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united states and all around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom" and i am rosemary church. just ahead. haitian police take swift action after the assassination of the country's president. plus, an exclusive-inside look at a rebel-training camp in myanmar. how recruits there are preparing to take on the military junta. and a devastating-covid milestone, as countries around the world struggle to fight the rapid spread of the delta variant. good to have you with us. well, dramatic, new developments in the assassination of the haitian president. haiti's envoy to the u.s. says police have killed four suspects, and arrested two others. and he says, they are foreigners. he had, previously, described them as mercenaries.

>> we can say for certain those -- those were professional killers. it was a well-orchestrated attack against the president. i wish i had known the motivations behind this. senseless act of killing. >> president jovenel moise was gunned down at his home, wednesday, under the cover of darkness. martin moise, the first lady, was also shot and has been airlifted to florida for treatment. she is, reportedly, in critical but stable condition. haiti is now under a state of siege. the president's assassination happened, against a backdrop of political instability, as well as extreme violence in the haitian capital. melissa bell breaks it down for us. >> reporter: the assassination brings to an end the turbulent rule of haiti's president, jovenel moise. but leaves the impoverished caribbean nation in turmoil. for months, there have been

protests around the country demanding moise -- the president held onto power, while the opposition claimed his continued rule was unconstitutional. his critics argued that, according to haiti's constitution, his five-year term as president started the day he was elected, rather than the day he took office. but moise argued it was a year later that marked the true beginning. both, the u.s. and the u.n. supported his claim to remain in power. but there had been widespread concern, when moise failed to hold legislative elections in 2019. leaving the country without a functioning government. and a constitutional referendum postponed, due to the coronavirus pandemic, still, hasn't taken place. moise's presidency was plagued with a number of other problems. u.n. officials say the country has been rocked by an uptick in kidnappings for ransom and a wave of criminal violence in recent months, fueled by armed gangs.

thousands were forced to flee their homes, as shootings and arson spread in june. the continued-political instability has left haiti's economy in shambles. the covid pandemic contributed to a contraction of nearly 4% of the nation's gdp, last year. and a spike in covid cases has prompted a new state of emergency. all of this, leading to a humanitarian crisis. according to the world bank, nearly 60% of haitians live below the poverty line. to make matters worse, haiti is prone to natural disasters. the country never fully recovered from the catastrophic-2010 earthquake that killed over 200,000 people. and in 2016, hurricane matthew left hundreds dead, and nearly 200,000 displaced. as the nation in the western hemisphere, haiti, has a long history of dictatorships and

coups. now, the assassination of its president leaves the country's future in doubt. melissa bell, cnn, paris. well, david was foreign-policy adviser for the campaign of former-u.s. president barack obama and has, also, worked for the u.n. and the u.s. state department. thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. >> so, haiti's envoy to the u.s. says police have killed four suspects, and arrested two others. and says they are foreigners. you knew and worked with the haitian president. what do you make of what we've learned, so far? >> well, we saw a clip from the ambassador, and he is talked a little bit about what happened. and we're learning more. i met with the president, two years ago, a couple of times in 2019. including, at the home where he was killed just a little over-24 hours ago. it's a tragic event. the president was imperilled,

even then, two years ago when i was, last, in haiti and things have spiralled downward, since then. there was a constitutional crisis, which you described. that, you know, many people in haiti wanted him to leave the presidency in february. he insisted he should stay another year. there was a security vacuum in haiti. security forces were not able to keep the streets safe. and any time the president did use the security forces, in order to put down protests, there ended up being more violence, deaths. and then, he was accused of not having proper control over the security forces. so, there's been an absence of safety in the country that has contributed to the instability, along with the political crisis. what everyone is wondering, i think, now, is, first of all, who is responsible for this? we're learning more. perhaps, some of the people, the suspects, have been killed or captured by the haitian

government. we want to know why they did this. this tragic attack on the president. and then, who will be the next president? who is going to be the leader of haiti until their elections? >> yes. certainly, those who have been arrested should be able to answer some of those questions. and of course, we can't speculate, at this juncture. but what will the assassination of the president mean for the country, going forward? and, of course, the transition of power? >> well, it's worse than the constitutional crisis even before the president was killed. there was a constitutional crisis. it's, also, put into question the succession. normally, under the haiti constitution, the head of the highest court in haiti would take over as president, if something incapacitated the president. but in this case, the highest -- the head of the -- the highest court, he passed away last month due to covid.

we have a acting-prime minister, who has asserted that he is, now, in control. but there are even questions there, because before president moise was shot and killed, he actually appointed a different person to be the prime minister. who was supposed to be sworn in. as a backdrop to all of this, we also have a parliament that is not meeting and that is not functioning. and the parliament, therefore, will not be able to ratify anyone to be the acting president. so, these are all questions that need to be addressed. haiti needs the help of the international community to move through this crisis, towards stability. >> right. and certainly, that transition of power will, certainly, need to be figured out. and that question answered. so, what can you tell us about president moise's work? what he stood for? and what he may have been working on that would have motivated his enemies to move to assassinate him?

>> well, the president was a businessman, before he became the president. he was a successful businessman. he -- but almost from the very beginning of his presidency, he was accused of corruption. he was accused of not being the -- the rightful president, although the u.s. government, and many other governments found, that he was demo democratically elected in a free and fair election, there were still those who criticized how he came to power. the biggest issue he was facing, though, is he wanted to amend the constitution. and he wanted to have a referendum on the amended constitution in september of this year. he felt that was important to get past the gridlock that he faces with the parliament being, basically, stopping the ratification of any government. but there are many, who thought he was consolidating power inside haiti. and those people were against the amending of the constitution. so, that was probably one of the biggest and most controversial

issues that he was working on, before he was tragically killed. >> david, thank you so much for joining us. we do appreciate it. >> thank you. well, the search-and-rescue mission at that south florida condo collapse is now a recovery mission. search crews paused, for a moment of silence, on wednesday. 54 bodies have been recovered. 86 people are, potentially, unaccounted for. officials say it was devastating to share the change in strategy with the loved ones of those, still, missing. but work at the site will proceed, at the same speed and intensity. >> this decision was not an easy one. as our hearts, still, hoped to find survivors. but our experience and expertise indicated that was no longer possible. this decision was not based on any, other reasons, except on

facts that emerged under the extent of this search-and-rescue operation. >> surfside, florida, may have been spared the worst of elsa. but new, tropical-storm warnings are in effect for north carolina and the mid-tatlantic states as the system moves across the southeastern u.s. high winds caused a tree to fall on two cars in jacksonville, florida, killing one person. heavy rain brought flooding across the state, and thousands of customers lost power. meanwhile, a suspected tornado has injured several people at the naval submarine base in kings bay, georgia. but no damage to any sensitive-military equipment or submarines. well, former-south african president is now in custody. police say he handed himself over, late wednesday, just before a midnight deadline when authorities would have arrested him. zuma was sentenced last week to 15 months in prison for contempt of court.

and cnn's david mackenzie is standing by, in johannesburg. he joins us now, live. good to see you, david. so, despite its significance, it could be a very short stay in prison, right, david? >> well, it could be. but i think it's a hugely significant moment, that the former president of south africa, jacob zuma, who you must remember, spent ten years in prison with nelson mandela before the dawn of democracy. is spending the night in prison last night and, again, tonight. there could be a -- there could be at least two scenarios that he gets released from prison even temporarily. but these were the scenes, late in the night, just 45 minutes or so before a deadline for police to arrest him after he blew past the deadline to hand himself over for contempt. 15 months in prison. he is scheduled to hold because he didn't go to a hearing at a commission, which he is central

to. there have been many years of jacob zuma avoiding culpability for his alleged corruption over many, different scandals. and he's denied that -- those allegations. but really, last night, late into the night, ended days of tension and speculation from the south african public that the president might go to prison. rosemary. >> all right. david mackenzie, bringing us the very latest on that. many thanks. well, three lions, two goals, and england are just one win away from the euro 2020 championship. pick dilly circus lived up to its name, as fans celebrated the team's 2-1 victory over denmark. more than 60,000 spectators were on hand at the stadium, as harry cane scored the winning goal on a penalty-kick rebound in extra time. there is still one major obstacle to an england championship. and that is italy. the teams go head to head in

london on sunday. well, months after the military coup in myanmar, resistance groups deep in the country's forest are preparing for battle against the junta. ahead, an exclusive report from one training camp. ♪

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a united nations human rights official is calling for tougher economic sanctions on myanmar to try to force the junta from power. the u.n. special rapporteur is calling on countries to target myanmar's oil and gas sector to halt revenue to the military. meantime, resistance groups are making their own plans to oust the junta. they are training for a civil war. sam kiley traveled deep into the jungle to get a firsthand-exclusive look at a training camp. and he joins us, now, live. good to see you, sam. so, of course, it is a dangerous and potentially deadly path but an indication of just how desperate some people are in myanmar. what did you find at this camp? >> well, rosemary, i think the -- the -- the first thing to take away from this is that, already, the united nations and other international groups and,

indeed, burmese-opposition leaders, are already talking about the scale of the bl bloodletting. particularly, of demonstrators in the urban areas, young students and academics, intellectuals, ordinary people who took to the streets to protest. now, large numbers of those, originally, are peaceful protestors are feeling they have no choice but to take up arms. and that means that they are looking at a much more bloody future. and this is what it looks like when they start their training. >> reporter: a grueling journey through jungle, eventually, revealing this. a rebel base in myanmar. camp victoria. a major headquarters in a nationwide uprising against the country's military junta.

some 200 volunteers from around the country have come seeking the military skills that they want to fight a regime that seized power in february, and has brutally dashed hopes of democracy here. they're villagers, young workers, and many of whom are students who protested the coup, and now believe that they must take up arms against it. >> sad. it's very sad. they killed many people of our country. this can't -- this can give me the the power to fight the military junta. >> the instructors are members of the chin national front. a long-standing separatist army that is now in alliance with many others under myanmar's national unity government in exile. these recruits are on day three of their training. they are only going to get 45 days training. that includes drill, assault courses, and above all, weapons

training before they are going to be thrown back into the fight. rebel leaders know more blood will flow. >> there are more than 15,000, already, and still coming. and still, organizing. i mean, mobilizing. and that is what -- for them. >> so it really is a civil war, isn't it? >> leading to the civil war. now, we see the kind of attack but within months, it will transform into, like, a conventional-civil war. >> reporter: recent fighting with the the junta forces has meant that reinforcements have been rushed to defensive lines. but the rushed training has dangerous consequences. >> this young man, his comrade told me, was blown up by an

improvised-explosive device that he was trying to plant as part of the defensive perimeter around this camp and around some of the villages that are threatened by the government army. rail already, refugees on the move leaving these idyllic villages for hillside camps. she told me that the women, children, and elders fled their village when they heard the sounds of fighting. many men stayed behind, but everyone fears the military for its brutality. the chin national front says it's trained 3,000 people at camp victoria. those who have graduated have been, immediately, deployed. most of their weapons are bird hunting, homemade shotguns. stored with an open fire to keep the damp off. they believe that this is a just fight. but they are short of weapons and rushed through training.

and it will take more than righteousness and shotguns to topple a military regime. and as the conflict continues, the numbers of dead will rise to a level when, eventually, people may start to lose count. now, rosemary, there may be a fairly grim conclusion there but that is the conclusion, really, that the leaders, particularly of these ethnic-armed organizations in myanmar, acknowledge. there are many of these, there are 17 at least, some of whom are in this alliance against the government. all of whom, are against the government, when or not they are in alliance with one another. some of whom raise their money through nefarious means, drug smuggling, and other-criminal activities. and there is a really strong concern, really, that myanmar is on the brink of national failure, effectively, rosemary. >> it is very grim situation, indeed. sam kiley bringing us the latest on the situation in myanmar. appreciate it.

well, still ahead here on cnn. the afghan government tries to push back taliban forces with provincial capitals hanging in the balance. we will have the latest on the conflict. and later, the global-covid death toll crosses, yet, another somber milestone, as countries rush to vaccinate against a highly-contagious variant. of pure terror... ...no, no, the smile... ...and that second right before the first tear comes... ...what?! pizza on a bagel-we can all agree with that. do you want a hug? fine, no one leaves the table until your finished. fine, we'll sleep here. ♪ it's the easiest because it's the cheesiest. kraft. for the win win.

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[ "me and you" by barry louis polisar ] ♪ me and you just singing on the train ♪ ♪ me and you listening to the rain ♪ ♪ me and you we are the same ♪ ♪ me and you have all the fame we need ♪ ♪ indeed, you and me are we ♪ ♪ me and you singing in the park ♪ ♪ me and you, we're waiting for the dark ♪ welcome back to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church and this is "cnn newsroom." well, fighting in afghanistan continues to intensify, as the taliban push for territorial

gains in the north. on wednesday, taliban forces invaded the capital of the northwestern province. but the governor posted a video online claiming the city was safe. despite gunfire in the background, and reports of a prison break. farther east, afghan special forces attempted to secure the provincial capital, as taliban fighters reached the gates of the city. most districts are, already, under taliban control. for more on this, we are joined by cnn military analyst, retired-u.s. major general, james spider marks. thank you, sir, for talking with us. >> you bet. my pleasure. >> so, we know that taliban fighters are claiming more territory, each day. and the afghan military's struggling to fend them off. with most u.s. troops, now, out of afghanistan, what threat do you think the taliban pose to the country? and its people, right now? >> well, it's clear that the

taliban will resume control of the central government, at some point. it seems pretty obvious. let's bear in mind, if you go back in history, the taliban ruled from 1996 until the u.s. and international invasion of 2001, following what took place on 9/11. and at that time, when the taliban was in control, they controlled no more than about 30% of the countryside. so, about 10 to 12 of the 34 provinces that exist in afghanistan. we see that, today. they're at about the same size, in terms of the control. so it's clear, the taliban have begun to reclaim and reassert themselves with a pretty fast clip based on the departure of the u.s. forces and the international forces from afghanistan. but bear in mind, you know, when you look back at our very long history over the last two decades in afghanistan, we tried to find some accommodations with

the taliban to go against and to resist al qaeda. because of this great, ungoverned space in afghanistan. i mean, al qaeda, as well as isis, can exist in afghanistan, as well as the taliban. so i think the taliban will, most certainly, take charge in afghanistan. that's not good news. but clearly, we have to look at the very large picture, as a result of two decades in afghanistan, we tried to overreach. we tried to establish a new nation afghanistan. the afghan people and the government just simply weren't ready for that. >> u.s. troops left bagram airbase, about a week ago, cutting off the power as they went and taking all the equipment in the command center there. it's no longer operational. so, what will the afghan military do with that? and what happens if the taliban sees that location? >> well, the taliban most certainly will. i mean, we -- we have to be frank with ourselves. zero means zero. the u.s. presence may dwindle

down to nothing. it's, still, the status of the u.s. embassy is not certain right now. what that will look like, when we ultimately wave good-bye, um, i would hope that we would be able to maintain a presence in kabul. but again, not certain what that will look like. and the taliban will take over. i mean, they'll take control of what they can. and -- and in many cases, confronting the afghan military. the afghan military has just melted away. >> and president biden will talk about the u.s. troop withdrawal from afghanistan, in just a few hours from now. what does he need to say? and what are you expecting him to say? >> i think the president has an obligation to say that the united states has run its course in afghanistan over the course of two decades. we have made a tremendous sacrifice, in an effort to try to build afghanistan. and put some form of governance in place, that would allow them to stand on their own. they are now going to be tested,

clearly, by the taliban. and i'm not optimistic that we're not going to see a government in kabul that's not run by the taliban. i think this clearly is a path that we're on, going forward. and the president has an obligation to square with the american people. this needs to be an internal discussion to the american people saying, look. we gave it our best shot. we are there for the afghan government but the afghan government has got to be able to stand up. and if it ends up being the taliban, okay. what is that going to look like? we are going to be there to ensure that the remainder of afghanistan doesn't turn back into the ungoverned space that it was, before 9/11. that's the big challenge. >> general james marks, thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thanks, rosemary. more than 4 million people, worldwide, have now died from covid-19. this latest milestone, a

reminder of the devastating-human toll of this pandemic. according to johns hopkins university, there were nearly 8,000 deaths, per day, globally, over the past week. a pace that's 57% higher than this time, last year. and as the dangerous-delta variant now spreads, the head of the world health organization has this warning. >> there will be a perilous point in this pandemic. some countries with high-vaccination coverage are now planning to roll out booster shots. in the coming months. and are dropping public-health/social measures and relaxing, as though the pandemic is already over. however, compounded by fast-moving variants and shocking inequity in vaccination, far too many countries, in every region of the world, are seeing sharp spikes in cases and hospitalization.

indonesia is expanding its coronavirus restrictions after seeing record numbers of cases and deaths over the past week. on wednesday, the country's covid-19 task force reported upwards of 34,000 new infections. and more than 1,000 deaths. a daily record there. the government says it's mobilizing all resources to deal with the latest surge. many hospitals are so overwhelmed, patients are being asked to provide their own oxygen tanks. india's prime minister has dismissed a number of ministers in a massive-cabinet reshuffle following widespread criticism of the government's handling of the pandemic. several members of india's ruling party were sworn in at the presidential palace on wednesday. replacing those who were let go. it's narendra modi's first cabinet reshuffle since he was re-elected in 2019. india suffered through a brutal-second wave of covid, in april and may.

and many blame the government's mismanagement and lack of preparedness. a strong explosion rattles the port of dubai, followed by a fire onboard a cargo ship anchored there. our reporter is standing by, near the scene, and she will join us live.

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customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. a fire that started after an explosion at the port of dubai is now under control. the massive blast reportedly jolted buildings, as far as 15 kilometers or 9 miles away. and social media video showed a large fireball lighting up the sky above the port. for more, eleni giokos is standing by in dubai, near the world's ninth-largest port and she joins us now, live. so, eleni, what more are you learning about this explosion and fire? >> yeah. i mean, let's take a step back

here. at 11:45 p.m., on wednesday night, i -- i felt and i heard a very intense explosion. in fact, i was in dubai marina, which is around-15 kilometers away from jebel ali port, that is behind me here. and i felt my -- my windows tremor. and i wasn't really sure where it came from. a few minutes later, we heard that it came from the port. now, authorities, immediately, said that a fire broke out on a containership that was carrying cleaning materials. and as we saw from the social-media posts, this was absolutely intense. when you are talking about that fireball that is visible in the sky. and so many eyewitnesses describing the -- the sheer intensity that was felt, very far away. people that live closer to this area described the -- the -- the -- the actual explosion as if it was going to come through the windows. now, authorities took around-40

minutes to contain and put out the fire. no injuries and fatalities were reported. what we're hearing, this morning, from one of our sources is that it happened at terminal 1. you have got to understand, terminal 1 and terminal 2 are, by far, the busiest of the four terminals at jebel ali port. and importantly, here, it carries incredible capacity. a source tells us that the container was marked with a warning of flammable materials. remember, here, that the government says that it contained cleaning materials. what we know, in terms of the origin of the ship, we don't know where it came from. but we do know that it's owned by a business coming from the komoras islands. we still have a lot of questions here, rosemary. because of the intensity but we know terminal one is operational. that no operations were shut down because of this blast. >> all right. thank you, so much, for keeping us up to date on that. i'm sure that blast scared a lot of people. eleni giokos, bringing us the very latest on that. well, do what makes you

happy. that is the motto of the arab world's first-woman astronaut. nora, officially, met the public for the first time wednesday since making history in april when she joined the uae's space team. she was chosen from more than 4,000 emiraties, including 400 women. thank you so much for joining us on "cnn newsroom." if you are an international viewer, world sport is next. if you are watching from here, in the united states, i'll be right back with more news. stick around. sts. 100% online car buying. car vending machines. and now, putting you in control of your financing. at carvana, get personalized terms, browse for cars that fit your budget, then customize your down payment and monthly payment. and these aren't made-up numbers. it's what you'll really pay, right down to the penny. whether you're shopping or just looking. it only takes a few seconds, and it won't affect your credit score. finally! a totally different way to finance your ride. only from carvana. the new way to buy a car.

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just two months after bill gates and his wife announced their divorce, the charitable foundation that bears the billionaire's name is now laying out a contingency plan, if the two can't continue to work together. they are giving themselves a two-year trial period. but if they can't continue, as co-chairs of the gates foundation, bill gates would remain in control, while melinda french gates would resign her position as co-chair and trustee. she would receive personal resources, from gates, for her own philanthropic work.

well, the white house says there's been no-official blame attached to a massive, new ransomware attack or the hacking of a vendor for the republican national committee. but the white house emphasized it's ready to take action, if necessary. and as alex marquardt reports, the evidence is pointing to the usual suspects. >> reporter: an i.t. provider used by the republican national committee was attacked and they said the hackers involved tried to gain access to some of their customers who store things in the cloud. now, the rnc is one of their customers but it's unclear whether they were, in fact, the target. "the new york times" is reporting that the attack on this vendor, its name is sinex, and potentially of the rnc, was done by hackers from russia's foreign-intelligence service, the svr. this is the same group of hackers who, in the past, have attacked the democratic national committee, back in 2015. and carried out the massive solarwinds breach last year.

now, the rnc is insisting that there was no-successful breach of their network. they say that, after they were told that sinex had been attacked, they cut off all access and the attackers were not able to get inside or steal any of their data. we heard, from their chief of staff, who said, in part, our team worked with microsoft to conduct a review of our systems and after a thorough investigation, no rnc data was accessed. we will continue to work with microsoft, as well as federal law enforcement officials on the matter. now, we know from the white house that the rnc is working with the fbi and the cyberagency known as sisa. and all this comes at the same time as another, massive ransomware attack. one of the biggest we have ever seen, over this past holiday weekend. which has affected businesses around the world. the russian criminal-hacking group, called revil, has claimed responsibility. they have demanded, initially, at least, $70 million in payment. so we have these two

side-by-side incidents being blamed on russian hackers, both, from the state and criminal. and it is often hard to tell where one stops, and where the other begins. all of this, raising pressure on president joe biden to respond. to get russia to stop this malicious activity. just weeks after this issue was front and center with his summit with president vladimir putin in geneva. alex marquardt, cnn, washington. former-u.s. president donald trump has taken his fight with big tech to the courts, as he files class-action lawsuits targeting facebook, twitter, and youtube. >> i am filing, as the lead-class representative, a major class-action lawsuit against the big-tech giants, including facebook, google, and twitter. as well as their ceos, mark zuckerberg, sundar, and jack

dorsey. three real nice guys. our case will prove this censorship is unlawful. it's unconstitutional. and it's completely un-american. >> this announcement comes, after the company's removed trump's access to their platforms in the wake of the january 6th capitol riot. tech companies are legally permitted to run their platforms, as they see fit. and in the past, courts have dismissed similar lawsuits. one law professor explains why this one is likely to fail, as well. >> he is lying about the constitution. he's lying about freedom of speech. he's made up his own version of the constitution. it's an alice in wonderland lawsuit. its purpose is, obviously, to get attention to distract attention from investigations into the insurrection. and his own responsibility. i got e-mail, myself, today, of all things, from what -- he calls himself president donald

trump. asking me for money for the lawsuit and asking me, and i'm sure others got this thing as well, to join his class action. but it's a fake class action. it's a class of one. the only person in the class is the former president who incited an insurrection. it would be a joke if it were not so tragic. but clearly there is no merit in this lawsuit. it won't get anywhere. but predictably, like many of his other scams, it will raise a lot of money and distract attention from real problems. the first amendment is not a provision of law that restricts what private companies can do to people who don't comply with their terms of service. if you don't think facebook was right to get rid of the president, you know, you can complain about facebook. that doesn't give the president or anybody else a right to sue facebook. there is a legal provision that

in fact immunizes facebook and other social media platforms for kicking people off in a way that they don't agree with. >> donald trump's former personal attorney is running out of places to practice law. on wednesday, rudy giuliani had his law license suspended in washington, d.c. that follows a similar move in new york, where a court said it put his license on hold because he lied to promote trump's conspiracies about a stolen election. under the ruling in washington, giuliani is forbidden from practicing law there until the new york case is resolved. the decision is another blow for the former u.s. attorney and mayor of new york. espn is scrambling to contain a controversy involving one of its reporters that's overshadowing its coverage of the national basketball association's championship. the sports network sidelined

rachel nichols from covering the nba finals after audio was leaked of her suggesting a black colleague had landed a job because of her race. cnn's brian stelter has the details. >> reporter: the biggest story of the nba finals is off the court and on tv as a candid and cringy recording royals espn. the "new york times" revealing the tape of host rachel nichols, who is white griping to a friend that the network gave a coveted job to black reporter, maria taylor, instead of her. >> i wish maria all the success in the world. she covers football. she covers football. you need to give her more things to do because your feeling pressure about your crappy long time record on diversity, which i know personally from the female side of it. go for it. just find it somewhere else. you're not going find it with me and take my thing away. >> nichols thought she was speaking privately, but her

words were beamed back to espn for a camera set up for her live shots. the recording, which she called a spy video, made the rounds inside espn last summer, stirring racial tensions amid a nationwide reckoning about racism. >> this is a really unfortunate situation. >> reporter: now it's public. and even the nba commissioner is weighing in. >> i think it's particularly unfortunate that two women in the industry are pitted against each other. >> reporter: espn management is coming under scrutiny. >> it's a huge mess for espn. >> fierce espn critic clay travis, the founder of a conservative sports media company outkick calling nichols a hypocrite. >> many of the super woke white people love the idea of diversity and inclusion as long as their own jobs aren't impacted by that diversity and inclusion push. >> reporter: others are pointing out that this tape leaked right as taylor's contract is about to expire, possibly giving her more leverage. she is not commenting, but the

times quoted her complaints citing insensitivity to racial. being a black woman at this company has taken its toll physically and mentally. nichols is apologizing. >> for disappointing those i heart, particularly maria taylor. >> reporter: and saying she is grateful to be on the team. espn pulled her from sideline duties and appointed malika andrews who is black, and it was taylor who introduced andrews on tuesday night. >> now it's my pleasure to welcome in malika andrews who will be on the sidelines for the first time in our career. >> reporter: now as they speculate about nichols and taylor's futures at espn, the nba commissioner is speaking out against cancel culture. >> people recognize that people make mistakes, that careers shouldn't be erased, you know, by a single comment. >> reporter: brian stelter, cnn, new york. well, fear of heights is pretty common, but not for some athletes in sweden with nerves

of steel. >> ahhh! >> but noisy all the same. this is one of four men who crossed 2.1 kilometers on a tightrope at a height of 600 meters. the first to get across on saturday. >> so when i got closer to the anchor of this line, i screamed loudly. i don't know why. it's a mix of emotions. >> the four german high-wire walkers are a team in the extreme sport called highlining, and they said a new world record. it took them two days just to rig the line. the valley they traversed in swedish lapland is also a popular hiking spot. [ bagpipes playing ] thousands of health care and essential workers honored in the streets of new york on wednesday. the city held a ticker tape

parade to celebrate the hometown heroes who worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. while new york city was one of the first covid epicenters in the u.s., it now reports its lowest rate of infections since tracking began. well, for tokyo residents not excited about the olympics, at least there is a giant cat to watch. a billboard on a busy street features a giant 3-d cat that appears to be perched on a ledge. the idea was conceived by local businesses who wanted to cheer people up during this pandemic. the realistic-looking cat seems to have a calming effect on passersby. i'm rosemary church. i'll be back with more "cnn newsroom" in just a moment. don't go anywhere.

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oroweat small slice. i wonder if this has the same quality ingredients as the original whole grains bread? great question, dad. and it does. it has all the same nutritious deliciousness as the original slice but only a little bit smaller. just like timmy here. my name's lucas. oroweat small slice. i wonder if this has the same quality ingredients as the original whole grains bread?

great question, dad. and it does. it has all the same nutritious deliciousness as the original slice but only a little bit smaller. just like timmy here. my name's lucas. hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom," and i'm rosemary church. just ahead, haiti goes after the assassins behind the killing of the president. the threatens to push the impoverished country into even more turmoil. in florida, the tough but inevitable decision to give up hoping for survivors two weeks after the condo tower collapse. and targeted by the taliban for helping americans. afghan translators fear the u.s.