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New Day Sunday

Seniors Facing Skyrocketing Rent and Health Care Costs; Kyiv Suburbs Begin Cleanup After Russian Withdrawal; At Least 140 Cities Could Set New Daily High Records. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired June 12, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:19]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. We're so grateful to have you here. I'm Christi Paul.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Christi. I'm Boris Sanchez.

We're following a developing story out of Idaho this morning. Thirty- one people arrested for conspiracy to riot near a Pride Parade. Police say this group is believed to be affiliated with a hate organization and they were loaded into a U-Haul truck packing riot gear. What we're learning about who they are, their motives and how this plot was uncovered.

PAUL: Also, the January 6th committee is set to hold a second public hearing tomorrow on its investigation into the deadly insurrection. The main points there expected to zero in on this time around as they make their case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have gone through our retirement savings more quickly than we had anticipated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Plus, rising inflation putting the squeeze on senior citizens. A dire economic situation forcing some retirees to make sacrifices in order to survive.

PAUL: We are always grateful for your company and that you take time to be with us in the morning especially this early, Sunday, June 12th. Thank you so much for being here. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Christi, always a pleasure to be with you.

And we begin with this developing story out of Utah where more than two dozen people believed to be members of a hate group have been arrested for conspiracy to riot near a Pride parade. Police say the suspects were all wearing similar clothing and they bore the insignia of a known white nationalist organization, Patriot Front.

PAUL: Yes. So police in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where this happened, pulled as many as 31 men from the back of a U-Haul yesterday afternoon. Investigators believe those men were in possession of riot gear, and planned to disrupt that nearby Pride celebration. Now, authorities say someone spotted the group loading into the truck and they alerted police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF LEE WHITE, COEUR D'ALENE POLICE: We had a great deal of officers there because of the information that we had received initially. And frankly with 31 people in the car we had to make sure that we had adequate resources on hand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So the group had shields with them, along with shin guards and other riot gear, including a smoke grenade. Officers say they intended to cause trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITE: I would gladly arrest 31 individuals who are coming to riot in our city for a misdemeanor, rather than have them participate in some sort of seriously disruptive event, which is exactly what they were planning in downtown area. And it wasn't just City Park that they were planning to riot in. There was some other information they were planning on going down Sherman, for instance. So preventing a riot by arresting 31 people a misdemeanor, I will gladly do that every day of the week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now, keep this point in mind, investigators say the suspects are from 11 different states. They are expected in court tomorrow and we have learned the FBI is assisting with the investigation.

PAUL: Juliette Kayyem is with us now. She's a CNN national security analyst and former assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Juliette, it's always so good to have your perspective here.

I want to jump off what the police chief there was saying, it sounds as though he was trying to justify some of these arrests. What do you make of that?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes. And he really shouldn't need to. You know, they're balancing two conflicting rights, which is the right of the people who are attending the Pride parade, and the families and others who are supporting the Pride efforts against as described to the police at the time 31 people who look like a mini army, getting into a U-Haul there, then stopped to find out what's going on and they find what is described as operational planning, shields, other things that would be disruptive, that we don't know if there was any weaponry yet.

You know, the difficulty for police right now is, of course, Idaho is an open carry state. So you're allowed to wear weaponry, and hold weaponry. So they were really just balancing two rights and I really -- I think that this is sort of -- I think that they should be less concerned about it. They're going to make a case in court on Monday, these are misdemeanor charges. And then they'll be able to determine was there in fact a conspiracy to disrupt the right to assemble by the Pride members and those who support them.

PAUL: So the suspects, as I understand, they came from at least 11 states.

KAYYEM: Yes.

PAUL: I used to live in Idaho. Coeur d'Alene is beautiful.

[06:05:00]

It's -- it's --

KAYYEM: It's beautiful.

PAUL: -- a long way from most other cities.

KAYYEM: Yes.

PAUL: It only takes about 40 minutes, though, to get from Spokane, which is the closest airport as we understand it. Why do you think that specific Pride parade would have been targeted?

KAYYEM: So it has been described at least in media reports as one of the larger ones in Idaho. Coeur d'Alene is an interesting area as you know. It is where the Bundy family has ties. Idaho is in the middle of a gubernatorial election where Ammon Bundy, this is that right wing supremacist who has vandalized federal law and is now out of jail. This is where he is running for governor.

So it's a-- it's a complicated state right now. There are lots of risks within the Republican Party in fact. And Patriot Front is interesting. I think this is the story, right, from 11 states, is they formed out of Charlottesville.

Charlottesville was described in 2017 as the Unite the Right Effort. Well, that didn't happen. After Charlottesville there was an internal fighting about the extent to which they wanted the Nazis involved. These are all white supremacist groups, so you're just talking about variations of hate at this stage and Patriot Front came out of that, emerged out of that.

They're very into performative gestures. We see this with how they were all dressed the same, like, you know, basically like Walmart workers, they cover their faces, they're together, and they have been very effective at using social media and other organizing efforts to appear larger than they are. But they're very much -- it's important that they're very much into these gestures of performative, all jumping into the U-Haul, all wearing the same --

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: But do you think that they are as dangerous or threatening or as alarming as other white supremacist groups?

KAYYEM: No, on the scale they're probably not. I would say we just don't know about whether they were armed. I don't know. The police have not said that -- the police have not said that they were not armed. So we don't know what their intentions are.

But, you know, we have to make it clear that even disruption without guns is very intimidating and especially in a state like you know, Idaho, where the LGBTQ community is, you know, not a majority, it is trying to express its constitutional rights through a Pride parade, to get supported and to get others to understand. That's very intimidating. Maybe not as intimidating as a gun, but it -- you know, it is part of these fissures in American society in which the right to express your freedoms and including the freedom to love whom you love is intimidated by these kinds of gestures, even if they are performative. A shield to a child looks scary. It may not be a gun.

PAUL: Sure, sure. Yes, good point. Juliette Kayyem -- and we do know that the FBI is assisting in the investigation now.

KAYYEM: Yes.

PAUL: So we'll see where it goes. Juliette Kayyem, always so grateful to get your insight here. Thank you so much.

KAYYEM: Thank you. Thanks.

SANCHEZ: As the January 6th committee holds its second hearing tomorrow, members say that they are going to be focusing first on tackling Donald Trump's effort to spread false claims about the 2020 election.

PAUL: In its first hearing on Thursday, remember, members of the panel said that former President Trump incited the violence at the Capitol and that he was orchestrating a seven-point plan to overturn the 2020 election results. The opening hearing, the panel promised, was a preview of things to come.

We want to get details on what things are going to look like tomorrow, at tomorrow's hearing. CNN congressional reporter Daniella Diaz is with us from Capitol Hill. Daniella, talk to us about this sense that people are feeling right now as to what we can expect to see tomorrow that may be different.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Christi, we know of at least one person that is planning to testify tomorrow in that hearing that will begin at 10:00 a.m. and that is Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News editor who came under fire from Trump and people in his orbit for calling Arizona a crucial state in that 2020 election for President Joe Biden, not Trump. He is planning to talk tomorrow.

And, look, vice chair of the committee, Liz Cheney, said that former President Donald Trump as you said had a -- quote -- "sophisticated seven-point plan" and the goal here is to have every hearing talk about that plan. The goal of that plan being to overturn the 2020 election over -- and we will see that in these hearings over the course of this month, detailing how these future hearings will tackle each part of the scheme.

She also said specifically that this next hearing will revolve around Trump's effort to -- quote -- "convince huge portions of the U.S. population that fraud had stolen the election from him," which we know is not true, did not happen, despite hearing from numerous advisers that telling Donald Trump that he has lost the election, he still wanted to overturn the results.

[06:10:06]

We heard last night from Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat on the committee, who detailed a little bit of what we expect to see tomorrow. Of course, they don't want to show all their cards just yet. But take a listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D), HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE: Our hearing on Monday will go through this in greater depth that Trump lost the election. He -- all of these claims of fraud were investigated. And he was told they weren't true by people in his own government, and his own family. And he persisted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAZ: Remember that the goal of this committee continues to be to weave that narrative and show the American people that investigation that the committee has been working on for the past 11 months, behind closed doors. They have interviewed more than 1,000 people and their goal is to show that former President Donald Trump really tried to overturn the election results, and really show proof of that, and we will continue to see that tomorrow. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Daniella Diaz from Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

CNN political commentator Errol Louis joins us now to look ahead to the committee's hearing tomorrow. He's a political anchor for "Spectrum News" and also host of the "You Decide" podcast. Errol, always appreciate you getting up bright and early for us.

So let's talk about this effort from the committee tomorrow to dive deeper into Trump's efforts to spread misinformation about the 2020 election. How critical is that to their case, making the point that he knew -- he heard from multiple close advisers that there was no widespread fraud and he yet went ahead with this propaganda campaign?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, good morning, Boris. That is absolutely crucial to the case that they have to make. Because if you believe that Donald Trump was misguided or that he and his advisers had legitimate reasons to think that perhaps the voter questions that they had about certain key states needed to be resolved and that there was a fact finding mission under way, undertaken in good faith, if you believe all of those things then the purpose of the January 6th rally that turned into a riot starts to look a little bit legitimate. On the other hand, if they knew, if they were cynically trying to rile people up and confuse people and lie to the public, these are not just misguided people who say that there was a close election that they had some questions about, but it was an election that they actually knew that they lost. Once that is established, then all of the different things that they said about why they had the rally, about what the purpose of descending on the Capitol was supposed to be starts to look a little bit different. And I think it's going to be critical both to the case that the Congress is trying to make as well as prosecutors.

SANCHEZ: So I found this a really compelling moment in the first hearing when the committee revealed that several of their Republican colleagues actually sought pardons from former President Trump after January 6th. What does that reveal to you about their state of mind, of those trying to help Trump at the time?

LOUIS: You know -- you know, that -- it's interesting. That was one of those quiet blockbusters. Anybody who thinks that they know already what is going to be said in these hearings really should pay some attention to these things, because it was absolutely a blockbuster revelation that there were people asking for pardons. Now why do you ask for a pardon? Because you think you have criminal exposure.

It is not clear what some of these members were doing. There have been reports, there have been rumors, but now under oath, what we're hearing is that there are members of Congress who are closely enough aligned with some of what went on with that riot that they thought they needed to go to the White House and ask for a pardon for any criminal acts that they might have been involved in. That is a very damning indictment. And, you know, there is a search under way, I'm sure you know people and I do too in the news media who are trying to find out exactly how many and what are the names of the members of Congress who are seeking pardons.

SANCHEZ: Yes, stand by for that. If it comes out in future committee hearings, as you noted, blockbuster moments potentially ahead. I also wanted to get your thoughts on the "New York Post," owned by, you know, Republican kingmaker Rupert Murdoch, also owns "Fox News," "Wall Street Journal." They published an op-ed not surprisingly calling the committee a partisan ad, though it is actually a bipartisan committee, but the piece goes on to say that the former president continues to cling on to fantasies about the 2020 election, and that it is time for the party to move on. I'm wondering what you made of that op-ed from a Murdoch paper, one of your hometown papers.

LOUIS: Well, look, it is something that supporters of Donald Trump have said to him over and over again, it is time to move on, it is time to move forward. The one thing we know about Donald Trump is that he's not going to move forward. He is not going to let it go.

[06:15:00]

And because this Republican Party has already surrendered all of its principles, and assigned to Donald Trump the power to dictate the party's program down to the last detail without any real pushback then, you know, to put out an editorial and say, well, you know, you're in fantasy land, Mr. Ex-president, well, that's great. But he's got the power. He's got control of the party. He's the odds on favorite to be the next Republican nominee for president, and there is nothing they can do to change that.

It is really a little bit late in the game after having supported all of his outrageous actions over the last few years to suddenly say, oh, let's stop lying now, Mr. President, let's stop deceiving and focus on the future rather than the past. That's just not going to happen.

SANCHEZ: The next committee hearing scheduled for tomorrow. Errol Louis, we appreciate your perspective and walking us through all of that. Thanks so much.

LOUIS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

And you will want to stay tuned to CNN because we're going to hear directly from a member of the January 6th committee later this morning. A conversation you won't want to miss. CNN's Dana Bash sits down with Congressman Jamie Raskin. What does he expect from tomorrow's hearing? A preview on "STATE OF THE UNION" beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: And there were demonstrators yesterday calling for an end to gun violence. And they flooded the streets. They want stricter gun control legislation. We have some of the news that came out of those demonstrations.

Also, soaring costs are hitting seniors on fixed incomes particularly hard, as you can imagine. The sacrifices that some people are making just to make it through the month and the worry about what is going to happen if prices continue to rise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:20:53]

SANCHEZ: Thousands gathered in hundreds of cities across the United States this weekend in March for Our Lives rallies, demanding action on gun reform. Demonstrators are calling on lawmakers to respond with new legislation in the wake of recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.

PAUL: Now President Biden told demonstrators to -- quote -- "keep marching."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, this has to become an election issue. The way people -- listen, senators, congressmen, and the people say this is going to affect my vote. Too many people are dying, needlessly. And what is being proposed in the House and the Senate is marginal. I mean, it is important, but it is not all that needs to be done. The idea we're not going to do background checks, the idea we're not -- anyway, the answer is march. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And marching, they indeed did keep doing. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: No more silence. No more violence.

Enough is enough. We demand change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are inspired to speak up for the 19 children and two adults lost at Robb Elementary School. However, this day runs deeper than one event.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gun violence doesn't stick to a classroom. It is a cancer that -- and virus that spreads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're still here!

CROWD: We're still here!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never expected for me to come back here to do another march. I expected our lawmakers to do their jobs. So for me to be back here, it is emotional and it is upsetting.

CROWD: Enough is enough.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK: It is unbelievable that we are afraid to ban AK-47s. You don't need an AK-47 to shoot a rabbit. You don't need the level of guns we have in our city.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Us kids are the future and we demand more than thoughts and prayers. We demand policy and change.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want?

CROWD: Gun control.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When do we want it?

CROWD: Now.

RAYMOND WHITFIELD, MOTHER WAS VICTIM OF BUFFALO MASS SHOOTING: There are so many times that we sat there watching the victims of gun violence, cry with them. And then the second it was over we can wipe away the tears and pull ourselves together and go on with our lives. But when you're standing here, these are the tears you can't wipe away. These tears will last a lifetime.

GARNELL WHITFIELD, MOTHER WAS VICTIM OF BUFFALO MASS SHOOTING: We are here to stand with those who are bold enough to demand sensible gun legislation that will help to reduce the gun violence in our communities, that will stop the slaughter of our most precious commodity, people, human beings, sisters, brothers, fathers, grandparents, friends, and in my case, my 86-year-old mother. DAVID HOGG, MARCH FOR OUR LIVES CO-FOUNDER AND PARKLAND SURVIVOR: Let's declare it right now and say it with me, loud, this time is different! Louder. This time is different! Hold up your signs and say it. This time is different!

CROWD: This time is different!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: All right, let's talk about the economy, because I know that you are feeling some serious pain in all sectors, particularly when we go, try to put gas in our car, make sure that we can go where we need to go, right? The average price of regular gas now costs right above $5.00 nationwide. This is the first time that has ever happened according to AAA. It is up nearly 60 cents just from last month.

It is hardly a surprise, though, as prices have increased across the board because of inflation. In fact, in the last year, data shows that the cost of housing climbed more than five percent. That is the biggest increase since 1991.

Food is up 10.1 percent. That's the first double-digit increase in 41 years. And gas prices, well, I mean, you know it, you look at them, but they are record levels. Think about this, they're up nearly 50 percent from this time last year. That is a hard thing to live with, and to swallow especially if you're on a budget.

[06:25:00]

Michelle Singletary is with us now. She's a syndicated personal finance columnist with the "Washington Post." Michelle, always glad to have you here. Thank you, madam, for being with us.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, WASHINGTON POST, SYNDICATED PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST: Thank you for having me.

PAUL: Absolutely. So when we talk about inflation, economists have cited, and I think you've cited as well, you know, the supply chain issues, the war in Ukraine is contributing to this, higher wages also contributing because there is such a demand for all of these jobs that need to be filled. But I've been reading that wages actually have to go down in order to curb inflation. Help us understand the connection between wages and inflation and how that affects the life of this inflation period that we're in.

SINGLETARY: Well, nationally when you have low unemployment, you know, employers are looking for folks and it means that they have the advantage. So they can demand higher wages because they're in demand. But the problem is even the higher wages doesn't account for the increase in inflation, so people might be getting, you know, maybe a four percent raise, but inflation is eight percent. And so it doesn't really even out for the worker.

And so workers are saying, "Listen, I need more money because of inflation." And employers are saying, "But if I pay you more money then I have got to raise prices and then that means the consumers might drop." So you can see how it ends up in this sort of vicious cycle where we still see high inflation.

PAUL: I know the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates again when they meet on Wednesday. How do we take that in, especially say for people trying to buy a house or who -- some people are living on a good amount of credit now, because of the prices that are out there.

SINGLETARY: That's exactly right. You know, the Feds are trying to cool down inflation. And the way they do that, they raise interest rates. And what happens? People pull back.

And there is a delicate balance there. They don't want to raise rates so high that there is a -- you know, an awful pullback because then that sort of creates the very thing that they're trying to stop.

And so what I've been telling people is if you don't have to do some things and you are right at the financial edge then don't do it. I mean, you know, before there was all these bidding wars and people really were paying more for houses than they could afford. And so don't do that.

If you can, you know, put off a major expense, like home improvements or even that vacation that you're pining to take this summer, particularly if you don't have an emergency fund, if you already have credit card debt because that credit card debt is going to cost you more now. So then you need to stop spending, and try to save more.

PAUL: OK. So this oftentimes is a tale of two different consumers. Because I was reading -- Moody's says the average household is paying $460 a month more, $460 a month more for some goods and services than they were a year ago.

That is a lot of money to some people. There is some who can manage it. There are some who can't. Talk to us about who this hurts most.

SINGLETARY: You know, we have a country of have and have-nots. And the haves who are still complaining, by the way, I get it, I don't like paying all this for gas. But I can weather that storm for right now.

So I'm going to need those folks to not be complaining because you're in such a much better position than the have-nots, who are already struggling before the pandemic. And now we know low income families, minority, Hispanic families who spent a higher percentage of their income on these necessities like gas and housing and food are really suffering.

And when we say suffering, we don't mean they aren't going to be able to eat out twice a week when they, you know, like some families. We're talking about not being able to actually eat three balanced meals a day, especially as we head into the summer months where kids are not going to be in school where they can get a free lunch.

And so those are the folks that go to my heart, that I worry about, because, you know, way back when I was one of those kids. I mean, I know hunger. And so I'm very concerned about that. So what I'm telling the haves is that if you can, if you have the extra, support the food banks, support charities that help house people and give them the resources that they can do to get better jobs so that they can provide for their family.

PAUL: Very good point. Michelle Singletary, always such a joy to have you with us. Thank you for some good conversations this morning and some good advice.

SINGLETARY: Thank you.

PAUL: Of course.

SANCHEZ: Rising inflation and higher prices have been excruciating for many Americans as you just heard. That also includes our oldest most vulnerable citizens. CNN's Gabe Cohen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOYCE SILLA, SENIOR IN WASHINGTON, D.C.: The prices, the prices.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seventy-two-year-old Joyce Silla has seen inflation eat through her fixed income, $1,700 a month of Social Security.

(on camera): What has that done to your savings?

SILLA: It's gone. It's depleted. No savings. That's it.

[06:30:00]

If I can make it from one month to the other month, that's good.

COHEN: She was the assistant director of housekeeping at a large DC hotel before retiring 10 years ago. Now a widow, she's relying on food banks for the first time and watching her power bills pile up.

SILLA: It's not a good feeling. I know I worked. I didn't take shortcuts.

COHEN: While inflation is hitting most Americans, many retired seniors face and added squeeze. For 10 million of them Social Security on average just over $1,600 a month is at least 90 percent of their income and inflation is far outpacing this year's cost of living increase on those benefits though it was the biggest raise in 39 years.

It's not just food and gas prices, health care costs are rising and many retirement accounts have taken a hit.

DAVID CERTNER, AARP: That is just a burden that's very difficult to bear for some of these people. And that's when they have to make tough choices.

CYNTHIA TILFORD, SENIOR IN HOUSTON: We've gone through our retirement savings more quickly than we had anticipated.

COHEN: 70-year-old Cynthia Tilford returned part time to a clerical job at a university in Houston to stop draining her accounts.

CERTNER: The thought of retirement right now is really scary.

COHEN: Lower income seniors are facing more food insecurity. Meals on Wheels has struggled to keep up with high demand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not good.

COHEN: 73 year old Bill Teshera, a retired phone technician, is skipping three meals a week to save on food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wouldn't last a whole month if I didn't.

COHEN: He says Social Security pays him $1,400 a month and his rent in Sacramento just rose to $1240.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could be on the street if it goes up too much higher.

COHEN: You're worried you could end up homeless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It keeps me awake sometimes

COHEN: Seniors are becoming homeless at a faster rate than any other age group, and skyrocketing rent costs could make it worse.

MARTA HILL GRAY, CULPEPPER GARDEN: It's a bit of a crisis.

COHEN: At Culpepper Garden, a nonprofit affordable senior living community in Virginia, the waitlist is growing.

GRAY: It's doubled, almost tripled within the past eight months I'd say.

COHEN: Have you ever seen this many seniors applying for affordable housing.

GRAY: We have not. We have not.

COHEN: Hundreds of these communities nationwide are seeing the same surging demand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we think it's because of the inflation surges and rent surges.

COHEN: Seniors can expect a near record Social Security increase next year to combat this inflation. And for now, they can go to benefitscheckup.org to see what help is out there.

RAMSEY ALWIN, NATIONAL COUNCIL ON AGING: We find that your average older adults often living $7,000 worth of assistance on the table.

COHEN: Assistance Programs have kept Joyce Silla afloat this year. She fears one more price hike could break the back.

SILLA: So, it's kind of hard, but you do what you have to do. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on camera): Now, data show more retirees are heading back to work right now, though experts say that's largely driven by this hot jobs market. But the National Council on Aging tells me they are seeing more seniors looking for work right now to get through what we all hope is just a temporary strain with this inflation. Christi, Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Gabe Cohen, thank you so much for that report.

After months of war in Eastern Europe, some villages in Ukraine are starting the process of rebuilding. After a quick break, we're going to take you to Kyiv for the latest on those efforts. Stay with us.

[06:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russian forces have suffered significant losses since the war started. In his latest address, he asked Vladimir Putin directly if his invasion was worth it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): Donbas is holding firm. The losses the occupiers suffered, including in this direction, are very heavy. The Russian army as a whole has already about 32,000 dead souls as of today. What for? What benefits have you gained from this, Russia?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): CNN cannot independently verify the number of forces killed in the conflict. But despite the losses, Russian forces are now in control of most of Severodonetsk. That's the epicenter of the battle for Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is with us and Kyiv. So, Salma, talk to us about what's happening there.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER (on camera): Boris and Christi, along the front lines, the war is turning in Russia's favor. Ukrainian forces say they're running out of weapons. They're having to pull back in some places. But here in Kyiv, where I am, there's a very different story. People are coming back, people who fled their homes. And they say, even with the war raging on, it's time to rebuild. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ (voiceover): This was one someone's home, a place where children played and families gathered. Now, this group of volunteers is working hard to restore what was lost.

ANDRIY KOPYLENKO, CO-FOUNDER, DISTRICT 1 ORGANIZATION: I feel that we are really gathering.

ABDELAZIZ: You're unified.

KOPYLENKO: Unified, yes. We are together and we know that it's our home. And all Ukrainians understands that we need to rebuild.

ABDELAZIZ: Hundreds signed up to join more than a dozen clean-up operations across Kyiv suburbs launched by charity group District 1.

DMYTRO NIKITYUK, VOLUNTEER: We are all different. Like, we have different age, different interests, but we have worked here together as one.

ABDELAZIZ: Colorado native Karl Voll is among those helping out.

KARL VOLL, VOLUNTEER FROM COLORADO: The building that we're in now has been bombed by the Russians. And this has to be covered by the homeowners themselves. So, by all these people coming out and helping, it's really helping to jumpstart that process for them.

ABDELAZIZ: This tiny village of Mila became a front line overnight when Russian forces barreling towards Kyiv fired wildly at apartment blocks in their path. The rounds set the building's roof ablaze and destroyed the upper floors. Civilians were killed even as they fled.

Resident Maria Popova witnessed the horror.

When we say you put Lolita we hid in the basement. We were very scared, she says. We sat and watched her houses burn.

[06:40:30]

Russian troops have withdrawn, but the devastation they've left behind is incredible. Homes here were shattered in an instant. But rebuilding life, that will take much longer.

And those recovery efforts are up to communities.

KOPYLENKO: Army has job. Soldiers are working and we are working.

ABDELAZIZ: So, they have a job on the frontlines.

KOPYLENKO: Yes.

ABDELAZIZ: You have a job here too.

KOPYLENKO: Yes, yes.

ABDELAZIZ: 77-year-old Popova was the first to return to the building. Her apartment was largely spared.

I believe in our army, she tells me, and there's no place like home. When you're at home, the walls calm you down.

With war never far, just living in Ukraine feels like an act of defiance. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ (on camera): Now, here in central Kyiv, there is a sense of normal life again. But it's on those suburbs in the areas that were along the outskirts, places that were in the path of Russian artillery where there's no sense of security, that still needs to be restored. I spoke to one volunteer who told me, we're just going to have to accept that we live alongside a country that could attack and invade us at any time. Boris and Christi?

PAUL: It's horrible. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you so much. I have that feeling all the time.

All right, listen, I know you probably felt that yesterday. It's going to be another scorcher today for millions of people particularly across the Southwest. How long is this going to last? How bad is it going to get? We'll talk about it next. Stay close.

[06:45:00]

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SANCHEZ: There are triple digit temperatures across parts of the United States with some 65 million Americans feeling extremely dangerous heat. And experts say that several cities are actually going to break new records.

PAUL: It's only June. CNN Allison Chinchar is in the Weather Center. All right, how long is this going to stick around, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): It's going to be around for several days. And Boris, you're talking about those records. Some of those cities could break multiple days of records as many as five days in a row. So, just kind of put that into context.

Yes, it's summer. We get it. It's supposed to be hot. But for a lot of these cities, it's the very prolonged period of time in which they're dealing with these record temperatures. Look at some of the records from yesterday. Death Valley, yes, we get it. It's a hot place. But even for them this was extreme. 122 is where they topped out yesterday beating their record.

Phoenix, Roswell, New Mexico, Las Vegas, and even San Angelo, Texas also breaking records all in the triple digits. We've got heat advisories, excessive heat watches, excessive heat warnings, all type of heat alerts today stretching from California all the way over to Middle Tennessee. And that's expected to continue to push off to the east as the heatwave begins to spread.

Look at some of the temperatures. And again, the temperatures themselves are very high, but then you have to factor in the humidity and that heat index is even higher. Shreveport, high temperature of 97 today, but it feels like of 110. Houston, 99 for the temperature, but it feels like of 106.

We talked about the overnight low temperatures, 80 in Memphis, 80 in Oklahoma City. That's a concern guys because the temperature has to get below 80 degrees for your body to be able to cool off.

PAUL: Allison Chinchar, I think it's going to be an inside day for us here today. I'm just saying. Thank you.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Allison.

Hey, does lightning strike the same spot twice? How about three times? It might when Tampa Bay Lightning advancing to their third straight Stanley Cup Final. Do they have what it takes to become a dynasty? A preview is next.

And a quick friendly reminder. Be sure to catch an all new episode of "WATERGATE: BLUEPRINT FOR A SCANDAL" tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

[06:50:00]

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PAUL: All right, Stanley Cup final set. Tampa Bay Lightning facing off against the Colorado Avalanche.

SANCHEZ: Carolyn -- yes, it's going to be a big matchup. Carolyn Manno is with us. And Carolyn, Tampa Bay going for history for a threepeat.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): That's right. And Boris, it's something we haven't seen in 40 years in fact, but this is not going to be easy. Good morning to you both. I mean Colorado is a formidable opponent coming off a significant period of rest as well.

This is a classic NHL matchup between the two best teams left standing. Fans wouldn't want it any other way. Tampa with all of them momentum last night against the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final after pulling off three straight wins. Rangers fighting to force a winner take all game seven and they came so close to New York on a power play with just under six minutes to go after Steven Stamkos' penalty and Frank Vatrano's unleashing that cannon off the face. It's tied at one, but 21 seconds later, redemption.

Steven Stamkos squeaking by Igor Shesterkin to put Tampa backup. Shesterkin actually gets a glove on it but the puck bounces off of Stamkos his leg and into the net. And after a review, the goal would stand. The crowd going nuts as you see the Lightning hold on to when 2-1.

And in London, 2011 Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel is the first ever winner in the controversial new Saudi backed LIV Golf Series. The 37-year-old earned the largest paycheck in golf history, $4 million, tacking on another $750,000 for also being a part of the group that finished first in the team competition.

He said after, he never dreamt he could make that much money playing golf, but he struggled to find the words when asked about where and from whom he is getting that money. [06:55:14]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARL SCHWARTZEL, WINNER, LIV SERIES LONDON: Where the money comes from is not something that I -- as ever -- I've ever looked at playing in my 20 years career, you know. And I think if I start digging everywhere where we played, you could find faults in anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Just for some context here, Christi and Boris, Schwartzel's winnings this weekend are more than he has earned over the last four seasons combined. You know, this is the biggest reason why we're seeing a player exodus to LIV Golf despite all these moral question marks. Professional golf finding itself in a very complicated moment right now.

SANCHEZ: Complicated to say the least. Carolyn Manno, thank you so much.

And coming up in the next hour of NEW DAY, suspected white supremacist arrested near a Pride event in Idaho. What security experts say about the group and the threat they pose next.

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