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Death Of Abe Shinzo; Russia's War On Ukraine; July 4 Parade Massacre Funerals; Climate Change Threatens Most U.S. National Parks. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired July 09, 2022 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

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

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, how Japan is coping with the assassination of their longest serving prime minister all while having a strict gun law. We're live in Tokyo with the latest.

Plus protesters storm the presidential palace in Sri Lanka, demanding the resignation of their president. More on the dramatic clashes on the ground ahead.

And renewed shelling and missile strikes across Ukraine, leaving destruction and civilians injured. We'll have a live report from Kyiv.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: The funeral for Japan's Shinzo Abe will be held next week. A wake is scheduled for Monday with his memorial service set for the next day. A hearse carrying the former prime minister's body arrived at his Tokyo home a few hours ago. Hundreds of mourners lined the streets outside.

Just one day earlier Abe was giving a campaign speech in Western Japan when he was shot at close range with a homemade gun by a man. Police found several crude guns made from metal pipes and other materials.

Under Japan's strict gun laws, it's very difficult for citizens to own guns. The doctors tried to save Abe but say his blood loss was just too great. He was the longest serving figure Japanese history and a world known figure on stage. Blake Essig is covering this all for us.

Blake, tell us about the scene there from those who came to say goodbye.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, earlier this afternoon the body of Shinzo Abe, accompanied by his wife, arrived back here at his home in Tokyo, located just down the street from where I'm standing in a fairly quiet residential neighborhood.

But as the car got closer, hundreds showed up, many bringing flowers, trying to catch a glimpse of the former prime minister as he drove by one last time.

People here were shocked, saddened, in disbelief that their longest- serving prime minister, the once most powerful man in Japan could be gunned down in broad daylight in a country where gun violence is almost nonexistent.

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ESSIG (voice-over): Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was speaking at a campaign rally east of Osaka on Thursday when chaos ensued.

Two shots can be heard. Abe is hit in the chest and neck.

The weapon: a handmade gun lying on the ground. Bystanders tried to aid the former prime minister before he was rushed to the nearest hospital. But soon news broke. He had succumbed to his injuries and died at age 67.

HIDENORI FUKUSHIMA, PROFESSOR, NARA MEDICAL UNIVERSITY (through translator): There were two bullet wounds. He was in a cardiopulmonary arrest after damage to large blood vessels in the heart. We took resuscitative measures but unfortunately, he died at 5:03 p.m.

ESSIG: Police have arrested the suspect, a 41-year-old man who did not flee after the shooting. A rare occurrence in Japan, a country with one of the world's lowest gun rates.

FUMIO KISHIDA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): He loved this country and constantly looked beyond the current generation working hard for a brighter future of this country, leaving behind many major successes in various categories.

ESSIG: World leaders condemned the assassination. U.S. President Joe Biden stunned in outraged by Abe's death, calling him a champion of the friendship between our people.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This hasn't happened in Japan in decades. I'm told all the way back to the late '30s. The Justice Department is going to be going in and give me more details.

ESSIG: Former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump also grieving the death of a personal, quote, friend of America.

From China, reaction came from the country's embassy in Japan, highlighting Abe's contribution to promoting the improvement and development of Sino-Japanese relations.

Shinzo Abe's relations with Beijing were sometimes contentious.

[05:05:00] ESSIG (voice-over): He was the first Japanese PM to meet with the Chinese counterpart in years but was also critical of Beijing's stance on Taiwan. His premiership marked Japan's history in bilateral relations.

However, his assassination now a black dot in the country's history, a violent act of crime due to send ripples of shock across Japan.

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ESSIG: In the wake of this tragedy, many questions have been raised about the security meant to protect the former prime minister. According to NHK, Japanese public television, a security plan was drawn up to watch Abe from all sides while he was in Nara.

It involved dozens of local plainclothes officers and one specifically assigned by the Tokyo police here. Of course, as we know, that didn't stop the gunman from slowly walking up behind Abe while he was speaking and firing those two fatal shots.

The national police agency will now review security arrangements.

BRUNHUBER: I can imagine so. Blake Essig, live in Tokyo for us. Thank you so much.

For more on us I'm joined by Seijiro Takeshita, a professor of management and information at the University of Shizuoka.

Thank you for joining us.

I want to ask how is Japan reacting to this loss?

SEIJIRO TAKESHITA, UNIVERSITY OF SHIZUOKA: We're just gobsmacked. I think we're not even at a stage of trying to cope with this situation overall. But I would like to think, you know, there would be reaction, particularly tomorrow when we have the upper house election coming up on Sunday.

You know, the voting ratio in Japan has been extremely low. But I would like to think this would be a very good factor for people to go out there and vote, because I do believe that, you know, voting is probably one of the best ways to sustain our democratic values and basically give an answer to this barbaric act of terrorism.

BRUNHUBER: Do you think it would influence the election, given we don't know which side the assassin was really on here?

So how would voting help repudiate what was done?

TAKESHITA: Well, there will probably be what people call obituary- type votings that would take place. There's no doubt about that. In the first place, the ruling government party was doing fairly well. They were being criticized, particularly for the COVID-19 issues.

And despite inflationary fears, things were relatively stable in Japan. There's no reason while he would be in danger from that point of view.

BRUNHUBER: As I say, we don't know much about the assassin's motive here. There's a claim that Abe belonged to a group that he objected to.

The FBI director, told us in the wake of the killing and the threats to public figures around the world, there are way too many people acting violently on political grievances.

Do you get a sense this is something that's growing in Japan as well?

TAKESHITA: Well, of course, we have disagreements, arguments naturally. But as you reported earlier, that doesn't go into killing each other or, you know, maiming each other. That's not the case in Japan.

Of course, we have political and ideological differences. It doesn't really flare up as much as other countries. In Japan, a political conflict remains a political conflict and it doesn't go any further.

This time around, again, as you noted, we don't know what the real motives are. It's very unclear. It's difficult to assess where this person was coming from.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, exactly. So looking at Shinzo Abe himself, I mean, his foreign policy, he turned Japan in some ways, drawing closer to the U.S.. He was hawkish on China.

What lasting effects do you think there will be in terms of Japan's place in the world?

TAKESHITA: Well, what he did was create a very good plateau for us, you know, the way we should go forward. As you just pointed out, he sustained a very strong friendship with Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump and also continues to have ties with India, sustaining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

He was very eloquent on foreign policy, as you reported earlier, how Japan should face aggression from Russia and China.

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TAKESHITA: Many Japanese politicians in the past they were very wishy-washy about this. But Mr. Abe had a very strong stance in that sense, which he gave us a very good direction and especially after this Russian aggression in Ukraine.

I think a lot of Japanese have been given a very good pathway, thanks to, you know, the acts and foreign policy that was conducted by Mr. Abe.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Well, we'll have to leave it there. We really appreciate your analysis. Seijiro Takeshita, thank you so much.

TAKESHITA: Thank you. BRUNHUBER: The U.S. is sending extra firepower to help Ukraine push

back against the Russian invasion. Next, more powerful long-range weapons heading soon to Ukrainian battlefields.

Plus chaotic scenes, as tens of thousands of people protest in Sri Lanka. They want the president gone from office.

And a closer look at gun laws in Japan and why such weapons in Japan are so hard to come by. It's believed Shinzo Abe's killer made his own. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Anger over Sri Lanka's economic crisis is boiling over. Hundreds of people broke into the presidential palace after over 100,000 protesters took to the streets, demanding the president resign.

They blame him for economic mismanagement that's led to shortages of food, fuel and medicine. At least 31 people including two officers have been injured, two of them critically.

CNN's Sophia Saifi joins me now from Karachi, Pakistan.

A long-smoldering political powder keg seems to have gone off.

What's the latest?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Kim, what we're hearing from people on the ground, this kind of came to a head early this afternoon. The police curfew that had been in place on Friday evening was lifted at 8:00 in the morning.

The whereabouts of the president is unknown. We still don't know where he is. He's been taken away for his own safety, allegedly. We do know that these are scenes of euphoria. These protesters have been camped outside the presidential palace for months, calling for him to resign, calling for him to go.

And now you've seen over 100,000. These are incredible scenes of over 100,000 people storming into this iconic presidential palace in the port area of Colombo, right next to the port, right in front of the naval headquarters, just a situation ongoing, coming to a head, like I say, weeks and weeks calling for his resignation. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Scenes of chaos, euphoria, as you say. Some of the scenes there incredible, some protesters swimming in the presidential swimming pool. But explain what's behind all of this anger that's been going on for quite some time.

SAIFI: Yes, Kim. There has been a complete and utter breakdown of Sri Lanka's economy. The country was announced as being bankrupt a couple of days ago. There had been talks with the IMF. Nothing had come forward.

There's been a fuel crisis. There's been a food crisis. There's been a medicine crisis. It's the worst crisis the country has faced in over several decades, a country that had been battered by what happened during the pandemic because of what happened and the global-wide trends that forced this to happen.

The kind of protests we've seen in Sri Lanka have been unprecedented. They've been spread out throughout the country. These are people who have been nonviolent, have been united, have been very organized and, again, we've seen these scenes unfold in the capital city. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: We'll stay on top of these stories. Sophia Saifi, thanks so much.

Ukraine says emergency services are on the scene right now after a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv. Officials say a missile hit a residential area this morning, leaving at least four people injured.

This came after Russian strikes on 14 settlements in the past 24 hours. Ten houses in Mykolaiv were damaged. It's unclear if there were any casualties. This video of fires that was said to have been caused by Russian artillery earlier this week, Ukraine say it's destroyed a Russian ammunition stockpile in Kherson.

Four more advanced U.S. rocket systems will soon be on their way to Ukraine, part of a new batch of military aid was announced Friday. Washington had already promised eight other HIMARS systems and some are already on battlefields.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was quick to thank the White House, posting on Telegram, "Let's go to victory together."

Our Scott McLean is keeping an eye on all developments in Ukraine. He joins us live from Kyiv.

Scott, first of all, the latest on the strikes, what more can you tell us?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, this is in the city of Kharkiv. Our colleagues are on the ground there. A two-story building is absolutely obliterated. There's a crater in the ground as well. Local officials say when the air raid sirens go off, you need to take cover.

Truthfully if people were inside the building when the missiles struck, it's not certain there was all that much protection, a reminder that the Russians can strike almost anywhere in the country.

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MCLEAN: The northern part of Ukraine, though, near Kharkiv, has been an area of success for the Ukrainians. They've been able to hold the line, even take back small bits of territory as well.

It's been a much different story in Donbas. Now the Russians are in control of the Luhansk region, except small pockets of resistance. Now they are intensively shelling the Donetsk region.

This morning we know some people have been injured in Donetsk, as the Russians step up their strikes in that region. Ukrainians say they're still trying to get across that administrative boundary between Luhansk and Donetsk. And they're only having limited success in crossing it.

So it seems they're resorting to bombing and shelling the towns and villages on the other side.

In the southern part of the country, Kim, that's where President Zelenskyy visited yesterday. He visited the troops and the hospital in Dnipro to rally the troops, perhaps ahead of a renewed Ukrainian push to take back territory in that area.

Ukrainians are claiming they've taken out a cache of weapons or cache of ammunition in the Kherson region. In Mykolaiv, there have been houses hit. That has been a huge stronghold for the Ukrainians. It seems like that is the wall the Russians had hit as they tried to move west along the Black Sea, really unable to get past that area.

The Ukrainians, particularly the deputy prime minister, is warning people in the Kherson region next door and in Zaporizhzhya in the south to evacuate if you can, because, of course, Ukrainians say, look, we're going to deoccupy this area and it's going to be some pretty bloody battles.

They're saying if you can't leave, you should obviously take shelter and, if you can, go by any means, even it means going via Crimea or Russia.

BRUNHUBER: For the Ukrainians, more help is on the way with those American rocket systems.

What difference are they expected to make?

MCLEAN: President Zelenskyy has said in the past these rocket systems are exactly what Ukraine needs right now. You remember they had made the decision in the Luhansk region to withdraw in part because they didn't have the heavy artillery to compete with Russians.

In fact, when my colleague went to the front lines in the past, they said, for every shot we're taking, the Russians are taking 10 or 20. So they could have stuck around. But it would have taken an enormous human toll.

So the HIMARS systems, these high-mobility artillery rocket systems, have a much longer range, can shoot with more precision. They say they've been using them to target supply lines, like ammunition depots and weapons depots to make it harder for the Russians to move forward.

But they're going to need a lot more of those systems before they can launch any type of serious offensive to actually retake the Luhansk region, which they're bound to do. The president said the Ukrainians are not going to cede any territory to the Russians; they plan to take back every square inch, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Scott McLean. Really appreciate it.

Joining me now is Daniel Treisman, a professor of political science at UCLA and the co-author of "Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century."

Thanks so much for being here. I want to talk about Putin's speech, when he said, quote, "We haven't yet started anything serious in Ukraine."

He talked about the war, fighting to the last Ukrainian.

What do you make of this?

Is it your average Putin tough talk or can we read anything more into his recent hawkish threats?

DANIEL TREISMAN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA/LOS ANGELES: Well, President Putin sometimes says exactly what he thinks and sometimes he says exactly the opposite of what he's really thinking. I think it's the second option in this case.

The Russian military is very aware of having suffered serious losses. Most analysts think really during the last stage of what they'll be able to accomplish before they get -- or until they get more reinforcements of fresh troops.

And they're really desperately trying to consolidate control over the whole Donbas. So far, they have Luhansk but there's also the rest of Donetsk.

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TREISMAN: So I think in brief it's suggesting they're much more confident than they actually are.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, that's what Ukraine's president said as well.

Now to consolidate those gains, as you said, Russia has been attacking residential areas without any concern for civilians. CNN recently spoke to the U.N. ambassador at large for global criminal justice, who said there's no way Putin and his leadership can argue they were unaware of the crimes committed in Ukraine, based on, quote, "the pattern of abuses, it's hard to conclude these are the acts of rogue individuals or rogue units."

Do you agree, are these atrocities are part of Putin's plan?

TREISMAN: Well, the scale is so great, there's just no way these are all accidents happening, despite the best intentions, the force he is fighting. Of course, it appears it's a deliberate strategy of intimidating and terrorizing the civilian population.

And we could add to that, of course, something which has not been reported as much, the mass deportation of innocent Ukrainians to parts of Russia, to the far east of Russia.

Often they are (INAUDIBLE) and attempts at some kinds of sinister re- education. And 10,000 people are missing and hundreds of thousands have apparently been deported. So the appearance of war crimes is just overwhelming at this point.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And then domestically in Russia it seems as though Putin's cracking down even further on dissent and not just against people once considered leading activists but people we might consider to have independent voices, even to the point of arresting academics, sports figures.

Even one economist who said the war was, quote, "a necessary decision."

What's behind this, do you think?

TREISMAN: He's going after the elite. He wants everybody to know it's not enough just not to speak out against the war. You have to be positively for it. People have to be confident that you're really behind the policy.

So what we've seen is the arrest of Vladimir Mau, a highly respected economist, head of a Russian university, charged with supposedly fraud. As you mentioned, the action taken against Ivan Fedotov, the hockey goalie, who was going to go and play for the Philadelphia Flyers, which was apparently viewed as not sufficiently patriotic.

And so he's been conscripted and sent off to a military base to serve his military service. It's really, I think, an attempt to show people that, no matter how secure you may feel or how elite your status is, you had better be actually loyal every day.

BRUNHUBER: I really appreciate your time, Daniel Triesman. Thank you so much for being with us.

TREISMAN: My pleasure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The latest from Japan in a moment. The body of assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe returns to Tokyo. We'll learn more about the funeral plans. And then why guns are rarely used in violent crime. Stay with us.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United

States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

We're learning more details on funeral plans for Shinzo Abe, the assassinated Japanese former prime minister. A wake will be held on Monday, memorial service on Tuesday. Crowds lined the streets as the motorcade made its way to his home. Many are telling CNN they're still in a state of disbelief.

Abe's wife traveled with her husband's body from the city of Nara where he was gunned down at a campaign rally. The gunman has now confessed to the killing. The police chief said he can't deny there were problems with Abe's security and authorities are looking into what went wrong and what led to Abe being shot.

The site of the shooting has become a memorial. People have been gathering, bringing flowers, praying and crying. One tribute said the best prime minister in history. Shinzo Abe, thank you. Another said violence is not forgivable.

If there's one word to describe the feelings of people, it's shock, that such a thing could happen in Japan where gun violence is practically nonexistent.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): There are many gun crimes happening abroad but I never imagined it would happen in Japan and that a former prime minister would die that way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is not the United States, so I am in shock and he was only delivering a speech for the upper house election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I didn't have that much of a negative impression of Abe. And I wondered if he deserved so much grudge but I know there are many people on the internet who criticize him.

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BRUNHUBER: Japan has among the fewest shootings in the world. This is why, to get a gun, buyers have to attend an all-day class, pass a written test, a shooting range test, get mental health and drug tests and undergo a major background check.

Last year, gun violence claimed the lives of some 45,000 Americans. In Japan, the death toll from guns was 1. And there were only 10 instances nationwide involving firearms. Mostly were gang-related, according to the national police agency.

CNN's Randi Kaye takes a look at Japan's strict gun laws and how they compare to those in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Japan, this is a rare sight. Guns are hardly ever seen here and rarely used in violent crime. Last year, according to the country's National Police Agency, there were fewer than a dozen shootings in Japan and just one gun related death.

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KAYE (voice-over): That's in a population of about 125 million people. Compare that to the United States, which has more than double the population and saw 20,944 gun related deaths last year. That does not include the more than 24,000 suicides last year.

Why such a stark difference between the two countries?

Strict gun laws: in Japan, handguns are outlawed. In fact, Japan's firearm laws only allow for the sale of shotguns and air rifles.

This man told CNN air guns are enough for him, saying it's similar to a real gun.

And this student said he wouldn't be comfortable with a real gun even if he could buy one.

Buying a gun in Japan takes time and lots of patience. To qualify for a firearm license in Japan, you must attend an all-day class, pass a written test and score at least 95 percent accuracy on a shooting range test.

A mental health evaluation and drug tests are also required. Mandatory background checks include a review of the purchaser's criminal record personal debt, connection to organized crime, if any, and relationships with family and friends.

This former police officer told CNN it took him 40 days to be approved for a gun purchase.

"This is a tool that can end someone's life. There should be a strict screening process," he said.

In Japan, new gun owners must also register their weapon with police and provide details to law enforcement about where the gun and ammunition are stored, in separate locked compartments, as required by law.

Japanese police also inspect your gun each year and gun owners have to retake the class and the exam to renew their license every three years. All of this has kept the number of private gun owners in Japan to a minimum.

In 2017, this small arms survey shows only an estimated 377,000 guns were owned by civilians in Japan. That was just 0.25 guns per 100 people, compared to about 120 guns per 100 people in the U.S.

Because private firearm ownership is so low, most of the gun violence in Japan is linked to the Yakuza, the Japanese criminal network. Of the 10 shootings last year, police say the Yakuza were responsible for eight of them -- Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

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BRUNHUBER: The world is paying tribute to Japan's fallen former leader in ways great and small. Current Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida praised him for his political success.

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FUMIO KISHIDA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have lost a great politician, who has made great achievements in various fields in order to open up the future of this country. I am deeply saddened that we lost him this way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Biden went to Japan's embassy in Washington, D.C., Friday and signed a condolence book for the Japanese people. He ordered flags to be flown half-staff in honor of the man he called friend.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd like to say just a few words about the horrific, shocking killing of my friend, Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo.

Service to his country and his people was in his bones. Even after he stepped down for public office to focus on his health, he stayed engaged. He cared deeply and I hold him with great respect.

I'd appreciate it if you could join us in observing a minute of silence and silent prayer for Mr. Abe Shinzo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Those were United Nations ambassadors in Geneva, Switzerland, standing in silence for a moment in Abe's honor.

We'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: The latest on the mass shooting in the 4th of July parade in the U.S. The parents of Robert Crimo III now have a new lawyer, who vows they'll try to cooperate with the investigation.

Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and is held without bond. Prosecutors say more charges are expected. Meanwhile as the people of Highland Park try to come to terms with the tragedy, family members are burying their loved ones. And an 8-year-old boy who was shot is now paralyzed.

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JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first three services were held today for the victims of the July 4th parade shooting in Highland Park, a memorial for 63-year-old Jacki Sundheim, a funeral for 88-year-old Stephen Straus and a funeral for 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza.

For those recovering from the massacre, healing is a long way away.

Eight-year-old Cooper Roberts, his twin brother, Luke, and their mother, Keely Roberts, a local superintendent, were all injured that day. Cooper was struck in the chest and his spinal cord severed. He underwent several surgeries and is now in serious condition, paralyzed from the waist down.

ANTHONY LOIZZI, ROBERTS FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: Keely and her husband, Jason, the parents, are just so 100 percent focused at being on Cooper's side right now. Keely herself was shot twice in the leg and had several surgeries. She demanded to be discharged so that she could be with her son, Cooper, who was at a different hospital.

CAMPBELL: Today, Cooper was briefly conscious, the first time since he was hospitalized. He has been removed from a ventilator and has been asking to see his brother, Luke, who was injured by shrapnel, and his family dog, George.

The family spokesperson says Cooper had to be sedated again today because he's in so much pain but said he doesn't appear to have suffered any brain damage.

LOIZZI: Everybody obviously knows it will be a long road with a lot of therapy and treatment and potentially more surgeries. Then it is going to be a new normal for him moving forward. Obviously, he won't be able to walk. He was a very active little boy, active in soccer, baseball, loved sports.

CAMPBELL: Cooper is the youngest victim on among the dozens injured in the shooting. The wounded ranging in age from 8 to 85.

Now the traumatized residents of Highland Park are beginning to reemerge after the shooting that killed seven people and injured at least 30 one more and devastated an entire community.

CHIEF LOU JOGMEN, HIGHLAND PARK POLICE DEPARTMENT: In an event like this, the horror and the pain caused on our community, you know, you can try to look clearly as a human being for something moving forward, right?

We are concerned about the community.

[05:45:00]

JOGMEN: We take it very personally.

CAMPBELL: Highland Park police chief Lou Jogmen was at the parade with his family when the gunmen opened fire.

JOGMEN: It went from a beautiful day to complete chaos. Noise was bouncing off the buildings. People were pointing in different directions.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Law enforcement is still investigating the shooting but the yellow barricade tape may come down as early as this weekend. And the sidewalks here will be open once again.

CAMPBELL: Now even after these police vehicles depart and the crime scene tape is removed, authorities say their investigation will continue. They're still working to determine the motive in the shooter.

The police chief tells me he knows there is one simple but important question that members of this community are asking, why, why did this happen here in this community? -- Josh Campbell, CNN, Highland Park, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Families of the victims of the Texas school shooting remain furious over the police response. That's after a report said an armed Uvalde police officer spotted the gunman outside the school before the attack and asked for permission to fire. But a supervisor either didn't hear the request or responded too late.

The Uvalde mayor is blasting the report, saying it doesn't give an accurate account of what happened. He issued a statement saying no police officers saw the shooter prior to him entering the school and no officers had any opportunity to take a shot.

He added that an officer saw someone outside and was unsure who he saw and observed children in the area as well. Ultimately, it was a coach with children on the playground, not the shooter.

The gunman fatally shot 19 young students and two teachers inside a classroom before authorities got inside and shot and killed him more than an hour later. The family of one of the teachers spoke to CNN's Shimon Prokupecz and called the responding officers "cowards." Listen to this.

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VELMA DURAN, SISTER OF IRMA GARCIA: Of all the lies, the deceitfulness from the beginning, it was just like putting salt on an open wound. It's just really hard because there's just so much suffering and it's hard to grieve when there's no closure.

CRISTIAN GARCIA, SON OF IRMA GARCIA: One thing I want for those officers that were in those hallways, I want them to resign.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: So you want all those officers gone that were in the hall?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. DURAN: Yes.

GARCIA: My mom protected those kids but no one protected her. So the whole police department here are cowards.

JACINTO CAZARES, FATHER OF IRMA GARCIA: My daughter was a fighter. She took a bullet to the heart and still fought. She fought hard to stay alive and these cowards couldn't go in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: This latest report on the police response was based on school video, body cameras, radio logs and officers' testimony. Reports from the FBI, Texas Rangers and the district attorney are also expected.

We'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: On the U.S. West Coast, fires are threatening parts of California. On Friday, evacuation orders were issued in Yuba County and lifted several hours later. By the afternoon, the Bay fire burned around 25 acres and was 60 percent contained.

Authorities say power is also out for more than 600 customers. Officials say another wildfire is threatening the famed giant sequoia tree grove in California's Yosemite National Park. Campgrounds had to be evacuated Thursday while firefighters tried to contain the blaze.

The Washburn fire is estimated at 60 to 70 acres so far.

Yosemite isn't the only U.S. park at risk. Climate change poses a very serious threat to most of the parks. Rene Marsh has that story.

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

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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.

We are wearing these nets because so much water here. It's standing water. The mosquitoes are really bad.

MITCHELL: The 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 curbed. Rising tides threaten places like this cemetery for freed Black people in Tubman's community.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over time, these low-lying areas that were a part of the important trails that allowed people to escape at that time will be lost in some places.

MARSH: More than 70 percent 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 growths.

Wildfires and extreme heat have forced California's Yosemite National Park to close several times in recent years.

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MARSH: Meanwhile, Glacier National Park in Montana is rapidly losing its namesake feature. This is the 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 repeat 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 is teamed up with the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to fight the growing impacts of climate change.

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 in 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.

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BRUNHUBER: That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For our viewers, "NEW DAY" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "CONNECTING AFRICA."