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Prosecutors In Former President Trump's Election Interference Case Ask Judge To Prevent Defense Attorneys From Sharing Evidence With Trump For Fear He Will Make This Evidence Public; Post On Social Media By Former President Trump Criticized As Threat Against Political And Legal Adversaries; Ukrainian Drones Attack One Of Russia's Biggest Oil Tankers; Cryptocurrency Being Used Mexican Drug Cartels To Purchase Fentanyl Ingredients From Chinese Chemical Companies; Polling Shows Americans Feel Poorly About U.S. Economy Despite Low Unemployment And Recent Low Inflation; Olympic Medalist Gymnast Simone Biles To Return To Competition; Mass Shooting At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Reenacted For Civil Trial; Viral Video Of Sun Bear In Chinese Zoo Draws Claims Figure Is Human In Bear Suit. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired August 05, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

JEFF CORWIN, WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION EXPERT: We're almost out of time with our -- this is something, Fred, that we have to look at like we did with deepwater horizon. It has the necessity of a big, federal effort. Florida has to focus on this. It's not too late. But only a few little bits of sand are left in the corals' hourglass. Almost gone.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my gosh, this is devastating. It really is, for so --

CORWIN: Don't forget, 80 percent, 80 percent of every fish, every species in Florida has a connection to the coral reefs. So if you lose the coral reefs, you lose the snappers. This is the keystone ecosystem that is almost gone.

WHITFIELD: Right. It's a food provider. It is shelter, and it's a place of breeding. It's all of that, and we need it. Our wildlife, marine life need it.

CORWIN: It's the head start -- yes. It's the head start program for the coastal habitat in Florida.

WHITFIELD: Jeff Corwin, thanks for hanging in there. And you worked your shoulder and bicep muscles by holding up that recording device.

CORWIN: I did. I was diving off this morning. Now I'm at urgent care, but at least I get to spend some time with you.

WHITFIELD: I'd so glad, too. And we've done a little bit of work on our biceps, too.

CORWIN: I'm not an urgent care for diving.

WHITFIELD: I'm glad you're not. I can't wait to hear that story. I hope the best for your friend who was there.

CORWIN: All right. Thanks for inspiring me to do that story.

WHITFIELD: You're so sweet. Thank you. You inspire us all the time. Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with a new deadline for Donald Trump's lawyers after the historic indictment against him on 2020 election interference. Now the Trump team has until Monday, 5:00 p.m. eastern, to respond to a request for a protective order by Special Counsel Jack Smith. In a court filing last night, Special Counsel Jack Smith sought to stop defense lawyers from sharing with Trump copies of evidence deemed sensitive. Smith wrote "If Trump," quoting now, "were to begin issuing public posts using details or, for example, grand jury transcripts obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful, chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case," end quote.

And Smith flagged Trump's online post Friday as an example of Trump's habit of speaking publicly. It says, these are Trump's words, "If you go after me, I'm coming after you." A Trump spokesperson said the comment was the definition of political speech and had nothing to do with the case.

Let's turn now to CNN's Alayna Treene in Columbia, South Carolina, where Trump will be speaking later on today. Alayna, what are you expecting to hear, what is everyone expecting to hear possibly from the former president?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Fred, I think despite that court filing that you mentioned from Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team, Donald Trump is going to continue to talk about these charges. We heard him do that last night in his remarks in Alabama, and I expect him to do that again tonight here in South Carolina. And also, like last night, Donald Trump will be speaking to be a receptive crowd. He'll be speaking to South Carolina Republicans. And I think you can anticipate for him to frame these charges as election interference, the same playbook we've seen him use time and time again when talking about his legal troubles. He's also likely going to argue that he's been targeted because he's doing so well in the polls. He mentioned that during his speech last night. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Every time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls. We need one more indictment to close out this election. One more indictment and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So as you can hear, Fred, Donald Trump using that defiant rhetoric that we know he likes to use when talking publicly. And his team really does believe that talking about these charges is helping him politically. But of course, that is just with Republican primary voters. There's still very much a question of if he's able to win the Republican nomination, of course we're far away from that at this point in the election cycle, what this could mean for him in a general election, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you so much in Columbia, South Carolina.

Let's talk about all of this now with CNN political commentator Ana Navarro and CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings. Good to see you both. Scott, you first. You heard Donald Trump last night pointing out how his indictments seem to help his poll numbers and donations as well. So how does the Republican party handle all of this, especially if he, especially if the party wants to win the White House?

[14:05:00]

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, well, the Republican Party is currently assessing its field. There's still a long way to go. And I do think some of the national polls are different than what we're seeing in the state polls. So there's a lot of highway left to travel in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and other places. He is in the dominant position right now, but I don't think this race is over. There's a lot more news for the Republicans to digest. We just saw what happened last week. We've got stuff possibly, probably coming up in Georgia in the next couple of weeks. So Republicans have a lot to think about because there's polling out there that indicates if he were to be convicted of a felony, a whole bunch of people just simply wouldn't be able to vote for him. So a long way to go, though. He's ahead, but you never know.

WHITFIELD: And Scott, I mean, you look like you're running for office because of the event where you are.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: So please explain. What's going on with all your friends behind you there in Kentucky?

JENNINGS: We're in Fancy Farm, Kentucky. This is one of the best and oldest and most important political traditions in America. And every politician in Kentucky, including the candidates for governor and our Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, will come out here and speak to mixed crowd of Democrats and Republicans. You have both parties. They come together at a church picnic. It's all for charity. But this thing has been going on for over 100 years. And I would highly recommend if you're never been -- this is miles away, by the way, from Mayfield, Kentucky, where the tornados came through just a couple of years ago. It's a resilient community, an old Catholic church, and a great tradition here. But the stump speaking starts in about an hour, and you won't want to miss it.

WHITFIELD: OK, it was almost for a second seeming like you were in Columbia, South Carolina, where there's going to be a Trump event given the kinds of flags going back and forth there behind you. But thank you very much, Fancy Farm is where you are in Kentucky.

Ana, to you. We're still more than a year out from the November 2024 election. All signs point to a repeat election, possibly Biden versus Trump. So what do you see as possibly standing in the way of what seems to be the trajectory of a Trump nomination?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: A minor miracle. Some sort of -- that we don't know about. Look, we have now gone through not one, not two, but three indictments and arraignments, and it doesn't seem to be making any dent on Donald Trump's numbers. He's right. If anything, it's helping him. He has managed to portray himself as this Christlike political figure that's sacrificing on behalf of everybody else and taking the hits for everybody else. They're coming after me so that they don't come after you. And it seems to be resonating with the Republican base. And it has led to increased fundraising. Even though people have heard that the fundraising he's doing is going towards paying legal bills, they're still donating. And it is what many others don't have -- small donors that repeat time and time again. So I don't see much standing in the way of a rematch between Biden and Trump.

WHITFIELD: And then Scott, who do you think the audience is when the former president on his Truth Social would say if you're coming after me, I'm coming after you? Paraphrasing.

JENNINGS: Yes, he's going to have to speak for himself on that. Obviously, when you're in the middle of a bunch of legal issues as he is, I think he should be more careful because a lot of times the things he says get him in more trouble than he needs to be in. But I think they do have a plausible explanation that he's a political candidate in the middle of a campaign. And so that kind of rhetoric is pretty commonplace. But he's unique because he's running for office but he's also in the middle of a bunch of indictments. So I'm sure his lawyers wish he'd be more careful.

WHITFIELD: OK, you're nodding your head. Go ahead, Ana.

NAVARRO: Listen, I have been -- I have been a target of Donald Trump's social media posts when he was president. And it, frankly, leads to a bunch of whack jobs targeting me. It led to me being threatened by people like Cesar Sayoc, the man who is now in jail for sending explosives through the mail. It led to death threats. It led to crazy things being mailed to my house.

So I really think we as the law and order party, if we want to still call ourselves that, Republicans, need to all of us condemn, because when Donald Trump -- a threat on social media, it is real, and it triggers real crazy people who can do real harm. And what he is clearly doing is not political speech, in my view. It is a clear threat and attempt at intimidation of the witnesses, of the prosecutors, of Jack Smith, and it must be condemned by all.

WHITFIELD: And then Scott, what are your concerns that it is not universally then condemned? Because we see Trump supporters are essentially dismissing it or trying to describe it as simply political speech.

JENNINGS: My concern would be when you go around criminalizing speech, it has a chilling effect. And I think the bar has to be extremely high for any kind of speech to be shut down, criminalized, condemned, whatever.

[14:10:04]

I mean, we can condemn it. We can say it's not smart. We can say what we want about it. But the idea that you would criminalize free speech or somehow restrict free speech, there's a reason it's the First Amendment. And he didn't target anyone specifically in the post. I personally think he needs to be far more careful than he is given the --

WHITFIELD: Do you think there's an inference?

JENNINGS: -- personal freedom situation.

Do I think there's an influence?

WHITFIELD: Inference.

JENNINGS: I have no idea. I infer nothing. I only read the words on the screen. But I think Democrats certainly, and people who don't like Donald Trump have been trying to drive him out of the town square when it comes to free speech since he first started, and I'm not surprised at their reaction to it today. Again, though, I think he needs to be super careful. I think he's in real jeopardy.

WHITFIELD: Ana?

NAVARRO: This did not happen on any given day, any random day. It happened on the day that he went in for his arraignment. This is happening as a result election with his latest indictment. Of course there's an inference. There's an inference that he's trying to intimidate the prosecutors and the witnesses and anybody involved. When Donald Trump says I'm coming after you, he means it. He means it. You can ask anybody who he's come after in a primary election, which is not illegal. But when you are witness-tampering, when you are threatening the prosecutor --

JENNINGS: You just said it. You just said it.

NAVARRO: We have to --

JENNINGS: You just said it. He came after candidates. You just said it.

NAVARRO: Yes. He's come after candidates. Listen, coming after -- coming after prosecutors, that is illegal. And we live in a country where there have been federal judges and judges killed because of threats like this. We cannot continue not condemning it.

JENNINGS: I agree with you. I agree with you. I agree with you about the judges. We had a bunch of leftwing people that threatened Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and others. And no one seemed to care about that at the time --

NAVARRO: And it should be condemned, and it should be condemned. It should be condemned when it's on the right and on the left. And it should certainly be condemned when it is somebody who has the bully pulpit and the level of followers that Trump has who he uses political speech with, and it led to an insurrection on January 6th.

WHITFIELD: We'll leave it there for now. Ana Navarro, Scott Jennings, glad you could both be with us. Thank you so much.

JENNINGS: Thanks. See you later.

WHITFIELD: All right, now to this developing story over the Black Sea where Russia says it has intercepted a U.S. drone. Russia's Ministry of Defense says the drone made a U-turn and no border violation occurred. The incident comes as Ukraine launched two strikes on Russian targets in the Black Sea. Overnight, one of Russia's largest oil tankers in the Black Sea was hit by a drone. And you can see the moments leading up to the attack on this video. Russia say the ship was not carrying oil, but a Ukrainian source claims its drone did make an impact on a ship that it says was carrying fuel for the Russian military. The attack came not long after Ukrainian drones targeted a coastal naval base, striking a Russian warship.

CNN's chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Ukraine for us. Nick, what's the latest from there?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Fred, that reference about the U.S. Ministry of Defense about the U.S. repo drone MQ-9A is really I think a constant part of Russia's bid to fix the narrative towards them being at war with the U.S., with NATO more broadly, rather than the reality of them being at war with Ukraine that's being supplied and assisted by NATO.

But it's Ukraine that's behind these more ingenious attacks, it seems, on Russian shipping in the part of the Black Sea that, frankly, Moscow would have thought was impregnable just a matter of weeks ago. And so this morning's attack on an oil tanker that Ukraine says was carrying fuel for the military, a sig oil tanker, that's one example of damage. There was also occurred to an amphibious assault ship in a Novorossiysk naval base just yesterday. And on top of that, too, we have in the last week the Kerch Bridge being hit, also, it seems, by a Ukrainian drone as well.

And so Ukraine, while perhaps is not seeing the speed of progress it likes to against Russian fortifications here in the Zaporizhzhia region during the southern parts of its counteroffensive, it is certainly seeing success in parts of the Black Sea that Russia would have simply thought was invulnerable to Ukrainian attack. These drones traveling at times hundreds of miles, and Ukrainian officials sometimes anonymously being direct, saying yes, we did that about these attacks. Other times being more oblique, calling these unidentified floating objects. But the damage is pretty clear. The amphibious ship hit yesterday, there could have been 100 people on board according to the Ukrainians, and there were 5,000 tons of fuel on board the sig tanker hit this morning.

[14:15:02]

So this continues to be a threat that Russia seems to be incapable of stopping, although we have been hearing sirens across Ukraine, frankly, in the past hours and reports of explosions in certain parts of Ukraine. Again, Russian barrages their response to being hit close to home. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much.

All right, still to come, U.S. officials intensifying their crackdown on fentanyl traffickers. How they're now tracing cryptocurrency payments used by the most dangerous Mexican drug cartels to buy fentanyl ingredients from Chinese chemical companies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Biden administration is intensifying its focus on cryptocurrency payments used by some of the most dangerous Mexican drug cartels to purchase fentanyl ingredients from Chinese chemical companies.

[14:20:03]

The use of digital currencies has exploded among fentanyl traffickers in a drug trade that has killed thousands of Americans each year. Joining me right now is CNN cybersecurity reporter Sean Lyngaas. Sean, how is it that they're, or the U.S. government, is trying to catch up with people who are using cryptocurrency?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Fred, the drug war has gotten really high-tech. It used to be big suitcases full of cash and bags of cocaine for example, or meth amphetamine that the cartels would smuggle back into Mexico via cars. Now we're talking cryptocurrency, digital money that they can launder and get on in their banks much quicker than previously.

So the federal agents are trying to catch up in terms of using high- tech software to trace the cryptocurrency payments. The DEA told CNN they have eyes on some of the most sophisticated money launderers for the cartels. We talked to multiple agencies about this ongoing surge, and they have the tools that they think they need to be able to trace the payments, but intercepting them, seizing them, and disrupting the very lucrative trade is another story, Fred. So it's very much an ongoing push to try to understand how this money's moving across borders.

You mentioned the Chinese chemical suppliers. They are feeling this crisis as well. China has cracked down on the sale of fentanyl, wholesale of fentanyl. However, they're using ingredients, precursor chemicals, that are not the actual fentanyl, and they're getting that to ship it to the cartels. So it's a very thorny problem, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I guess initially it seemed like an inventive idea, the use of cryptocurrency. But then now that it's traceable, it makes it a very dumb idea. So one would wonder how it got to this point.

LYNGAAS: Right. The thing about cryptocurrency is it has this mystique of being untraceable and completely anonymous, and that's not the case. There's a public record of transactions. So what federal agents with help of the private sector are doing are noting commonalities in some of the accounts and following the money. They might not be able to see who owns the account, but they can see patterns of behavior and piece it together using some old school investigative techniques.

So we had a long talk with some federal agents for the story from the IRS and the FBI and other agencies, and they told us that this is a very much a rapidly changing environment that they're trying to catch up with, Fred.

WHITFIELD: A new frontier. Sean Lyngaas, it's fascinating. Thank you so much.

Coming up, seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles is returning to competitive gymnastics in just a matter of hours. We'll have all the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:27:11]

WHITFIELD: Simone Biles is back. The seven-time Olympic medalist making a comeback today, two years after she shocked fans when she withdrew from five event finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, citing mental health concerns. Today, Biles is scheduled to compete in four events at the Core Hydration Classics in Illinois, the final opportunity for athletes to qualify for the national championships. CNN's Isabel Rosales is live for us there. And Illinois, all right, so, I see lots of people behind you now. Are they lining up, ready to get in there?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. So doors opened a little over an hour ago. And you can see just how packed this is. Right behind me, right over here, this is the merchandise area, and the line to get a shirt is all the way packed around. So there's a lot of excitement. People are so looking forward to seeing the greatest of all time, Simone Biles, making her comeback. And in fact, this is a sold out crowd, 7,200 seats here at the NOW Arena completely filled.

Now, this is the qualifying competition to move on to U.S. nationals, and then after that in the fall, over to the world championships, and eventually, 2024 Olympics. Folks are going to be on the lookout for how fresh she looks, how sharp she looks, if she can shake off the spiderwebs there. And this is her first time competing since two years ago where Biles shocked the world pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics due to some mental stress. She got the twisties, which is a block that gymnasts get where they can't really tell us or down while they're flying around in midair, so a big problem. She's been supported since then for being an advocate for athlete mental health.

But we're here for the fans, too. I want you guys to now listen to some tiny little fans -- come on over here -- who are here to support Simone. This is Elliot (ph), Talon (ph), and Lauren (ph). So first of all, what does your sign say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It says "Welcome back, Simone. Stick it, girls."

ROSALES: Stick it, girls. I love it. And tell me what you're most excited to see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Simone Biles.

ROSALES: And what do you love about her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because how good she is.

ROSALES: She is good. She is the GOAT. That is an understatement. And mom, I understand that this was a surprise to them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it was. I bought tickets the second I found out Simone was going to be coming. She just found out a couple weeks ago and she's been talking about it ever since.

ROSALES: What do you think it is about Simone that inspires people and her littlest fans?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I dop think it's her grit and her ability to not give up. I think as a mom of an athlete, it's very important that she preaches, not only take care of your body but take care of your mind as well, which is something I tell them all the time. Don't stop just because it's difficult. Just take a reset and get back to it.

[14:30:10]

ROSALES: Guys, thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy seeing her back in action. Fred?

WHITFIELD: I love it. Of course, I mean, Simone Biles inspiring of all ages and sizes, but they are lucky to get those tickets, and I know they can't wait. Very fun. Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.

To talk more about all this, let's bring in CNN sports analyst and "USA Today" sports columnist Christine Brennan. Christine, great to see you. It's so great when we get to talk about these uplifting moments in sport. And Simone Biles has been so transparent about her journeys. And folks are so excited now that she feels ready, as the little girls say, to stick it again.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: How big of a moment is this in your view?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, SPORTS COLUMNIST, "USA TODAY": Fred, it really is one of the big steppingstones to, as Isabel said, potentially the Paris Olympic Games, which are less than a year away now. Hard to believe another Olympics is coming so quickly because, of course, it was only two years in Tokyo because of the pandemic pushing the Tokyo games to 2021. And so only a three-year break between Olympics. Any athlete would say instead of four years, sure, why not. Keep going.

And for Simone though, what she's done that is so different and, of course, also so necessary for her, she took a break. She got married. She has been living her life. She is having a great time, obviously. She shows up on her social media accounts, and the fans are there, as you've heard in the Chicago suburbs. They're there waiting for her. And it makes perfect sense to me covering all these Olympics as I have, that these athletes -- she's still, my goodness.

She watered down her program to come back after the troubles with the twisties. Watered down the program at the Tokyo Olympics, Fred, as you'll recall, and she still won a bronze medal even with all the issues she was dealing with. That's how good she is. She knows it. And she wants to see where she is now on the road to the Paris Olympics.

WHITFIELD: Her messaging has been really important, too, on sharing with everyone that she wanted to take a mental break, doing that. And now talking about by way of her upcoming performance tonight, that that mental break helped. It was just last weekend, remember, Christine, we were talking about Brittney Griner, who after her tumultuous, incredible experience being in Russia, and then being released and then getting back into the WNBA and playing, and then deciding she's going to take a couple games break at least to address her mental health.

Talk to us about how this has allowed Simone Biles, being very open about it, this has given allowance to a lot of high-profile athletes to say, wait a minute, I have to address my mental health. And it's OK if you, the public, doesn't like it, or doesn't support it.

BRENNAN: Well, without a doubt. Obviously, they're barraged on social media. The criticism that they get is unlike anything athletes got a generation ago. So if we hear someone say, there's critics out there. They're still there. Simone hears them. Obviously, Brittney Griner hears them, Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka. Just kind of, hey, we did it. We handled the pressure. Social media has added such an incredible and awful spotlight in some ways to these athletes.

And so yes, they're taking over their entire lives. It's not just the physical part where they are achieving at great levels, some of the greatest of all time, but also every other part, including their mental health. And they feel that they can do that, and it's a wonderful message from role models. We heard from the mom saying she wants to tell her girls the same thing, take that break and reset. That's exactly the message that Simone Biles has sent while she has been taking care of herself, and same with Brittney Griner.

WHITFIELD: So powerful. Christine Brennan, great to see you. Thank you so much. Of course, we'll all be glued to our sets, unless you're lucky enough to have tickets there in the arena. We'll be glued to sets watching Simone Biles and all the other great athletes as well. Thanks so much. All right, still to come, is it a bear or a human? What do you think?

Environmentalists are hoping this viral video helps them raise awareness about one of Asia's most endangered and intriguing animals, the sun bear.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:47]

WHITFIELD: The U.S. jobs market is slowing down. The latest jobs report shows the U.S. added 187,000 jobs in July, slightly under the 200,000 jobs economists predicted. The new report suggests the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes to cool down the economy is working. President Biden is touting the new numbers as part of his economic plan. Here is the vice president on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As today's jobs numbers make clear, Bidenomics is working. Today's numbers reflect the point that President Biden has made many times -- America's economy is strong and experiencing stable and steady growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Kevin Liptak is in Wilmington, Delaware, where the president and first lady are spending the weekend. Kevin, the White House has been promoting what it sees as economic wins, but it seems like there's a disconnect between the numbers and how Americans feel about the economy. What's going on?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this is certainly one of the biggest challenges for the White House and for the Biden campaign, and they are very eager to talk about these economic indicators that show the economy improving, things like a slowing inflation, rising wages, consumer sentiment is ticking up.

[14:40:07]

And in those jobs numbers that we saw yesterday, we saw the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent. That's near historic lows. But at the same time, polls show that Americans still feel very sour about where the economy is heading. In fact, there was a CNN poll just last week that shows 75 percent of Americans think the economy is poor, and that is translating into political headwinds for President Biden. Only 37 percent said that they approved of his handling of the economy, 63 percent said that they disapprove.

Now, how the White House is trying to confront this is this plan of Bidenomics, trying to tell the American people that the economy is doing better and hoping that they begin to associate President Biden himself with those improvements. And what you're starting to see one example of the things they're trying to do is they're putting these signs at infrastructure projects around the country, letting people know these projects were funded by President Biden's infrastructure bill, making sure his name is front and center, ensuring that people come to associate him with the jobs and with the improvements they're seeing.

The White House says that there will be potentially thousands of these signs across the country. They'll be hard to miss. But when you talk to White House officials, they do acknowledge this effort will take time. Certainly, this is the singular challenge for President Biden as he gears up for next year's election, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you so much, out of Wilmington, Delaware, today.

Coming up, Parkland shooting victims relive the traumatic attack. A reenactment using live rounds was conducted as evidence in a civil suit against the school resource officer that remained outside during the massacre. More next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:46:20]

WHITFIELD: Nearly five years after 17 teachers and students were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, bullets flying through the school once again. The shooting rampage was reenacted with live rounds on Friday. It was part of a civil lawsuit against the school resource officer who stayed outside during the massacre. CNN's Carlos Suarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Families of the victims believe that the reenactment will prove that there's no way that former school resource officer Scot Peterson did not know where the gunfire was coming from the day of the shooting. Back in June, Peterson was found not guilty on criminal charges for his inaction after his attorneys argued that Peterson took cover outside of the 1200 building because he thought there was more than one shooter, and he could not tell where the sound of gunfire was coming from.

The reenactment is part of a civil lawsuit against Peterson and others, including the Broward County sheriff's office. Now before the reenactment took place, nine members of Congress made up of Democrats and Republicans toured the 1200 building with some of the family members. They got a look at the three floors where 17 students and staff members were killed and 17 others were hurt in 2018. We're told that the building remains exactly the same as the day of the shooting.

Now, after the tour, the lawmakers met with the families to discuss school safety legislation and increasing funding for mental health services and school resource officers. Here now is south Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz, a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas here in Parkland, Florida.

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ, (D-FL): There's nothing more powerful than visualizing what happened in that building. And I'm hoping that it breaks the walls down and we figure out where we can mitigate this from happening, not just in schools, but in communities, with an understanding that there's still going to be disagreements and there's still going to be things that I want done that they won't do, and there's things that they want done that I won't do. But that should not impact us from the things that we know we should be doing for parents and for families and for teachers.

SUAREZ: The family members said they would like to invite other members of Congress before the 1200 building is eventually torn down, a process that the Broward County school district says could take several months.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Carlos Suarez, thanks so much.

The ocean's unprecedented high temperatures have conservationists racing to save coral reefs off the coast of Florida. And that includes this week's CNN Hero who has been working for years to restore reefs in the Florida Keys.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MIKE GOLDBERG, CNN HERO: Sadly, I've watched us lose that coral reef and the disappearance of that diverse marine ecosystem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are we ready?

CROWD: Yes!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's go down!

GOLDBERG: But then I said, you know what, I'm going to do something. I truly believe we're going to be successful with this restoration work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing how fast this coral is growing.

GOLDBERG: I see things every time I go in the water that give me hope.

I love being a part of it. I wake up every day and say look what I get to do.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

[14:50:00]

WHITFIELD: For the full story and to see Mike's group in action, go to CNNheroes.com.

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WHITFIELD: With medical marijuana now legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia, can you guess what the fastest growing user group is? The answer might surprise you. It's 65 and up. This Sunday, "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper" brings you the latest installment of the award-winning series "Weed."

[14:55:00] And in "Weed Seven, A Senior Moment," Dr. Sanjay Gupta travels the world meeting seniors, researchers, and doctors who believe cannabis could change the way we age.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When you look at all of this, what do you see?

SUE TAYLOR, BRAND AMBASSADOR, GLASSHOUSE: My first thought is that what if all the pharmaceutical drugs that all the seniors are taking, taking now, what if it was replaced with all of these plants. Plants over pills.

GUPTA: And 75-year-old Sue Taylor is a brand ambassador here at Glasshouse. She's an unlikely believer and now a messenger for cannabis use in the elderly.

TAYLOR: If you say to me, oh, you're going to be the trusted face of cannabis, I'd say, oh, you've been smoking too much.

GUPTA: What was your perception of cannabis?

TAYLOR: I thought it was a drug like cocaine, like crack-cocaine. This was a stigma.

GUPTA: But over the last decade, the perceptions, the stigma, and yes, the face of cannabis, has changed.

TAYLOR: It was before the Mama Sue came out.

GUPTA: To this face, a senior, former Catholic school principal Mama Sue, who opened her own dispensary dedicated to seniors.

TAYLOR: Working with the cannabis, it's like magic.

GUPTA: And you've seen people get rid of their other medications once they start taking cannabis?

TAYLOR: Time after time after time.

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WHITFIELD: Well, be sure to tune in to an all new episode of "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper". It airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow eastern only on CNN.

This viral video from a zoo in China sparking a nationwide debate. Officials from the zoo say this bear is not a human dressed in a bear costume, contrary to popular belief on the Internet. CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson has more from Hong Kong.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This all started when a viral video put a zoo in China on the defensive. There was a lot of skepticism in Chinese social media about a bear in the zoo, with people questioning whether it was actually a person wearing a costume. Environmentalists are hoping that the notoriety that's been generated here will attract some attention to the world's smallest bear, which also happens to be on the endangered species list.

This video put a zoo in China in a bind. When Chinese social media exploded with claims this animal was a human in a costume, the zoo decided to grin and bear it, issuing a statement in the voice of the animal saying, "I'm a sun bear," a message echoed by another zoo in the U.K.

Have you seen that video?

SIEW TE WONG, FOUNDER, BORNEAN SUN BEAR CONSERVATION CENTER: Yes, I've seen that video, and I am very, very convinced, 100 percent sure that it is a sun bear.

WATSON: Siew Te Wong is the founder of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center.

WONG: This is a male. We've got Joe over here.

WATSON: And I think we can confidently say that that's a bear, not a human in a costume.

WONG: Yes. That is a bear.

(LAUGHTER)

WATSON: This forest enclosure in Malaysian Borneo shelters 44 rescued sun bears.

WONG: They are the smallest bear in the world. It looks very similar to people when they stand up.

WATSON: Sun bears are also an endangered species. They're tropical forest habitat across southeast Asia is shrinking.

What does the future look like for the sun bear as a species in the wild right now?

WONG: If the forest is not big enough, if hunting and poaching still continue, the future is very bleak for the sun bear because they need large forests in order to survive.

WATSON: Wong says there's an illegal market for sun bear claws, teeth, and organs used for traditional Asian medicine. Now the Chinese viral video is giving the world's smallest bear a moment in the sun. In recent days, attendance surged 30 percent at the zoo in Hangzhou. It doesn't look human at all when you see it in person, this man says. Something to bear in mind the next time you're sent a viral video.

The director of the zoo in China, he said earlier this week that they got more than 20,000 visitors in a day, and that was a big surge in interest due, again, to the controversy over the bear video.