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New Day
Uncle Of Parade Shooting Suspect Speaks As Scrutiny Intensifies; Somalia On The Brink Of Famine As Putin's War Limits Food Access; Biden To Sign Executive Order Safeguarding Abortion Rights. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired July 08, 2022 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00]
PAUL CRIMO, UNCLE OF HIGHLAND PARK SHOOTING SUSPECT: Make me to do something.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: What did he do with his time, as far as you could tell?
CRIMO: Mostly he was -- he was on his phone. He used to go out to feed the cat and come back in. Then he used to go back to his back apartment. And he goes back to his apartment and he's back there. And I have no -- we have -- probably because it's a separate house. So --
BERMAN: Now, you obviously --
CRIMO: And sometimes I see him when I come -- when I come home.
BERMAN: One more time. I missed that.
CRIMO: No. Sometimes I see him when I come home and then -- but it's only for a few minutes because we have a distance relationship. We don't -- we're not close. We're not talkative.
BERMAN: Your brother did have -- his father did have a closer relationship with his son. And he signed --
CRIMO: Yes.
BERMAN: -- that card vouching for him in order for him to be able to purchase firearms. Do you think he should have signed that card?
CRIMO: Right. He -- I support him 100 percent. I mean, I think he did the right thing.
But you've got to look at it. The -- I think the law has got to be tightened up. If somebody has a life -- a life threat, if somebody is suicidal, or if someone's under depressants by a doctor, the state should see that and not give the person a FOID card.
I mean -- and he passed four background checks. He -- four background checks were passed, so they see him fit. I mean, there's no -- if he was unfit then they would have saw him unfit and he would never did this and would never have got the FOID card.
BERMAN: So, you may not have --
CRIMO: I think the laws -- the laws need to be tougher.
BERMAN: You may not have known about it but he did threaten to kill everybody, which is one of the reasons that the police --
CRIMO: Right. When that happened, I had --
BERMAN: I get that. I get you did not know.
CRIMO: And when that happened, I --
BERMAN: You say you did not know that --
CRIMO: Yes -- right, right.
BERMAN: -- but your brother, I understand, did -- correct?
CRIMO: Yes, that -- yes, yes, yes. I'm sure. I'm sure. I mean, I'm not for sure but, yes. I mean, I'm sure he knew about it.
BERMAN: Is that something, in your mind, in and of itself that should have kept your nephew from being able to purchase a gun?
CRIMO: But people recover quickly. And after that incident -- I mean, maybe he recovered quickly and then he was able -- he was -- he was -- his mind frame at that time. I mean, it was a decision that he made and he made that decision and he saw no, like, trouble when he probably signed it.
BERMAN: Would you have vouched for him had you known that happened? Would you have ever signed the document vouching for him?
CRIMO: If it was me, no, no. I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I would -- if that happened -- if I knew it had happened and I probably would not had signed it. I probably would have thought about it, but I would probably not sign it.
BERMAN: Why not? Why not, sir?
CRIMO: If I knew that happened, I mean -- if I knew -- if I knew that happened I probably wouldn't sign it because of what happened -- of what happened.
But the law has -- the law has got to be more tougher. That's the main problem is the laws. If the laws were tougher it was -- then it would have been tough.
BERMAN: Understood. I want to let you go --
CRIMO: And that's how people that have these problems --
BERMAN: Understood. Is there a message you would like to send to the community in Highland Park this morning? CRIMO: Yes. My thoughts and prayers goes out to the seven victims,
the injured, and my heart really is there for you. And I'm so sorry and it's hard for everybody. Even for me, it's -- I'm having -- it's a tough time.
BERMAN: Paul Crimo, thank you for joining us this morning.
CRIMO: Thank you, OK. Thanks.
BERMAN: All right, there is other breaking news this morning -- the assassination of the former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, shot and killed in broad daylight at a campaign event today in Japan.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Somalia with a firsthand look at how Russia's war in Ukraine is pushing the country of Somalia to the brink of famine. She's going to join us live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:38:49]
BERMAN: The breaking news this morning, the former Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, assassinated -- shot twice while giving a campaign speech in Japan. The suspected gunman, who is in custody, apparently used a handmade gun, according to police. He was arrested shortly after the shooting. It happened in broad daylight.
Joining us now, CNN national security analyst and former director of national intelligence, James Clapper. Director, thank you for being with us.
We don't know the exact motive but it does seem to be a political assassination, in that it was a major world leader, albeit former, that was killed here. What are the implications of that?
JAMES CLAPPER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE (via Webex by Cisco): Well, from my standpoint, John -- and I can certainly echo all the accolades that have already been stated about his impact not only in Japan but internationally.
[07:40:00]
And the unique thing I would add is he was very astute about intelligence matters. And my most indelible memory of him was the last meeting I had on my last trip as DNI to Japan in June of 2016. And he very closely was following our election and was greatly concerned about candidate Trump's views on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and viewed that with great -- viewed that with great dismay.
So, I think this got to be a shock in Japan. I do wonder though, John, about what the -- about the motives. Whether this was a political act -- the assassination was political or was the act of someone who is simply deranged.
KEILAR: Can you speak a little more about that? Why is that so essential to know? I mean, we all want to know what the motive is, and we don't know, but why is it essential to make that distinction?
CLAPPER: I didn't hear you very well, Brianna. If the -- if you're asking me about why -- what the motivation might have been well, obviously, I don't know. But just given --
KEILAR: Why is it, sir, important to know the distinction of if it -- if it was a mental health issue or if this was a political motive?
CLAPPER: Well, I think it's quite important. I mean, there's a big -- a big distinction. If this was someone was is mentally ill which, frankly, is my -- is my suspicion, I think that's a little different light -- a little different aspect than if this was some sort of political act, which I would find possible but less likely given the atmospherics in Japan and the high regard among the Japanese people for foreign prime minister Abe.
BERMAN: Again, these details still emerging. No question, though, that former prime minister Shinzo Abe a major figure in Japan whatever the motivation for killing him.
James Clapper, as always, thank you for being with us.
CLAPPER: Thanks.
KEILAR: Russia's war on Ukraine is not just taking a devastating toll on the people of Ukraine, but it's also impacting Somalia and its access to critical food supplies. This, as the years of drought push millions to starvation.
CNN's Clarissa Ward joins us live from Mogadishu. These are the ripple effects, Clarissa, that we have been talking about and you are seeing them firsthand.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. I mean, Somalia is no stranger to hunger. There was a famine here in 2011 that killed a quarter of a million people. There was another near-famine in 2017 but the international community and the government of Somalia were able to come together to avert a catastrophe.
But now, Somalia is basically in the eye of what is sort of a perfect storm -- four failed rainy seasons, the economic fallout of the COVID- 19 pandemic. And now, the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is really threatening to push this country over the edge.
KEILAR: And tell us, Clarissa --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARD (voice-over): On the edge of the Na'im Camp just outside Somalia's capital, Zamzam Mohammed shows us the fresh graves of those who have died here.
ZAMZAM MOHAMMED, ADMINISTRATOR, AL NA'IM CAMP: One, two, three.
WARD (voice-over): There are 30, she says, in total, victims of this country's record drought. As the camp administrator, Mohammed is tasked with burying the dead.
MOHAMMED: Baby. (Speaking foreign language). Little baby.
WARD (voice-over): "From that corner to this one," she says, "this line of graves is all children.
WARD (on camera): It might weigh on your heart to have to bury these little children.
MOHAMMED: (Speaking foreign language).
WARD (voice-over): "You feel such sadness when you bury a baby," she tells us. "I'm a mother and I can feel their pain as a parent."
WARD (voice-over): Some 500 yards away, Nourta Ali Humey has yet to visit the graves of her three children. Severely malnourished, they died after contracting measles.
NOURTA ALI HUMEY, THREE OF HER CHILDREN DIED AFTER CONTRACTING MEASLES: (Speaking foreign language).
WARD (voice-over): "I cannot bear to go," she says. "The grief I would feel."
Aid agencies warn that Somalia is marching towards another famine. Nearly half the country is hungry. Some 800,000 people have been forced from their homes this year alone.
WARD (on camera): So, two months ago, this camp didn't even exist. Now there are more than 870 families living here.
WARD (voice-over): Conditions are dire and the world's attention is elsewhere.
Thousands of miles from the front lines of the war in Ukraine, the impact of Russia's invasion is being felt here. Food and fuel prices have skyrocketed as Russia's blockade of Ukrainian wheat threatens global supplies.
[07:45:02]
MOHAMUD MOHAMED HASSAN, COUNTRY DIRECTOR, SAVE THE CHILDREN: The wheat that is consumed in Somalia -- 92% of wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine when you put together. So the price of wheat has doubled -- in some areas, 150% increase.
WARD (on camera): So you had climate change, COVID, but the war in Ukraine is really threatening to push Somalia over the edge?
M. HASSAN: Yes. Definitely, yes -- yes.
WARD (on camera): And what about if the war continues in Ukraine -- if that blockade remains in place, what impact will that have here?
M. HASSAN: I cannot imagine what will be the impact. WARD (voice-over): The stabilization ward at the Banadir Hospital offers a glimpse of what may be to come. There are no empty beds and many desperately sick children.
Dr. Hafsa Mohamed Hassan works around the clock to keep her youngest patients alive.
WARD (on camera): How many years have you been working in this hospital?
DR. HAFSA MOHAMED HASSAN, BANADIR HOSPITAL: Eight years.
WARD (on camera): Eight years.
H. HASSAN: Yes.
WARD (on camera): Have you ever seen so many children being brought in with malnutrition?
H. HASSAN: No. This is the worst situation I am seeing. And the number of the cases are increasing day by day. The hospital is very occupied with these cases.
WARD (on camera): Are you overwhelmed?
H. HASSAN: Yes, it's overwhelming. The situation is overwhelming.
WARD (voice-over): In one bed, we meet Harada Abdi (PH) and her 4- year-old son Mohamud (PH). "I already lost three children in this drought," she says softly.
WARD (on camera): So you came here to save your son? How do you cope with that kind of loss -- to lose three children? How do you get through the day?
HARADA ABDI, LOST THREE CHILDREN DURING DROUGHT: (Speaking foreign language).
WARD (voice-over): "I can't cope with the situation," she says. "I just pray my remaining children will survive."
It's a prayer shared by so many women here -- one that the world has yet to hear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: Brianna, one of the many challenges facing aid agencies here is that because the world's attention, understandably, is so consumed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it has been very difficult for them to raise the funds that they need to prevent an all-out famine. According to the U.N., they've raised just under a third of the roughly $1.46 billion that they would need to stop a catastrophe.
One aid worker here telling us that it could be within weeks you will start to see parts of this country enter a state of full famine, Brianna. BERMAN: Clarissa, it is shocking to see this. But what is the world
going to do? What actions can and will the international community take here?
WARD: Well, there are many potential actions. The most urgent thing right now is that funding that I was talking about.
And I should emphasize as well, John, it's not just Somalia. This is across the Horn of Africa. This is being felt in other countries as well. Millions of people are potentially at risk.
After the famine here in 2011, everyone said never again. In 2017, they were able to stop another famine from taking place.
But the fear is because the world is so preoccupied with what's going on in Ukraine, because that blockade continues, because those fuel and food prices are continuing to soar, the cash that they do have doesn't go as far as it does before and it becomes even more challenging to stop this country from hurdling over the edge -- John, Brianna.
KEILAR: It is heartbreaking and we're so glad that you were illuminating what is happening there. Clarissa Ward, live for us from Mogadishu. Thank you.
Just hours after a damning report concluded their children could have been saved if police had acted sooner, families in Uvalde are speaking to CNN this morning.
BERMAN: And more on the news out of the White House. President Biden making a move -- executive action on abortion rights as he faces pressure from within his own party. David Axelrod joins us live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:53:18]
KEILAR: This just in. President Biden is expected to sign an executive order safeguarding abortion rights today, including protecting of privacy of patients and access to reproductive care. The president has been facing increasing pressure and major backlash from within his own party here in recent weeks.
Joining us now is CNN senior political commentator, David Axelrod. He was a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.
David, what do you think about this move? Is this too late?
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (via Webex by Cisco): Well, you know, this -- the Supreme Court decision that we -- that we heard at the end of June was previewed months earlier, so I don't think it was a surprise to anyone. And it is a little bit surprising that the White House wasn't ready with this package of actions the moment that decision came out.
So, is it -- is it late, yes. It is necessary, yes, and it's important that he's doing it. But the timing is peculiar. It should have been earlier.
BERMAN: And obviously, David, you're hearing the frustration among Democrats who are speaking sometimes anonymously, sometimes publicly about how they feel with the administration and their response to this, and also other issues as well. What's driving that, do you think?
AXELROD: Well, fear and panic is what's driving it, John. People are worried about the midterm elections. Much of the clamor is coming from Capitol Hill where many members are up for reelection in November. So, that's part of it.
But there have been some dramatic actions by the Supreme Court that have really been shocking to many Democrats and many Americans, and they want a vigorous response to those.
[07:55:04]
But here's the thing. First of all, I have great sympathy for the people in the White House. I was in the White House during a similarly freighted time back in 2010. It's not pleasant to be on the receiving end of all of these very helpful suggestions.
So, look -- but when Democrats chose Joe Biden, and when Joe Biden was elected he was elected for the very things that he's being criticized for. He was elected because he was considered a calm, conciliatory figure after the tumultuous years of Donald Trump.
Joe Biden is who Joe Biden is. He's a consensualist. He believes in working across the aisle.
He's not a guy who is given to sort of public outbursts. Frankly, when he tries -- people say why isn't he more angry out there? When the tries to do that he comes across like Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino" chasing kids off the lawn. It's not a good look. That's not who he is.
So, this is the flipside. Everybody's strength is their weakness. Biden is a measured guy. He is an institutionalist. He's behaving in the way that one would expect and now it's frustrating people.
KEILAR: A memorable scene but perhaps not the one you want from the president.
AXELROD: (Laughing).
KEILAR: So if you, David, are --
AXELROD: Yes.
KEILAR: -- are at the White House and you have all this incoming criticism, how would you separate what is founded -- what you can actually do something about -- what's real -- you know, what you should really be listening to from what you shouldn't?
AXELROD: Yes. Well, look, I think first of all, you do have to think about what actually will work. You don't -- you don't want to get consumed with sort of empty gestures that wind up not working and making you look more ineffectual.
I do think it's important, though -- the point we started with. It's important to anticipate what's coming up and be prepared and timely in the way you're responding to them so you -- so you're in the moment and you're not responding to the moment.
And I think that's really, really important, particularly for this president. I think he is -- he's done better than his numbers reflect. But his numbers reflect more questions of style and whether he is in the moment, whether he is aggressive enough, whether he's active enough. So being in the moment and reacting and responding, and providing answers quickly and aggressively is important. So that I think is something they should take to heart.
I also think -- you know, there are certain things that are going on that will be helpful. He is -- they're -- apparently, Sen. Manchin and Sen. Schumer are involved in negotiating a Medicare negotiation bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices. That's been -- people have been fighting for that for decades. If that were to happen at a time of high inflation, I think that would be a very positive thing.
So look for things that are meaningful -- that are achievements you can accomplish that speak to the main concerns that people have now. I think that is -- those are admonitions that the White House should be aware of. I'm sure they are.
KEILAR: David, always great to have you with us in the morning. Thank you.
AXELROD: Have a great weekend, guys.
KEILAR: All right -- you, too.
"NEW DAY" continues right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KEILAR: Good morning to viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. It's Friday, July 8. I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman.
And we are tracking some significant breaking news this morning. A towering figure on the global stage, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, has been assassinated. Japan's elder statesman was shot to death while he was delivering a campaign speech today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHINZO ABE, FORMER JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER: (Giving campaign speech).
(Gunshots)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Abe suffered bullet wounds to the chest and the neck. He was rushed from the scene in an ambulance. But one of the bullets reached his heart and doctors could not stop the bleeding.
BERMAN: Moments after the shots were fired, Abe's security detail tackled the suspect to the ground. That suspect described as a local resident in his 40s. The gun he used appears to have been handmade. The motive not yet known.
Abe, as Brianna said, just a towering figure in Japanese and global politics. He had close working relationships with both President Obama and President Trump. And his death truly sending shockwaves around the world this morning.
Let's begin with CNN's Blake Essig live in Tokyo this morning -- Blake.
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, just absolutely devastating news here in Japan today. Doctors at Nara Medical University Hospital confirmed just a few hours ago that former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has died.
