of weeks after a rare public hearing before Congress on navy pilot's sightings of UAPs. That short hearing offered few answers but it did sit to destigmatize the issue, something NASA hopes to do more of as well.

Now remember, NASA also do separate work probing the universe for intelligent life, and it's done that for a long time. NASA officials say that this UAP study will begin to take place in the fall, and will take about nine months, and won't cost more than $100,000.

Though, that may only be the first step, this whole process will be open and unclassified, it says, so fingers crossed with NASA on the case we finally get some answers. Back to you.

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BRUNHUBER: And if unidentified flying objects have you scratching your head, what about this, have a look at this.

Was there a wolf man on the prowl? A big foot? I mean, this image here was captured by security camera in Texas at the Amarillo Zoo last month. Now the city wants folks to guess what it is. While some people think it's just a coyote jumping the fence, but others are convinced, as I said, well, it's a werewolf or a rocket racoon from "Guardians of the Galaxy" or even sonic the hedgehog. But I think our director nailed it, Chupacabra, it's got to be, right?

That wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Max Foster picks things up after a short break. Please do stay with us.

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