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Witness Recounts Mass Illinois Shooting; WNBA Star Pleads for Biden's Help; Cari Champion is Interviewed about Brittney Griner; Two Officers Shot in Philadelphia; Airline Chaos Continues. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 05, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Where your daughter is. You hear gunshots. What was that moment like?

WENDY EMANUEL APPLE, EYEWITNESS TO HIGHLAND PARK, IL, PARADE SHOOTING: Yes. Well, luckily, my husband and other daughter were not here. But knowing she was in the parade, when they started to clear people, I said, I'm not -- not without making sure that Lindsey is OK. And that was - was really tough. Really tough in that moment. Your mind goes to the worst.

BERMAN: So, Lindsey, as fate would have it, you hadn't gone past yet. You were still actually a block or two away, waiting to start to march.

LINDSEY APPLE, EYEWITNESS TO HIGHLAND PARK, IL, PARADE SHOOTING: Yes.

BERMAN: So, what did you think was going on?

APPLE: I mean, I saw -- we were standing right here. And when I saw people sprinting towards the people in the parade, and the opposite direction of where the parade was going. So pretty immediately I could tell something was wrong. And then like they got closer and I just heard :shooter, shooter." And I just started running in the opposite direction because, like, that was just such a time - like such a moment of fear.

BERMAN: You heard "shooter, shooter." Now, people should know, what, two weeks ago, a couple weeks ago, you were here, on this very street, in a march against gun violence.

APPLE: Yes.

BERMAN: A March for Our Lives event.

APPLE: Yes. That was so ironic, afterwards, last night, I was thinking, because, you know, it was right past Walker Bros., right past Gear Heads, where the shooter was, we -- there was a huge turnout, and people from Highland Park, and people from (INAUDIBLE) from Deerfield and the local community, they all turned out to hear speakers who were rallying against gun violence. And people said, you know, it's not going to happen in our communities, but it's -- yet, but it will soon. Like, we're next, you know. And then it did happen just a few weeks later. And that's really the crazy part.

BERMAN: When they said to you, when you were here a few weeks ago and then basically said it could happen right here.

APPLE: I think people thought that, but people didn't really, you know, think it fully because it seemed so surreal that it could happen right here. And this neighborhood, people always think it's safe. And then something like this happens. And I really just hope that people will mobilize. And now, more than ever, people realize that change needs to happen and that reform needs to happen. And that if not before, then now. There's no -- like, when will it be enough? That's one of my key takeaways.

BERMAN: Lindsey, Wendy, I'm so glad you're both OK. I'm so glad that you ultimately connected. Be nice to your mother, she's a -

APPLE: I will.

BERMAN: She's been through a lot the last day.

EMANUEL APPLE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Be well.

APPLE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: An emotional plea to President Biden from WNBA star Brittney Griner, who's detained in Russia and is terrified that she may be there forever. How the White House is responding this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:45]

KEILAR: A raw, emotional letter from WNBA star Brittney Griner to President Biden on July 4th, asking for his help. In the letter delivered to the White House on Monday, Griner writes, as I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I'm terrified I might be here forever.

CNN's Rosa Flores is joining us now from Houston.

She is so fearful, and you can't help but understand why, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna, you really have to put yourself in her shoes. She's been in a Russian jail for months. She is accused of carrying narcotics.

KEILAR: All right, we have lost Rosa's mic. They're having some technical difficulties. We'll try to get back to her.

In the meantime, Brittney Griner's coach says the star's detention isn't getting as much attention as it should. She says if LeBron James, for example, were held abroad, it would be treated much differently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA NYGAARD, PHOENIX MERCURY HEAD COACH: If it was LeBron, he'd be home, right? Yes. It does. It's a - it's a statement about the value of women. It's a statement about the value of a black person. It's a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those things. And we know it. And so that's what hurts a little more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, let's talk about that with Cari Champion, journalist and host of "Naked With Cari Champion."

Cari, it's tough to hear her say that. You think she's right?

CARI CHAMPION, HOST, "NAKED WITH CARI CHAMPION": Oh, no, she's absolutely correct. I turn -- in her defense, as well, I was very proud of her coach, the Mercury's head coach, for saying that because it's a very real thing and it's time that we start saying the quiet part out loud.

I think that Brittney's letter that she wrote to President Biden yesterday that was delivered to him, from my understanding, and that he read was very clear and there were excerpts from that letter where she described what she felt she would have to experience, meaning never leaving this Russian prison. And I think that we should think about that. She's someone's daughter. The humanity part of this is very disturbing.

And, Brianna, you see this because we don't hear enough about it. I think that we, in the media, are doing our best to get the word out, but there is this apathy toward Brittney Griner, which is so disturbing, if you think about what could potentially happen to her. From my understanding, less than 1 percent of people who were tried in Russia actually get acquitted. So that means there doesn't seem to be any other option but some sort of jail time for her.

And if that is the case, I want us to put all eyes on her. This is imperative. She is our sister. She is someone's daughter. She is someone's wife. She is -- she has a family. And we're not looking at it that way.

KEILAR: I think compounding this, too, Cari, is that initially, and you'll hear this from many people whose family members are detained abroad, they feel like they have to be quiet because they're told, you know, be quiet, this is very sensitive, you don't want to jeopardize the release, but eventually they learn they have to make some noise. And I think we're really to that point. We're seeing Cherelle make a lot of noise. And she's sort of opening the door perhaps for other people too.

What's the responsibility of athletes, of other people of note to make some noise? [08:40:05]

CHAMPION: Look, if she's not free, we're all not free, right? So it's everyone's responsibility. And you're right about what her wife is doing. And as a collective, there was this messaging that we heard throughout the league and that we've heard inside of our studios, if you will, let's not talk about it, let's not put too much attention on it. That message, to me, has to be turned around. That needs to be flipped upside down because that's the only thing that will bring her home.

I do believe the coach was absolutely correct in saying, if this was LeBron, if this was whomever. But we can't play the if game right now. Time is running out. And so what we need to do, much like the wife is doing, she's fed up. She's tired of playing the quiet game, and we're saying the uncomfortable parts out loud. She is black. She is a woman. She is a lesbian. Do we care about her? And it seems like we don't. If this letter did not hit, you know, President Biden in his heart and made him feel like we needed to rush to action, I don't know what else we can do other than scream very loudly.

I've been in contact with NBA players who have done all that they can possibly do to get the word out because they are friends with her. Star NBA players are friends with Brittney Griner and they're - you know, they're wearing their shirts, they talk about it during the press conference. Other athletes are doing it. I was just on another show doing it. We are doing our best in terms of being vocal, but now we need a call to action. And that is to, obviously, contact your local Congress person. But we're now going to the president, as did Brittney Griner, and say, we need help.

And I - and, quite frankly, I thank you for having the time to talk about this story because we have to put the attention on her as if she was our own, because she is our own.

KEILAR: But she is our own. And, you know, a lot of times, Cari, we don't know if someone's being released, right? We don't know until they're on a plane home. Things seem hopeless until there's hope. And then maybe we get some word of a prisoner swap.

So, let's hope that the government is doing everything they can. In the meantime, you are here making noise. And I thank you for that.

CHAMPION: Yes.

KEILAR: Cari Champion, thank you so much.

I do want to get back to my colleague, Rosa Flores, who is reporting on the plight here of Brittney Griner, in her own words, saying don't forget me, Rosa.

FLORES: You know, and those words are so disturbing, Brianna, because you really have to put yourself in her shoes. She is in a Russian jail. She's been there for months. She's charged on narcotics charges. She's going through trial right now. She's in her jail cell, by herself, flooded in these thoughts. Now, you read a portion of her letter. Here is another portion. Her

communications team only releasing several excerpts. She writes, quote, I realize you are dealing with so much - and this is to President Biden-- but please don't forget about me and the other American detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.

She goes on to say that she voted for President Biden and she believes in him.

Then she writes, quote, I miss my wife. I miss my family. I miss my teammates. It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.

Now, the White House has said repeatedly that Brittney Griner was wrongfully detained in Russia. They said this again, and the Biden administration issuing a statement saying in part, quote, President Biden has been clear about the need to see all U.S. nationals who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad released, including Brittney Griner. The U.S. government continues to work aggressively using every available means to bring her home.

As I mentioned, Brittney Griner is going through trial right now. Her next hearing, Brianna, is scheduled for July 7th. But as you mentioned, even though the Biden administration is saying that they're doing everything they can, her wife, telling CNN, that more needs to be done.

Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. She was insistent about that.

Rosa Flores, thank you for the report.

Two officers shot during Fourth of July celebrations in Philadelphia. We'll have details ahead.

We're also hearing from a father on how he shielded his son from the gunfire in Highland Park.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER SANDOVAL, WITNESS: When the shots stopped again is when we started -- we decided we had to run. So, he started shooting again, and we ran behind the building and I put my son in a dumpster, and he sat there with his dog. And I went back to look for the rest of the family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:37]

BERMAN: All right, welcome back. I'm John Berman, in Highland Park, Illinois.

We're going to have much more from here in just a moment. The investigation, some new threads waiting to hear from law enforcement this morning.

In the meantime, though, we learned overnight that two police officers were shot and injured in Philadelphia just prior to the Fourth of July fireworks.

Jean Casarez now with the latest on that.

Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we're learning a lot more information this morning. Apparently the program had just ended, the fireworks were just about to begin, and these were two officers that were on the parkway that were actually on security detail. They didn't hear any shots at all. But according to the police commissioner, one bullet of the Philadelphia Highway Patrol officer went up into his forehead, went straight up, and lodged into his head. The other officer, who was with the sheriff's department, that gunshot bullet went into his shoulder.

Now, the police commissioner is saying that they're trying to figure out here -- because they didn't hear any bullets -- if it was ricochet from a celebratory gunfire or if those two officers were intentionally targeted or if it was a long-range shot intended for the officers.

But, nonetheless, police cars started going down the parkway. You're seeing right there people were stunned, people started -- witnesses are saying it was like a stampede. There was panic.

[08:50:02]

The mayor spoke at the press conference early -- in the early hours of this morning. He didn't focus as much on what had happened, but focused on his opinions on guns.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JIM KENNEY (D), PHILADELPHIA: If I had the ability to take care of guns, I would. But the legislature won't let us. The U.S. Congress won't let us. The governor does the best that he can. Our attorney general does the best that he can. But this is a gun country. It's crazy. We're the most armed country in world history and we're one of the least safest. So, you know, until Americans decide that they want to give up the guns, and give up the opportunity to get guns, we're going to have this problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So, these officers immediately were transported to the emergency room. They were in the hospital. And, John, they have just been released.

BERMAN: Well, that is good news at the end there at least.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much for that report. Brianna.

KEILAR: So, flights are returning to a new normal this morning after another holiday weekend full of cancellations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:24]

KEILAR: Flights at U.S. airports appear to be returning to normal after another holiday weekend full of cancellations. Over this July 4th weekend, 2 percent of flights were canceled. But by Monday, that number was down to less than 1 percent. That is better overall compared to other holidays this year when flight cancellations hit upwards of 3 percent and 4 percent. Of course there were a lot of flights over this weekend, so people were feeling it.

Joining us now to discuss is CNN business correspondent Rahel Solomon and business reporter Sibile Marcellus with us.

OK, I -- like I said, I mean 2 percent is -- that's great. But so many people flew that there were all of these nightmare stories. And I just wonder if airlines should have been better prepared, Rahel.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I think if you were one of that 2 percent on those flights, you feel like the airlines really dropped the ball and screwed it up. I think if you're the airline, you might say, well, we did the best we could with what we had.

We have had these issues pretty much all summer anytime we have seen periods of increased demand. Remember, we saw it Memorial Day weekend, Father's Day weekend, Juneteenth weekend. That weekend we saw it. And I think the unfortunate reality, according to what I'm hearing from industry insiders, is that we won't continue to see this just through the summer, but perhaps for another year. So think Thanksgiving, Christmas, for the next 12 to 18 months is what I'm hearing until airlines really figure out how to get their staff organized in a better way.

KEILAR: We have to talk about why we're here, right, Sibile.

SIBILE MARCELLUS, BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes.

KEILAR: I mean just explain to us why we're here, what happened during the pandemic with staffing that got us to this point.

MARCELLUS: Well, one of the biggest frustrations, Brianna, is that U.S. airlines got $54 billion in federal aid. And Americans, understandably, our taxpayer dollars went to supporting this industry. There was a pandemic. Demand went way down. They had to be sustained and survive. But now that Americans really want to go out there - it's been two years of struggles -- go out on a well-deserved vacation, the airlines are falling short.

During the Fourth of July holiday weekend, many Americans want to get to their destinations, their hotel, to the beach. Meanwhile, they have to spend hours at the airport because we're seeing these airlines sell tickets and then not have the staff, for those flights that are canceled or delayed, not have the staff to be able to deliver the service.

SOLOMON: That's right.

KEILAR: So what do they need to do? What do they need to do to adjust here?

MARCELLUS: So, what we're seeing the airlines do proactively is trim the flight schedules. So they're pulling back from that perspective. But it's also difficult to staff up really quickly. A lot of these problems are because of the severe staff shortage.

How do you fix that? For example, bring on more pilots. It takes time, unfortunately, especially when you're dealing with flying a commercial plane. There are regulations. There is training required, specialized skills. It's going to take a little while for these airlines to catch up.

KEILAR: So what can passengers do?

SOLOMON: So, if you're a passenger, what I'm hearing is try to avoid flights at the end of the month, because that's when we tend to see more sick-outs and more callouts from some of the airline staff.

I think, in addition, sort of knowing that you might want to plan a plan b, right, which is unfortunate to sort of put that burden on us as a consumer. But, again, industry experts think this will last for the next 12 to 18 months before we really sort of have a resolution because, as Sibile said, that - it's taking years for airline pilots to get back online, it's taking years for air traffic control to get back online. So, we're going to be dealing with this for quite some time. So, having a plan b. And, if you can, trying to void travel at the end of the month where we start to see more sick-outs and callouts.

But in terms of the airlines, they're already starting to cancel flights as they try to manage their staff. I personally have had a flight canceled for next month. But, quite honestly, it did cost me more it rebook with another carrier, but I'd much rather deal with that now than deal with it in a month when I'm trying to get back to work the next day.

KEILAR: What do you think -- what else can people do? What should they be mentally prepared for? I know people are like me, where they have family, there's no way around the connection, they're just going to have to suck up that risk of a connection.

MARCELLUS: Right. And also you fear that, like you just said right there, Rahel, you're your vacation, your flight gets canceled a month before you're actually planning to take it. So what airlines are suggesting, and people should -- this is really good advice - is, once you book your ticket, actually download, if you haven't already, the airlines on to your phone, download the app so that when they do have a flight cancellation, you know ASAP, and you can plan accordingly. But, unfortunately, that's the environment that we're living in, the new normal, with these flight delays and cancellations.

SOLOMON: Also worth pointing out that airline fares, according to the last inflation report, are about 40 percent higher. I mean we are getting hit on both sides. Not only is it a miserable experience at the airport, but we're also paying a lot more for that experience.

[09:00:02]

It's a mess.

KEILAR: Yes, it's -- I was actually having a conversation about this with some co-workers this morning, that they're trying to book flights to see family and the costs are astronomical. Prohibitively expensive. It's going to actually stop them perhaps from going on a trip. So, there you have it.

You guys, thank you so much. I know this is on everyone's mind and I really appreciate you taking the time.

MARCELLUS: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, CNN's coverage continues right now.