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The Situation Room

Active Shooter at Fort Stewart; Steve Witkoff Meets With Vladimir Putin; New York Mass Shooting Investigation; Great Barrier Reef Under Threat. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 06, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: It certainly does.

I want to turn to some other health news. HHS announced that it is slashing $500 million in already approved contracts for the mRNA vaccine. What do you know about that?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: That's right.

We actually did hear from HHS directly in a statement. HHS secretary had this to say -- quote -- "BARDA" -- that's the agency that supports advancing research and development -- quote -- "BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We're shifting that funding towards safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate" -- end quote.

Again, that's a statement from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. But, Pamela, there are many public health experts out there who argue in response to the secretary that mRNA technology has been studied, developed for decades, and many also are concerned that this rollback of supporting mRNA research could impact other studies looking into other ways to use mRNA, such as for cancer therapies, for instance.

So there is this concern out there among public health experts and this interesting discussion that's happening around mRNA technology in general, Pamela. So this will be an interesting space to watch closely.

BROWN: Yes, we will be watching it closely.

Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much.

Well, new this morning, an underwater heat wave is roasting Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef, causing its worst decline ever recorded. Vast areas of coral were bleached in 2024, meaning that it grew pale as it lost much of its algae. That's a sharp contrast from the reef's typically vibrant colors that we're all used to seeing, right?

The bleaching also puts thousands of marine species that depend on the reef in danger. Let's go live now to CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir.

Very sad here. What is causing such widespread bleaching, Bill?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, climate change, gigatons of fossil fuel pollution that is not only going into the sky but also into the oceans, making them more acidic.

And 90 percent of the excess heat caused by climate change is stored in the oceans. Last summer was like a heat wave like no under underwater. And now these scientists are describing it almost like wildfire aftermath underwater, between a quarter and a third of the Great Barrier Reef, the largest living thing on Earth, the hard coral destroyed, they say, some places up to 70 percent.

It's devastating for the economy in places like Australia that relies on the tourism that draws at these people, but also for marine life. These are the nurseries of the ocean. If we lose our coral reefs, that means extinction for about 25 percent of fish species.

BROWN: So, I mean, what can be done here? I mean, I know you said climate change. It's obviously something that's been an issue for a long time. But what can be done specifically to address these kinds of mass bleaching events or possibly reduce the impact?

WEIR: Well, stop burning fossil fuels is the answer that science comes back to every single time.

And they have been warning about this now for generations. But the climate denial industry, which a lot of those people are now in power, has been denying that this is even happening.

In fact, the new critical review that Christopher Wright at the Department of Energy put out written by five sort of fringe climate deniers, and replacing hundreds of scientists who've been working on this for years, it says -- quote -- "This possibly is detrimental to coral reefs," talking about CO2 emissions, "although the recent rebound in the Great Barrier Reef suggests otherwise."

This new report, the new guidance in the United States government for energy and environmental policy is based on such flawed science, they don't even -- can't have been acknowledged this mass bleaching event, which is being studied right now.

So, step one, to answer your question, Pamela, is just the knowledge that this is happening.

BROWN: Yes.

WEIR: There is science about finding the most resilient corals and trying to reproduce them. But a lot of the deniers say, hey, the reef came back because there were these fast-growing corals. Turns out those died the fastest this time around.

This is a real problem that every country needs to pay attention to.

BROWN: Yes, science, proof, evidence facts, we need to embrace that.

Bill Weir, thank you.

Well, just ahead: President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff meeting with Russia's President Putin in Moscow. What we're learning about that three-hour talk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:38:57]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, we are learning some more details about the gunman in New York's deadliest mass shooting in 25 years; 27-year-old Shane Tamura shot and killed four people and injured another at a Midtown Manhattan office building last week before fatally turning the gun on himself.

There's these newly released videos and documents by the Las Vegas Police Department that reveal Tamura faced mental health related struggles and he had a history of run-ins with police. There's this video from 2023 and you can see Tamura being removed from a casino in handcuffs.

And here's the 911 call that led to his removal.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm calling from Red Rock Casino on Charleston. We have an irate guest. He has no visible I.D., so he cannot cash out. He's refusing to leave. He's making a spectacle of himself.

911 OPERATOR: And where -- OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's about 10 officers on right now.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN correspondent Brynn Gingras has more.

What more are we learning here, Brynn?

[11:40:01]

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pam, I'm going to show the viewers a little bit more of his interaction with police during that arrest.

But, first, I just want to explain that what we're seeing here are more videos, 911 calls, as you explained, really giving us and really investigators who are still looking into the events that led up to that deadly shooting here in New York City, as they continue this investigation.

And prior to actually that incident that you're looking at right there in the casino, we learned from a 911 call, that police were called to his home in September of '22. The call came from his mother, who was begging police to come over, saying that her son was going to kill himself, was basically suffering from mental illness, depression, anxiety, a number of things.

And she was cowering in a car as she made this call to 911. And then he was put in a psychiatric hold during that time after that call was made, after police responded to that call. And then next we see this incident with police where he's arrested in a casino in Las Vegas, refusing to show an identification. I want you to see more of that interaction he had with authorities who came to respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANE TAMURA, MASS SHOOTER: Am I under arrest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your birthday?

TAMURA: I just want to know, am I under arrest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it depends if you give me your birthday or not.

TAMURA: So, if I don't give you my birthday, am I under arrest? How does that work?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you're delaying my investigation.

TAMURA: Investigation into what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trespassing.

TAMURA: Trespassing as far as what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Refusing to leave after security asked you to.

TAMURA: When did security ask me to leave?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They asked you...

TAMURA: No, I just asked, can I get...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You doing all this is also delaying my investigation.

TAMURA: How?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I'm trying to identify you, and you're not giving me your birthday.

TAMURA: Yes, I don't have anything wrong with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, then we will go to jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GINGRAS: So the DA actually didn't press any charges after that incident, but there was another psychiatric hold. Of course, Pam, we knew about this after the incident happened in Manhattan from sources, that there were two separate psychiatric holds, the second one being in 2024.

And that happened when police actually went to his home, inside his home, and he was threatening to kill himself. He actually had a gun in a backpack where authorities say, don't go near that backpack.

But, Pam, what comes down to is the big questions that still remain in this investigation, is how one was he able to get a hold of these guns after a number of these incidents that we're seeing now, not only buying one from a gun shop, where was the background checks, how did those carry out, how were they even OK, but also the one he purchased from his manager, that assault rifle that he used in the attack, according to sources.

And then really, how did the red flag laws not get triggered? Basically, these are all the questions that we still have questions to, and then authorities are also trying to answer at this point.

BROWN: It's always so sad when these tragic events happen and then you look back, you say there were all these warning signs.

GINGRAS: Yes.

BROWN: How was this not stopped before? It's just so devastating.

Brynn Gingras, thank you.

GINGRAS: Right.

BROWN: We have some breaking news coming in. President Trump is imposing a new 25 percent tariff on India as punishment for importing Russian oil. This is the first use of so-called secondary sanctions on countries that the U.S. says are fueling Moscow's war machine.

And, notably, it comes after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for about three hours just this morning. The Kremlin is calling that meeting -- quote -- "constructive and useful."

Clearly, that is in question given this development.

So joining us now is historian, author and staff writer at "The Atlantic" Anne Applebaum.

Anne, thank you for coming on.

So what will it take for Putin to come to the table and engage in real, meaningful Ukraine peace talks, given what we just saw there?

ANNE APPLEBAUM, "THE ATLANTIC": So, Putin will have to decide that Ukraine can be an independent country. In other words, he will have to give up his main goal in the war. He will have to give up the idea that Ukraine will become part of Russia or will become part of some kind of new Russian empire.

And, so far, I have to say, in none of his public statements has Putin ever said that. He and the Russian media continue to repeat the idea that Ukraine shouldn't exist. A recent Russian state media editorial said all Ukrainians must die. They're still using that kind of language.

And so whatever Witkoff and Putin discussed in the Kremlin, Putin has not publicly said he's prepared to end the war. So we need to -- he needs to make that mental journey. He needs to realize that the war was a mistake, that it can't be won, that he can't conquer Ukraine. And then we will be at a point where we can have peace talks and a cease-fire.

BROWN: Yes, and those who have studied Putin for a long time say that's probably not going to happen, right? I mean, this has been an ambition of his to take over Ukraine or at least make it subordinate to Russia for a long time.

And you're seeing President Trump seemingly come to this reality as well, right? And he has drastically changed his rhetoric when it comes to talking about and talking to Vladimir Putin. What do you make of how this relationship has evolved since President Trump has returned to office?

[11:45:05]

APPLEBAUM: So, look, Trump did make a lot of promises. He said he would end the war in one day. I mean, he seems to be under the impression or he was under the impression that it's a kind of personal conflict, that Putin maybe invaded Ukraine to upset Joe Biden, that it was something about America.

And I'm not sure that the deeper part of the story -- I mean, as you say, Putin has wanted to conquer Ukraine for a long time, but he also finds Ukraine to be an ideological challenge because Ukraine is a country that's seeking to be a democracy. It wants to be integrated with Europe. Those are ideas that are very dangerous for Putin, because if they were attractive to Russians, then they might want a revolution in Russia, as there was in Ukraine in 2014, too.

So there are really big things at stake that I'm not sure Trump seemed to have been aware of. Maybe now he's understood that there are other issues or that Putin is even mocking him. I mean, they have telephone calls during the day, and then Putin bombs another city in the evening, and that seems to be repeating itself. So perhaps he's finally worked that out.

BROWN: All right, so I want to turn now to your cover story for "The Atlantic" September edition that published this morning.

And for the piece, you report on the Sudanese devastating civil war, writing -- quote -- "Colonialism is long past, the Cold War has ended, and now the disappearance of any form of international order has left Sudan as the focus of intense competition among countries that are not superpowers, but rather middle powers." Walk us through what this means, not only for Sudan, but the world at large, and how this changes what global conflicts look like in the modern era.

APPLEBAUM: I mean, actually, what we were just talking about before is relevant to this. You now have Russia, which is a member of the Security Council, which doesn't want to cooperate anymore, either with the U.S. or Europe.

You have China playing a very different role. And one of the effects of that, as well as the impact of U.S. cutting off its interest in both international institutions and international aid, is that there's a kind of vacuum. And all the people and institutions and organizations that we might once have sent to a place like Sudan, where there is a civil war that's been going on since 2023, that might have been persuaded people to negotiate, that might have ameliorated the conflict, they're gone.

And, instead, you have these middle powers. You have the Saudis. You have the Emiratis. You have Egyptians, Turks, actually, Russians are there, Iranians and others who are fueling the conflict, adding weapons, playing games, seeking to get hold of resources, Sudanese gold.

And so you have outside powers fueling and inspiring conflict. And that's not unlike what had been happening in Syria. It's not unlike Libya. And it's not unlike what could happen elsewhere in the region.

BROWN: Well, let me just ask you quickly. I know you spent some time there. I mean, what impact are USAID cuts having on Sudan?

APPLEBAUM: So USAID funded about 40 percent of humanitarian aid worldwide, but it also funded all of the logistics of aid, so trucks and contracts and payment systems and statistic-keeping and so on.

And the sudden and abrupt and dramatic end of all those things -- remember, USAID was crushed in a few days.

BROWN: Yes. Right.

APPLEBAUM: Has meant that there's chaos throughout the whole aid system.

And in Sudan, you can see it even in very micro ways. Little soup kitchens on the street that are run by these mutual aid societies were telling us that they aren't able to serve people every day. Now they only have to do it three days a week. They're only able to give people soup. We're talking about bean soup, really the most primitive, cheap form of food.

We're talking about pennies, really, that they aren't able to give people anymore because at some point up in the chain their funding has disappeared. And so the impact of it, you can feel all over Sudan and actually all over the region. In Chad, which is -- we had to go through Chad to get to Sudan. There's very -- completely inadequate services for refugees and a sense generally of the U.S. being absent. And nobody really, I think, understands why.

BROWN: Right. Anne Applebaum, thank you. Really important reporting.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:53:35]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROWN: Breaking news just coming in. Fort Stewart in Georgia is locked down for an active shooter situation. This is according to a Fort Stewart police spokesperson.

Let's go live to CNN correspondent Isabel Rosales.

What are you learning, Isabel?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Pam.

We're working to gather details but, of course, the situation is still breaking, unfolding, very active. Here's what we do have, that Fort Stewart is under a lockdown. This is per the U.S. Army Fort Stewart police spokesperson that confirmed to CNN -- quote -- "There is an active shooter," but did not give additional details as to the status of the shooter, how many shooters there could be, no additional details on that.

Now, according to the Fort Worth Facebook page, casualties have been reported and the situation is ongoing. Now, Fort Moore -- Stewart, excuse me, trains and deploys active and Reserve Army units. This is home to the 3rd Infantry Division and it's just 40 miles to the Southwest of Savannah, Georgia, so still a very quickly unfolding situation.

We're working to get more details, Pam.

BROWN: Yes, and I know it's tough in these early moments. We're just getting very little.

Fort Stewart is also the largest U.S. Army installation east of the Mississippi River. Of course, at these military installations, there's security typically, but we have seen past shootings at military installations.

[11:55:00]

Do we know if officials will be holding any sort of press conference to provide more information, or is this just so active and fresh that we don't even have that yet?

ROSALES: Yes, Pam, unfortunately just that.

We spoke again with the police there at Fort Stewart, and that's as much as they could give us in that instant, that there is an active shooter, but no additional details. Of course, we will be making those phone calls and keeping a very close eye on social media, also the local -- our local CNN affiliates there in the area to try to get more details, more information, and bring that right to you.

BROWN: All right, Isabel Rosales, thank you.

We will continue to monitor the situation in Georgia throughout the next hour, of course.

And thank you so much for joining us this morning. You can keep up with me on social media @WolfBlitzer and @PamelaBrownCNN. We will see you back here tomorrow morning and every weekday morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

"INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" is next after a short break.