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Gunman Shoots Man As Children Dive For Cover In Broad Daylight In N.Y.; Rising Crime Becoming Major Issue In NYC Mayoral Race; New DOJ Video Show Violent Mob Attacking Officers On Jan. 6; Nearly Seven Million Under Tropical Storm Warning As Claudette Makes Landfall Near New Orleans; Tulsa Celebrates Juneteenth And Anniversary Of Race Massacre; Atlanta Suburb Moves To Separate From City Over Rising Crime. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired June 19, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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


[13:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR, AMERICAN BAPTIST MINISTER AND ACTIVIST: -- Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the crevatial slopes of California. But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This weekend in Stone Mountain, Georgia, that dream will seem closer than ever, even as they celebrate in the shadow of the Confederacy. Martin Savidge CNN, Stone Mountain village, Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Good afternoon. And thanks for joining me. I'm Jessica Dean in Fredricka Whitfield this weekend. We begin this hour with a new surge of gun violence across the country. And this disturbing video out of New York. You see a gunman run up to a man on a sidewalk shooting him in broad daylight and those two young children nearly getting hit in the process, tumbling to the ground trying to protect one another, diving for cover there as the gunman continues firing.

We go now to CNN Polo Sandoval in New York. And Polo, that shooting video is difficult to watch with those kids in harm's way trying to help each other. What more do we know about this incident?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica. It is a terrifying video to watch. And we're sharing it with you. It's not only because the NYPD released it hoping to generate some tips but also so you can see firsthand just the incredible bravery of a 10-year-old little girl. Let me walk you through some of this video that is obviously disturbing to watch here. You see a masked gunman on Thursday evening charged towards an individual that -- individual in red and police believe this was a gang-related shooting.

And then opens fire and then just within inches of that muzzle flash, you see that 10-year-old little girl then pull her five-year-old little brother down towards the ground and then uses her body to shield her little brother from those bullets. Now incredible to report here that they were not injured, at least not physically. Obviously those will certainly take an emotional toll on these children.

But as for the shooting victim, we're told they are in stable -- he is in stable condition right now as investigators to try to track down not only this masked gunman but also an individual that was the getaway driver that was riding a scooter there. So, let me also get you up to speed on some of the statistics because not only does this video tell a terrifying story, there's also disturbing story in some of those numbers.

A 64 percent increase in shooting incidents here in New York City. Just compare these two numbers 2020 versus 2021. It certainly has something that has -- it's certainly something that has many New Yorkers obviously concerned. And also some of those who hope to be New York City's next mayor, including Eric Adams, just a short while ago, one of these mayoral front runners in the Democratic primary actually went to that spot where that shooting took place in the Bronx and call for change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC ADAMS (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: We betrayed them because as a city, we created an atmosphere where young people can grow up and believe that violence is the way. You can get a gun in our community faster than you can get a COVID vaccination. That's the city we live in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Adams also even going as far as to offer $2,000 on his personal money, not campaign funds to contribute to that reward for any information leading to the arrest or capture of those involved in that shooting. Now his fellow front runner Kathryn Garcia has also reacted to those disturbing images saying in part, New York City children should not have to dodge bullets, the epidemic of guns on our streets -- excuse me, is out of control.

So, it's clear here, Jessica that the issue of gun violence specifically here in New York City is certainly front and center in the mayoral race. It is heavy on the minds of New Yorkers, and certainly on the minds of those who hope to lead the city as its next mayor.

DEAN: Yes, how could it not be watching those two children, that big sister having to use her body to shield her little brother? All right. Polo, it just should not be that way. All right. Thanks so much for that update. We appreciate it.

We are seeing more disturbing videos of the January 6th Capitol insurrection even as some Republican members of Congress tried to downplay what actually happened that day. The Department of Justice is releasing these videos as part of its cases against several suspects. Yet despite this, these images and many other videos showing very similar incidents. There is a push from the far right to cast doubt on what happened, even falsely blaming the FBI.

CNN's Marshall Cohen is here with more. And Marshall, what are we learning about these new videos that we're watching?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Yes. Hey, Jess, good afternoon. These videos, they are hard to watch, but we need to watch them because they tell us the truth about what happened that day. So, we have these clips in our possession now because CNN and other media outlets sued in federal court to get access to these videos that were part of the record but hadn't been released.

[13:05:03]

COHEN: This first clip I want to show you. It's about a man named Scott Fairlamb. He's a gym owner from New Jersey. He's been charged with a dozen federal crimes. He's pleaded not guilty. But you're going to see him in this upcoming clip. He will be wearing a camouflage jacket. He's taunting the officers, talking the officers and eventually throws a punch. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT FAIRLAMB, NEW JERSEY GYM OWNER: (INAUDIBLE) you have no idea what the fuck you're doing. You have no idea what the fuck you're doing

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

FAIRLAMB: You have no idea. Don't touch me, bro (INAUDIBLE) get the fuck out here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. They live for us. Fuck that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Yes. It's hard to watch that. It's -- it is graphic. It's profane. We apologize for those profanities. But Jessica, it's the truth of what happened that day. And we got to watch it.

DEAN: That's right. Our Marshall Cohen there with excellent reporting. And you're right. It -- you have to watch it because it is the truth of what happened that day. Also, Marshall, I want to ask you, a retired New York City police officer was also charged in connection with that insurrection. What more do we know about that suspect?

COHEN: Yes. This is a cop-on-cop attack. It's shocking. But, you know, there's a lot of talk about Blue Lives Matter. This is an example of a former police officer or retired police officer. His name is Thomas Webster. He was in the NYPD. We've got a clip of him here. This is body cam footage that you're about to see of him. What prosecutors say is him attacking police officers. Let's roll that clip. And again, it is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP) COHEN: So, you can see there the officer who was wearing the body cam was thrown to the ground. It was a pretty vicious assault. Jessica, before I send it back to you. I want to be clear on these two guys. They're both in jail right now because judges have declared that they are too dangerous to release. But they have pleaded not guilty. They are fighting the charges. We will keep an eye on these cases and the other almost 500 stemming from January 6th.

DEAN: We know you will, Marshall. You track them all. Thank you so much for that update. We appreciate it.

COHREN: Thanks, Jess.

DEAN: And let's talk more about this. Joining me now is the former chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, now a CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Terrance Gainer. Terrance, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it. We're seeing these brand new videos from January 6th, we just watched them. They're tough to watch. For me, what was your reaction when you saw them?

TERRANCE GAINER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Jessica, it's -- it is the same, I think for any thinking person, how difficult it is to watch. But I do think everybody needs to watch them because it gives them some sense of what a police officer goes through, whether it was on January 6th, or in some other cities. You know, as far as a former Officer Webster, one thing we ought to be happy is that he's no longer a policeman.

And maybe NYPD got to go back and look at his history and some of the things he's done. But those were very tough times, very dangerous times. And it's still a shame that the Congress and others haven't given us a full investigation, a full complete where we have everybody involved, detailed investigations as to what caused it and how we can prevent it.

DEAN: Right. Some Republicans blocking that bipartisan January 6th Commission. We'll see what they do in Congress with that. We're just now seeing these particular videos after CNN and other news organizations fought in court for them to be released. What do you think?

Do you think the Justice Department should be more forthright in showing these videos as we're seeing so many people on the far right downplaying what actually happened? Do you think there should be a push for more of these videos to be out there?

GAINER: Jessica, it is a tough situation because it's a law -- career law enforcement officer and an attorney. I know there has to be fair trials. And we don't want those trials prejudice. In order to calm people down in America, those who are non-believers, they have to see more of this and they have to conscientiously look at those photos or those videos and see the hate and anger and the weapons that they have and the attacks they were made and analyze that where they're coming from.

Especially, I got to tell you on a weekend like this, a Father's Day weekend, everybody ought to consider is this the behavior you want men and women to exhibit? Is this how you want to raise your children? So believe what you -- believe what you see.

[13:10:06]

DEAN: Believe what you see. It is. It's right there in front of us on video. We could hear it and see it. There's also become this bizarre conspiracy theory that is not true that the FBI was somehow involved in this insurrection. We are hearing this, again from lawmakers like Louie Gohmert. Why do you believe we keep seeing these false conspiracy theories crop up when we see, as you say, it's all right there we see what happened.

And the people being charged in this are clearly there because they believe former President Trump sent them there. That's what they're saying in these court cases. So why do you think this -- they cannot wrap their heads around the truth?

GAINER: Well, words and actions influence people. And if you're open to these conspiracy theories, like so many are, then when you have elected officials are supposedly trying to help run the country say these things, it's too easy to buy into. And frankly, what we need to do is soften our heart a little bit, and then make sure our touch never hurts someone. So, people need to be more sensible and stop thinking about and taking the B.S.

They can see these videos, sit at home and watch him. Look at what's going on. Hear the words of these people. And how can you come to a different conclusion that this was an attack on the capital and democracy on those officers.

DEAN: As you said, believe what you see. Terrance Gainer, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

GAINER: Thank you. Thanks CNN forgetting them.

DEAN: Yes. And for more on the insurrection you can watch Assault On Democracy, The Roots of Trump's Insurrection tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN.

Still to come, Tropical Storm Claudette spawning a tornado in the south and millions of Americans are now facing a flooding threat. We'll tell you where that storm is headed next.

Plus, as President Biden marks 300 million shots in arms. Several states are lagging behind when it comes to those vaccinations. I'll talk live with a mayor from one of those states.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:26]

DEAN: President Biden is urging unvaccinated Americans to go get their COVID shots explaining that the Delta variant poses a great risk to them. This is the CDC warns the more transmissible variant could soon become the predominant strain in the United States. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: U.K. variant was more transmissible. That is now nearly 70 percent of the virus here. We know that the Delta variant is even more transmissible than the U.K. variants. And I anticipate that will be the predominant variant in the months ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains why more vaccinations could diminish the threat of variants.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So we are at this 300 million doses administered mark. And that is obviously a very notable number here in terms of overall immunity in the country. It's not the 70 percent nationally that we wanted but if you look at the amount of immunity from the vaccines and also add in the amount of immunity that comes from people having been naturally infected, we're probably at functional herd immunity or soon to be there.

So, we see the numbers coming down hospitalizations, debts all good news. Big question really is about the variance. And I think it's interesting to look around the world at these variants and see how much of an impact they're making. You take a look at the U.K., for example, I think there's a story here that's important that you see in the graphic. The end of January, it was primarily the alpha or the U.K. variant that was dominant in the UK, understandably.

What happened over that time period? The numbers came down overall, which was good, but at the same time the Delta variant started to enter the scene there, you saw the numbers pop back up. That was primarily obviously people who had not been vaccinated.

So, that is the concern here. And we know that this is a much more transmissible variant. The U.K. or Alpha variant was 50 percent more transmissible than the strain before that.

And this is 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant. So, you get an idea. In Scotland, there was a study showing the people who were infected with the Delta variant were also more likely to be hospitalized. So this does appear to be more transmissible and more serious also. So, that is why there's so much attention on this. If you look at the effectiveness of the vaccines, take a look there.

You see that Alpha or Delta, you get a lot of -- a lot of impact a lot of protection from these vaccines. And that's why the message remains the same to go out there and get vaccinated. It is also worth pointing out that as you can slow down the spread of the virus overall through vaccination through immunity, you're going to be less and less likely to actually develop mutations that are problematic, that are going to create more variants that we continuously worry about.

So no matter how you cut it, which -- whichever way the message remains the same to go get vaccinated. DEAN: All right. There's Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thanks so much for that. We appreciate it. President Biden commemorated a milestone yesterday as the United States has now administered more than 300 million vaccine doses since he entered office. But it is unclear if the U.S. will reach his goal of having 70 percent of adults get at least one vaccine by July 4th. Only 15 states have reached that goal.

Many states are lagging far behind in the case of Mississippi for example, the state is last in the nation with only about 29 percent of residents receiving a vaccine so far. In Hinds County, that's home to Jackson. Things are only marginally better with a vaccination rate of at least 33 percent. Chokwe Antar Lumumba is the mayor of Jackson. He joins us now. Mayor, thanks so much for being with us.

[13:20:07]

DEAN: My first question to you is just simply why is Mississippi so far behind other states and getting people vaccinated?

MAYOR CHOKWE ANTAR LUMUMBA (D), JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: Well, first and foremost, Jessica, thank you for having me to discuss this critical topic. I think what we have witnessed is not only a combination of political confusion that takes place around the state, making this a political issue. But I think we are also seeing a dynamic of so many individuals who do not have primary health care physicians on a day to day basis.

And this is another example of how this pandemic is highlighting the disparities in health care. If we see people who do not have primary health care physicians, and we're asking them to get vaccinated, we're asking them to deviate from the norms that they have in every other facet of their lives. People who have not been to the doctor in many years, and in some instances never. And now we're trying to encourage them in order to go and get a shot in their arm.

And so our messaging, or everything that we can do to encourage them of the safety surrounding the vaccines is absolutely critical at this time.

DEAN: And so, what does that look like, Mayor? Does that look like a roving van that goes into communities and distributes vaccines? Do you have to meet people where they are if they're not going to go to a doctor or don't have one or can't get there, do you have to go to them?

LUMUMBA: I think it absolutely is a measure of meeting people where they are using credible messengers, using the institutions in which people often gather. I had an opportunity to talk to a White House coordinator in anticipation of First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden's visit to the City of Jackson. And he shared with me the goal of shots in shops where they are looking to go into barber shops and seeing if they can be used as institutions where we can meet people where they are.

I think most critically in the south, we have to engage with our churches, as they are often the institutions in which people not only often gather, but establish credibility within the communities. DEAN: Right. I was going to say it's probably who people trust and look to. We just heard from Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, this warning that the new Delta variant could become the dominant variant and it's going to likely hit the unvaccinated population pretty hard because it's more transmissible, easier to catch. What -- are you worried about that for your own city, for the City of Jackson and your healthcare situation there as well?

LUMUMBA: Without question. This is why we have instituted measures from the city's -- on the city's behalf. Not only establishing a COVID Task Force but instituting a vaccination day to strengthen and bolster the effort of the vaccination process. But what we have in Jackson is a population which is about 85 percent black. And it has been proven that this pandemic has had a desperate effect on black and brown communities.

And so, I'm certainly fearful of that. And I think that the semblance of returning back to our normal economy, our normal way of life somehow creates a disillusion in people's mind that we are beyond this pandemic. And so, it is important that we continue to not only stand up our efforts to vaccinate communities but that we educate our communities up the (INAUDIBLE)

DEAN: And so quickly before I let you go, it sounds like what you're saying to me is for Mississippi where it's the lowest vaccination rate in the country. It's about access that people aren't getting to the vaccine but also vaccine hesitancy and having to overcome those two issues.

LUMUMBA: Absolutely. And that vaccine hesitancy is on account of a number of things. I think that there's historical mistrust, you know, within black and brown communities and I think we have to acknowledge that that much of that distrust is justified.

But with credible messengers, along with understanding that individuals who have not gone to a healthcare provider in many, many years, that we have a tremendous mountain to climb in order to encourage them to do something that is against every norm that they know.

DEAN: All right. Mayor Lumumba, thank you so much for giving us a little bit of insight into what's going on there in your community in Mississippi. We appreciate it.

LUMUMBA: Thank you.

DEAN: A federal judge now issuing a ruling blocking the CDC from enforcing conditional sailing orders for cruise ships. The State of Florida is challenging a CDC order making it harder for cruise ships to get back in the water. The court saying the CDC is order exceeds the agency's authority and "likely constitutes an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to the CDC."

[13:25:05]

DEAN: The judge ordered the two sides to return to mediation to attempt to work out a full solution. Still to come this afternoon, Tropical Storm Claudette soaks the Gulf Coast with unrelenting rain and high winds. We've got details on where that storm is headed now.

Plus, the western United States wishing they could get just a drop of that rain as cities they're faced unbearable triple-digit temps and drought.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:00]

DEAN: Right now, we're getting our first look at tornado damage in Alabama after damaging winds ripped through the town of east Bruton.

The tornado came as Tropical Storm Claudette pushed through that area after slamming into the Gulf Coast early this morning, bringing with it heavy rain and severe flooding.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is in the Weather Center for us.

Allison, a lot of people want to know, where is the storm heading next?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. It's going to make its way across the southeast over the next couple of days.

We do anticipate it will continue to weaken, at least in the short term. Sustained winds now about 40 miles per hour, gusting up to 50.

The main concern in the short period of time, you saw some of that potential tornado damage from earlier today.

We still have the threat for tornadoes as we go through the next few hours. That's why you would have a watch for at least the next several states over the next couple of hours.

The long-term concern -- because what does the storm do on its way to the east? We expect it to weaken into a tropical depression at some point later today.

Then it's going to restrengthen back into a tropical storm once it gets back out over the open Atlantic just off the coast of the Carolinas.

Another concern is going to be the incredibly high amount of rain, and the flash flooding potential that goes along with it.

A lot of these areas, the yellow, the orange, the red color you see, indicating widespread two to six inches of rain.

But keep in mind, folks, this is on top of what a lot of these areas have already seen.

So four inches may not sound like that much. But when it's on top of 11, 10, even nine inches of range rain that several states have picked up, you're talking about a big potential flooding. So states like Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi and even

the northwest portion of Florida, all looking for the potential of that flashflood threat, not only today, but also tomorrow as the storm continues to progress off to the north and east.

Here's a look at that storm as it continues to make its way across. You can see multiple bands.

So, again, this is a concern not only today, but also tomorrow. We'll keep a close eye on whether or not it restrengthens next week.

DEAN: All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

On the other side of the country, the worst drought in at least 20 years is ravaging the West. More than 50 percent of western states are seeing extreme drought.

The U.S. government is expected to declare a water shortage in the Colorado River basin for the first time in history.

CNN's Stephanie Elam reports on the emotional and financial toll it's taking on farmers and ranchers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Living in southern Utah, cattle rancher, T.J. Atkin, is used to dry conditions.

T. J. ATKIN, CATTLE RANCHER: I can't control Mother Nature.

ELAM: But the current dryness is more punishing than anything he's ever seen.

(on camera): How long has it been since you've had any meaningful rain here?

ATKIN: In the last 15 months, combined, we're barely at three inches of precip in 15 months.

ELAM: And what would you normally see?

ATKIN: Our annual for 12 months is nine inches.

ELAM (voice-over): For generations, his family has raised cattle on the same 210,000 acres in northwestern Arizona.

ATKIN: I've either got to haul water or I've got to -- I'll take them to town and feed them for the next three months.

ELAM: Atkin drove us out to the rugged, arid terrain of his ranch. With temperatures well above 100 degrees, there were just a few signs of life until some of his cows came into view. But just some because there's not enough water out here to sustain them all.

ATKIN: I've relocated 80 percent already. I've sold some of them. ELAM: Atkin's water woes aren't his alone. Take a look at this U.S. drought monitor map. The darker the color, the worse the drought. Atkin's ranch lies deep within that crimson red.

ATKIN: We have about 200 reservoirs and every one of them is dry right now.

ELAM (on camera): Like, dry.

ATKIN: Dry. Never -- we -- no --

(CROSSTALK)

ELAM: Nothing?

ATKIN: We don't have a drop in any one of them and we've never done that in 85 years. Never once.

ELAM (voice-over): Atkin's operation is in the Colorado River Basin, which is primarily fed by melting snowpack from the western Rocky Mountains. The river then winds down to the Gulf of California, supplying water to seven states along the way.

But the basin is now in its 22nd year of drought. This is clearly evident further down river at the end of the Nevada-Arizona border, where the river flows into Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation, which 25 million people depend on for water.

(on camera): Has it ever been this low before?

MIKE BERNARDO, LOWER COLORADO BASIN RIVER OPERATIONS MANAGER: It hasn't, not since filling in 1937. So we are anticipating the lower basin to be in the first-ever shortage condition in history.

ELAM (voice-over): In fact, Lake Mead is 143 feet below full capacity and has shed a mindboggling 5.5 trillion gallons of water in the last 20 years.

Those low water levels mean power generation at the Hoover Dam is down 25 percent.

BERNARDO: No one can really tell with any certainty. But we can all hope that the future will be wetter.

ELAM: For his part, Atkin is hoping for a wet monsoon season this summer to replenish his dry ponds and keep his cattle business afloat.

[13:35:07]

ATKIN: We could catch more water in one week than we've caught in three years.

ELAM: But if not, he predicts the entire country will be impacted by this unprecedented western drought.

ATKIN: It's such a large area. I mean, it's almost half of the United States now. If this goes one more year, it will have a huge effect on everyone.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, in the Colorado River basin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Stephanie, thank you.

Joining me to discuss this is Daniel Swain. He's a climate scientist at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

Daniel, thanks for being with us.

We're just watching Stephanie's piece there. We know the west is seeing this trifecta of dangerous weather conditions. It's hot, dry, windy.

What are your biggest concerns as we look at all of this?

DR. DANIEL SWAIN, CLIMATE SCIENTIST, INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY, UCLA: I think there are concerns in the short and long terms. Because over the last week, a pretty broad portion of the American west has experienced record-high temperatures. So that's the short-term concern.

Then, as you mentioned, the long-term concern is the really extreme intensity of this long-term, multi-year drought. And the long-term ramification over the west over decades.

DEAN: And what could that do? You know, we heard the rancher saying, if it goes on for another year, this could be very affecting for almost everyone in the country.

What do you see as this continues?

SWAIN: This summer, we're already starting to see major impacts with respect to water availability in many of the west agricultural centers, including the central valley of California, other parts of Arizona and Utah.

And by the end of the dry season, so come the end of summer or beginning of autumn this year, we may begin to see some problems with urban water supplies in some of the small watersheds in coastal California or more rural and remote areas of the west.

In addition to this, we're starting to see a resurgence of pretty severe wildfire activity in some places. Recently, it started out in Arizona and New Mexico. But later this summer, it's likely to expand northward and westward into Colorado and California and beyond.

DEAN: It is. And when you start to put it all together, you see how if feeds one another.

We have a map I want to look at. One in three people in the continental U.S. are in drought conditions right now. If you look at that, that reps one in three people in America living in drought conditions. Do you have any sense that's there's hope this gets better? We talked

about what happens if maybe it doesn't. But is there potential for a rainy season, for, you know, the water to be put back into the reserves there? What do you see happening?

SWAIN: Well, in the interior west, the midsummer months actually comprise monsoon seasons. In the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, for example, we'll see thunderstorms and sometimes significant rainfall from July into August.

So there's some prospect for at least partial relief in the coming months in the interior west.

In places like California, though, where the summer is the dry season, there's not much prospect for improvement at least until the coming winter, which is the rainy season in that part of the world.

So in some parts of the west, this is almost certainly going to get worse before it potentially gets better.

Then there's also the long-term context of climate change, which is bringing about much warmer temperatures in the American west and an increased risk of extreme heatwaves and severe droughts like we're seeing right now.

So in the long term, this is kind of what we expect to see more of in the coming years.

DEAN: And to your point, this seems to be the new reality of living in the west, part of the effects of climate change we are seeing play out right in front of our eyes.

Is there anything people can do to offset what is set in motion? Or do you believe this is too late and this is just how it's going to be?

SWAIN: Well, there's two ways to answer that. I will say that it's definitely not too late to solve the global warming problem. In fact, there's no time like the present to really get started and taking it seriously.

The sooner we address the underlying problem, the emission of large amounts of greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere, which is warming the earth, the sooner we'll stabilizes the climate and halt the further increase in extreme heat waves and extreme drought events like we've been seeing recently.

But in the meantime, before that actually happens, it's likely we will see more of this.

So I think it's simultaneously true that we need to be adapting to the climate changes that we know have already occurred and will continue to occur for at least a couple of decades.

[13:40:06]

While trying as hard as we possibly can to solve that underlying problem with warming by reducing and eventually bringing to zero our or greenhouse gas emissions globally.

DEAN: Daniel Swain, thank you for your insight. We appreciate it.

SWAIN: Of course. Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Up next, right now, people across the country are observing Juneteenth, marking the end of slavery in America. CNN is in Tulsa with a closer look at the celebrations there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Just days after it officially became a federal holiday, today, people in cities across the country are celebrating Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of slavery in America.

In Milwaukee, they're marking the day with a parade. In New York City, crowds turned out for a number of festivals to honor the new holiday.

[13:44:59]

Celebrations are also underway in Tulsa, which is observing Juneteenth and the anniversary of a dark chapter in that city's history.

CNN's Nadia Romero joins us from Tulsa with the details.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, this is such an important weekend here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as we mark 100 years since the Tula race massacre, and Juneteenth now being an official national holiday.

It all goes back to those free slaves in Oklahoma. They had to wait one year after the Emancipation Proclamation before they were freed.

They built Greenwood, Black Wall Street, largely because Tulsa black residents were not allowed to live anywhere else. They built everything they needed, schools, banks, hotels.

That all came to an end in 1921. An angry white mob stormed through Greenwood, killing hundreds of black men, women and children, looting their homes and businesses and burning it all the to the ground.

Believe it or not, there are still survivors. One woman, Viola Fletcher, is 107 years old. She said, after the massacre, they came back to Tulsa. Her school was burned. Everything they had was lost in the fire. They had to start over.

She lived most of her life in poverty. That's why, right now, her and other survivors and their families are asking for some form of reparations.

They filed a lawsuit back in September. They're hoping this time it goes through to recoup some of the things they lost over the last 100 years.

People in Tulsa say they are cautiously optimistic. All the attention around the centennial, all the attention around Juneteenth, they hope it actually turns into justice finally for the victims and their families -- Jessica?

DEAN: Nadia Romero, thank you so much.

Still ahead, a wealthy Atlanta suburb is looking to separate from the city over rising crime. We're back in a moment.

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[13:51:16]

DEAN: The wealthy suburb of Buckhead says it may want out of the city. Atlanta, like many cities, is struggling with increasing crime. The homicide rate in 2021 is up 60 percent.

And residents of Buckhead are considering a proposal to get out from their own -- to form, rather, their own municipality.

CNN's Natasha Chen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The city of Atlanta, like many across the U.S. right now, is experiencing an uptick in violent crime that has shaken the residents and left them wondering why.

TOM ABRAMS, WORKS IN BUCKHEAD: At the end of the day, people are in fear.

CHEN: Now some people in Atlanta's upscale neighborhood of Buckhead think they have the answer, breaking up with the city altogether.

The idea of Buckhead seceding from Atlanta is hardly a new one but it has caught steam in recent weeks as the violence unfolds.

The latest incident, two teens allegedly shot a security guard in an attempt to break into an Apple store last weekend.

ABRAMS: I really support this idea of people standing up to say, no, no, we have to fight for our homes here.

CHEN: Those homes account for only about 20 percent of the city's residents but they provide for about 40 percent of the city's tax base.

SARAH SMITH-MOHAN, BUCKHEAD RESIDENT: I think it is good to have control of our own roads and our own police force. I think it would be great to see our tax dollars staying kind of local and being -- being used here.

BILL WHITE, BUCKHEAD CITY COMMITTEE: We have been talking to all of our neighbors. They are all fed up.

CHEN: Bill White's group, the Buckhead City Committee, is gaining funding and traction as it is calling for cityhood with leadership stronger than what White has seen with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

(on camera): Why not just help elect a new Atlanta mayor who could help the issues in Buckhead?

WHITE: That would make a lot of sense to try to work with whoever the new mayor would good.

The clinical definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

CHEN (voice-over): No one disagrees there's a problem but there's a major rift in how to fix it.

Bill Torpy, a long-time columnist for the "Atlanta Journal- Constitutional," says a secession would set a bad precedent.

BILL TORPY, METRO COLUMNIST, "ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION": This is 1861 all over again in the city of Atlanta.

CHEN: And there are racial undercurrents. Atlanta is about 40 percent white while the Buckhead neighborhood is about 75 percent white, according to 2019 U.S. census data.

TORPY: It's kind of unsaid thing.

But also, I think, ultimately, I think the bigger picture is that it -- moving the people away, moving this big section of the city away from the city of Atlanta would just be a devastating impact.

CHEN: A financial impact that would bring uncertainty to the whole area, according to the man leading the campaign to keep Buckhead in Atlanta.

ED LINDSEY, (R), FORMER GEORGIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: There's just a lot of little details that have to be worked out in this case.

CHEN: Ed Lindsey, a Republican, who represented Buckhead in the Georgia legislature for a decade, said, without clear specifics on the tax structure and what the police and fire services look like and what to do with thousands of children in Buckhead attending Atlanta public schools, the better way, he says, is electing new Atlanta leaders.

LINDSEY: It is not a matter of simply carving it up. It's a matter of folks coming together and demanding better from our local elected officials.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN: There have been a number of new cities created in Georgia in the past couple of decades, but they have come from unincorporated county areas.

To split from an existing city is a little bit more complicated.

But at the end of the day, this has to be first approved by the Georgia state legislature, then pushed to a referendum where voters within the boundary of the new proposed city would decide their fate.

[13:55:01]

And the earliest that any of that process can begin is next year -- Jessica?

DEAN: Still a while away from that. We will see how it unfolds.

Natasha Chen, in Atlanta for us, thank you.

And thank you for joining me today. I'm Jessica Dean.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jim Acosta in just a moment.

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[14:00:07]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.