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CNN This Morning
King Charles III Kicks Of Trooping The Colour Celebration; Princess Kate Makes First Public Appearance Since Cancer Diagnosis; Biden To Attend Star-Studded Fundraiser In Downtown LA; Ukraine Summit To Open In Switzerland, Seeking Path To Peace; House Speaker Mike Johnson Vows To Take Garland Contempt Case To Court; Portland Firefighters Rescue 28 People From Amusement Ride Stuck In The Air; Powerful Heat Dome Settles Over U.S. Southeast. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired June 15, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:00:33]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Saturday June 15. I'm Victor Blackwell.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Does the time go we're midway through June already. I'm Amara Walker, thank you so much for being with us. And here's what we're watching for you this morning.
We want to show you live pictures out of London working Charles's birthday celebration is underway right now. But the star of the show Catherine, the Princess of Wales, who we saw just a few moments ago for the first time since she announced she's being treated for cancer nearly six months ago.
BLACKWELL: President Biden is on his way to the west coast this morning after back to back overseas trips more on the star studded fundraiser on his schedule today and how he's prepping for his first debate with Donald Trump of this cycle.
WALKER: And a major dome of extreme hate is sending temperatures soaring to near triple digits. The cities that could see record highs and well was when we will start to cool down.
BLACKWELL: Plus, the FAA says it's looking into how questionable titanium ended up on Boeing and Airbus jets. What we're learning about potential safety concerns and what suppliers are doing about it.
Just moments ago, King Charles kicked off his official birthday celebrations with the Trooping the Colour Ceremony. This is a public celebration for the ruling Royals birthday, a military spectacle of hundreds of officers and soldiers and musicians and horses parading through the streets of London.
The King is departing from the tradition. He is in a carriage not on horseback as he continues his cancer treatment.
WALKER: And you just saw pictures there. Princess Kate, the Princess of Wales who's also in attendance stepping out of that carriage with her children in that white dress. She will join her family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for that iconic picture and to greet onlookers.
This of course marks her first public appearance since Christmas as she received her own cancer diagnosis just weeks after when she posted a new photo on Instagram last night and said that she is making good progress but she is not yet done with her treatment.
Let's get right to CNN's Anna Stewart who is joining us live from Buckingham Palace. Anna, we just saw Princess Catherine there a huge moment for the royal family. Tell us what we saw and how she looked.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It really was a wonderful moment and in many ways this is sort of the birthday surprise the Prince of Wales is giving all of us the King's birthday parade. Just yesterday of course releasing that statement saying she would be a part of the ceremony today.
And we saw her passing just a short time ago, leaving from Buckingham Palace and heading down the Horse Guards Parade which is what you're looking at right now in terms of the live pictures you can see the carriages arriving there.
And this is part of the military side of the King's birthday parade. Trooping the Colour is when one of the five regiments so the household divisions, Foot Guards regiments, they troop that color which is showing their flag and it's a very, very old ceremony actually dating back I think to King Charles II and it's held as part of the King's birthday celebrations.
So here you'll see both the king inspecting his troops. You'll see all of the regiments passing through and slow and quick march. You'll see military bands. But then perhaps the moment all of you want to see is when the Royals head on back to Buckingham Palace, and you get that amazing balcony shot.
And this year everyone's hopes and dreams are sort of being answered because we're going to have the whole royal family on that balcony including the Princess of Wales. The first time we're seeing her for months since she announced she was being treated for cancer. She is looking incredibly well. We've seen her in a carriage with all three children.
And of course for the King also receiving treatment from cancer. So this is a big difference to last year. Last year we saw the king on horseback. This year he is riding in a carriage but and they went to celebrate and this is one of the most colorful, most fun, I'd say parts of the Royal calendar each year.
There's a pump, there's a pageantry, but also it's all about the family and you actually get to see them all together on that balcony and we only really get that once a year ordinarily when we don't have coronation and other jubilee celebrations.
BLACKWELL: So Anna, I went to the royal website this morning, which is something I usually do at 4:00 a.m. on a Saturday. And it says that Trooping the Colour is marked the official birthday of the British sovereign for more than 260 years.
[06:05:00]
So, obviously --
STEWART: Yes.
BLACKWELL: -- there is tradition here. But are there differences beyond the carriages that we're seeing this year?
STEWART: I mean, the main difference is just how the king is arriving not on horseback. I mean, if you really want to get knocked down as the nitty-gritty, I think you will enjoy the fact that there is one huge modernizing change with the soldiers you see today. And that has to do with their beards. Beards where we stand in the British Army, and this year, they're allowed. So you might see some beards measuring I think the rules are two and a half to 25 and a half millimeters long.
No patchiness is allowed. No exaggerated colors. And I think there has to be a clean divide, actually, between your sideburns and your neck.
WALKER: You would be able to march them.
BLACKWELL: Everybody can't grow a beard that connects patchiness some people, that's all they have.
WALKER: They don't have a measure of red tape.
BLACKWELL: Anna Stewart for us there with all the details. Thanks so much. And of course, we'll be watching the ceremony throughout the morning and take you back to London for some of the biggest moments of the morning.
All right, world leaders will head to Switzerland today for the start of a two-day Ukraine peace conference. Now this conference begins as the G summit some -- the G7 summit I should say. G7 summit ends in Italy.
WALKER: Leaders from the Group of Seven issued a stern warning to China on its trade practices and its support for Russia's war efforts in Ukraine. CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joining us now from Italy. Hello, Nic, you've been watching this very closely over the last few days. Now, what are the big takeaways?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The big takeaways are on AI, Artificial Intelligence, the pope being very clear not to use it for bad things like making automated weapons, not having machines kill people, rather making sure that it's the benefits it gives our across all societies, all countries, a lot of pressure on China to improve its oversupply on world markets that causes concern for all the nations of the G7.
Big, big commitments to Ukraine in terms of financial support the $50 billion loan in terms of ongoing military support the security package signed by the United States, also Ukraine signing one with Japan while here as well, these give enduring 10-year long plans to train up Ukrainian forces, get them using interoperable weapon systems, et cetera, with NATO.
And I think as well, one of the important takeaways that doesn't get a lot of talk about here was the commitment for development and developing banks and developing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly climates -- particularly countries that are affected by climate change. And one of the reasons for that migration, a big issue here in Europe as the United States and helping countries from where migrants come from is seen as a way to help tackle the migrant issue.
BLACKWELL: Nic, more than 100 countries and organizations are participating in this peace conference in Switzerland. Notable absences though.
ROBERTSON: Yes, notable Russia is not there, because the only piece that Russia is offering at the moment is for Ukraine to basically go belly up or surrender the four provinces. Russia is illegally annexed and it's designed to join NATO. That's not going to happen. And China has said it won't go if Russia's not there. 57 different world leaders there. All the leaders that were here apart from President Biden going on to Lucerne, Switzerland.
Of course, United States being represented by Kamala Harris. She will be announcing a $1.5 billion package, aid package for the people of Ukraine that will include 50 or $500 million for the energy infrastructure. There'll be another $379 million announced for support for IDPs and refugees inside of Ukraine, and an additional $300 million that will that's designed to go to those border guards, who are helping protect and rescue civilians who are trapped along the frontlines in Ukraine.
We often see when Russia makes a new advance and pushes into a new village or area, Ukrainian forces are going out there to try to help the elderly get them out of their homes, get them to safety. An additional 300 billion is in the work -- 300 million rather is in the works for them as well.
BLACKWELL: Nic Robertson for us. Thank you, Nic. Joining me now CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger is also the author of "New Cold War: China's Rise. Russia's Invasion and America's Struggle to Defend the West." David Good morning to you. Let me read the headline of your latest piece.
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It's not just Russia. China joins the G7 list of adversaries. Let me read also from the communique from the members. They agree on China's persistent industrial targeting and comprehensive non-market policies practices that are leading to global spillovers, market distortions harmful overcapacity. Can they agree on what to do about it? Because it seems like President Biden is a lot more hawkish than some of the other nations? DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it's been an interesting transition. Victor, I don't think that at the G7 summit, even two years ago, you could have gotten this range of complaints and accusations aimed at Beijing.
At that point, the Europeans were saying, hey, Germany sells more than a quarter of its luxury cars to China. China's a huge market. And so just as the Europeans had to be brought around a few years ago, on Russia, where of course they were continuing to import a lot of Russian gas, and oil. Now you're seeing that transition happen on China. It's happening slowly.
But when you read through that communique, there were 28 references China, and they were almost all negative, which, you know, some might argue will become a self-reinforcing kind of cycle here where the Chinese then react in the same way.
What was really striking Victor was the paragraphs about China's role in supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine, noting its accelerating export to Russia, of microelectronics, lots of parts that can go into the Russian war machine.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk about Russia. The member has also agreed with this U.S. lead plan of a $50 billion loan, and it is backed by seized Russian assets. President Putin called it theft that will not go unpunished. But what's the takeaway from the proposal that it is a loan? And is this more just kind of vague threat from Putin in response?
SANGER: So this resolves what's been basically a two and a half year long dispute, for reasons that I just can't figure out, Victor, the Russians left $300 billion in western mostly European financial institutions before they did the invasion, figuring that they wouldn't really be seized by the West, but they were seized. But then the question was, what do you do with it, and the initial idea was given to the Ukrainians.
But that would really undercut the reliability of Western banks, United States, but most of the European banks as a repository of central bank assets for other countries around the world. So the idea was, we're going to freeze it, not touch the principal, but use the income that can generate three to $5 billion a year, maybe more, depending on how interest rates fill in the next year or so.
To help finance both arms and reconstruction in Ukraine, it's a interesting diplomatic solution won't touch the principal will take all the stuff.
BLACKWELL: G8 contracted after Putin invaded Crimea, a decade ago, a couple of your colleagues at the Times wrote about how it was difficult to make progress on any of the major issues here, without the support of Prime Minister Modi of India, the leader of Brazil as well, what's the potential for an expansion of the G7?
SANGER: Well, of course, when Russia joined the G7, and when it came to G8, it was, you know, after the collapse of Soviet Union, obviously, I think that proposal started in 1997. And they stayed on, as you said, until 2014, when they were suspended, and then oust did after the annexation of Crimea, that was mostly a political gesture, you know, Russia's economy alone would not have brought them membership.
But what's clear from meetings like this one with Prime Minister Modi and others there is the days are over when you can think about running the world with the Group of Seven, which is basically the major European economies, the United States, Japan, and they're going to have to go expand it. They just haven't figured out how they go do it.
And one of the reasons they're going to have to do it is it's one of the few groups that small enough to still actually come to some real decisions. Once you get out to much larger groups that becomes harder.
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BLACKWELL: David Sanger, good to have you.
SANGER: Great,
WALKER: Still to come, President Joe Biden will be in Los Angeles today where A-list Hollywood celebrities will pitch in to fill his campaign coffers. Plus, titanium distributed with fake documentation has reportedly been found in Boeing and Airbus jets. Now the FAA is investigating how it got there.
And a powerful heat dome will bring intense heat to millions in the U.S. next week. We will take a look at the cities that are expected to see the highest temperatures.
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WALKER: So we are less than two weeks away from the first presidential debate will be hosted right here on CNN. Both candidates are spending the weekend campaigning ahead of the big event. Donald Trump will be in Michigan where he is expected to speak at a roundtable event with a few of his VP contenders. Then Trump will speak at the turning point Action Conference in Detroit later tonight.
BLACKWELL: President Biden will be in Los Angeles this weekend at a celebrity packed fundraiser with former President Obama. CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now from DC. So tell us first about the President's fundraising event.
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden is expected to hold and go to attend a Hollywood fundraiser that's supposed to be a star studded event. As mentioned former President Barack Obama is expected to attend alongside other a list celebrities like George Clooney, and Julia Roberts. And the campaign officials tell us that the ultimate goal is to raise money as Joe Biden goes head to head with former President Trump.
And the thing about this too is they see this as a successful way to do this. Just given how just in March, he held a star studded event just like this, where former President Barack Obama attended alongside former President Bill Clinton. And in that event alone in New York City in March, they raise and they drew $26 million. And that one event alone. So they see this as a successful ways to raise money.
And some Democratic strategists also tell us Victor that is also serves as a way as an endorsement when these celebrities attend event like this as a way to kind of court more voters to throw their support behind Biden that he may otherwise have not had. Victor, Amara back to you.
WALKER: All right. Camila DeChalus. Thank you very much. Joining me now with CNN political commentator, Errol Louis. Errol, good morning to you. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. OK, so Trump, he just turned 78 years old while the First Lady is on these seniors for Biden push. She's been hitting the campaign trail in several states. She'll be in Phoenix today, courting older voters. Take a listen to what Dr. Jill Biden said in Wisconsin about the benefits of being older.
Do we have that guys? OK, it's coming. Wait for it? Yes or no? OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JILL BIDEN, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: This isn't about stopping an extremist. And this election is most certainly not about age. Joe and that other guy are essentially the same age. Let's not be fooled. But what this election is about, it's about the character of the person leaving our country.
Joe Biden is a healthy wise, 81-year old, ready and willing to work for you every day to make our future better. Joe isn't one of the most effective presidents of our lives in spite of his age, but because of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: OK, so how she doing with the 65 and older crowd?
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it sounds like she got a pretty good reception there. And this campaign has been specifically going to pickleball tournaments and bingo nights and so forth, specifically trying to appeal to seniors. Amara, four years ago, Donald Trump actually lead with older voters 65 and up by about seven points, that seems to have been reversed now is a much closer margin now with Biden in the lead.
And so I think they see some daylight there and they're going to try and make the most of what would have otherwise been a negative. He's getting criticized for his age. But as you just heard, there's a counter argument and they are making that argument every day.
WALKER: Well, Trump was in West Palm Beach Friday, ridiculing Biden about his age as Trump himself turned 78. As I mentioned, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: And we have a president who has no clue what the hell is going on. Just look at him yesterday, look at him the day before in Europe, he doesn't know where the hell he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Let's just be clear here because you have Trump repeating this misleading claim that's been pushed by right wing media that Biden wandered off during a skydiving demonstration for G7 leaders when in reality the video is cropped deceptively. Biden had briefly turned away to give a thumbs up to skydivers and then he was motion to rejoin the leaders. What are your thoughts Errol on Trump's line of attacks?
LOUIS: The Republican campaign has done this over and over again. And it always backfires. Because when they say that he's completely out of it. They say that the President of the United States is wandering around, he doesn't know where he is and so forth and so on. Then all Joe Biden has to do is show up in do what he's done for each of the last several State of the Union addresses which is to show that he's on his game.
[06:25:05]
He's sharp. He's got muscle memory from being in politics for over half a century. And it just debunks the claim right there on the spot. I would expect that to happen during the debate.
WALKER: I want to get your reaction, Errol, to what Trump had to say in an interview with (INAUDIBLE) Friday, where he was asked how he would respond to black voters who call him racist. And Trump said a couple of things. First, he said he has many black friends, hence, he's not racist, and that is criminal indictments. And perhaps his conviction would help him appeal to black voters.
LOUIS: Yes, the idea of appealing to black voters because he's been convicted multiple times of felonies. This is insulting to say the least. And of course, he's making Donald Trump is I think, the same mistake that many people make, which is say, hey, I have black friends, OK, it's great, the black friends.
But if you want to be president of the United States, it's about the policies and whether or not it's going to benefit the tens of millions of black Americans. And, you know, by and large, he's going to have to run on his record. We'll look back at what happened during his years in office and compare it to the Biden years. Biden's got a pretty impressive record as well. And they're going to both have to make their case. It's not about who they're friendly with.
WALKER: Well, on that point, I mean, Biden has a lot of many black friends as well. And he's also had policies for the black community. But you know, obviously, we've seen in polls that have shown support slipping for Biden amongst black voters, especially in some battleground states. Talk to me about how both Trump's campaign and Biden's campaign are trying to appeal to this specific block.
LOUIS: Well, look, what Biden is doing is pointing to the traditional political goodies that he has tried to deliver to the black community. And that includes naming the first black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court that includes $7 billion in aid to historically black colleges and universities. And on and on down the line, black business starts, increases in wealth, all kinds of different things that the administration has done.
What Donald Trump is trying to do, I do not know. I mean, I think there's an inversion going on that it's getting some talk among political professionals, which is that Trump is doing better with younger voters, and that all by itself will make his numbers go up in communities of color who tend to skew younger. He's trying to, I guess, make some kind of appeals. But it's unclear how he's going to do that. And he's not the incumbent, he doesn't have that strong of a record to run on. And so we've been really just kind of relying on a lot of chatter.
Some of this also I think, is a matter of relying on black voters who do in some numbers tend to vote Republican. He's just trying to call them home. It won't be very much but he doesn't need very much. It really just depends on the state that you're talking about.
WALKER: Well, it just goes to show how important this first debate will be of this election cycle. Errol Louis, thank you very much. And of course, watch the CNN Presidential Debate moderated by Danna Bash, and Jake Tapper. That's on Thursday, June 27 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: The Justice Department says it will not pursue contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland. What House Speaker Mike Johnson is now planning to do. And live pictures from Buckingham Palace, The Trooping the Colour celebration is happening now. Princess Catherine, making her first appearance in public since announcing back in March that she is being treated for cancer. We'll take you back live to London, coming up.
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WALKER: House Speaker Mike Johnson now says he'll be taking the contempt of Congress case against Attorney General Merrick Garland to federal court after the Justice Department refused to pursue charges on Friday.
This follows a mostly party-line vote by House Republicans to hold Garland in contempt this week. The House GOP members are trying to force the DOJ to turn over audio. A special counsel Robert Hur's interview with President Biden over his classified documents' case, the DOJ has declined to do so.
BLACKWELL: Portland firefighters rescued 28 people, most of the kids who were stuck upside down at an amusement park ride --
WALKER: Oh, my -- BLACKWELL: Yesterday was opening day at Oaks Amusement Park, but fire
officials say they were ready to start rescuing the riders using ropes before the ride was lowered back to the ground. And one person was taken to the hospital for evaluation. The company is investigating. Oppressive heat so high --
WALKER: Yes --
BLACKWELL: Is settling over the southeast today. I just did taste of what's in store for the rest of the country next week.
WALKER: I feel like it just came out of nowhere. It would have been nice and then boom --
BLACKWELL: So nice --
WALKER: It's in the '90s. Millions will feel the effects of this powerful heat dome that will send temperatures soaring to near triple- digits. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here to tell us what we can expect.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, so, it's going to start in the south where it already --
BLACKWELL: Yes --
CHINCHAR: Has started --
WALKER: In the south, it has --
CHINCHAR: But all those other lucky folks, they're going to get their chance at that heat, just give it a couple of more --
BLACKWELL: Extend your arms with the heat love --
CHINCHAR: Yes --
BLACKWELL: Reach out --
CHINCHAR: Welcome mother nature back in --
BLACKWELL: Yes --
CHINCHAR: Yes, it's Summer time, and it is certainly going to feel like it. You take a look at the heat risk map, and again, for today, most of what you're going to see is the major, that's the level three out of four risk here. But once we spread into Sunday and Monday, you start to see not only those major heat risk areas expand, but now we start to get that purple, that extreme risk.
And you also start to notice it spreads into the Midwest, then it goes into the Great Lakes and eventually into the northeast.
[06:35:00]
So, we're going to start to see this spread in a few more areas. So, here's what we're looking at. Again, we're not just talking some of these places, 5, 10 degrees above average. You're talking over 190 record temperatures over the next several days, beginning today for places like Atlanta, Charleston, South Carolina, Galveston, Texas, but then it starts to spread farther north.
Take a look at Chicago, for example, going from 85 today, just a couple of degrees above normal to almost triple-digits by the time we get to Monday. Washington D.C. also going to start to see that rise, and all of these northeastern cities, you're looking at 20 degrees above normal for so many of these areas, and for some of them, it's going to stick around for a few days as well.
WALKER: You know, I put my children in tennis camp this week of June specifically because I assumed it would be much cooler.
BLACKWELL: Thanks, mum --
WALKER: Part of the Summer --
BLACKWELL: Thanks, mum --
WALKER: I don't know why I'm going to do it on Monday. Thank you, Allison. Well, the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating potentially fake titanium discovered in parts of commercial Boeing and Airbus jets. This is the latest black eye for the aerospace industry.
BLACKWELL: It was apparently distributed with fake documentation and investigators are trying to make sure it will not pose a safety hazard to the public. CNN's Gabe Cohen looks into how we got here.
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, Victor, remember, there is a complex supply chain to build the planes. Suppliers are buying material from all over the world and building parts that make their way to Boeing and to Airbus to be assembled into an aircraft.
Now in this case, Boeing reported to the FAA that a company at the front of that supply chain is selling titanium that was ultimately used in these commercial jets, not just for Boeing, but also for Airbus, was selling it using fake documents, verifying that titanium's authenticity.
Now, that raises concern that they may have been selling counterfeit titanium that doesn't meet safety standards and shouldn't have been used in a plane for parts like doors or the components that secure the engine to the aircraft. Critical parts that we're talking about here. Now, this was caught by a supplier that noticed little holes in the titanium that looked like corrosion, according to the "New York Times", which first reported this.
Now, of course, that immediately raised safety concerns, but since then, testing of that titanium material has showed that the correct titanium alloy appears to have been used. And so, at this point, there is no clear threat to safety. Boeing put out a statement saying, "to ensure compliance, we are removing any affected parts on airplanes prior to delivery. Our analysis shows the in-service fleet can continue to fly safely."
Airbus put out a statement of their own saying, "numerous tests have been performed on parts coming from the same source of supply. They show that the A2 20s airworthiness remains intact."
But the FAA is of course, investigating this now to see if that is the case or if these titanium parts pose any safety hazard. Victor, Amara.
WALKER: Gabe Cohen, thank you. A judge has rejected a bankruptcy plan for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' "Infowars", what this means for the Sandy Hook families who are owed over a billion dollars. That's next.
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WALKER: A Texas judge has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to liquidate his personal assets. He owes approximately $1.5 billion in damages for falsely claiming the Sandy Hook massacre was staged. This ruling could allow the families who are owed that money to go after Jones' assets immediately instead of waiting for a longer bankruptcy process to play out. Joining me now is Brian Stelter; special correspondent for "Vanity Fair", good to see you, Brian.
BRIAN STELTER, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, VANITY FAIR: Me too.
WALKER: So, tell us what -- more about this order and what it means for Alex Jones, and more importantly, the families of Sandy Hook?
STELTER: Yes, it is a mixed ruling. This is something that's been going on for years, I've been following this case for years. It's been winding its way through multiple courts in multiple states. Bankruptcy proceedings are often times quite complex, but this was a turning point yesterday because for the first time this judge said, yes, Alex Jones, his personal assets must be put up for sale.
His boats, some of his properties in Texas, and those monies, those millions of dollars may then flow to the Sandy Hook families. Of course, you've got to pay some lawyers first, but at the end of the day, some of these families, these victims who suffered through years of hate and harassment because of Alex Jones, they might finally start to see some money.
But you mentioned that $1.5 billion -- you know, amount that was owed, that was found to be owed by Alex Jones. He doesn't have anywhere near that much money either, personally or inside his company. So, I say this was a mixed decision because "Infowars", the infamous lie- peddling website, conspiracy website, it will stay in business at least for now.
WALKER: So, then -- I mean, again, to the families who had been through hell and back and then through hell again, because of Alex Jones, will they see all the money ever? I mean, $1.5 billion is substantial, and if he doesn't have the money, then where do they get it? STELTER: That's right. Now, what's going to happen is, these different
lawyers, these different bankruptcy lawyers, can pursue Alex Jones in various places. They can go after "Infowars" through the state courts and try to recoup some of that money.
[06:45:00]
But we're talking about millions here, not hundreds of millions of dollars. Alex Jones' website, although, it is incredibly poisonous, it has been diminished over the years. You know, I would argue that his conspiracy brand has now spread across the right-wing web, off to other places as well.
So, I would say this is an important milestone case because it shows that the courts can achieve some accountability, but it's never going to be entirely satisfying, not for these families who are unable to regain their loved ones or regain the last decade of their lives back.
WALKER: What has the reaction been, you know, from the far-right conspiracy theorists, and also --
STELTER: Yes --
WALKER: In terms of -- so, there's the financial aspect, but there's also the emotional aspect for the families. Does this mean that we're not going to see Alex Jones spewing these hateful conspiracy theories ever again, or will he take to social media and keep going at it?
STELTER: You know, he does seem to be -- tried to be slightly more careful on this one very specific subject. But more broadly, no, the man has not changed. He's still out there promising all sorts of apocalyptic claims that are never going to come true.
You know, here's the thing. There's an audience for that. There's an audience for grievance and resentment, and in recent days, Jones was out there saying they're trying to shut me down, come buy my products, buy my supplements before I'm shutdown.
Now, for the moment, he's claiming victory, so, he can't sell that kind of grievance or resentment, but I'm sure he'll find another way to do it soon. And the bottom line here is, this is going to go on in the courts for quite some time. This is one particular ruling about personal assets, now, Jones is going to have to sell his properties.
He's going to feel this in a very personal way. "Infowars" will go on, but this is going to continue to be pursued in courts by the Sandy Hook families probably for years.
WALKER: All right, well, understandably. Brian Stelter, great to see you, thank you so much.
BLACKWELL: The Mavericks may not win the NBA finals, but they are putting up a fight. Dallas scores a blow-out win of historic proportions against the Boston Celtics to keep their season alive.
WALKER: And happening now, the Trooping the Color ceremony is underway. It's all part of the birthday celebration for King Charles, but a lot of attention being placed on Catherine, the Princess of Wales. We will take you back to London at the top of the hour.
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[06:50:00]
BLACKWELL: The Dallas Mavericks got a blow-out win to avoid getting swept out of the NBA finals by the Boston Celtics.
WALKER: Andy Scholes is here with us, OK, Andy, so any chance this makes a difference for them?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, no team has ever come back from an 03 deficit in the NBA finals, but hey! You know, maybe that means we're going to get some history here this year. But you know, Jason Kidd, the head coach to the Mavs, he said the Celtics were ready to celebrate, but his team made a standard. What a stand it was, the Mavs.
Just coming out from the start, determined to not let the Celtics celebrate on their home floor. Show you how it all went down, Dallas leading by 26 at half-time, Luka Doncic is just on a mission, he had 25 first-half points in the rout, just continued in the second half, the Mavs ended up winning by 38, 122 to 84 was the third biggest blow- out NBA finals history.
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LUKA DONCIC, GUARD, DALLAS MAVERICKS: I mean, it doesn't change anything. Like I said at the beginning of the series, is first of all, and we're going to believe until the end. So, we just got to keep going. I have big belief in this team that we can do it, so just reason you've got to keep believing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Now, game 5 is Monday night in Boston. Now, we did get some other big NBA news last night, our colleague and friend over at "TNT", hall of famer, Charles Barkley making a big announcement.
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CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER: I aint going nowhere other than "TNT". But I have made the decision myself, no matter what happens, last -- next year is going to be my last year on television. And I just want to say thank you to my NBA family, you guys have been great to me. My heart is full with joy and gratitude, but next year, I'm going to just retire after 25 years, and I just want to say thank you, and I want you all to hear from me first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: It's super sad as Barkley is the greatest to ever do it. Our parent company, "Warner Brothers Discovery" is in negotiations with the NBA on the next media rights deal. "TNT" has one more year for sure, but it's certainly going to be the end of an era for "Inside the NBA" without Charles as he announces his retirement.
All right, finally, at the U.S. Open, Italy's Francesco Molinari was about to miss the cut, sparring a miracle, he needed a hole in one on his last hole of round 2, and he did it. A hole in one to make the cut. Just incredible, at minimum, that was at least a $32,000 shot because if you miss the cut, you get 10k for showing up.
But guys, now he gets to play on, and one of the best golf shots I've ever seen in my life, because you rarely -- first of all, he was on hole 9 because he played -- he played the back 9 first for a second round to be able to get a hole in one to make the cut.
BLACKWELL: Where do you need it?
SCHOLES: It's legendary, exactly --
BLACKWELL: Right where do you need it?
SCHOLES: Going to hole, unless you make a hole in one.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
SCHOLES: Incredible.
WALKER: Pretty cool --
BLACKWELL: All right --
WALKER: Thank you, Andy --
BLACKWELL: Thank you, Andy --
WALKER: All right, next hour, we're going to take you back live to London to watch King Charles as birthday celebrations and a Trooping of a Color parade.
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[06:55:00]
WALKER: Tonight's episode of the CNN original series "SECRETS AND SPIES: A NUCLEAR GAME" tracks spies operating behind the scenes in the 1980s as a cold war brings two super powers to the brink of conflict. Here's a preview.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt it was a trap, but maybe I am wrong. After 11 years of my secret work for the British, maybe I developed paranoia.
ALEXANDER VASSILIEV, FORMER KGB OFFICER: The danger could come from different directions. The weakest link in espionage is the meeting between the operative and his agent who have been spotted by a certain (ph)fellow officer.
There could be an MI6 officer working for the KGB who could betray the EFK (ph).