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Mall Shooting in Copenhagen, Denmark; Ukraine Withdraws from Key Eastern City of Lysychansk; Death of Shireen Abu Akleh; HK Lawmaker Near Xi Jinping During Visit Tests Positive; Hutchinson Testimony Drives Busy Week for Investigator; Heavy Rains Bring Life- Threatening Emergency to Sydney; At Least 3 Killed In Mass Shooting At Danish Shopping Mall; Police Release Bodycam Footage In Fatal Shooting Of Black Man Who Led Officers On High-Speed Chase; Ukraine Withdraws From Key Eastern City Of Lysychansk; At Least 19 Dead After Bus Falls Into Ravine In Pakistan; New Fallout From Video Of Brutal Attack In China. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 04, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:38]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes and this is CNN Newsroom.
A shooting inside a busy mall in Denmark's capital city sent passengers running for safety. Now there's a suspect in custody. Plus, a big setback for Ukraine on the battlefield after troops are forced to pull out of a key city in the east. A massive floods in Australia are sending thousands of people to higher ground in parts of Sydney. The situation officials are calling life threatening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: We begin this hour with a rare mass shooting in Denmark. At least three people are dead, several injured after a gunman opened fire Sunday in a busy shopping mall in Copenhagen.
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(Screaming & Gunshots)
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HOLMES: We're told a man in his 40s and two younger people were killed. Three of those injured are in critical condition. The suspected gunman due to face a judge on Monday. CNN's Nada Bashir is in London with more details on the investigation.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well the investigation is still very much ongoing, and we are still learning more information about this incident hour by hour. At this stage, police have confirmed that one individual has been arrested. A 22-year-old Danish man was identified and police have said there was no indication that other shooters were involved. But they haven't been able to formally rule out the possibility of further suspects just yet.
But, of course, they have confirmed that tragic news that there are several fatalities reported and at least three people have been hospitalized so far. But police have yet to provide any further details on their current condition. That said, the hospital where these three individuals were taken has said that extra staff were called in to deal with the emergency situation.
The incident, of course, took place during a busy Sunday afternoon at Copenhagen's fields more a popular shopping center in the city and an area that is very close to one of the city's largest concert venues where pop star Harry Styles had been due to perform.
For now, police say they are maintaining a heavy presence at the scene as their investigation continues. But the key question remains, what was the motive behind this incident? That is still unclear, although police officials have said that they cannot rule out the possibility that this may have been terror-related. However, I have to stress that the motive is still very much unclear, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
HOLMES: The Danish Prime Minister issued a statement on the shooting saying, "I send my deepest sympathy to those who have lost their loved ones, those wounded and their relatives and to all the Danes who were close to these frightening events."
In Akron, Ohio in the U.S., the mayor and police chief are both calling for calm after the release of disturbing body cam footage showing the fatal police shooting of an unarmed 25-year-old black man. Akron's police chief says Jayland Walker suffered at least 60 gunshot wounds, 60, citing a medical examiner's report.
The release of this information coming nearly a week after officers tried to stop Walker for an alleged traffic violation. Police say he'd lead them on a car chase and they also say he fired a shot from his vehicle. Police say Walker eventually abandoned his car and a foot pursuit took place. It was during this chase that officers believed Walker was reaching towards his waist and moving into a firing position.
Now, we want to warn you the next piece of police video we're about to show you is disturbing.
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(Sirens & Screaming)
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[01:05:19]
HOLMES: That sound at the end there is up to 90 shots being fired by those police officers. Officers later discovered Walker had left his gun in the car and was unarmed when all those shots were fired.
As CNN's Polo Sandoval reports, the city of Akron is on edge unsurprisingly, as this case unfolds and the investigation gets underway.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities here in Akron, Ohio vowing to proceed with this investigation with transparency and would scrutiny as well as it continues to look into the police shooting of Jayland Walker. Over the weekend, authorities in the city of Akron released about 18 minutes worth of video, each minute basically offering a different perspective, showing those responding officers about eight total before they opened fire shooting and killing Walker.
Investigators also over the weekend saying, or at least sharing more about that possible perceived threat that provokes the lethal response from officers including a single gunshot that came from inside of the car while police were chasing the vehicle that was being driven by Walker. And it was shortly after that pursuit turned from a vehicle chase to a foot chase that you can see in the video clearly.
Those eight officers open fire with a barrage of bullets. The police chief saying on Sunday that those officers will have to account for each one of the shots that they fired.
CHIEF STEPHEN MYLETT, AKRON POLICE DEPARTMENT: They need to be able to articulate what specific threats they were facing. And that goes for every round that goes down the barrel of their gun. And they need to be held to account.
SANDOVAL: The investigation is now in the hands of state authorities here both the walker family and APD maintained that Walker himself was unarmed at the time of the actual police shooting. So in the meantime, investigators continue to press on with the case as the people here in Akron continue to call for accountability and for justice. As for the eight officers involved, they continue on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Polo Sandoval, CNN, Akron, Ohio.
HOLMES: Now attorneys for Jayland Walker's family held a news conference after that footage was released saying he had never broken the law in his life. No crimes of any kind, they said. The family also wants the public to, quote, give peace, give dignity and give justice a chance for Jayland while the police investigation is underway.
And while we wait for more information surrounding the shooting, we asked CNN Legal Analyst Areva Martin to shed light on how the officers might defend their actions and why they believe Jayland Walker posed a threat to them. Have a listen.
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AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it's going to be very important because we know the standard set by Tennessee v. Garner is that basically you don't shoot at a fleeing suspect or an individual unless that individual poses some kind of exempt, you know, substantial harm to the community or perhaps to the police themselves who are following that individual.
So the fact that the police believed that there was a shot fired from the vehicle before Mr. Walker abandoned the car and started running away from the police is going to be used by the police to talk about their state of mind at the time that they use that lethal force. Obviously, I suspect them to say that because of that shot that was fired from the car that they still believed he was armed at the time that he started to run away from the police.
And we also know by the standards set by the Supreme Court, the reasonable officers perception at the time of the encounter is what's going to be important not looking back your 2020 hindsight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CNN Legal Analyst Areva Martin there.
Meanwhile, the foundation for NBA star and Akron, Ohio native LeBron James released a statement on Twitter about the case and investigation. In part it called for justice and accountability and they coming together to create change.
Turning now to Ukraine where officials are already turning an eye towards rebuilding even as their troops suffer a major setback on the battlefield. In the hours ahead, Ukrainian officials will arrive in Switzerland for talks about how to rebuild the country once the fighting does end. We've also learned that the U.K. plans to unveil a major aid package during the conference, including more than $1.5 billion in loans and other funding.
[01:10:01]
Ukraine is estimated it will cost at least $600 billion to rebuild after the war. Others put the potential bill much higher than that. This all coming as Ukraine suffers a critical loss in the east of the country.
On Sunday, Ukraine's military said it was forced to withdraw from the city of Lysychansk, a key target in Russia's pushed to take control of the Donbas. The loss likely means Russian forces now effectively control the entire Luhansk region and can shift their focus to advancing in neighboring Donetsk.
And already cities there are coming under increased attack in Sloviansk. Ukrainian officials say at least six people were killed, 15 wounded amid some of the heaviest selling in recent days. In his nightly address, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, Russia has built up massive firepower in the Donbas. Still he vowed Ukraine's military will retake territory they've lost.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Ukraine does not give anything up. And when someone over there in Moscow report something about the Luhansk region, let them remember their reports and promises before February 24th. In the first days of this invasion in the spring and now, let them really evaluate what they got over this time and how much they paid for it.
Because their current reports will turn into dust as the previous ones. We are gradually moving forward in the Kharkiv region, in the Kherson region and at sea. The (INAUDIBLE) is a good example of this. There will be a day when we will say the same about Donbas.
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HOLMES: CNN Scott McLean with a closer look now at why Ukrainian troops decided to withdraw and what they need to continue fighting.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Russians now say that they are fully in control of the Luhansk region. They say that they have managed to capture the last major city in the region, Lysychansk. Beyond that, there are only a few minor settlements to the west and then the administrative border or boundary which they say that they've reached.
But they are not stopping there. There have been reports of heavy shelling in the city of Slovenians to the West in the Donetsk region and missile strikes in Kramatorsk nearby as well. The Ukrainians have conceded that their troops have, in fact, have been pulled back. They said that they could have kept fighting.
But in order to preserve the lives of their soldiers and preserve their manpower on the front line, they made the decision to withdraw. They say that they were simply outgunned and they were outman saying steel will and patriotism are not enough for success, material and technical resources are needed.
Now the Ukrainians, of course, since the outset of the war, and even before, had been calling for more heavy weapons to be sent from their western partners. And while plenty have already been sent, and plenty more had been pledged, the Ukrainian say that they're not reaching the frontlines quickly enough.
The Russians also say that very early this morning, there were a series of missile strikes inside of Russian territory in residential areas that they are blaming on the Ukrainian saying that they are deliberately targeting civilian areas and that there are no military targets in that particular area. They say that series of missiles were shot down by air defense systems and then the remnants landed in this residential area.
Now, there have been plenty of explosions reported across the Belgorod region of Russia and other parts of the country in recent months. But the Ukrainians have never officially taken responsibility for them, nor are they doing that today. An adviser to the President did not directly claim any kind of responsibility, but he did say evil has consequences and you always have to pay the bills.
Scott McLean, CNN, Kyiv.
HOLMES: Now while Russian firepower has been largely focused on the Donbas, it's not the only part of Ukraine coming under attack. This was the scene in Kharkiv as residents cleaned up after multiple rocket strikes early on Sunday morning. One resident describing his wife's near miss.
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OLEKSII MIHULIN, KHARKIV, UKRAINE RESIDENT (through translation): There was just a cherry tree and a fence. Now the fence is destroyed and there is no cherry tree. More than half of the house has no glass intact, the roof was damaged. Again, the wife was lucky that she woke up early in the morning because the roof fell exactly where she had been sleeping. If she hadn't woke up, she would have gotten stuck under the roof.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Kharkiv is just one of the Ukrainian cities devastated by this war. As Russian forces have pushed into the Donbas, they've unleashed wave after wave of artillery virtually leveling some cities and towns in the East. And even once the fighting stops, Ukraine will face an uphill battle towards recovery. Officials estimate reconstruction will cost hundreds of billions of dollars and could even run into the trillions. Ukraine's President calling it the largest economic project of our time, one that will require colossal investments.
[01:15:16]
Joining me now from Washington is Brian Cavanaugh. He's the Senior Vice President for American Global Strategies. Thanks for making the time, Brian. So just how monumental of a task will rebuilding be? I mean, must be hard to know where to begin once it's even possible to begin.
BRIAN CAVANAUGH, SENIOR VP, AMERICAN GLOBAL STRATEGIES: Thank you so much for having me this morning, Michael. And I would certainly agree with you, this is a monumental task. I think it's going to be the greatest recovery effort of our generation. Not since World War II have we seen something on this magnitude. The scope and scale of devastation in Ukraine is truly in a modern sense, unlike anything we've dealt with before.
HOLMES: How difficult is it to contemplate reconstruction when, you know, more of the country is being destroyed every day? Or is that precisely the time to be doing it planning ahead?
CAVANAUGH: Well, see, I think this presents a great opportunity. If taking the opportunity to plan right now while the conflict is ongoing, is going to enable you to have the most efficient recovery and rebuild possible. I think, when you look at it in terms of what could be happening right now, there could be agreement from an international community on the framework of what is it we are going to do, what's the boundaries, the left and right guidelines of how we're going to approach this recovery in Ukraine.
Ukraine can take the opportunity to figure out how they want to set up the governance mechanisms to oversee and ensure the investment of what's going to be billions of dollars is spent to make sure that Ukraine has a strong and prosperous future, while not falling victim to its past with corruption and some of the other -- HOLMES: Yes.
CAVANAUGH: -- things that they track record with.
HOLMES: Yes, yes, indeed. How much does Ukraine's eventual European Union membership play into the overall reconstruction strategy in terms of the the European economy and what Ukraine can offer the union in areas like agriculture and renewables and technology sectors and all of that? Does that play into the consideration of the plan?
CAVANAUGH: Absolutely. I think what you have here, Ukraine represents tremendous agricultural investment. It's the breadbasket of Europe. It's sitting on some of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals in the entire continent. And then couple that with its budding tech sector, I think what you have here is a real opportunity for the E.U. to assess what Ukraine brings to the table. Whilst simultaneously Ukraine can improve on its track record and prove that it's built some of the mechanisms necessary for good governance, avoiding the corruption and kind of keeping the oligarchs in check, something that they struggled with during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014.
HOLMES: Yes. And you mentioned World War II, in a historical sense, I mean, the devastation and destruction done to Ukraine is reminiscent of post-World War II Europe. And I guess it's worth remembering that it wasn't until three years after the end of the war, that the U.S. established what became known as the Marshall Plan for rebuilding. Would Ukraine plan need to be speedier in terms of preparation and implementation?
CAVANAUGH: Well, I think this is an opportunity to look back and take lessons of best practices and apply them in a real time context. When you look back at World War II, it wasn't until there is -- we're there on the brink of starvation in the post-conflict era before the Marshall Plan really solidified and gained support. I think, in fact, Secretary Marshall was giving a speech at a university. And that's what kind of garnered the traction, two and a half years into recovery.
If you're looking at this from a sense of -- we live in a world where every day you wait, put something off, exponentially the challenges grow for you. I think you look at it in terms of like, what is -- what do they need to do to get Ukraine back quickly. Some of these things can be planned for today. You're talking about and unexploded ordnance removal. And you're talking about re-establishing some supply chains, critical transportation infrastructure, and putting them on a really taking them from a post-World War II Soviet era system and springboarding them into a modern global economy, in terms of the infrastructure, in terms of how they set up the threat of that society.
HOLMES: Yes, yes, using it as an opportunity in many ways. I mean, there's something like I think $350 billion in frozen reserves from Russia Central Bank, more than 30 billion in assets seized from Russian oligarchs. Will or should those funds be used to help pay part of the bill and it's going to be a big bill? CAVANAUGH: Yes, I think in some estimates, you've seen anywhere from $250 billion to $1 trillion as projected estimates here. And I think not exploring the frozen assets and the seized assets of Russia and the Russian Central Bank is a complete mess.
[01:20:06]
I don't think any country is well postured in the current economic challenges to bolster this recovery and rebuild on their own. I think some countries are better suited with their laws to take advantage of some of the frozen assets. While some countries like the United States might need to go to Congress and revisit legislation in order to take advantage of some of the funds that they frozen from the Russian Central Bank.
I certainly think that it's something that calls for further exploration, and would help reduce the risk investment for a lot of the international community as they approach this tremendous effort.
HOLMES: Yes, a fascinating analysis. Brian Cavanaugh, I really appreciate it. Thanks so much.
CAVANAUGH: Thank you, Michael. I hope you guys have a great day.
HOLMES: Pope Francis has once again prayed for peace in Ukraine, addressing crowds in St. Peter's Square on Sunday. He called on leaders to end the conflict and build a better world for the future.
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POPE FRANCIS (through translation): I appeal to the leaders of nations and international organizations to take action against the tendency to accentuate conflict and confrontation. The world needs peace, not at peace based on the balance of arms on mutual fear, no, that does not work. That is going back in time by 70 years.
The crisis in Ukraine should have been. But if you want, it could still become a challenge for why statesman capable of building through dialogue, a better world for new generations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: If you would like to safely and securely help people in Ukraine who might be in need of things like shelter, food, water, go to cnn.com/impact, plenty of ways there that you can help if you so with.
Quick break now. When we come back, a Hong Kong lawmaker test positive for COVID-19 after attending a photo op with President Xi Jinping. Now the case broke through the Chinese President's strict precautions and protocol. A live report from Will Ripley when we come back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back everyone. In Pakistan, at least 19 people are dead after a passenger bus plunged into a ravine Video of the crash scene showing the bus lid off the side of a mountain and then into the bottom of the ravine there as you can see. Officials say at least a dozen other people were rushed to hospital injured. It is unclear what caused the crash.
New fallout from the vicious attack on women caught on camera last month in China. The Beijing set off a firestorm of reaction. CNN Selina Wang reports on the stepped up police response. We do want to warn you the following contains disturbing images.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This brutal attack on women at a restaurant in northern China last month triggered nationwide rage and despair. And this is how the government is reacting to the incident in Tangshan city, amassing an army of police to crack down on crime. Sending brigades of armed police to patrol the streets at night, going into bars, restaurants, outdoor food markets, interrupting groups eating outside with loudspeakers telling men, no fighting, no beating, especially of women.
SWAT teams hovering over women without male companions. Women on Chinese social media mocked the excessive show of force. One wrote, "This is just for show. It doesn't solve any real problems." Another said, "We don't need men's protection. What we need is a safer and fairer society."
The graphic surveillance video from last month shows a man making an unwanted advance towards a woman. After she pushes him away, the assault escalates into shocking brutality. With multiple men kicking and beating the women with bottles and chairs. This is believed to be an image of one of the two women who was hospitalized after the attack.
Authorities claimed the two women are still in the hospital recovering from, quote, minor injuries, denying rumors that some of the women died. Police arrested all nine people involved in the attack. Several of them had criminal histories. Victims of criminal activity in Tangshan seize the moment to flood the local police station.
This man says he's 86 years old and has been waiting in line for hours. And this man says it's been seven years since he reported his case, but still no progress. They hope the national attention will pressure police to solve their long ignored cases.
Online, people rushed to do the same, holding up their ID cards to prove the authenticity of their claims and call out their perpetrators names. This man says friends on the internet, please uphold justice for me. Another woman shared footage of her boyfriend violently attacking her when she was seven months pregnant, pinning her down in an attempt she says to kill her baby.
Another says gang members broke into his bakery a year ago. He shows surveillance footage of them destroying his shop. He says the criminals have been harassing him and his family ever since. This woman, a bar singer says in May, gang members beat her and her colleagues and locked them in a cage for 16 hours. Police say they are investigating all three of those cases.
State media says gangsters and drunken men are to blame for the restaurant attack. While reports linking the case to sexism or systemic violence against women have been swiftly censored.
LIANG XIAOWEN, CHINESE FEMINIST ACTIVIST: By framing this incident as a single incident, that's merely beyond violence. The government avoided the problems within their system. This is the tip of the iceberg. There are so many other incidents that are happening every day. The Chinese women are actually demanding a systemic change.
WANG (voice-over): In recent years, authorities have tried to stamp out feminist voices seeing the less threats to social stability. As police parade across the country to show they're taking crime seriously, the government squashes outrage over sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
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HOLMES: Israel and the Palestinian authority do not trust each other to be impartial as they investigate the death of the American Palestinian Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Now the U.S. government is getting involved. We'll be right back.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
And recapping our top story. The suspect accused of a mass shooting at a mall in Copenhagen in Denmark will face questioning from a judge on Monday.
Police say at least three people were killed, including a man in his 40s and two younger people. Several others were injured, including three in critical condition.
Police are investigating to make sure the gunman acted alone and didn't have accomplices.
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SOREN THOMASSEN, COPENHAGEN CHIEF POLICE INSPECTOR (through translator): We'll continue to be on site. We'll continue working to confirm that we're hopefully dealing with one suspect who we have in custody.
We can say that he is a 22-year-old, ethnic man.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Pop singer Harry Styles was scheduled to perform across the street from where the shooting took place. That show was canceled. Styles later posting about the shooting on Twitter, saying, "I'm heartbroken along with the people of Copenhagen. I'm devastated for the victims, their families, and everyone hurting. Please look after each other."
Russia has claimed control over a critical city in eastern Ukraine. On Sunday, Ukraine confirming its troops had withdrawn from Lysychansk, the country's last major stronghold in the Luhansk region.
The loss likely means Russian troops now control the entire region, which will allow them to shift their focus to neighboring Donetsk and efforts to seize control of the wider Donbas region.
We're already seeing some cities there under fire. On Sunday, Ukrainian officials said at least six were killed, 15 wounded in Sloviansk, amid some of the heaviest shelling in recent days.
Those scenes of devastation playing out as officials from around the world gather in Switzerland to hash out plans to rebuild Ukraine once the fighting stops. The task before them, of course, is daunting. Reconstruction is expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and could run into the trillions.
The U.S. is now directly involved with the investigation into the death of the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The al Jazeera reporter was covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank in May when she was killing by gunfire.
The U.S. government had been urging Palestinians for weeks to turn over the bullet that killed her.
CNN's Hadas Gold with the latest from Jerusalem.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nearly two months after al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was killed, we may be getting closer to an answer as to who fired the fatal shot.
Over the weekend, the Palestinian Authority handed the bullet that killed Abu Akleh over to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Although the Palestinian Authority attorney general said they had been given many guarantees by the Americans that the bullet would not be given to Israelis, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said they were going to work with the Americans to conduct a forensic investigation.
The Palestinian Authority has denied requests to hold a joint investigation with the Israelis, saying they can't trust the Israelis. The IDF said the bullet is in the hands of a senior American general who will be present throughout the entire duration of the investigation.
[01:34:48] GOLD: The IDF spokesperson said that the results should be released soon, and that if the investigation showed that an Israeli soldier killed Abu Akleh, they will, quote, "take responsibility and will be apologetic".
Spokespeople for the Palestinian Authority did not respond to requests for comment about the IDF's involvement in the bullet's investigation.
Several investigations by news organizations, including CNN as well as by the United Nations Human's Rights office, have found that it is most likely that Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli fire and not by gunfire from Palestinian militants as then Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett initially suggested. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has thus far declined to comment.
Hadas Gold, CNN -- Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A Hong Kong lawmaker photographed near Chinese President Xi Jinping has tested positive for COVID-19. President Xi visited the city last week during the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China. It was his first trip outside the mainland since the start of the pandemic.
He joined lawmakers for photos commemorating the event, as we see there. The person who tested positive says his test was negative on Thursday when the photos were taken.
CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley joins me now, live from Taipei with more.
So how great was the risk for President Xi, Will?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know exactly how long President Xi and Hong Kong lawmaker Steven Ho Chun-Yin we're standing together, but they were just one row apart in these handout photos of Thursday's photo session, where this pro- Beijing lawmaker was photographed next to the president, who is making his first trip outside of mainland China in more than two years to mark the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover from British rule to Chinese rule.
Now, this man, you know, the day after, when festivities were still going on, he tested what was described as a mild positive, and then a full positive on Saturday. So the symptoms would've developed, presumably, after the photograph was taken.
So we don't know how contagious he was. We don't know how long again, you know, the two of them were standing together, but certainly, the fact that despite the extreme closed-loop protocols that are in place for anybody who wants to get close to the Chinese President Xi Jinping, you're talking about weeks ahead of time, taking a private car to and from your home and your work, you know, staying in a quarantine hotel the night before you have contact with the president. And then daily COVID testing on top of all of that, despite these measures, the fact that the virus got one person, one row away from President Xi, and you can actually see them standing together so close in a photograph, it really does underscore, critics say, Michael, the frankly unrealistic lack of viability of zero COVID strategy.
Scientists around the world agree on this. That it's just not possible. And yet in China with over one and a half billion people and less than 500 cases reported yesterday, most of them asymptomatic, because President Xi Jinping is so determined that China will be zero COVID, even issuing some of the orders himself. This draconian and really, really in some ways traumatic policy that has affected people's daily lives and really caused hardship.
It's supposed to continue potentially months, potentially, you know, five years is what one pro-Beijing lawmaker said just last week, was quoted in state media as saying.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: As you say, traumatic for a lot of people. Will Ripley in Taipei for us. Thanks, Will, good to see you.
The U.S. House Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the capital is forging ahead, making its case that responsibility for that shameful event go straight to the top. Former White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, delivered blockbuster testimony last week. Remarkable moments, including her accounts of a furious Trump demanding to be taken to the Capitol and his clear understanding that some in the crowd were armed.
CNN's Zachary Cohen looks at what other bombshells could lie ahead in this investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection could make multiple criminal referrals, including one of former president Donald Trump.
That's what the panel's vice chair Congresswoman Liz Cheney, said in an interview on Sunday, where she made it clear that the committee may recommend that the Justice Department bring criminal charges against Trump himself.
Take a listen to what she said on ABC on Sunday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The committee will or will not make a criminal referral.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We'll make a decision at the committee about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's possible there will be a criminal referral which would be effectively the committee saying that he should be prosecuted and this is the evidence that we have --
CHENEY: Yes.
The Justice Department doesn't have to wait for the committee to make a criminal referral. And there could be more than one criminal referral.
[01:39:51]
COHEN: Now Cheney's remarks comes days after explosive testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who recalled being told that Trump grew angry when he was told by a Secret Service detail that he could not accompany protesters to the Capitol on January 6.
They also come as the committee is preparing for additional hearings and has promised to reveal even more evidence connecting Trump to the violent attack that day.
The committee's investigation also continues. Congressman Adam Kinzinger, the other Republican serving on the January 6 Committee, said on Sunday that witnesses have come forward since Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony last week.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): Every day, we get new people that come forward and say hey, I didn't think maybe this piece of the story that I knew was important -- but now that you guys are like -- I do see this plays in here.
But yes, I mean, look, she's going to go down in history as -- I mean people can forget the names of every one of us on the committee, they will not forget her name.
And by the way, she doesn't want that. She doesn't want to be out in the public spotlight, but she has a commitment to truth.
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Will we hear from witnesses that you did not know about, the stories you did not hear because of the hearing so far?
KINZINGER: Yes. There will be way more information, and stay tuned.
COHEN: Now Kinzinger and other members of the committee have been reluctant to offer any details about those additional witnesses. And new revelations that could come out in future hearings.
But it's clear the panel is continuing to make the case there is one man who bears overwhelming responsibility for the January 6th attack. And that man is Donald Trump.
Zachary Cohen, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Still to come here on the program, dangerous flooding in parts of New South Wales, Australia. Thousands of people around Sydney being urged to evacuate, and forecasters say the threat is far from over.
Also, Egyptian officials investigating the deaths of two women killed in separate shark attacks. What we know, when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: At least six people are dead following an avalanche of ice in northeastern Italy, according to CNN affiliate SKY TV24. The avalanche happened on the Marmolada Glacier, the highest mountain in the Italian Dolomites.
Alpine rescue services say a large section of the glacier broke away and came crashing down on a pass to the summit. The area is experiencing record heat for this time of year.
At least eight other hikers have been injured, and a dozen are being reported missing. Rescue efforts are continuing.
At least one person has died and thousands are being urged to evacuate in Sydney, Australia, after torrential rain and damaging winds led to flooding in some areas on Sunday. And it looks like more bad weather is on the way.
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HOLMES: A life-threatening emergency. That's how one official in New South Wales described the rising floodwaters in parts of Australia's biggest city.
STEPH COOKE, NEW SOUTH WALES, EMERGENCY SERVICES MINISTER: We are now facing dangers on multiple fronts. Flash flooding, river rain flooding, and coastal erosion.
HOLMES: Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate parts of Sydney, where heavy rain is already hitting with more expected to come in the next few days.
Authorities say the situation is rapidly evolving, and urged people to stay off the roads.
The state emergency service says it has responded to more than 3,000 emergency requests already and dozens of rescue squads have been dispatched.
CARLENE YORK, NEW SOUTH WALES, EMERGENCY SERVICE COMMISSIONER: The level of the dams, there's no room for the water to remain in the dams. They are starting to spill. The rivers are flowing very fast and very dangerous.
HOLMES: New South Wales gearing up for the deteriorating conditions. The state asking the federal government to send helicopters and troops to help with rescue efforts and sandbagging.
Weather experts warn landslides could happen. The landscape already vulnerable because of previous floods in the region. In some areas emergency crews even ferrying livestock to drier grounds, the bigger animals like these ponies an additional challenge for rescue workers. CHRIS NELSON, DEPUTY UNIT COMMANDER, CANTERBURY SEES: Feels really
good to be able to achieve the rescue and bring everyone back to land safely.
HOLMES: With some parts of Sydney experiencing downpours of more than 200 millimeters, with some places up to 350 millimeters, missions like this, for animals and humans alike, could become more critical in the hours ahead.
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HOLMES: And we're also hearing that Australian authorities are working on a rescue plan for a stranded cargo ship off Australia's eastern coast. The 21 person crew said their ship lost power amid all of that torrential rain, and rough weather. Officials say they're looking to evacuate them by helicopter.
Let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam for more on all of this. What's the outlook, my friend?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, it's going to be difficult to rescue those individuals off the ship because of the winds that are associated with the type of low pressure that's bringing the heavy rainfall.
Think of this. Some of these images are just astounding coming out of New South Wales in and around Sydney. This is the fourth flooding event in less than 18 months, for many communities across the greater Sydney area.
Livelihoods have literally been turned upside down. You can imagine just how dangerous it is to approach a flooded roadway with your vehicle, or as a pedestrian. You don't know exactly how deep it is. Is it half a meter deep? Is it several meters deep? Turn around, don't drown. That's the National Weather Service here in the United States slogan for flooded roadways.
Now, what you're looking at here is the water vapor imagery. The brown kind of the drier air, the Blue and the whites, of course, the cloud cover and the moisture-laden air.
We have a cut off low pressure system, meaning that it's literally cut off from the general flow of the atmosphere. So nothing that's really able to push it along. It just sits and kind of meanders over the same location.
It doesn't help that the water temperatures just off the coast of New South Wales, they're ranging about 2 to 3 degrees Celsius above average for this time of year. So what that's doing is that's allowing for more energy for this low pressure or that coastal low, to just feel an abundant and copious amounts of moisture in the form of rainfall.
We've had over 400 milliliters of rain in many locations within the past seven days. This is from the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia. You can see that shade of purple just southwest of Sydney. Some of the specific totals here are running 3 to 6 times their monthly average for most areas.
Look at this. 402 millimeters in the past two days for Dark Forest. Radar imagery still extremely active in and around Sydney -- excuse me, yes, the greater Sidney and the coastal low here that is forming continues to bring this moisture -- but yet another low pressure will form by the end of this week, bringing the potential for another 150 millimeters of rain on top of what's already fallen. Michael.
HOLMES: Boy, they don't need that.
VAN DAM: No.
HOLMES: Derek, good to see you, my friend. Derek Van Dam there with the very latest.
Now, officials in Egypt are investigating the deaths of two women following shark attacks. Both were said to be swimming in the Red Sea when the attacks took place in separate incidents. The second woman reported to be a Romanian tourist.
Onlookers watched in horror when an Austrian woman was attacked on Friday. She died after losing an arm and a lag. Shark attacks have been rare in Egypt's red sea region in recent years.
Well, call it a special transport away from Ukraine's front lines, some four-legged evacuees get evacuated a ride to safety
That's after the break.
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HOLMES: Ukrainian troops fighting on the frontlines know there's always someone there who has their back, groups of civilian volunteers helping to deliver crucial supplies. And along the way, they also give a helping hand to some of man's best friends. Ben Wedeman with that story.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yulia and her friends are loading up their armored van with food, medicine, water for frontline villages.
That and protective gear for the troops. Before the war, Yulia was a model and worked in local government. Now, she's a volunteer.
YULIA: "I didn't consider leaving as an option," she says. Of course, I'm staying in my country to help as much as possible.
During the drive back from the front in May, Yulia was badly injured when her truck was crashed under shelling. She spent two restless months in the hospital.
They were holding me hospitalized and I told them I have work to do, she recalled. I was coordinating deliveries on the phone. I had no right to sit on my hand.
WEDEMAN: First stop on this day, a military position by the road. All of this has been donated by people in Ukraine. Here, the troops offer a quick appraisal of world leaders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boris Johnson .
WEDEMAN: The next stop A village perilously close to the fighting. They have to hand out the aid as holding because they don't want people to get together, because with just a few kilometers, from Russian lying.
Spirits here still buoyant
"I stayed because of the animals," Natasha tells me. "I'm responsible for all the abandoned animals on this street. More than 50 cats and around 20 dogs."
At our final stop, a drop off more supplies for the soldiers, and feed stray dogs. They'd planned to evacuate a family fleeing from behind Russian lines, but they didn't show up. The soldiers here say overnight, there was heavy shelling. Russian drones but often on the prowl overhead.
"My mind tells me I should be afraid," says Yulia, but we can't leave them behind. Them is a dog and two litters of puppy born in the trenches. One of the mothers dog was killed by Russian's artillery. The little ones also.
Once loaded, we're off to the city of Zaporizhzhia. We're out of the danger zone. Once we get to the city they'll take the mother's has been injured in a black he Right of the dangers on. Once we get to the city, they found home for some of these puppies but not all.
Ben Wedeman, CNN -- Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine.
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HOLMES: To sports now, and the quest for glory on the courts at Wimbledon is heating up. Top seed Novak Djokovic emerging victorious to keep his title defense hopes alive. He's seeking a fourth straight Wimbledon championship, and seventh overall at the all-England Club.
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HOLMES: He will now face Jannik Sinner in the quarter finals after the 20 year old Italian beat Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling fourth round match. Sinner is the youngest men's player left in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal made quick work of his match Saturday winning three straight sets in two hours.
A scary moment during the Formula 1 British Grand Prix on Sunday. A collision during the first laps flipping one car sending it skidding upside down before eventually crashing into a fence. You can see it there. Amazingly, the driver was unharmed, which then credited safety innovations in his car. Zhou Guanyu took to Twitter to let everyone know he was ok, saying, quote, "Halo saved me today. Thanks, everyone, for your kind messages."
Halo in a formula 1 car, is a titanium bar that protects the driver's head in a crash. Extraordinarily lucky.
Alex Albom was also involved in that crash, and an incident right after. He too was cleared of major injuries, but was sent to the hospital as a precaution.
And at the end of that race, it was Carlos Sainz who took the checkered flag at the British Grand Prix. In doing so, claiming his first formula 1 victory.
Sergio Perez finished second and home Favorite Lewis Hamilton and came in third. Sainz addressed the media after his win.
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CARLOS SAINZ, FORMULA 1 DRIVER: 150 races later with Ferrari, in Children's stone, I cannot ask for more. It's a very special day. A day that I will never forget. A very special weekend in general. And yes, Thank you, everyone, for the support, for the chance. (INAUDIBLE) Lewis was -- today, I heard. It was one of his days, but we managed to hold on, and I'm incredibly happy.
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HOLMES: And it was a photo finish in stage three of the Tour de France on Sunday. The Dutchman, Dylan (INAUDIBLE) edged out a victory with two Belgian cyclists close behind.
But it wasn't enough to winning the overall leaders' yellow jersey. It was a nice come back, though, for (INAUDIBLE) who previously was sustained by the International Cycling Union for causing a crashing that injured a cyclist in Poland in 2020.
Stage four of the Tour de France, starts Tuesday, more than 170 kilometers from Dunkirk to Calais.
And pro golfer Jordan Steve had quite the practice in Ireland this weekend. You see it there, some four legged spectators joining his species on his have actually been roaming that golf club since the early 19 hundreds.
Keeps the grass time, doesn't it? Steve getting ready for this week's Scottish open.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @HolmesCNN.
Do stick around, my colleague Rosemary church will be back with more news in just a moment.
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