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NEW DAY SUNDAY

Fierce Winds Fuel Rampant Flames; Trump Renews Threat To Self- Fund Campaign; Twenty Thousand People Expected At Vigil For Victims; CNN Rides To Front Lines In ISIS Fight; Gun Control Gridlock; The Charleston, South Carolina Tragedy; Russia Launched Air Strikes On U.S. Backed Syrian Rebels; NBA Finals Game 7. Aired 6-7a

Aired June 19, 2016 - 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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[06:00:13] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in the neighborhood. I would have a bag ready.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dog food together and get my son together and be ready to go if we have to.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If some of those wonderful people had gun strapped right here, right to their waist and goes boom, boom, you know what, that would have been a beautiful, beautiful sight, folks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can tell at that moment, it felt like a war room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It went with the beat until you heard too many shots. It was like bang, bang, bang.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started running, and unfortunately, I was shot about three times in my leg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Nazal (ph) neighborhood in Central Fallujah, it was until day before yesterday, under the control of ISIS.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: So many updates for you this morning and so grateful for your company, as always. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you this Sunday.

PAUL: Tens of thousands of acres are burning in three western states this morning.

BLACKWELL: Triple digit temperatures and the high winds are fueling the raging wildfires. Let's go to Southern California now where this is happening. Entire hillsides consumed. Nearly 8,000 acres have burned thus far. Mandatory evacuations are underway for almost 300 structures and nearly 2,000 firefighters have been called in to fight this fire.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plan is to maybe do fire up off this road, some backfiring, what that does is it create a big giant buffer using the (inaudible) of the roads and then this line so will have a black line between this and the main part of the fire.

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BLACKWELL: The 12,000 acres are also burning in Arizona. Let's go there. Another 50,000 acres in two separate fires burning in New Mexico. Look at the map here. Heat and high winds, as we said, fueling the fires.

Allison Chinchar is in the CNN Weather Center with us this morning. Allison, how long will these temperatures stay in the triple digits. Is there any forecast that brings rain?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is going to be a while. We're going to have to wait several days both for the temperatures to finally relief themselves a little bit and to get some rain chances in. That's why we have this pink color that you see here on the map for several states indicating an excessive heat warning.

It's because, again, we think of these places as being very hot, but this is just incredibly hot for these areas. Recording breaking temperatures, right now, the Cedar fire, which is the one in Arizona, about 12,000 acres burning, only 40 containment.

They wouldn't get increased humidity until Tuesday or Wednesday. In New Mexico, we are talking only 9 percent contained of the 17,000 acres. Again, not really looking for any rain chances until the middle portion of the week.

And then in California, about 7,800 acres burned, 45 percent containment. You think these temperatures are cooling down overnight that would be the time that you would finally see relief for these fighters.

But it's different and I'll tell you why because you have this dome of high pressure basically it holds all of that heat in, and then at night, particularly in California, you get those winds that are called sundowner winds where they happened from sundown on.

And unfortunately, that's going make it very difficult for these firefighters to fight these fires even as the temperatures finally go down -- guys.

PAUL: Thank you, Allison.

All right, let's talk politics. Donald Trump, renewing his threat to self-fund his own campaign if he thinks support from the Republican Party is starting to waiver. BLACKWELL: This is coming as the billionaire is fighting back against a group of Republican delegates thinking of ways to block him from being their party's presidential nominee next month in Cleveland. Our Jeremy Diamond is following the Trump campaign and has more on Trump's take on party unity.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Victor and Christi. Donald Trump's message is clear. He wants Republican unity, but not at any cost. The presumptive Republican nominee on Saturday stumping in Las Vegas and right here in Phoenix emphasizing that he wants the Republican Party to unify around him.

But if it doesn't, he is willing to go it alone. He insisted in Las Vegas earlier on Saturday that he was willing to self-finance his campaign if he needs to in the general election, unclear exactly if he'll actually going to be able to do that if he needs to.

And then later on in Phoenix, Donald Trump continued to emphasize that, you know, the Republican Party, he has plenty of support, but he did acknowledge that there are some folks in the party who are not quite ready to unify around him and here is what he had to say about that.

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TRUMP: We have some Republicans that aren't there. Even some that have endorsed me that just aren't there, and we'll find out what we do about that situation. But let me tell you something, the Republicans should stick together.

[06:05:05]I don't think it is going to matter that much in terms of whether or not I win, I'll be honest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Donald Trump also touted in particular the support of the Republican National Committee and its chairman, Reince Priebus, who Donald Trump said is 100 percent behind him as some delegates who are going to the Republican National Convention next month are starting to plan efforts to try and keep Donald Trump from clinching the Republican nomination.

Donald Trump also had the support here today of former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and the hard line anti-illegal immigration Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was talking about that discord in the Republican Party, and he boiled it down to two words. Hate and jealousy.

Christi, Victor, back to you.

PAUL: All righty, thank you so much. Let's talk to Scottie Nell Hughes, political editor for rightalerts.com. She is a Trump supporter, and Tharon Johnson, former south regional director for President Obama's 2012 campaign. Good to see both of you this morning. Thanks for being here.

Good morning. So Scottie, we heard Donald Trump there that Republicans need to stick together, he doesn't think it is going to be -- it is really going matter because he is running as an outsider. The question is can he really afford to go this this alone? Doesn't he need those votes?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, CHIEF POLITICAL EDITOR FOR RIGHTALERTS.COM: I don't think he is going alone, Christie, to be honest with you. You know, Sean Spicer came out yesterday and put out that all the discussion about this RNC and the Rules Committee, it is actually bogus. It is not true. It's not organized. There is no strategy or leader.

Reince Priebus who actually flew down with Mr. Trump, he actually issued a statement as well reports of discord are false. So you have the Republican leadership that is actually with the party.

You have the people. The only component that's missing is the politician. As we found out this week in Virginia, the congressman that actually supported Trump, the congressional candidate actually beat the establishment candidate.

So now you've got all of these folks up on the Hill going, wait a minute, we are about to finally be held accountable to our voters, which is a novel concept for the Republican Party as we've given these congressman basically a blank check to write us into $19 trillion worth of debt.

That's why you're hearing these guys worry because they're actually going to be held accountable for their votes to their constituents.

PAUL: It is such an unconventional campaign season, isn't it? Yesterday, in the Washington State Democratic Party endorsed Bernie Sanders for president at its state convention. Now, it's primarily symbolic obviously, but it's certainly unprecedented. What is your reaction to it?

THARON JOHNSON, FORMER SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR, OBAMA 2012: Listen, all across the country right now, Democrats are coming together to prepare for the convention and what I've been hearing state by state that there has been a lot of enthusiasm and quite frankly, a lot of passion from both sides.

But I think, you know, while it is unprecedented, it won't be the final result. I think what you're also seeing in other states like Georgia and other states in the northeast is that people are coming together and they're going to unite around Hillary Clinton.

PAUL: But when will Bernie Sanders endorse her, and why does that matter? Does it matter, do you think?

JOHNSON: Oh, yes, absolutely. When Bernie Sanders endorses Hillary Clinton, it is going to matter a lot. But listen, we cannot pressure Bernie Sanders to do something right now that he is uncomfortable with. What Bernie Sanders has said is that at the appropriate time, he'll do what is right for the party, but more importantly, he said that he would do everything he possibly can to make sure Donald Trump does not win in November. PAUL: All right, Scottie, Donald Trump brought up this faction of GOP delegates thinking a change in convention, as you were just talking about, allowing them to unbind and vote for whomever they want. Take a listen here.

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TRUMP: And now you have a couple of guys that were badly defeated, and they're trying to organize, maybe like a little bit of a delegate revolt. The Republican National Committee put out a statement, you can't do it. It is not legal. You can't do it. You're not allowed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: OK, so technically, unless I'm incorrect here, technically if the party changes its own rules based on what we've learned, it is not illegal so to speak, but if you're Trump, how do you make certain that a revolt does not happen or at least gain some momentum?

HUGHES: There is about 24 of those delegates around the phone call and we're looking as close as they get to 1,237, then I'll be concerned about them. You're right (inaudible), Christie, how it works as the rules committee meets three days before the RNC begins, it would have to pass that committee which the majority of them are going to be Trump delegates sitting on that committee.

And then if it gets past that then they have to win more than a majority of the actual RNC, the convention floor of all the delegates. I mean, this talk, the likelihood of this happening so small and so minuscule, all these folks are doing, and this is what they've -- we're at the line.

You're either for Mr. Trump or you're helping Hillary. At this point, this kind ever dissension is only helping Hillary Clinton and these folks need to start questioning their motivation and their intentions.

And if they really should be considering themselves going to Cleveland and right now their actions are only helping the Democratic Party.

PAUL: OK, Trump thinks that he knows why Bernie Sanders hasn't dropped out yet. Tharon, let's listen to this.

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[06:10:07]TRUMP: Well, he is waiting for really the FBI to do what everybody thinks they're going to do. I mean, I think that. I think he is sort of saying, look, let's hang in there, because ultimately, it is called the FBI convention. And then we'll be the only people, and we will have done something like Trump did. I want to be like Trump. I want to be like Trump.

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PAUL: So Trump, using what Bernie Sanders said about Clinton during the primaries is his own attack lines, I know you're shaking your head and you're smiling. How damaging is it, though? JOHNSON: Listen, first of all, Donald Trump does not know anything about the Democratic way, and to suggest that he knows why Bernie Sanders is staying in the race is just laughable.

Listen, Bernie Sanders is staying in this race for a couple of reasons. One, the guy has received a tremendous amount of votes all across the country, and quite frankly, he has raised a lot of money.

And so at a time when his supporters are fired up to make sure that some of the issues that he cared deeply about like college affordability and making sure that we are raising the minimum wage are very important issues that also Hillary Clinton will support.

And so listen, what we are doing on Democratic side is not entering a level of divisiveness that we see from Donald Trump. And while at a time where Donald Trump is worried about what Bernie Sanders is doing, Donald Trump is having a very, very tough time raising money for his own campaign.

And more importantly, he has to stop people un-endorsing him and try to rally his party. So again, he has no idea what Bernie Sanders is doing. He has no idea what Democrats are feeling. More importantly, I think, again, Democrats will be united and we can't play into this Donald Trump divisive attack world. That's not something we're going do on our side.

PAUL: I just feel like every day I wake up, I never know what the news is going to be in this campaign. So glad to have you both along for the ride because it makes for interesting discussions. Scottie Nell Hughes, Tharon Johnson, we appreciate you both. Thank you.

JOHNSON: Thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Another somber day in Orlando as the community prepares for more memorials. CNN's Polo Sandoval is live there just outside the Pulse Nightclub -- Polo.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor, the city of Orlando, still in mourning, a week after the sound of gunfire echoed through these streets. Seven days ago to the hour. Coming up on NEW DAY, how some of those 49 victims are being remembered.

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PAUL: You know, we are thinking of all the folks in Orlando this hour because it is going to be a rough day for them. They've got some things planned to remember what happened, one week ago, as we were sitting here telling you about the breaking news of the carnage inside Pulse Nightclub, shortly after 2:00 in the morning, 49 people were killed, and dozens were injured.

BLACKWELL: Well, tonight, 20,000 people are expected to gather at a memorial and a candlelight vigil to remember the lives lost in Sunday's shooting. Polo Sandoval joins us now from Orlando with details on the outpouring of support. We've seen this, Polo, build from the very moments after the shooting, the people who were nearby, who are in the club carrying one another to the hospital and now the community, the state, the country rallying around Orlando. How will these victims be honored tonight?

SANDOVAL: You're right, Victor. It seems it doesn't get any easier for the people here as they continue to struggle, to cope with what happened here seven days ago. But still, there is hope for healing as people continue to focus on the lives and on the legacies of those 49 individuals.

We have seen those tearful goodbyes, several more scheduled for today. One of the largest events will be a massive vigil that is scheduled to take place here in Orlando, as thousands are expected to hold a memorial and then a candlelight march. That will be late tonight here.

And people from all around the world are remembering the lives of those 49 victims, as far as Germany, where the (inaudible) gate was actually illuminated in rainbow colors.

In fact, just yesterday here in Orlando too, at a Major League soccer game, which was one of the first professional sporting events to be held in the city since the shooting. There was a brief moment of silence. It did not happen at the beginning of the game, but during the 49th minute.

That obviously, a tribute to those 49 victims, their sons and daughters that are no longer with their families. Again there is hope for healing here as that investigation continues to press on -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Polo Sandoval for us there, just outside from the Pulse Nightclub. Polo, thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: All right, now to the war on terror.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're in this Iraqi Army Humvee, heading inside one of the neighborhoods in Southeast Falluja.

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PAUL: If you ever wanted to know what it was like inside Falluja, you're going to find out here. You saw there CNN's Ben Wedman is inside that Humvee with Iraqi forces, just incredible access to the frontlines in the war against ISIS. We're going to take you there, next.

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[06:22:10] WHITFIELD: As Iraqi military is proclaiming a victory in Falluja, there are really chilling and intriguing images that reveal what life is like under ISIS control. I want to show you this new video on Iraqi state TV that purports to show a makeshift prison here with steel cages, each built to hold just one person.

BLACKWELL: You can also see an munitions factory, makeshift bombs and mortars there just blocks from Falluja's main hospital.

PAUL: CNN senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, traveled into the center of the fight in Falluja. He witnessed the frontlines of this battle, riding alongside Iraqi soldiers as they tried to take back the six neighborhoods that were still under ISIS control.

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WEDEMAN (voice-over): To save Falluja from ISIS, Iraqi forces have destroyed vast expanses of the city, block after block, one flattened building after another.

In military parlance, the city was softened up before the push into the center of Falluja by days of heavy bombardment from land and air.

(on camera): So we're in this Iraqi Army Humvee heading inside one of the neighborhoods in Southeast Falluja. We've already heard small arms fire crackling inside, and also heard the thud of incoming artillery rounds. So we'll see what we find inside.

(voice-over): I asked the soldiers in the Humvee if (inaudible), the Arabic acronym for ISIS is still inside the city. No, response (inaudible), a 12-year Army veteran. There is no (inaudible). He then qualifies his statement. There are pockets, one or two still fighting here and there. The pockets, we soon discover, were many, and they seem deep.

(on camera): This is the Nazan (ph) neighborhood in Central Falluja. It was until day before yesterday under the control of ISIS. Now we see lots of Iraqi troops and Humvees in this part of the time, what we're not seeing are any civilians.

(voice-over): This officer he asked to be called simply (inaudible) encountered civilians fleeing the fighting. They were in a bad way, exhausted, he says, they were suffering from lack of food and water.

Iraqi officials expected stiffer resistance in Falluja, the first major city seized by ISIS two and a half years ago. But Iraqi forces have managed to push rapidly inside. Officers insist resistance is at best scattered.

There are still a few snipers and we're dealing with them, says (inaudible), and soon, we'll finish them off. One group of fighters did manage to liberate an ISIS banner.

[06:25:07]The liberation of the city, however, is still a work in progress. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Falluja.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Still to come, one year ago, a disturbed young man sat with a Bible study group in this room and then opened fire at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was the room where he came, this is where people were seated around the table.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Around the table?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holding Bible study.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he was invited to join them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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BLACKWELL: Well, today is another day of mourning, as the city of Orlando remembers the massacre at Pulse Nightclub.

PAUL: They're going to do this together tonight, 20,000 people in fact expected to gather at the memorial in a candlelight vigil to remember the 49 people who died in last Sunday's terror attack. The memorial starts at 6:00. The vigil is at 7:30 if you're in that area and would like to take part.

It was a week ago today, though, that we were sitting here talking to you about what was unfolding, the carnage inside Pulse Nightclub. Shortly after 2:00 in the morning, 49 people were killed and more than 50 others were injured.

BLACKWELL: Tomorrow, the Senate is set to vote on a bill that would stop people on the terror watch list from getting a gun.

[06:30:00] This debate will begin tomorrow.

The measure failed last year after the San Bernardino attacks. The question now is, will it succeed after the murder of 49 people in Orlando? Well, the odds are against it. And one writer says, as long as the NRA funnels cash to many in congress, gun control legislation has no chance.

Kelly Scaletta writes this. "Nothing has gotten done. Nothing. What does that tell you about the NRA's goals are? The NRA has spent well over $50 million to see that nothing changes since -- literally -- a classroom full of children were murdered."

Joining us now, writer, Kelly Scaletta. Kelly, good to have you. I want to start here. What then is Monday about? Democrat forced this debate and then the vote. Most Americans support this legislation. There will be few last minute surprise convert if any from one side or the other. What are we watching on Monday, then? KELLY SCALETTA, WRITER/BLOGGER: I think we're just watching a show for the sake of the electorate. You know, the filibuster was there, and so the Republicans caved, and now they're going to have a vote and they're going to say, well, you lost the vote. The vote really represented what the people want. The American people have been pretty clear about what they want here, but the Senate is making it pretty clear they represent the NRA, not the people.

BLACKWELL: So you write here that -- let's put it up on the screen, "The real solution here lies with us, the same rational...

SCALLETTA: Right.

BLACKWELL: ... thinking voters. The NRA can buy your congressman but they cannot buy your vote."

But Kelly, that would suggest that there are enough single issue voters on gun control alone and that gun control would surpass as a priority the economy, terror, jobs, and other issues, while it does not and there are not enough single issue voters, at least that's what the polls show, right?

SCALETTA: Yes. I'm not saying there are. I'm just saying that the only way we're going actually get something done is if actually make decisions with our votes, because the NRA is going to fund what they're funding. They spent $50 million to try to make sure nothing got done, and nothing got done. And the reason they can do that is because as long as the Congress keeps doing what the Senate -- the Senate and Congress keep doing what the NRA asks them to, they're going to keep not getting anything done.

BLACKWELL: The NRA says this about the terror watch list on a YouTube channel. Let's watch this and then we'll talk about it.

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DANA LOESCH, TALK RADIO HOST, NRA MEMBER: The National Rifle Association has never opposed putting people the FBI believes are terrorists or could be terrorists on a watch list. All we've said is, if you're going to deny those citizens their constitutional rights get a judge to agree with you. This is how justice works in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So what do you think about judicial oversight for people who are added to this list and then under this legislation if it passes at some point would not be allowed to buy guns?

SCALETTA: Absolutely. I have no problem with that. The terrorist watch list has got a million and a half people on it. I don't think that we have a million and a half terrorists running around in the country. And so -- yes, absolutely. We need to do some things to reconcile the terrorist watch list.

BLACKWELL: But that didn't make the argument that those who oppose this legislation use to justify their opposition, that there are a million and a half names there. You're arbitrarily taking rights from Americans, that are guaranteed that the constitution, with (ph) you who believe that this legislation should pass you admit that some of those people...

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: ... many of those people --

(CROSSTALK)

SCALETTA: I never said that that specific legislation should pass. I think what we need to do is we need to do more things. To make sure that terrorists can't buy guns.

So my counter to that would be, well, if you really feel this way, that we need to have judicial oversight, propose a different bill. Propose a bill that says, OK, we agree. We think that terrorists shouldn't have guns. But in doing that, we think there needs to be judicial oversight. So we'll give you this bill. We'll make sure that terrorists can't have guns.

BLACKWELL: All right.

SCALETTA: If we have a terrorist watch list that asks judicial oversight and then we say they can't. So to me it just ends up being a red herring, because they're not actually offering an alternative. They're just saying, well, this is the reason we won't do it, but they're not offering that as a realistic alternative.

BLACKWELL: All right.

SCALETTA: So I think it is just blowing smoke.

BLACKWELL: Kelly Scaletta, thank you so much for joining us. And the piece I read there in the "Huffington Post" raising a lot of interesting arguments. Thank you so much, Kelly.

SCALETTA: OK. Thank you.

PAUL: Now, as some of us try to reconcile what happened in Orlando, we also want to make sure that we remember another incident.

[06:35:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLLY SHEPPARD, SURVIVOR: I have faith. That's why I'm still here. I prayed under that table and he left me here.

PAUL (voice-over): One year ago, nine church members in Charleston, South Carolina, died after they were shot while they held a bible study. We are talking to those survivors in that room. We are visiting as well. So gracious of them to let us know how they're doing today. And we're going to share that with you. Stay close.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour.

And, you know, it was a year ago when another mass shooting really stunned the nation.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Nine people inside the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston known as Mother Emanuel -- they were shot and killed while in Bible study. The victims included their pastor.

Brooke Baldwin takes us back to that church to speak with the survivors and the church leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): On June 17, 2015, like many other Wednesday nights, a group of people gathered for Bible study at Charleston's Mother Emanuel AME Church, one of the largest, oldest black congregations in the south.

SHEPPARD: I stayed that night because my friend was leading the bible study, Myra Thompson, and she asked me to stay. Originally I said I wasn't going to stay.

BALDWIN: Polly Sheppard was one of 12 members, part of this devout group who welcomed a stranger into their worship, a young white man who had never attended before.

[06:40:00]

Nearly an hour later, as they closed their eyes in prayer, the man unloaded his gun.

BALDWIN (on camera): Evil walked into the side door of your church.

SHEPPARD: I had faith. That's why I'm still here. I prayed under that table and he left me here.

BALDWIN (voice-over): The gunman told Polly Sheppard he would let her live to tell the story. She was one of five people to survive the massacre one year ago.

CNN was given rare access inside that Bible study room. And I spoke exclusively to those left behind.

BALDWIN (on camera): This was the room?

REVEREND NORVEL GOFF, PRESIDING ELDER, EDISTO (ph) DISTRICT, SOUTH CAROLINA: This is the room.

BALDWIN: This is where he came?

GOFF: Yes.

BALDWIN: This is where people were seated? GOFF: Yes.

BALDWIN: Around a table?

GOFF: Around a table, yes.

BALDWIN: Holding Bible study.

GOFF: Yes. And he was invited to join them.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Reverend Novel Goff presides over 30 churches in the district. He left Mother Emanuel just before the gunman entered the church through the side door.

GOFF: I left to go to another meeting, and that was about 20 minutes away. My understanding, the gunman was already in the parking lot.

BALDWIN: A dispatch log details the initial 911 calls from survivors that night. These chilling words show their pleas for help. "Shot pastor." "Female is hiding under the table." "Male is reloading." The number of shots fired, "so many."

BALDWIN (on camera): Were you sitting around the table or you were in the back?

SHEPPARD: I was around the table, the last table in the back.

BALDWIN: When you prayed under that table, were you asking for something?

SHEPPARD: I was asking that he wouldn't kill all of us. Yes.

BALDWIN (voice-over): First responders rushed to the scene in mere minutes. That's when Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen got the call.

CHIEF GREGORY MULLEN, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE: I was in my home with my wife preparing to go to bed, actually, and when I received the phone call, very quickly I realized something was bad because my deputy chief told me that we had a shooting in the church downtown. And then I'm on the phone talking with the mayor.

JOSEPH RILEY, FORMER CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, MAYOR: When the police chief called, it was about 9:30. And after I hung up, I went to my closet and put on a coat and tie, a suit.

BALDWIN (on camera): Why?

RILEY: Because I knew that everything I said and did had to be perfect. And I knew that I had to have complete respect for this church.

ESTER LANCE, MOTHER DIED IN AME CHURCH SHOOTING: When you see -- come close to the TV, I be like, whoa, that's my mama church.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Ester Lance was among other family members and friends gathered around the block in a hotel waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones.

BALDWIN (on camera): When you knew something was wrong at the church, did you know your mom was there...

ESTER: Yes.

BALDWIN: ... in that Bible study?

LANCE: I said, listen. Tell me the truth. Is my mama in that church?

BALDWIN: So what did you say to those family members behind closed doors?

MULLEN: We explained to them that we had a situation in the church as they were aware of and at this point that there were nine people that were deceased.

LANCE: All I can see is body bag.

BALDWIN: Ugh.

LANCE: But I knew my mama gone. My heart telling me this.

BALDWIN: You knew?

LANCE: Yes.

GOFF: We were now in the throes of planning nine funerals, home-going celebration.

RILEY: So then they deducted that that was their brother, sister, father, cousin, friend, and all the ranges of weeping, crying, wailing, moaning, sobbing.

MULLEN: It was a gasp that I'll never forget when we told them that, and at that point, Reverend Goff broke out into a song and everybody was singing together and...

BALDWIN: Holding hands and praying.

MULLEN: ... holding hands and praying.

BALDWIN: After an intense 14-hour manhunt, police apprehended their suspect. We later learned the 21-year-old gunman hoped to start a race war.

GOFF: This act of terrorism, racism, bigotry, was the act of a -- one individual who wanted to create a race riot. What they found out is that our faith was greater than fear. And that love will always overtake hate. We pulled together to make sure that how we responded to evil was not with evil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:11]

PAUL: An extraordinary moment in U.S./Russian relations. A conference call was arranged yesterday after Russian forces launched an air strike on an American backed Syrian rebels fighting ISIS near the Jordanian border late last week.

Now a senior defense official tells CNN the incident -- quote -- "raises concerns about Russian intentions". In the meantime Russian president, Vladimir Putin, told CNN's Fareed Zakaria that U.S. -- the U.S. needs to back out of Russian affairs and stop meddling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (via translator): The U.S. is a great power. At the moment it is probably the only super power and we accept this fact. We want to work with the U.S. and we are ready to do that. And no matter how these elections are held, eventually they will be held. There will be a new head of state, elected. They will have brought authority.

I know that there are complex, economic and political processes in the United States, at the moment, the world needs a country as strong as the U.S. is, and we do need the U.S. too. But what we do not need is for them to interfere with our affairs all the time. To instruct us how to live, to prevent Europe from building relations with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty, joining us now.

Jill, good to see you this morning. So the air strike on American backed rebels telling the U.S. to stop meddling. These words from President Putin. The thing is, ISIS is not just a Russian affair. This affects the U.S. so how does he tell the U.S. to stop meddling?

JILL DOUGHERTY, RESEARCHER, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY: (INAUDIBLE) I think it is a much broader thing. What he is saying essentially is the United States runs the world right now, and I thought it was really interesting that he did admit and very directly say that the U.S. is the only super power.

[06:50:02]

But in his world, his idea, is that that is a world that should not be controlled just by the United States, but Russia should have a place at the table. And it gets into the values, you know, what makes the United States tick, what are the things that the U.S. wants versus what Russia wants.

Russia wants to be at the table, and have a voice equal to that of the United States. And that's where you get into this issue of saying, you know, U.S. sets the rules and they shouldn't tell us what to do.

PAUL: So what do you think Russia's end game is here besides getting a seat at the table? Is there more? DOUGHERTY: Well there always is. But I think, you know, number one, there are very immediate objectives that Vladimir Putin has. Get rid of those economic sanctions. The sanctions that are hurting Russia, the sanctions that the United States is imposing, and the sanctions that Europe is imposing. That was really his mission when he was speaking to Fareed.

He wants the United States and Europe to stop the sanctions, let's get back to business. He never mentioned reason that the sanctions were imposed, and that is Ukraine. So that's number one.

And then longer, it really is his idea that Russia is back, and Russia is much stronger than it ever has been before. Russia is insurgent and wants a voice in almost any major issue around the world.

PAUL: He also talked about Donald Trump, saying that he welcomed Trump's wish to restore U.S./Russian relations. What do you make of that considering the fact that Donald Trump has not been elected? We haven't elected our next president yet.

DOUGHERTY: Yes. He kind of deafly turned that around. Essentially what he's saying is, look, Russia wants to get back to business. Let's forget all about this Ukraine stuff. Let's forget about these sanctions. Let's go back and work together.

And so he is making an overture to whoever the new president of the United States will be, and trying, I think to show, and probably on some level, genuinely, he wants a good relationship. This is not been good for Russia.

Oil prices are very low, and the sanctions are hurting. He does want to work with the United States on some level. But he doesn't want it on U.S. terms. He wants to be able to set some of that agenda too.

PAUL: Jill Dougherty, always so grateful to have your voice in these conversations. Thank you for being here.

DOUGHERTY: OK (ph).

PAUL: And be sure to watch Fareed Zakaria's "GPS" special. It is this morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. And later tonight you can watch the premiere of a new CNN series "DECLASSIFIED, UNTOLD STORIES OF AMERICAN SPIES," in what was then the Soviet Union, that's tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: Can they do it? Now if you're basketball fan, you know what it is, and who "they are." I'm talking about LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Can they come back -- thank you, Ohio. Can they come back after being down 3-1 in the finals to win the championship? Game seven tonight. Melissa Knowles has more on the historic night ahead.

MELISSA KNOWLES, CNN SPORTS: That's right. The Cavs are looking to make history, Victor. Basketball's two biggest stars, Stephen Curry and LeBron James, facing off tonight in the epic game that every player dreams about. We'll get you ready for tonight's Cavs/Warriors showdown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:56:56]

BLACKWELL: The NBA finals coming down to a winner take all game seven between the Warriors and Cavs.

PAUL: You know where I would like to be tonight?

BLACKWELL: Where?

PAUL: In Cleveland, to having a watch party. One of LeBron James best friend is having -- or friends are having a watch party in a gym. But I think --

(CROSSTALK)

KNOWLES: And how did you know that?

PAUL: I just looked at (INAUDIBLE).

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: You know what can I say? Melissa Knowles obviously here with the preview

KNOWLES: That's right. Good morning, guys.

There's only one game left on the basketball calendar, the NBA calendar that is, and it is for all the marbles. This will make history regardless of who wins. Not only will LeBron James and the Cavs be the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals. They are one victory away from ending Cleveland's 52-year sports championship drought.

In the meantime, unanimously MVP Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors are looking to cap their record setting regular season with a second straight championship. So who's going to win? Well, the so- called experts in Las Vegas, like the Warriors on their home floor by five points.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN CURRY, WARRIORS GUARD: We need our best basketball for 48 minutes to end the season and hopefully with a W.

LEBRON JAMES, CAVALIERS FORWARD: We put ourselves in a position to do something special. I mean, we all can -- you guys ask me the question, but you guys know the answers to them. If we win, we take care of business. That's something that our city hasn't had in a very long time. So that's the obvious, you know, you don't need me to sit up here and talk about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KNOWLES: So how much would you pay to sit courtside tonight? How about almost $50,000? That's right. A VIP ticket sold for $49,500 on Friday. That's according to "StubHub." They say it is the most expensive ticket ever resold for a seat not located in a suit. Now, get this. The buyer actually bought two of those seats.

PAUL: Wow.

KNOWLES: I know. I know. For that price, you can actually buy a three-bedroom house in Cleveland, well actually it's a suburb of Cleveland or a quarter acre lot in Oakland. No, house just a lot thought. Just saying.

PAUL: I'll take a seat on that floor in the gym. I don't even need a chair.

BLACKWELL: A $100,000 for two seats. I mean, I like basketball, but come on. Come on.

PAUL: And in my head, (INAUDIBLE) going, that's a lot of shoes.

BLACKWELL: That's a lot of shoes.

PAUL: Melissa, thank you so much.

KNOWLES: You're welcome.

PAUL: And thank you for starting your morning with us.

BLACKWELL: The next hour of "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I live in the neighborhood, I would have a bag ready.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dogs (INAUDIBLE) together and get my son together, and be ready to go if we have to.

TRUMP: If some of those wonderful people have guns strapped right here, right to their waist and goes boom, boom, you know what? That would have been a beautiful, beautiful sight, folks.

JEANNETTE MCCOY, ORLAND SHOOTING SURVIVOR: You can tell at that moment, it felt likes a war room.

CHRISTOPHER HANSEN, ORLANDO SHOOTING SURVIVOR: It went with the beat almost until you heard just too many shots. It was just bang, bang, bang.

ANGEL COLON, ORLANDO SHOOTING SURVIVOR: We started running, and unfortunately, I was shot about three times in my leg.

[07:00:01]

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESONDENT (voice-over): This is the (INAUDIBLE) neighborhood in central Fallujah. It was until day before yesterday under the control of ISIS.