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Highland Park Community Members Gather To Mourn Together In The Aftermath Of Fourth Of July Mass Shooting; More Than 1,000 Protesters At White House Call On Biden To Protect Abortion Rights; Suspected Oath Keeper Extremists Brought Explosives To D.C. Area On Jan. 6 And Had A Death List; Cipollone Provided A Lot Of Relevant Information; Ukrainian Pop Star On The Frontlines; Extreme Weather Putting U.S. National Parks At Risk. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired July 09, 2022 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: And then over the next few decades, she worked at her daughter's medical practice and helped raise her grandkids but the itch to finish her degree never faded.

A Patagonia remote harsh and absolutely stunning, it's one of the last untouched places on earth. And starting tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. the all new six part CNN Original Series Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World will take viewers on an immersive journey to the breathtaking yet threatened region.

You'll get a look at how new challenges in the wild or transforming former enemies into allies and revealing people places and animals you simply won't see anywhere else. Here's an exclusive preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patagonia, one of the world's last great wildernesses. It stretches for more than 1,000 miles, all the way down to the southernmost tip of South America. Towering above the region are the Andes, dividing Chile, from Argentina.

We're headed on an epic journey up through Patagonia's wild Highlands from its foothills, to its volcanic plateaus, all the way up to its high icefields.

Our journey begins on the grasslands of the Patagonian Steppe at 1.500 feet. Here, one predator reigns supreme. The Puma. This big cat roams all of the Americas. You might know it as a cougar, a mountain lion, or even a panther. In Patagonia, with no bears or wolves to trouble them, Pumas are the top predator and they know it.

It's early on Torres del Paine National Park, a critical time for this mama Puma and her five-month-old cubs.

She's still nursing them but winter is coming. The cubs need to fatten up if they're going to survive the brutal months ahead.

Mom heads out to hunt. Guanacos, nutritious and delicious. Busted. These wild relatives of llama are on high alert. Their safety in numbers but one Guanaco didn't get the memo. The mama Puma needs to get as close as possible.

She jumped the gun. Only one in five of her Guanaco hunts is successful. Time to lie low. For next meals should wander by soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The all new CNN Original Series Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World premieres tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN.

[21:05:10]

I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are in the CNN Newsroom on this Saturday evening. A community comes together five days after a gunman trying to tear it apart.

Families that gathered for Fourth of July parade near Chicago sent scrambling for their lives with a rooftop sniper open fire on the crowd. Funeral Services have begun for the seven people killed. Three were buried yesterday and today, a rally was held for them.

And the youngest victim of the massacre eight0year-old Cooper Roberts. He was shot in the chest and is now paralyzed from the waist down. CNN's Camila Bernal has more on a community breaking the stranglehold of grief.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (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 want to confront this demon of carnage if you want to call it that. And for me to do it, I have to come here.

BERNAL: He's lived in Highland Park for 26 years. And on July 4th, went to the parade with his wife and grandchildren.

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

BERNAL: 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 is this evil.

BERNAL: 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: Aly Pedowitz co-owns seven businesses in the middle of the crime scene. All her stores are closed.

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

BERNAL: Healing for her, she says will come when she's 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.

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

TILKEN: I will heal. I will absolutely heal.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BERNAL: And this rally was somber, it was emotional. We had eight different moments of silence, seven for those that were killed in this shooting and another one for those that were injured, or who feel traumatized or affected by this shooting. This community simply coming together to support each other. And also to demand action, a lot of the organizers talking about legislative action and change they say that is what comes next. Pam.

BROWN: All right. Thank you so much Camila. And earlier this evening, I spoke with Aaron Stark. In 2018 he penned a letter called I was almost a school shooter, where he documented his struggles with mental health as a teen. And he also spoke about it and a TEDx talk.

(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 it 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 threatened 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 was alone and depressed and abused, and it's just sitting there hurting and someone thinks that they're a threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And here's a little bit of our conversation earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STARK: I wanted to be 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. I -- 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 my intended to be my parents.

But by making me, I wanted to make them deal with creating me.

BROWN: Wow.

[21:10:00]

STARK: And I think that if we look at it by people say these days that people just do this to be for fame, that the 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. They, 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 -- I was literally in that spot. I had planned to get a gun. I had planted to commit the atrocity. And then I was looking back now I didn't -- 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 OK 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 OK, they're having the people saying you're going to be OK, but first that person has to pay.

And that's how we ended up with things like the Reddit 4chan groups and the Insell 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 refer affirmation, you're craving your whole life. You just get it from the worst possible place.

BROWN: And you were 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.

But you raise such an important point, there are still so many others who are out there right now on these 4chan channels, and 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's weak by reaching out for help?

STARK: Well, I think breaking that that stereotype is very important. I think the concept of 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 the 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 get 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's in her car outside of a photoshoot when she's throwing up in a cup. There's fundamentally there's 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 that 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.

BROWN: Right.

STARK: And that -- I think if we can see that the common thread that we have is that sense of self-loathing, it's sad, that that might be the one thing that binds us together. But if we can see that it is the 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's actually a lot stronger to talk about these emotions publicly than not. I dare any one of these tough guys that say that it's not manly to talk about this, do what I do once. You get up on stage one time and say what happened 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?

[21:15:00]

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's a very small sliver of people that will actually follow through with an attack.

But there's 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 that show them that they matter. If you see someone in that -- that's in that spot that feels like they're worthless, show them that they matter. Bring them into your fold, treat them like a friend. The simple friendship is what stopped me from committing a horrible atrocity and you never know what a simple hello might stop the next person from doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: A powerful message there. Up next, we continue to follow new developments in the capitol riot investigation. The panel just got key testimony from one of its most important witnesses yet.

Plus, chilling new details that members of the Oath Keepers brought explosives to the DC area before January 6, and how to death list of Georgia election officials, we're going to have more on that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Pro-choice women marched to the White House today to protest the Supreme Court's abortion ruling. The demonstration was part of a organizers are calling a summer of rage and it comes just one day after President Biden signed an executive order on abortion access.

[21:20:07]

But some activists say the President still isn't doing enough. CNN's Brian Todd has more from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Pamela, and intermittent, 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.

They -- 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 vs. Wade are really playing heavily on this crowd. And a couple of them are this. 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 plant beat 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 are sexual assault victims, who said that for people like them, you know, seeking an abortion, they're 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.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BROWN: All right, Brian Todd, thank you.

The Justice Department has released sobering new details about the January 6 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 and included the name of a Georgia election official and that person's family member.

Well, the revelations come just hours after a key witness testified before the January 6 committee. Former Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone spent nearly eight hours testifying yesterday, a person familiar with the closed door hearing told me that Cipollone did assert privileges -- executive privileges to a couple of questions from the committee.

And the source also told me that the committee asked Cipollone a series of questions about pardons, including potential pardons for the Trump family and whether Trump wanted to pardon himself.

My CNN colleagues and I've spoken to several sources who said his testimony was extremely helpful and will be revealed in future hearings. 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 advisors raised the idea of having him declare martial law. And Pat Cipollone was also there when Trump thought about sending in the military to cease 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 6, some have even been charged with seditious conspiracy.

[21:25:08]

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

BROWN: Marshall Cohen thank you so much. And coming up on the Saturday evening as the war in Ukraine continues, we're going to check in with Ukrainian musician turns soldier who is fighting on the frontlines. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Ukraine's president is standing firm that a concession of territory won't be part of any diplomatic negotiations to end the war. Volodymyr Zelenskyy talked to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Ukrainians are not ready to give up as the new territories of the Russian Federation. This is our lands. We've always said this, and we will never give it up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: As the war goes on, and Ukraine so do the battles, Ukrainian pop star Taras Topolia is on the front lines. And he joins me now from Kyiv along with his wife, Olena Topolia, who is also a singer and songwriter.

Hello YouTube. We have been following your story from the beginning.

[21:30:00] And I first want to talk about the reunion, Olena, you had been to New York with the kids. And then you flew back to Ukraine recently right to be with your husband? What was that like to reunite after the war started?

OLENA TOPOLIA, UKRAINIAN SINGER/SONGWRITER: Hi. I'm ready. Yes, you're right. I didn't know -- I think now, it's very tame in Kyiv and I hope it will be, it will be always like this.

TARAS TOPOLIA, UKRAINIAN POP STAR: Calm and quiet, yeah.

O. TOPOLIA: Yes, calm and quiet, not like it was two days ago. But now, like this, and I hope it will be in. I know in Ukraine in different towns, it's not so quiet. And Taras will go --

T. TOPOLIA: Back.

O. TOPOLIA: -- back.

T. TOPOLIA: So for us, it is very impressive, because she flew a couple of days ago, and my commanders let me to take a rest with her. And we live in like, like peaceful life, how it was before and during last three days, and it's unbelievable for us.

BROWN: Yeah, I mean, because normally, when we interview you, Taras, you're like in a car, and there are bombs going on outside. I mean, I remember the last interview we did with you. That was a situation, now you're both reunited. And like you said, you're just living a peaceful life right now. I mean, what a dichotomy that is. What --

T. TOPOLIA: We try to imagine that we live in peaceful life. But I will go back in all these that you described up to one day. So it is very -- it's a big pleasure moments for us during these days, believe me. We're now sitting in our apartments in Kyiv, and like trying to catch every second, and to feel every second together.

BROWN: Yeah, how long do you have together?

O. TOPOLIA: And it's really hard to go -- to go back to American and understand Taras again there, and.

T. TOPOLIA: That I'm staying here, and they remain, so but -- it is our first meet for the last six months.

BROWN: Yeah, yeah, and your kids are still back in the United States. I feel bad. We're disrupting your peaceful time together, it's 4:32 a.m. there in Kyiv. So thank you for giving up for this interview.

T. TOPOLIA: And as usual, I want to say thank you for American people. Thank you. I want to say thanks for --

O. TOPOLIA: For help.

T. TOPOLIA: For help, and thanks for our parents that watching our kids now, and trying to do all the best for them during my wife and me together here in Kyiv. So fortunately, and thanks God, we have big family in America. And we have so good friends and American citizens that helped us to go through this war.

BROWN: Yeah. You're always so full of gratitude every time you come on. Olena, I want to ask you, your, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is reiterating his call for President Biden to visit Kyiv, saying it would send a message to Russia and the world. What do you think about that? Do you agree?

T. TOPOLIA: Of course, she (speaking in foreign language).

O. TOPOLIA: I agree, of course, I agree. I want the world to see, to understand and to see by your eyes, what's going on here. To understand it, by your heart, to understand it by your brain. And to make it, you need to see it.

T. TOPOLIA: And it's of course will be very symbolic, if and when the Biden will come to Kyiv and to see everything. It will be very a powerful signal for Russians, of course.

BROWN: Yeah.

O. TOPOLIA: For the world.

T. TOPOLIA: And for all the world, yeah.

BROWN: Taras, I want to ask you, your Deputy --

T. TOPOLIA: So we are waiting here for Joe Biden, of course. I don't ask him to come to the Kharkiv, to the north of Kharkiv, to the frontline. But I think that's where it will be very useful for or all freedom world and for Americans and for Ukraine if Joe Biden will come to Kyiv and to see everything and to talk with our president, and of course when he will make some powerful decisions after that.

[21:35:18]

BROWN: You know, we were just talking about how right now this is sort of a glimpse in time for you, where things are peaceful, but the reality is, all around in Ukraine, it is very dangerous and you're going to have to go back to the front lines Taras. One of those dangerous places is Kherson. The Deputy Prime Minister is calling on residents of Kherson to evacuate. She warned that residents could be used as human shields by the Russians. What have you heard of that inhumane tactic?

T. TOPOLIA: I know that Ukrainian military troops, Ukrainian army are counter attacking in that region and I know, I clearly understand that it will be very hard to be capture at Kherson because Ukrainian army don't allow it to themselves, don't allow it, so we -- I'm like a part of Ukrainian army I know that we are not allowed to shell the cities and civil people.

So it -- recapturing Kherson, it will be very difficult operation but we will do everything to avoid, like to -- not to case civilian people death. So -- but everyone understand that when it's war, unfortunately, civilian people dies. Because guns are working. Because guns are working, yeah. H: That's a reality. Well, Taras and Olena Topolia, thanks for sharing some time with us again. I'm so glad that you're able to reunite for a little bit at least and we'll check back in with you for sure. Thanks so much.

T. TOPOLIA: Thank you.

O. TOPOLIA: Thank you.

T. TOPOLIA: Goodbye.

BROWN: Up next, climate change is threatening one of America's greatest treasures, our national parks. We're going to have that report, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:41:05]

BROWN: In California, wildfires are threatening some of the largest trees in the world. Firefighters have been battling the Washington fire in Yosemite National Park since Thursday. And already the blaze has covered more than 700 acres and is now getting close to some of the parks roughly 500 iconic giant sequoia trees. Yosemite isn't the only U.S. Park under threat. CNN's Rene Marsh reports how climate change could affect all of America's National Parks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEANNA MITCHELL, HARRIET TUBMAN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK: The land is disappearing before our eyes.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Maryland's Eastern Shores in the crosshairs of climate change induced sea level rise. And so is the rich history preserved at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

(On camera): We're wearing these nets because there is so much water here and it's standing waters.

MITCHELL: Yes.

MARSH: So the mosquitoes are really bad.

MITCHELL: Mosquitoes are bad. So this is almost like a requirement during the summer. If Harriet Tubman were living right now, she would recognize this landscape, but she would be shocked at how quickly it's disappearing.

MARSH: As water from the Chesapeake Bay encroaches, University of Maryland scientists project large portions of the national park will be underwater by the year 2050 if planet warming emissions are not drastically curved, rising tides threatens sites like this cemetery for free black people in Tubman's community.

PETER GOODWIN, UNIV. OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: Over time, these very low lying areas that were part of the important trails that allowed people to escape at that time will be lost in some places.

MARSH: More than 70% of national parks in the continental U.S. are at high risk from the effects of climate change. From sea level rise and flooding to extreme temperatures, drought and wildfires.

Historic flooding at Yellowstone National Park last month forced it to shut down for more than a week. At California's Sequoia National Park, home of the world's largest trees, wildfires have burned large swaths of the giant sequoia groves. Wildfires and extreme heat have forced California's Yosemite National Park too close several times in recent years. Meanwhile, Glacier National Park in Montana is rapidly losing its namesake feature. This is Grinnell Glacier in 1910 versus 2021.

STEPHANIE KODISH, NATIONAL PARKS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: These are places that tell critical stories of our history and people and culture. And these places are not going to be able to withstand these repeated assaults.

MARSH: More frequent, more intense natural disasters will drastically transform National Park landscapes. And there's the economic loss.

KODISH: In 2021 alone, our national parks saw over 297 million visitors. They generated over $42.5 billion.

MARSH: Back on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the National Park Service says it has teamed up with the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to fight the growing impacts of climate change.

(On camera): It is high tide and water is flowing over the banks here at the Jefferson Memorial, in part because the water level has risen a foot since the memorial was built some 75 years ago and this issue of climate change and national parks, it is on the radar for some members of Congress just this week, members visited Yosemite National Park to see firsthand how climate change is impacting these national parks. And these members of Congress are going to use that information to essentially figure out the best way to spend federal dollars to make these national parks more resilient. Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And our thanks to Rene.

Coming up.

[21:45:00]

(MOVIE CLIP)

Marvel's floor is hammering the competition at the Box Office, how the return of the summer blockbuster is driving movie goers back to the theater.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: It's hammer time at the Box Office as Thor: Love and Thunder is proving to be a Box Office Marvel.

(MOVIE CLIP)

BROWN: Thor is just one of several movies working on the title blockbuster. This summer although theaters took a sustained hit during the pandemic, crowds are once again flocking to the multiplexes.

[21:50:03]

CNN Entertainment Reporter Chloe Melas has more, so how big are the box office numbers on Thor, Chloe?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Listen, Pamela. I mean, we all knew that this movie was going to be big. It's the sequel. It's one of the most anticipated movies of the summer and it is knocking it out of the box office when it comes to the amount of people that are going to see it this weekend or so far it looks like it's going to be the 12 biggest debut for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

You know and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, alongside Christian Bale, Jaimie Alexander, Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman, she's in this one, she wasn't in the first one, is directed by Taika Waititi and I'm telling you people are loving it. And it looks like it's going to be the third highest three day domestic opening of the year. So that's behind Jurassic World dominion. That's behind Doctor Strange. I mean, it is making a huge mark at the Box Office and we're only halfway through the weekend.

BROWN: Yeah, we are. And the other big hits, this summer is Minions: The Rise of Gru, not only are the minions showing up in ads for everything from pancakes to car insurance, they have sparked a viral trend on TikTok, the Gentle Minions, explained please?

MELAS: Oh my goodness. OK, so I took my five year old to go see this movie. We have been waiting for a new minions movie for years. Now, when we went to go see it over Fourth of July weekend, we did not see the Gentle Minions that are blowing up and going viral on TikTok.

Now, the Gentle Minions are like teenagers, you know Gen Zers who think it's funny to dress in suits, and go see the movie, The Rise of Gru. As for why the suits, we don't exactly know other than maybe just to be ironic. Some theaters aren't liking it because, you know, some of the people who are going as the Gentle Minions are throwing bananas, being a little bit loud. That's not cool.

Others though, are just having fun posting videos of themselves along to a rap song called Rich Minion that is a song that was actually in one of the Minions trailers, and then they're uploading it to TikTok. Now, they're showing up in throngs, again, like I have so many people asking me why the suits like we can't quite figure that out. But some theaters, Pamela, are actually banning Gentle Minions, you're seeing that in the U.K., they're putting up signs, you know, saying that if you show up to the theater in a suit, we're not going to let you in to see that movie. Now, some people are getting around that by hiding the soup underneath like a sweatshirt. But I was looking online, Pamela, in Universal Pictures who actually, you know, produced this movie. They're on board. They actually tweeted to everyone showing up in minions, to Minions in suits. We see you and we love you. So it doesn't seem bothering Universal Pictures at all.

BROWN: Yeah, I mean, because of course these are supporters of their movie, of their brand. But that's so interesting that you can't wear a suit in some of these theaters because you'll be banned.

All right, that must be a first. So what are other movies are giving theater owners hope for a big year?

MELAS: You know, look, movie theater going is still down a little over 30% from where we are -- where we were pre-pandemic. But if this summer has shown you anything, it's that people are ready to go back and see movies in a theater. You know, it's something that Tom Cruise was adamant about when it came to Top Gun: Maverick. He pushed the release date of that film back an entire year because he wanted people to experience Top Gun in the theaters and he was right, it is the highest grossing film of the summer.

So far over 500 million. It's looks like it's going to be the 12th film to actually cross the 600 million mark. We're almost there. You know like I said Doctor Strange, Jurassic World Dominion, Minions, you have lightyear, you have Elvis, you have so many movies that are passing that 100 million dollar domestic Box Office mark. And that's a really big deal for people who thought that perhaps movie theaters were dead.

BROWN: Yeah, for sure, Chloe Melas, thank you.

Coming up, a pioneering Globetrotter, she became the first black woman to visit every country on Earth and now she is opening up about her travels and what she learned.

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[21:58:16]

BROWN: And 2019, Jessica Nabongo completed a lifelong dream. She visited every country in the world and became the first black woman ever to accomplish that feat. Earlier this evening, I spoke with Jessica about her travels and what inspired her to start this journey.

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JESSICA NABONGO, FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO HAVE TRAVELED TO EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD: You know, 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 traveling 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: Yeah, but logistics were crazy. There was a Google Doc, where we mapped everything out. And there were lots of spreadsheets. But beyond that, you know, I use credit cards with travel rewards. I'm super loyal when it comes to an airline.

So, you know, 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 it.

BROWN: So, you know, 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: You know, honestly, no. You know, 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 and what is there really to be afraid of?

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[22:00:05]

BROWN: Well, thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm Pamela Brown. I'll see you again tomorrow night starting at 6:00 Eastern.

Up next, join Jake Tapper as he talks with Republicans about what happened on January 6, the CNN Special Report, "Trumping Democracy" starts right now.