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CNN This Morning

Mass Shooting In Baltimore Leaves Two Dead, 28 Injured; Army's Air Defense Units Strained By Global Threats; Trump Holds First Campaign Rally Since Federal Indictment; Doulas On The Front Lines Of Protecting Black Mothers; Mayor Of Paris Suburb Says His Home Was Attacked; Simone Biles Signals A Return To Elite Gymnastics. Aired 8- 9a ET

Aired July 02, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:03]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Tonight, make sure to join Anderson Cooper for a special hour on the underwater Titan submersible tragedy, the recovery effort and the dangers of deep sea exploration.

Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even if it's right on top of the water, you're looking at the area the size of Connecticut for something the size of a minivan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the possibilities was that it was at the surface somewhere bobbing away. That was the horror show scenario, because you're bolted in from the outside, you would be looking out the port hole, at the air you need, and unable to reach it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" airs tonight at 8:00 on CNN.

And good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, July 2nd. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker.

We are watching for any new developments in this breaking news story. We have been following it all morning. At least two people have been killed, 28 others injured overnight, at a mass shooting in Baltimore. Neighbors were celebrating during an annual block party when the gunfire erupted. Hundreds of people were reportedly gathered in the area.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Isabel Rosales is with us now. Very early in the investigation, what do we know?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's still so many questions out there. But what we are learning as new details about the victims and the

survivors from a statement from Baltimore police. We are learning that the two dead, specifically those two victims that have been killed, one was an 18 year old woman. So, the ages here are new. She unfortunately was found dead at the scene. The other victim was a 20- year-old man.

Now, there are 28 people there injured, threw them are in critical condition. This is also new information. We are learning that 16 patients are being treated at hospitals within the University of Maryland medical system.

Now, we heard from the mayor, and speaking to guys here in the past hour, they are working to determine how many people have actually been shot versus maybe injured in the panic of it all. We see oftentimes of mass shootings like this, folks that are trampled. They're working to determine how many people have actually been shot.

All of this happening in South Baltimore, about ten miles away from Baltimore, Washington International Airport. And the broken homes neighborhood. That is a working class neighborhood. On the ground, investigators are canvassing the scene. There is debris, trash, broken bottles.

And according to the acting Baltimore police department commissioner, Rich Worley, the crime scene is, quote, extensive. Right now, no real details on who is responsible. Police are going through cellphone videos, going through evidence, trying to find rounds, maybe for forensic testing, talking to witnesses. That's going to be important.

Again, this is a block party, an outdoor block party. So, you're expecting that there is going to be folks taking videos. That will be crucial and identifying the shooter or shooters. The mayor saying they're putting out every piece of resource available to try to figure that out.

BLACKWELL: Yeah, celebration of Brooklyn Day, celebrating the neighborhood, and of course, this happens, 28 injured, two killed.

Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.

Last hour, I spoke with the mayor of Baltimore about the shooting and the neighborhood, Brooklyn, where happen.

Here's part of that conversation with Mayor Brandon Scott.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON M. SCOTT (D), BALTIMORE: The block party, this is Brooklyn Day, it's an event that happens in Brooklyn every here. Folks who are out there having a celebration, and then at some point, gunshots rang out and folks, of course, were trying to get away and get out of there. But we know that we're going to not rest until we find these individuals and hold them accountable. We will not allow folks to just deteriorate people's communities, to attack people, to murder people, and think they're going to continue to walk on our streets.

Brooklyn has been a neighborhood of working class people, a neighborhood that has immense pride in its neighborhood, as they were celebrating tonight, last night, obviously with Brooklyn, Brooklyn is a neighborhood that has had its troubles, a neighborhood that has seen some folks in that community really determined to see it be successful and see things turn around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Our thanks to the mayor for spending some time with us this morning.

Let's bring in now, Charles Ramsey, former Philadelphia police commissioner and former Washington, D.C. police chief.

Chief Ramsey, thanks for being up with us, again, talking about a mass shooting in the United States.

I asked the mayor question that he didn't know specifically the answer to, but maybe your experience informs an answer. Sometimes in these working class neighborhoods, people are reluctant to speak with police. But when you have dozens of people as victims here, are they more likely with the victims numbers so high?

[08:05:06]

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yeah, they are more likely in a scenario like this. The mayor said hundreds of people gathered. The reporter mentioned that people were probably taking videos, so forth. There is a lot of people now that have to be interviewed. I find it hard to believe that no one recognized individual or individuals who are engaged in this kind of mass shooting.

You know, they will be looking at shell casings, trying to determine one shooter, or to. No doubt, there's probably more than one shooter. This many people shy. But, again, somebody has information that the police need in order to bring these people into custody.

BLACKWELL: And as we discussed earlier this morning, there is the possibility that with so many people who are injured and potentially these hospitals, then maybe they have one of the initial shooters already who might have been injured in return fire or in some of the people on the scene.

RAMSEY: That's all part of the investigation, you have to sort through things. It's not unusual that this starts out as a gun fight between a couple people. And then the bullets, of course, I have no eyes, often don't hit exactly the target they're aiming at. So, you wind up with multiple people shot, you wind up with people being injured during a stampede when the shots go off, all those kinds of things are possibilities.

So, police, right now, I'm sure hospitals, they're interviewing everyone who is injured, to see whether or not, one, they have a suspect, and to, whether not anyone can identify the actual shooter or shooters. Again, I think it's probably likely there's more than one shooter in this particular case.

BLACKWELL: Does the number of injured versus the number of those who were killed tell you anything potentially about the weapons used?

RAMSEY: Well, the shell casings will tell us about the weapons used. This happened in a relatively short period of time, that's my understanding, it would lead to probably a semi automatic, maybe an assault rifle, I'm just guessing, I don't know.

You can tell from the shell casings. Right now, what they're doing is coming through this very, very carefully. You can look at the street and tell with the party going on, you have a lot of debris on the ground, had nothing to do with the shooting.

So, the crime scene has to very meticulously go through that, shell casings, things of that nature. That's what they're doing right now. So, it's going to take a while.

This probably is an extensive crime scene, just looking at it from television. But they will process it very carefully, and they will eventually determine who is responsible.

BLACKWELL: A bigger question here, it is going to be hot, long, a holiday weekend across this country, as we were trying to gather details on the shooting in Baltimore, we've got news of a shooting in Wichita, Kansas.

Your expectations, unfortunately, of what we're going to see over the next several days?

RAMSEY: Well, I expect we'll see more shootings. I mean, may not all rise to the level of mass shootings, whatever the holiday weekend, Fourth of July in particular, you know, memorial day, there are certain holidays where people tend to gather in large numbers. You have block parties, you have private gatherings, you have all these things going on.

And with gun violence being at the level it is in this country right now, there's absolutely no doubt that there will be more shootings. It's unfortunate, I hope people able to go out and enjoy themselves, but just be careful, be aware of your surroundings, because, you know, we live in a world now where this is becoming just so common that, you know, we talk about this like it's an everyday thing. And it's not, it shouldn't be.

And so, you know, I hope people can enjoy their fourth, unfortunately, I believe there will be some cities that will be experiencing something similar to what Baltimore is going through right now.

BLACKWELL: All right. Chief Ramsey, thank you for your time.

WALKER: This morning, more than 100 million Americans are at risk of experiencing severe weather today. We are already seeing some intense storms that could produce damaging winds, hail, and even a few tornadoes. The bad weather will continue into the afternoon.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar.

Tell us more about these storms and where they are right now.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, so, we already have some ongoing this morning, mostly focused around the Ohio River Valley and areas of the northeast. But a lot of these areas are the same ones that were hit just yesterday with strong to severe thunderstorms. This is going to continue to push off to the east, even more developing down across the southern tier of the U.S. this afternoon and into the evening hours.

The main threats for today are going to be damaging winds, the potential for some hail, and yes, we cannot rule out the possibility of an isolated tornado or two. The main focus is going to be here, yet again, across the Ohio valley. You're talking Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, down into the southeast cities like Atlanta and Birmingham.

[08:10:03]

But also then stretching back into the mid-Atlantic, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., also have the potential for those strong to severe thunderstorms.

The first wave ongoing right now, this morning, more, it begins to develop later this afternoon and into the afternoon, or into the evening hours with that second wave. That will spread into the mid- Atlantic in the Northeast. But you also have the showers and thunderstorms that will develop not only today, but also tomorrow across the southern tier of the U.S.

In addition to rain, you also have the potential for some pretty extreme hot temperatures across the Southeast. We also have that next building heat wave across areas of the western U.S.

Now, in the South, the concern here is not just the temperature, but also the humidity that gets built in as well. So, that feels like temperature gets pretty high. Houston topping out at feels like 105 today, New Orleans topping out at 100. Little rock is very much similar temperatures for today.

Now, up to the west, it's not really the humidity, but just the temperature itself. It is going to reach pretty high levels. Las Vegas topping out at 112, Palm Springs, 117, Phoenix topping out at 114. In total, we're looking for over 30 cities potentially breaking records over the next few days.

BLACKWELL: Whoo. We'll be ready for it. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

It's back on the campaign trail and airing grievances. Former President Trump holds his first campaign rally since being indicted on federal charges. What he said about the justice department and President Biden. Plus, overworked and undermanned, new reports about the conditions the

Army's air defense units are facing and the changes being made to address it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:42]

WALKER: They are the front lines of America's missile defenses. About army defense units are stretched thin because of global threats.

BLACKWELL: CNN national security producer Haley Britzky joins us now from Washington with more.

Tell us what you found. Also, what are you hearing from people inside the military?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER & PRODUCER: Sure, Victor. When we talk about air defense, we are talking about these soldiers across the globe. They are in the Pacific. They are in the Middle East. They were some of the first soldiers employed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

And leaders are saying these are the most deployed branches in the service. And so, that is having a real impact on soldiers. Leaders say that they are seeing an increase in air defense soldiers going to behavioral health, seeking mental health support. They are also very concerned about the unpredictable nature of some of these deployments and the impact that it's having on the military family.

So, leaders are very aware of some of these concerns and they are working behind the scenes to try to address them as those demands are really only increasing.

WALKER: And, Haley, are there certain regions or areas, these units are feeling the strain the most.

BRITZKY: Absolutely. So, I spoke with Major General Brian Gibson. He's the army commander in the Pacific. Obviously, that is a huge region for these soldiers to be covering. So, it's not only the operational demands of which there are many, but very intensive training schedule, you know, to do exercises with foreign allies and partners and the Pacific.

So, that's not only days away from family because of the exercises themselves, but also additional time just traveling that region. All of this is adding on to the strain on those units. There's also, of course, the soldiers working tirelessly in Europe.

I spoke with one of the soldiers who had led up the U.S. Patriot training for Ukrainian service members, who was emotional at times, recounting the interaction he had with his Ukrainian counterparts. And just the pressure that is on them, of course, and knowing that the training they are providing could mean life or death for these Ukrainian service members and other people in the country as they are deterring Russia's invasion. BLACKWELL: So, are they making changes to try to address it?

BRITZKY: Absolutely. So, the Army, there's a line of effort that the Army is undertaking. We are saying that they are offering $47,000 enlistment bonuses to fill out those ranks. They're also standing up a new air defense unit, staggering them over the next several years.

They are embedding mental health specialists with behavioral health specialists into air defense brigades, to sort of help mitigate some of that burnout soldiers may be feeling. Officials said that there has been a reduction and commitments in the Middle East. So, instead of deploying their typical five battalions, they are now deploying two battalions, and offset by partners, you know, foreign nations in the region who are able to provide their own air defense.

And, really, leaders are just emphasizing, communicate with these army families. Help mitigate some of that unpredictability, as soldiers and families are taken care of. So, ultimately, leaders, you know, they are aware of those problems. They're working behind the scenes to address it. And also ensure that these missions are met, and these units are ready to go on the call comes.

BLACKWELL: Haley Britzky, thank you.

WALKER: All right. Turning now to politics this morning, former President Trump drew a crowd of thousands yesterday to his first campaign rally since the indictment on federal charges. The event in South Carolina comes amid new evidence of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

A source tells CNN that Trump called then Arizona Governor Doug Ducey pressuring him to find fraud that did not exist in an attempt to overturn his loss in the state.

Here with me now to discuss all this is "Politico's" White House reporter Daniel Lippman.

Hey, there, Daniel, good morning.

So, let's start with yesterday's rally.

DANIEL LIPPMAN, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, POLITICO: Good morning.

WALKER: Yes, big crowd numbers after yesterday's rally. We won't go into the grievances and some of the conspiracy theories we've heard. This is in the home state of GOP rivals Nikki Haley and Tim Scott. I mean, is it even possible for them, Haley or Scott, to pull out of a South Carolina upset?

LIPPMAN: It doesn't look like so right now. And I think it's kind of interesting because, just because a group of voters elect Nikki Haley to the governorship, or Tim Scott to the Senate, doesn't mean that their allegiance to Trump is just going to go away or vanish, or that they want to elevate those people to be president.

And so, I think Trump's base is a very loyal to him. They like when he gets charged by the federal government because it means that the establishment is against him.

[08:20:04]

And they feel like they are downtrodden, many of the voters. And so, I think Trump has not suffered from this indictment. He seems to be only growing in support, and there is very little for Scott or Haley to do to actually peel away those supporters. You don't see them holding crowds of thousands of rallies.

WALKER: So, this part is only growing, you know, what about this new reporting on Trump's pressure campaign on Arizona's former governor? Does that change anything?

LIPPMAN: I don't think so. I think Trump is just going to ignore that. He is going to call it fake news. And, you know, there has been a lot of opportunities for Republican voters to get off the Trump train in the last six, seven years. And many of them have just taken that.

Although you saw a lot of them, you know, a lot of Republican voters stay home in 2022, and not vote for those Trump endorsed candidates like Dr. Oz or Blake Masters. And so, clearly, there's a portion of independent voters who like Trump sometimes in the presidential campaign, but don't like some of his more extreme supporters.

WALKER: And this past week, you know, we saw some really historic major decisions by the Supreme Court, gutting affirmative action, limiting or rolling back protections for the LGBT community, and also overturning President Biden's student loan program.

As you know, it was Trump who appointed three of the six conservative justices on the Supreme Court. Will all of this give him a meaningful boost when it comes to 2024?

LIPPMAN: Well, I think, you know, for the primary, it helps him, because he can point to these decisions and say, hey, I put these people in. But for a general election, some of these rulings were not very popular, especially student loans and affirmative action. They were kind of split. People had different opinions.

But I think for Democrats, they can use some of these rulings to pivot to class more than race, and because these colleges and universities are going to be trying to make up for the loss of affirmative action by focusing on zip codes, and socioeconomic diversity, which can help bring more Black and Hispanic students into their universities. And so, I think that more Democrats, sometimes, talk about class, which will get some of those working class white voters to vote for them, the better off they will probably be, instead of focusing just on, you know, minorities, because you need a broad spectrum of voters to win elections.

WALKER: Well, there are a lot of voters who are affected by student loans, right? And, of course, President Biden had to now, you know, pivot to plan be, not nearly as good as wiping out up to $20,000 of student loan debt for borrowers. This is clearly a huge blow to him. How does he recover from this? LIPPMAN: Well, this is a very, I think he has to appeal to Congress

and say, hey, Supreme Court told us that we can't do this. And we tried everything we could in the executive branch. Remember, they had a months-long debate inside the administration about the legality of doing this.

And so, clearly, this was not a slam dunk in terms of, yes, we have the executive branch to be able to do this. So, I think he can try to paint Republicans as being kind of stingy and not letting young people actually pursue their lives without these student loans hanging over them. And he is going to say to Republicans what's your plan for expanding Pell Grants? What's your plan for lowering the cost of college tuition which is affecting many Americans previously?

So, I think it's a temporary political fall. But I don't think there's going to be a ton of young voters say, hey, I want to vote for Donald Trump who is, you know, a Republican, and Republicans are against the student loan decision, or they are for the decision, but against relieving these student loans.

So, I think this will go away politically in the next year. But it's going to be tougher for Democrats to get those young voters because this was one of Biden's campaign platforms.

WALKER: It was. It was his signature campaign promise.

Daniel Lippman, we will leave it there. Thank you, good to see.

Still ahead this morning, a mission to protect pregnant Black women. My report on how doulas are finding themselves on the front lines of the effort more than ever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:31]

WALKER: We are monitoring updates of our breaking news this morning, a deadly mass shooting in Baltimore. At least two people are dead and 28 others injured. Police say the victims were among a large crowd of neighbors attending a block party overnight, when the gunfire started. An 18-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene according to police, and a 20-year-old man later died at the hospital.

BLACKWELL: The city's mayor told me last hour that this is a working class neighborhood, as strides to work to make improvements. Police right now are going through video, looking for clues. They're also asking for anyone with information to come forward.

Now more than ever, doulas are finding themselves on the front lines of protecting Black mothers. For several decades, Black maternal death rates have been steadily rising.

WALKER: Yeah, right now, for every 100,000 births, nearly 70 Black women die. Compare that to White women, when the number lies at 26.

I spoke with several Black birth workers who are trying to reverse that trend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:29:31]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZANIA MATHIS, BIRTH AND POSTPARTUM DOULA: I've seen a mom code and a mom's contractions completely stop.

WALKER: Zania Mathis has seen a lot of close calls in her four years as a birth doula. It was her own traumatic experience that allowed her to choose this path.

Why are you a doula?

MATHIS: The maternal death rate, my own experience with delivering my twins.

WALKER: Mathis didn't want another parent to have the birth experience she did or worse, become a statistic. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income countries with black mothers faring the worst. Black women are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.

Do you hope to help bring down the black maternal death rate?

MATHIS: I think I'm doing it. Just one client at a time.

WALKER: Doulas are trained birth workers. they provide physical, educational and emotional support for their clients before, during and after child birth.

Doulas like Mathis are working to address concerns specific to black mothers to be.

Her client (INAUDIBLE) Ray is due to deliver her seventh child, but this will be her first time using a doula.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have learned so much from her. I just feel like a whole new mother.

WALKER: While labor and delivery are thought to be the most dangerous time of pregnancy, studies show it is after mother and baby come home when most deaths occur.

Mathis says black doulas like her know how to advocate for their black clients.

Do you feel safer from complications or even potentially death by having a doula and also a black doula who understands the quality of care that a woman of color could get?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

MATHIS: We have been looked at we have a higher pain threshold, we've been looked at as dramatic.

WALKER: Mathis knows from personal experience, racial stereotypes about black women can lead to their pleas for medical help being discounted or ignored.

MATHIS: It is preventable. It is systemic racism. A lot of these deaths do not have to occur.

WALKER: And she's not alone in trying to get these numbers down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the 2023 Doula Expo.

LATHAM THOMAS, FOUNDER OF MAMA GLOW: We really want people to move away from this fear and want people to feel that birth is joyful and transcendent, because it is.

WALKER: The Mama Glow Doula Expo is trying to tackle the black maternal health care crisis and improve access to care, access that includes eliminating the cost for hiring a doula.

THOMAS: You don't have to qualify financially. You don't have to have a certain insurance type. There is no barrier of entry.

WALKER: Mama Glow and beauty company Carol's Daughter teamed up to combat high black maternal mortality rates with their love-delivered program. It expands access to doula services by providing grants to black families.

THOMAS: If you have a doula, and you're going through the process of having a child, you now have this person who is there to teach you how to advocate for yourself. 0

WALKER: potentially saving more lives and making child birth a more joyful experience.

MATHIS: In the black community, we're told we don't need a doula. It is looked at as something that inspires as luxury goals. Look at the numbers. Look at the data. We need doulas more than any other race.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: And I'm happy to report that the mother I interviewed there had her eighth child a beautiful daughter named Kimiko (ph). She was born in early June and both mom and baby are happy.

Look, what they do is extremely meaningful and very important. There is a nonprofit. We've actually spoken with this nonprofit on our show before. It is called Parents as Teachers. It's based in St. Louis, Missouri. And they provide black doulas free of charge and I've spoken with many of these doulas over the phone and they told me that they actually had personal experiences where they almost died or where they felt like their concerns were not being taken seriously.

One woman actually had a sister who passed away after giving birth. They say all of this is preventable and they say that this is an extremely personal mission for them. BLACKWELL: Yes. The advocacy and the adamance for care is so

important. Thank you for that report.

WALKER: Sure.

All right. Coming up, the mayor of a Paris suburb says someone tried to assassinate his family overnight and it happened amid days of unrest in France over the fatal police shooting of a teenage boy.

[08:33:52]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: America's tallest and longest giga coaster is closed this morning after a crack was found in a support pillar. Look at this. This was taken mid-ride. You can see, as the car carrying passengers comes around the corner, the pillar splits and shakes.

This is the Fury 325 ride Carowinds in North Carolina. That ride goes as high as 325 feet and hits speeds at 95 miles per hour.

WALKER: A massive fentanyl seizure in California. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers say they stopped the attempted smuggling of nearly 900,000 fentanyl pills. The bust happened at the cargo facility at the Otay Mesa border crossing in Sand Diego after authorities noticed anomalies within a shipment of sinks. The estimated value more than $2.5 million.

And areas across France are reeling from more violent protests. France's interior ministry says 719 people have been detained in a fifth night of protests. Officials say 45 police officers were injured and 577 vehicles were set on fire.

BLACKWELL: France has been gripped by violent demonstrations after the police shooting death of a 17-year-old during a traffic stop in Marseilles. Riot police fired teargas in a clash with demonstrators.

And the mayor of another Paris suburb says that his home was attacked early today in what he calls an assassination attempt. He says the attackers rammed a car into his house in an attempt to set the house on fire.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins us now from Paris. That is what we see at night. What are we seeing during the day.

[08:39:53]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Daytime is a different scene altogether. We're right outside the mayor's offices. The mayor whose house was attacked and as you can see there was an attempt to attack his offices. There is a lot of security. That's why the attackers couldn't get through.

Then they took a decision to go and attack his house. The mayor was in here, his wife and 5-year-old and 7-year-old children were in the house. The protesters tried to get a burning vehicle to smash into the house.

His wife broke her leg badly trying to escape, one of the children was also injured. That's why the prosecutor here is calling it attempted murder.

By and large, overall statistically, the violence is down but that is also in part because the police presence is up massively, like a huge security blanket right across the key flash points.

WALKER: And Nic, I mean I guess, you know, alleged police brutality and systemic racism, allegations of such they are not unique to the United States. And the death of this teenager has sparked these recent protests.

But there have been concerns, right, before about racism within the police ranks there?

ROBERTSON: Yes, I think when you hear from the secretary general of the United Nations come out so quickly and say that the French police need to address a racism issue in their ranks, that speaks broadly to how well this is known about.

And when you see the reaction to the killing of Nahel, then you understand how much it is felt at the grassroots level. There is a sense of racial profiling. There is a sense that North African descent youths, Arab descent youths will be more likely to be economically disadvantaged, live in those poorer neighborhoods and when the police come in those neighborhoods, they are going to come off the worst in any confrontation, in any situation with them.

You know, to get a sense of racial profiling, last night the police as I say, massive street presence in the center of Paris on the Champs Elysees, tourist, Parisians, everyone there. It was the young North African origin youths, didn't look like white French youths, those are the ones who are profiled to be searched.

And I think that speaks more broadly to the understanding of that -- of the broader issue that underlies why there has been such an eruption of violence here.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Certainly we saw something similar three summers ago here in the United States.

Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

Is America's most decorated gymnast on the verge of a comeback. Simone Biles is signaling that she may be ready to return to competition after a two-year hiatus. We'll discuss the significance next.

But first, from COVID 19 to the death of George Floyd and the presidential election, 2020 was the year that changed so much. Go inside those memorable 12 months on a new episode of the "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES THE 2010s". Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTHONY FAUCI, FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: When the history of this outbreak is written, the real heroes and heroines of this are going to be our health care providers. They hung in there. I mean they got exhausted, many of them got infected, several of them died. So they are really the heroes and the heroines of this outbreak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reason we kept going to work every day was because if I didn't go to work, then someone else had to go to work and so we needed to be there for each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you saw in New York at 7:00 every night, many people would start making noise. They would either clap or they would bang pots. And it was a way of thanking the people that couldn't stay home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The 2020 episode of the CNN ORIGINAL SERIES THE 2010s" airs tonight at 9:00 Eastern on CNN.

[08:43:45]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: She is considered the greatest gymnast of all time. And she could soon make a comeback. USA Gymnastics says that Simone Biles will compete in the U.S. Classic next month. Now, there is no guarantee that she will compete but she's listed.

We've not seen Biles compete since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. That's when she withdraw from four events while suffering from what's known as the twisties. We'll talks about those later.

But Biles did return to the summer games for one event, the beam. She won a bronze medal. Since then she's been on a bit of a break from gymnastics.

CNN sports analyst and USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan is with us. Good morning to you, Christine. Listen, she has seven Olympic medals, four of them gold; 25 national championship medals, 19 of those gold. She really doesn't have anything to prove to anybody. So why is she back?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Yes, you know, Victor, it is one of those things where these athletes, they're the best in the world and they can miss it. There is a rush in sports and an energy level in sports that doesn't really exist in anything else that they can find.

Now having said that, Simone Biles is having an life. She just got married. She's obviously a wonderful influencer and she's doing so many things, speaking out about domestic -- about sexual abuse, speaking out on issues of mental health. So she has a very full life.

But at 26, she was one best in the world, obviously. And even with all of the troubles, won the bronze medal on the balance beam at Tokyo after withdrawing and then coming back.

So, I think she's probably saying to herself, should I give it one more go. And that is exactly what we're seeing here. I think it is great. When you're that good, that wonderful, and also such an interesting and amazing person within a sport, such an instrumental leader in the sport, I think you have every right to do it and obviously that is exactly what she's doing.

[08:49:54]

BLACKWELL: If you go to her social media, she's living the life. She has a new husband. She's on vacations and looks like she's happy and living well. But as you said, maybe she misses it.

The twisties, I mentioned. What are those and what does it take to overcome them? Especially to compete at her level?

BRENNAN: So, what happened, Victor, as I'm sure many remember is that she had to withdraw from the team competition in Tokyo two years ago. And she said that she had the twisties and everyone, of course, went and looked that up. What are the twisties? You played (ph) it as well.

It's where you lose yourself in the air. You're not quite sure where you are, and you can't necessarily locate the ground and aren't quite sure how you're going to land.

And obviously, for a gymnast at the high level that Simone Biles is at, doing these incredible death-defying literally routines and landings, that could be devastating.

And so that's really what happened with her. She just had this issue of not being able to basically do her job and do it right. And with the risk of potentially injuring herself severely.

And so, that's why she withdrew. And I think everyone understood that it was something that wasn't made up. This wasn't -- there were critics out there, of course, on social media saying, what is this? And I remember people saying, oh, she's just got to get tough and handle it.

Well, that's ridiculous. She was acknowledging a problem and then telling us about that problem and handling it. So that's what that was. Now, the question is, has she overcome that? The balance beam, where she won the bronze in Tokyo, she actually then changed her program to make sure she wasn't dealing with that.

And we'll see in a couple of weeks, how does it look as far as her competition and her ability to handle that now.

BLACKWELL: She talked about mental health and the twisties on -- or during an interview on the "Today Show". Let's watch a bit of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMONE BILES, GYMNAST: I had to do something that I've done forever and just not be able to do it because of everything I've gone through is really crazy, because I love this sport so much.

But it's hard. I'm sorry. And I don't think people understand the magnitude of what I go through. The twisting, once I got back, will come back, but I'm still scared to do gymnastics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Scared to do gymnastics. During that interview, we saw something similar from Naomi Osaka in tennis, where for mental health, she took a break from professional tennis. And at that level, do you think that we are now in a different era where athletes, especially female athletes, who compete individually, feel comfortable, more comfortable now, saying I need a break, I'll be back, but I need to prioritize myself.

BRENNAN: Exactly, Victor. That's where we are. And thank goodness we're in that spot. You know, Michael Phelps even, in swimming, has talked about it. And has allowed other athletes, I think, to have the opportunity to say, hey, I can talk about this.

But you're right, Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, there certainly are others now who are having that conversation with us. Not only are they helping themselves, but think of all the young people that are listening to them and learning and saying, hey, it's ok to say I'm in trouble.

Simone Biles leading the way on that. Again, as I said earlier, what a tremendous athlete, what a tremendous person. A great American athlete, a great American leader.

And whatever she does, whether it's gymnastics and other things moving forward, we're going to be watching every step of the way, of course.

BLACKWELL: And that should certainly be applicable beyond athletics, to people who in any walk of life need a minute for their mental health. Use this as an example to take a break and you can come back.

Christine Brennan, thanks so much.

WALKER: All right, well, mark your calendars for Tuesday. Join my friend here, Victor Blackwell, CNN's July 4th special returns with an all-star lineup, that includes Victor. Yes, it does.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

WALKER: Celebrate with spectacular fireworks and the biggest musical performances around. Watch CNN's "THE FOURTH IN AMERICA" live, Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Back after this.

[08:54:07]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: This morning, Delta Airlines says two of its pilots have broken a world record by flying to 48 states in under 48 hours. Captains Berry Benefield and Aaron Wilson say they stopped in all 48 contiguous states in 44 hours and 7 minutes. That still has to be confirmed by the Guinness World Records.

BLACKWELL: The two military veterans say the reason for the world record attempt was to inspire future pilots and raise money for the Veterans Airlift Command, which provides free private air travel for combat injured veterans. That's great. The pilots have raised more than $30,000 for the organization.

WALKER: And here's something for you adventurous eaters. A restaurant in San Francisco has added lab-grown meat to its menu.

Bar Crenn is the name of that restaurant and it is now made from chicken made from cultivated animal cells.

BLACKWELL: Is there chicken in this photo? I can't see it.

WALKER: I can't see it either.

BLACKWELL: The cultivated chicken tempura will be served with a burnt chili aioli and garnished with edible greens -- of course greens have to be edible -- and flowers.

This is the only meat that is sold at the restaurant.

WALKER: I'm going to ask you -- would you eat it?

BLACKWELL: Would I eat it?

WALKER: Yes.

[08:59:52]

BLACKWELL: Eventually. I'm not going to be the first one in line for, as I call them, the Bunsen burner buffalo wings, but at some point, I'm sure we're all going to be -- listen -- they're food -- yes.

WALKER: Sustainable, yes. It helps the environment.

BLACKWELL: It helps the environment.

WALKER: Right.

BLACKWELL: It keeps, you know, chickens alive. Sure we'll do it at some point.

WALKER: I'm a bit suspicious and yes, I will not be the first. I won't be the last -- maybe I will be the last. Maybe I won't ever do it.

BLACKWELL: Well, thank you so much for joining us this weekend.

WALKER: "STATE OF THE UNION" is next. Have a great day, everyone.