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Bills Take Field In First Game After Damar Hamlin's Medical Emergency; Biden Visits Border For The First Time In His Presidency; Prince Harry's Book "Spare" Set To Hit Store Shelves; Pro-Bolsonaro Supporters Break Into Brazilian Government Buildings; Descendants Of Racist Massacre Victims Mark 100th Anniversary. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 08, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:28]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. Right now, heightened emotions as the Buffalo Bills get back on the field, playing in their very first game since the terrifying collapse of safety Damar Hamlin. And what a way to get started while also rallying around Hamlin's recovery.

Taking the opening kickoff all the way in for a touchdown. The Bills' first opening kickoff score in 18 years.

And tributes for Hamlin continue to pour in. That's happening under way right now. And it happened before the game -- the Bills, their fans, loudly showing their support as Hamlin continues to recuperate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout this week, the entire western New York community, NFL family, and people from around the world have been praying for Damar Hamlin.

Damar's amazing recovery has lifted our collective spirits and we are forever grateful for the love and support Damar's family and friends and our organization have received.

Today, we celebrate Damar's recovery, our love for Damar, and our gratitude. Please rise and show your support as only Bills Mafia can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All so electrifying. Hard to believe. I mean it was just six days ago that Hamlin suffered an on-field cardiac arrest.

And Hamlin sending inspiring messages right now through his social media, including this photo, as he watches today's game from his hospital bed. I can only imagine what that was like for him to see those first few

minutes of the game and see his team score that touchdown.

All right. CNN's Omar Jimenez is in Orchard Park, New York where the Bills game is under way. And CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in Cincinnati where Hamlin continues to recover in the hospital.

So Omar, let's go to you first. It's got to be electrifying, of course, not just in the field but even nearby at any bar, any gathering where people, you know, are watching the game.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. We are at Danny's South right next to the stadium. And we really had just gotten here. We're just getting settled when all of a sudden everybody started cheering.

We looked up as the Bills ran back that opening kick for a touchdown. It almost felt like a sigh of relief that ok, you know what, we're back to football here in Buffalo. And I think it would be an understatement to say it's been a rollercoaster of a week for the city but also especially the players. Take a listen to Josh Allen before the game today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH ALLEN, BUFFALO BILLS: They always say don't play for the name on the back, you play for the name on the front. Pretty special we play for that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) number on the front too. All right. So get one --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And that's really the spirit. They're using Damar Hamlin's continued recovery to motivate them. And look, I mean obviously, it's one thing for the players but also the fans. We're out and about today getting a taste of Bills Mafia, and you couldn't go anywhere without seeing the Damar Hamlin name. And one thing I heard from almost everyone is he's not just a player on the team they like. He is family. Take a listen to some of those fans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOANIE DEKOKER "MAMA J", FAN: I was like crying. I was crying. He's like our family. He's one of us. He's a Buffalo Bill. That's all that needs to be said.

KEN JOHNSON "PINTO RON", FAN: And the whole vibe to this game, you're going to see a lot of energy in the stadium. It's all based on just three words. Did we win? I mean, when I heard "did we win", it was like watching a second "Rocky" movie when Adrian wakes up and says "Rocky, just win it for me".

I mean that changed the entire vibe of the Mafia fan base.

RAMSEY PERRY, FAN: When he started writing and he woke up, and now I'm just like all right, back to football. He's up, he's smiling. He was like "Who won the game?" And I'm like "You won the game of

life." So now I'm ready for football again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And look, we're all fans but shout out to Pinto Ron and Mama J, over 200 consecutive games, hundreds consecutive games, home and away.

And look, here's the thing, I mean you see this cookie, It's a Damar Hamlin cookie. When I say you can't go anywhere without seeing his name, his jersey, his number, anything like that, I really mean it.

And obviously, his spirit is out there with his team on the field today, but also with everyone out here watching as well.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. I mean that feeling is contagious. It's not just in Buffalo. It really is universal. It's everywhere.

And especially there in Cincinnati, where you are too, Adrienne. Thank you so much, Omar.

[14:04:56]

WHITFIELD: So I mean Adrienne, while you know, Omar tells us Buffalo is really motivated by Hamlin, I mean, vice versa. I heard you earlier talking about he's actually tweeting in real time, or at least on social media in real time.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is. And that magnificent touchdown everyone has been talking about, the first 14 seconds of the game, oh, he saw it from his hospital bedroom. And that's where he took to social media to respond.

But he also shared some things with his viewers and his fans for the first time last night on his Instagram page. And I want to read to you what he shared.

Damar said in part, "When you put real love out into the world, it comes back to you three times as much." And following that sentence, the emoji showing the heart symbol. He says "The love has been overwhelming, but I'm thankful for every single person that prayed for me and reached out. We brung (SIC) the world back together behind this. If you know me, you know this is only going to make me stronger."

And I'm reading how he wrote this. And he also says, "On a long road, keep praying for me."

And earlier today, when his quarterback walked through as he was preparing for today's game, Damar tweeted saying that's my quarterback, Josh Allen, wearing a hoodie with the number 3 on it.

And then, before the game even started earlier this morning, Damar posted again on social media, sharing a video as well as a message. There's a song playing behind that video, and the name of that song is called "Count Your Blessings" it's by a gospel choir. And the message he says is -- you can hear some of that song. "Take a look and see what God has done."

And Damar writes, "It's game day. And there's nothing I want more than to be running out that tunnel with my brothers. God is using me in a different way today. Tell someone you love them." And it seems the world loves Damar, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. He's just incredible. I mean, we all knew this beforehand, then during, and it's just -- he's unstoppable. He's so inspiring. And also, what's so inspiring is how people have collectively come together from all places, Buffalo there, Cincinnati and beyond.

Everywhere you look, seeing the 3, the ESPN with their mic flags flipped over and seeing the 3. I mean, it's beautiful, and it's just so touching that he is thinking of others, right in his words of inspiration, in any way he's sharing it.

Thank you so much to both of you. Appreciate it. We're going to check back with you.

Meantime, the other big story we're following is what will be happening at the southern border. President Biden will be landing in El Paso, Texas for his first visit to the southern border since becoming president. And this comes as his administration is under fire from Republicans and some Democrats over the growing migrant crisis along the U.S./Mexican border.

El Paso has seen record levels of migrants and asylum seekers in December, hoping a Trump era law blocking border crossings would be lifting -- lifted, rather.

And we've got team coverage of the president's visit. Arlette Saenz is at the White House. Rosa Flores is in El Paso.

Rosa, let's begin with you. What do we know about the president's visit?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, I have been talking to immigration advocates here in El Paso and they say that they have gone from disappointed to outraged about the president.

But let me show you around while I tell you about it, because I'm in downtown El Paso. This is the Second Ward outside a church and you can take a look around here. This is a makeshift migrant camp that has been out here for several weeks.

Now, why are some of the advocates outraged? Because the president's schedule does not include a stop here, which is what they consider is the epicenter of the migrant crisis in El Paso.

I mean just take a look around. You'll see that there are women, children, men. These are hundreds of migrants who are out here. And what this advocate says is that President Biden campaigned on more humane immigration policies, and that instead of delivering on those policies, what advocates say has happened is that the Biden administration is using Trump era policies to manage the border.

And if you take a look around, these are also scenes they point to, saying that this is what President Biden needs to see to get a sense of what is happening in the United States and specifically on the border. And that's why they say they're so disappointed. Take a listen.

[14:09:52]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FERNANDO GARCIA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BORDER NETWORK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: We are very disappointed. I want to say that. We are disappointed. This was not the promise. And I know they say it's the Republicans.

But we're saying yes, it's the Republicans but also the Democrats. That they had done not enough to actually uplift the call for immigration reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, these advocates also say that the timing of President Biden's visit is also curious because in mid-December, Fred, the number of encounters was as high as about 2,500 per day. And you remember the pictures. There were hundreds of migrants lined up on the Rio Grande in freezing temperatures waiting to turn themselves in to immigration authorities. According to DHS, those numbers have dropped significantly to about 700. Now we have asked the White House for reaction and comment as to why the president is not stopping by here.

Now, my colleague Arlette Saenz is at the White House, Fred, and she'll have more on that.

WHITFIELD: Thank you, Rosa. In fact, let's go to you, Arlette. What is behind, you know, his tour? What's with the timing? And the locations while he's there in El Paso?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it's very clear that President Biden is facing a huge political challenge when it comes to the border. Trying to navigate this issue that really has no immediate solution at hand.

Now, the president has been facing pressure from both sides. And he and his team had really been resisting calls for quite some time to have him visit the border.

Now ultimately, they have decided to go ahead and do that today. Officially, White House say -- officials say that they're doing it en route to Mexico as he is set to speak about migration issues there with the country's president.

But also, aides scheduled this trip as they were aware that not visiting the border increasingly has become a political liability for the president. Now much of this trip has been constructed to try to show that he's paying attention to the issue. White House officials say that he will be visiting one of the busiest

ports of entry in El Paso, as well as meeting with people at a migrant services center to talk about those people who have been working with migrants as they have been coming to the United States.

But what's unclear is whether this visit will really have any concrete outcomes and results when it comes to border security policy. Now, the president is also facing challenges when it comes to the policy itself. He has argued that comprehensive immigration reform is needed to solve some of these migration issues but then he's also rolled out some policies that have now placed him at odds with members of his own party, and have that run counter to some of his campaign promises.

But simply put, this is a very challenging issue that has confronted both Republicans and Democratic presidents, and so far the president has struggled at times to really present a clear solution to the crisis at hand, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Very complicated. All right, thank you so much, ladies. Arlette Saenz, Rosa Flores.

All right. Coming up, Prince Harry's controversial memoir "Spare" set to be released on Tuesday but we already know some of what's in it. That is straight ahead.

[14:13:15]

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WHITFIELD: Prince Harry's much awaited and controversial memoir "Spare" is set to hit the store shelves on Tuesday. The royal family has yet to comment on any of the reported claims from the book including a physical altercation Harry had with his brother, Prince William.

Also, he reportedly wrote about apparent concerns the brothers raised with their father, Charles over the decision to marry Camilla.

And in in his conversation with Anderson Cooper, Prince Harry talked about how he was not ready for the treatment Meghan Markle received in the U.K. particularly by the press.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: What Meghan had to go through was similar in some part to what Kate and Camilla went through. Very different circumstances, but then you add in the race element which was what the press -- British press jumped on straight away.

I went into this incredibly naive. I had no idea the British press was so bigoted. How I was probably bigoted before the relationship with Meghan.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: You think you were bigoted before the relationship with Meghan?

PRINCE HARRY: I don't know. Put it this way, I didn't see what I now see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Max Foster joining me now from London.

So Max, we have heard quite a few revelations from the book already, through printed material and then that little excerpt there. So what are among the things that might surprise people or upset the royal family?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, can you believe that the official sort of pre-publicity hasn't really started? The interviews haven't even played out which were the build-up to a book which goes out on Tuesday. There are four big interviews coming. One on ITV in the UK, CBS his even, ABC tomorrow morning, and then CBS again on Tuesday evening.

And from what we have got so far, and from what I understand to be in them, they all go along the similar narratives that are in the book.

What we have gotten, we have had some clips out like the one you just played. But most of the material we have seen so far comes from a Spanish version of the book, which was released ahead of schedule last week.

So they are based on translations. I'm going to get a copy of the book tomorrow in English. We'll wait to see how those translations actually translated and whether there's more in the English versions of the book. We've also got these two interviews tonight.

So he'll flesh out I think some of the stories within the book. So describing a bit more perhaps about the argument, there's a debate about whether or not Harry wore a beard at his wedding. There's some really salacious detail going right down to how he lost his virginity as well.

[14:19:59]

FOSTER: You know, a lot of people saying this is salacious, but actually it's very telling because what Harry is doing is literally opposite of what royals do. They do not reveal anything about their private lives and he's revealing everything about his private life right back to how he lost his virginity.

And you know, that isn't a fascinating story in itself but it is very telling that he's willing to go that far to expose what he sees as a system, an institution which just didn't work for him.

WHITFIELD: Right, and I don't know if -- if or how it can be answered as to what he gains. You know, what is Harry gaining from this? From his memoir, from telling those stories, those intricate, you know, and intimate moments, and how this, I guess, frees him or fulfills him to be able to share this with the world.

FOSTER: Well, the title of the book is "Spare". He talks a lot about his mother. I think, you know, we have to read into that what we can. Absolute sympathy around the world for what he experienced as a young boy. His mother dying in the way that she did but also in such a public way.

And he talks in the book about how as a young boy he was going out and consoling people and he had wet hands because of the tears. And I think people sympathize with that. But the broader obviously that he was treated as a spare. We'll learn more about that.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Ok. We will indeed and I know you'll bring us as much as you know, Max Foster in London. Thanks so much.

All right. And then this news just in to CNN. Dramatic scenes out of Brazil where a group of pro-Bolsonaro supporters have breached security barriers and gained access to government buildings.

Details on that straight ahead.

[14:21:43]

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WHITFIELD: All right. This breaking news for you right now.

A group of supporters of former Brazilian President Bolsonaro have breached security barriers and broken into the Brazilian supreme court, the presidential palace and congress.

CNN's Rafael Romo is here with more on this. So what do we know about the situation?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENOR LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Yes, Fred. It's looking more and more like what happened here in the United States on January 6th two years ago.

And what happened was that earlier a group of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro managed to breach the barriers established by authorities at the congressional building in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.

It seems to be at this point a situation where there were so many people that they were able to outnumber the police that were there. And we are getting reports that people were able to get all the way into the congressional building and that the few public employees that were there were being threatened if they tried to stop those people from getting in there.

We're looking at these images coming to us from Brasilia right now.

What's going on? Well, the congress is not in session. So there aren't any members of congress that are presently in danger. The president of Brazil, the current president, the new president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva is in Sao Paulo state, so he's not anywhere near this place.

But we also understand, Fred, and this is also very concerning, that protesters have also breached the building of Brazil's supreme court, so it's not only the congressional building but also the supreme court.

Meanwhile, the former president, the man that these protesters are supporting, is here in the United States, Fred, in Florida. He left the country, as a matter of fact, before his successor took office. And he is in Florida right now.

We do not know who these protesters are answering to or who organized this protest, but again, it looks very, very close to what happened in the United States on January 6th two years ago.

WHITFIELD: Oh, it's striking. Has the new president, President Lula Da Silva, said anything? Have there been any expression of concern or worry about governance in Brazil right now?

ROMO: It doesn't seem to be the case so far. It doesn't seem like this situation is going to affect the governance of Brazil. But what I can tell you is that if this situation goes on, it's going to create a situation where legislators are not going to be able to do their jobs.

And one big question right now, Fred, is people are asking what happened to the federal district military police that is in charge of making sure a situation like this doesn't happen. Question right now that remains unanswered.

WHITFIELD: I mean look at these pictures. That's a lot of people.

ROMO: It's a lot of people. And again, it seems to be the main problem here. We haven't seen -- there has been acts of violence but not as violent as January 6th here in the United States.

But just the sheer number of people. So many protesters there that the authorities that were in charge of security were just not able to contain the mass of people that showed up all at once at the congressional building.

WHITFIELD: And I know you mentioned the former president, Bolsonaro was in Florida, you know, while the swearing-in of the new president took place. What is he doing in south Florida? Do we know?

ROMO: Well, supporters of the current president Lula Da Silva would say that he left the country precisely because he did not want to hand over the presidential sash.

It is tradition that the outgoing president be there at the ceremony of the swearing-in ceremony.

[14:30:03]

He decided very much on purpose not to be there. And so, he is vacationing in Florida.

WHITFIELD: Has he been seen?

ROMO: He has been seen, as a matter of fact. There's been images circulating of him at a Publix supermarket in Florida, and he traveled with five aides. He was authorized to travel. But again, many people criticize the fact that he was not there to make sure that an orderly transition of government was carried out.

WHITFIELD: And at the same time, with that distance, he's in the United States, this taking place. But the people here are being described as pro-Bolsonaro supporters.

ROMO: Yeah, and the situation here, and we have to make a little bit of history. Jair Bolsonaro lost the election on October 31st, this was the second round of voting. The results were very close. Bolsonaro lost with less than 2 percent of the vote, but Da Silva got more than 60 million votes. He won fair and square.

But the reality is Brazil is a very divided country. A deeply divided country, does that sound familiar?

WHITFIELD: I was going to say this is a broken record. Just in a different country.

ROMO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

ROMO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

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[14:35:28]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Live pictures right now of President Biden being greeted by Texas Governor Abbott, as the president makes a landing there in El Paso, Texas. He's going to be touring the southern border there, as the city of El Paso grapples with an influx of migrants crossing into the border and he'll be on a tour. He'll be meeting with members of Congress, and city leaders as well.

He's scheduled to spend about three hours on the ground there, visiting various locations. Primarily in and around El Paso and, of course, we'll continue to keep close tabs on his arrival and his journey there. What he sees, and the conversations that take place.

All right. Also, this hour, a tribute to honor those who suffered horrific racial violence a century ago. A ceremony began a short time ago to mark the destruction of Rosewood, Florida, back in 1923. Descendants of some of the survivors on hand for a wreath-laying at the site of the massacre.

For an entire week, the town's Black community was terrorized by a white mob after a woman falsely accused a resident of an assault.

It's a story many have actually never heard of, but as CNN's Nadia Romero shows us, it is a story that should never be forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADIA ROMERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Over the past few years, growing efforts to unearth the tragedies of racial terror against Black Americans by fighting for awareness and atonement.

RAGHAN PICKETT, ROSEWOOD DESCENDANT: It was not a secret. So we always attended the family reunions and it was something that was shared.

ROMERO: Raghan Pickett says her whole life she's heard the dramatic tales of what happened in Rosewood, Florida, in 1923. The town's Black residents under siege by an angry white mob after a white woman said she was assaulted by a Black man. Homes and businesses burned down. Black families lynched, targeted, and torn apart.

One survivor described the horrific events for CBS "60 Minutes" in 1983.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know they killed my aunt and they killed my grand daddy. Made by grand daddy dug his hole, and he ain't have but one arm. But they made his dig his own grave, and he prayed and they shot him backwards in the grave.

PICKETT: How many people died documented, we know seven people, but we know there had to be more. We don't really know exactly where everybody went.

ROMERO: Pickett's great grand uncle a survivor of Rosewood who fled to safety by train. Old newspaper articles speak of Negro homes raided and burned down. Those hiding in the woods fleeing the deadly white mob, calling the lynching and terrorization of the Black residents a, quote, clash between whites and blacks, followed by a special grand jury failing to return indictments.

Florida State University professor Maxine Jones calls it an intentional whitewashing of history to hide the horrors of Rosewood.

MAXINE JONES, PROFESSOR, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY: I think we should feel uncomfortable about certain aspects of our history, but this is our history.

ROMERO: In 1994, Florida Governor Lawton Childs signed a bill to give $150,000 to survivors and scholarships to their descendants like Pickett who now attends college about were 40 miles from where her family's history intersects with the painful past. Many saw the passing of the law as a big moment of reckoning.

JONES: I'm glad the state of Florida acknowledged that Rosewood happened, and decided to compensate the families. Again, you can't put a price on what these people lost, the generational trauma.

ROMERO: Two generations later, Jonathan Barry-Blocker, a descendant of a Rosewood survivor, said his grandfather was separated from his family during the terror. Some family members were never reunited again, burying his painful memories by refusing to ever speak about what happened.

JONATHAN BARRY-BLOCKER, ROSEWOOD DESCENDANT: I didn't learn about his connection to Rosewood until I was 13, when the movie came out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born and raised in Rosewood. This here is my home.

BARRY-BLOCKER: My father sat me down and informed us that -- or informed me that people may ask questions in light of this movie. And I didn't know why. He said, well, your grandfather was involved in it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Colored folks own all the land around here, all the businesses, too.

ROMERO: The 1997 movie "Rosewood." This movie the first time Blocker learned what he says had been haunting his grandfather.

BARRY-BLOCKER: It wasn't a full recounting of events, but the gist was someone lied.

[14:40:03]

Someone can destroy a whole community of lives. Someone actually caused people to lose lives violently and suffer violence. And I just thought that was unconscionable.

ROMERO: Blocker says his grandfather applied for compensation from the state but was denied because he couldn't prove he owned land in Rosewood. Fearing death, Blocker's grandfather along with many other survivors never returned to Rosewood and never reclaimed property and land, a loss back then still impacting their families today.

BARRY-BLOCKER: Did we own land? Could we have owned land? Could we have amassed land? Could we have built wealth?

What would have looked like a generation or two generations down? What opportunities might we have pursued different than what we pursue now. Might we be further along in our generational goals?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMERO (on camera): And, unfortunately, Rosewood is not a unique event. We saw these acts of racial terror against Black communities specifically when you look at the time period of 1917 to 1923. 1919, that summer is coined "Red Summer" because all of the bloodshed that happened during that summer. At least 25 cities in the Deep South and in the north and the Midwest from Florida to Chicago saw angry white mobs attacking Black communities, burning down their homes and businesses, lynching people there as well.

And, Fred, that's a big part of the reason why there's a renewed conversation about reparations. You heard Jonathan Barry-Blocker talking about generational wealth and what was lost, land, property, and that trauma. What is the price to pay? Does it come in the form of an actual check? Is it a scholarship? That's a conversation we're seeing all across the country.

WHITFIELD: Right, those questions still unanswered. Nadia Romero, thanks so much.

Coming up, we're following dramatic scenes out of Brazil. Look familiar? I mean, this is deja vu, but in Brazil. Protesters, supporters of the former president to have taken over government buildings, including the presidential palace and the supreme court. Details straight ahead.

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[14:46:30]

WHITFIELD: All right, back to this breaking news right now. A group of supporters of the former Brazilian president, Bolsonaro, have breached security barriers and broken into the Brazilian supreme court, the presidential palace, and Congress. All of this taking place just eight days after the swearing-in of the new president.

CNN's Rafael Romo is here with more.

It doesn't look like it is dissipating but instead -- now we have mounted police. It looks like it's escalating.

ROMO: It's getting worse, by far. This is tragic because only seven days ago, exactly a week ago, we at CNN in Espanol were broadcasting live the swearing-in ceremony. It's a huge contrast to the images that were getting from Brasilia.

And now, we understand protesters supporting the former President Jair Bolsonaro have taken, have breached all three buildings for the three branches of government in Brazil. Not only the congressional building where they started but also the presidential palace and also the Supreme Court.

We were also looking at images where you see some of these protesters destroying one of the main halls at the Supreme Court building. So this is definitely getting worse. You see there, the mounted police that have showed up, and the reality was that this started because there were so many people there protesting and so few police that they were just outnumbered, and that's what happened.

But when it started it was not at this level of violence, and now it's getting worse and worse. Those images we're looking at now, thesis people are inside the congressional building, looking closer and closer to what we experienced here in the United States two years ago on January 6th, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, sad to say, images are just too familiar, sadly, to people here in the United States and around the world who witnessed on January 6th, just two years ago in the United States on the Capitol, and then you have this image of that individual who is in what appears to be an office or work space.

ROMO: This is actually the hall -- one of the halls at the Supreme Court where we're looking at right now. If there is --

WHITFIELD: But the image of the individual writing the note. People remember seeing that image in Congress on the House floor and in Nancy Pelosi's office, commandeering, note writing, and a similar thing playing out there in Brazil.

ROMO: Very, very similar indeed.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo, keep us posted on things here. Hopefully, it de-escalates but it doesn't look good right now.

All right. Straight ahead, police say an elementary school teacher in Virginia is improving and in stable condition after she was shot by a 6-year-old student. Now, students and the community are grappling with the suspect's young age. I'll talk with a children's therapist next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Catskills are an amazingly wild destination that are only a few hours from the metropolitan area. They have hundreds of miles of hiking trails, restaurants, spas, unique little villages. The first stop you should make is the Catskills visitor center where you can climb the fire tower. They offer 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tannersville is the hub of Catskills region, also known as the painted village in the sky. A local artist encouraged a lot of the businesses to paint their buildings funky colors.

[14:50:00]

Last Chance Antiques and Cheese Cafe has been here since 1971. We expanded since then into full-fledged restaurant and music venue. Whether it's ski season or after a long hike, people come in, like to experience our cheese fondue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we are on 100 acres surrounded by white pine trees. This get away Catskills location is one of our most popular locations. Cabins themselves are 150, 200 square feet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I usually come to the Catskills when I need a break from everything going on. The getaway cabins, they don't have Wi-Fi fee, which I love. It really gives you the chance to disconnect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regardless of the season, we're normally 90, 95 percent occupancy because there's such a desire to explore the region.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:06]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

An elementary schoolteacher who police say was shot by a 6-year-old student is improving and now in stable condition. Police in Newport News, Virginia, say the teacher identified as Abby Zwerner and the student were involved in an altercation and that's when they say the 6-year-old, who had the gun, fired one shot, hitting her. Officials add that this was not an accidental shooting. Richneck elementary school will now be closed tomorrow and Tuesday in the wake of the incident, according to the school's principal. Joining us right now is Jody Baumstein. She is a licensed therapist at

children's healthcare of Atlanta.

So good to see you.

I mean, the mayor of Newport News says the community is grappling. I have a hard time with this one, I mean, who isn't? You don't have to be in Newport News to be trying -- you know, really haunted by this and figuring out what went wrong. How could this have happened?

So what do we say to our young people who are asking, who are fearful about going to their schools because something like this could be happening where they go to school?

JODY BAUMSTEIN, LICENSED THERAPIST, CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE OF ATLANTA STRONG4LIFE: Right. What do you say?

WHITFIELD: What do we say?

BAUMSTEIN: I think it's important to recognize there isn't a magic fix. We want there to be this perfect answer and it doesn't exist. We do need to be honest with them. We need to be real with them.

If there's any possibility that your kid has been exposed, we want to talk about it.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

BAUMSTEIN: And you know, you're talking about fear. Fear is a natural response to this. It's really scary.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

BAUMSTEIN: So what we want to make sure we're doing is letting them know that's normal and expected and not -- there's nothing wrong with them.

WHITFIELD: So, as a parent, you're always trying to shield your children from all the bad things out there. And so at the age of 6, the last conversation you want to have with your 6-year-old, your kid going to first grade, what do you do? Your fears about gun showing up in school.

But now, you have to have that conversation because here is the latest example. Is that your feeling, that you initiate the conversation with your kid who may be as young as 5 or 6 years old, or do you wait for them to come to you about their curious about what just happened?

BAUMSTEIN: Well, again, if they've been exposed in some way we don't want to wait, because kids don't always have the language to tell us. In fact, most of the times they don't. So, what are they going to do? They're going to show us.

And it's really easy to get confused about behavior. So your child isn't listening to you. This happens all the time. What do we say?

You're being difficult. You're being defiant. Why are you giving me a hard time?

So often when we've experienced a trauma, what's happening is the brain is replaying. And there are these intrusive thoughts flooding the brain. So your child might not be hearing you. It's not that they're distracted because they don't want to do it. You're saying they might be distracted because they're thinking about something that they're trying really hard to avoid.

WHITFIELD: Wow. It's their instinct to kind of protect themselves.

So, one student in Newport News, Virginia, described the trauma she experienced during and after the shooting. She told CNN. I'm going to quote her now. I was scared. It was my first lockdown and I didn't know what to do, so I just hid under my desk like everybody else was.

And later, she is revealed that she had trouble sleeping, saying she was worried the shooter still had the gun and he was going to come to my house. I had flashbacks. That's an additional quote.

So what are some of the common responses of trauma? When do you know, just like you were describing, when do you know that this is trauma playing out right now?

BAUMSTEIN: Right. Well, it's going to look really different for every kid. So you will hear some of that. So the nightmares, they're playing it back. It's coming up in a lot of different ways.

Avoidance is another one which is really confusing sometimes. We don't notice it. But I might be avoiding certain things that remind me of it. I might be avoiding talking about it. I might be avoiding people or places or activities I used to love. So that one can be easily misunderstood, I would say.

And then the other thing is this hyper-arousal, this edginess. It can look different again but we might be on edge, irritable, lashing out, very tearful. And what's really important is there are other things that we often don't think of with trauma. So for instance, a child might be doing fine, but they're really busy. They're overly productive. They have become this busy bee if you will.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. They're looking for distractions.

BAUMSTEIN: Yes. There's a big difference between healthy, short-term distraction, which we use as a technique for managing anxiety versus long-term avoidance. When we long-term avoid something, that's going to fuel the anxiety and make it bigger.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

BAUMSTEIN: I know. I know that's overwhelming and at the same time --

WHITFIELD: It makes sense.

BAUMSTEIN: We have to remind parents, you know your kid. You are the expert. Don't forget that. And also, there are people to help you so get a consult, call a crisis

line, talk to a mental health professional to help you tease it out what's normal and what's something to be concerned about.

WHITFIELD: Like you. You just helped a lot of people. So good to see you. Thank you so much.

And thank you, everybody, for being with us this weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The "CNN NEWSROOM" continues right now with Jim Acosta.