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Investigation Underway After Violent Arrest Of Black Man In Tennessee; Parts Of Tomorrow's NYC Triathlon Shortened Due To Dangerous Heat; Tulsa Leaders Declare Heat Emergency As Temps Hit Triple Digits; U.S. Secret Service Scrutinizing Phones Of 10 Agents; President Biden Improving, Still Taking Additional Meds To Treat COVID-19; Uvalde Cancels Vote On School Police Chief Arredondo's Job Status. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired July 23, 2022 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:35]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. We begin this hour in Tennessee where stunning video has captured the violent arrest of a 25-year-old black man following a failed traffic stop. An investigation is under way into why two police officers chased Brandon Calloway into his own home after he allegedly ran a stop sign.

The officers beat Calloway bloody with a baton and tased him, all of it caught on cellphone video obtained by CNN from Calloway's girlfriend.

And we do want to warn you that what you are about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop. Stop. Stop.

Brandon, Brandon, Brandon.

Stop hitting him. Stop hitting him. Stop. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.

Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop it. Stop. Why are you taking him and hitting him? He has no weapon. He has no weapon. Why are you taking him?

He's beating him and taking him. He has no weapon, sir. There's no weapon. They're being aggressive. I have all of this on video.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. Hang on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I need to record this. No. You will not get me to -- don't put your hands on me. Do not put your hands on me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am -- (INAUDIBLE). But I have to do (INAUDIBLE) What was that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring your iPhones on you. I need to call my mom. I need to call his mom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground.

BRANDON CALLOWAY, ARRESTED BY POLICE: I didn't do nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground. Get on the ground now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look how they're doing him.

CALLOWAY: I'm bleeding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop hitting him. Stop resisting, Brandon, stop resisting. Brandon, just stop resisting. Just stop. Just stop. No.

Just get on the ground. Get on the ground, Brandon. Get on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get off of his neck. Get off of his neck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, this happening in Oakland, Tennessee. And again, Tennessee authorities now investigating all the circumstances surrounding what was caught on videotape there. At the center of it all, Brandon Calloway who was stopped for an alleged -- allegedly running a stop sign.

All right. Let's talk about all of this now. Joining us right now is Ed Davis. He's a former police commissioner for Boston.

All right. Commissioner, what do you think of what you're seeing in this video?

ED DAVIS, FORMER BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good morning, Fredricka. My apologies, I could not hear your question. The audio broke up on me.

I can tell you what I saw is very disturbing. And I've been involved in scores of arrests where people don't want to be arrested. And it's never a scene that looks good for anybody. So it's terrible to see this.

But when you look at the facts in this case, where this stemmed from a motor vehicle violation, and you had, you know, a situation where there was a pursuit and then someone seeking refuge in their own house, there's an old saying in law enforcement that bad cases make bad case law, and this is one of those situations.

You would like to think that if this incident occurred and the officers asked for supervisory assistance at the scene, the supervisor would team back with them and not necessarily conduct an immediate entry into the house like we saw with guns drawn and everything.

It's a motor vehicle violation, it's a misdemeanor, not a felony. And there's definitely room for teaming back, going to court, getting a warrant, things like that. It's terrible to see this happen.

WHITFIELD: And the images that we were seeing, the young man in the suit and then sometimes on a rooftop, those are pictures of Brandon Calloway and those images supplied to us and other news organizations. But you see who the gentleman is at the center of now being taken down by police in his home.

So I wonder if you could then give us an idea, what are the circumstances in which police can pursue you into your home without a warrant?

[11:04:56]

DAVIS: I'm so sorry, I was not able to hear a word that you just said. However, the only other point I would like to make, if you would give me a second to do that, would be that I've been involved in motor vehicle pursuits before. There's a lot of psychology involved in these cases.

It's dangerous for the individual who is being stopped. It's dangerous for the officers who are driving at high speeds and trying to catch somebody who is not, you know, relenting to their commands.

I thought that the woman's comments in this videotape were exactly right. She was advising either her son or brother to submit to the officers, to lay down, and to just go to court, just end up going to jail, because it's the controversy -- the refusal to submit, the fighting that goes on.

Now, it's hard to justify that in someone's house. It's hard to justify that when people are seeking refuge in their own home and your only on a misdemeanor charge.

But I can tell you that the psychology of it needs to be studied and officers need to back down in these situations.

Again, my apologies for not being able to be responsive to your question, I just cannot get the audio at all, my apologies.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Understood, Commissioner. So you still cannot hear my questions right now?

DAVIS: I'm sorry, I can't hear.

WHITFIELD: Ok. All right. Well, Commissioner Ed Davis, we're going to take a break. We'll see if we can work it out so that you can actually hear the questions, although it was important to hear what you have said based on the video that you've observed along with us.

So Ed Davis, stand by, we're going to try and work it out. And everybody at home, stand by, we're going to try and work out that audio. All right. Meantime, a suspect is in custody for the murder of a

missing University of Mississippi student. Authorities have arrested and charged 22-year-old Sheldon Timothy Harrington Jr. with the murder of Jimmy J. Lee.

Missing student, 20-year-old Lee, was last seen on July 8th as he left an apartment complex near the campus. His car was found a few days later at a tow lot and Lee's body has yet to be recovered. But police say they are working to locate his remains. No motive for the killing was given.

All right. Still ahead, wildfires are exploding in size out west and scorching land near Yosemite National Park. The flames fueled by record-high temperatures that are sprawling across the nation right now.

Plus we're expecting to get new details about President Biden's health as he continues to isolate at the White House with COVID. What we know about his condition, straight ahead.

[11:07:38]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Scorching, dangerously high temperatures are going to bake much of the country this weekend, with areas from the central U.S. to the northeast possibly seeing record highs in the triple digits.

And today, more than 85 million Americans are under heat alert. And that extreme heat is fueling wildfires out west.

The Oak Fire in Mariposa County, California exploded in size last night. It has burned more than 4,300 acres near Yosemite National Park and is zero percent contained.

And the extreme heat in the northeast has forced organizers to postpone tomorrow's Boston triathlon. New York City's triathlon will go on but with some changes.

Our Polo Sandoval joins us from New York. So Polo, how are organizers going to keep participants safe in the heat?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Fred, that triathlon, still scheduled to go down tomorrow morning but what they did is essentially scaled back the distance of both the running and the cycling portion for the roughly 2,000 if not more participants of that yearly event, draws in the crowd from all over the world.

The concern is about heat related illness. And that's why city officials have taken that step because of this historic weather conditions and that oppressive heat that's scorched the south, but now it's our turn here in the northeast.

We said it was hot this week. For at least the last couple of days, it's only going to get hotter according to forecast. They're expecting a high here in New York City in the upper 90s, will feel definitely going into the triple digits. That's why some of the tiniest of New Yorkers are keeping cool this way.

Here is how some other New Yorkers are trying to stay cool as the temperature gets extremely hot the next couple of days and peaks tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yesterday was unbearable. You take out that little bit of humidity, you know, it becomes bearable. Got to stay hydrated, though. That's the key.

About to take a nice ride uptown, air condition is always welcome in heat like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: That gentleman definitely keeping cool and positive. But here's the thing though, Fred, what's concerning for officials is that this kind of weather certainly has already proven to be deadly down south.

Dallas, Texas, just this week reported its first heat-related death of the year. In Arizona, officials have already recorded nearly 30 heat- related deaths since March already.

So there is certainly a concern there and that's why cooling centers are open, not just here in New York City. Boston, Philadelphia -- just really throughout the northeast. You're seeing city officials take those steps to make sure that people are safe as possible as that temperature really ramps up today and tomorrow when we finally get some relief next week perhaps.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Definitely very dangerous heat. People, take the precaution -- hydrate, hydrate.

Polo Sandoval, thank you so much. That New Yorker you talked to, that is one cool cat for sure.

All right. So this heat wave has caused triple-digit and record high temperatures across Oklahoma this week. Leaders in Tulsa declared a heat emergency. In fact joining us right now is Joseph Kralicek, director of the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency. So good to see you.

So what are the biggest concerns, how do you keep people cool?

[11:14:54]

JOSEPH KRALICEK, DIRECTOR, TULSA AREA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Thank you for having me to talk about this important issue, Fredricka.

This is really one of the things that we recognize in Oklahoma is the heat is the number one weather-related killer across the United States. It far surpasses any other natural disaster we have. Oklahoma is well-known for our severe weather. So taking the fact that we try to take heat just as seriously as we do tornadoes and ice storms, should really kind of help drive home the fact that this is a very important issue.

And so what we really do here is we begin planning and getting ready for the heat early on in the spring where we bring together what's called our Extreme Temperature Planning Group. It's made up of different groups including our public utility companies, our first response community, our homeless shelter providers, outreach teams -- just anybody who might be a stakeholder in the heat response, to prepare and plan for coordination and coordinated efforts.

WHITFIELD: So what does that mean?

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So if today you're expecting about 102 degrees and possibly 108 tomorrow, all of that planning, what does this mean? Handing out fans to some households? How do you make sure that those who have air conditioning perhaps, that things are still running in this kind of heat? I mean what are the steps that you say have been taken? What are you doing for people?

KRALICEK: That's a great question. There's a very broad range of activities that are going on throughout the community. In addition to the multiple cooling stations that we've opened up throughout the community, we have outreach teams going out into area homeless camps, making sure that those folks are aware that there are places to cool down, handing out water, giving rides to the encampments, checking on -- just making sure everybody there is doing well.

Additionally, we have our community service council here has a program to give out air conditioners. Salvation Army is giving out free fans. Our public utility company has ceased disconnections due to nonpayment until the heat emergency has ended.

And so really, it's a very broad ranging set of activities throughout the community that really altogether come to create an overall system that really limits the amount of deaths that we might see from this.

WHITFIELD: Gotcha.

KRALICEK: It's been a very successful program.

WHITFIELD: Oh that's good. Now, are you also receiving a lot more emergency calls? If so, what are people saying?

KRALICEK: We have seen a large uptick in our calls related to heat illness, unfortunately. So we've got a lot of -- typically we're -- the numbers that we see now are what we see by the end of August. And so we're about three to four weeks ahead of our normal expected call volume related to heat.

And so we're really out there pushing the message for hydration. If you have to go outside wear loose, light-colored clothing, take frequent breaks, have a buddy with you so you can kind of keep an eye on one another. Check on your neighbors and their pets. And ultimately if you can, stay inside in an air conditioned space. Staying inside in air conditioning is going to be the number one way that you can prevent any sort of heat-related illness.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. All right. Joseph Kralicek, thank you so much and all the best through this ongoing heat wave.

KRALICEK: Thank you for your time.

WHITFIELD: All right. When will the U.S. catch a break from this heat?

Let's go now to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar for that answer. Do you have a definitive one for everyone?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think that's it. For some regions it could happen as early as 48 hours from now, but unfortunately for others, a week from now your temperatures are still likely to be in the triple digits.

So let's break it down. Here is a look at the overall map showing where we have the heat advisories -- excessive heat watches and warnings. And you can see, we're talking over a dozen states right now dealing with those heat alerts.

And the thing is, going forward, a lot of states have yet to even peak. Take for example Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston -- they all don't peak until we get to tomorrow. The forecast for Boston on Sunday, 98 degrees. If we make it that high, it will end up breaking a nearly 90-year-old daily record. And it's one of over 30 locations that has the potential to break record highs either today or tomorrow.

Now, some areas are going to get a little bit of relief. Omaha, Chicago, St. Louis. Give it a couple more days after we get these storms that roll through, you'll see at least temporary break.

Other areas -- Oklahoma City, Dallas, you've got triple-digit temperatures in the forecast for at least the next five days. And you're going to start to see a shift. We're going to start to see well above average temperatures in the Pacific Northwest in the coming days.

Take a look at Seattle, 76 today, not too bad, get out enjoy it. Because by next week you're looking at several days in the 90s. And we've talked about this before. Folks in the Pacific Northwest, not everyone has air conditioning. So multiple days like that where you have that extended heat, it can take its toll.

[11:19:55]

CHINCHAR: We've talked about a little bit of a break in the Midwest. That's because of these severe thunderstorms. You have Minneapolis, Des Moines, Chicago, Detroit, Columbus -- yes, Fredricka -- that will be getting a break but it comes at the cost of tornadoes, large hail and the potential for damaging winds.

WHITFIELD: Gosh. All right. Well, thanks for the warnings. Appreciate that. Allison Chinchar, we'll check back with you.

All right. Coming up, the U.S. Secret Service is under growing scrutiny. Investigators have connected ten personnel to the missing text messages surrounding the January 6th insurrection. Details on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:24:56]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

The January 6th Committee says there will be more hearings in September. This week's prime time hearing revealed some of the most damning details and testimony yet, illustrating former President Trump's refusal to call off the attack on the Capitol.

Meantime, there's growing scrutiny surrounding missing texts from the U.S. Secret Service on and around the day of the insurrection.

CNN is learning new information on the investigation. CNN's Evan Perez joining us right now. So Evan, what more can you tell us about that?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, one of the big mysteries has been is whether what exactly were behind or inside these text messages that the Secret Service says were lost during a migration of new phone devices. And what we've learned in the last day, thanks to reporting from Whitney Wild, is that there's metadata that indicates that there were -- that there were messages from at least ten of 24 people that the Homeland Security inspector general was interested in getting messages from.

And so we know ten people -- at least those ten people -- there's metadata indicating there were messages sent and received. There were another ten people who there were no messages. And three who they found that they were personal messages only.

Now the scrutiny and the focus really is on trying to figure out a way to retrieve those messages that we know there were messages sent and received, and find out what exactly was going on.

Obviously the Homeland -- I'm sorry -- January 6th Committee is very interested in messages that were sent before and during January 6th to see whether they tell us anything about what was being done at the White House to manage the situation and the security around the president and the vice president.

Those are still very key questions that the January 6th Committee says they want answered perhaps before they come back for future hearings in September, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And then there's the issue of Steve Bannon, a former strategist --

PEREZ: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- for President Trump, found guilty of criminal contempt of Congress on Friday. Now what?

PEREZ: Well now he's going to stretch this out. We know that he's scheduled to go to sentencing in October. But he says and his lawyers say that they're going to appeal. And so that means this is possibly an appeals process that could take us into next year, next summer by the time this is said and done.

You know, from the beginning, you remember Steve Bannon arrived at court with a live streamer, he has tried to make a show of this entire process. And so we can expect that's going to continue until there's a final decision from the appeals court perhaps next year, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Evan, stay with us. I want to bring in now Michael Zeldin. He is a former federal prosecutor and host of the podcast "That Said with Michael Zeldin". Michael, good to see you.

I want to ask you about Steve Bannon in a moment but first let's go back to, you know, this week's prime time hearing. What do you believe the big picture takeaways were?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, from a legal standpoint, there's a lot of political issues that were brought front and center to the United States listening public. But from a legal matter, I think what they presented was, in my mind, for the first time a viable criminal prosecution for incitement. Meaning that Donald Trump knew that there was an armed and angry crowd. He knew that they were hanging on his every word. They knew that their -- he knew that their strategy depended on Pence not certifying.

When Pence failed to do what Trump wanted him to do, he then sends this tweet at 2:24 essentially giving them permission to act. It seems to me that that tweet, under these circumstances, amounts to criminal incitement. There is a specific statute in the District of Columbia Code and in the U.S. Federal Code on exactly this type of behavior. So for me, as a legal analyst, that was my biggest takeaway.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And then Evan, back to the U.S. Secret Service messages, the missing ones, and perhaps the, you know, metadata that they might be able to retrieve, is it your understanding that a criminal investigation has indeed already been launched as they continue, you know, to look for information that the January 6th Committee is also hoping to benefit from?

PEREZ: Yes, this is one of the things that we learned from the inspector general, because you know, initially there was this push for the Secret Service to sort of investigate itself, Fredricka.

[11:29:47]

PEREZ: And what we learned in the last couple of days is that the inspector general is saying, don't do that, because that could interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation that they now have -- they're now overseeing.

And so what this means is that the Secret Service says that they're going to cooperate fully with the inspector general. That's been something that the inspector general has said was not happening. They said that the Secret Service was not being forthcoming.

And so we don't know where this goes but it sure sounds like the inspector general believes that there's a possible criminal behavior in the deletion of these text messages.

Keep in mind, Fredricka, the migration of these phones and when the deletion allegedly happened is about a week after the January 6th Committee had sent a preservation order. They had sent a letter telling the Homeland Security Department that everyone, every department, every part of that agency, needed to preserve everything related to January 6th. And that's what they're focused on at this point.

WHITFIELD: And so Michael, you know, the committee overall now has held eight hearings on the insurrection with more planned in September. And at least one committee member believes, you know, kind of what you just said, that Trump has broken the law, part of that has been established, it's now up to the Department of Justice to actually hold him accountable. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): We've proven different components of a criminal case against Donald Trump or people around him in every hearing. And I think, taken in totality, this represents the greatest effort to overturn the will of the people, to conspire against the will of the people and to conspire against American democracy that we've ever had, frankly, since the Civil War.

So yes, I think we've proven that. It's up to Justice now to make a decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So then how, Michael, do you see that the committee has assisted in perhaps helping to advance a criminal case against the former president?

ZELDIN: They've taken a lot of evidence. And they have a lot of evidence now to share with the Department of Justice. And the Justice Department will have to figure out what to do with all of that, because they can't -- the Justice Department, that is -- can't just rely on the cherry-picked evidence that the committee decided to show us during these eight hearings, not to say they did that with bad faith, they were trying to summarize it for us.

But DOJ has to look at every word of every deposition taken to see whether or not there is anything in there that undermines the possibility of a criminal indictment being brought.

And so they've got their work cut out for them. We don't know how far the grand jury that the Justice Department has ongoing has gone in acquiring its own set of evidence. But there's still work to be done from a criminal law perspective.

From a political perspective, Fred, I think they've made a terrific case. That's very different, though, than proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt.

WHITFIELD: Is the clock ticking though, you know, Michael, especially as the former president says he may be running again and if he were to run again, does that insulate him, protect him against the DOJ pursuing an investigation?

ZELDIN: Not at all. And Merrick Garland recently said that nothing about the politics of the situation is going to interfere with his judgment as he reviews the law and the facts and makes a charging decision.

So the president may think -- the former president may think that it will impact the DOJ's evaluation of what to do, but the DOJ disagrees, and that's all that matters.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And now, Evan, I know we're ping-ponging all over the place but that's because there's a lot of stuff out there.

PEREZ: So much.

WHITFIELD: So Evan, you know back to Steve Bannon, I mean there's still the issue of what actions Bannon, you know, may have taken with regards to January 6th itself. I mean he warned on his podcast the day before the riot that all hell was about to break out on January 6th.

PEREZ: All hell was going to break lose.

WHITFIELD: And it did.

PEREZ: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So what is the likelihood that he could be indicted again even though you just explained he's trying to appeal the guilty verdict yesterday, but might there be more with, I guess, a widening DOJ investigation?

PEREZ: Well, here's the thing with Steve Bannon. We know that he is a central player in what the Justice Department and what Merrick Garland said in recent days is the most important investigation that the Justice Department has ever undertaken, Fred.

He said that this is the thing that obviously they want to make sure they do right. And in the case of Bannon, we know he was at the Willard Hotel where they were trying to coordinate the effort to get lawmakers to not certify on January 6th. We know that he spoke with the former president.

[11:34:48]

PEREZ: We know the committee says at least on December 30th, we know there were other conversations including the day before January 6th, what were in those conversations?

So at a minimum, we know that Steve Bannon was a central player in this thing that the Justice Department says is now fully under investigation, right? The effort to overturn the election, to not get the certification and then to overturn it.

So at a minimum, he's a central player in that. And also at least a witness -- a major witness. So look, he may have been able to strong- arm the congressional committee, never showing up, never turning over documents. If he gets a subpoena from the FBI, if he gets brought before a grand jury, those claims of executive privilege don't really stand the same standard in a criminal investigation.

So again, at a minimum he's a witness. And possibly more than that should the Justice Department want to hear from him.

WHITFIELD: All right. That was a lot, but you both handled it all. Thank you so much, Evan Perez, Michael Zeldin -- appreciate it.

All right. Well, taking a page out of the Texas new abortion ban bill, California Governor Gavin Newsom is signing a new gun safety bill. It allows citizens to sue makers and sellers of ghost guns and assault weapons which are illegal in that state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): It's time to put them on the defense. You cannot sell, you cannot manufacture, you cannot transfer these illegal weapons of war and mass destruction in the state of California.

The Supreme Court opened the door. The Supreme Court said this was ok. It was a terrible decision. But these are the rules that they have established.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So this new law is modelled after a Texas law which allows citizens to sue doctors and other medical professionals who provide abortion services.

All right. Coming up, President Biden is isolating at the White House after testing positive for COVID. We'll go there live, next for an update on his current condition.

[11:36:59]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This just in, the World Health Organization has declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The decision announced this morning after convening its second emergency committee on the issue. And this is the highest alert level the WHO Can declare.

It details an extraordinary event that constitutes a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response. There are over 1,600 cases reported in 74 countries right now.

All right. The White House says President Biden continues to recover from COVID with mild symptoms. CNN's Jasmine Wright is at the White House for us. So Jasmine, the White House says Biden continues to work while he recovers. What's the latest?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: yes, Fred, that's right. Eight plus hours a day -- that is what the White House says the president is putting in as he recovers from COVID here at the White House.

Now this is day two of five days of isolation that the President is looking at here in D.C. And doctors continue to say that his symptoms are improving, although we're still waiting for an official update from the White House.

Now what we did learn yesterday is that in addition to that Paxlovid antiviral treatment that the president was prescribed on Thursday following his positive diagnosis, we learned that he's also taking additional medications to really treat some of the other symptoms.

Now, in his letter yesterday, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's personal doctor, said that he prescribed him Tylenol for discomfort after the president had an elevated temperature of 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit Thursday evening.

Now, also he said he prescribed him to use his own albuterol inhaler really to treat some discomfort after coughing, you know, a symptom that he had starting on Thursday, the White House said.

Now the White House also said that he is not using the albuterol inhaler regularly, that it is used really intermittently when he has viral symptoms as he does right now. and they pointed back to the fact that he had asthma while he was younger.

Now, while we're still waiting for an official update, we did hear from Dr. Anthony Fauci earlier this morning on CNN where he gave us a bit of an update. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I spoke to Dr. O'Connor last night at 10:00 to get an update. And just as you've said and you heard, the president continues to improve. And we have every reason to believe that he will do very well.

Having a runny nose, having someone who has a history when he does get colds that have nothing to do with COVID. He has a history of asthma and he uses the bronchodilator to make sure he just breathes well. He has no trouble breathing at all right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So there we heard from Dr. Fauci saying that the president is not having trouble breathing. Really that albuterol inhaler is to treat some discomfort from coughing. But again Fred, we are waiting here at the White House for any update on the president's condition this Saturday.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jasmine Wright, keep us posted. Thanks so much.

All right. A school board meeting to consider the firing of police chief Pete Arredondo was called off in Texas. What we know about why it was canceled and why parents of Uvalde school shooting victims say firing the chief is not enough.

[11:44:23]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

A special school board meeting to consider firing Uvalde, Texas school police chief Pete Arredondo is canceled. Arredondo is currently on administrative leave. He's facing intense criticism over his handling of the Robb Elementary School massacre that killed 19 children and two teachers.

CNN's Rosa Flores has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That door, I bet you is unlocked. I bet you it's unlocked.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's moments like these that have the families of the victims of the Uvalde school massacre outraged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We tell them and we tell them and we tell them.

FLORES: And demanding that disgraced Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo lose his job after surveillance video in a Texas House report showed he and hundreds of law enforcement officers responded to the scene --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cover me.

FLORES: -- with some waiting for 77 minutes to stop the shooter. Arredondo told the "Texas Tribune" that he didn't instruct officers not to breach the classrooms.

FLORES: Uziyah Garcia, who went by Uzi (ph) was among the 19 students and two teachers massacred.

BRETT CROSS, UNCLE OF UZIYAH GARCIA: Spider-Man was his favorite superhero.

[11:49:56]

FLORES: His uncle, Brett Cross who was raising him like a son carries his ashes on a bracelet.

CROSS: It's a part of him but it's not his laugh. It's not his smile. It's not his energy. FLORES: This photo of Uzi was taken in Room 111 earlier this year, the

same classroom where he and his classmates were slaughtered.

CROSS: You miss the love. You miss the interactions. The hugs. The -- everything.

FLORES: How do you do it every day?

CROSS: I have to. I have kids. I have Uzi's brothers and sisters that are devastated, that are terrified to go to school, to go out and do things.

Those are our babies. Those are our teachers. And they're no longer here.

FLORES: With the new school year fast approaching Cross went before the school board and gave them a deadline to fire Arredondo, who was placed on administrative leave last month.

CROSS: If he's not fired by noon tomorrow, then I want your resignation and every single one of you board members because you all do not give a damn about our children or us.

FLORES: that was Cross on Monday. So the school board missed its deadline. The school board was scheduled to meet Saturday regarding Arredondo's termination but at his attorney's request, the meeting will be held at a later date.

CROSS: It's too late, too late. So therefore, we're going to start at the top and clean house.

FLORES: Cross and many in the community are calling for the superintendent, the school board and the entire school police department to be replaced.

CROSS: My kids are terrified to go to school. They're hurt. They're devastated. They pose questions that I can't answer.

Why? I mean they ask me why. Why? Why? My other son said, because he wasn't there at school that day, said he wished he would have gone and he could have traded him places.

No kid should have to feel that way. He said, I'm bigger than him. He can't -- I mean he's broken. He's broken. I can't take away his heartache. I can't take away his pain.

FLORES: Murals of Uzi and the other victims are going up around town as the community tries to find ways to heal, cope and remember.

CROSS: It's Spider-Man. Saying I love you in sign language.

FLORES: Cross got a tattoo in Uzi's honor, with 21 birds in the sky, one for each of the victims.

CROSS: Hug your kids a little extra longer. You never know when the last time you're going to get to see them. FLORES: CNN has reached out to Arredondo's attorney and to the school

district about the story and have not heard back. The school district has previously said that they were waiting for the Texas House investigative report to make a determination on Arredondo.

Rosa Flores, CNN -- Uvalde, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Also still ahead, Starbucks no longer wants to be America's public restroom. The company's CEO is considering closing their bathrooms to the general public. What's driving that decision? That's straight ahead.

But first, this quick programming note. From the grasslands all the way up to its ice fields, join CNN, for an epic journey through Patagonia's wild highlands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than 10 million sheep graze the Patagonian grasslands, sheep that are usually protected by gauchos like Mivko Utravesic (ph).

The puma symbolizes the region's wild places. It is horse riding ranchers like Mikvo who personify its frontier spirit. But these two Patagonia icons have had their issues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The puma and the gaucho have always been enemies. There is definitely no friendship there.

If a farmer has a (INAUDIBLE), and a puma gets into the field, it could cause a big loss killing perhaps 20 animals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Incredible. "PATAGONIA: LIFE ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

[11:54:42]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All righ.t This just in to CNN.

The White House is releasing the latest on President Biden's COVID diagnosis.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House for us. Arlette, how is he doing?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, President Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor just released a letter detailing that President Biden's symptoms continue to improve. He gave a little bit more specificity of what the president is experiencing in this moment.

[11:59:56]

SAENZ: Dr. O'Connor said that the president's primary symptoms, he said though less troublesome, now includes sore throat, rhinorrhea, which is nose drip, as well as a loose cough and body aches.