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CNN This Morning
Boeing Starliner To Launch First Crewed Voyage Today; Biden Slams Trump's Attempt To Undermine The Justice System; Lloyd Austin Holds "Frank Discussion" With Chinese Counterpart; Trump Airs Grievances Ahead Of July 11 Sentencing Date; NASA Astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams Aboard Boeing Craft; Police Officer Ambushed, Killed By Someone He Was Trying To Help. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired June 01, 2024 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on 7:00 a.m. Eastern here in our Atlanta studios, welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING. June 1st, already June 1st.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Kids out of school. What do we do with them?
BLACKWELL: Starting to heat up.
WALKER: Starting to get warm.
BLACKWELL: I was fishing on Lake Superior this week.
WALKER: You fish?
BLACKWELL: Yes, 13 Lake trout. Oh, yes!
WALKER: Where's that invite for fresh cooked fish at your place?
BLACKWELL: Well, I ate some of their -- 43 degrees on the way.
WALKER: Wow!
BLACKWELL: I had to go find a winter jacket.
WALKER: It didn't felt like June yet.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hot-lanta.
BLACKWELL: Not here. All right, here's what we're working for, working on for you this morning. We're just about five hours from the expected launch of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. This will be the first-time astronauts will be on the vehicle. We're live in Florida with more.
WALKER: I'm just trying to imagine you fishing.
BLACKWELL: Why?
WALKER: I don't know, I just can't see you out there on a boat. But hey, that's just me. Donald Trump is vowing to appeal his 34 felony convictions. The legal strategy his team will take ahead of sentencing, and what President Biden has to say.
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Plus, we're tracking millions of Americans under the threat for severe weather, yet again. This also coming with summer heat that's starting to boil a little bit soon. We're tracking that for you. That's coming up.
SCHOLES: And Amara, how many flips can you do in the air?
WALKER: Like 20.
SCHOLES: Couple of double Yurchenkos, yes. Yes, Simone Biles, she can do a lot. She was dominating again at the U.S. Gymnastics Championship -- got a huge lead as she seeks her record extending ninth all-around title.
WALKER: In a matter of hours, Boeing gets a chance to make history. Its Starliner spacecraft is set to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida around 12:30 for its first crewed mission. It's been nearly a decade of work that has led to this moment.
BLACKWELL: And if it is successful, it could make Boeing a healthy competitor to SpaceX as Elon Musk's company has become NASA's default for commercial space travel. CNN's Kristin Fisher joins us now from Cape Canaveral. Kristin, Starliner had quite a journey to this moment, some challenges along the way. What's the mission? What do they hope to accomplish?
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, first and foremost, Victor, the overall ultimate goal is, of course, to get these astronauts back to Earth safe. This is a test flight, right, and test flights are the most risky type of spaceflight. There's only been six first crewed test flights in American history: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the Space Shuttle, SpaceX's Crew Dragon, and now Boeing Starliner.
So, this is a big one and it's a very big deal for the two astronauts that are going to be sitting inside that capsule. You have the commander, Butch Wilmore, and the pilot, Suni Williams, both very experienced NASA astronauts, both Navy test pilots. They each have two space flights under their belt, tons of space walks. I mean, these are about as experienced of astronauts as you can possibly get.
And for the last month or so, they've been essentially in a modified type of quarantine because that first attempt back in early May scrubbed. And so, they've been in quarantine at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas ever since. They have been allowed to see their families, but still it's been a modified quarantine for them ever since.
And so, what Boeing has been doing is they've been trying to troubleshoot some of the issues that they found. First, there was that issue with the rocket, the Atlas V rocket that propels the Boeing Starliner into space, a faulty valve, they fixed that. And then, Boeing found a very small helium leak, which they say they're just going to let ride, essentially. They believe there's not a big issue with that. So, now, here we go, after years of technical delays, we are now just hours away from this second attempt at the first crewed test flight.
And you know, Victor and Amara, the whole goal here is to get these astronauts to the International Space Station and provide some redundancy, a different option to SpaceX, the primary competitor, and then your only other option, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which comes with all sorts of complications, given what's happening in Ukraine. Victor and Amara.
WALKER: It's getting clear behind you. The skies are coming out. No more clouds. I'm not being pessimistic.
BLACKWELL: Looking great.
FISHER: I know. Weather as of now, go for launch.
WALKER: Yes, looks good. Kristin Fisher, thank you so much. And in less than 30 minutes from now, we will be speaking with a former astronaut, our friend, Leroy Chow, about this historic attempt.
Well, President Biden is breaking his long silence over Donald Trump's historic criminal conviction, telling the American people that, "no one is above the law." And now, he is slamming his predecessor for undermining the American justice system as Trump continues to spread lies about the jury, the judge, and the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's reckless, it's dangerous, it's irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don't like the verdict. The justice system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It's as simple as that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Trump's fate now is in the hands of Judge Juan Marchan who he's repeatedly attacked throughout the proceedings. And as he awaits sentencing, he's vowing to appeal the jury's verdict. CNN's Paula Reid has a closer look at what's next in this historic case.
[07:05:43]
PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Amara and Victor. So, the next big date on the calendar for the New York criminal case against former President Trump is that sentencing on July 11th. Now, sources tell me at this point it's unclear if they're going to try to get that pushed back or if they're going to let it stay. That date is just a few days before the Republican National Convention, and some of his advisors believe that could be a political advantage.
But they'll be discussing that over the next few days, and then proceed accordingly. Now, before that date, the former president, like any other defendant in Manhattan, is expected to be interviewed by trial services, and he can even submit references, words of goodwill on his behalf to help the judge as he contemplates his possible sentence. We also expect that the Trump team will ultimately appeal this criminal conviction.
That has always been the expectation. They have been planning for the possibility of a conviction and the need to appeal. So, they've been pursuing this strategy of death by a thousand cuts, constantly filing motions, raising objections, trying to preserve any possible issue for an appeal. The idea is to throw anything at the wall, see if it can stick, to try to overturn this historic conviction. But that is a process that will take many months and could even last until after the November election. But it's interesting.
You see the team behind the scenes kind of shifting from purely legal thinking with the New York case to more of a political strategy. Now, that November election, not only, something where the former president could once again be in the Oval Office, but it's also an opportunity for him to protect himself from the two most significant cases he faces. Those are, of course, the two federal cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
If Trump is re-elected, he could make both of those cases go away. And if he's reelected, it's unclear what would happen to the criminal case down in Georgia. Again, lots of legal developments in Trump world, probably leading right up to election day and beyond. Amara, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Paula Reid, thank you. President Biden made his strongest statement yet on Israel's war in Gaza. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: It's time to begin this new stage. For the hostages to come home, for Israel to be secure, for the suffering to stop. It's time for this war to end, for the day after to begin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: In an address on Friday, the president laid out Israel's three-step plan for a ceasefire and said that it's close to what Hamas has proposed.
WALKER: The president also says Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out an attack like the one that started the war. CNN's Camila DeChalus joining us now from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Good morning, Camila. So, tell us more about what is in this three-phase plan.
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Biden laid out a three-phase proposal that would essentially include having Israeli forces withdraw from certain parts of Gaza and would include having hostages and Palestinian prisoners be released. Now, Amara, during Biden's speech, he made it clear that he wants the war to immediately end between Israel and Hamas and stressed that if it continues, it would only lead to more bloodshed. Take a listen to what he said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: This is truly a decisive moment. Israel has made their proposal. Hamas needs to take the deal. I've urged the leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal. We can't lose this moment. Indefinite war in pursuit of an unidentified notion of total victory, that will not bring hostages home. That will not not bring an enduring defeat of Hamas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DECHALUS: Now, one last thing to really interestingly note is that during the speech, Biden didn't call out anyone by name, but he did make it clear that he acknowledged that there's some individuals in Israel who would not support this proposal and would like to see the war indefinitely continue. But he really urged and stressed that if that happens and the war continues, then that would only lead to more innocent lives being lost and would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis that's already going on in Gaza. Amara and Victor, back to you.
BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus for us there in Rehoboth Beach. Thanks so much.
[07:10:10]
Right now, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is meeting with leaders in Asia. Coming up, what we're learning about a key meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
WALKER: Plus 40 million Americans at risk for damaging wind and hail today. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking it.
BLACKWELL: Plus, a Michigan State trooper charged after he hit someone with an SUV -- what we're learning about this case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Singapore today for the Shangri-La Security Summit there. Austin is meeting with key partners in the region during these high regional tensions after Chinese military drills that encircled Taiwan last month.
[07:15:25]
WALKER: On Friday, Austin had a rare face-to-face meeting with his Chinese counterpart, the first since 2022, where they spoke at length about how to contain military tensions in the region despite their differences on Taiwan and other issues. CNN's Natasha Bertrand is in Singapore. Good morning, Natasha. Secretary Austin spoke today. What did he say?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he gave a major address here at the Shangri-La dialogue, which is a major defense forum here in Singapore. And really the theme of the speech was the idea of convergence and the fact that the United States believes that its allies in the Indo-Pacific are all beginning to come together in terms of security and fighting for the rule of law. And of course, that was a very thinly veiled message to China, which
the United States believes has regularly flouted international law, particularly when it comes to freedom of navigation in the seas and in the air. Now, Secretary Austin, he did meet with his Chinese counterpart for the first time on Friday, face-to-face for the first time really since 2022, when China cut off military-to-military communications with the United States.
According to a Pentagon readout, he was firm, but he was professional, and they discussed a number of topics. And Secretary Austin brought up that meeting during his speech earlier today saying that military to military communications to avoid any misunderstandings are really a core part of what responsible nations do. Here's a bit of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Let me also note that yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet in person for the first time with Minister Dong of the People's Republic of China. We had a frank discussion and that's important. There's no substitute for direct military-to-military talks between senior leaders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERTRAND: Now, obviously, this meeting came at a very tense time with China. They recently conducted major war games around Taiwan, and they have also been very provocative in the South China Sea around the Philippines and firing water cannons at Philippine vessels. So, the Secretary had a lot to discuss with his Chinese counterpart. But importantly, he also raised the issue of China's support for Russia and Russia's defense sector.
And Secretary -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is actually here in Singapore at the Shangri-La Forum. He is set to meet with Secretary Austin tomorrow. Now, Secretary Austin made clear to the Chinese that if they continue their support for the Russians that there will be serious consequences by the international community, by the U.S. and its allies.
So, undoubtedly when Secretary Austin meets with President Zelenskyy tomorrow, that will be top of the agenda as well. They're also going to be discussing, of course, the situation on Ukraine's battlefield as well as what Ukraine needs at this moment in order to support its fight against the Russians.
WALKER: All right. Natasha Bertrand, thanks so much for being there.
BLACKWELL: Across the U.S., the first week of meteorological summer. Do we need all that really?
WALKER: You said it right, meteorological.
BLACKWELL: It's like the official summer. It is off to a hot start, and some states are gearing up for the chance of severe weather. Let's bring in now meteorologists. WALKER: Say it again.
BLACKWELL: That, I'm used to saying. Meteorologists, Elisa Raffa, to break things down.
WALKER: That's the term.
BLACKWELL: What is meteorological summer?
RAFFA: So, it starts on June 1st, because our records for summer are June, July, August. The official start that we're used to is astronomical -- that's June either 20th or 21st.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
RAFFA: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Meteorological.
RAFFA: It's not easy, but that's the name of it.
WALKER: We're all tripping over it.
RAFFA: A little bit easier. It's also the first day of hurricane season.
BLACKWELL: OK.
RAFFA: That starts out today too. But yes, we're watching some severe weather in the plains too as we go through the day today because the multi-day severe weather that has really been kicking most of May continues. We do have that slight risk of level two out of five from Rapid City down into western Texas. This is where we could find maybe some large hail and damaging winds.
And then, tomorrow it shifts into the northern plains, some of the Dakotas, and then down into Nebraska as well. So, we could find a couple of storms fire up today, again with potentially some large hail in parts of Texas. And then as we go into tomorrow, we'll find a damaging wind threat across the high plains, including some places like Omaha. We keep the storm pattern kind of active, a couple of storms roll through as we start through the week, but we also have this area of high pressure that's going to set up in the West.
And that's going to send temperatures skyrocketing already, even to dangerous levels, even for this part of the country. Average high in Phoenix this time of year is 100. We're looking at high temperatures getting to about 105 as we go through the week. Las Vegas, as well, 95 degrees is your average. We're looking at highs getting well over 100, which is, you know, 10 to 20 degrees above average for places like Sacramento, Las Vegas. This is just dangerously hot, especially for this early in June.
Excessive heat watches have already been put in effect, and you can see there by Wednesday, California, parts of Texas, all with the risk for some heat sickness as we go through the next couple of days. WALKER: Meteorologist Elisa Raffa, thank you.
BLACKWELL: Thanks.
[07:20:34]
WALKER: Former President Trump is promising a fight after his conviction in New York. How his legal troubles will play into his campaign.
BLACKWELL: Plus, we're hours from launch of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. We're joined by a former astronaut for more on why this launch is so important to NASA and what it could mean for the future of space travel.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:25:19]
WALKER: Donald Trump will go down in history as the first former president found guilty of felony. In fact, more than a dozen felonies after a jury found him guilty on all 34 charges that he faced. Now, his fate, which could include jail time, rests in the hand of Judge Juan Merchan, who will deliver his sentence on July 11th.
That is just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Let's discuss all of this with criminal defense attorney and former New York Prosecutor Bernarda Villalona, and Congressional Correspondent at the New York Times, Luke Broadwater. Welcome to you both. Good morning.
Bernarda, let's start with you. And we saw there in that news conference that Trump held at Trump Tower on Friday, quick pivot from the courtroom to campaigning, and of course he was in attack mode, attacking the judge, and also others, including Michael Cohen, who we didn't name specifically, but here's Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was a highly qualified lawyer. Now, I'm not allowed to use his name because of the gag order. But you know, he's a sleazebag. Everybody knows that. Took me a while to find out. But he was effective. He did work, but he wasn't a fixer. He was a lawyer. You know, they like to use the word fixer. He wasn't a fixer. He was a lawyer. At the time, he was a fully accredited lawyer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Sleazebag. So, did Trump just violate his gag order? Is that still in effect?
BERNARDA VILLALONA, FORMER NEW YORK PROSECUTOR: The gag order is still in effect. Judge Merchan did not do away with the gag order, so it's still in effect. So, technically, what the prosecution could do is file another request to have a hearing, a contempt hearing for violation of this gag order.
But more interestingly, think about this, Judge Machon is about to sentence you on July 11th, and he's going to also be able to take into account your violation of the gag order, not just of doing your speech this time, but also your prior violations of the gag order. So, this wasn't a good move on President Trump, but then again, you have to think he hasn't made good moves throughout this trial itself.
WALKER: Luke, the first two sentences in your latest piece in the New York Times really sums up what we've been seeing from the Republicans. It says a day after Donald J. Trump's conviction, it quickly became clear that Republicans across the country would not run away from his newfound status as a felon. They would instead run on it. Tell me more about this flood of prominent Republicans who are really just quickly lining up behind Trump.
LUKE BROADWATER, NEW YORK TIMES CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. You can imagine an earlier era in American politics where a felony conviction would be a death knell to a presidential campaign where the party would abandon the candidate. They would find somebody else, and they would run that person instead.
That is not the state of the Republican Party under Donald Trump. There is appears to be nothing he can do, no conviction that can be leveled against him that will cause fellow Republicans to abandon him. They have rallied around him. They have decided they want to run on this issue to motivate the base with anger for turnout and donations.
And so far, it appears to be working, at least in terms of donations. They are flooding in to both members of Congress and the Trump campaign itself. He reported getting over $50 million in just one day after the verdict came down.
WALKER: Yes, that is a remarkable decision. We'll talk about that in just a minute. But Bernarda, when it comes to potential jail time, of course, you've heard a lot of legal experts say no, it's not likely because he doesn't have a previous record. It's a class E felony, which is the lowest in the state of New York. But when you put it all together, including these potential gag order violations, where do you think the judge could land on sentence day?
VILLALONA: Look, I've been practicing in New York for 17 years, 13 years as a prosecutor and the rest of four years as a criminal defense attorney. And what I can tell you that it is a possibility that Judge Merchan will sentence Donald Trump to a prison sentence. How much? We don't know. It could be a matter of days; it could be a matter of months. I don't think it'll be over a year anyway.
The maximum he can serve is four years on each of these counts with a maximum of 20 years in total. Judge Marchan is going to take a few things into consideration. Number one, he's going to take into consideration what is the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, going to request as a sentence. Number two, what is the probation department, after they conduct their interview of Donald Trump, as well as other factors, what are they going to recommend as a possible sentence?
Of course, what the defense team is going to request as well. You have mitigating, you have aggravating circumstances.
[07:30:05]
Usually in felony cases and the non-violent (PH) felony case, usually, it results in a non-jail prison sentence. But I'll just have to say, just based on statistics between November 2020 and March 2024, over 400 cases having to deal with falsifying business records. 50 or so of those cases resulted in prison time.
I think the major aggravating factor here is that, that underlying crime had to deal with the prevention promotion of election, of a campaign. And I think that aggravates the situation.
Also, take into account the character of Donald Trump and all the statements he has made, the violation of the gag order.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: Right.
VILLALONA: The statements, again, Judge Merchan, like the threats against these witnesses. All of this is the big package that Judge Merchan is going to have to take into consideration.
And I am not going to say that jail is off the table in a case like this, because it's a huge magnitude, when you're talking about that he defrauded the American people with this crime.
WALKER: You know, I'm sure after the verdict came down, look, you got a lot of questions, perhaps, from friends and family. What does this mean for the election then in November? And you just mentioned that $53 million figure? That's what the Trump campaign says. It raised in just 24 hours after the verdict.
And just to put things in context, I think that they had raised -- the Trump campaign raised, I think $58 million in a span of six months, this past year.
I mean, do you see this verdict damaging Trump at all, at least with independent voters come November?
BROADWATER: Yes. Absolutely, there is a chance of that. And there has been some polling that shows, at least with some moderate and independent voters, that the Trump criminal cases have not been good for him.
And that the more that comes out, remember, there are three more criminal trials going on. That could continue to chip away at support among moderate and independent voters who both candidates need to win in order to become president.
What the Trump campaign is hoping for here is to have a base motivator issue in terms of anger. They know Democrats are very motivated because of Roe versus Wade being overturned, to come out and vote in large numbers for President Biden. And they know the Democrats want to motivate the base on that issue. They are hoping to do the same thing with Republicans and Trump here.
If they -- if they can get Republican voters so angry and so mad about this, they come out in large numbers and empty their cheque books for Republicans.
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: Yes.
BROADWATER: Then, that could be their big issue in the fall.
WALKER: Luke and Bernarda, appreciate you both. Thank you.
BLACKWELL: After nearly a decade of work and delays, Boeing's highly anticipated Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to launch its first crewed mission today.
Now, if it's successful, it would be only the sixth inaugural journey of a crewed spacecraft in U.S. history.
Joining me now is former astronaut, Leroy Chiao. Leroy, good morning to you, thanks for being with me. So, it's scheduled to launch in about five hours. There were other delays in May, several mechanical problems. Who do you think, based on what you know, of all the pieces in place, do you think is going up?
LEROY CHIAO, FORMER COMMANDER, INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: Yes, this program has had its share of issues and missteps, and the company as a whole has as well in their commercial airplane business, as well as in the spacecraft business. But this time today, it's looking pretty good. Everything seems healthy, I haven't heard any reports of any issues, anyone is working.
There is that small helium leak in the spacecraft propulsion system that NASA and Boeing have jointly decided that it's safe to fly with. In fact, they said the -- you know, the NASA program manager said we could tolerate a leak 100 times larger. So, everything should be good.
Butch and Suni are getting ready to go out there and strap in, and I know both of them well, and have my fingers crossed for them to have a really great flight test of the new Starliner.
BLACKWELL: You mentioned that helium leak and just how minor it was described. And you said 100 times more could be tolerated, but this propulsion system design vulnerability that sounds far more serious. Is it?
CHIAO: It's something that the engineers or you can bet have really looked at. Both the NASA engineers, as well as the Boeing engineers and agree design is possible certainly not right, right away. You know, not sound like they are going to redesign the system after this flight test.
But did -- which probably be able to dry boarder considered some kind of change or modification, maybe, some kind of a, you know, small workaround to try to minimize the risk of having this kind of thing happen again.
[07:35:03]
But it sounds like it's an isolated case is one small -- one small seal they believe is the defect. And so, that would be just a one part that's kind of a little bit, you know, off instead of the whole thing being a problem. So, hopefully that's all it is.
BLACKWELL: Two-person crew, as you mentioned, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Suni, first woman on an inaugural mission for made voyage for one of this spacecraft. They have been in quarantine for about a month now. What do you do? Describe this quarantine that they've been in as these issues have been solved?
CHIAO: Sure. A quarantine goes way back to the early days of spaceflight. The purpose of the quarantine is really just to kind of keep the crew healthy, keep the crew away from others who might have some kind of germs or might be sick and, you know, get them sick just before they launch, and maybe get everyone on the Space Station sick.
But they haven't been continuous quarantine. You generally go into quarantine for a Space Station mission about a couple of weeks in advance. And for a space shuttle mission, it was shorter than that, and is about a week in advance.
And so, they've been going in and out of quarantine, you're -- you know, you are kind of -- you are not literally locked inside, you can go out. You can go, you know, over to the conference center to, you know, which is located on the beach there in Florida to get a little bit of alone time.
You know, otherwise you're over at the crew quarters in -- on site at NASA. It's OK, you've got full access to gym, you've got people preparing meals for you, taking care of you, and your biggest concern during quarantine is that eat too many of those homemade cookies to put on some -- don't -- you know, put out some any unanticipated pounds.
BLACKWELL: Yes. I mean, they've already signed up to spend eight days together on the International Space Station. I don't know if they knew they were going to spend a month together before they got to that point. But hopefully everything's going well and the Starliner launches today around noon, somewhere in the 12:00-12 30 window.
Leroy Chiao, always good to see you on a Saturday morning. Thanks so much.
CHIAO: My pleasure. Good to be with you.
WALKER: A Minneapolis police officer ambushed and killed while on duty. How he is being remembered by his colleagues and city officials?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:42:08]
BLACKWELL: A police officer in Minneapolis was killed by someone that he thought needed help.
WALKER: Jamal Mitchell was shot while responding to a shooting at an apartment. People are now remembering him as a hero, describing him as being exceptional in every way.
CNN's Whitney Wild has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At around 5:15 p.m., police receive a call of two people shot and an apartment in South Minneapolis. When officers arrived, they are immediately met with gunfire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're getting shot at here. 22nd and Blaisdell, actively shooting!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are multiple shots fired! Multiple shots fired!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are actively shooting!
WILD (voice over): As officer Jamal Mitchell, drives up to the scene, he stops less than two blocks away.
There, Mitchell spots someone he believes needs medical care. That's when police say Officer Mitchell is ambushed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cop down! There is a cop down!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One officer, critical, en route to the hospital. One officer substantial, we are going to try to transport him as well.
WILD (voice over): The suspect, Officer Mitchell hoped to save, instead, shoots and kills him.
DREW EVANS, SUPERINTENDENT, MINNESOTA BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION: Officer Mitchell was attempting to assist the individual that shot him. And with that, it happened very fast and that he ambushed him.
I'm using the term for a reason of seeing the video and he was ambushed at the time by this individual that was there.
WILD (voice over): This suspect and a civilian were killed during the shooting. Four other people, a Minneapolis police officer, a firefighter and two citizens were shot but survived.
Mitchell's parents spoke out after the shooting.
DENNIS EDWARDS, FATHER OF OFFICER MITCHELL: We all -- we -- you know, worry about him, when he's out there. You know? Tough getting that call, you know. So, here, yes, that, you know, but he was -- he was always caring about people.
WILD (voice over): Mitchell's courageousness was on full display the moment he put on the badge. In 2023, CNN highlighted Mitchell after he and his partner ran into a burning home to save an elderly couple.
JAMAL MITCHELL, OFFICER, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CEPARTMENT: Police! Everyone out here, call out.
WILD (voice over): Mitchell had been on the force just three days.
MITCHELL: We are not trained to run into fires, but we are trained to put other's lives in front of ours.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a hero. I've never met an officer that received an award on the third day on the job. He was a wonderful human being. He had only been on our department about a year and a half, and he was exceptional.
WILD (voice over): Mitchell's murder marks the fourth first responder ambushed and killed in Minnesota in the last few months.
On February 18th, two officers and a firefighter were killed in Burnsville, Minnesota after responding to a domestic violence call.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): That trauma quickly should turn to anger and a commitment that this cannot happen. We do not have to live this way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILD (on camera): Law enforcement continues to investigate what is a very complex case here, but they have not yet offered a motive or any insight into why this all happened.
[07:45:01]
Meanwhile, the police officer and the firefighter who were injured have both been released from the hospital. Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.
BLACKWELL: With less than two months now until the Olympics, it looks like Simone Biles is back to her old ways dominating the competition.
WALKER: This Thursday marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when the U.S. and its allies launched the largest ever seaborne invasion attacking Western Europe that eventually freed France and defeated Germany. But what motivated them to fight on that day?
In his new documentary, Jake Tapper explains, it's a right that we're still battling for today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: What were we fighting for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were locked in a battle with fascism. We are fighting for our freedom. For the freedom to think as we wish, talk as we wish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They gave their life to preserve and protect that Constitution. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They died for our democracy. That wasn't the thing they were thinking about when they ran out of their landing craft, whatever. But at the end of the day, that's what they were protecting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: On this week's "THE WHOLE STORY", Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Jake Tapper looks at D-Day: Why We Still Fight for Democracy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:50:43]
BLACKWELL: The Edmonton Oilers are one win away now from booking their first trip to the Stanley Cup final in almost two decades.
WALKER: Flow of pressures, and our Andy Scholes is here with more.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Well, guys, you know, it seemed from Canada has not hoisted the Stanley Cup in more than 30 years. You know, you think big hockey in Canada, but it's been --
BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.
SCHOLES: It's been a long time, and so, obviously, the whole country, they are cheering for Edmonton. And hey, they may be close to ending that streak they played well again in game five there in Dallas. Let's take a look at those highlights.
After scoring the last five goals of Game Four to even the series, the Edmonton Oilers often said it's picking up right where they left off in Game Five Friday in Dallas. Stars goalie, Jake Oettinger, he stopped the first shot here, but not the follow from Ryan Nugent- Hopkins. That gave Edmonton the 1-0 lead.
And the former first overall pick. Well, he was not done in this game just over a minute into the second. Nugent-Hopkins this time finishing off a great pass from Leon Draisaitl.
Oilers win this one, three to one, to go up in the series three games to two. They'll have a chance to win that series tomorrow at home.
Elsewhere, Simone Biles is well on her way to winning a record extending ninth U.S. championship and booking another trip to the Olympics.
The 27-year-old, her usual dominant self, last night. Starting on the ball with the double Yurchenko, a move no other woman in the world can land, and of course, she nailed it.
She also finished first on the beam and uneven bars before rounding out the first night, with a high-flying floor routine. Biles finishing 3.4 points ahead of Skye Blakely, in second, which is a larger margin than between Blakely and the 10th place finisher right now. Just incredible. All right, in baseball, Aaron Judge, playing at Oracle Park in San Francisco for the first time in his career last night. Judge grew up 100 miles from the stadium and had lots of family and friends in attendance.
Yankee slugger almost signed with Giants as a free agent a couple of years ago, and the fans there sure wished he had. Judge home run not once, but twice last night. Those were homeruns 13th and 14th of the month of May for Judge. He now is a major league leading 20 on the season. Judge, he had 26 extra base hits in May, the most in a month by a Yankee since Joe DiMaggio in July of 1937. What a month. The Yankees won that game in '62.
Finally, Kansas City Chiefs, visiting their offseason home better known as the White House yesterday, celebrating their second straight Super Bowl title. And third in five years. The team giving President Biden a helmet which he had some fun trying to squeeze on his head there, before he called on Travis Kelce to come to the podium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'm going to turn it over to Chiefs. But I -- you know, I have Travis come up here. But God only knows way check (PH). Travis, come here.
It's all yours, pal.
TRAVIS KELCE, TIGHT END, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: My fellow Americans, it's nice to see you all yet again. I'm not going to lie. President Biden, they told me if I came up here, I get tased. I'm going to go back to my spot. Right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Oh, she is satisfy (PH). And Patrick Mahomes' joked too. And he's feeling like a tour guide these days when he brings his teammates there.
WALKER: Wow.
SCHOLES: He is now been, three times.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
WALKER: Humble, Greg.
SCHOLES: Right.
BLACKWELL: And those who are all the bathrooms and exits are.
WALKER: Exactly.
BLACKWELL: Andy, thank you.
SCHOLES: All right.
BLACKWELL: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:58:16]
WALKER: And your "HEADLINES THIS MORNING", the Obama family is mourning the passing of former First Lady Michelle Obama's mother Marian Robinson. She passed away Friday morning.
In a statement posted on X, Michelle Obama wrote, my mom, Marian Robinson was my rock. Always there for whatever I needed. She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today.
President Obama wrote, "There was and will only be one Marian Robinson. In our sadness we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life, and we will spend the rest of our lives trying to live up to her example.
BLACKWELL: Robinson lived with the Obamas during their time at the White House, and was often spotted at events with the First Family.
Mrs. Robinson was 86 years old.
WALKER: Tomorrow, marks the New York City's annual Israel Day, typically a joyful celebration for the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. However, this year's event is expected to take on a somber tone, as it is the first parade since the Israel-Hamas war began.
With all that's happened in the city since the war started, police officials say they are increasing security this year.
The police commissioner says there are no specific or credible threats to the parade or the city as a whole.
All right. Is that time now. "FIRST OF ALL" with Victor is coming up. What do you have?
BLACKWELL: OK. So, there are a lot of people, obviously, we have an opinion about Donald Trump's conviction and what could happen in sentencing. I wanted to hear from Raymond Santana, a member of the formerly known as Central Park Five, now the Exonerated Five. Donald Trump has never apologized for his rhetoric about the teenagers wrongfully accused and convicted for beating and raping a woman in 1989.
Well, now, the former president is the felon. How was Raymond processing this?
[08:00:02]
We are going to talk with him in just a moment.
Plus, a conviction thrown out over testimony. Listen to this. From an eyewitness who was blind.
