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New Day
U.K.'s Boris Johnson Faces No-Confidence Vote Over Scandals; From Graduation Parties to Bars, U.S. Sees More Mass Shootings; City: Uvalde Officers, Dispatchers Taking Time to Rest; Police: Retired Judge Killed by Man with Political 'Hit List'; Gas Price Average Nears $5 Across Nation; BlackRock CEO Warns Inflation Likely to Persist 'For Years'; Russian Missiles Strike Kyiv as Putin Warns West Over Shipments; Kemp Allies Urge Trump Not to Interfere in Georgia Governor's Race. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired June 06, 2022 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Brianna Keilar, with John Berman on this NEW DAY.
[05:59:45]
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson could be out of a job by tonight. We are live at 10 Downing Street.
It was a deadly weekend in America. From graduation parties to bars, mass shootings across the country leaving several killed and dozens more wounded. What is Congress prepared to do when they return this week?
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A former judge in Wisconsin gunned down by a man with a hit list. The two high-profile politicians he targeted next.
And the U.S. and South Korea responding to eight missile tests by North Korea with eight missile tests of their own. What will Kim Jong- un do now?
Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Monday, June 6.
Major political news out of the United Kingdom. In just the last couple of hours, it is in within the realm of possibility that the leader of America's closest ally may be out of a job by tonight.
It was just announced that later today, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a no-confidence vote within his own party. This comes after months of Johnson being dogged by the so-called Party-gate scandal, accused of flouting COVID restrictions.
He was just booed in public during the queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. You can hear it right there.
Let's go to Nada Bashir, live at 10 Downing Street in London, with all of a sudden, this day of extreme jeopardy for Boris Johnson, Nada.
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. Boris Johnson has been facing mounting pressure over the last few weeks, but these are the words no prime minister, certainly not Boris Johnson, wants to hear. A vote of confidence has now officially been triggered.
That means that there's at least 54 letters from Conservative lawmakers, calling for a vote of confidence has now been reached. That key threshold there.
The prime minister will need to retain at least more than 50 percent of that support, 180 Conservative members of Parliament, if he is to survive this vote of confidence.
Now, as you mentioned there, that vote will take place this evening, and we expect the votes to be counted immediately after MPs cast their votes. However, the details around when and how we might hear the announcement as to the results, that is still to be confirmed.
But as you mentioned, this comes at the heels of a significant scandal, the Party-gate scandal, the prime minister pictured taking part in social gatherings and parties, both at Downing Street and at other government buildings, during a time when the country was either under lockdown or facing strict COVID-19 regulations. Not only the prime minister but also other ministers.
He's faced a metropolitan police inquiry. He's faced the cabinet office inquiry. That Sue Gray report came out a little over a week ago, and really, it gave a damning account of the extent of the parties and social gatherings in store.
So he's really taken a hit within his own Conservative party but also in terms of public opinion. As you saw there, the prime minister was booed as he made his way into St. Paul's Cathedral over the weekend for a church service to mark the queen's Platinum Jubilee. So he has really faced this increasing pressure.
And we have had a statement from Downing Street. They've said that the prime minister welcomes the opportunity to -- to really make his case to members of Parliament, a chance to end months of speculation, to draw a line under the scandal. That is certainly what the prime minister hopes to do, if he does succeed in surviving this vote of confidence.
Typically, he would have a sort of 12-month grace period where this sort of challenge couldn't be laid against him again, but we heard from the chair of the 1922 Committee. He suggested that those rules could be changed, but still potential further challenges for the prime minister to come -- John.
BERMAN: Even when prime ministers have emerged, survived from these votes of no confidence, they have come out somewhat weakened in the past.
Nada Bashir, thank you so much for being there for us. Please keep us posted. KEILAR: No state, no city, no street corner seems to be safe from the scourge of gun violence that is shaking the nation. There were at least ten mass shootings in America over the weekend, ten.
On a busy -- on busy South Street in Philadelphia, multiple gunmen opened fire into a crowd, killing three and wounding 11. Police, they're still searching for the shooters.
A shooting at a graduation party in Clarendon County, South Carolina, killed one person and wounded seven others.
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, two people killed, at least 14 injured at a shooting at a nightclub. A third person was hit by a fleeing car, and that person died.
Then in Socorro, Texas, five teenagers were shot at a graduation party. Two of them were in critical condition this morning.
So many mass shootings, so many shattered lives. Guns are now at the forefront of a national debate about how to stop the carnage.
Congress expected to take up gun control this week, and senators on both sides of the aisle are expressing some cautious optimism about getting a bipartisan deal done there.
Polo Sandoval, beginning our coverage in Philadelphia, where shopping on South Street turned deadly over this weekend. A beautiful weekend, Polo. I can't even imagine how many people there were in the area.
[06:05:04]
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Brianna, we now know a little bit more about the shooting that happened on this very street. It was just packed with hundreds of people.
Police saying that it was basically a street brawl that very quickly and violently turned into a shootout that left just over a dozen people injured, three of them fatally.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw saying that many of those affected were simply innocent bystanders.
And Brianna, we heard from the police commissioner yesterday there was certainly a high level of frustration and heartbreak in her voice as her city continues to struggle with this increasing gun violence. And she knows her city is not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL (voice-over): This is the scene following another mass shooting in the United States, this time in Philadelphia. Police said several active shooters fired into a crowd Saturday night, killing at least three people and injuring 11 others.
COMMISSIONER DANIELLE M. OUTLAW, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: We're absolutely devastated. Devastated by this incident. And we mourn the lives lost and the dozens and dozens of lives affected by this tragedy.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Philadelphia Police said a physical altercation led to the shooting. They said one gunman was likely shot and wounded but escaped police, and another suspected gunman likely among the three people killed.
In all, police said at least five guns were likely used by multiple shooters.
OUTLAW: It's unacceptable, it's beyond unacceptable.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): There's been at least nine mass shootings since Friday across eight states, leaving at least 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
MAYOR TIM KELLY, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE: I'm tired of standing in front of you talking about guns and bodies.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Sunday morning in Chattanooga, Tennessee, three people were killed and at least 14 others injured near a downtown nightclub. Police said some of the victims were hit by bullets, others by fleeing cars.
KELLY: There are families whose lives have been shattered forever, because once again, we have people deciding to resolve their issues with firearms.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Then a shooting at a bar, this one in Mesa, Arizona. Two people dead, two more injured. Also in Arizona, a strip mall shooting early Saturday in Phoenix. One person was killed, eight others hurt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard over 100 gunshots going off.
A group of people that just started running like every different direction.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Phoenix police said the person killed is a 14- year-old girl.
More children hurt, this time in Summerton, South Carolina. Police said a drive-by shooting at a graduation party left one woman dead and seven others injured, including five minors ages 12 to 17 years old.
And the mas shootings didn't stop there. Another five hurt in Sequoia, Texas. One killed, three hurt in Omaha, Nebraska; and one person killed and five hurt in Chesterfield, Virginia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was almost asleep and heard numerous gunshots, 20 to 40. Woke me up instantly. My fiancee run down the steps, yelling, "Get up, get up! Gunshots, gunshots!"
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL (on camera): and the number of reported shootings continues to increase, in fact, just getting word now of one that happened earlier this weekend in Saginaw, Michigan, that left a total of three people dead and two injured.
Here in Philadelphia, things getting off to an extremely violent and heartbreaking start, too, Brianna and John. We're told that a pregnant woman was shot and killed. Doctors, however, were miraculously able to save her baby.
Back to you.
KEILAR: Amazing. Polo, thank you so much for that report.
BERMAN: All of this happening since the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. And this morning we are told that many Uvalde police officers and dispatchers are taking time off to rest -- That's according to the city -- after the trauma of the last few weeks.
Our Nick Valencia is live in Uvalde this morning. Nick, what's the latest from the ground?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, John. State and local officials here haven't just stopped answering our questions. They're avoiding them all together.
Earlier when I reached her by phone, the local district attorney here, Christina Busbee, hung up on me, saying that she wouldn't be commenting on the case.
When our crew caught up with her last week, she quite literally ran away from us. Remember, Texas DPS stopped answering the media's questions, referring all inquiries to Busbee, but now she's not talking to us either.
I spoke to a former city councilman here in Uvalde, Munoz, Rogelio Munoz, who says that he believes state officials have thrown the local police here under the bus, including the school district police chief, Pete Arredondo.
This is part of what Munoz had to say to me in my conversation over the weekend: "Ask yourself: DPS responded fairly quickly, too, and you have a local police force with four or five people. Don't you think there's a hierarchy of command that happens when more experienced people show up? Arredondo made mistakes that day, but he's not the only one."
We're hearing from the city this morning that local police officers here are getting a much-needed break, so they're bringing in reinforcements from outside agencies.
Later today, Uvalde will receive another visitor. DHS Secretary Mayorkas will visit the city two weeks -- nearly two weeks since that massacre took place at the elementary school -- John.
BERMAN: All right. Nick Valencia, keep pressing for us. Thank you so much for being there.
Ahead, the attorney for the Uvalde teacher wrongfully blamed for propping the door open that the gunman went through, that lawyer will come join us on NEW DAY.
KEILAR: In Wisconsin, police say the man suspected of killing a retired judge at his home on Friday had a hit list that included several other high-profile political targets.
[06:10:10]
CNN's Nadia Romero is live in Juneau County, Wisconsin. What can you tell us? What have you learned this morning?
NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Brianna.
It is another day with having a police officer there blocking off the street that leads to the home of former Judge John Roemer. And we're learning more about the 56-year-old suspect, Douglas Uhde, from court documents.
It shows that his criminal history, at least in the state of Wisconsin, dates back to 2002, with convictions for armed burglary and firearm charges.
And it would have been in 2005 that he would have crossed paths with Judge John Roemer in his courtroom for those firearm-related charges.
Now, we're still waiting to get more details about his motive and also why there were so many other people on his hit list, not just the former judge but also Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
Here's Tony Evers, the governor of Wisconsin, talking about the death of former judge John Roemer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): I know a former judge was killed. That in itself is -- it makes me feel ill that somebody that devoted his life, or a good share of his life, being a jurist in a state, you know, in rural Wisconsin, and that's hard work; to be -- to be targeted like that, it makes me frankly sick to my stomach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMERO: Really difficult for everyone involved here. This is a statement from the Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice, saying, "Judge Roemer dedicated much of his career to public service and the law. He was known by colleagues for his sharp legal mind and his willingness to share his time and knowledge with others."
And that's really what you're hearing from people all throughout this town. I mean, New Lisbon, Wisconsin, is so small you'd have to drive about two hours or more to get to the next town over to go to the closest grocery store to get your everyday staples.
This is a very small rural town. Everyone really does know everyone. And I spoke with the guy who lives just next door. He says he's lived in this town, Brianna, for most of his life and that he knew the judge well. And he is so fearful, because something like this just doesn't happen here -- Brianna.
KEILAR: It's so alarming, and it speaks to these security vulnerabilities of those judges. Nadia, thank you so much for the report.
BERMAN: New this morning, the national average for gas getting ever so close to $5 a gallon, jumping 25 cents in the last week alone.
CNN's Matt Egan at a gas station here in Manhattan. Matt, what are you seeing there?
MATT EGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, millions of Americans are waking up this morning, and they're being greeted by the highest price of gasoline that they've ever witnessed. The national average jumping again to a fresh record of $4.87 a gallon, as you mentioned, up 25 cents in the past week, 59 cents in the past month.
And there are now ten states averaging $5 a gallon or more, with the latest being Indiana and Michigan.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, they're all just pennies away from the $5 level. And all of that looks cheap compared to the gas station where we're standing at in west -- West Side of Manhattan, where a gallon is fetching just under $6.
Unfortunately, this gas price spike might actually get worse before it gets better. Veteran oil analyst Andy Lipow was telling me that the national average is like lie to go to $5.05 a gallon in the next ten days.
And listen, we know that people are very frustrated right now. Prices are going up on just about everything, from food to cars. And that is very concerning to people.
I think that there's a lot of factors behind this. One, demand is very strong for energy. People are driving more. They're flying more. Supply is not. The U.S. is producing less oil than it did just before COVID.
Also, OPEC is not producing as much. The U.S. refineries are not able to meet demand.
And then we have the war in Ukraine, which has set off all of these different shock waves. The price of gasoline is now 38 percent higher than it was the day before Russia invaded Ukraine.
BERMAN: That's a big increase, Matt. Thank you so much for being there.
And that's not all when it comes to inflation. A new warning coming from Wall Street. The CEO of BlackRock expects inflation to remain high for several years.
CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans here now with that. Years, Romans? CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Yes. And
Matt said shock waves, and I think that's exactly the right framing here.
Look, inflation is not going to go away. That's the big warning from another big Wall Street name, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, telling Bloomberg he thinks inflation, already the hottest in, what, 40 years, isn't coming down soon. The supply chain is just too messed up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[06:15:09]
LARRY FINK, CEO, BLACKROCK INC.: Now there's greater recognition that inflation is -- is not transitory. It is probably with us for a number of years, and it's the type of inflation that I don't believe the Federal Reserve as the policy or the tools to do much with it right now.
And I'm personally not blaming the Federal Reserve for where they -- where we are right now. But I believe most of the problems we're living with today are more policy-generated and supply generated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Again, shock waves. Fink says demand has surged back to where it was before the pandemic. That has created shocks to the supply chain.
Supply of goods can't meet demand from consumers, millions of consumers who are hungry to get back to normal. It's Econ 101: prices rise.
You heard him say that the Fed, the inflation fighter, doesn't have the tools on its own to fix supply problems. That will mean volatility and uncertainty as we work through all of this in the months and years ahead.
We heard JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon last week warn investors to prepare for an economic hurricane. A strong economy he said is distorted by inflation.
Dimon said we're living through a new chapter in business history. The Fed is raising interest rates, trying to cool inflation, and at the same time unwinding an enormous bond portfolio.
The Fed now selling up all these securities it bought during the COVID crisis to cushion the financial system. It's just the market is not prepared, he said.
And you can see that in the stock market. Stocks have had a really rough 2022, down double digits from their record highs. Anybody with a retirement fund, a portfolio, knows this is happening. You've seen it, right? The broad S&P 500 down nearly 14 percent so far this year.
But John, another CEO, the Bank of America's CEO, said consumers are still doing very well, despite this inflation. Jamie Dimon said they've got six to nine months of spending money still in their pocket. So the consumer, the backbone of the -- the American economy, still very strong here. I think that's important to note, John.
BERMAN: Still, hold on. It could be a wild ride.
ROMANS: Right.
BERMAN: Christine Romans, thank you very much.
Vladimir Putin threatened to hit new targets if the U.S. supplies Ukraine with longer-range missiles.
KEILAR: Plus Donald Trump's latest high-profile endorsement is Kevin McCarthy, who was heard on tapes criticizing the former president.
And is Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman being transparent about his health? Some new questions this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: For the first time in weeks, Russia launched air strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. This comes as Vladimir Putin has warned the West against delivering longer-range missiles to Ukraine.
Let's go to the Eastern part of the country. CNN's Ben Wedeman is live in Kramatorsk, not far from where some of the fiercest fighting has been taking place -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact, that strike on Kyiv yesterday on a railway sort of workshop was it's believed part of, perhaps, this threat being made by Vladimir Putin that he will try to disrupt the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine.
That's what British intelligence says was perhaps the point of that strike on Kyiv yesterday.
Meanwhile, the fighting in the city of Severodonetsk, which is about an hour's drive from here, does appear to be intensifying. At the end of last week, Ukrainian officials were reporting that 80 percent of the city was occupied by Russian forces.
Then they said the Ukrainians were able to regain some territory.
But the latest we're hearing from there is that there is intensely fierce fighting there. Officials are describing it -- the Russians as using burnt -- scorched-earth tactics there. And so the Ukrainians seem to be losing ground again in Severodonetsk.
The problem is there are around 15,000 civilians still stuck in that city that has been under artillery bombardment by the Russians for weeks.
And in fact, as we were coming to Kramatorsk this morning, at many of the checkpoints, we saw long lines of cars of civilians trying to leave this area. And in fact, the air raid siren is on again, and we've been hearing
some thuds in the distance from here, John.
BERMAN: People trying to get out of a very dangerous area. Ben Wedeman, please stay safe. Thanks so much for being with us.
Georgia Republicans and allies of the Georgia governor, Kemp, are trying to keep Donald Trump from interfering in their races.
KEILAR: And why is the Justice Department prosecuting former Trump aide Peter Navarro but not former chief of staff Mark Meadows and his deputy, Dan Scavino?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:28:18]
KEILAR: We have new CNN reporting to bring you. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's allies and top Republicans in the state have recently approached advisers to former President Trump, asking if Trump can go easy on the incumbent GOP governor as he fights for reelection.
CNN's Gabby Orr joining us to share her reporting. Tell us who's doing the asking and what the ask is here.
GABBY ORR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes so allies of Brian Kemp are very aware of how tricky things could become if Donald Trump intervenes and continues attacking him between now and November, while he's fighting for reelection.
And so my sources tell me that there has been some back channeling over the last week since the primary between Kemp allies, who have reached out to Trump advisers, trying to determine if there's a world in which he could go easy on Brian Kemp.
And two things have become clear out of those conversations. No. 1, Donald Trump is still very annoyed with Brian Kemp, and there is virtually no world in which he endorses the incumbent Republican between now and November.
But No. 2, they do think that he can be receptive to some arguments in terms of taking it easy on Kemp.
And one thing that was interesting is what his Virginia -- Donald Trump's Virginia campaign chairman told me about this race. He said, "Look, we worked hard; we lost. The voters spoke, and now there's no looking back. Kemp won, and we've got to look forward. Over time, President Trump is going to evaluate the options in Georgia and look at the picture long term and make the right decision for Georgia and the nation."
And Brianna, look, you might be thinking surely, this is a pipe dream, Donald Trump has been attacking Brian Kemp for the past year and a half. Why would he stop now?
I think the biggest answer to that is 2024. Donald Trump is looking at running again for president. Georgia is a state that he lost in 2020, and he does not want to have enemies in that state if he does decide to run. And a surefire way to develop enemies in Georgia --
Do you want to get Republicans in the state used to not getting to the polls also, right?
[06:30:00]
