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CNN This Morning
Navalny Faces New Trial; Florida Deputy Lucky to be Alive; Monetary Impact of Culture Wars. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired June 19, 2023 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:31:02]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: There were several shootings across the U.S. as many Americans celebrated the holiday weekend. They included the death of a Pennsylvania state trooper. Here's what we know.
One person was killed, nearly two dozen people injured after bullets flew at a Juneteenth celebration. This was in Willowbrook, Illinois. And now police are hunting for the suspect.
In St. Louis, one teenager is dead, nine others injured when bullets rang out at a party in an office building. A 17-year-old suspect is in custody in that shooting.
And in central Pennsylvania, one state trooper is dead, another is fighting for his life, after police say a suspect took aim at police barracks with a hunting rifle. The suspect was eventually killed by police after an hours long manhunt and shoot-out.
In central Washington two people were killed, three others were injured, including the suspect at a campground.
An investigation has begun in Atlanta also after five people were injured in a shooting outside a nightclub there in DeKalb County.
And four people are dead, one suspect is in custody, after a shooting in Kellogg, Idaho. It's not clear what set this incident off.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, on Father's Day, Sunday, U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark dedicated his first major win of his career to his mother.
Coy Wire joining us with this morning's "Bleacher Report."
A moving moment there. And what a win for him.
COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a special win. Good morning, Erica.
Wyndham Clark says that mom, Lisa, and dad, Randall, made him the golfer he is today, but it was his mom who put a club in his hands for the first time. She passed from breast cancer when Wyndham was in college, but he's never forgotten her message to him, play big. And that's exactly what he needed to do with Rory McElroy breathing
down his neck all day. McElroy needing to sink a 41 foot putt for birdie on 18 to catch him, but it comes up just wide. That put all the pressure on the 29-year-old from Denver. People rushing to the 18th hole to see if Wyndham Clark could maintain his one stroke lead. He'd need a two putt to win his first major. He got his first PGA tour win just last month and now Clark, she's a beaut (ph). That's a major champion he is. He'd never finished better than 75th in the six majors he played in, but he finishes at 10 under to win the U.S. Open. And our Patrick Snell caught up with the camp moments after his win.
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WYNDHAM CLARK, 2023 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: It was like, wow, you know, I really feel my mom's presence this week more than any other week. You know, and then as I played the rounds and stuff started going my way, it - it really reminded me of her. And there was multiple times when I was out there on the golf course that, you know, I thought of my mom. And so it's - it's just been a really special week and a lot of this is in memory of my mom.
I've always thought of myself as a star and I - I always dreamt of being one. And so to finally get to the point where I feel like I'm at their level is, you know, is a dream come true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: And Wyndham Clark, Erica, he said that he almost walked away from golf completely when he lost his mom. He really struggled with that, Erica and Victor. And then he went on a five-year run in 133 PGA Tour starts without a win, but he never gave up. And he's a testament to hard work and never giving up. Might pay off some day.
HILL: Yes, absolutely. It is a great story and nice to hear him to say how he felt his mom really was with him.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
HILL: Coy, appreciate it. Thanks.
BLACKWELL: Thanks, Coy.
WIRE: You got it.
HILL: Antony Blinken wrapping up his meeting with President Xi Jinping at a critical time for U.S./China relations. You'll hear from the secretary of state at any moment. We're going to bring you live to Beijing for those remarks.
Stay with us.
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[06:38:47]
HILL: We are keeping a close eye on Beijing this morning. Live pictures there as we await a news conference with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Of course, on the heels of his meeting with China's leader, Xi Jinping. We're going to bring you his reaction to that meeting between world superpowers. So, stay with us for that.
BLACKWELL: In Russia, jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny is back in court today. Navalny faces extremism charges. He's already serving nine years behind bars for fraud and contempt of court. A new conviction could tack on another 30 years to that sentence.
CNN's Matthew Chance is live in Moscow with the latest.
Matthew, tell us what we're expecting today and what this defense we're expecting to hear from Navalny will be.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Victor, I don't think they've got much of a defense set out simply because it's only recently that the prosecution has given Navalny's lawyers all of the documents, nearly 4,000 pages of documents detailing his alleged crimes with regard to extremism that he's being prosecuted for. We're talking about sort of founding an extremist organization, financing extremism. So, very, very serious crimes, obviously, under Russian law. And they're all kind of talking about his anti-corruption campaign, which for many years, of course, has been really holding those in power in Russia to account.
[06:40:09]
And so the fact that he's already in prison and the fact that now he faces - Alexei Navalny -- another potential 30 years if, as is expected, he is eventually convicted and found guilty of these crimes just gives us a really clear picture of, you know, how dark and difficult and dangerous it has become inside the Russian political climate.
So, Navalny himself has issued a brief statement saying, from all the tomes (ph), all the - all the documents that have been given to me, it's clear that I'm a sophisticated and persistent criminal, but it's impossible to find out exactly what I am accused of. And so Navalny using some dark sarcasm, humor, to reflect on, you know, the absurdity, really, of - of what he's standing accused of right now, Victor.
BLACKWELL: With all that context, Matthew, it doesn't sound like he has much of a chance of fending off these charges.
CHANCE: Oh, I mean, no. I mean I don't think anybody seriously thinks that Navalny is going to be found not guilty of these charges. I mean, look, I mean, human rights groups, Navalny's own team, foreign governments, the United States officials, when they speak about this, they all say that thee charges and that the - the detention of Alexei Navalny is essentially politically motivated.
And so what lots of people here who support Navalny, and overseas support Navalny feel, is that, you know, it won't be until Vladimir Putin is out of office, or the regime changes in Russia in some way, that Alexi Navalny will be free. So, they can sentence him for 9 years or 30 years or 39 years.
But, you know, I think the hope is that if the authorities change here in Russia, which there's no sign of at the moment, it's only then that people like Vladimir - sorry, that Alexei Navalny will be set free.
BLACKWELL: All right, Matthew Chance for us in Moscow. Thank you, Matthew.
HILL: Also new this morning, more unrest in the West Bank after Israel's military executed a raid in the city of Jenin. At least four Palestinians were killed, including a teenager, 45 wounded. That's according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israeli defense forces and border police say they were carrying out an operation to arrest two wanted suspects when a huge firefight erupted. Seven Israeli troops were injured after they came under heavy fire.
A sheriff's deputy gets sucked under water trying to rescue a driver from heavy flooding. That terrifying experience caught on the officer's body camera.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think?
BLACKWELL: Oh, man. This is -- oh, man.
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BLACKWELL: I was full -- full of emotion in this story. The new International African American Museum in Charleston takes me back in time hundreds of years and introduces some of my remarkable and brave ancestors.
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[06:47:12]
BLACKWELL: This video, this story is unbelievable. New this morning, heart-racing body cam video showing the moment a Florida sheriff's deputy was sucked 100 feet under water. This happened during an attempted water rescue. The deputy was responding to a stranded driver when the driver was also pulled under the floodwaters. And both men very fortunate to be alive.
CNN's Athena Jones now with the details behind the dramatic video.
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DEPUTY WILLIAM HOLLINGSWORTH, ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: I'll be out with several disabled vehicles here.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sheriff's Deputy William Hollingsworth arriving on scene in Escambia County, Florida, Friday to help a stranded drive stuck in rising floodwaters.
After exiting his patrol car, he says he saw a driver vanish under water and immediately went in after him, only to be sucked under himself.
The sheriff's office says for 30 terrifying seconds Deputy Hollingsworth was pulled under water, sucked through a drainage pipe for nearly 100 feet. His body camera capturing the rushing muffled sounds of being submerged. Until finally he is able to resurface. Deputy Hollingsworth immediately rushing to the driver to see if he's okay.
HOLLINGSWORTH: Oh, Jesus David, David, David, (INAUDIBLE) David, David, can you (INAUDIBLE) believe what just happened to us?
JONES: The two audibly emotional about their near death experience.
HOLLINGSWORTH: Hey, just breathe. Just breathe (INAUDIBLE). Oh, my God. Oh, thank you, Jesus. Oh, Lord. Oh, Jesus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I almost died.
HOLLINGSWORTH: Oh, Jesus, me too, buddy. It sucked me in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
HOLLINGSWORTH: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
HOLLINGSWORTH: I did. I've never held my breath like that in my life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me neither.
JONES: Afterwards, the driver thanking the deputy for his actions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad to just thank you, man, for - for like being there when I came up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: It's remarkable that they both survived.
BLACKWELL: I - I couldn't imagine. He said he had never held his breath that long.
HILL: Yes.
BLACKWELL: To be sucked in that way and then come out. And - and you're holding your breath. You don't know if you're going to make it out. Thank God they did.
HILL: No, really - really remarkable.
Just ahead here, what is the cost of the culture wars? A number of big companies seeing some backlash on their body line, but is it directly related? That's next.
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[06:54:19]
HILL: New evidence that America's culture wars are having a financial impact on companies supporting the LGBTQ+ communities. Brands like Target and Kohl's among a number of companies facing backlash, even threats against their employees for promotions and merchandise reaching out to the LGBTQ+ community.
But Light's sales have suffered since partnering up with a transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney. That, of course, sparked a customer boycott. But what are the other factors at play here?
CNN chief business correspondent and "EARLY START" anchor Christine Romans is with us. And Ron Brownstein back as well, CNN senior political analyst.
Christine, is it really that simple. Oh, these things happen. Oh, there was a backlash. There was a big move on the right to try to get people to boycott these companies and now all of a sudden they're floundering?
[06:55:03]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Look, there are other - there are other trends, business trends, at play here, but I think it caught the c-suites by surprise, this right-wing culture warrior movement. Inclusion has always been good business for these companies. Their employees want it. Their customers want it. It's always been good business.
And on earnings calls, for years you've heard these CEOs and CFOs talk about inclusion, diversity and equity and inclusion. And all of a sudden they're a little bit quieter about that because they're seeing these instances where their brand has been pilloried for being inclusive and so they're trying to figure out how to - how to tread this - tread this water.
But inclusion is good for business and they know that. They're just trying to figure out how in the world do you navigate like Target or Bud Light when you have so many people online that are - are demanding that you boycott a product simply for being inclusive.
BLACKWELL: You know what's interesting is the - the new target of some of these groups. Chick-fil-A.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Staved off a boycott because they acknowledged that had a DE&I, diversity, equity and inclusion executive.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
ROMANS: Yes.
BLACKWELL: And they were looking for someone. Ten years ago holding up a Chick-fil-A sandwich to some people -
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
BLACKWELL: Was your way of showing where you stood on some of these issues.
ROMANS: Right.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, you know, these boycotts have to be seen, I think, as part of a broader movement. I mean the red states, in many ways, are building a nation within a nation on all sorts of issues, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, abortion rights, book bans, classroom censorship. And this is extending that attempt to kind of impose those values on to the - on to the corporate sector.
But as Christine said, they are cross pressured. I mean they are looking at their future. A majority of everybody under 18 in this country are kids of color. One-fifth of gen-z identifies as somewhere in LGBTQ. Two-fifths of them do not belong to any organized religion. So the - the attempt to kind of impose the values and to force companies to toe the line of the values of one segment of society really puts them in a hard place. And, ultimately, they have to decide whether they're going to embrace this changing inclusive America or whether they're going to back down in the face of this kind of pressure.
HILL: This is going to feel like a rhetorical question but I mean it very seriously. As -- as -- from a political -- both the political and the business standpoint, as you're looking at this, right, inclusion is good for business. How and where is exclusion good for business or for politics when you're narrow - you're narrowing your pool?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, look, I - it's very different between the red states and the blue and purple states. I mean, in the red states, you have Republican coalitions that are running state government with an electoral coalition that is fundamentally rooted in the parts of the state that are not changing, that are basically nonurban, older white voters. And they are using that to impose the values of that coalition on changing places before the new demography (ph) maybe changes the political balance in a place like - in a place like Texas. And so you see half the country moving in this direction.
And then these boycotts are kind of the business flank of that same effort that in many ways is attempting to reverse what has been six decades of nationalizing more rights and creating common rights that are available in every state. I mean we are moving back to a pre-1960s world where your basic civil rights and civil liberties depended much more on your zip code. And I think, look, in some places like the period before the Civil War, no institution was equally credible on both sides of the sectional divide. And these companies, much as they want to stay out of it, ultimately have to decide, are they going to embrace the changing America or are they going to embrace this effort to, in effect, make America great again by going back to older rules and older values.
ROMANS: How they respond is critical.
BLACKWELL: Yes. ROMANS: Because this has been one of the things is - is they've sometimes responded badly.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
ROMANS: You know, I mean, in the Bud Light case it was a -- it was a single Instagram post that blew up into this - into this huge thing. In the Target situation, it was threats against their customers, right, with this pride - pride stuff was on display, they were having threats against their - I'm sorry, their employees.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
ROMANS: You know, how you respond by not giving in to the right wing attack mob but acknowledging, you know, your position, I think that's - for c-suites, that's what they've got to figure out. The rapid response for the communications teams has got to be better.
BLACKWELL: You could lose either way with that.
ROMANS: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: The pressure is working on the c-suites.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: They are pulling back.
BLACKWELL: All right, Christine, Ron, thank you very much.
Let's now - let's keep a close eye on Beijing because that's where we're waiting for Secretary of State Tony Blinken's comments after his meeting with Xi Jinping.
CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.
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ROMANS: Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: China's foreign minister says relations between China and the U.S. are at the lowest they've been in decades.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the greatest strategic threat we're going to face in this century.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another holiday weekend in America marred by gun violence from coast to coast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was supposed to be a celebration. This now joins the list of 310 mass shootings in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody ran. It was chaos.
[07:00:04] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Biden is officially back on the campaign trail. In Philadelphia for his first rally since announcing his
