Return to Transcripts main page

New Day Saturday

Uvalde Police Made "Wrong Decision" In Waiting To Storm Shooter; Children Of Joe And Irma Garcia Find Comfort Through Faith; Bipartisan Senators Meet On Reviving Stalled Gun Control Talks; Nineteen Children, Two Teachers Killed in Texas Elementary School Shooting; Jury in Depp-Heard Trial Hears Closing Arguments in Case; Giants' Gabe Kapler Says He Won't Take the Field for National Anthem Unless Country Changes Course. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired May 28, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:33]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: So grateful to have you with us on this Saturday, May 28. I'm Christi Paul.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning Christi. I'm Boris Sanchez joining you this morning live from Uvalde, Texas, the site of an atrocity, Robb Elementary School where a gunman opened fire on Tuesday killing 21 people. This morning, we're learning new heart wrenching details specific moments in the timeline of this massacre. Decisions by law enforcement that officials now acknowledge were mistakes, including 80 minutes. That's how much time passed between the gunman entering the school and the time a tactical unit entered the classroom where he was holed up for an hour and 20 minutes.

As many as 19 officers were in a hallway outside the classroom, as terrified students called 911, pleading for police to come inside. And yet officers waited to breach the room. Officials admit that delayed response was a mistake. As CNN's Shimon Prokupecz pushed for answers. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Why was this decision made not to go in and rescue these children?

COL. STEVEN MCCRAW, DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Again, you know, the unseen commander considered a barricaded subject and that there was time and there were no more children at risk. Of course, it was not the right decision. It a wrong decision. Period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That wrong decision is adding to the anguish of grief- stricken parents who are demanding answers. And we learned yesterday was actually the school district's police chief who made the decision to hold off on sending officers into the classroom to confront the shooter.

Pedro "Pete" Arredondo has nearly three decades of law enforcement experience according to the school district, but he's not made himself available to answer questions about his decisions since investigators revealed what happened.

For more on the fallout, let's bring in CNN national correspondent Jason Carroll. Jason, fill us in on what you've learned about the decisions that were made as officers were outside the school and the shooter was inside.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you know, a lot of people have a lot of questions about that decision. It was a tragic decision. The governor basically saying he called what happened. Excusable, he says that he like the rest of the public was misled about what happened here in terms of law enforcement response during that shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MCCRAW: It was a wrong decision. Period.

CARROLL (voice-over): A damning new admission from Texas authorities. The incident commander made the decision not to immediately enter the classroom where the gunman was hiding.

MCCRAW: A decision was made that this was a barricaded subject situation. There was time to retrieve the kids and wait for a tactical team with the equipment to go ahead and breach the door and take on the subject at that point.

CARROLL: Officials explained how the shooter got into the school.

MCCRAW: Where we knew the shooter enter, Ramos, was propped open by a teacher.

CARROLL: Investigators clarifying the timeline as police arrived.

MCCRAW: The three initial police officers that arrived went directly to the door and to receive grazing wounds at that time from the suspect while the door was closed. 11:37 there's more gunfire, another 16 rounds was fired 11:37, 11:37 and 16 seconds, 11:38, 11:40, 11:44. In 11:51, the police sergeant and USP agents started to arrive. At 12:03, officers get continued to arrive in the hallway and there were as many as 19 officers at that time in that hallway.

CARROLL: Officers did not enter the room until a janitor provided keys.

MCCRAW: They breached the door using keys that they're able to get from the janitor because both doors were locked, though both of the classrooms that he shot into were locked when officers arrived. They killed the suspect at that time,

CARROLL: In that crucial time, survivors inside both classrooms made desperate calls to 911. MCCRAW: She identified herself whispered, she's in room 112. At 12:10, she called back in room 12 advisor multiple dead. 12:13, again she called on the phone. Again at 12:16, she's called back and said there's eight to nine students alive.

[06:05:07]

CARROLL: Minutes later, a student called.

MCCRAW: Student child called back and was told to stay on the line and be very quiet. She told him to one that he shot the door at approximately 12:43 and 12:47. She asked 911 to please send the police now.

CARROLL: Alfred Garza says his daughter, Amerie, may have been one of those students who tried to call 911. She was killed during the shooting.

ALFRED GARZA, PARENT OF DECEASED STUDENT: Something's got to t be done now. What are we going, where do we go from here? You know, you were wrong. What do we do now? It's my question, what are we going to do now? The Accountability.

CARROLL: Right.

GARZA: Accountability, you know, somebody's got to -- somebody's got to be responsible.

CARROLL: Warning signs missed.

MCCRAW: Ramos asked his sister to help him buy a gun. She flatly refused. That was in September of 21.

CARROLL: With social media group chats and posts as far back as last February, offering red flags.

MCCRAW: Yes, the Instagram before group chat. And it was discussed that Ramos being a school shooter. That was on February 28 of 2022. On March 14th, and there was Instagram posting by the subject in quotations, 10 more days. User replied, are you going to shoot up school or something? The subject replied No. And stop asking dumb questions and you will see.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CARROLL: Well, the governor says new laws are expected to address what happened out here. He also says he expects both the FBI and the Texas Rangers to be investigating all of those law enforcement officials that were involved with the shooting out here.

But Boris, as you heard from people like Alfred Garza, he wants accountability. So he's going to be holding the governor, all of these elected officials out here, law enforcement holding them to the word that there will be some sort of accountability. His question is, what is that accountability going to look like? SANCHEZ: It's an important question and the anguish that parents must be feeling trying to get answers trying to figure out what happened to their loved ones. And then hearing so many different accounts on different days. Jason Carroll, you're going to be here with us. Good morning. We'll hear more from Alfred and other parents. We appreciate your work. Thank you, Jason.

And for parents like Alfred, who lost children in the shooting, that delayed response by police just adds to their sorrow and grief. Alfred Garza, who you just heard from lost his 10-year-old daughter, Amerie Jo, he rushed to the school moments after Amerie's mom told him there was a lockdown here. Now he says, someone needs to be held accountable. Here's more of what he shared with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARZA: It just took too long to get in there. And, you know, had gotten there sooner and somebody would have taken immediate action. We might have more of those children here today, including my daughter. No matter who is held responsible, it's not going to bring my daughter back, right. I mean, my daughter, she's gone. And we're trying to lay her to rest and for her to be at peace.

But somehow, some way someone needs to answer for, you know, what was done. You know, when somebody out here does something wrong, you know, they have to pay for it. So what is the law going to pay? You know, what, whoever was responsible? How are they going to, you know, try and make you right, you know, what are, you know, what -- I'm not really -- I lost word, you know what I mean? I don't really know what to say, but, you know, somebody has to be held accountable. Somebody was wrong. You know, there's consequences to actions when stuff like that happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's get some perspective now from retired L.A. police sergeant Cheryl Dorsey. Cheryl, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate your time.

First, I just want to get your general response to everything that you've seen from the way that law enforcement engaged with the suspect to the way that they've approached disseminating information, because there's been a lot of inconsistencies over the last few days that they've shared with the public. And more recently, they've tried to clear that up, but I can't imagine that serves anyone in this community.

SGT. CHERYL DORSEY (RET.), LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, listen, I mean, there are epic failures surrounding this entire incident. And so, let's start at the very top and I'm talking about Governor Abbott, who said today that the suspect committed a felony when he entered the campus with a AR. He's complicit in that felony being committed because when this kid turned 18 years old, he immediately went and bought two AR style rifles and a bucket load of ammunition. The police chief, the incident commander was complicit in this shooting by not allowing the officers to go in and apprehend or take the suspect out.

[06:10:04]

The school resource officer was inept complicit in this epic failure by not being on campus. Listen, I believe he's in what we call a working retirement position. He probably is MIA all the time.

But a couple of days ago, he got caught. And so now we have beautiful babies gone, inexplicably, because of the failures of this police department. And now we know that this is a small agency. They're obviously under-trained ill equipped to handle this kind of a situation and exacerbated the fact by putting folks up to speak as a press relations officer without having the proper information only further victimizing these families with information that isn't correct, or is inflammatory, or at the very least, information that is not useful.

SANCHEZ: Cheryl, I want to read to you and share with our viewers, some active shooter guidelines from the state of Texas. This is in the official guidebook, it says quote, an officer's first priority is to move in and confront the attacker. This may include bypassing the injured and not responding to cries for help from children.

I'm wondering where exactly you think the breakdown was. Was there perhaps negligence by the officers outside? Was there lack of awareness that there were kids calling 911? Is this is a communication issue?

In other words, specifically what needs to be adjusted to make sure that in the future, this breakdown in communication, this kind of response doesn't happen?

DORSEY: I think it's a compilation of things. I think it's all of that. Again, small agency, I don't know if their 911 dispatchers have ever dealt with something like this before or knew how to deal with this. You have an incident commander with 30 years in law enforcement allegedly who's directing officers not to follow their guidelines. Maybe officers who were from another agency ultimately on scene decided that they didn't have the command structure there to over -- to go over the directives of this police chief.

And so someone, many someone's need to be held accountable. And while we haven't heard from this police chief, I promise you he's somewhere right now, putting in his retirement papers with 30 years on. There needs to be accountability. It needs to start at the top, Governor Abbott, all the way down to that school resource officer and the 19 who stood outside that door and did nothing for almost an hour.

SANCHEZ: I just want to let you and our viewers know, we've reached out to the school district police chief multiple times, given in multiple opportunities to answer questions, he so far has not replied. Cheryl, what does accountability look like? Resignations, potentially charges even. DORSEY: Well, listen, this is a 30-year veteran officer, so he's not going to resign. He's going to retire. And probably some of those other officers have enough time in grade that they can do the same thing. Accountability looks like we are in the midst of a midterm, get rid of Governor Abbott. Accountability looks like civil liability, which is certainly going to come and training, training, training, training for everybody from the dispatchers, to the officers who responded, train that small police department so that they know how to interact with other agencies that are going to be joining to aid them in the types of emergencies that we saw something that they're not accustomed to dealing with training, training, training.

SANCHEZ: My fear is that as we've seen in other situations, whether Columbine or Parkland, often that training only comes after something awful happens and it sometimes isn't enough. Sergeant Cheryl Dorsey, thank you again for your perspective and your time. We appreciate you.

DORSEY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course, there are so many tragic stories coming out of Uvalde including the deaths of Joe and Irma Garcia. Now their children are turning to their community and their faith for comfort.

On Thursday, their children attended mass with Father Eduardo Morales. This is churchgoers literally wrapping their arms around an orphan family. Irma Garcia's family says that the teacher here at Robb Elementary School died when she lunged at the shooter. She was killed while trying to protect students inside her classroom.

And two days later, her husband of almost 25 years Joe Garcia, her high school sweetheart died of a heart attack. The couple was a fixture in the community from what I'm told and friends say the grief for him was simply too much to bear.

[06:15:00]

21 families here in Uvalde, Texas struggling to make sense of the loss of their loved ones. And throughout this morning, we are going to take time to remember each of them.

This is Uziyah Garcia. His uncle described him as a great kid, full of life, who loved everything on wheels and playing video games. His grandfather said he was the sweetest little boy he'd ever known. He leaves behind two sisters. Uziyah Garcia was 10 years old.

And this is Tess Marie Mata. Her family tells us that she loves TikTok dances, Ariana Grande and the Houston Astros. Her sister also shared with us that she was saving money to fulfill the dream of sending her whole family to Disney World. She was just 10 years old. Stay with CNN, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL RBEAK)

[06:20:09]

PAUL: Everyone just tries to wrap their minds around what's happening after the Uvalde school shooting, lawmakers in Congress we know are facing some enormous pressures to take action on gun reform legislation.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's direction is giving the Republicans joined Democratic senators. They did so in this meeting on Thursday to discuss potential common ground. And West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who was in on these preliminary talks says so far it's been quote, very encouraging. CNN's Daniella Diaz is on Capitol Hill this morning. Daniella, always good to see you. Talk to us about what else Senator Manchin said about that meeting.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Christi, I really want to emphasize that this is very remarkable the fact that Republicans are now joining Democrats at the table to negotiate some sort of gun safety reform and Senator Joe Manchin, who was part of these talks, as you said, called it, quote, very encouraging, and he noted that the atmosphere quote, feels different than it did in the days after Sandy Hook.

He said, I was here in 2013, after the Sandy -- after the Sandy Hook shooting and getting people to participate back then until you know, Pat Toomey stepped forward. It wasn't anyone jumping forward.

Now, of course, as you noted, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate urged Senator John Cornyn, the senior senator of Texas, to negotiate with Democrats on some sort of gun safety legislation or some sort of legislation that could help combat any sort of shootings that could take place in the future.

This is remarkable. You know, in the last 10 years, and after all of these shootings, there have never been that many Democrats or Republicans meeting Democrats at the table. But remember, Christi, that there needs to be 60 senators to be able to break that threshold for the filibuster in the Senate to pass any sort of bill. And right now there are not 60 senators, even if every single Democratic senator signs on to any legislation in the Senate, they still need 10 Republicans, and right now not even 10 Republicans are at the table, but it is notable that there are a couple.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the floor earlier this week, Christi, and said that he wanted to give time for Democrats to negotiate with Republicans to see if they could reach those 60 votes. Of course, all of this happening while some senators, namely Senator Ted Cruz attended the NRA convention in Houston. He addressed that conference yesterday. He is the other senator from Texas, Senator John Cornyn being the senior senator of Texas where this horrific shooting took place.

So of course, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hoping that some Republicans will join them at the table, but it's going to take some time, Christi, considering of course the fact that so the Senate left for recess Thursday. They left town. DC back to their home state. So this is not going to be an immediate solution for any sort of gun safety reform. It's going to take possibly a couple of weeks if they're able to find a solution. Christi. PAUL: Daniella Diaz, we appreciate the update, thank you so much. Let's talk to this. Talk about this with CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer, who's also a historian and professor at Princeton University.

Julian, it's always good to have your perspective. I want to get your thoughts first and foremost on Daniella's reporting that we do have Republicans and Democrats together sitting down at a table. Is this as extraordinary, as Senator Manchin characterizes it?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's extraordinary that it took a tragedy like this, just to get some Republicans to the table on the issue. We have to put this in perspective. And the discussion is good news. Obviously, moving forward with negotiations is better than not. But we're far away from 60 votes. And we've been through this before, and often it ends up with no legislation, rather than some kind of compromise.

PAUL: So you wrote in this op-ed for cnn.com, that Republican leaders know which side their bread is buttered on and to this era, this an era of gerrymandered House districts and highly polarized state electorates. And it's no mystery why Republican legislators remain staunchly against meaningful reform. They simply hope to win reelection to be sure there are Democrats who follow those same incentives of money and power, as well.

We know 2013 Joe Manchin and Democrat and Pat Toomey, Republican from Pennsylvania, did propose gun control that would have expanded background checks. It was defeated by 46 senators, five of whom were Democrats.

But the polls indicate look, the public, 80 percent of the public support expanded background checks. So if that number is correct, why is this not a more prominent issue when voters go to the polls?

ZELIZER: Well, I mean, I think two things are going on.

[06:25:00]

On one is a convergence of organizations like the NRA with the GOP over the past decade along with some Democrats that constantly pushes against what public opinion ones at this point. And very often in our kind of fast paced culture, we go through these strategies -- tragedies and the public moves on to other issues very quickly.

And so, those two work together to allow this to be a secondary or even lower issue sometimes for voters. But those public opinion polls signal there is strong support for common sense, gun safety laws at this point. And so Washington's working against public opinion.

PAUL: So, John Kasich, senior commentator for CNN, and of course, former governor of Ohio, has this message for Republican lawmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KASICH, FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: To the politicians who live in fear of the NRA, let me tell you, in 1994 I voted for the assault weapons ban. My party, there was some in my party that wanted to take my committee away the Budget Committee, they lost that. I ran for reelection. I won. I ran for governor in 2010. And the NRA, A, went after me from one part of Ohio to the other. And guess what, they lost that one too. So to politicians who worry and shake about the thought that the NRA will come after them, you can win. You can beat them do the right thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Is he an exception to the belief that you need the NRA to win the seats?

ZELIZER: He's an exception. I think most Republicans, certainly and some Democrats think in a very different way. But what he said is exactly correct. That's what this will take. It won't just take some Republicans at the table. It will take Republicans at least 10 in the Senate moving forward with a risky vote and testing this conventional wisdom and trying to go against it.

They have to think of the kids in the classroom, who are going through school lockdown drills and watching this news and terrified not about their next grade or not about their next social event, but living through the day and that shouldn't be acceptable. And we need more leaders like that to break that conventional thought.

PAUL: I want to before I let you go ask you real quickly about what you write in that op-ed for CNN again regarding SCOTUS, that they might be on the verge of ruling against one of the toughest gun control laws in the country, this specific law in New York, this New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the Bruen. What signals do you see that SCOTUS will rule against the current measures in place and what does that mean them for future legislation?

ZELIZER: Well, court watchers just looking at what has come out so far and pretty clear that the Supreme Court when it's six-three block might knock down one of the laws that we actually have on the books or weaken it. And that would be pretty devastating given we don't have that much movement on the legislative front.

PAUL: Julian Zelizer, always appreciate your expertise and your insight. Thank you so much for being with us.

ZELIZER: Thanks for having me.

PAUL: Of course. So later today, Vice President Kamala Harris is attending the memorial service of Ruth Whitfield, one of the victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. They'll also meet with families of other victims to offer their condolences. Her visit is two weeks now after a white supremacist opened fire and killed 10 people at a local supermarket that left the community shocked and mourning.

Up next, we now know the school resource officer was not at Robb elementary when that gunman entered the building. Could some of the deaths had been prevented? Had that officer been on campus? We're going to ask him tough questions after the break. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

SANCHEZ: We are continuing to follow the latest new details out of Uvalde, Texas, after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School on Tuesday massacring 21 people, including 19 children, most of them, not more than 10 years old. The response by law enforcement now coming under intense scrutiny. Officials confirming that it was the school district police chief who decided to have 19 officers wait for more than an hour in the hallway before engaging with the gunman and entering the classroom he was in.

A decision that officials yesterday acknowledged was a mistake. We've reached out to the school district's police chief multiple times to answer our questions, so far he has not replied. The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott says that he was misled by inaccurate accounts from authorities. He's now demanding a thorough investigation and a full account of what really happened.

Texas officials are also clearing up confusion about another key detail after initially saying that there was a school resource officer who engaged immediately with the gunman. Authorities now say he was not on the scene. He wasn't here when the gunman arrived and opened fire on campus. CNN's Brian Todd has more details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among several disturbing accounts from a Texas law enforcement official regarding the response by officers to the Uvalde shooting, an admission that the resource officer for Robb Elementary School not only didn't engage the shooter as was originally claimed.

STEVEN MCCRAW, DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: That officer was not on scene, not on campus, but had heard the 9-1-1 call with a man with a gun, drove immediately to the area, sped to what he thought was the man with the gun to the back of the school and would turn out to be a teacher and not the suspect. In doing so, he drove right by the suspect who was hunkered down behind a vehicle where he began shooting at the school.

[06:35:00]

TODD: A misstep that analysts say could be attributed to the confusion in the first moments of any mass shooting. But now new attention is being focused on the roles of school resource officers. Local police whose biggest jobs are to be on campuses of elementary, middle and high schools across America to protect students from shootings like this.

JAGDISH KHUBCHANDANI, PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH, NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY: There are no studies to show that they have been effective in preventing damage or minimizing the damage. And that's a sad part of it.

TODD: Professor Jagdish Khubchandani of New Mexico State University co-wrote a 2019 study on measures taken to prevent school violence. He says in many cases training for these officers is inconsistent or outright insufficient, and often, he says, school officers are simply tasked to cover too much ground.

KHUBCHANDANI: They have to be in the exact place, exact time, exact moment in front of the shooter to confront them and minimize the damage, but that does not happen. It's not practically possible for an officer to be in front of a shooter every time a shooter comes in. And shooters do plan a lot, so they don't really want to confront people as well.

TODD: And in one infamous case, a resource officer was accused of hiding from a shooter. Parkland, Florida, February 2018, Broward County Sheriff's Deputy Scot Peterson, resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was widely criticized for staying outside for 45 minutes and not going inside to confront a gunman who killed 17 people. Peterson denied the accusations, saying he thought the shots were coming from outside.

The National Association of School Resource Officers acknowledges there were failures at Parkland, but rejects the idea that the thousands of officers on school campuses don't make a difference.

MAC HARDY, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS: SROs do make a difference. They stop acts all the time from becoming a disaster, and you know, a massacre like occurred in Uvalde.

TODD: Mac Hardy from the Association of School Resource Officers says his group is pushing for more uniformed training of those officers, and is pushing for those who assign officers to schools not to assign officers who may be a year away from retirement and want to cruise through that final year.

And not to assign officers who may have had trouble with the patrols on their regular beats. They acknowledge it's too often that officers like that are placed in schools. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Brian, thank you for that. We're going to get some more insight from experts on the investigation into the shooting here at Robb Elementary, including questions surrounding the delayed police response. We're also going to share stories of survivors -- and remember the victims and hear from those who loved them most. We're back with more from Uvalde, Texas. Stay with NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

PAUL: Well, yesterday, jurors began deliberations in the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard. Now, this trial stems from a 2018 op-ed that Heard wrote in "The Washington Post" where she identified herself as, quote, "a public figure representing domestic abuse." We need to point out she did not name Depp in that piece. But Depp says the accusations falsely painted him as an abuser and said it cost him work in Hollywood. Here's CNN's Jean Casarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Friday was all about closing arguments in the civil defamation case of Johnny Depp versus Amber Heard. Depp had testified during the trial that he never abused his now ex-wife Amber Heard, but the Motion Picture studios won't touch him because of her allegations of domestic violence and domestic abuse.

The attorney for Depp, Camille Vasquez argued during closings about the alleged inconsistencies of Amber Heard, and she took that testimony and she compared it to the testimony of other witnesses, saying that there were just many contradictions. Now, this case was borne because of a 2018 op-ed published by "The Washington Post" at the hand and direction of Amber Heard, saying that she represented as a public figure someone who had been abused, domestic abuse.

CAMILLE VASQUEZ, ATTORNEY FOR JOHNNY DEPP: On May 27th, 2016, Miss Heard walked into a courthouse in Los Angeles, California, to get a no notice ex-party restraining order against Mr. Depp, and in doing so ruined his life by falsely telling the world that she was a survivor of domestic abuse at the hands of Mr. Depp.

Today, on May 27th, 2022, exactly six years later, we ask you to give Mr. Depp his life back by telling the world that Mr. Depp is not the abuser Miss Heard said he is, and hold Miss Heard accountable for her lies.

BEN ROTTENBORN, ATTORNEY FOR AMBER HEARD: Mr. Depp simply cannot prove to you that he never once abused Amber, and if you don't know, you have to return a verdict for Miss Heard. A ruling against Amber here sends a message that no matter what you do as an abuse victim, you always have to do more, no matter what you document, you always have to document more. No matter whom you tell, you always have to tell more people.

[06:45:00]

No matter how honest you are about your own imperfections and your own shortcomings in a relationship, you need to be perfect in order for people to believe you. Don't send that message.

CASAREZ: Amber Heard has a counter-claim of defamation against Johnny Depp. They are both asking for compensatory and punitive damages. The jury won't return, though, on Tuesday to deliberate because of this long holiday weekend. Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: We thank, Jean, for the report there. So listen, be sure to catch an all new CNN film. It's called "JULIA", the story of Julia Child. Here's CNN's Ana Cabrera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There would be no emeril, no barefoot contessa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's pretty good.

CABRERA: No iron chef.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iron chef Bobby Flay.

CABRERA: Or Rachael Ray.

RACHAEL RAY, AMERCIAN COOK: Yummo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the French chef.

CABRERA: If not for Julia Child.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, we're cooking a goose.

CABRERA: The original television celebrity chef who brought elevated French cooking to the American masses. Julia was first introduced to cooking in France where she lived with her husband Paul after World War II.

JULIA CHILD, AMERICAN COOK: And as soon as I got into France and realized what it was all about, it came upon me that, that was what I had been looking for all my life. I decided that I would really like to do serious delving into cuisine, so a world in the cordon bleu.

CABRERA: After the cordon bleu, Julia partnered with friends and fellow chefs to write the "Culinary Tour de Force: Mastering the Art of French Cooking".

CHILD: You're about to see a French omelet.

CABRERA: To promote the cook book. Julia appeared on the Boston public TV station, "WGBH"

CHILD: The only way you learn how to flip things is just to flip them.

CABRERA: Where she demonstrated how to apply French cooking techniques at home and in an American kitchen. The appearance was such a success, the producers at "WGBH" offered Julia already in her 50s, her own show, "The French Chef", one of the first cooking shows to ever appear on American television premiered on "WGBH" in 1963.

CHILD: This is really the stew of stews (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

CABRERA: Julia Child became a TV power house enchanting American audiences with her distinctive voice and approachable demeanor.

CHILD: Julia Child presents the chicken sisters.

CABRERA: Becoming a beloved cultural icon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please welcome Julia Child. Julia?

CABRERA: It's hard to overstate the impact Julia Child had on American cooking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her coming on television and telling America that they could make great food out of the supermarket virtually changed the landscape of food in America.

CABRERA: And it created a whole universe of charismatic chefs taking to TV and social media to teach people at home that everyone can cook.

CHILD: This is Julia Child, bon appetit.

CABRERA: Ana Cabrera, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: You can find "JULIA" this Monday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

PAUL: Fifty two minutes past the hour right now. San Francisco Giants Manager Gabe Kapler says he's not taking the field for the national anthem until he, quote, "feels better about the direction of our country." Carolyn Manno is with us now. Carolyn, where will he be?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: In the clubhouse, Christi. I mean, Gabe Kapler, the latest sports figure speaking out after the tragedy in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABE KAPLER, MANAGER, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: I just don't -- I don't plan on coming out for the anthem going forward, until I feel like there's -- I feel better about the direction of our country. So that will be the step. I don't -- I don't expect it to move the needle necessarily. It's just something that I feel strongly enough about to take that step.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Kapler later wrote, he knows some people won't agree with his decision, but he does hope that they understand that it is a personal one. In much different news now, a group of young women are blazing a trail on the football field. This month, the Falcons unveiled a stadium exhibit dedicated to flag football, part of an effort to get the team sports sanctioned in Georgia. And as we continue to spotlight Title 9 on its 50th anniversary, we spoke with some of the athletes about the impact they're making.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANA BROWN, CHEROKEE HIGH SCHOOL: So I would really love to see colleges started as maybe people who know D1 for flag football, and maybe more girls that play other sports, that wanted to come and make flag football their sport like I've kind of done, they can have a future in it. They can go to college for it.

And I really just wanted to be as big as boy's football. I want everything to be equal. I want the crowds to be as big at girls football games as they are at boys, and I want the Friday night lights experience. But for now, it's really cool just kind of being a trail- blazer and getting to see it unfold.

ASHAIH SMITH, GRAYSON HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE: I feel like women should have been -- had the opportunity to play at the college level with any sport, like -- and I feel like, we were underestimated, and then I was just like we're here, and now we're doing it. Now we have a wall. Now we're like -- I just feel like we're just progressing as each day goes by.

[06:55:00]

KARSYN PADGETT, CREEKVIEW HIGH SCHOOL: I've heard like statistics that women in athletics aren't as recognized right now, I am hoping that because of this, this is going to help push it, so we can be just as recognized as men's sports.

BROWN: I just hope that every girl that steps on any court, any field, any game and any match knows that they are just as important as the boys that play before them or after them. Like on and off the football field, I just hope that girls know that it is equal for them, and there should be a level-playing field, and they should never be discriminated in sports or anything that they do in their lives.

And I just really hope that Title 9 continues to grow and reach out to more people. I mean, I didn't know about it until I was 16, really, I didn't know what it truly meant. So, I just hope that more girls, you know, the younger girls can know what it means and really truly understand it and be passionate about it like I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Christi, there are 60 flags in the new exhibit, one for each Georgia high school that's currently participating in the sport.

PAUL: We'll watch for it, Carolyn Manno, thank you so much. Next hour of your NEW DAY starts in a moment. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)