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Sri Lankan PM Says He Is Willing To Resign Amid Turmoil; Police Admit Security Flaws As Body Of Shinzo Abe Arrives Home; Abbott Baby Formula Plant Reopens After Storm Damage Closure; First Black Woman To Visit Every Country Discusses Her Travels; Grieving Community Comes Together To Honor Victims; "I Was Almost A School Shooter" Author Talks Gun Violence Epidemic; Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone Testified For Almost Eight Hours. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 09, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:50]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three services were held today for some of the victims of the July 4th Parade shooting in Highland Park.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gunman's family now under scrutiny. Records show police were called to the family home 12 times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What makes somebody who is evil, and I guess I'll never have an answer to that.

(CROWD PROTESTING.)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are just so many things that are at stake right now, and so we have to fight back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we're looking for is an order for a public health emergency that can get us the care that we need.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Months of anger and protests over Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis culminating into this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We must chase them. They must go. It is time for us to think of the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crowds gathering to pay their respects to the former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): What happened feels like an incident that shook the foundations of Japan's safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The funeral and memorial service for the former Prime Minister will be held on Monday and Tuesday with attendance limited to close family and friends.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A community comes together five days after a gunman trying to tear it apart. [VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

BROWN: Families that had gathered for the Fourth of July Parade scrambling for their lives as a rooftop sniper opened fire on the crowd. Funeral Services have begun for the seven people killed three were buried yesterday.

And today, a rally is being held for them and the youngest victim of the massacre, eight-year-old Cooper Roberts. He was shot in the chest and is now paralyzed from the waist down.

CNN's Camila Bernal joins us now.

Camila, how is the community coping today?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Pam, look everyone copes differently and I may lower my voice just to be respectful because this has been a very somber, a very emotional rally and look, everyone is telling me something different.

I talked to one resident who told me "I am not healing. I am changing." She said that she is now more empowered to speak out. Someone else said they want to turn their sadness into hope and other people have just told me they simply need time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (voice over): As a way to heal, Steve Tilken visits this makeshift Memorial, takes pictures and talks.

STEVE TILKEN, HIGHLAND PARK SHOOTING WITNESS: I just wanted to confront this this demon of carnage, if you want to call it that. And for me to do it, I have to come here.

BERNAL (voice over): He has lived in Highland Park for 26 years, and on July 4th, went to the parade with his wife and grandchildren.

TILKEN: We were 50 feet from the shooter, and the easiest targets possible and why we weren't shot, I can't figure out.

BERNAL (voice over): He heard the shots and ran, then saw the injuries and one of the dead. Here he is on surveillance video.

TILKEN: I just couldn't wrap my head around what had just happened and I kept trying to figure it out. And I guess, I'm still trying to figure out what makes somebody this evil.

BERNAL (voice over): It's the question this entire community is trying to answer.

ALY PEDOWITZ, HIGHLAND PARK BUSINESS OWNER: For the first two days, I would say, "Am I still sleeping? Is this a nightmare?" Like, "Wake me up because it cannot feel real." And you go through these waves where you're like numb for a little bit and you're just -- and then you get angry, and then you feel guilty and then overwhelming sadness and then you go back to feeling numb and like, "This isn't what happened." BERNAL (voice over): Aly Pedowitz co-owns seven businesses in the middle of the crime scene. All her stores are closed.

PEDOWITZ: Before this all happened, our street was meant to be a place that provided a safe and fun-loving space for families, for kids.

BERNAL (voice over): Healing for her she says, will come, when she is allowed to reopen.

PEDOWITZ: We will be able to reclaim it as this place of where we can all be together and be happy and heal together and just support one another.

[18:05:10]

BERNAL (voice over): And little by little, in a business, in a neighborhood and in a makeshift memorial, members of this community showing their strength.

TILKEN: We will heal, we will absolutely heal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (on camera): And as you can see here behind me, just dozens and dozens of people who showed up to honor and remember the victims, but also to stand up against gun violence.

Now back at the crime scene, we did see a lot of pressure washing and cleaning today. Aly, the business owner that I talked to told me that she will likely be allowed to go back in tonight.

These are sort of the next steps for that area and Ally telling me that she wants a soft opening. She wants her businesses in that area to be a place where the community can come together to support each other and that is exactly what they're doing here right now as well -- Pam.

BROWN: All right, Camila Bernal in Highland Park. Thank you.

Well, after the 2018 Parkland School shooting, people wondered how a kid could lash out so violently.

Well, Aaron Stark knew exactly how and why and he penned a powerful letter titled, "I Was Almost a School Shooter." And in it, he writes, "I didn't carry out anything, I didn't hurt anyone. But in 1996, I almost did the worst possible thing. My mental health was in sad shape. I was severely depressed and suicidal. I felt like I had nothing at all in life to look forward to, and so I literally had nothing to lose."

"But there is one thing that would have made it all different. One thing that if it was in the equation would have ended up in terror. I didn't have access to an assault rifle."

Well, after his letter gained mass attention, he gave a TEDx Talk on the role mental health plays in violent acts. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON STARK, AUTHOR, "I WAS ALMOST A SCHOOL SHOOTER": Love the ones you feel deserve at the least because they need it the most, it will help you just like as much as it helps them. We're in a really big dangerous spot right now, but this trend of arming the teachers and looking out for the kids who might be the threat in schools, and maybe turning them into the FBI. What's that going to do to a kid who's in the position that I was in 25 years ago, who is alone and depressed and abused, and is just sitting there hurting, and someone thinks that they're a threat?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Aaron Stark is here with us now.

Aaron, thank you for joining the show. You have been very clear. It's not just about the guns. It's not just about mental health. It's about both. What does your personal experience tell us about how to stop future shootings?

STARK: I really think that the biggest thing we need to do right now is listen. When I look at these most recent school shootings, especially the one in Uvalde, I was shocked by how similar to my own story it was.

I saw what appears to be a path of abuse at home, followed by self- loathing, followed by being bullied, then you become the bully, and then you become the best bully and along the way, you try your best to express your pain outwardly to everybody else.

And looking at his story, I just saw that path that he went down and it looked like someone who was screaming out to be seen his whole life. And by no means does that excuse the horrible acts that occurred, but I really think that we need to start looking at the people in that -- on that edge of that darkness, like we might be able to bring them back and help them and not just push them further out with more hatred and more alienation.

BROWN: It was listening to your TED Talk, and you talked about how, during that awful time in your life, you felt a comfort in darkness. And I'm wondering, you know, you said in that letter that if you had had access to a rifle, there would have been terror that would have been unleashed.

STARK: Yes.

BROWN: What were you planning to do? And how did you reach such a point in your life that you were contemplating that?

STARK: I grew up in a really painful and violent house, and I internalized that self-hatred early and I made it my own personality. I became -- I was determined to become the best monster possible. And along that way, I reached what I consider rock bottom, and I reached out for help. And when I tried to reach out for help, I went to Social Services and that ended up being the most toxic time in my life when they brought my abuser in with me and it just turned -- it was one of the most negative things that ever happened to me so that, I just ran into that darkness and I embraced it fully.

And the only thing that pulled me out of it was being treated like a person when at the time I didn't even feel human. I felt like I was just a ball of destruction waiting to explode and I had someone who looked through all of that and saw me as a person in pain and just a kid crying out for help, and it literally saved my life and changed my whole world.

It was the most powerful thing that ever happened to me.

BROWN: And you felt like though you were at such a low moment, you felt like, what would it matter if I went and shot up a school or a food court, right? I mean, you know, I think people are -- go ahead.

STARK: I wanted to become the best monster. I was raised, told I was worthless, told I was nothing. And when you're told you're worthless enough you will believe it. And then you do everything you can to make the world agree with you. And that's what I was doing.

The targets that I had planned, I was either going to shoot a mall food court or my school food court, but the victims were actually incidental. It wasn't really about the people I would have shot. The victims were actually I intended to be my parents by making me.

I wanted to make them deal with creating me and I think that, if we look at it by -- people say these days that people just do this for fame, that these school shooters are looking to be famous. I haven't seen anybody in that dark spot that wants to be famous, they want to be seen.

I know I spent years thinking, I would literally walk out of a room of friends and ask, "Did you remember me when I leave? When I'm gone? Do you know if I'm here?" And I thought that I was nothing.

And when I was literally in that spot, I had planned to get a gun, I had planned to commit the atrocity, and then I was -- looking back now, I didn't know it then, but I was saying goodbye and I was going and giving away my belongings. And I went to the one true friend I had at the time, and he saw the pain I was in and brought me inside and just treat me like I was a person sat me down, had a meal and had a shower.

And it was the most humanizing and cathartic thing and I really feel like we have a whole generation of people that are crying out for someone to tell them that they're okay and that they're good and they're finding it in the worst, most toxic places possible.

So instead of having that friend that tells them they're going to be okay, they're having the people saying you're going to be okay, but first that person has to pay. And that's how we end up with things like the Reddit 4chan Groups and the Incel Groups and this whole negative social subculture that we have that seems to be dragging us all down.

And they -- in that group, they will reward you for being the best bully. They will teach you how to be the best troll. They'll show you how to be the best -- the meanest person and how to be the best monster. And so, you get the positive affirmation you're craving your whole life, you just get it from the worst possible place.

BROWN: And you are so fortunate to have that friend in your life who showed you acts of kindness, which literally put you on a completely different path. You went on to get married, have four kids, and come out and speak about this to try to prevent future shootings.

You raise such an important point, there are still so many others who are out there right now on these 4chan Channels in Reddit and so forth talking about this, using the rhetoric you mentioned.

The average profile of a mass shooter is typically a young White male. There was a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics that found that of the men who reported daily feelings of anxiety or depression, less than half sought treatment, and you were actually one of the ones that did reach out for help.

How do you reach people who aren't looking for help themselves who feel like it is weak by reaching out for help?

STARK: Well, I think breaking that stereotype is very important. I think the concept of "act like a man" is the most toxic and dangerous thing that happened to men ever.

I think that we need to be able to be comfortable talking about our emotions and our feelings and be able to express this publicly.

If somehow, if image of a big hairy guy like me on stage crying about the pain I went through in life help someone else talk about their own pain, then keep it going, keep talking, because you never know who might listen.

And we, as men, we are taught that the way we should express our emotions when we're hurt is with aggression. We should get angry and we should hurt people.

But fundamentally, that pain that we feel that I felt when I was in my darkest spot, there's really not a difference in that pain than there is in the pain that a model feels when she is in her car outside of a photoshoot when she is throwing up in a cup.

Fundamentally, there is no difference there. It looks entirely different to the outside world. We're manifesting our pains in entirely different ways. But at the bottom of it, it's self-loathing and self-deprecation.

And that is -- men express our pain with violence. We're taught from an early age that we need to have a stiff upper lip and we can be the strong one, we can be the tough one.

Women internalize it and they express their pain with self-loathing and self-destruction and with eating disorders and with beauty disorders and I think if we can see that the common thread that we have is that sense of self-loathing, it's sad, and might be the one thing that binds us together.

[18:15:12]

STARK: But if we can see that it is, then maybe we could start bringing out more emotion in men and letting them -- giving them a space to talk about these things safely. And know that it is actually a lot stronger to talk about these emotions publicly than not.

I dare any one of these tough guys that say that it is not manly to talk about this, do what I do once, get up on stage one time and say what happened to your darkest times in your life, then you'll see strength.

BROWN: There is something so liberating and freeing about talking about your emotions, what you have been through, and you have had the courage to do that on a national stage.

I'm curious as you look at all of these mass shootings, one after another, do you think the problem is only getting worse? Or is there any hope on the horizon in your view?

STARK: I think that there is hope because I think that awareness and communication is key. And the more we talk about it, the more we remove the stigma of talking about it, the more that we open up about the feelings of men in pain, the feelings of the how close you can get to that dark and how common it is that people get to that dark spot.

There is a very small sliver of people that will actually follow through with an attack, but there is a large gray area of people that think they could, should, or might and that group of people that think that they're worthless, those are the ones that we can talk to and show them that they matter.

If you see someone that's in that spot that feel like they're worthless, show them that they matter. Bring them into your fold, treat them like a friend.

A simple friendship is what stopped me from committing a horrible atrocity, and you never know what a simple "hello" might do to stop the next person from doing. Kindness free.

BROWN: Kindness is free. That is so true and so simple to be kind.

Aaron Stark, thank you for coming on with that powerful message from your own personal experience. We really appreciate your time.

STARK: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

BROWN: Sri Lankan protesters are torching the Prime Minister's home as anger over the country's economic crisis boils over.

Meantime, in Japan, funeral arrangements are set for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe whose assassination has shocked the world. We've got the latest from Tokyo and we're going to be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:40]

BROWN: The Justice Department has released sobering new details about the January 6th attack on the Capitol and the extensive planning by one right-wing extremist group.

According to a new filing, at least one member of the Oath Keepers transported explosives to an area just outside of DC and another member allegedly had a handwritten document headlined "Death List." It included the name of a Georgia election official and that person's family member. The revelations come just hours after a key witness testified before the January 6 Committee.

Former Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone spent eight hours testifying yesterday and my CNN colleagues and I have spoken to several sources who said his testimony was extremely helpful and will be revealed in future hearings.

Sources also telling me that the Committee did not ask Cipollone about the testimony from Trump White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, saying he warned of criminal charges if Donald Trump went to the Capitol during the riot CNN's Marshall Cohen breaks it all down for us.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Pam.

Donald Trump's White House Counsel, Pat Cipollone spent more than seven hours yesterday testifying to the January 6 Committee, which in its own right was a real breakthrough for the panel because Cipollone had resisted doing a formal deposition for more than a year, but he finally agreed to testify after a series of damning revelations at previous recent public hearings.

So throughout his tenure as White House Counsel, Pat Cipollone often found himself pushing back against the most extreme members of Donald Trump's orbit.

He was a firsthand witness to several of the make or break moments where our democracy was really on the line. For instance, Cipollone was there when some of Trumps outside advisers raised the idea of having him declare Martial Law. And Pat Cipollone was also there when Trump thought about sending in the military to seize voting machines.

And Cipollone was there when Trump nearly appointed a well-known conspiracy theorist as a Special Counsel to chase down unhinged voter fraud allegations.

Now, perhaps, most importantly, Cipollone was inside the White House on January 6. Previous witnesses have testified about his desperate efforts to stop Trump from marching to the Capitol. And he also warned others that day that they would have blood on their hands if Trump did not intervene during the riot.

So Cipollone's deposition was videotaped and the Committee will get its first chance on Tuesday to publicly release some of the footage. Tuesday's hearing is going to focus on the right-wing extremist groups that ardently supported Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election, the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys and many of their members stormed the Capitol on January 6th, some have even been charged with seditious conspiracy.

The public hearing on Tuesday will likely delve into the connections between these militants and key players in Donald Trump's orbit -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, thanks, Marshall.

Well, pro-choice women marched to the White House today to protest the Supreme Court's abortion ruling. The demonstration was part of what organizers are calling a summer of rage and it comes just one day after President Biden signed an Executive Order on abortion access, but some activists say the President still isn't doing enough.

CNN's Brian Todd has more from Washington.

[18:25:03]

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, an intermittent and sometimes driving series of rainstorms did not stop hundreds of protesters from gathering here in Franklin Square Park and then marching over to the White House, a very impassioned crowd, as they gathered here and gave speeches and then marched toward the White House to protest in front of the White House.

Some of them were briefed that they were going to risk arrest if they pressed against the White House fence, many of them still did that, and some of them actually tied themselves to the White House fence briefly, but we did not witness any arrests.

There were police around there, some Secret Service police in the crowds, but they didn't really interfere with what the protesters were doing, as long as they were peaceful. And by and large, they were peaceful almost all day long here.

As the crowd starts to mill around here and music is playing on the stage, what I can tell you is that some of the themes here about the overturning of Roe versus Wade, are really playing heavily on this crowd and a couple of them are these: One is they are afraid that the Supreme Court is not going to stop with the overturning of Roe. Several protesters told us they are really concerned that if the right case is before the Court, the Court will use that case as a reason to go after reproductive rights like Plan B pills and IUDs. That's a big theme here.

They just are really concerned that Roe versus Wade is not going to be the end of all of this. Another big concern is safety. Several protesters told us that abortion is not going to end with the overturning of Roe. It's just going to be more unsafe. That's what they're really worried about.

We also talked to two young ladies who were sexual assault victims who said that for people like them, you know, seeking an abortion, they are just afraid that it's going to be much, much more difficult from here.

So what they're doing is plotting strategy. This is now going to be a State by State issue with a lot of these battles tied up in Courts, and they're starting to prepare strategies for taking it to the States now -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Brian Todd, thank you.

Well, thousands of protesters stormed the homes of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister and President and they even set one of the Prime Minister's personal residences on fire.

We're going to explain next, up next on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:31:31]

BROWN: Fire, protest and anger as the Sri Lankan Prime Minister's private residence burns. The fire was set hours after the President said he would resign when a new government is formed. Sri Lankan stormed the presidential compound angry over the South Asian nations severe economic crisis.

And once inside, demonstrators hung banners and swam in the President's pool as you see right here. Sri Lanka is suffering its worst financial crisis in recent history, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine and fuel.

Well, Japan is mourning the death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe was assassinated on Friday. Japanese police are admitting there were 'problems' with security during his campaign stop. The murder of Japan's best known politician has rattled the country and sent shockwaves around the world. Blake Essig reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of Japan's most high-profile figures, although controversial at times, Shinzo Abe was respected and beloved by many. In the wake of his death, condolences have been pouring in from around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I like to say just a very few words about the horrific, shocking killing of my friend, Japanese Prime Minister Abe. Service to his country and his people was in his bones, even after he stepped down from public office. He's focus on his health. He stayed engaged. He cared deeply and I hold him in greater respect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG (voice over): Here in Japan, people are saddened and stunned. A country with one of the lowest gun crime rates shaken by Abe's violent death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through interpreter): People thought Japan was safe. We never imagined he would lose his life in that way. What happened feels like an incident that shook the foundations of Japan's safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through interpreter): In all honesty, I don't think this is a security issue. The person who did this is in the wrong. So then how can we build a society where these kinds of things don't happen? That's what I want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG (voice over): In Tokyo, hundreds gathered in the streets close to Abe's home, morning a leader who left a strong legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through interpreter): Really, when I remember all the things Abe did for Japan, I feel like I'm going to get teary eyed. I wanted to pay my final respect to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG (voice over): Japan's Prime Minister also mourning his former colleague and friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FUMIO KISHIDA, JAPAN PRIME MINISTER (through interpreter): As a colleague and a cabinet member supporting the Abe cabinet, he was a good friend of mine who I spend a lot of time with.

I have no words. I would like to express my condolences from the bottom of my heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ESSIG (voice over): The funeral and memorial service for the former prime minister will be held on Monday and Tuesday, with attendance limited to close family and friends. But the entire nation will be grieving, feelings of sadness, anger and shock still settling in. Blake Essig, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The baby formula shortage is not over. For the past month, more than 20 percent of formula products have been out of stock. Up next, I'll talk live with a mother who is helping others get through this crisis.

[18:34:57]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:39:00]

BROWN: Abbott Nutrition's baby formula plant in Michigan is finally back online. It shut down five months ago when harmful bacteria was found there. After briefly reopening last month, it was forced to shut down again when it was damaged in a storm. And we just learned that the plant is continuing to prioritize its specialty formula for babies with dietary restrictions.

Abbott's February shutdown caused an unprecedented baby formula shortage. And despite nationwide efforts to get more formula into the U.S., store shelves are still bare across the country. Twenty-two percent of all baby formula products were out of stock last week. It's even more dire for powder formulas, 30 percent of it out of stock and it's only getting progressively worse each week.

Alex Bolger joins me now she is a mother who is helping other parents and caregivers find baby formula through social media. Alex, we last spoke in May about this crisis. The numbers say things are about the same or even worse. Is that what you're experiencing as well?

[18:40:05]

ALEX BOLGER, MOTHER HELPING CAREGIVERS FIND BABY FORMULA: It really is and thank you so much for having me back. A lot of the issues that I'm seeing is even though the regular formula in Sawyer (ph) coming back in stock, the specialty formulas like you were stating are really just aren't there, even harder to find now than what they were.

A lot of lower volume stores, grocery stores are not even receiving it. They're rerouting those shipments to their higher volume stores. So then everyone's having to drive further away to be able to purchase formula. I know I've driven up to three hours to be able to find formula for my son.

BROWN: So do you need this that special formula for your son?

BOLGER: I do. My son is on Similac Alimentum. It's one of the harder ones to find as well as the Enfamil AR and, of course, the NeuroPro are like the top three that we're seeing. Those are really just really hard to find. The Alimentum isn't even being produced to our knowledge in powder form, it's only in ready to feed, which can also make it harder to go (inaudible) the house whenever you need to, because you have to pack it in a cooler, keep it nice and cold things like that and even still one bottle lasts maybe a day, so it's ...

BROWN: And you have other kids, too, as I recall. I mean, in driving several hours away, not every woman, mom or parent, can do that, right? According to the White House, by the end of the weekend, Operation Fly Formula will have imported more than 44 million bottles equivalents of formula, but the shelves are still bare. Do you think the federal government is meeting this moment for mothers in need like yourself?

BOLGER: I don't. I honestly don't. I mean, it's - I understand they're doing what they can to try to get formula in for us. But it's just so difficult, because there's so many babies in need. I am a mom of four kids. With my three one - my three older ones, they - we never had this issue. They're old - a lot older than what my youngest is now.

But ultimately, there really does need to be some changes, like importing additional formula from other resources if need be, opening up other plants to be able to produce formula, especially in the case of something like this were to ever happen again to help prevent a future shortage.

Another big limitation that we have is WIC. WIC can only be done within the state and only at WIC certified stores. If they were to take off that limitation of the out of state, make all stores WIC approve that sell formula without them having to be certified and allow us to be able to purchase online, it would make things a lot easier for us to be able to just order and have it shipped, and be able to find the (inaudible) we need, things like that. Things really do need to just--

BROWN: That's really important.

BOLGER: It is.

BROWN: Go ahead.

BOLGER: It really is.

BROWN: I mean, I just think hearing directly from a mother like you who was on the frontlines dealing with this and some of the obstacles you faced and what could make it easier. I think that that is really interesting. And you have actually had to sort of take matters into your own hands given all the difficulties finding formula. You created this Facebook group that crowdsources baby formula. How do these groups work? Walk us through that.

BOLGER: So I created TN Formula Find because of the fact that it's so hard to find formula. As members join the group, they can be all throughout, in this case, Tennessee, I also have national formula find as well to be able to help try to cover the rest of the nation, just to kind of put the word out there.

Hey, this is what we have, if you go into a grocery store, like Wal- Mart, for example, it takes 30 seconds to take a picture of this store shelves showing what formula they have and posting it in there saying, hey, this is the location showing the photo of what's there and then you're back to the rest of your shopping.

A lot of mothers who have formula that they no longer can use for their little one, either would like to sell it or just give it away, they have that option to do so as well. So it really helps make sure that someone has the formula that they need. And it's been pretty successful so far.

BROWN: Yes, I'm really impressed. I was looking at it. And it's just incredible how all of these parents have come together to help each other out during this crisis and we appreciate you coming back on. We want to stay on top of this. So often, as you well know, the media might cover something and then move on. We're not going to do that here. This is continuing to be a problem and more needs to be done, clearly as you express. So Alex, thank you and best of luck to you and your family.

BOLGER: Thank you so much and I'm happy to come back anytime.

BROWN: Thank you.

Well, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[18:45:00]

Now, imagine visiting every country in the world. One woman's done it, traveling to 195 different countries. She joins me next to explain how she did it and to share travel tips. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:38]

BROWN: Could you imagine traveling to every country in the world? Well my next guest made her dream a reality. In 2019, she became the first black woman to accomplish that feat. Jessica Nabongo has literally been everywhere from the streets of Cuba to North Korea. She has scoured every corner of the globe and she does documented it in her book The Catch Me If You Can.

[18:50:03]

She joins me now.

Jessica, I'm so excited to have this conversation. I'm just like in awe of the journey you have had. What inspired you to do this?

JESSICA NABONGO, FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO HAVE TRAVELED TO EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD: Honestly, it was my parents. So my parents love to travel and my sisters and I have been traveling with them internationally since I was four. So really, it was them who instilled this love of travel in me. Also having encyclopedias in the home and atlases and a globe, it really made me feel like the world was truly my oyster.

BROWN: And how were you able to make this happen? I mean, gosh, I would love to go travel to every country in the world. But I mean that takes a lot of like logistics and planning and resources.

NABONGO: Yes, the logistics were crazy. There was a Google Doc where we map everything out and there were lots of spreadsheets. But beyond that, I use credit cards with travel rewards. I'm super loyal when it comes to an airline. So collecting no matter what airline you fly, collecting all of those miles, using the credit card for everyday spending, but paying it off at the end of the month. We want to be fiscally responsible. But those are some of the ways that I definitely maximized in. BROWN: So, it goes without saying that not every country you went to is safe, some of them are even less safe for a black woman. Were there any places that you were apprehensive to visit?

NABONGO: Honestly, no. I have been traveling extensively for - since my early 20s. And one of the biggest lessons that I learned visiting every country in the world is that most people are good. So for me, I'm not afraid of strangers. And if you aren't afraid of strangers, then what is there really to be afraid of.

And so I really hope that this book helps people to sort of interrogate that fear. I traveled to 89 countries solo. And the only way I was able to do that was because of the kindness of strangers. And it was that kindness that made this journey, so absolutely beautiful.

BROWN: So did you have - along the way in planning all this, all the spreadsheets of everything, have any roadblocks or obstacles that you thought would have prevented you from accomplishing this goal?

NABONGO: For sure. I ran out of money. I think twice, I ran out of money.

BROWN: That's so important.

NABONGO: And so I ended up doing a GoFundMe and a friend suggested it. And I said, nobody's going to pay for me to travel. But I have built such a beautiful community and was able to raise $28,000.

The other roadblock was pure exhaustion. So many people say, well, I want to do that. I'm like, it's so physically and mentally and spiritually exhausting. It's very exciting, but when you're getting on a journey, you're starting in Detroit for a journey to, say, Samoa in the South Pacific and it's 38 hours. It's really exhausting.

BROWN: Do you have a favorite place that you visited?

NABONGO: I don't. People ask me that all the time.

BROWN: Yes.

NABONGO: Honestly, I love - like on an average year, when I wasn't trying to visit every country in the world, I go to around 10 to 15 countries. I've been to 15 - 50 countries more than once and 15 countries more than five times. Some of those 15 are Cuba, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, of course, I'm Ugandan. So those are some of the places that I find myself going back too often.

BROWN: And you were talking during the break, you're not even traveled out. You're not like, okay, I've done it. Like I've been to all of these places. Let me just like stay at home and regroup. You're like hitting the road whenever you can, right?

NABONGO: I am. I still - I've been to every country, but I haven't seen everything there is to see. So I love still visiting new places. I love going to some of my old favorites. Like I used to live in Rome for three years. I still love going back to Italy every single year. So I don't think I'll ever stop traveling.

BROWN: Wow. I'm tired just like listening to you talk about all of your travels. Wow. Jessica, thank you for coming on. Just a fascinating conversation. We appreciate it.

NABONGO: Thank you so much.

BROWN: Well, new allegations for the January 6 Capitol riot federal investigators say one member of the Oath Keepers had explosives and another had a death list. The startling details are just ahead.

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[18:59:56]

BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. The top stories on this Saturday, militia training, bombs and a so-called death list.