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CNN This Morning

Israel Strikes Hezbollah In Lebanon After Deadly Attack; Dems Prepare For DNC, Veepstakes Underway; Trump, Vance Sharpen Attacks On Harris Campaign; Campaign: Harris Raises $200 Million Since Biden Endorsement; Four Northern California Counties Under Evacuation Orders Or Warnings Due To Park Fire; California's Park Fire Now Seventh Largest Wildfire In State's History; Huge Northern California Fire Burns More Than 350,000 Acres, Suspect Arrested. Presidential Elections Underway In Venezuela; New York State Bans Realistic Active Shooter Drills In Schools; Simone Biles Appears To Suffer Injury At Paris Olympics; LeBron James, Team USA Basketball Face Serbia Soon; Team USA Soccer Star Naomi Girma A Champion Of Inclusion. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired July 28, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:42]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Sunday, July 28. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Amara Walker. And here's what we're working on for you this morning.

Breaking news, Israel strikes back hitting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight after the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since October 7 kills a dozen children. The critical Israeli security cabinet meeting and new fears of an all-out war.'

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She's terrible. She's worse -- she's worse than he is. I'll tell you right now.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some of what he and his running mate are saying, well, it's just plain weird.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris traded attacks on the campaign trail. Election Day is now 100 days away.

WALKER: And a crisis in California, a 350,000-acre wildfire threatens four northern California counties and it is still raging out of control. We are live on the fire lines with the evacuation warnings in effect.

BLACKWELL: And the greatest American gymnast of all time is competing in the Paris Olympics this morning. Simone Biles' eight-word inspirational message before taking the floor.

We begin this morning with the breaking news in the Middle East. Iran issues a warning to Israel stoking new fears of a major escalation between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

WALKER: Overnight, Israel says its warplanes have struck the Iran backed group deep inside Lebanon. Israel blames Hezbollah for a rocket attack that killed 12 people in Israeli controlled Golan Heights. Now, minutes ago Israel confirmed all those killed were children.

Hezbollah denies responsibility. And Iran is warning Israel against -- quote -- "any new adventures." CNN's Jeremy Diamond is on the scene.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: We are standing in a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights where at 6:00 p.m., on Saturday evening, this area was filled with children and young adults playing soccer on a hot summer evening. And that's the very moment when a rocket landed, just right behind me here.

Twelve people were killed, children and young adults, ranging between the ages of 10 and 20-years-old. At least 29 other people were injured in what the Israeli military is calling the deadliest attack on civilians since October 7.

I spoke with one man who was in the area. He was -- his home is right nearby and he actually saw the rocket hit. Here's what he described to us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Taymor, you were nearby. You heard the sirens and you actually saw this rocket hit right here.

TAYMOR WILI, WITNESS: Yes, I did. I live about 50 meters across from the playground on the fourth floor so I have a direct view of what happened here. I was just sitting on my desk. I got my notification.

And like two seconds later, maybe less, I heard the sirens. I just rushed to the window. And not even four to five seconds, I opened the window. I was just looking straight. I saw it hit.

I saw the kids panicking, running around. And that happened at around 6:18 p.m., something like that. And I just went straight to here. I got here like two minutes later. And that's when I arrived to the scene. And I had like a clear vision of the impact and of the crater zone. So, that's what I saw.

DIAMOND: And so, you heard the warning sirens telling you that rockets were coming in but it was just seconds before the impact.

WILI: No, there's not enough time. It's impossible. If someone tells you otherwise it's impossible, even though --

(CROSSTALK)

DIAMOND: Impossible to get to the shelter?

WILI: No, it's just four to five seconds. What can you do in four to five second? You can do nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And one of the most devastating aspects of this attack is when you look at just how close they were to this bomb shelter right behind us. But as Taymor said, they had only a few seconds from the moment when those alert siren sounded and when that rocket actually hit.

Now, the Israeli military says that Hezbollah was definitely responsible for this attack. They say that they fired this rocket from southern Lebanon and they described the type of rocket. They say that it was an Iranian-made rocket only in Hezbollah's arsenal. They described it as a Falaq-1 Iranian rocket that was carrying a 50-kilo warhead.

Hezbollah, for its part, denies responsibility for this attack. But what is clear is that there is a very real risks now of escalation.

[06:05:02]

The Israeli military, the Israeli government, all vowing to respond and respond forcefully to this attack. The Israeli prime minister himself returning from Washington a few hours early because of this attack. And he said that the state of Israel will -- quote -- "not be silent about this. We will not put this off the agenda."

And now the real question is, what will come next? How forceful? How severe will that Israeli military response be against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and could this potentially trigger that all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah that has been feared for months but has yet to actually come?

We have seen escalations. We have seen this conflict go up and down, the slow simmering conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. But it has been this very type of event, one in which many civilians were killed, that could potentially lead to that broader escalation that so many you have feared.

But for now, one thing is clear, this entire community, a very small community of Majdal Shams devastated by this attack. And the mood here just very, very somber as they now prepare to bury their dead.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN Majdal Shams, Golan Heights.

WALKER: And, of course, we'll keep you updated on any more developments on that story. Thank you, Jeremy Diamond.

Well, we are now 100 days out from the presidential election. And right now, the race is tight. The candidates are focusing on critical swing states that could decide the presidency.

Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Atlanta on Tuesday for her 15th visit to Georgia, a state that President Biden flipped back in 2020. That same day, vice president nominee Senator J.D. Vance on the Republican side, will be campaigning in Nevada.

BLACKWELL: And with the Democratic National Convention right around the corner, the vice president is looking for her running mate. Former attorney general Eric Holder is leading the team to thoroughly vet the possible candidates. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear are all on the shortlist.

And as Harris focuses on that choice, Trump's campaign is sharpening the attacks on her. Trump appeared at a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville and slammed Harris, called her vicious to those bitcoin investors.

WALKER: Then both Trump and Vance headed to a rally in Minnesota. And CNN's Alayna Treene breaks down their remarks.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Victor and Amara, former President Donald Trump sharply escalated his attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, Saturday night, at a rally in Minnesota as he continues to workshop new lines in an effort to define her.

He claimed that she is more radically liberal and worse than President Joe Biden. And he also tried to focus his attacks on her policy positions when it comes to immigration, crime, inflation, all areas where the Trump campaign believes Republicans polled better than Democrats.

Now, one thing I found very interesting was that Donald Trump said many people had argued to him that they thought he would perhaps be nicer after the assassination attempt on his life. And he later joked that he actually thinks he could be worse. Take a listen to some of the attacks on Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If a crazy liberal like Kamala Harris gets in, the American dream is dead. I believe it's dead. She made Bernie Sanders look like a moderate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Victor and Amara, I also want you to watch this moment where he was about to attack and mock Joe Biden. And then he stopped himself abruptly arguing that it might be a waste of time. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't want to waste a lot of time because it's over now, right? He's gone. I told you he would be. I told you he wasn't going to make it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) TREENE: So, Victor and Amara, I actually found that moment to be really striking because it really does exemplify what I've been hearing from senior Trump advisers in my conversations with them, which is that they are struggling and still trying to figure out the best way to attack Vice President Kamala Harris.

Remember, Donald Trump in his campaign have spent this entire election thus far workshopping a playbook designed to go after an unpopular 81- year-old man. Now, they have to change gears. And it was clear that Donald Trump is still struggling to adapt to that.

We know that he often goes on to long rants and mocks Joe Biden onstage. And he did end up doing that on Saturday night, but it was very clear that he wanted to really turn his focus and his attention to going after Harris.

Alayna Treene, CNN, St. Cloud, Minnesota.

BLACKWELL: Alayna, thank you. New this morning, the Harris campaign says it has taken in a massive amount of donations, $200 million since Biden stepped aside and endorsed her, according to a Harris campaign memo.

WALKER: Now, the memo also said 66 percent of the money came from first time donors. This as Harris campaigned in Massachusetts this weekend. CNN's Eva McKend has more on how she used this fundraiser to also hit back at former President Trump.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Victor, Amara, Vice President Harris eager to prosecute the case against Trump.

[06:10:01]

At a fundraiser, she talked about her law enforcement background and said she has experience taking on perpetrators of all kinds like predators who abused women and fraudsters before going on to say, sharply, that she knows Donald Trump's type.

Now, Harris also giving virtual remarks to young people this weekend. The group, Voters of Tomorrow, leaning on them for their support and highlighting the significance of their participation in this election. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: This election, we know young voters will be key and we know your vote cannot be taken for granted. It must be earned. And that is exactly what we will do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: Harris also chiding Trump for now seeming to back away from the debate, saying, she hopes he reconsiders because the two of them have a lot to talk about. Victor, Amara.

WALKER: All right. Eva McKend, thank you for that. Let's bring in Axios national political reporter Stef Kight. Stef, good morning to you.

So, clearly as we just looked at those fundraising numbers, I mean, Harris has the momentum right now, not just with the fundraising but also she has really altered the dynamics of this race, a lot of excitement within the Democratic Party. Are Democrats worried about how long this honeymoon could last, even though there's really only 100 days until Election Day?

STEF KIGHT, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: That is certainly a concern that, you know, this honeymoon phase will wear out as we get closer to the November election. But it has been remarkable to see not only how quickly the Democratic Party has rallied around Harris choosing her as the presumptive nominee within a matter of, what was it 48 hours? And then, you know, seeing the money roll in, seeing the excitement on social media, seeing the campaigns, seeing the excitement in the room when Harris has been going through these earliest campaign stops across the country.

But, you know, there is concern that this could wear off. And, you know, it's also important to note that looking at the polls, the excitement around Harris does not necessarily mean that this is going to be a slam dunk in November. She is going to have to win over some independent voters and make sure her campaign is targeting the voters that may be more difficult for her to win over as opposed to the key demographics Biden was focused on.

WALKER: Let's listen to a little bit of what both campaigns were saying yesterday at their rallies. And Trump did mention and acknowledged that Harris does have a little bit of a honeymoon going on as were his words. But we also heard of escalate his attacks on her calling on all kinds of names, including sick and evil. But of course, Harris also hit back. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a new victim now, Kamala. We have a new victim. We have a brand new victim. And honestly, she's a radical left lunatic. And she is -- when you find out about her -- all I have to say is defund the police.

Three months ago, she was thought of so badly they were just killing her. And now that she's in this position they're trying to make her into a, let's say, Margaret Thatcher. I don't think so. It's not going to happen.

Margaret Thatcher didn't laugh like that, did she? If she did, she wouldn't have been Margaret Thatcher.

HARRIS: You may have notice Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record, and some of what he and his running mate are saying, well, it's just plain weird. I mean, that's the box you put that in, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: I mean, Donald Trump has been all over the place with his attacks on Harris, you know, from crime, immigration, to her laugh, as you heard there. And Alayna Treene was reporting, you know, that there is this difficulty that -- of the Trump campaign trying to adjust and to define their attacks against Harris. Can you speak a little to that?

KIGHT: I mean, it's clear that they feel like they need to figure out a way to go after Harris. You can tell there's a little bit of nervousness around the energy that they're seeing in the Democratic Party behind Harris. And, you know, you see, you know, these are kind of classic attacks from Trump. Going after someone personally is something that he has done in the past but it has been quite remarkable how quickly Republicans have been willing to kind of get into some of that like harsher territory and go after Harris personally. Bringing up some of the, you know, clips that have gone viral on social media where she is maybe a little bit awkward in her delivery or other things.

You know, it's important to remember that it was Republicans who kind of created a bucket within their memo going after Kamala Harris, which was titled weird, which now we're seeing Kamala Harris and her campaign take that and put that back on Republicans. We've heard that weird line over and over again to describe the way that Trump and Vance, and their, you know, Republican supporters have been going after the new presumptive nominee for Democrats.

[06:15:00]

WALKER: I mean, Harris, obviously, has this truncated timeline now, right? You know, to not only quickly pivot her campaign because the electoral map, obviously, looks a little different for her than it did for President Biden. But also, she has to quickly name a running mate at least by August 7. That's just days away before the Democratic delegates hold this virtual nomination vote before the Democratic National Convention. Can you walk us through what this accelerated search and vetting process is looking like?

KIGHT: Right. I mean, they've certainly gotten to work quickly on this. It was, you know, again, just a matter of hours before we were hearing that some of the top contenders for her V.P. choice were going through vetting.

Of course, most recently, Governor Tim Walz from Minnesota has been the name that has been floating around political circles as a likely candidate. There's also Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania who would be an interesting choice given that he is from Pennsylvania, which will be a critical state for either party to win if they're going to come out on top in November.

There's Andy Beshear in Kentucky who has also been considered among a handful of others, including Roy Cooper, North Carolina. Of course, Kamala Harris has known Cooper for a long time. They were AGs together.

So, you kind of look through this list and each one has their own pros and cons. But it is a very short timeline and the Harris campaign is making sure that they pick the best choice to help them win in November.

WALKER: Stef Kight, appreciate you getting up early this morning. Thanks so much.

BLACKWELL: Still to come, a massive fire in California has now burned an area larger than the city of Phoenix. And in Canada, a burning fire there is challenging one of the country's national parks. We have the latest on both.

Plus, polls are now open in Venezuela in what could be the country's most consequential election in a decade. Live report from Caracas for you.

And New York State is now banning realistic active shooter drills in schools. Why parents and activists are praising that decision.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:48]

BLACKWELL: Firefighters in Northern California are battling a massive wildfire that has exploded in size and continues to spread. This is the park fire that has already burned more than 350,000 acres, that's an area larger than the city of Phoenix, and has destroyed more than 20 structures. And despite the efforts, containment is only at about 10 percent. Four Northern California counties now are under evacuation orders or warnings.

WALKER: President Joe Biden has been briefed on the fire and has directed his team to provide all possible support to the ongoing suppression efforts. Now, authorities have arrested 42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout. They're accusing him of sparking this massive blaze by pushing a burning car down a hill. We have team coverage on what is now the seventh largest fire in California's history.

CNN's Allison Chinchar has the forecast on what's fueling the flames. But first CNN's Julia Vargas joining us now from Chico, California. Good morning, Julia. Please give us an update on the situation and, of course, the challenges that firefighters and the community surrounding the fire lines, what they're facing?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Amara, good morning. Here it's still good night out in California. Look, yes, larger than the city of Phoenix. We're talking about something that's moving at about four to 5,000 acres per hour.

Yesterday, the fight exploded inside going from here, from Butte County, up to Tehama, and now Shasta and up north to east -- to Plumas County as well. It's just going -- it's so massive and unwieldy even with better conditions that we had yesterday. Authorities still saw a massive expansion of this. One of the biggest challenges they're having is that in these hard-to-reach areas, fire spots like this one that you see over my left shoulder here they're still ongoing even after five days of burning through.

There's so much fuel over here, so much brush, so much vegetation that's still going. Despite all the efforts both from authorities and from residents, we've been speaking to people up and down this road. We're just a little bit north of there the Chico airport here in the direction of the town of Paradise which -- just that mention I'm sure gets people to remember that huge fire in 2018, the deadliest fire of California, that California has ever seen, 85 people killed, thousands of structures damaged.

And a lot of the residents here are still reeling from that and they say that this fire now is triggering that kind of PTSD, just having to prep. Even as you said, Victor, they're still in warning or in -- not necessarily having to leave their homes yet but just -- I want to just show you one of them who is now volunteering to help others. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY PATTERSON, BUTTE COUNTY VOLUNTEER: Well, being a resident of Paradise we had the campfire in 2018. Evacuated from that and found out that our home actually survived. Both neighbors, on each side of us, homes did not make it.

So, we couldn't return to Paradise for like over a month. And then we had water issues. We had smoke damage issues, and that kind of stuff. So, we didn't actually return until after a year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:25:05]

JONES: And this is what we're hearing from authorities that it will still take a long time to get residents back into their homes. This highway right here, we've seen people lining up every single day to just wait for an escort to have them go see their properties. A lot of them haven't seen the damage yet, Victor and Amara.

BLACKWELL: Julia Vargas Jones bringing us the stories there from California. Let's bring it now Allison Chinchar who's in the studio with us.

WALKER: Yes. So, tell us more about, you know, the latest on the weather conditions, and if there's a possibility of any relief soon.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, we talked yesterday about the temperatures. It was going to be a little bit cooler this weekend. We were hoping that would maybe help the firefighters.

We went from zero percent containment to 10 percent containment. So, it did help at least a little bit but that doesn't mean the fire can't spread. It also went from 300,000 to 350,000 acres burned. So, you're still seeing those problems.

Wind is going to be a concern as we go through the rest of the day but also those temperatures. So, let's take a look because it's also not just the park fire. You have over 90 active fires, about nearly a dozen states in the western half of the country. And all of these could be impacted from changes that are expected to come over the next few days.

Now, the park's fire -- park fire specifically we talked about is now up to over 350,000 acres burned, but it only started late Wednesday. So, if you talk about how quickly this fire has been able to spread, we talked about this yesterday, that means it has been burning an average of 50 football fields every single minute since it started. So, that's how fast this is spreading.

One of the concerns today is more spread, not just from that fire, but even some other fires. We have the red flag warnings in place, those winds about 30 to 35 miles per hour that can easily take some of those embers and quickly spread them pretty far and wide.

The other thing that can spread is the smoke. So, you've got a lot of air quality alerts out there in effect for several states because the air -- the smoke is going to be very thick in some spots. If you have breathing problems, respiratory illnesses, that's going to be a big impact for today.

Some areas of dry thunderstorms off to the north and also above average temperatures and very strong winds a little bit farther south. Both of those are going to factor in. But those cooler temperatures that we talked about, they are not going to last very long. A lot of these areas getting back into those mid to upper 90s this week.

WALKER: It's not good news. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. Well, the most decorated gymnast of all time, Simone Biles, is making her return to the Olympics. And there's already some drama. The new concern she might have, an injury. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:58]

WALKER: All right, just some other stories that we're following this morning. Part of a busy highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is shut down for a second day. Early Friday morning, a truck carrying lithium batteries overturned and then caught fire near Baker, California.

Some drivers faced being stuck in the traffic upwards of 12 hours. And as of last night, the California Highway Patrol had not estimated when the northbound lanes would reopen. Water can't be added to battery fire. They have to burn out on their own.

And just an official say almost 40 percent of all buildings in Jasper, Canada have been destroyed by a wildfire in Jasper National Park. It is the largest wildfire Jasper has seen in over a century, covering an area nearly the size of Kansas City, Kansas.

The mayor released a statement saying, the pain our town is feeling is beyond comprehension. I know this will be the darkest week in our community's history. I am confident that together we will see brighter days are ahead. The fire remains out of control and is expected to continue to grow in the days ahead.

And people living in Bonney Lake, Washington were shocked when a hot air balloon unexpectedly went down in their neighborhood. According to KIRO, the balloon went off course due to high winds and hovered just 10 feet above homes before landing safely with help from local residents.

Now, officials say there were eight passengers in that balloon. Two of them were celebrating their 21st birthdays.

Victor?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, polls are now open in Venezuela, and it's a presidential election that pits the authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, against the Democratic opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez. And the outcome could have consequences for the U.S.-Mexico border.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon is live in Caracas for us this morning. Stefano, tell us about the stakes here.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, Victor, we're coming to you straight as the polls have just opened in Venezuela. You can see behind me some of the people already lining up. I think that I've spoken with many of them, and they told me they've been here, some of them since 5:00 or 4:00 a.m., because they feel this is their best chance, probably in a decade, to oust Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro himself has already voted. It's customary here in Venezuela that the president votes at the earliest hour. The polls have opened about half an hour ago. They will be open until 6:00 p.m., and we will have results later in the night. The stakes could not be higher, Victor.

Amara (ph) and me here, we're talking about an authoritarian government that has been in place since at least 2013. But just as you said, there is a lot here to play with the U.S. and the U.S.-Mexico border, because already 8 million Venezuelans have left the country since Maduro came to power in 2013. Many of them have trekked through the Darien Gap, going into Central America, and then upward towards the U.S.-Mexico border to try to migrate into the United States.

I think that last year Venezuelans were the second largest national group after Mexicans that were apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol in the U.S.-Mexico border. So many here fear that unless Nicolas Maduro is ousted, there will be another migration wave in the fall with hundreds, if not millions, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Venezuelans leaving this country and trying to make, as me, try to find a new fortune abroad.

[06:35:25]

So, there is -- that's why many people are looking with intense scrutiny at this election. There's a feeling that the opposition has a momentum, but of course we're talking about an authoritarian government and this could turn out in a tense way. Victor, Amara?

BLACKWELL: A lot of the line, Stefano. Thank you for the report.

Major changes are coming to New York schools. Coming up, why the state is banning all restrictive, or excuse me, realistic active shooter drills.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:37]

BLACKWELL: New York has the largest school district in the country within the city and it's banned realistic active shooter drills. Now, the drills include props and actors to simulate an active shooter situation.

The decision comes after years of activism by parents and lawmakers who claim that the drills are actually traumatizing to children.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the latest. Gloria?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, Amara, this is a major win for parents and student advocates here in New York who have been pushing to make these changes for several years now.

And I spoke to some of those students as well as their parents. And all of them shared the same thing with me, that they felt that these realistic drills were doing more to harm and traumatize their children than actually prepare them for any emergency inside a school classroom.

Now it is important to highlight, Victor and Amara, that despite our country's ongoing epidemic of gun violence, school shootings actually remain somewhat rare. In fact, they account for less than 1 percent of school shootings. Of the more than 44,000 annual U.S. gun deaths. That's according to data compiled by Everytown, the group that advocates for gun control.

And so, their argument is that it is actually unlikely that the majority of children will have to be exposed to gun violence or a shooting inside their school. And that this over preparation, this constant drilling, and the depiction of violence, and the use of props in many of these drills is having an effect in their mental health. It is traumatizing, it is creating anxiety and it is exposing them to a level of violence at a very early age. I was shocked to learn that many of -- of the students are exposed to this from when they are still three, four, five years old.

I also spoke to a student activist. She's an incredible young person who has had to go through these experiences of shootings in her school, but who has taken that experience and turned it into activism by pushing for these changes. She spoke to me about what it's been like to go through the school system and having to be exposed to these constant drills.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STELLA KAYE, VICE PRESIDENT, DENVER EAST HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DEMAND ACTION: You know, these drills, you know, maybe useful for a day or two or a year or two, the school year for preparing students for what it's like, but, you know, they're not research doesn't show that they're, you know, useful or prevent school shootings at all.

That alarm is one of the worst things you can hear, it's just kind of a reminder of the -- the climate that we -- that we live in, the -- the normalization of gun violence and the alarm goes off and you go into a corner and you turn the lights off and my teacher will lock the door and draw the shades and then we wait until we get released.

It's -- it's become a little bit of just like a chore almost. I last year we did, I looked around and I saw everyone scrolling on their phones and I was just thinking to myself, like, this is not a solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now let's talk about the changes that are coming here to New York in the upcoming school year. You know, New York is home to the largest school district here in New York City. And now schools will not be allowed to have these realistic drills. They cannot use actors or props or any depictions of violence when they are drilling. Parents are also now required to receive advanced notice as well as students and staff and the drills have to be trauma informed. They have to take age into account and they have to make sure that they are providing resources to students who might need them.

Advocates say that this is the best way of actually preparing and dealing with this issue of gun violence in our country. Schools here in New York will still be required to drill a minimum of four times a year, and parents and students here in New York say they are not done just yet. They are planning on pushing for more changes in this year's upcoming legislative session in Albany, pushing so that the minimum will be two times a year and parents will be given the option of opting their children out of the drills if they want to.

[06:45:20]

Victor? Amara?

BLACKWELL: All right, Gloria thank you for that.

We are only two days now into the Paris Olympics, and drama for gymnast Simone Biles forced to crawl off the floor. We'll explain why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

BLACKWELL: All right happening right now. The most decorated gymnast in history is competing at the Paris Olympics and she may be dealing with an injury. Of course, she's a fan favorite. I'm talking about Simone Biles. U.S. Women's gymnastics team that taking part in the qualifying round today. Just minutes ago, she was helped off the mat by coaches after a routine.

Joining us now from Paris, CNN sports analyst and columnist for USA Today, Christine Brennan.

Christine, I just saw a couple of minutes ago she had to hop down the stairs on one foot. What's going on?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Yes, Victor, this is a development here in Paris that is, as you said, just happening with Simone Biles, the clearly the most famous athlete in the U.S. delegation and maybe the most famous athlete here at the Olympic Games. This is the qualifying for the team competition and also for the other events as they move on through the rest of the Olympics.

So, it's a very big deal. Simone's first time. I mean, you've got a cast of thousands. Ariana Grande and -- and Tom Cruise are there in the arena watching. And on her floor exercise, apparently, Simone had or even before that there was something going on with her ankle and her calf and that is wrapped now. So that's been taped up. She has continued to compete. She just did the vault. Had a hop on her landing, but she did compete. So, I think it's important to say she is still competing.

But there has been -- there's certainly some concern, especially when you see Simone Biles literally crawling off and having to then get up and then have her ankle or calf or both be taped. So that's what we know. There's a lot we don't know. What will happen next is at some point Simone will be interviewed certainly by NBC and then by the reporters, many reporters who are there from print and online, and we'll start to get answers from her on exactly what happened.

The key point is no matter what the injury is or not, or just it's caution or concern, which happens, as you know, with a lot of athletes at this elite level. Whatever it is, Simone Biles continued to go on and compete. And I think that is the important point as we look at this developing situation.

BLACKWELL: Yes, certainly, obviously uncomfortable for her because of how she had to get off the mat. But we don't know the severity. We'll learn that soon enough after this qualifying round.

Let's turn to Team USA as it relates to men's basketball. They are the favorites again. I think they won the last four goals. What do we expect? Are there any contenders here? Canada has a good team. Anybody to challenge Team USA?

BRENNAN: You know, they're playing Serbia today. And, you know, I think because of the scattering of NBA stars throughout -- throughout the, you know, throughout the international play that you're going to see most of these countries have an opportunity, potentially to give the U.S. a scare. South Sudan gave the U.S. a scare last week in a preliminary game. So, the internationalization of basketball, men's and women's. But certainly, the NBA stars that we've come to know who are from other countries, they go back and play for those countries. So even Serbia, of course you know, has an NBA star or two.

So, I think -- I think every game potentially could be close. I do think the U.S. men will win the gold medal. That's another dream team for the U.S. But clearly, again the world, you know, everyone's catching up. And there's no doubt about that and what we love about that in the international play in the NBA or the WNBA. Obviously, then it carries over into the Olympics as well.

BLACKWELL: Yes, two big names we know here in the U.S., but they're playing for Spain. Men's doubles in tennis. You've got Carlos Alcaraz, 21 years old, and 38-year-old Rafael Nadal on clay together. I mean, to be there and see that, fantastic together.

But there's been some complaint from Nadal that there's not enough downtime. And he has said that he wasn't sure if he's going to play today. What do you know about that? I mean, it would be great to see them. They played Saturday and one, of course, but looking forward.

BRENNAN: Well, exactly, Victor. And this is Roland Garros, which, of course, has been a home court for, you know, victories for Nadal for the length of his career. So, he is known for that red clay at Roland Garros, which is the host site for the Olympic tennis.

Nadal's been a busy guy. I happened to run into him and see him at dinner the other night in, basically, in downtown Paris. Then, of course, he was involved with the Olympic torch and the flame as it was being passed as he was a big part of that celebration by the Eiffel Tower.

So, you know, he's been running around town. He's been a busy guy. But he is known for his tennis and the idea that this is what the Olympics is so great at. It gives us these match ups or these opportunities for players to play together because they're from the same country. And we see that, you know, of course, in many different sports.

But here's a perfect example in tennis.

[06:55:00]

BLACKWELL: Yes, I mean, that would be great to see the two of them and on clay. Christiane -- Christine -- Christiane. Christine Brennan, thanks so much.

WALKER: I would love to run into Rafael Nadal out at dinner, out on the town these days. Later today, U.S. women's soccer plays Germany with a spot in the quarter finals on the line.

The team features the highest number of black players in the team's storied history, including. Naomi Girma. The 24-year-old is also first generation American. Her parents emigrating from Ethiopia.

In this week's difference makers, she shares how her childhood heroes inspired her to be an example for the next generation of Olympians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAOMI GIRMA, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: I feel like every major sporting event was I'd always have chills after, and it was just like, just this incredible moment. I can like, remember watching Simone Manuel, Simone Biles, Serena Williams just dominate their sports, and being black women in sports that typically didn't see a lot of women of color competing was always super inspirational to me.

Playing for the U.S. is a huge honor, and getting to compete together with this incredible group of women, and I think at the end, to bring home the trophy will -- would be the best feeling ever. I feel very grateful to be in a position where young girls can look up to me and feel represented. I feel like they can see themselves in this space where maybe they couldn't see themselves before.

So, I think like anyone who has like any dream and like watching me live out my dream with soccer, I hope it makes them feel inspired to do that and whatever they're passionate about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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