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President Biden Meets With World Leaders On Second Day Of G7, Putin Relationship With U.S. At Lowest Point In Years; DOJ Watchdog To Investigate Trump- Era Leak Investigations; DOJ Requested Data On 73 Phone Numbers, 36 E-mail Addresses From Apple; "Unruly Passenger" Forces Delta Flight To Divert; Orlando Honors Victims Of The Pulse Nightclub Shooting. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired June 12, 2021 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOROTHY ODOM, LOCAL HISTORIAN: So, it is a hot summer day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a must see right behind me. Right behind me you can see the water bubbling up. Cypress Spring pumps out about 90 cubic feet per minute enough to fill four Olympic sized swimming pools in an hour.

The water temperature is 68 to 70 degrees year-round. There's snorkeling, there's also a tunnel, you can swim down. You're brave enough. There's a rope swing out here. The only way you can get to Cypress Springs is paddling down Holmes Creek, but that keeps it secluded. We're surrounded by nature, which I love. It's just my favorite place in the world to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me on Fredricka Whitfield. Already happening right now the second day of the G7 Summit is in full swing in England. President Biden is meeting with his foreign counterparts right now on the topic of health, which comes at a critical time as the world tries to recover from the Coronavirus pandemic.

Biden also held a bilateral meeting this morning with French President Emmanuel Macron. All of this as Biden's first meeting as President with Russia's Vladimir Putin is set to happen this coming Wednesday. This morning the White House says Biden will hold a press conference after their meeting. CNN's Kaitlan Collins is following all of this from England Kaitlin, so good to see you. So, what are the big priorities today?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the big priorities that they really want to talk about are the 3 c's has the White House is referring to privately, which is China, COVID- 19 and Climate. Those have really been the big three things that they've said, President Biden has wanted to push while he is here for the first time meeting with these world leaders. But Fred, I think even beyond the substance of the summit is really

just seeing how different if you take a step back, it is from the last time these world leaders were gathered all together. Of course, that didn't happen last year because of the pandemic.

But before that it was President Trump who was here and he often derided, you know, these us alliances, he often mocked them or called them out publicly, he was not afraid to do that. And so you're seeing the sense of relief almost among these other world leaders as they're interacting with President Biden, they may not agree or see eye to eye on all of the issues, but you can see a difference in just how they're approaching those conversations.

And those differences and it was really on display with several world leaders, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was calling the Biden Administration, a breath of fresh air. But even today, as Biden sat down with the French President, listen to what he said he may not have said Donald Trump's name, but listen to the way he talked about Biden and having him here, instead of Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRANCE PRESIDENT: We have to deal with this pandemic and the COVID-19 we have to face challenges, we will have crisis, climate change, and for all this issues, what we need is cooperation. And I think it's great to have the U.S. President, part of the club and very willing to, to cooperate. And I think that what you want to demonstrate is that leadership is partnership.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States I've said before we're back, U.S. is back we feel very, very strongly about the cohesion of NATO. And I for one think that the European Union is an incredibly strong and vibrant entity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And Fred, at the end of that interaction between the two leaders, a reporter asked if the President Biden essentially convinced U.S. allies that America was back as he said in his first stop of this trip, and Biden turned to Macron and said, ask him. And a few seconds later Macron did answer he said, yes, definitely, definitely he does feel like America is back, different in the sense.

Of course, from those interactions with over President Trump, but we should switch and note that coming up, of course, the most high stakes meeting of them all is going to be that sit down with the Russian President and the White House has confirmed what CNN reported yesterday, which is that no joint press conference is going to happen at the end of it.

And the White House says that was intentional that that was their decision, because they think it's a better way for Biden to communicate what they talked about what they agreed on and what they disagreed on, from a solo perspective than having food and standby his time. WHITFIELD: And what about on the issue of note takers in aides, Trump

dismissed that when he met with, you know, Putin back in the day, has this White House said anything about that having them --?

COLLINS: Yes, Trump and Putin met so many times. And we didn't know what was really said in those meetings. Some of the President's top aides at the time did not know and that was because you're right. Oftentimes, it was either just a note taker or just a translator. In the meeting one time, Trump took the note takers notes because he did not want other people to see them.

We asked the White House yesterday during a briefing that is going to be exactly in these meetings when President Biden does sit down with Putin? They did not answer so they weren't ready to go there yet.

And despite how I asked them twice, today, they did say they do expect a smaller session and a larger session but whether that smaller session is going to be one on one still remains to be seen because they are still negotiating with the Russian government about the format of that summit.

[12:05:00]

WHITFIELD: Alright, lots to be attuned to thank you so much Kaitlan Collins I appreciate it. So as Kaitlan just mentioned, the White House is saying today that President Biden won't be holding a joint press conference with Vladimir Putin following their meeting. Putin meantime made his own point by giving his impressions of Biden in this interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: We have a bilateral relationship that has deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You once described President Trump as a bright person, talented. How would you describe President Biden?

PUTIN: Even now I believe that Former U.S. President, Mr. Trump is an extraordinary individual, talented individual; otherwise, he would not have become U.S. President. He's a colorful individual. You may like him or not. And he didn't come from he was establishment. He ended up in part a big-time politics before and some like it some don't like it. But that is a fact.

President Biden, of course, is radically different from Trump, because President Biden is a career man. He spent virtually his entire adulthood in politics. Just think of the number of years he spent in the Senate. A different kind of person and it was my great hope that yes, there are some advantages, some disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse based movements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Alright, let's talk about this upcoming meeting. Joining us right now, Brett Bruen he is the President of the Global Situation Room and the Former Director of Global Engagement in the Obama White House and CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward, good to see both of you. Brett, you first. And President Biden has said he's got some tough talk ready for Putin? Do you expect fireworks out of this meeting?

BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: Well, we need more than tough talk. We've had tough talk for several years now, going back to when I was in the situation room, and Russia invaded Ukraine.

What we need now are some tough consequences. And Biden really has to up our game when it comes to sending a very clear message to Putin that the meddling in our politics in other countries has got to stop. And he needs to enumerate what will happen if it doesn't?

Without that, as we have seen over the last several years Putin interprets all of these, you know statements, and the suggestion that we're going to slap on more sanctions is just the price he has to pay for being you know, Moscow's most meddlesome man.

WHITFIELD: And Clarissa, you, you spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about both Biden and Putin and what is he telling you?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was very keen to heap praise on President Biden. He said you know how wonderful it was to have him here. What a deep appreciation Biden has for the transatlantic relationship? How they share a passion about issues such as climate change?

He would not be drawn, however, on the subject of President Trump and how things are different with President Biden at this G7. We did, of course, ask him as well, about the Putin-Biden Summit taking place next week, take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I certainly think that President Putin has done things that are unconscionable in the - I'm fairly certain that he authorized the poisonings in Salisbury that led to the death of an innocent, holy innocent member of the British public, the attempted poisoning of the - house.

You've seen what's happening to his leading opponent Alexei Navalny, who's in prison on Trump top charges, and facing is effectively being tortured. And so I think that what Joe Biden will be doing when you go to see Putin will be giving some pretty tough messages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: So there you have it, you know, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, not mincing words. He also said that when he last saw President Putin face to face, he delivered a similar message that there will not be a normalization of relations between the UK and Russia, until he starts to see some different behavior from Russia.

But I do think more broadly speaking, that there's, you know, a sort of reluctant awareness, essentially, that there are limits to the expectations that should be put on this summit next week. And there are limits to realistically what can be achieved; it seems the bar now is about trying to prevent the relationship from further degrading, with all the sort of instability that comes geopolitically with that.

WHITFIELD: And Brett so far, I mean, this is just day two of the G7. And already Biden has been receiving, you know; praise so far from the Summit, particularly from Macron they met earlier today. And he said, you know, it's nice that the U.S. President is part of the club and "Willing to cooperate". So it's Sounds like there's great relief by Biden's presence there.

[12:10:00]

BRUEN: Well, certainly, they welcome the United States reengagement with the world. And well, you know, Biden may be saying America is back, a lot of these leaders at the G7 and in the European Union, are also feverishly working on their backup plans, because they have seen that American politics particularly today can change and that the next leader in just a few years' time might revert to some of those isolationist tendencies.

If I could also just mention on the - Summit, what it concerns me about the White House's approaches, you know, they're stating we want a predictable, stable relationship with Russia. But that's exactly the opposite of what Putin sees. He wants instability. He wants to be unpredictable. And so I'm worried that we're going into this summit, a little bit naive.

WHITFIELD: And so, Clarissa, what about other members of the G7 Summit? Are they concerned about the messages coming from the U.S.?

WARD: Look, I think what's really important here is as much as everyone is trying to put on a united front and say, listen, the G7 is back, Democracy is back. The U.S. is back. We can stand together, we can act in concert, and we can provide a bulwark against authoritarianism.

Underscoring that is, of course, the reality that there are very different approaches. There are all sorts of disagreements bubbling beneath the surface on issues like the EU and trade in Northern Ireland. And yes, even on Russia, different countries favor different approaches.

But I would say that things have escalated to a point with Russia, whereby everyone here seems to understand the cold hard reality that something needs to be done to try to improve the situation less to get any worse, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Clarissa Ward and Brett Bruen thanks so much to both. We appreciate it.

BRUEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, the bombshell revelation that Trump's Department of Justice seized records from House Democrats and their families, including a minor and now an investigation is underway. Former White House Counsel for President Nixon John Dean will join me live next.

COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:15:00]

WHITFIELD: Alright, we're learning new details about Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr's role in the Trump Administration's targeting of Democratic members of Congress. Sources say Barr pushed to wrap up investigations that included secret subpoenas on House Democrats perceived to be Trump's political enemies. CNN's Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Democrats are demanding Former Attorneys General Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr testify under oath after revelations of secret FBI subpoenas served on Apple to obtain metadata from more than 100 accounts according to a source.

The Justice Department's Inspector General is initiating its own review of what amounted to a roundup of non-content records from at least two of Former President Trump's most outspoken adversaries now Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, and Committee Member Eric Swalwell.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I can't go into who received these subpoenas or whose records were sought. I can't say that it was extraordinarily broad people having nothing to do with within, you know, the intelligence matters that are released being reported on. It just shows what a broad fishing expedition it was.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): CNN has learned members of the committee plus staffs were part of the dragnet. But also, family members, even one minor, people who had no connection to the intelligence committees' Russia investigation like Schiff's personal office staff were also caught up in the collection.

"The New York Times" reported the investigation was part of a leak hunt for whomever divulged information about contacts between Trump Associates and Russia at the height of the Russia probe.

A source tells CNN officials thought the leak investigation would likely end without charges but when Attorney General Bill Barr took over at the Justice Department bar push to complete leak probes even bringing in a prosecutor from New Jersey.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): I hope Trump supporters who fear Big Brother see that Donald Trump was the biggest brother we've ever seen in our country who did weaponize this to go all the way down the stack into the private communications of people he perceived as political opponents.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): President Trump repeatedly made it clear he wanted the DOJ to investigate leaks and Congressman Schiff. DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: I've actually called the Justice Department to look into the leaks. Those are criminal leaks. I think it was leaked from the Intelligence Committee, House version, and I think that they leaked it; I think probably shift leaked to.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Attorney General Barr notably evaded questions about Trump's push from then Senator Kamala Harris during a hearing in May 2019.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Attorney General Barr has the President or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?

WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I wouldn't. I wouldn't.

HARRIS: Yes or no.

BARR: Could you repeat that question?

HARRIS: I will repeat it. Has the President or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone? Yes or no? Please, sir.

BARR: The President or anybody else?

HARRIS: Seems you would remember something like that and be able to tell us?

BARR: Yes, but I'm trying to grapple with the word suggests.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Still Barr told "POLITICO" that while he was Attorney General beginning in 2019, he was - not aware of any Congressman's records being sought in a leak case and added that Trump never encouraged him to target Democratic lawmakers saying Trump was not aware of who we were looking at in any of the cases.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Barr did not become Attorney General until 2019. That's after those secret subpoenas for data from Congressman Schiff and Swalwell were issued. Instead, Jeff Sessions was Attorney General at the time, but we're told a source that Sessions was not involved in any subpoenas related to the House Committee. Since Of course, he had broadly recused himself from any matters involving Russia.

[12:20:00]

WHITFIELD: Alright, thank you so much. With me now CNN Contributor John Dean, he was President Nixon's White House Counsel John, so good to see you.

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, you were at the White House, the Council for Nixon, when he was obsessed with leaks, which led to Watergate, his resignation, et cetera. So how is this different from Nixon's enemies list?

DEAN: It's very different. First of all, Nixon's list was just a list; they really never got behind, collecting names, and assembling them and tossing them into a file drawer. I can't think of any instance where maybe with the exception of Larry O'Brien, the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he ever did anything. So that's one distinction.

The other way is I can't recall Nixon ever going after a member of Congress, particularly using the tactic of a grand jury subpoena, to fish around and see if you can find a leak. The problem is with leaks are we don't have official secrets act in this country.

Leaks are used, are prosecuted under a really kind of tortured interpretation of an old 1917 statute. That's the only thing it's on the books Congress has tried. Bill Clinton rejected an effort to put official secrets act on the books. So that's the only time I can recall or even being an attempt. And that didn't go very far.

So we don't have an act to deal with a lot to deal with leaks. So it's sort of a Jerry - it's sort of a rigged up thing when they go after them. So those are some of the big differences. So, this looks more like harassment, or just fishing, trying to look for some trouble trying to cause some trouble for these members that were really perceived enemies by Trump.

WHITFIELD: So, in this case, based on the published reports, there seems to be I mean a variation of levels of cooperation here. So, do you believe the Inspector General investigating this will be able to ultimately get to the bottom of this and all those who participated?

DEAN: Well, since a number of the people apparently are still at the Department of Justice, it's very likely he can go a long way and understanding exactly what happened and why it happened. He cannot probably get bill Barr to cooperate, or Jeff Sessions if Sessions was involved--

WHITFIELD: Why not?

DEAN: --because they're outside of the department. He has no subpoena power, per se. He can't really force them to cooperate. The Congress could get the answer to those questions, although they'll likely fight a subpoena from Congress. And with success we just saw Don McGahn take over two years before he would appear before Congress, when he decided to fight a congressional subpoena.

I'm actually Fred very surprised. Congress isn't busy working on that problem because it's a problem that affects both parties. And they just don't seem to be able to get their act together to be able to really enforce oversight because of the weakness of their subpoena power.

WHITFIELD: And in continuing to make comparisons and contrast in the days of Nixon, Republicans, you know, did not embrace what that President had done in sought to reveal it ended. Do you see any potential for a similar course of action involving Republicans today, now that the cat is so to speak out of the bag?

DEAN: There's a little myth around how much Republicans actually did to try to force Nixon to do the right thing? Nixon had really made that decision by himself before Republicans started leaning on him and telling him that he didn't have any support on Capitol Hill. It's worse today.

I can't imagine after watching two impeachment proceedings, where are they exonerated a President, who was conspicuously proven to have violated or committed high crimes and misdemeanors, and they refuse to convict. So it's not likely that this Republican Party is going to do anything about this. And in fact, they'll probably fight it.

WHITFIELD: And then how do you see the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland handling this situation so that it is strictly you know, probative, based on law and no influences on politics?

DEAN: Well, a lot of the inner workings of government have relied on norms, just standards of behavior that are accepted and understood, this is the way it's going to proceed. I think a lot of those norms after Trump is going to have to be adopted as laws and whether this Congress can do it or whether if Democrats actually win more in 2022, which is probably what is necessary.

[12:25:00]

DEAN: Some of those norms are going to end up as laws and that will make very clear guardrails as opposed to just the goodwill of the parties, assuming they'll stay within the guard rails.

WHITFIELD: Alright, fascinating. Always good to see you, John Dean, thank you so much.

DEAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, up next, a midair scare when an unruly passenger forces a Delta Flight to divert after a man aboard said he was going to take the plane down. We'll show you the shocking video from inside the flight next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:07]

WHITFIELD: All right welcome back. A group of travelers rushes to action after a disorderly passenger threatened to take down a plane. Look at this incredible video shot by one of the people on board. The flight was forced to make an emergency landing after police say travelers on board this Delta flight jumped into action to wrestle the man down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep it down. Keep it down. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Polo Sandoval joining me now with more on this. Polo, how did all of this get started?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By many accounts as a normal flight, Fred. But it was in about two hours before the flight was scheduled to land in Atlanta, the things then took a turn there and as many witnesses and also authorities describe, this individual then started to -- or at least created this disturbance here in this altercation.

And then things obviously escalated when he said according to police, that he was, quote, going to take the plane down. And that's when according to several witnesses, he then attacked two female flight attendants at the front portion of the aircraft there.

And that's when some of this video picks up here, Fred, and you see some of these incredibly brave passengers then sprang into action. According to witnesses, they actually went a loudspeaker and requested that some of these passengers actually assist in trying to restrain this individual and to try to gain control of the situation. We know the last hour you actually spoke to passenger Ben Curlee, who is now safe at his final destination in Atlanta, and he reflected on last night's pretty tense flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN CURLEE, PASSENGER ON DIVERTED DELTA FLIGHT: Oh, it feels very surreal. It's definitely event that -- it's a once a lifetime event. It's something you really always kind of in the back of your head like, I wonder if this will happen? Well, today, it actually did. And I am very thankful that it did not end badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: With the rest of the passengers, safe in their destination. Delta releasing a statement here, and in that statement they are thanking the crew and the passengers of Delta Flight 1730. According to the statement, who they say assisted in detaining and unruly passenger as the flight diverted to Oklahoma City. The aircraft landed without incident. And the passenger was removed by law enforcement. Federal authorities are now involved in this investigation.

We have heard various reports of who this individual is. We are actually following up on those. And of course, as soon as we learn more, we're going to bring that information to you. But first, though, some statistics coming out from the FAA, they are tracking very similar instances here.

And they do suggest that has been less than smooth traveling for many flights involving some passengers who just, look at these numbers alone, Fred, about 2,900 cases already of unruly passenger has been recorded this year alone, 2200 of those or at least 2,200 passengers that refuse to comply with the federal mask mandate, which requires that passengers actually keep that mask on while traveling on airplanes. So obviously, this is just one of many cases. But we also should mention we're still trying to find out exactly what led to this incident and why this individual did what he did.

WHITFIELD: Yes, well, it follows quite the string of incidents that have been quite alarming in the skies, as of recent. All right, Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Fred.

[12:33:21]

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up next, another weekend of gun violence as today marks exactly five years since the Pulse Nightclub shooting that left 49 people dead. So what's changed and what is not?

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WHITFIELD: All right, today marks five years since the horrific mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people were killed, dozens more wounded. The victims were mostly Latino members of the LGBTQ community. Five years and thousands more victims of gun violence later, America keeps adding to its epidemic.

Just this weekend, at least 13 people were hospitalized in downtown Austin, Texas after someone opened fire in one of the city's busiest nightlife areas. Two of the victims are in critical condition. Nine people were shot in Savannah, Georgia, one of whom died. That shooting happened at a housing project just three blocks away from the city's police headquarters. And five people were shot and wounded in Dallas, Texas, including a four-year-old girl.

Police say the child is in stable condition and the four adults didn't suffer life threatening injuries. Two more people were killed in a shooting outside Seattle, Washington, another in Chicago and with nine more wounded. There have been 267 mass shootings so far this year, according to the gun violence archive, a string of violence that seems to have no end.

Memorial events are happening in Orlando today honoring the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in Foreign Language)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A short time ago the First United Methodist Church of Orlando rang bells 49 times in remembrance of the 49 lives lost five years ago today.

And President Biden released a statement saying he will sign a bill designating Pulse Nightclub as a National Memorial. Joining me right now is a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub shooting Brandon Wolf. Brandon, thank you so much for being with us. What's your reaction to the President now making this designation?

BRANDON WOLF, PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING SURVIVOR: It's a ray of hope on a day that is very, very painful for me and for others. Forty-nine people lost their lives at Pulse. We were thrust into the spotlight. Our pain was on every T.V. screen across the world.

And it feels really good in a moment like this to be able to talk about having an ally in the White House and to be able to talk about setting aside real physical space where people can come and grieve with us, mourn with us, and also sharing a little bit of joy.

[12:40:21]

WHITFIELD: And while that is then encouragement, I wonder, on a day like today, do you feel like you're reliving that night over and over again?

WOLF: You know, I apologize, because my emotions are a little volatile today. But I relive that day, every single day. And I think that's what's so hard about tragedies like this is that if you just watch the news coverage, if you just tune in once a year, it's like you tap into it for a brief moment in time, and then you can change the channel.

But the people that I lost, they're still gone tomorrow and the day after that. They're still missing faces at my birthday party. There still empty seats at my dinner table. The pain and the hole that they leave behind is never filled. So June 12th is ever present for me, June 12th of 2016 is a day that will haunt me forever. On a day like today it is especially painful, it's especially near the surface, but it's with me every day.

WHITFIELD: I'm so sorry for that. So you have, you know, consequently also become a strong activist against gun violence and for LGBTQ rights since that horrific night five years ago. So, you know, yesterday, you met with the White House Domestic Policy Council Director, Susan Rice.

And then just moments ago, as we mentioned, the President, you know, put out a statement, and I'm going to give you a quote from it. It is long past time we close the loopholes that allow gun buyers to bypass background checks in this country, and the Senate should start by passing the three House-passed bills which would do exactly that.

It is long past time we ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, establish extreme risk protection orders, also known as "red flag" laws, and eliminate gun manufacturers' immunity from liability.

So this year has been a deadly one. There have been 267 mass shootings already this year. So help me, you know, see whether you find encouragement in the White House approach. But then contrast that with the marker we're talking about, you know, over 250 mass shootings already this year.

WOLF: Well, I appreciate it. And I do find a lot of hope and optimism in the fact that we have allies again, in the White House. Remember that, you know, at this time last year, Donald Trump was releasing a statement saying he was going to take back protections for transgender people going to see their doctor.

But I'll be honest with you, I am existentially exhausted. I am so tired of statements. I'm so tired of hashtags and thoughts and prayers. I'm so tired of archaic Senate procedure being used as an excuse to do nothing while people in our communities are dying.

I have turned my entire life upside down to fight for a world that my best friends would be proud of. And all I'm asking is for the people that we have elected the people we pay to get things done in Washington D.C. to actually do something.

Most of America agrees that our status quo on gun safety isn't working. Most of America doesn't want to send their kid to school and bring them home in a body bag. Most of America wants to be able to go to a grocery store without being afraid that they'll find an AR-15 on aisle three. Most of America wants something different to happen around guns. They want to be protected. They want to be kept safe.

And I know that America is also existentially exhausted with the excuses and obstacles that have been put in the way of progress. I really want something different to happen. I really want my elected officials to show up to work, to grow a spine, and to do the things that need to be done to keep our communities safer.

WHITFIELD: I think everyone is exhausted along with you but so much appreciate how you have also, you know, turned your exhaustion into what seems to be indefatigable fight. Brandon Wolf --

WOLF: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: -- thank you so much. Appreciate it.

WOLF: Thank you.

[12:44:26]

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right as President Biden and other world leaders work to find ways to better compete with China in the aftermath of the pandemic at the G7 summit. The First Lady of the United States is working with a key member of the British royal family to better position children for a post pandemic future. Jill Biden, Dr. Jill Biden touring a school in England on Friday with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, to highlight the importance of early education.

And the pair have just released an op-ed on CNN.com focused on the issue titled, "This is what our kids deserve." CNN's Kate Bennett Joining me now. So Kate, this is an interesting union. What does this trip revealing about the kind of First Lady Jill Biden wants to be or is? KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, I think it's interesting that she's doing a solo events outside of the plan spouse leader events that happened at a G7 on the sidelines typically. And she's been going through them in the mornings and participating in some. But she's also filled her schedule with events such as the one with the Duchess. Yesterday, this morning she did another event solo.

[12:50:09]

So she's certainly trying to flex her muscles a little bit as someone who has her own agenda to push, her own initiatives. Kate Middleton is of course, a longtime champion of youth, young children, health and wellbeing. And of course, Dr. Biden is an educator has been a teacher for most of her adult life, so the two of them getting together during the school tour. And then coming out with this, this op-ed, I think, it really shows a nice blend, a dovetailing of there, two sort of initiatives, if you if you will.

I'm going to read a little bit from this, from this op-ed Fred, because I think it's -- it defines what they're saying. The two of us believe that early childhood care and education should be seen among -- seen as among the defining strategic issues of our time.

What would happen if we really follow the silence -- science of early childhood and started focusing on the things that would make the biggest difference for children and those who guide them? We could transform the prospects of an entire generation. This is an agenda that we should unite us all.

So clearly, this is an important moment for the two of them to take their shared strength and put it forward. You know, they had a roundtable discussion yesterday with childhood experts that really talked about it. By the time kids get to Dr. Biden's classroom, if you will, older high school kids, and now she's a community college professor, a freshman professor, by the time they get there, what steps have -- has early childhood education helped them and development to become young adults. And that's really what they talked about.

But it's interesting to see Dr. Biden here on the world stage for the first time as First Lady. She's definitely using her voice to talk about what she wants to talk about.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And it was unique and special to bridge the generations, too, by having a Kate Middleton, who has young children.

BENNETT: Right.

WHITFIELD: And like you said Dr. Jill Biden, who is an educator for older young people.

BENNETT: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kate Bennett, thank you so much. Good to see you. BENNETT: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. All right, so over the course of her reign as Britain's monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has met with 13 out of the last 14 U.S. presidents, the one president she didn't meet with Lyndon Johnson. Although she isn't one of the seven leaders of the world's richest nations attending the G7. She did meet with them on Friday for a group photo. And the Queen prompted some chuckles with this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: Are you supposed to be looking as if you're enjoying it?

BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: Yes, definitely. We have been enjoying ourselves in spite of appearances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And she does look like she's been enjoying it. She has been smiling a lot. The 95-year-old British monarch also decided that she would cut a cake with a sword.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: I don't think this is going to work for two- halves.

KATE MIDDLETON, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: There is a knife there as well.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: What?

MIDDLETON: There is a knife --

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: I know there is. This is something that is more unusual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Did you hear that Kate Middleton saying there is a knife, you know. And she was like, no, I'm enjoying this. It's unusual. So after a few moments of struggling with that sword right there, you see she gets a helping hand from Camilla. The Queen was finally able to cut the cake there. And why with a sword you wonder, there she is with her hand on the sword because she wanted too. She's the queen after all. Watch out.

[12:53:41]

All right up next, an Arkansas woman is suing a state trooper following this moment during a traffic stop. We'll bring you the story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right from being pursued by police for allegedly speeding to being flipped over. A woman in Arkansas is now suing the State Police Department after what could have been a routine traffic stop turned into a crash threatening her life and that of her unborn child. Here's Amara Walker.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A traffic stop in Arkansas turning dangerous in minutes. The driver Janice Harper was allegedly speeding in a 70 mile per hour zone on Highway 67 in Pulaski County when State Trooper Rodney Dunn activated his emergency lights.

You can see from his dashcam video Harper turning on her blinkers slowing down and then moving into the right travel lane. Then Dunn appears to bump her SUV causing her to lose control.

Harper's car flipped over. You can hear the distress in Harper's voice telling the trooper, she's pregnant.

JANICE HARPER, SUING ARKANSAS STATE POLICE OFFICER RODNEY DUNN: I'm pregnant.

RODNEY DUNN, ARKANSAS STATE POLICE OFFICER: Well, ma'am you've got to pull over when we stop.

HARPER: I had my flashers on.

DUNN: It doesn't matter, ma'am.

WALKER (voice-over): Last month, Harper, who was two months pregnant at the time of the wreck sued the Arkansas State Trooper his supervisor and the director of the Arkansas State Police calling Dunn's pit maneuver, a reckless attempt to engage in conduct that created substantial risk of physical injury to her.

[12:59:52]

The lawsuit also points out what the dashcam video appears to show.