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More Than 1,500 Flights In U.S. Canceled Friday Through Sunday During July 4th Holiday Weekend; Vice Chair Of House January 6th Select Committee Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) Says Committee May Make Multiple Criminal Referrals To Justice Department Including Possibly Some On Former President Trump; Florida Teenager Speaks Out After Surviving Shark Attack. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 04, 2022 - 08:00   ET

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

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CHARLES RAMSEY, FORMER WASHINGTON D.C. POLICE CHIEF: When the shot was fired. And so that would that not leave a hole in the window, obviously. So there's a lot that needs to be gone through when trying to recreate the situation that existed throughout the entire event from the time they first attempted to stop him to the time the shooting actually took place.

So, there's a lot of work that needs to be done. It's just too early to draw conclusions. My biggest concern is the number of shots fired and whether or not all those shots were justified by every single officer. That's an average of slightly over seven shots per person that took place. That's a lot of -- that's a lot of shots. And you have to look at -- when you look at these types of cases, was the use of force necessary? Was it proportional? Was it objectively reasonable? And that's when you take a look at the proportionality of it. Was it reasonable to continue firing? Those are all questions that have to be answered.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: That question of proportionality is going to be key. Charles Ramsey, appreciate your time, as always, sir. Thanks.

NEW DAY continues right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar with Boris Sanchez. John Berman is off this morning.

On this NEW DAY, the July 4th holiday off to a rocky start for some. More than 1,000 flights canceled this weekend, and it may be the same story today. And why it seems more likely this morning the House's January 6th committee will issue a criminal referral for former president Trump.

SANCHEZ: Plus, after weeks under scrutiny, the Uvalde school district police chief is resigning from the city council. How the community is reacting this morning.

And an incredible story of survival. A brother rescuing his teenage sister after she's attacked by a shark. You'll hear from them both directly as they join us live.

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KEILAR: So peppy.

SANCHEZ: Love that festive music.

KEILAR: Good morning. We're waking up here. Good morning to you, our viewers in the U.S. and around the world. It is Monday, July 4th, and America is ready for a celebration. So ready that many cities kicked off the Independence Day festivities one day early. Milwaukee, we are looking at you. This is your waterfront. Thousands of people on hand for this spectacular fireworks show. America's airports, not so spectacular because hundreds of flights canceled or delayed since Friday. So if you're flying, you're very much at the mercy of overwhelmed, understaffed airlines.

SANCHEZ: More than 1,500 flights were canceled from Friday through Sunday, and Saturday was the worst day, 653 flights taken off the board. The airlines also blaming the weather. There were thunderstorms in the northeast that delayed thousands of flights. And adding to the chaos is the desire to travel, pent-up demand, the highest we've seen since the start of the pandemic.

CNN has reporters fanned out from Atlanta to Los Angeles on this busy holiday. Let's take you now to Los Angeles and CNN's Natasha Chen, one of many big cities where the Independence Day festivities are back. Good morning, Natasha.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Boris and Brianna.

Well, a lot of people in the west region where, perhaps, COVID restrictions were a bit more restrictive relatively for the last few years are really excited to be back out to celebrate this holiday. And I personally witnessed that with so many people at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night to see that show and the fireworks.

But that does come with some risk across can the region. Cal Fire battalion chief saying that the vulnerable areas because of severe drought and wildfire stretched from Oregon all the way to Mexico. So different states' governors, different city entities are approaching these fireworks displays a bit differently.

But first, I want to show you this graph to illustrate exactly how serious this is. CNN analysis of national interagency fire center data shows that huge spike. This is the number of fires discovered every day of the year since 2014. You can see that line just shoot up around the July 4th holiday. That's why officials are so concerned.

In New Mexico, the governor there signed an executive order to ban certain fireworks. The state's largest wildfire in history is still burning there. I personally covered the Louisville, Colorado, fire just over New Year's, and that city is actually doing a traditional show, hoping to bring people together and avoid people purchasing individual fireworks. Though, on the other side of Denver, Castle Rock, Colorado, they

canceled theirs. North Lake Tahoe which went through the Caldor fire last year, they are skipping the fireworks in favor of a drone-like display. However, South Lake Tahoe is still going on with their show. So it really depends on the city, the county where they make that decision about what is the safest way to go about this and allow for the fact that people are excited to get out, but to celebrate safely. Boris and Brianna?

SANCHEZ: So important. You don't want to let that pent-up demand for a celebration wind up making things really bad out west in an area that's been very dry. Natasha Chen, thank you so much.

[08:05:01]

KEILAR: And CNN's Nadia Romero is live at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta with the mass cancellation of flights. Tell us how things are looking there today, Nadia.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, over the weekend we were definitely a lot busier. Today being the morning of the holiday, we expect there to be fewer holiday travelers, and that's exactly what we're seeing. This is the main security checkpoint area for standard boarding, and you can see this is an easy stroll right up to the front. All of these rows before you, though, were filled with travelers over the weekend. So traveling today is a much easier experience than what we saw.

We just had the numbers from TSA telling us about 2.1 million people went through the security checkpoints on Sunday. And that is down from the highest point that we've seen since before the pandemic, 2.5 million Americans and other travelers went through the TSA security checkpoints on Friday, the highest point since February 2020. But what most people are talking about is their flight being canceled or delayed, so there's no reason to get through the TSA checkpoint if your flight was canceled. Already this morning we're seeing some 494 flights delayed and more than 130 flights canceled.

And we spoke with a woman who was traveling from London to Cincinnati. She spent 22 hours in the airport and finally having to stay overnight here in Atlanta. Listen to her travel woes as she tried to get back home this holiday weekend.

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MEGAN STEPP, TRAVELER IN HARTSFIELD-JACKSON INTERVIEW AIRPORT: I was lucky I got to the airport in London three hours early or else I wouldn't have even made my flight. So I had no idea. I fly pretty frequently, and I've never seen it so crazy.

It was pretty frustrating. I was trying to be understanding, but at the same time it was like, I just want to get home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And luckily now we have technology, right? So people are getting emails and text messages letting them know their flights are delayed or canceled. The problem is for people like Megan, when you get to the other side of the TSA security checkpoint, you're in the airport, maybe you just arrived to connect to a flight that you find out is no longer. And that's where you see the longest lines at those ticket counters, at the help desk on the other side of TSA checkpoints where people are trying to figure out what to do next. They've made it maybe halfway or a third through their travel and that's when they get stuck. Brianna, Boris.

KEILAR: The dreaded connection. That's where the problem is. Nadia Romero live for us in Atlanta, thank you.

SANCHEZ: And as flight cancellations and delays create chaos at the airports, bad weather could further strain an already overwhelmed system, leading to more woes this holiday weekend. Let's take you to the Weather Center with meteorologist Chad Myers. Chad, what are you seeing?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Bumpy morning, Boris, already for Minneapolis and more weather headed for Chicago, one of, obviously, the biggest airports around with flights today. We will see the potential even for an isolated tornado. Had one near Grand Island, Nebraska, overnight, at like 2:00 in the morning. More storms tonight into this evening. Some of the bad weather for fireworks likely in the Great Lakes. There will be a few scattered showers that pop up during the day across the south and the east. But the system that rolls through Chicago, rolls through Detroit later on tonight, and then finally gets through Cleveland by tomorrow morning.

It will be a hot one. It's the Fourth of July. That's just what you expect. Temperatures at or above normal in many spots across the country cooling down by about sunset into the 80s and even some 90s. But not a lot of bad weather other than the Great Lakes. I think a lot of people across the east and the south will take that kind of weather. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Look forward to the fireworks there. Chad Myers, Thank you so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KEILAR: So in a new interview with ABC News, Congresswoman Liz Cheney says the House's January 6th Committee could make multiple criminal referrals, including one against former president Donald Trump.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, the committee will or will not make a criminal referral?

REP. LIZ CHENEY, (R-WY) VICE CHAIR, JANUARY 6TH SELECT COMMITTEE: We'll make a decision as a committee about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's possible there will be a criminal referral --

CHENEY: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be effectively the committee saying he

should be prosecuted, and this is the evidence we have uncovered?

CHENEY: The Justice Department doesn't have to wait for the committee to make a criminal referral. There could be more than one criminal referral.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining us now to discuss, we have CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig and former Republican Congresswoman from Virginia Barbara Comstock. Thank you so much to both of you for being with us here this morning of the Fourth. OK, talk to us, Elie, a little bit about what she's saying there, potential multiple referrals. Would this be multiple involving Donald Trump? Would this be multiple involving different people? What are the possibilities here?

ELIE HONIG, SENIOR CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It can be whatever she wants it to be. There is no format for a criminal referral. You can say, we hereby refer to you, DOJ, the following eight people. Or you could say. take Donald Trump, and say we hereby refer Donald Trump to you on the following three, four, eight potential crimes.

The point here is, people make referrals to prosecutors all day, every day. We used to get referrals in from other prosecutors, from cops, from civilians, from regulators, from politicians. They come in all day long. They do not require DOJ to do anything.

[08:10:06]

And I believe here a referral will make not one wit of difference to Merrick Garland because he has made it his mantra that politics have no impact on him. If anything, in my view, he's more trigger-shy. He's allergic to anything that might appear political. So I think it's a sugar rush here. It might feel good for Congress to make a referral, but ultimately will have no impact.

SANCHEZ: Congresswomen, I'm wondering what you make of that idea that politics has a lot to do with the council, or with the committee's weighing of whether to pass along a criminal referral on the former president?

BARBARA COMSTOCK, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I think it's going to be dictated by the evidence. When I was chief counsel on a House committee where we referred a lot of campaign finance investigation fraud to Janet Reno, I was a Republican counsel sending it to Democrats, we identified what we thought some of the crimes were. We turned over all of our evidence, and we detailed what we thought were elements of some of the crimes. So I imagine that is what will happen here.

I generally agree with your guest, but the one thing I would say is I do think this committee has gathered somewhat different information than the Justice Department may have. We certainly found that in our investigations often the Justice Department prosecutors were calling us up and saying, hey, could you send over those bank records, that deposition?

So I think when you get all of these records over there, which I do trust that this committee will send all of the records over, the Justice Department, as many Republican prosecutors have said now, Sol Wisenberg, who worked with Ken Starr, Ty Cobb who was one of Donald Trump's own lawyers, and Andy McCarthy at "National Review," they're all saying there's enough evidence right here from what we've seen, and there's going to be more.

So I certainly hope Merrick Garland will feel comfortable moving forward with a D.C. jury. And I think later this month when I do expect Steve Bannon will be indicted, maybe he'll feel a little more comfortable going forward with Donald Trump.

HONIG: I agree, the evidence is the thing, the evidence controls, but, boy, is DOJ behind the game here. We got a glimpse of that last week when Cassidy Hutchinson testified, and they had no idea. They were, quote, astonished by what they saw. I cannot come up with a decent explanation or excuse for why DOJ would not have been talking to Cassidy Hutchinson months ago. And that tells me that they are just missing out on some of the key evidence. Yes, sure, Congress should and probably will send the evidence over. And that may dictate what DOJ does, but they're so far behind the ball here.

KEILAR: Congresswoman, it seems that note-comparing stage is still to come, right, between DOJ and the committee, at least on some of the details here. I wonder if you think part of this, it just seems more likely, right, there's going to be a criminal referral, and I wonder if you think part of this is just this committee saying, hey, we want to be on the record in case the DOJ decides, yes, maybe something was done but we can't sustain a conviction here, so we're not going to pursue it. Is this just Congress wanting to be on the record saying, we think a crime was committed here?

COMSTOCK: Well, right. And what they're doing is all that information that they provide will be public record for the public to look at in a sense also, because Congress, their role is to make all of this public and to let the American people know all of the crimes that may have been committed, but all of the factual things, because this is a political indictment of the depravity of Donald Trump more than anything else.

I happen to also think that there's a very strong criminal case and now you're seeing more and more Republican prosecutors see it. But I think it is also -- the problem is nobody wants to take a case to a jury unless they're pretty sure they're going to win it with the president. But I do think a D.C. jury should not be that hard to convict this president when they were part of -- they were the crime scene where you had Donald Trump inciting that mob, trying to slow things down.

And we're still going to hear a lot more evidence about how they were -- all of his minions were interacting with people like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers and how he did not care about in enflaming this city and how dangerous that was. So I certainly hope that Merrick Garland will put the case together and feel confident about doing it. And I know he's going to have a lot of Republican support to do that.

SANCHEZ: And Elie, when we talk about --

COMSTOCK: You can check the entire case, and the entire case will be made up of Republican witnesses, Bill Barr, Jeff Rosen, the acting attorney general, Pat Cipollone. Every witness will be a Republican. And then all the documents will be from Republican records. So what -- I think you couldn't get a pretty easier case for the Justice Department.

SANCHEZ: It's yet to be seen whether the president's supporters will buy what those Republicans are saying. They really haven't yet.

But Elie, when you talk about specific charges, is it seditious conspiracy? Is it lying about the election being stolen? What is it you think that the former President could face?

HONIG: So I think the most likely Federal charges here would be conspiracy to defraud the United States of a free and fair election, and an attempt to obstruct the counting of the electoral votes in Congress.

I agree with Miss Comstock that the evidence has gotten substantially stronger based on what we've learned in the last month. The Committee has not come in and just churned things that we've already known. They have added significantly to the body of evidence.

However, I do not assume that any jury would easily convict the President, and I've tried enough cases. They are -- there is no such thing as an automatic conviction. And now you're talking about the first ever prosecution of a former President, potentially, by the time they get around to trying this case, they'll be trying the person who is the frontrunner for one of the two major parties' nominations.

And remember, you have to prove a case unanimously, 12, to zero beyond a reasonable doubt. That's never easy and that will certainly not be easy if there is ever a criminal trial of Donald Trump.

KEILAR: Yes, it's such a good point, the dynamics of Donald Trump are changing, really, I think by the day, too.

Elie and Congresswoman, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

COMSTOCK: Thank you.

KEILAR: A brother fighting off a shark that latched on to his sister's leg. May we all have a brother so wonderful. They're going to share their survival story with us live, next.

SANCHEZ: Plus, chaos at a shopping mall in Copenhagen. Three people killed, several others left wounded after a man with a rifle goes on the attack.

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[08:20:26] KEILAR: A 17-year-old girl surviving a shark attack off the Gulf Coast of Northwestern Florida last week. Addison Bethea was scalloping in shallow waters when a large shark bit her multiple times.

She bravely tried to fight it off, but the shark wouldn't let up. Fortunately, her brother Rhett, who is a firefighter/EMT was nearby. He jumped in. He fought the shark off and he got her to safety.

Joining us now is Addison and her brother, Rhett, and they're joining us from Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare where Addison is being treated.

Addison, it is amazing to see you doing well. I know you have a long recovery battle and an operation, I believe tomorrow, ahead of you. Can you just tell us about what happened?

ADDISON BETHEA, ATTACKED BY SHARK: So I was in the water scalloping and the next thing I knew, a shark just come up at me and started attacking me and I didn't really know exactly what to do. But I knew that with sharks, you're supposed to punch him in the nose to get them off of you, and I couldn't get around to punch it in the nose.

So then I just started socking it in the face, and then I poked its eyes. And then I tried to latch it off with my fingers, and then it bit my hand and I screamed for help and then my brother came and saved me.

KEILAR: So Rhett, you realize then she was in deep trouble, right, when you saw the blood?

RHETT WILLINGHAM, HELPED RESCUE HIS SISTER FROM SHARK ATTACK: Correct. Yes.

KEILAR: And so tell us -- tell us what you did? Because you and your life-saving skills are the reason why we're able to be speaking with your sister today.

WILLINGHAM: We were actually swimming side by side when it happened and I heard her like making noise, like almost like something scared her and I sat up and looked and didn't see her and then she came up from the water and I saw the shark and the blood and all of that. And then I swam over there and got him off.

And then there was another boat that pulled up, like right next to us to get her. So he helped me load her in the boat and then we put the tourniquet on her and then got her back to the land as fast as possible.

KEILAR: And the tourniquet was the key, right, to stem the blood loss?

WILLINGHAM: Right. Exactly, because she was losing a lot of blood.

KEILAR: And Addison, you've already been through so much, just in order to preserve some of your vascular ability in your leg, but we understand you have an operation tomorrow, can you tell us about that? And what is ahead for you? BETHEA: Tomorrow, they're supposed to amputate down into my knee, I believe so.

WILLINGHAM: Just above your knee.

BETHEA: Above my knee. So it makes me -- it's going to make a lot easier in the end, so I'm excited for it to be honest.

KEILAR: You're excited because you'll be more functional and able to do activities?

BETHEA: Yes. A hundred percent. I'm tired of sitting in bed all the time.

KEILAR: Yes, I mean, Addison, you're doing amazingly well. What do you attribute that to?

BETHEA: Honestly, just having family and friends around helps a lot and faith in God, to be honest.

KEILAR: And your faith in God. And I see you have stuffed sharks around you. I see you have little -- you have little stuffed sharks. So is this, you have a sense of humor? Are you not blaming the shark? Tell us about this.

BETHEA: I mean, everyone who knows me, I take humor to everything. So yes, just like stuffed sharks and I think it's funny. It helps a lot in the situation, I guess.

KEILAR: You're making a little light of the situation. I mean, Rhett, what do you think watching your sister go through this?

WILLINGHAM: I mean, it's definitely not something I ever expected to watch, but seeing her now and how positive she is, is good to see.

KEILAR: Addison, what have you -- what have you said to your brother? I mean, his quick thinking is amazing.

BETHEA: He has always been kind of like a hero to me, ever since we were little he's always been there and I don't really expect anything less of him to be honest. Like when I was in trouble, he would get me out. He promised me, so, I expect nothing less.

KEILAR: Thank God he was there with you. Right?

BETHEA: A hundred percent. Yes.

[08:25:04]

KEILAR: Rhett, it is -- thank goodness that you were there right alongside of her and able to help her, to get her to where she was able to get the help she needed at the hospital.

What's ahead for your family, Rhett? And do you expect that you guys will be back out near and around the ocean anytime soon?

WILLINGHAM: I mean, most likely. Addison seems like she wants to go back in the water. So, it really just depends on her.

KEILAR: You're not afraid, Addison?

BETHEA: I mean, sharks have always been there. It just so happened to attack me that day. But I mean, I lived 17 years without a shark attack, so I'm going to go back.

KEILAR: Well, I just thank you both for sharing your amazing story with us. And I do also want to draw attention for our viewers who are, I'm sure inspired just listening to this amazing story.

I know you have a GoFundMe fundraiser. Obviously, there are a lot of needs that go along with what you're going through and this is to help you and your family through this road to recovery. It's titled "Medical Expenses for Addison Bethea, Shark Attack." So if you see that one, you can know that that is the real thing.

Rhett and Addison, thank you so much. We wish you so much luck tomorrow during this operation and during your recovery, Addison. Thank you to you both.

BETHEA: Thank you.

WILLINGHAM: Thank you.

KEILAR: We'll be talking ahead about how the Uvalde community is reacting this morning after the schools Police Chief stepped down from his City Council seat.

SANCHEZ: And the latest in the investigation into the shooting death of an Al Jazeera journalist still seeking answers for Shireen Abu Akleh.

We'll be right back.

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