Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Four Days Away: Trump And Biden Gearing Up For Debate; Officials: Six Police Officers Killed,12 Wounded In Dagestan Attack; Catastrophic Flooding Forces Evacuations In Upper Midwest, Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 23, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: And you can turn into "VIOLENT EARTH WITH LIEV SCHREIBER", tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific

[15:00:06]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Alisyn Camerota.

We are just four days away from a pivotal moment in the 2024 campaign. This Thursday night, right here on CNN, President Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off in the first presidential debate of 2024.

This has the potential to reshape what has been a remarkably stable race in the polls, at least for the White House.

In the lead up to this critical showdown, the two candidates are taking their own unique approaches in preparation. President Biden has hunkered down at Camp David all weekend holding we are told intensive prep work and mock debates with a team of advisors behind closed doors.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has spent his weekend out on the campaign trail holding a rally in the swing state of Pennsylvania and revving up his base.

Today, Trump's supporters hit the Sunday political talk shows to give their advice on what he should focus on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): It will be a great opportunity for President Trump to talk about his policies and how his policies when he served as president of this country, were good for every single family that lived here.

They had more money in their pockets. The grocery prices were down, gas prices were down. There was a lot more opportunities.

You know, I don't think that he has to talk about get personal it in this debate at all, because he is going to have so many good things to talk about in contrast with Joe Biden's policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: And after spending months describing Biden as a weak debater or mentally unfit for leadership, Trump and his surrogates now are trying to raise expectations for Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. DOUG BURGUM (R-ND): There has been a real effort on the Biden team to try to lower expectations, but I think we have to look at the guy's run for office more than a dozen times. He has run for president four times. He has been campaigning since President Nixon was in office.

This guy has got the ability and we've seen it. We've seen him in debate four years ago. We've seen him in the State of the Union this year that when he needs to, he can step up, but I think this is a real opportunity for CNN, most trusted name in news, to ask some tough questions, including, you know, because this is a rematch, and when we add this debate just before the election four years ago, Joe Biden looked into the camera and said they know that Hunter Biden's laptop was a smear campaign, Russian disinformation, called it garbage, and now we know that none of that is true.

And I think this is an opportunity, like America is waiting. I mean, CNN has got an opportunity to ask tough questions of both these candidates.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think they are both -- safe to say, there will be tough questions for everybody, but it is interesting that you say Biden is lowering expectations because, I mean, Trump has also been doing that. You, yourself have called Biden infirm.

I mean, you've been setting the bar pretty low for President Biden, is that a mistake?

BURGUM: Well, I don't know if it is a mistake or not. I mean, I think there is -- I think America certainly looks at the state of the state, he stood up and he spoke strongly for over an hour.

And then when we were with a group of governors with him at the back in February, we were limited to two questions. One Republican governor, one Democrat each got to ask a question, 40 governors we get two questions for the president, the questions had to be submitted two days in advance. That is a far cry from standing in a debate for 90 minutes.

So I think, we are all anxious to see which Joe Biden is going to show up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Biden's allies, also making the rounds and dropping hints of what to expect from the president at the debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): As folks look about who is better positioned to keep us safe going forward, I hope folks won't overlook that the former President Trump incited a riot at the Capitol on January 6 where law enforcement officers who protect all of us in the Capitol every day were assaulted and he is a convicted felon.

I think that stands in sharp contrast to President Biden's defense of the rule of law and the agenda he is putting forward to strengthen our law enforcement and our border security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joining me now to talk more about this is Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright and Scott Jennings CNN senior political commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush. Great to have both of you here.

Scott, I'll start with you.

So you just heard Senator Coons hinting at some possible themes that Biden may bring up this week. He is drawing a sharp contrast on the rule of law and of course hitting trump for being a convicted felon and for January 6.

What does Trump say to all of that?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, good to hear your voice, Alisyn, on a Sunday afternoon.

If I were Trump, I would pivot everything back to a couple of issues. One, inflation and two, immigration specifically on the rule of law and they want to talk about that. The rule of law at the border is being disrespected every single day by Joe Biden. You've got violent illegal immigrants in the country who are committing horrific acts against American citizens.

If you're Trump and you're trying to get this thing over the target of why Joe Biden's approval rating is so low, you've got to pivot everything back -- immigration and crime, cost of living, food prices. That's the mission. Any good debating tactic here is to fight on your ground as much as possible. That's what I'd do.

[15:05:10]

CAMEROTA: And Scott, I have a question for you. A follow up about that immigration. Donald Trump likes to hit Joe Biden on the border, but Donald Trump was president for four years. He didn't fix the border.

I mean, he didn't fulfill his campaign promise of building the wall and Mexico obviously, never paid for it. That was a fabrication.

Can't Joe Biden also pivot it back to that?

JENNINGS: If Joe Biden wants to ask the American people to make this election a referendum on who they would prefer to have secure the border, I welcome him to do that. I mean, look at the polling, Alisyn. The American people -- this is one of Joe Biden's worst issues, and have seen massive influx of illegal immigration. We have story after story after story of violent criminals committing terrible acts against people like Laken Riley and others in this country.

It would be a huge mistake for Joe Biden to try to run this as a referendum on immigration, but if he wants to do it, I am all for it.

CAMEROTA: Antjuan, what do you think?

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, I have the fundamentally disagree with Scott. Look, we all know that bipartisan Joe Biden tried to lead the way when it comes to immigration, joining Republicans in the United States Congress, putting forth legislation to actually deal with the border in a real authentic way, it was killed by the former president and he took a victory laps at trying to kill the legislation. So let's deal with that.

But as it relates to the debate, I do think that bipartisan big game Biden will show up. His experience will be a tremendous factor going into Thursday night's debate, both preparation and both on the debate stage. I am very confident that this president has a record or in my community we call it receipts that he can speak to where every corner of the American square has benefited from his presidency. I think that is going to be the key.

I do not think he can allow the former president to draw him into a personality conversation, but keep the focus and attention on policy because I am very confident that everything this president has accomplished in record handsome form 70 percent or above in most cases that the American people agree with it from a policy standpoint.

CAMEROTA: Scott, as you know, Donald Trump has been raking in campaign cash ever since his felony conviction at the hush money trial. So do you think it would be the right strategy for President Biden to keep pounding Trump's criminal conviction or is that only helping Trump?

JENNINGS: Well, it is certainly helping him unify and energize the Republican base. I mean, you mentioned it, but the amount of fundraising that is going on, it really reminds me, Alisyn, of the period in 2018 around the Kavanaugh hearings, all the Republicans were very upset about that and it sort of energized the party at that time.

The same thing is happening for Trump.

You know, I think at this point, you're stuck with it if you're Biden. I mean, they are running ads on it. All their surrogates are talking about it. I mean, it is basically part of their campaign. So if it is going to be part of your campaign, you can't really hide from it right now, but there is no question, Republicans are none too pleased with what happened and they are making their displeasure known by writing big checks with the campaign.

CAMEROTA: Antjuan, what do you think? SEAWRIGHT: But, Alisyn --

CAMEROTA: Yes, go ahead.

SEAWRIGHT: But Alisyn, let's be honest about the facts here. We cannot debate fact. Donald Trump, if he were a traditional citizen, could not work in the federal government. So surely as hell, he should not be trying to run the federal government as the leader of the free world. That's what a convicted felon is all about.

I think that is one case to be made as relates to this debate in how we frame the former president until the truth about who he is as in true muscle memory and muscle mass to his record, that's part of that. You can't run away from the facts.

But regardless of that, regardless to that, I think what President Biden has to do is speak to one, of his record; but two, what a vision for the next four years will look like for the American people, that's Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and even those who are not thinking about participating at this point.

And I think Joe Biden has proven to be a unifier. The debate stage will give him a tremendous direct opportunity to do that in a place like Georgia where he was able to garner enough support to win the race in Georgia four years ago with a true bipartisan, unique coalition to get him across the finish line.

CAMEROTA: Scott, I know you're not in the business of giving Democrats advice, but I like to mix things up as you know. So what should President Biden do if Donald Trump, which we expect him to do, goes after Hunter Biden on the stage?

JENNINGS: If I were Biden, I would spend the entire night trying to drag Donald Trump down rabbit holes that have nothing to do with my biggest deficiencies.

I mean, what are Biden's problems? Inflation, immigration, national security, and the idea that most people think he couldn't make it through a second term if he were to win one.

SEAWRIGHT: Scott --

[15:10:08]

JENNINGS: So how do you stay off of that ground? You've just got to try to drag Donald Trump into the rabbit holes that are the worst things for his campaign.

CAMEROTA: Like what?

JENNINGS: What's the worst thing for Donald Trump's campaign? Probably January the 6th, probably re-litigating the 2020 election, and so on and other issues surrounding that.

So if I'm Biden, if he comes after me on Hunter Biden, you've got to keep calm. Joe Biden does not keep calm very well when it comes to Hunter Biden, but you've got to keep calm and try to drag him back down to the rabbit holes that are the worst parts of his campaign. That's a smart debating tactic.

But this is an emotional topic, obviously for Joe Biden, he loves his son, obviously. And so you've got to keep cool and think it through on how you do that on live television.

CAMEROTA: Antjuan, what do you think?

SEAWRIGHT: Well, I think the president should be proud of the fact that they are trying to convict him in the court of public opinion for doing something that most people want in their life, and that's being a good father. I think the president should continue to own that space that he has occupied.

But as it relates to going down a rabbit hole, what I think the president has to do, Joe Biden, is really put some muscle memory and muscle mass to former President Trump because there is a segment of the population, including in the Democratic Party, that wants to see Joe Biden the fighter.

They want to see the man that people has always counted out, and he has traditionally stepped up and taught them they did not know how to count.

They want to see the guy who can push back on the big stage, but also get things done in a bipartisan way behind the stage with Republicans and Democrats in the United States Congress, and when needed to, use the power of his executive orders to get things done on the American people. That is who we need to see on that debate stage Thursday night and that's the Joe Biden I hope we will see.

CAMEROTA: Scott, who do you think the stakes are higher for?

JENNINGS: Joe Biden. It is the reason why -- I mean, his position in this is the reason we are having a debate in June. Remember when this got scheduled on a Monday morning, "The New York Times" dropped a bunch of swing-state polls and by Wednesday, voila, we had a debate scheduled for June, which is unprecedented timing for a debate.

He desperately needs to change the trajectory of the campaign. His job approval has been stuck at or below 40 percent for a couple of years now. They need something different.

The pressure is really on Joe Biden and in the past, in one of the debates in 2020 he did get that balance. The second one, Trump did better. So they kind of split decision last time, but to me, the trajectory that Biden is on right now is a trajectory to lose, therefore, the pressure is on him.

CAMEROTA: Okay, last word, Antjuan.

SEAWRIGHT: Well, I just disagree with Scott.

The worst thing you can do in politics is speak too soon. I think Joe Biden understands that this election is a marathon, not a sprint. Direction is more important than speak. Does he need to have a handsome night? Absolutely. Is this race going to be defined by one debate? Absolutely not.

I think as Americans continue to tune in, he continues to define this race, define the opposition. I think the choice will be crystal clear about who the best candidate is when it is all said and done, when we get to November.

CAMEROTA: All right, Antjuan, Scott, thank you both very much. Great to talk to you.

And tune in to the first presidential debate right here on CNN. It is June 27th at 9:00 PM Eastern. It will also be streaming on Max.

Okay, now to some breaking news that we are following.

Authorities in Russia are investigating what they call coordinated attacks by militants in the Southern Dagestan region. A synagogue is on fire and a priest at a nearby church was killed in the city of Derbent.

Police say, armed gunmen with automatic weapons, attacked both houses of worship.

In a separate incident, just north, police say attackers opened fire on a police traffic post. The Israeli Foreign Ministry says a synagogue there was also targeted. A gunfight with the militants killed at least six police officers and wounded 12 others.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking the latest for us from London. Clare, what is happening at this moment?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn, this is still a very fluid situation. It is now getting into later evening in this region around 10:00 PM, but information is still sort of trickling in.

What we do know for sure is that this has affected these two cities, Makhachkala and then about 80 miles or so to the south, in Derbent.

We are hearing from various sources. The Dagestan Interior Ministry saying that obviously these religious sites were involved, they were fired on with automatic weapons, as they say, in Derbent. We are now hearing more on what is happening in Makhachkala via Russian state media the Dagestan Interior Ministry saying that there was a shootout at a church in Makhachkala and that 19 people who had been sortof taking shelter in that church are now safe.

[15:15:00]

But the Muffiyat of Dagestan, this is the Islamic religious authority in this predominantly Muslim region has updated the death and injury too, they are now saying that nine people have been killed, seven of which were law enforcement officers, 25 people are injured.

There has been a terrorism case opened by the Russian Investigative Committee. So they are clearly looking at this as a terrorism incident and they are believing that the two attacks in these two different cities were coordinated. So as I said, extremely fluid.

But Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim Republic. It is in a sense ethnically and culturally quite distinct from the rest of Russia and has historically been extremely turbulent. Multiple terror attacks originated in that region, including of course, the connection to the Boston bombers in the United States, and that turbulence has been fanned even more by the war in Ukraine, where ethnic minorities have been disproportionately mobilized to fight, and by the war between Israel and Hamas.

Where of course, we saw those scenes at the end of October where a mob stormed the main airport Makhachkala where a flight had landed from Tel Aviv amid rumors that sort of refugees were being brought from Israel.

So we don't know the motives of these attacks, but there were religious sites involved and we await more information as it comes in.

CAMEROTA: Okay, Clare, thank you very much for the reporting up until now.

Okay. Also, back here, severe weather, more than a hundred million Americans are under heat warnings today as cities shatter their record highs. We are going to tell you when we could see a cool down.

And 21 Iowa counties are underwater after this catastrophic flooding there, the latest on the race to evacuate residents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Catastrophic flooding leading to emergency evacuations across the Midwest this weekend, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for 21 counties there.

Areas like Rock Valley bore the brunt of this rainfall. You can see the water levels subsuming buildings in this area. Local officials say they raced to get people to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MONTE WARBURTON, ROCK VALLEY POLICE: The river rose to historic levels that we've never seen here before, and it is hard to deal with that much water. It is a monumental undertaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: South Dakota officials say they rescued nine people after heavy rainfall soaked the region with up to eight inches in some areas.

Meteorologist, Elisa Raffa is tracking all of this from the CNN Weather Center. So Elisa, which areas still have active flood warnings?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We still have flood warnings for a large chunk of Northwest Iowa, even parts of South Dakota, parts of Southern Minnesota, too, from South of Mankato.

And we've got these warnings because the rivers are still aggravated. The rain has stopped falling, but you still have these warnings in the areas that got the most rain and down the rivers. This is the Missouri River right here from Sioux City down towards Omaha, where they are still worried about flooding.

I mean, look at some of these rain totals. We had pockets in parts of Northwest Iowa, ten to 15 inches of rain just in a couple of days -- two days, three days -- just incredible.

Then you had widespread amounts, you know, four to six inches or more at Mankato. There was another pocket of some ten inch total. So just incredible flooding and that is why we still have these rivers that are at moderate and major flood stage where we could still find some problems because the rivers are just so swollen.

This same system is working its way east and that has prompted a tornado watch for much of New England, as part of the country typically don't see storms like this. But we've included Burlington, Albany, parts of Boston, all included in this tornado watch until 8:00 this evening where we've got some supercell thunderstorms that have been spinning up and rotating.

You've got some severe thunderstorm warnings in effect now for some of these communities there outside of Burlington and we will continue as we go into the evening hours this front as it comes through, it could pop some storms that are capable of large hail to the size of ping pong balls, damaging wind gusts to 70 miles per hour.

A couple of tornadoes again, especially up in this orange area level three out of five, enhanced risk in New England.

What this front will do as it brings the storms in, it will knock down some of that heat a bit for some of the East Coast, just briefly for about a day or two.

Current temperatures right now are in the middle and upper 90s for a lot of places. It is 97 right now in Raleigh, 96 in Atlanta, 95 in Oklahoma City, 96 in Washington, DC, and that is after we hit 100 degrees yesterday.

We are still tracking to see if we can get to 100 again today. But the nation's capital hit 100 yesterday for the first time since 2016, that's more than 2,000 days. So just incredible.

We will find that heat again today, but look at how it gets knocked down by Monday and Tuesday as that front comes through -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Okay, Elisa Raffa, thank you.

So, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continuing to claim that the US is delaying weapons shipments to Israel. The Biden administration calls Netanyahu's stance "vexing."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:29:12]

CAMEROTA: Just in to CNN, the death toll at the annual Hajj pilgrimage climbing two more than 1,300 people. This is according to the Saudi government.

Muslims making the journey to the Holy City of Mecca are enduring temperatures well over a hundred degrees. The Egyptian government revoking the licenses of 16 Hajj tourism companies involved in making illegal pilgrimages to Mecca.

Two Americans died during the Hajj. Their daughter believes her parents were not properly prepared for the trip. Part of the pilgrimage often involves a series of rituals that can include hours of walking in the scorching heat.

Well, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defending his decision to publicly rebuke the Biden administration. Netanyahu says he went public about delays in the supply of weapons from the US after months, he claims of private discussions not going anywhere.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is in Washington.

[15:30:07]

Kevin does the White House agree with that version of events?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: No, very much not, and they are not even trying to hide their frustration with the prime minister as all of this has played out, because remember, this is the third time that the prime minister has said over the last week that the US is withholding or delaying these weapons shipments, and what the White House has said is they essentially have no idea what he is talking about because while President Biden has withheld the shipment of certain heavy bombs, other shipments of armaments have not been delayed.

And what we heard John Kirby say last week, he is the National Security spokesman, is that this has been perplexing and even vexing to the White House to hear the prime minister say these things, and the White House said today that that position hasn't changed.

And essentially, they are not going to get into this back-and-forth with the prime minister. What a White House official told me was that: "We have made our position clear on this repeatedly and that we are not going to keep responding to the prime minister's political statements."

The official went on to say: "We look forward to constructive consultations with the defense minister in Washington this week." And that is true, the defense minister, Yoav Gallant is arriving in Washington today. He is expected to meet with the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin; the Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and currently this rift between the Biden administration and the Netanyahu government will be a backdrop to those consultations. We also expect him to talk about, of course, the war in Gaza, but also this potential for a widening conflict on Israel's northern border with Hezbollah and Lebanon.

Now, as Gallant was leaving Israel, he did reiterate the importance of the US alliance with Israel. He said its important perhaps no more important than it has ever been. So certainly, Gallant will be wanting to discuss this with members of the Biden administration.

Now, this is all coming before Prime Minister Netanyahu will be in Washington next month to address Congress. Youve already seen some Democrats weigh whether or not they want to boycott that address.

What we haven't heard from the White House yet is whether Netanyahu and Biden will meet while he is in Washington next month.

CAMEROTA: Kevin, thank you for the reporting.

We are just four days away from a key moment in the 2024 presidential campaign. This Thursday night, right here on CNN, President Biden and former president Donald Trump will take the stage for the first presidential debate of 2024, and foreign policy promises to be a crucial topic.

So let's bring in David Sanger. He is our CNN political and national security analyst. He is also the author of the book "New Cold Wars."

It is great to see you, David.

All right, so let's start what we were just talking about -- about Israel and the war in Gaza. How do you think this will play out in the debate?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Alisyn, thanks for having me on.

The debate is probably going to hit three major foreign policy topics. At least one would expect, it would, but always hard to tell.

The first one, obviously, Gaza, as you mentioned. Ukraine on which there are very big differences, and one would assume that China would have to come up as well.

On the Gaza issue, it is really sort of interesting because president -- former President Trump has said very little about this, but his history and his time in office would suggest that he would fully back the Netanyahu government, give them whatever weapons they want. He never showed a particular interest in the Palestinian problem, did not say that the two-state solution was the way to go.

At various moments, he said that and then at other moments in that wonderful Trumpian way, he said, well, maybe there are some other options.

President Biden finds himself, I think, Alisyn in just the sweet spot where two sides are going to be angry with him -- those who strongly support Netanyahu and his approach in Gaza, who believe the president has in fact and fully, and those on the left of his party who believe that the United States has provided the arms that is allowed for the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.

CAMEROTA: Yes, so you're so right. You're so right, David.

I mean, there is new CNN reporting today that President Biden is losing support among some -- the American Jewish population because of his stance and though President Biden would say, of course that he has always stood with Israel, so he is in, it seems dicier situation going into this.

About Ukraine, same thing. Let's talk about that because President Biden as you know, fought Capitol Hill over funding for the war in Ukraine, but it seems as though domestic support for funding another country's war is waning, so what does President Biden say about that?

[15:35:02]

SANGER: So I think here, the divisions are going to be a lot cleaner. President Biden has basically said the war in Ukraine is not only about Ukraine, it is about stopping Russia from rolling over a democratic or emerging democratic country. And he has said, if the Russians win in Ukraine, succeed at their goals, they will keep going and keep going after NATO countries.

He will paint -- I suspect, he will paint former President Trump as an isolationist, say that America First is actually drawn from the wording of what Charles Lindbergh movement was prior to World War II. I suspect you will hear him say the United States has tried isolationism twice before World War One and before World War Two, and was a huge failure both times.

President Trump I suspect will say the invasion wouldn't have happened if he was still in office because Putin respected him too much. I find this difficult argument to completely believe, but certainly the fact is that the invasion didn't happen when President Trump was an office, so I think he will make that case and he will say he will solve it in 24 hours without telling us how.

I assume that would involve just saying to the Russians, they can hold onto the lands they've gained.

CAMEROTA: And what about support for NATO -- US support for NATO that has been obviously a sore point, I would say for Donald Trump, because he has been not terribly supportive of NATO.

So how will that come up?

SANGER: So I think that President Biden is going to say that the main thing he has done in the international sphere since he came into office was to restore American credibility at the lead of NATO and that he will probably throw back at former President Trump his line that, you if your country is not paid up, what he calls their dues, but two percent of GDP for their own defenses, he will let the Russians do or let Putin do, I think the phrase was whatever the hell he wants.

I am sure that you will probably we hear that line come back.

I just returned just a few hours ago from a conference in Brussels where NATO is headquartered and clearly the NATO members are quite nervous that the progress they have made in both boosting their defense spending and backing Ukraine would crumple if President Trump is re-elected.

CAMEROTA: David Sanger, thank you for the insight, as always.

SANGER: Great to be with you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Up next, new details on that shooting that killed four people at an Arkansas grocery store.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: New details about the victims in that deadly grocery store shooting in Arkansas.

A gunman opened fire at customers at the Mad Butcher Store in Fordyce. A fourth victim has now died from that attack.

The suspected gunman is first court appearance is tomorrow. CNN's Rafael Romo is monitoring the latest for us. So Rafael, what do we know at this hour?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, the shooting in Fordyce, Arkansas that left four people dead and nine and wounded is just one of several that have shaken the nation over the weekend.

The shooting happened at the Mad Butcher Supermarket and Fordyce, a town of roughly 3,700 people located about an hour south of Little Rock. CNN has learned that among the four people killed is Shirley Taylor. She would have turned 63 on July 1st. Her daughter, Angela, actually confirmed her identity to us and said that her mother who loved her family and children was the hardest working in woman she knew and a great person, adding that her family is now completely lost.

According to the Arkansas State Police, a total of 13 people were injured by gunfire in the shooting Friday, including two law enforcement officers and 11 civilians.

As we previously reported, the suspect identified as 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey was also wounded when he exchanged gunfire with police and was taken into custody.

And Alisyn, the mass shooting was one of several that shook the nation over the weekend.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, a shooting in Columbus, Ohio left eight adults and two teens wounded. Police say the shooting was followed by a successful chase of the suspect's vehicle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. JOE ALBERT, COLUMBUS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Their age ranges are all from 16 years old to 27 years old. They are all males. I can tell you, out of those ten, two are juveniles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Also, early Sunday, in St. Louis, Missouri, police say at least one person was killed and five others were injured in the city's downtown area. The shooting happened adjacent to the area known as city garden, which is just two blocks from Busch Stadium.

According to St. Louis Police, a man believed to be in his mid-20s was killed, that the other victims range in age from 18 to 24 years old.

Investigators say it appears a fight broke out between women and escalated into gunfire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH MCCOY, Director of public affairs and information division, SLMPD: I think that this continues to prove that there is a conflict resolution issue in this city and in many major cities across the area and across the country, and we have to figure out how we can resolve problems without guns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:45:08]

ROMO: And finally, Alisyn, just to put it in perspective, at least 242 mass shootings have taken place in the United States so far in 2024 according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which like CNN defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Just staggering numbers. Rafael Romo, thank you very much.

Well, the last episode of the CNN original series, "Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game" examines the geopolitics of the cold war through the lens of two double agents.

As President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher work to resolve the Cold War on a global stage, their agents were pulling the strings behind the scenes and threatened to destabilize diplomatic efforts.

Tune in, CNN Original Series: "Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game." The finale airs Sunday at 10:00 PM Eastern and Pacific, and we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:46]

CAMEROTA: Two of the WNBA's rising young stars are getting ready for another epic rematch. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese had a showdown this afternoon in Chicago.

CNN's Carolyn Manno breaks it down for us.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: You can call this Clark-Reese 3.0.

This afternoon, Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky facing Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, and this is already the third time that these two young stars have played each other in the past month as pros. It is four times in two months, if you include their matchup in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament back in April, and it is the fifth in just over a year if you count their national title showdown, that helped bring millions of new fans to the sport.

They are still rookies. They are still trying to prove themselves on the court, but they are already two of the biggest stars in the W, and the ticket prices reflect that.

As of Friday, it cost around 250 bucks to get in the door at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, which would make it the most expensive in the league's history. Capacity there is 10,000 fans. That's less than half than at the United Center where the Bulls play and that has Caitlin Clark scratching her head a bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAITLIN CLARK, INDIANA FEVER: I mean, I saw the ticket prices, I guess the only thing is like I am surprised we are not playing at the United Center. I thought that would have been really good for the game and really good for all the women's basketball fans in Chicago.

So maybe there is a conflict of some sort that I don't know about. Obviously, that's all above my paygrade, but we are excited.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Meantime, Liberty superstar, Breanna Stewart was unstoppable yesterday against the Sparks. New York's two-time MVP scoring 24 points along with five assists and blocks in the first half alone. The first player in league history to do that. She also had three steals finishing with 33 points as the Sparks beat LA 98 to 88 for their 10th win in the past 11 games. Off to the best start in franchise history.

And Sha'Carri Richardson is one of the most electric personalities on the track, and now, the 2023 world champion has qualified for this Summer's Olympic Games.

The Dallas native winning the women's 100-meter event at the US Olympic trials Saturday night, running a season best 10.71 seconds, which is the fastest tied in the world so far this year.

And this is the latest chapter in a very redemptive story for Richardson who missed the chance to compete in the Tokyo Games after testing positive for marijuana. After those trials, she later acknowledged she was using the drug to help cope with the passing of her biological mother. And after last night's win, she went into the stands to find an embrace from her grandmother, who raised her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHA'CARRI RICHARDSON, TEAM USA SPRINTER: I feel honored. I feel everything, every chapter I have been doing in my life is designed to prepare me for this moment, to stand next to these amazing women that I am standing here with, that I have the pleasure of training with, and this is a full circle moment and I am very appreciative and I cannot wait to go to Paris and represent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: A meaningful night for Sha'Carri Richardson. She had an incredible year and she will certainly be considered the favorite in this event in Paris in what will be her Olympic debut.

CAMEROTA: Just incredible to watch her, Carolyn. Thank you.

All right, this weekend, we have a new top dog in a contest not everyone wants to win.

Meet "Wild Thang." This is the eight-year-old Pekinese who won first place at this year's worlds ugliest dog competition.

This was Wild Thang's fifth entrance into the competition, but his very first win. He can contracted distemper as a puppy, leading to his current "ruff" appearance. Get it.

Wild Thang's owner says they will be using this newfound fame to promote the importance of getting other pets vaccinated.

Along with the title of World's Ugliest Dog, Wild Thang heads back home to Oregon with a $5,000.00 price.

All right, we are following some breaking news. This one out of Russia, authorities are investigating what they call coordinated attacks by militants in the Southern Dagestan region. We will have more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:59:16]

CAMEROTA: The next episode of "Violent Earth" with Liev Schreiber explores our planet's sleeping giants, volcanoes and their massive destruction. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weekend of May 18th, my boyfriend at the time, Rold Ratan (ph) and I decided to do a weekend getaway of fishing down at a fishing hole down by Mount St. Helens.

Our camp site was on the south fork of the Toutle River. We were about 25 miles to 30 miles from Mount St. Helens that morning. We did not hear a huge boom or a huge blast or anything like that. We could hear rushing water and we could see the river rising towards our tent. Rold looked up and we saw this huge train trestle coming downstream towards our campsite and it was holding back a bunch of debris, like logs and mud and we looked at each other and yes, we need to get out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: An all-new episode of "Violent Earth" airs tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern on CNN.

[16:00:25]