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Four Days Away From Trump And Biden Debate; Suspected Militants Attack Synagogue And Church In Southern Russia; Four Killed, Nine Wounded In Arkansas Grocery Store Shooting; Hajj Pilgrimage Death Toll. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 23, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we can see the river rising towards our tent. Ronald looked up and we saw this huge train trestle coming down stream towards our campsite. And it was holding back a bunch of debris like logs and mud, and we looked at each other and we need to get out of here.

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: An all-new episode of "VIOLENT EARTH" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Alisyn Camerota in for Fredricka Whitfield today.

OK. The countdown is underway for a pivotal moment in the 2024 presidential election. We are four days away from the CNN presidential debate, the first between President Biden and former President Trump of the 2024 race. And the two candidates are preparing for this high- stakes event in very different ways, we're told. President Biden hunkering down at Camp David all weekend reportedly holding intensive prep work and mock debates with a team of advisers.

Donald Trump has spent the weekend on the campaign trail and says he has decided on his VP pick, and that person will join him at Thursday's debate, he says. Today, Trump's supporters hit the Sunday political talk shows to give their advice on what he should focus on.

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GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It'll 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 in this debate at all because he's going to have so many good things to talk about in contrast with Joe Biden's policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CAMEROTA: President Biden's allies are also dropping hints about what to expect from the president at the debate.

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SEN. CHRIS COONS (R-DE): As folks look about who's better positioned to keep us safe going forward, I hope folks won't overlook that former President Trump incited a riot at the Capitol on January 6th, or law enforcement officers to 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's putting forward to strengthen our law enforcement and our border security.

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CAMEROTA: So let's begin with President Biden's debate prep. CNN's Kevin Liptak joins me now.

OK, Kevin, walk us through what we know.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're now on day three of this intensive, almost week-long stretch for President Biden. You know, we don't expect to see him before that debate in Atlanta on Thursday, so they are reserving the possibility that he could go directly from Camp David down to Atlanta for this debate.

It has opened up President Biden to some mockery from President Trump for the amount of preparation that he's doing. But I do think it tells you just how importantly his team is viewing the stakes for this debate. You know, they really can't afford an underwhelming performance from President Biden. And when you look at the team that the president has with him out there in Western Maryland for this debate prep, it does give you a sense of the items that they're going to be talking about.

Certainly he has his political advisers out there, you know, the Mike Donilons, the Anita Dunns, the Jenn O'Malley Dillons, but he also has some policy folks. He has Jake Sullivan, the National Security adviser, Bruce Reed, who served at the top policy hand at the White House, who we understand did prepare these binders for President Biden heading into debate prep. That really kind of crystallized the policy differences between President Biden and President Trump as they look to hone some of the questions, some of the answers that President Biden will face there on the debate stage.

It's all being run by Ron Klain, who was the president's former chief of staff, but perhaps more importantly is the most seasoned debate coach in the Democratic Party. He's worked on these kind of debate preps for years. It was interesting. I went back and looked, he has written these debate rules. One of them is develop a list of three items you must say in the debate. And we are getting a sense of what those three items might be.

The campaign put out a memo this morning laying out their strategy heading into this debate. And the three items that they really want to talk about. One is abortion and President Trump's record on abortion. And this is at the end of the day one of the most galvanizing issues for Democrats heading into this election. And they do want to point out that Trump has taken credit for the overturning of Roe versus Wade through those three Supreme Court justices that he appointed.

The other one is democracy and the threats that Biden thinks that Trump poses to democracy and the potential for political violence. And then, of course there's the economy which is the number one issue for many voters. And they want to point out that in their view, Trump's economic plans would benefit the rich. So you are getting a sense of the strategy heading into this moment. The Biden campaign also says that they're planning thousands of events around this debate, including debate watch parties next Thursday.

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At the end of the day, they really do view this as a critical moment because in their view, many Americans just haven't been paying attention to the election so far. And this is the moment where they will see the contrast and the choice that's in front of them in November.

CAMEROTA: OK. Kevin Liptak, thank you very much.

Now the Trump campaign is already looking past the debate and toward next month's Republican National Convention. CNN's Steve Contorno was with the former president in Philadelphia where he announced news of a running mate.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, we have learned that three names have emerged as frontrunners in Trump's VP search. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida in North Dakota, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Trump yesterday said he's made his decision, but he's not letting that person know yet nor the public.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you decided who your vice president is?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In my mind yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do they know?

TRUMP: No. Nobody knows. Who do you like as VP?

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CONTORNO: Those remarks came during a stop for Philly cheesesteaks amid a full day of campaigning by the former president. Trump really enjoying juxtaposing how he spent his final Saturday before the debates versus Joe Biden's more studious approach. Listen to what he told his Philly rally later that night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: Right now, Crooked Joe has gone to a log cabin to study, prepare. No, he didn't do it. He's sleeping now, because they want to get him good and strong. So a little before debate time, he gets a shot in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I say he'll come out all jacked up, right? All jacked up.

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CONTORNO: Trump went on to criticize Biden over the border, inflation, crime, really sharpening those attacks heading into this critical debate with Joe Biden, where we really expect the fireworks to fly -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Steve, thank you very much.

Joining me now is CNN political analyst and historian Julian Zelizer.

Julian, great to see you. So Donald Trump, as you heard there, says he's picked a VP, but he's not shared that news with that person yet or any of us. CNN sources say that it's between Senators J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio and also North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Are the VP picks more important this year than they ever have been historically?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No, I'm not convinced for the Republicans that'll be that important. I think Donald Trump will dominate his campaign and a lot of the point of the VP pick will be not to take too much airtime still, and never really has a vice president, the pick, change the election. For Biden it's a little more important. We know who the vice presidential running mate is, obviously Vice President Harris, but her performance, I do think the better she does, the more she can shore up some support for President Biden in terms of concerns about age.

CAMEROTA: You have a piece out for CNN.com where you say the sad truth about presidential debates is that often the most consequential moments revolve around the one-liners and the zingers.

Why do we care more about those than the substance and how do the candidates prepare for a zinger?

ZELIZER: Look, as some of it is just the attention of the American public is short and then we just process pieces of a debate. And part of that is replayed over and over today in social media, and some of it is it does reveal character. I mean, I do think these one-liners, these zingers can tell us a lot about the person they're aimed at, or the person telling it. Ronald Reagan famously used these in 1980 and 1984 to really strengthen how people saw him and his ability to handle the job.

It's hard to prepare for them, but they do prepare to deliver the line, not to deliver the paragraph. I think that's going on certainly in the Biden camp. The added complication now is clipping. And that's becoming a bigger part of campaigns. So it's not simply a gaffe that can get you. It's totally well-articulated point that that's cut and put out of context. And so the campaigns need to think about this.

CAMEROTA: That is frightening for all of us listening. So as you know, the polls have been very tight between Biden and Trump for months. What could happen in this debate that changes that?

ZELIZER: Realistically very little. Obviously some terrible performance, either Biden, President Biden just having trouble speaking his thoughts and really conveying the impression he's on top of his game would just fuel concerns about age. And obviously former President Trump rambling, going off on tangents that speak to what critics say is his inability to govern and sort of instability and chaos about him. That could hurt him, too.

But again, realistically, these will fuel existing perceptions people have of candidates, strengthen them and they'll realistically be one piece of a continuum that culminates in November.

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CAMEROTA: Donald Trump's team is trying to change the narrative that they've been hitting about President Biden. Basically, they've been saying that he's mentally on fit, but now they're changing it to him being a formidable debater. So one of Donald Trump's VP contenders, Doug Burgum, was touting President Biden's debate skills on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning.

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GOV. DOUG BURGUM (R), NORTH DAKOTA: I think we have to look at the guy's run for office more than a dozen times. He's run for president four times. He's 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 them in the State of the Union this year that when he needs to he can step up.

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CAMEROTA: Is the bar lower for Donald Trump?

ZELIZER: It is. I mean, that's been true with many elements of his politics. He does things either politicians could never get away with and he gets away with it. And so even with a debate, what many people would say is a stellar performance is not what a lot of Trump supporters are looking for. They're looking for a classic Trump performance, which again could be attacks. It could be smear and kind of a chaos.

So I do think it's a low bar and I do think a lot of Trump supporters in his orbit realized Biden can perform. They've seen this several times. So I think they're trying to adjust what they've been telling people and we heard the former president add that somehow he'll have enhancements, which is another layer of the kind of campaign they're conducting.

CAMEROTA: Julian Zelizer, it'll be very interesting to be watching this Thursday. Thank you very much. ZELIZER: Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: And be sure to tune in on Thursday for this election's first presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderating. This will be live from Atlanta at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. It will also be streaming on Max.

All right, we are monitoring breaking news out of Russia at this hour. Authorities are responding to what are believed to be coordinated attacks across the country. And now a terror investigation is underway there. We have the little details for you ahead.

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CAMEROTA: We have breaking news out of Russia. A series of attacks at houses of worship in the southern region of Dagestan. A synagogue was set on fire and at least one priest was killed at a nearby Catholic Church. Authorities say a group of militants armed with automatic weapons coordinated the attacks in the city of Derbent. Meanwhile, police just north of there were involved in a shootout after an attack on a traffic post. Authorities have now launched a terror investigation.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking the latest for us from London.

So, Clare, what is the latest on all of this?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn. So authorities are saying that they believe these attacks in two different cities, Makhachkala and Derbent, they're about 80 miles apart, are coordinated. They are, as you say, now investigating these attacks under the terrorism article of the Russian criminal code. The key targets seems to have been religious sites.

Russian official sources are talking about a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbent being attacked. And we're hearing about a shootout at a church in Makhachkala, where according to Russian state media, quoting the Dagestani Interior Ministry 19 people who had been taking shelter in that church are now safe. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has also put out a statement saying that two synagogues were involved, one in each city.

So the situation right now extremely fluid. There are videos and accounts coming through on the social media channel of Dagestani Interior Ministry showing that fighting on the streets of both cities is still ongoing. A major police operation. The death and injury toll has been updated by the muftiate, this is the religious Islamic administrative organization in Dagestan. They're now saying that nine have been killed of which seven law enforcement officers.

But we believe the other was a priest at a church in Derbent who, according to the public monitoring commission there, he had his throat slit. So some gruesome details coming through that. And also a security guard and on top of that 25 injured. But as I said, extremely fluid and we believe still very much ongoing even though it's now getting pretty late in the evening there in Dagestan.

CAMEROTA: OK. Clare Sebastian, thank you very much for all of that reporting.

For more, let's turn now to CNN national security analyst Beth Sanner.

OK. So, Beth, you just heard Clare's reporting. Nine people killed, seven of them law enforcement, 25 injured. What clues do you see in these attacks?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it does have the hallmarks of an ISIS-K attack and the viewers will remember the big Crocus City Hall concert hall attack in March and that killed about 144 people. And then there was a previous one in Iran. Both of those attacks, by the way, the United States warned both Russia and Iran that these attacks were coming, weren't heeded. But this looks like another ISIS-K attack to me.

CAMEROTA: So if this is an ISIS-K attack against a synagogue and a Catholic Church, what does ISIS-K other than death and chaos?

SANNER: Right. And so this is not just some faraway place, Alisyn.

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We are watching right now the threat from ISIS-K, which is based in Afghanistan, now spreading around the world to some extent. So the French recently thwarted an attack related to the Olympics. The Germans, the Euro Cup Games, just arrested several people. And we arrested about two weeks ago eight Tajiks also associated with the Islamic State, who had snuck in across our borders.

And so what they're trying to do is in ISIS-K, they do want to have a caliphate just like they had in Syria and Iraq. But they also want to attack, you know, Christians, Jews, non-Muslims.

CAMEROTA: So how does Vladimir Putin respond to this?

SANNER: Well, you know, so right after the Crocus attack, the concert hall attack, they wrapped up a cell in Dagestan. They arrested a bunch of people. They're now on trial with the rest of the gang. They were said to have provided the weapons. And we're going to see more of a crackdown. And, you know, and the Russians, the way they crack down is pretty brutal. But at the same time that brutality doesn't necessarily eliminate the threat.

So in some cases it worsens it in terms of the extremist views of certain parts of that population. And you know, ISIS has had a relationship with the Muslim community, not the majority, but, you know, 20 percent of ISIS foreign fighters in Syria came from Russia and the former Soviet states. And a lot of them from Dagestan. So they're going to crack down. But we can't expect this to go away.

CAMEROTA: Dagestan is not often, you know, in front of our mind except of course we're all reminded of the awful Boston marathon bombing where the Tsarnaev brothers came from there. So why has this region of Dagestan been allowed to be so volatile and violent for so long?

SANNER: Well, you know, the ability of the Russian state to effectively deal with these kind of restive provinces, Dagestan is right next to Chechnya and, you know, another place, the Northern Caucasus has always been this kind of hotbed of Islamic extremism. And the only way that Russia has dealt with it in the past is Chechnya and two bloody wars that killed many, many Russian soldiers as well as more Chechens. And then he put a leader in charge that has brutally oppressed that population.

So, you know, it's extremely hard to deal with, and especially in a very diverse region, one of the things he's been doing is he's been forcing a lot of Dagestani young men to fight in the war in Ukraine. But that has actually probably increased the extremism there.

CAMEROTA: Beth Sanner, thank you very much for all of your expertise on this.

SANNER: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Still to come, new details on the shooting that killed four people at an Arkansas grocery store. Plus what we're learning about the suspect still on the run in an overnight mass shooting in Columbus, Ohio.

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CAMEROTA: Ten people including two minors were wounded in an overnight mass shooting in Columbus, Ohio. One of the victims is in critical condition. Columbus Police say the suspect is still at large after managing to outrun police during a high-speed highway chase.

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SGT. JOE ALBERT, COLUMBUS POLICE DEPARTMENT: The officers are directed towards what they believed to be the shooter, which is the only thing we can describe right now is a male dressed in all black. The officers witness that make get into a white Honda Accord sedan. Our officers gave chase to that vehicle. They chase after that vehicle, attempt to stop it, fails to stop for the officers.

Eventually gets on 670 Westbound and the officers do their best, but they just can't keep up with this vehicle. They lose it somewhere.

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CAMEROTA: Investigators are asking the public to help identify the suspect or share any details they may have about this car. Take a look at your screen. You can call anonymously to the Columbus Police Department.

OK. We're also getting news, new details, I should say, about a deadly mass shooting in Arkansas. A fourth victim has now died from that attack. Nine others were wounded, including two police officers after a gunman with a shotgun stormed into the Mad Butcher Grocery Store in Fordyce.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now.

So, Rafael, tell us about, let's start with the suspected gunman. What do we know?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we just heard a press conference from authorities there, Alisyn, and heard from Colonel Michael Hagar, secretary of Public Safety and director of Arkansas State Police. Among the things that he disclosed about the shooting that happened Friday at a supermarket Fordyce, Arkansas, was that police arrived less than three minutes after the first shot was fired then the suspect was down less than five minutes after that first shot.

Hagar also said that the suspect was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and a pistol, and carry dozens of extra shotgun rounds on his person. The colonel has said that the assailant immediately began shooting victims upon arriving at the supermarket's parking lot and then proceeded into the store. Once inside, he was firing indiscriminately to both customers and employees. Among the four people killed is Shirley Taylor. She would have been -- she would have turned 63 on July 1st.

Her daughter Angela actually confirmed her identity to CNN and said that her mother who loved her family and children was the hardest working woman she knew and a great person, adding that her family's now completely lost.

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The Arkansas Department of Public Safety also published the names of the other three people who died. Callie Weems was 23 years old. Roy Sturgis 50. And Ellen Shrum 81. 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.

And, Alisyn, as we previously reported, the suspect identified as 44- year-old Travis Eugene Posey was also wounded when he exchanged gunfire with police and taken into custody. This is how Arkansas State Police director, Mike Hagar, described what happened.

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MIKE HAGAR, DIRECTOR, ARKANSAS STATE POLICE: At approximately 11:38, 911 calls were received that there was an active shooting situation at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce. Law enforcement responded immediately and exchanged gunfire with a lone suspect.

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SANDOVAL: Kernel Hagar specifically mentioned how Kallie Weems, one of the four people who were fatally shot, began using her training as a nurse to render aid to a gunshot victim. And that's how, unfortunately, tragically, she became a victim herself. Officials say Posey, the suspect, is expected to be charged with four counts of capital murder. He's expected to have his first court appearance on Monday.

And it isn't clear, Alisyn, if Posey has retained legal counsel, at this point. Back to you.

CAMEROTA: Just awful details. Rafael Romo, thank you.

Well, catastrophic flooding leading to emergency evacuations across the Midwest this weekend. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for 21 counties. And areas that you see here, like Rock Valley, bore the brunt of the rainfall.

Some nursing home residents had to be moved to safety, still in wheelchairs. Rescue crews used boats to reach people who were trapped by the high water.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did approximately 20 rescues, since we've been here. Most of the water is, oh, probably to the top of most of the houses at the top of their front doors. And most people that we evacuated were up on the second floor, and we were able to get them down.

But there's cars everywhere underneath the water that we don't see. And you just don't know if there's any manhole covers that are up. So, when you walk, you have to be careful with that, not to go into those areas.

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CAMEROTA: One man was able to snap these images before evacuating his neighborhood. He told CNN, he flagged down a boat to pick him up, along with his wife and cat.

Meanwhile, millions of people along the East Coast are broiling under a record-setting heatwave today, as it travels from the Ohio Valley to Mid-Atlantic states.

Triple-digit heat hit the nation's capital yesterday for the first time in eight years. And now, there's a threat of more severe weather. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking this from the CNN Weather Center.

So, what are you seeing now, Lisa?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We've got a tornado watch that was issued for most of New England. And just a few seconds right before we chatted with you, we had a severe thunderstorm watch that has just been issued for parts of Upstate New York. Looks like New Jersey and a lot of Pennsylvania there.

We've got this front that's coming through that's got the potential for some strong and severe thunderstorms. Some rotating thunderstorms as well. We've found multiple tornado warnings up in New England. This is a part of the country that typically doesn't see tornado watches all too often. The watch goes until 8:00 this evening.

You could see we have some of these super south (ph) thunderstorms that are capable of rotating, could drop pink pong ball-size hail and damaging winds. And, again, a couple of tornadoes. There's that severe risk. It stretches actually down the spine of the Appalachian Mountains.

And you can see, we've got that risk for severe weather up in New England today. But also still tracking some of that heat, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: And is it going to cool down tomorrow?

RAFFA: Yes. So, what this front will help do was kill the heat a little bit on the East Coast for some of these cities. But it does come back pretty quickly. So, you could see as the front comes through, we do cool down just a little bit for a day.

But, again, we'll find that heat coming back. It will linger across the Central Plains as well. We're still looking at temperatures at 96 right now in Raleigh, 97 in Atlanta, 97 in Little Rock, 98 in Washington D.C., after we hit 100 yesterday for the first time since 2016. More than 2000 days so just incredible.

You can see where the heat takes a little bit of a break Monday and Tuesday in parts so the Mid-Atlanta, thanks to that front. But we already have a ton of heat advisories for this heat dome that will kind of sit back to the west a little bit more.

As this front kind of clears some of these areas to the east, we'll continue to swelter in heat. Back to the west, some of the central plains will still find temperatures above 90 degrees for almost 80 percent of the lower 48 -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Yes, a lot of red on that map.

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CAMEROTA: Thank you, Elisa.

Well, the FBI is asking for the public's help, as it investigates the wildfires in New Mexico. They're offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the cause.

The White House says President Biden is closely monitoring the situation there and authorized an expedited disaster declaration from the governor.

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GOV. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (D), NEW MEXICO: But it's been a hell of a week here, Margaret, between dust, heat, flooding. These are not the only evacuations. We've got flooding evacuations in the north, where the largest wildfire in the history of the United States. One of the largest wildfires in the history of the U.S. It's been really tough on the Mexicans. And I'm grateful to every first responder who puts them first and stands up to make sure they're as safe as we can make them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: The Salt and South Fork blazes burned more than a combined 24,000 acres. Officials say Ruidoso residents can return to their homes starting tomorrow.

And this just into CNN. The Saudi government now says more than 1,300 people have died at this year's Hajj pilgrimage, where temperatures reached more than 120 degrees. What the Egyptian government is now doing.

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CAMEROTA: The death toll at the annual Hajj pilgrimage climbing two more than 1,300 people. This is according to the Saudi government. Muslims making their journey to the holy city of Mecca are enduring temperatures up to 125 degrees.

Now, the Egyptian government is moving to shut down Hajj tourism companies that are making illegal pilgrimages to Mecca and putting the faithful at risk.

CNN Scott McLean is here. So, Scott, what's the latest with this?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn. Yes, we've known for several days now that the official death toll was very likely to rise. And now, we know by precisely how much.

As you pointed out, the Saudi government is now confirming that more than 1,300 people died at this year's Hajj, at least in part due to the extreme temperatures. The government says that almost half a million people got some form of medical attention. Some are still hospitalized. And it says that all of the dead, all 1,301 officially died, their families have been notified, despite some serious challenges with identifying precisely everyone.

As you mentioned, the temperature on Monday, almost a week ago now, hit 125 degrees Fahrenheit. And the thing that you really need to remember is that the Hajj is almost entirely outdoors in some very open areas in the desert. There's not a lot of trees or shade or anything like that. It's also quite physical. It involves a substantial amount of walking between the various sites that these pilgrims are expected to go to.

And the pilgrims that we spoke to also described what seemed like a bit of a two-tier system. On the one hand, you had the officially registered Hajj pilgrims, who had a proper Hajj visa. They had proper air-conditioned accommodation and some transportation options as well.

And then, you had this unofficial unregistered group of people who may have come on a tourist visa or business visa. They didn't maybe have transportation between the sites and didn't have air-conditioned accommodation. And so, some of them were even setting up these sort of make-shift tent camps to find or make any shade that they -- that they could.

And the Saudi government says that 83 percent of those who died at this year's Hajj were in that category, in this unauthorized category. And so, you -- as you pointed out, the Egyptians, also the Jordanians, are trying to crack down, or at least investigate these companies who facilitated this unauthorized travel.

We also heard yesterday from an American couple from Maryland. Their daughter says that they spent more than $20,000 to go to the Hajj. Only to get there and find out that the tour company that they had paid didn't have all the proper transportation that they needed.

And so, on the day that they died, they said that they waited several hours for transportation that never came. They ended up walking and that's when they went missing and were later confirmed to be dead.

And then, to add insult to injury, Alisyn, well, their daughter says that they had requested the Saudi government hold the bodies, so that they could at least go and say goodbye and identify their parents. And it turns out, though, the bodies had already been buried and they don't know where -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: That is awful, Scott. I mean, it's also just hard to imagine functioning at 125 degrees outside. Thank you for the latest reporting there.

All right, still ahead, new warning signs that the Biden campaign could be losing support from Jewish voters.

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CAMEROTA: We have new reporting about warning signs the Biden campaign is facing from Jewish voters in several battleground states. The rise in antisemitism and Biden's decision to send fewer weapons to Israel could impact how Jewish voters turn out this November.

Joining me now is CNN Reporter Isaac Dovere. So, Isaac, what are the warning signs?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN REPORTER: Well, look, Alisyn, there are -- there's a lot of frustration all across the spectrum for where things are with the situation in Israel and Gaza and Joe Biden's handling of it.

There's also a lot of pain and frustration with what is a clear rise in antisemitic incidents. And for Jewish voters around the country, it's not just a question of Israel or where they are on that. It's question of what they're seeing pop up on the right and on the left. This spike in antisemitism and spike in antisemitic rhetoric, it's making them feel very uncomfortable. [16:50:00]

DOVERE: And, as you point out, when it comes to these battleground states, in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and others, the margin of victory is lower than the number of Jews in the population.

So, this is yet another one of those things that could end up having a real impact on where things go in November.

CAMEROTA: So, the Republican Jewish coalition is planning to spend at least $15 million in these swing states, we understand. What is the Biden team doing in response?

DOVERE: Well, they've started to do some things to reach out to Jewish voters. But, so far, it's not been an official plan to focus on them. It's what I -- the Biden campaign tells me is that they will be hiring a faith engagement director in the coming days, and that that will be part of the portfolio of the person to reach out to Jewish voters.

But this is going to be an ongoing thing. And, of course, it's all mixed up with all the other things going on, as well as appealing to Arab Americans who have different views of the situation in Israel and Gaza, for the most part. And it's all these balances and the coalition that Joe Biden is trying to stitch together here.

CAMEROTA: So, Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who's Jewish, is speaking out against former President Trump. What's he saying?

DOVERE: Well, look, he's not just Jewish, he's the governor of one of the key battleground states here in Pennsylvania. And he said to me, from pharaoh to Hitler to Kim Jong Un, at what point in our history, when a dictator has been leading a nation, has a minority group done well? Donald Trump will eviscerate the rights of minority groups, including American Jews.

This is, obviously, putting Donald Trump in the tradition of Pharaoh from the Passover story. And Hitler, that is not a mistake on Shapiro's part. He said to me that Trump talking about Jews having dual loyalty between America and Israel is, itself, antisemitic and is the sort of thing that needs to be clearly condemned as well.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He's expected to address congress on July 24th. How's that going to play on Capitol Hill?

DOVERE: Well, we already know that there are a lot of Democrats who are not planning to go to the speech. And we see that from the way things have gone at political events, for the last seven months, there's been lot of protests outside. I think we are expecting that there will be protests outside of the Capitol, when Netanyahu is there. And, perhaps, even inside the chamber.

So, it does seem like that will be another divisive moment and, perhaps, a decisive moment in this ongoing situation. It's certainly something that the White House and Joe Biden is monitoring very closely. Not sure what's going to happen there.

As we've seen, just in this past week, Netanyahu rebuffing things that the American government and that Joe Biden, himself, has been saying about trying to get to an end of the conflict there. And creating a lot of tensions and problems in that relationship.

CAMEROTA: Isaac Dovere, thank you for all the reporting.

DOVERE: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: All right. Just ahead, an emotional moment for the Pittsburgh community, as ground is broken for a new building at the site of the deadliest attack on Jewish people in America.

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CAMEROTA: A Texas woman has been charged with attempted capital murder for allegedly trying to drown a three-year-old child in a potential hate-crime incident. Police arrested 42-year-old Elizabeth Wolf last month, after a reported disturbance between two women.

Initially arrested for public intoxication, Wolf also allegedly made racist comments and tried to grab the other woman six-year-old son. The mother intervened but Wolf then, allegedly, grabbed her three- year-old daughter and forced her underwater. The girl's mother managed to rescue her. The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations identified the family as Muslim and Palestinian and is calling for a state and federal investigation.

An emotional ceremony and Pittsburgh today. The Tree of Life synagogue broke ground for a new campus. It will include a memorial to the 11 worshipers who were killed in that 2018 attack.

First Gentleman Doug Emhoff was there, and CNN's Wolf Blitzer spoke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Today, we break ground on a new path to peace. The new Tree of Life will not only be attribute to those we lost at a home for the Pittsburgh Jewish community for generations to come, it will also be a place to teach and share profoundly important lessons against hate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: The original synagogue was torn down after the 2018 shooting which was the deadliest attack ever on Jewish people in the U.S.

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 worked to resolve the cold war on a global stage, their agents were pulling the strings behind the scenes, threatening to destabilize diplomatic efforts. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The diplomats urge caution but MI6 argue for the rescue. The final decision is elevated to the very top.

ROBIN BUTLER, LORD BUTLER OF BROCKWELL: Very unusually, Margaret Thatcher was in Balmoral at that moment, because normally she went in September. So, the principal private sector in the foreign affairs had to go up to Balmoral. Almost force his way into SIMA.

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