Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Father's Day Gun Violence All Across The U.S., High Stakes Talks Between The U.S. And China; Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) Is Interviewed About China And The U.S. Meeting And Much More; Southern Baptists Vote To Ban Women Pastors; Miami GOP Mayor Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race; Senate Recognizes Role Of Dads In Families. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 18, 2023 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. We begin as we often do on weekends telling you about more mass shootings in America. Horrendous acts of gun violence playing out across the country from Washington State to Pennsylvania to St. Louis to Illinois to Georgia and the holiday weekend is far from over.

Let's go first to the Chicago suburb of Willowbrook. One person is dead and at least 22 others injured after gun fire erupted overnight during what witnesses described as a Juneteenth celebration. CNN's Camila Bernal is following these developments for us. Camila, police were reportedly there and left before the shooting got started. What else are you learning?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jim. So, let me explain. What authorities are saying is that this Juneteenth celebration started at 6:00 p.m. and there were law enforcement officers at this celebration. And then at 12:25 a.m., more or less, they received a 911 call and this call was reporting an alleged fight that was nearby. So, these officers that were there were responding to the 911 call when they heard the gun fire.

So, they immediately go back to the Juneteenth celebration, of course, it is chaotic, and now authorities are saying that it's possible that there was more than one shooter. They say an unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds from multiple weapons. And so, it, of course, was chaotic, people were running, trying to get away, trying to find a safe place. Here are some witnesses and what they say happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG LOTTIE, WITNESS: We are all just out and next thing you know shots just got there going off and everybody ran. And yeah, it was chaos.

MARKESHIA AVERY, WITNESS: I've never been in anything like this, honestly. I just have a headache from the whole commotion. All I can do is check on my friends and whether, see if everything was okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: So, authorities now saying that they're going over surveillance video, cell phone video from a lot of these witnesses and victims. In terms of their conditions, authorities saying they don't have an update but the last thing we heard from them was that some had minor injuries while at least two were in critical condition. Unfortunately, according to the gun violence archive, this is now one of 310 mass shootings in the U.S. this year. Jim?

ACOSTA: Al right. And we're only in June. It's extraordinary. All right, Camila, thank you very much.

Now to Missouri where police say 10 teenagers were shot in downtown St. Louis overnight. The teenagers ranging in age from 15 to 19 years old. A 17-year-old died from his injuries and another teen is critically injured after being trampled as people rushed to get away. Police say they recovered several weapons, including an AR-15 style weapon.

Right now, they have a 17-year-old suspect in custody. And joining us now is the mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, Tishaura Jones. Mayor Jones, thanks very much for being with us. Sorry that we have to talk about this on Father's Day. When did you first get news of the shooting? What new information do you have about this?

TISHAURA JONES, MAYOR OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: Yes, thank you for having me, and I was called early this morning by my chief of staff to give me a briefing on what happened last night and it's tragic. Especially with the proliferation of guns in our country how our children now have access to guns and are using them on each other. This is unacceptable.

ACOSTA: And apparently there's a teenage suspect in custody and an AR- 15 style rifle was recovered, is that right? What is going on with gun violence on St. Louis? And how does this, when you mentioned how this is a national issue, it just seems like it's getting worse and worse for communities like St. Louis and others across the country.

JONES: Yes. As the co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns I went to Jefferson City this year to advocate for a bill that would have curbed teenagers having access or young people having access to guns. In Missouri, we don't have any laws when it comes to guns, not even common-sense gun safety laws.

And the Missouri legislature has pre-empted cities from enacting common sense gun safety laws on a local level, which we all know poll very well about red flag laws and universal background checks, all of those, and especially the bill that they didn't take any action on this year would have kept guns out of the hands of minors.

ACOSTA: And what can you do as the mayor of a big city to stop this? Or are you simply at the mercy, it sounds like, you're somewhat at the mercy of what's taking place in the state house?

[17:05:05]

JONES: Well, I choose not to be at the mercy of what happens at the state house. On the local level, I choose to act. We need more upstream solutions. Just last month I convened a crime summit with all of our region's leaders to try to come up with common sense solutions, more upstream solutions like providing more opportunities for our young people so they can stay safe and have fun with their friends.

And so, what we've done in St. Louis is we are going to have our rec centers open later for teenagers to have a safe space to have fun with their friends in a productive manner for the rest of the summer. And we're challenging our other leaders around our region to do the same.

ACOSTA: And do you worry that, as a country, and maybe this is taking place in your community, maybe not, but it just seems like it's taking place across the country, that as a nation we're just becoming desensitized to these types of shootings and that it just -- it's become so common place to see one killed, nine injured in St. Louis? Some 20 shot outside of Chicago, like we're seeing this weekend and so on. Is that part of the problem that people have become desensitized to this?

JONES: That's part of the problem. The NRA and the pockets of the people that we elect to send to Congress to represent us is part of the problem. And the gun industry cannot be held liable, as President Biden said last week when he spoke to a gun safety conference. The gun industry is the only industry that is not liable for the havoc that they're reeking on our cities and on this country. We have to stand up at some point and say enough is enough.

ACOSTA: And I understand you have a teenage son and I'm sure the first thing you do when you hear about a situation like this, this kind of a violent incident, is you just want to give, give him a hug. I mean, here we are on Father's Day and we're talking about mass shootings taking place in communities across the country. What are we doing? How do you raise kids these days in a world that's just -- in a country that's just overrun with guns like we have right now in the United States?

JONES: Yeah, and it's shameful. You know, that's exactly what I did this morning. I woke him up, actually, because, you know, teenagers prefer to sleep in, but I woke him up and I hugged him and said, you know, what do teenagers do? What do you do for fun in St. Louis? And, you know, to go straight to the source to try to get more ideas on how we can help our young people.

And he told me that, you know, sometimes they go to Six Flags, sometimes they go out to eat together or just congregate at someone's home, but when you don't have that option when you're dealing with a city that has a high level of poverty, you have to be creative and think of more options.

So, we have a Mayor's Youth Cabinet that we will be seating this summer. Before (inaudible) also has a youth cabinet. Our congresswoman, Corey Bush, has a youth cabinet. And so, these are going to a part of the discussions as we talk to our young people because they are closest to the problem therefore, they are closest to the solution.

ACOSTA: All right, Mayor Jones, thank you very much for your time. Best of luck to you and St. Louis in getting a handle on this. I know it's a problem in so many cities and communities across this country. Thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

JONES: Thank you for having me.

ACOSTA: All right. And there's more to tell you about this. In Washington State, two people are dead and several others injured following a mass shooting at a campground near an amphitheater last night. The Grand County Sheriff's Office says the suspect shot randomly into the crowd then walked away from the scene before they eventually took him into custody.

Authorities have not given any details on the suspect, the victims or motive. The amphitheater was hosting a two-day music festival at the time. Organizers have cancelled today's performances.

All of these incidents adding to the more than 300 mass shootings in the U.S. just this year. That's almost two per day on average. In the meantime, also in Georgia, another shooting to tell you about. Officials are investigating a shooting there that happened outside a nightclub near Atlanta overnight. Our affiliate, WSB reports that five people were shot, but their conditions have not been released. Authorities are not saying what led up to the shooting or if any arrests have been made.

In Pennsylvania, a state trooper has died from injuries sustained in a shootout. A second trooper is in the hospital. It all started when a man showed up at a Pennsylvania police station and started shooting patrol cars. CNN's Polo Sandoval is live with more. Polo, what can you tell us about this one?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this was an accident that lasted about four hours yesterday. And according to leadership there at the police department, at least the police agency that's handling this, it ended in a massive shootout between Pennsylvania state troopers and a hunting rifle wielding suspect in a situation that's as harrowing as it gets according to authorities.

[17:10:06]

It started at 11:00 yesterday morning when that suspect, he's about 38 years old out of Pennsylvania, pulled into a parking lot of a Pennsylvania state police barracks in Lewiston County. That's about 57 miles west of the capital city of Harrisburg. Opened fire on the patrol cars as you just mentioned, then drove away. It wasn't until nearly two hours later that that suspect then took aim at Lieutenant James Wagner, a married father, a 20-year-veteran, critically wounded him. He's currently hospitalized.

In fact, witnesses used his own radio to call for help. And then later at about 3:00 p.m., authorities then tracked him down, that suspect, shooting and killing State Trooper Jacques Rougeau, a 29-year-old member of the force. Authorities released an image of that trooper who lost his life yesterday, before that suspect was eventually shot and killed by authorities ending what was an absolutely violent shootout, what was best described as a war zone as you're about to hear from some of the leaders there at the Pennsylvania state police. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: What I witnessed. And I will tell you in my many years with the Pennsylvania state police and many serious situations, was one of the most intense, unbelievable guns fights I have ever witnessed.

As he, Stein, drove through a field, approached Hershberger (ph) store and a small restaurant there, he drove to the parking lot. There were people in the lot that were patronizing that business. Our troopers put themselves between those people. And by force with their vehicles, and by engaging him, forced him away from the business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Still too soon to mention a motive according to authorities, but the lieutenant colonel you just heard from, Jim, said that that suspect was essentially playing a game of cat and mouse, calling 911 centers during the ordeal and essentially trying to ambush authorities telling them that he was at a location, police would show up, he was long gone by then.

He used a high caliber rifle that according to authorities is often used to hunt large game and that any sort of body armor that those state troopers had would have been no match for his fire power as they continue to investigate and, of course, mourn the loss of one of their own. Jim?

ACOSTA: Yeah. And our condolences to the trooper's family. Polo Sandoval wrapping up our coverage at least on this hour of a very violent weekend here in the United States. Polo, thank you very much.

Still ahead, Secretary of State Blinken is about to start his second day of high stakes meetings in China where he talked to the Chinese president.

Plus, two churches are expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention for having women pastors. One of those pastors joins me next.

And the GOP field of presidential candidates grows with Miami's mayor throwing his hat into the ring. How he can stand out against fellow Floridians Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. We'll talk about that. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:15:00]

ACOSTA: High stakes and low expectations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing today for what both sides call candid and constructive talks. They met for more than five hours amid a historic spike in tensions between the two countries. China's foreign minister told Blinken that relations are at the lowest point since the two countries established formal diplomatic relations in back in 1979. We're covering all the angles of this important and developing story. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is in Delaware with President Biden. Ivan Watson is in Hong Kong.

Ivan, let's begin with you. What more can you tell us about this meeting that took place very diplomatically speaking, I guess, behind closed doors where they can do some real talking?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Actually, more than five hours, more than seven and a half hours if you include the working dinner that they had. You know, Jim, judging by the tone of the statement that came out of the Chinese foreign ministry late at night on Friday here in Asia, it seems like this was a professional gathering. We did not hear the kind of insults and accusations and criticisms that have emerged in the past.

Instead, there was talk of a commitment to a stable and consistent relationship with the U.S. wanting to ensure that you could handle unexpected and sporadic events in a calm, professional, and rational manner. That's the kind of discussion that the State Department had going into this, saying that they wanted to establish clear lines of communication to prevent something going wrong, for example, in the South China Sea between U.S. and Chinese warships and war planes from spiraling out of control.

So, hearing, again, a more positive and professional tone coming from the Chinese side. Meanwhile, Secretary Blinken did issue an invitation to his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, to come visit Washington. It was received and approved. There have also been agreements basically to enhance people and people exchanges and more passenger flights between the two countries. So, this does sound like an improvement from the negative tone that we've heard in the past number of months.

ACOSTA: Yeah. Sounds like they can go only up from here. Ivan in Hong Kong, thanks for that. Let's go to Priscilla Alvarez. She's in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware where the president is spending this Sunday. Priscilla, the Biden administration says this trip is about getting through some of these frosty tensions between the U.S. and China and getting them to thaw. How is it going so far on the White House end of things?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, this is also to lay the ground work so that President Biden can speak with the Chinese president or meet with him in the next several months.

[17:19:57]

Jim, this is one of the most complicated relationships that the U.S. has, and tensions between the two countries have been strained. And they soared in that tension earlier this year when a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over the continental United States and was then subsequently shot down by the U.S. military.

In addition to that, there have been military related incidents with China as well as we know now, an expansion of intelligence gathering by China. Now, President Biden has spoken to this relationship as recently as this last Friday when he was on his way to Philadelphia where he spoke to the difficulties that are unrelated to the U.S. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think one of the things that balloon caused was not so much that it got shot down. But I don't think the leadership knew where it was and knew what was in it and knew what was going on. I think it was more embarrassing than it was tension.

I'm hoping that over the next several months I'll be meeting with Xi again and talking about legitimate differences that we have, but also those areas we can get along.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, President Biden there saying that he wanted to or hope to meet with the Chinese president in the next several months. The last time the two met was on the sidelines of a summit last November. But again, this trip by Secretary of State Blinken may lay the ground work for the two countries to work together on a range of issues going from the war in Ukraine to the fentanyl crisis. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much. Let's continue this conversation. Joining us now is Congressman Jake Auchincloss, Democrat from Massachusetts. Congressman, thanks for joining us. Happy Father's Day. I know you're a member of what's been dubbed the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Your goal is to build a bipartisan consensus on the threats posed by China and protect America's interests around the world when they're being threatened by China.

You know, many Republicans blasted this trip as a sign of weakness. What do you want to see the Secretary of State accomplish over there? Can he accomplish anything over there?

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): First, thanks for having me. I disagree with the Republicans on this. Secretary Blinken is traveling to China in a position of strength. Our Indo-Pacific alliances, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia have all strengthened relative to China in the last year.

Our economy is turbo charged after the depths (ph) of the pandemic, where the Chinese economy has high youth unemployment and lower GDP than they expected. And also, we're putting their military friend of no limits on a path to strategic defeat in Ukraine. Secretary Blinken has a strong hand to play here and I think it's the right time for him to go, sit down and make very clear that the United States is not going anywhere in the Indo-Pacific. We are going to represent our values and advance our priorities throughout that region and throughout the world.

ACOSTA: And President Biden says he hopes to meet again soon with Chinese President Xi Jinping. I'm old enough to remember, I covered both Presidents Obama and President Trump visiting China going to Beijing and meeting with Chinese leaders.

It wasn't so controversial back then but it seems awfully controversial now. But just the thought of having President Biden meeting with Xi Jinping is going to generate a lot of discussion if that takes place. Is that something that you would support?

AUCHINCLOSS: The Department of State is going to have to craft that one on one to give President Biden maximum leverage. Timing matters there, obviously, but this president came into offense with one of the best rolodexes of any commander-in-chief in recent history. He obviously prides himself on the strength of his personal relationships with world leaders. We've seen it to great effect already in his tenure.

And I do think it's important that he's able to convey directly to Xi Jinping who's really a dictator at this point of the Chinese Communist Party, that Xi Jinping's hallucinations about United States being in decline or dysfunction relative to the CCP just is not accurate. Do not bet against the United States. We are going to be in the Indo- Pacific.

We're going to stand by our allies there. We're going to ensure freedom of navigation. We're going to build strong economic partnerships and the pacific fleet is going to continue to make its passages in South China Sea and East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. And for this reason, I do think it's important that we establish strong military to military communication channels. We don't want inadvertent escalation from what we've seen with Chinese war planes being really -- really being reckless.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you this. There has been a mass of rash of mass shootings across this country over this holiday weekend and we're only about half way through the holiday weekend. You sit on this Gun Violence Protection Task Force. And you know, when is Congress going to get a handle on this crisis of mass gun violence?

[17:24:55]

It seems like what's been passed so far, the bipartisan effort at legislation in the last year or so just didn't really make a dent in the problem.

AUCHINCLOSS: I agree with you. And what's more frustrating even than that is that we know what works, red flag laws, safe storage laws, universal background checks, ending the liability shield that gun manufacturers have for the carnage that their products cause. I represent Massachusetts. These laws have saved tens of thousands of lives.

And on to your question, this ends when voters get fed up with GOP politicians putting the NRA and gun lobby ahead of the safety of their families. We had people out there who are turning our churches, our schools, our grocery stores into shooting ranges. We know how to stop it, but GOP politicians want to put their head in the sand.

The good news here, and I understand it can be hard to find, is that voters in general elections are increasingly punishing the Republican Party for their extremism on gun issues. I am optimistic that in the election cycles to come, we're going to see it increasingly hard for Republican politicians to go out there and defend the NRA over children.

ACOSTA: Let me jump to the classified documents case facing former President Donald Trump. You know, Republicans are accusing the Biden administration of weaponizing the Justice Department. I know you've heard that charge in recent days after Trump was charged with his handling -- over his handling of classified documents. I guess, what's your response to this accusation from the GOP that former President Trump is being unfairly targeted? And what do you think about President Biden avoiding making comments on this case? Is that a good strategy?

AUCHINCLOSS: So, first of all, the Department of Justice is enforcing the law. And in this country, nobody is above the law. It's one of the things that gives us such strength as a democracy. I would add per our China conversation, you know, in China, people swear an oath to the Chinese Communist Party. In this country, people swear an oath to the Constitution.

And both Republican and Democratic officials need to take that seriously. I would ask my GOP colleagues; do you bear true faith and allegiance to Donald Trump or to the Constitution? Because right now it sounds like you're putting him first and that is deeply concerning for our democracy.

President Biden is doing what any responsible president would do, which is allowing the DOJ to pursue facts and the law, allowing a jury of Donald Trump's peers to decide if there's merit to the charges against him. And then just showing the American people what he can do as the leader of this country, investments in infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, empowering Medicaid to negotiate drug prices. He's got a lot to talk about without having to let Donald Trump set the terms of this debate.

ACOSTA: Well, I guess I understand the argument that Democrats are making that it's the responsible way to go for President Biden to avoid commenting on this. But should the president of the United States, at some point, weigh in this on the seriousness of these charges, the seriousness of this investigation? Or should he just be sort of mute on the subject from here until election day 2024? I can't imagine he's going to stay silent that long on it.

AUCHINCLOSS: I do think it's important to emphasize that under common law, it is a jury of Americans who get to decide the gravity and the voracity of the charges brought against Donald Trump. Joe Biden didn't give the green light to prosecute Donald Trump and he's certainly is not going to be the judge or jury of Donald Trump.

And he's demonstrating to the American people the value of strong rule of law in this country in direct contrast to Donald Trump's unbelievably irresponsible accusations against career law enforcement officers that have been, unfortunately, seconded by other GOP candidates and members of Congress. Again, Joe Biden is just -- he's not going to let Donald Trump set the

terms of this presidential campaign. Joe Biden is going to go out there and talk about the fact that he took over when we were facing the worst crisis in our democracy since the civil war, the worst public health crisis since World War I, the most complicated economy since World War II. And since then, this country has had two and a half years of stability, of economic growth, and of an opportunity to help heal our democracy.

ACOSTA: All right, Congressman, thanks very much for sharing your Father's Day with us. I know you're a busy dad. You just welcomed child number three, is that right, Audrey? You're the youngest dad in the House Democratic Caucus, do I have that right? That's something else there, but thanks very much for your time. Happy Father's Day.

AUCHINCLOSS: My pleasure. Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:29:59]

ACOSTA: And this just in to CNN. The White House is now commenting on the mass shooting in Illinois. One person is dead and at least 22 others injured after gunfire erupted overnight during what witnesses described as a Juneteenth celebration.

Here is what the White House press secretary tweeted just moments ago. The president and first lady are thinking of those killed and injured in the shooting in Illinois last night. We have reached out to offer an assistance to state and local leaders in the wake of this tragedy at a Juneteenth celebration.

Of course, if the White House or the administration has more to say, we'll bring that you and we're going to keep following developments in all of these mass shootings that took place over the weekend.

A dramatic fight, meantime, for power is taking place in the nation's largest Protestant denomination. The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday at its annual convention to expel two of its churches for having female pastors citing biblical interpretation. The delegates also amended their constitution to ban women from serving as pastors.

[17:35:00]

A crackdown on women sparks a new identity crisis for Southern Baptist as some followers want to fracture denomination to close the door on what they call feminism and liberalism.

Joining us now is Pastor Linda Barnes Popham. Her Louisville, Kentucky church, Fern Creek Baptist, was one of the two expelled by the Southern Baptist Convention. Pastor Lynda, thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate it. Nice to talk to you. Does anything really change at your church following this expulsion? LINDA BARNES POPHAM, PASTOR, FERN CREEK BAPTIST: Nothing really changes dramatically except that we'll not be giving our money to the Southern Baptist Convention anymore. We will not be using their literature. We will not be able to participate in other ones -- those programs that they have that we participated in for years, especially the Woman's Missionary Union. We have folks there very involved in that.

ACOSTA: Hmm. And Pastor Linda, you led your congregation for more than 30 years, I understand, which is a remarkable achievement, hats off to you. What was your reaction when your church was ousted from the Southern Baptist Convention? Did this come as a shock to you? I suspect that -- I mean, I've been a member of churches in the past and I know churches follow the internal politics of the denomination pretty closely, so you must have known this was coming, but what was your reaction to all this?

POPHAM: Actually, I was shocked that it's coming since the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 was adopted in the year 2000, why 23 years later? And actually, I've been here 40 years --

ACOSTA: Oh, wow, okay. There you go.

POPHAM: -- I believe, that long, but not -- but I haven't been pastoring except for 33 years.

ACOSTA: Got you.

POPHAM: Officially for 30. But part of this is sad. This loss of relationships, and not on our part. You know, you get kicked out of the family. A part of my reaction is just -- and the church, too, of anger, how -- how this was handled. The hypocrisy of so many.

But you know what, since then and after being able to step back from New Orleans and here, we feel overwhelmingly loved. Support from all over the world. We had greetings and prayer support from Italy and England and Canada and Honduras, all across the United States.

A lady from England reminded me last night that what really matters is that we are in the family of God. It doesn't really matter about the Southern Baptist Convention so much. And now, we sense an excitement and future ahead like a spirit revival. Our chairman deacon has got up this morning and he said, I sense revival coming.

And the first thing I can think of, God is going to do a new thing. I remember the prophet Isaiah said, forget those things behind you, forget those former things, and now the Lord is going to do, see I'm going to do a new thing in you. So, we believe that that is happening already as we had three children baptized today. Kind of like started that spark of revival this day.

ACOSTA: Well, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention says this. They believe that every believer is a priest. It's just the Scriptures that say that the office of pastor is limited to men. What is your response to that? I mean, I want to be respectful to folks in their faith but it is the year 2023, for goodness sakes.

POPHAM: Yes. And --

(LAUGHTER)

-- we believe the bible --

ACOSTA: If I may be indelicate there, yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

POPHAM: Yeah. And we truly do. We believe that we interpret differently because we believe that the spirit can give illumination to our minds.

And some of this is kind of amusing because some of the verses they read out to us about this, if you just read like the verse before, it says women should not have braids or adorn themselves with jewelry, et cetera, et cetera. I didn't see too many women there without jewelry at the Southern Baptist Convention. So how they differentiate between those two verses in the same chapter two verses apart, I'll never understand that.

ACOSTA: Very interesting.

POPHAM: We look at this in the context of which they were written as well.

ACOSTA: Yeah. No question about it. And -- I mean, there's obviously a lot more we can talk about this, but in the meantime, Pastor Linda Barnes Popham, thanks very much for your time. Please keep us posted on the developments on this and what is happening in your congregation. We would love to catch up with you again and see how things are going with this as you branch out and blaze your own trail. Thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

POPHAM: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Thank you. Florida mayor for president? That is the question that we're hearing down in Miami. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez joins Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump as Floridians running in the GOP race for president. We'll talk about that next. You're live in "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: And then there were 11 this week. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez joined the ever-expanding list of Republicans running for the GOP presidential nomination. Here's what we know about the 45-year-old Suarez. He is a Cuban-American and is the first major Hispanic candidate to enter the race. He is in his second term as mayor of Miami. He led a bipartisan group of U.S. mayors and formerly served as a Miami city commissioner. Jesse Scheckner joins us now with more on the latest candidate in this race. He is a South Florida reporter for "Florida Politics" along with Joey Flechas, Miami city hall reporter for the "Miami Herald."

Joey, let me start with you. For those who aren't familiar with Mayor Suarez outside of South Florida, who is he? Does he have any chance? I mean, I know who he is, but for folks who are wondering who is he, does he have any chance of becoming president? What do you think?

JOEY FLECHAS, MIAMI CITY HALL REPORTER, MIAMI HERALD: Well, he's -- he certainly spent a lot of time as mayor promoting himself nationally. Mayor Suarez is a young, charismatic mayor who has -- he rose to prominence after he actually was one of the first public officials in 2020 to contract COVID-19.

[17:45:04]

He then started promoting Miami about 10 months later as a major tech hub and that really catapulted him into a kind of a new level of prominence nationally. I think -- does he have a chance? It is an interesting question because he is running in a state where there is a crowded field already in Florida candidates. Donald Trump is running. Ron DeSantis is running. It makes you wonder what lane he's going to carve out for himself.

ACOSTA: There are lots of lanes of traffic in South Florida. I know from being on those roads. But you make a good point. Not only is the GOP field crowded, the GOP field in Florida is crowded.

Jesse, let me ask you this. Let's turn to a comment Suarez made earlier today on the issue of immigration. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ, MIAMI, FLORIDA: We have to solve this immigration issue for the benefit of our country. I don't think that there's a person better positioned than a Hispanic, conservative Republican president to solve that problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Jesse, what could Suarez do that hasn't been thought of before? Has he laid out any specifics in terms of policy proposals for immigration?

JESSE SCHECKNER, SOUTH FLORIDA REPORTER, FLORIDA POLITICS: Nothing that hasn't been necessarily spoken about before. He has called repeatedly for a national solution to the immigration issue and by that, one would properly assume that he is speaking of legislation, something to address it in a more comprehensive fashion than maybe has been contemplated before.

ACOSTA: And Joey, your paper, the "Miami Herald," reports that police -- help me fill in the spaces here, that the FBI is investigating some of Suarez's dealings with a real estate developer. What can you tell us about this? Does it pose a problem for his candidacy? What can you tell us from your end of things down there in Florida?

FLECHAS: Mayor Suarez serves as a part-time mayor. It is a function of the kind of uniqueness of his office here at city hall. And he is allowed to have outside work and the "Miami Herald" asked him about the outside work ever since he became mayor. I've been covering him for five years, most of his time as mayor, and whenever we find out about what his private work is, which sometimes is publicized and sometimes is not, we do report on it and ask him about it.

What happened more recently was there was a lawsuit filed by a former employee of a real estate company and that lawsuit mentioned that Mayor Suarez was receiving $10,000 a month from the real estate developer for unknown services. We sought to find out what those services were. We've been reporting on it ever since. There's paperwork from inside that company that indicates that Mayor Suarez was paid to assist this developer with a permitting problem at city hall.

The mayor denies any wrongdoing. He welcomes the investigations that are being conducted by local authorities and the FBI. He has criticized the paper for the coverage but it's something that the newspaper has been invested in for a long time. He is understanding what the potential -- what -- who he's doing business with, who's paying him, and what potential conflict, if any, might exist with city hall.

It remains to be seen if that becomes a question on this campaign trail so early on, but I know that folks like yourself and other networks have been asking him about it, and he has been saying that he did nothing wrong. So, it's interesting to see where this investigation goes.

ACOSTA: And Jesse, let's talk about the Florida man component in all of this. You've got three now in Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and Francis Suarez. How does the mayor set himself apart from the other two Florida men?

And Ron DeSantis, you know, for all that folks might say about him, he is relatively popular with Latinos in Florida. Apparently, he won 58 percent of the Latino vote when he was reelected as governor of Florida. Is there a chance that Suarez could pull some of that support away from DeSantis and cause some problems for him?

SCHECKNER: That's a big question. He certainly has an ability to resonate with the city at large. He was elected initially with 86 percent of the vote, reelected with roughly 79 percent of the vote, very popular among his constituents, particularly among the really conservative pockets of the city.

As far as resonating with a larger cut of the state and the nation at large, it's going to take some finessing. He's going to really have to introduce himself, sell his vision. He has had direct conflicts with DeSantis famously. They did not agree over COVID-19 restrictions and DeSantis just stopped returning his calls. So, there's a point of contention there already.

ACOSTA: Well, that will be an interesting flashpoint to watch during the upcoming debates. All right, Jesse Scheckner, Joey Flechas, thank you so much, guys, for breaking it down for us.

[17:50:01]

We'll be in contact with you as the Suarez candidacy continues. Really appreciate it. Thanks so much. We will be right back.

SCHECKNER: Thanks for having me.

ACOSTA: You got it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: There's one thing lawmakers on Capitol Hill agree on, recognizing dads. This week, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution recognizing Father's Day and the role dads have in improving life for moms and children. CNN's Jake Tapper introduces us to a group of dads in the House who are now pushing legislation to help families.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CRYING)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a common question asked by parents all across the United States. Who is going to watch the baby? And it's one that the Congressional Dads Caucus aims to address head-on.

UNKNOWN: McCarthy.

TAPPER (voice-over): During the House speaker votes back in January, California Congressman Jimmy Gomez was doing two jobs at once, congressman and dad. While Republicans were looking for votes for McCarthy, Gomez was looking for a changing table for his four-month- old son, Hodge.

REP. JIMMY GOMEZ (D-CA): During the speaker's vote, I just changed him on the floor in the Democratic Cloakroom, and it was fine. But, you know, a lot of people don't have access to the Democratic Cloakroom.

UNKNOWN: Jeffries.

TAPPER (voice-over): And after this viral moment on the House floor, the Congressional Dads Caucus was born. The caucus says it will push for policies that support working families like expanding paid family leave or making child care more affordable or increasing the child tax credit.

GOMEZ: I think that the Dads Caucus is creating a dialogue. What's the role of dads in the workplace? What's the role of dads in the household? And how do you combat some of those, I would say, outdated notions that dads shouldn't step up and do their part?

[17:55:02]

TAPPER (voice-over): The U.S. and Papua New Guinea and a handful of small island nations are the only ones in the world that do not guarantee paid family leave. Family and Medical Leave Act became law in the U.S. 30 years ago, but it does not guarantee paid, job- protected leave for workers.

Today, only one in four workers in the U.S. has access to paid family leave and lower-income workers are not surprisingly hit the hardest. The Congressional Dads Caucus now has 30 Democratic members, including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. But it has failed to gain bipartisan support in the House.

REP. JOSH HARDER (D-CA): I've written more bills with Republicans than any Democrat in the country, not by compromising values but by trying to find common ground. And if there's one area of common ground that should exist, it's caring about our kids and caring about our families.

TAPPER (voice-over): Republicans have long opposed a government-funded paid leave program, and Republicans tend to favor tax credits and policies that will not increase spending.

One Republican criticized the Dads Caucus, saying -- quote -- "Fathers care about keeping their kids safe. They care about putting food on the table for the families and keeping a roof over their heads. They don't just care about liberal policy priorities. If they wanted this caucus to actually be taken seriously, they would have made it bipartisan like almost every other caucus in the House is."

The Congressional Dads Caucus has also taken issue with the parents' bill of rights, a republican education bill that requires public schools to share their material with parents. The Dads Caucus argues this takes away from the real problems that families face.

While the Dads Caucus advocates for policies they say will help American families, they're also hoping to add a few more changing tables in the Capitol complex for themselves.

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Changing your daughter on the restroom is not a republican or democratic issue, right? It's something that whether you're a Republican dad or a Democratic dad, it's something that we should all be able to push for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And that was Jake Tapper reporting on that. Coming up on Monday night, let's lift every voice for a special holiday, a CNN concert with some of the biggest name in music returns. Watch "Juneteenth: A Global Celebration for Freedom." Live coverage starts tomorrow night at 7:00 right here on CNN.

And gun violence is impacting yet another holiday weekend here in the U.S., including at a Juneteenth celebration outside of Chicago. The latest is next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. [18:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)