in business is a big day. we'll keep you ready for what's next. get started with a great offer and ask how you can add comcast business securityedge. plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a $500 prepaid card when you upgrade. call today. we're just hours away from an historic space launch, as richard branson aims to go where no billionaire has gone, before. questions over who's in charge, in haiti, after the assassination of the country's president. and argentina's lionel messi finally captures an international championship leading his home country to victory in the copa america final. well com to those of you watching us here in the united

states, canada, and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom." we are just a few hours away from what could be the next step in the future of space tourism. richard branson, the billionaire founder of virgin galactic hopes to make history. he and five other crew members are getting ready to take a short suborbital flight. he'll be the first billionaire to travel into space on a vehicle, he helped fund. even his fellow billionaire, jeff bezos, is wishing branson and his team well, as the amazon founder prepares for his own, cosmic date with destiny on his own rocket, later this month. now, be sure to tune into cnn's live coverage of the flight, which is scheduled to take off at 9:00 a.m., eastern time. branson's flight will be a first for tycoons who want to open up

space travel to paying customers. rachel crane has more on that. >> reporter: the countdown is on. and in just hours, entrepreneur richard branson hopes to become the first person to ride a self-funded rocket into su suborbital space. >> astronaut 001, richard branson. >> reporter: a launch, nearly two decades in the making. tell me, how do you feel? >> um, well, i managed to avoid getting excited for 17 years, since we've started building spaceships and mother ships and space bots and all these things. and i finally got the call from our chief engineer saying that every single box had been ticked on the safety aspect. and that i was -- um -- um -- would i like to go to space? and i hit -- i hit the roof, i was so excited. >> reporter: the virgin galactic rocket-powered space plane is set to take off sunday from new mexico. the mother ship will release the

s spaceship at around 40,000 feet. the rocket will ignite and take branson, two pilots, and three others on a 2,400-mile-per-hour ride, more than 50 miles up to touch the inner edge of space, as defined by the u.s. military and nasa. the crew will experience a few minutes of weightlessness, before gliding back to earth. >> when you are up there, the spaceship will turn -- turn over and -- and these enormous windows, one's going to be able to float around and look back at earth. >> reporter: if successful, the space barren will edge out fellow billionaire and world's richest man, jeff bezos, who is set to ride his own company's rocket into space, in the coming days. the two men have jockeyed for the astronomical-bragging rights, that come with being first. branson has insisted there's no space race with bezos, and that the missions are different. >> the kind of experience you're going to get with the two -- the two companies will -- will -- are -- are almost as different as chalk and cheese. so, we don't see ourself as a direct competitor. >> two, one.

>> reporter: while bezos's flight will be after branson's, his rocket system, "new shepherd," will go even higher, past the kacarmen line which is the line internationally recognized to be the demarcation in space. tweeting their rocket was, quote, designed to fly above the carmen line. so, none of our astronauts have an asterisk next to their name. >> if you fly at 50 miles or 62 miles, you're in space. i mean, you're not going to notice the difference between those 12 miles. neither of these vehicles go into orbit, by the way. they touch space, and then they come right back down. >> reporter: both space companies have had successful suborbital test flights over the past decade. but with space travel comes inherent risk. in 2014, a co-pilot for virgin galactic was killed during a test flight of a previous model of their spacecraft. >> i like to say that you can do risky things, safely, if you know the risks you are taking. you know the controls you have in place. and you verify that they are active. and -- and we do just that. i don't think the risk of this

flight is -- is high. it's not zero. >> two, one, zero. and liftoff. >> reporter: in the ten years since the launch of atlantis, nasa's final space-shuttle mission, the privatization of space flight has, quickly, expanded. today, the commercial aerospace company, spacex, founded by yet another billionaire, elon musk, regularly takes nasa astronauts as it flies into orbit at a fraction of the cost of the space shuttle. so far, nasa has been supportive of the billionaires' endeavors, especially after the successes of spacex. >> we are seeing the result of these billionaires, that you call them, putting their wealth into the research and development of a space program. we're seeing a lot of advancing of technology, which is good for our country. it's good for building american jobs, as well. >> reporter: if sunday's mission is successful, it could launch, yet, a new era of space travel

and the final frontier could, soon, open to space tourism. so far, hundreds of people have signed up for future virgin galactic flights. some paying more than $200,000, each. branson hopes that someday will be soon. >> i've had to wait almost a lifetime to be able to go into space. hopefully, we can speed that process up for -- for many, many others. >> billion-dollar view. >> reporter: here at space port america, they are in their final stages of preparation for this hotly-anticipated space flight. but it's important to remember that this is, still, a test flight. virgin galactic is taking extra-safety precautions, as a result. all the passengers will be wearing parachutes, and supplemental oxygen will be onboard. in new mexico, i'm rachel crane. earlier, my colleague michael holmes spoke with retired astronaut, leroy chiao, and he explained what these space travelers are likely to experience when they reach the edge of space. here's what he said.

>> this will be a very exciting adventure for all of them. and when they get up into space, even before, just approaching space, but they will get that view of the earth limb. the -- the atmosphere being lit up by the sunlight glowing these wonderful shades, bright shades of blue. and then, when they unstrap and get out of their seats, they are going to get to look down at the earth and see all the beautiful colors. and it's -- it's a pretty awe-inspiring moment, you know, was for me. the very first time i flew into space. those first-few moments were really special. suborbital flight is a lot easier than orbital flight. you know, orbital flight, you are going up to 17,500 miles an hour to get into orbit. and in this case, you're -- you know, you're going around mock three. so, you know, a lot slower, lot less energy. but you will get the experience of what it's like to be in space, and you will get the experience of weightlessness. and for a few minutes, anyway. and you will get to see that beautiful view of the earth. so i think it really helps to get more people having that

experience and hope, perhaps, experiencing what is now being called the overview effect. where, you know, that perspective is -- is a bit life changing. >> and branson posted this on twitter, a short time ago. he says, my mission statement is to turn the dream of space travel into a reality for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone. a special unit of colombian police officers is now in haiti to help investigate the assassination of president jovenel moise. 26 of the 28 people suspected in the killing are colombian nationals. authorities say several are retired members of the colombian army, who traveled to haiti over the past few months. meanwhile, confusion over who, exactly, is running the nation has mounted, since wednesday's killing. cnn's matt rivers has the latest from the haitian capital. >> reporter: well, the manhunt here in haiti continues, in earnest, for the remaining suspects in the assassination of haiti's president. with haitian authorities not

really having updated their official numbers, in a little while, now. 20 suspects have been detained. three suspects have been killed, officially. and five remain on the loose, at this time. we know that there's 2 -- 28 suspects, in all. 26 of which are colombian nationals. two of which are haitian-americans. but that's about all the information that we really have from haitian authorities that's vorl very solid. what we don't have is a motive. who financed it? who armed them? how long have they been in this country before the assassination took place? that's all answers that we don't have, right now. and in the absence of official information, there is a lot of theories floating around the haitian public. about why and how this was allowed to take place. meanwhile, the political instability in this country continues, in earnest. it was on friday night that haiti's senate elected the senate president to serve as the

interim president of haiti overall. the swearing-in ceremony was supposed to take place, according to the senate, sometime during the day, on saturday. that didn't happen and it was in the evening, on saturday, that the senate president tweeted out that the swearing-in ceremony had been postponed, without really elaborating as to why that is. it's also not clear that had that happened, other political factions all around the country would have expressly recognized that fact. it just goes to show how unstable, right now, the political climate is here, in haiti. this is a place that political unrest, it -- it's not something that hasn't happened for a long time. there are a lot of protests, over politics, that happen in this country. some of them do turn violent. that hasn't happened, yet. but we are going to watch and see how this plays out over the coming days and weeks. matt rivers, cnn, port-au-prince, haiti. aid groups are, also, sounding the alarm about escalating violence in haiti.

unicef estimates about a third of haitian children are in urgent need of emergency aid and that includes medicine, food, and clean water. the agency says the rising violence is making it harder for aid groups to provide assistance. now, this all comes as covid-19 is spiking in haiti. it's one of the few countries that has yet to start vaccinating residents. in afghanistan, another link to the outside world may have fallen to the taliban. the militants say they have cut off a key highway to pakistan, as they lay siege to kandahar. cnn's anna coren reports from kabul. >> reporter: the taliban is continuing its offensive across afghanistan targeting strategic road and border links as an embattled afghan security forces desperately tries to hold ground. the militants claim to have cut the main highway between the southern city of kandahar and the border with pakistan. saying that all army outposts in a nearby town have been overrun. they, also, claim to have the city of kandahar, the birthplace of the taliban, under siege.

in recent days, the taliban has taken control of one of the country's main-trading gateways with iran. the dry port is where millions of dollars worth of fuel and supplies cross, every day. customs officials, also, confirm the militants took control of a border crossing with turkmenistan. the afghan ministry of defense said its forces had killed almost 200 taliban fighters, in 24 hours, in operations across afghanistan. and will continue ground offensives and air strikes to recapture lost territory. as the fighting rages, the u.s. special representative for afghanistan reconciliation is, still, campaigning for peace talks. he is traveling to qatar, pakistan, and uzbekistan, to meet with regional stakeholders in an attempt to advance these stalled-peace talks. but many here, in afghanistan, are convinced the taliban is not interested in peace or sharing power. anna coren, cnn, kabul.

and in afghanistan, australia has completed its full troop withdrawal. that's according to australian defense minister peter dutton. he told sky news australia, the withdrawal finished in recent weeks ahead of a september deadline. meanwhile, the u.s. is investigating an indirect-fire attack in eastern syria on saturday. it happened near on area with oil and gas fields. it's one of several locations in syria where u.s. troops operate to help local-partner forces fight against isis. a u.s. defense official says no one was hurt in the attack. now, it comes about two weeks after president joe biden ordered air strikes on iranian-backed militia groups along the syria-iraq border region. still ahead on "cnn newsroom." with students across the u.s. set to return to the classroom, soon. the cdc has new guidance on how to re-open safely. coming up, why the agency isn't recommending mandatory vaccines.

and a coronavirus emergency with the olympic games just days away. how are organizers, the residents, and the athletes responding? well, we'll go live to tokyo, in a moment. stay with us. (screaming & laughter) ♪ ♪ (sounds of car doors closing) (crash sound & tires squealing) (phone chimes) this is onstar. we've detected a crash from your phone. is anyone injured? i don't think so. good. help is on the way. is there anyone i can call for you? my dad. okay, i'm calling him now.

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the u.s. is experiencing a surge of new coronavirus cases and it's posing a danger to unvaccinated americans. for the first time since may the country has recorded 20,000 new cases for several days, in a row. health experts fear cases may keep trending higher, because fewer than half of americans are fully vaccinated. the biggest clusters of unvaccinated people in the u.s. are in the southeast and midwest. but not exclusively. los angeles county is reporting exponential growth in case, jumping 165% over the past week. now, questions about the pandemic are looming large over u.s. schools as they prepare to re-open later this year. on friday, the cdc released new guidelines calling on schools to prioritize in-person learning. while they are urging everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated, the agency says decisions about a vaccine mandate should be left up to local officials. the president of new hampshire's

largest teachers' union says that's the right call. >> a mandate, i think, and we believe, is going just a little bit too far. new hampshire, right now, has about 60% of its adult population vaccinated. and about 65% have at least one dose. if you put the vaccinations back, you know, with all the other mitigation procedures that we've been recommending and advocating for, all along. handwashing. proper-cleaning techniques. proper ventilation. mask wearing for those unvaccinated. at this point, we really don't feel that a mandate is actually in the best interest of new hampshire educators or the parents, you know, right now, for them to choose. >> the agency is also encouraging schools to layer their safety precautions. that means social distancing and masks will, likely, still, be a priority in many districts. still, cnn medical analyst, dr. leana wen, says vaccines are the monst effective way to make sure schools can re-open safely. >> i think it's important for us to take a step back, and talk about why it is that we get

vaccinations, in the first place. because i think, somehow, there has been this understanding that vaccination is just about you. and yes, it's true. vaccination, of course, protects the individual, very well, against getting -- getting covid-19 and getting severely ill. but we, also, get vaccinated to protect people around us. so, because we know that there is a -- a risk of breakthrough infection. so even if you are vaccinated, you could still get infected. it's the safest thing that's there is for everyone around you, even if you are vaccinated, to also be vaccinated, as well. >> the delta variant is, also, causing problems in other parts of the world, especially the asia pacific region. new cases are on the rise in several countries. and russia just hit a new record-number of deaths in a day. governments are instituting tighter restrictions and struggling to get enough people vaccinated. michael holmes takes a look. lining up in fiji for the vaccine. that spot in line, all the more important after the prime

minister announced the country's new no-jab-no-job policy. public servants could be fired if they are not fully vaccinated by november. and private-sector employees face hefty fines for failing to comply. countries across asia cracking down to try to contain alarming outbreaks of the virus. seoul, raising its prevention measures to level four. its highest level, ever, just short of a full lockdown. a top-health official warning, new cases could surpass 2,000 infections a day, by the the end of the month. the next two weeks of strict social distancing meant to slow that spread. >> translator: i did not expect this massive outbreak, as it's already been a while since we started vaccinations. so i'm quite surprised by this sudden surge. >> reporter: grocery stores in bangkok crowded with shoppers over the weekend. new restrictions, now, in place there, too. including a curfew, from

9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. that some people say is too little, too late. >> translator: the government does everything so slow. if they really want to impose a lockdown, they should have done it a lot sooner. >> reporter: in hard-hit jakarta, many people more concerned with how to bury their dead, rather than what shops are open. ambulances line up to pick up free coffins, distributed by the government from the back of a van. free face masks, also, being distributed in myanmar. as crowds push and scuffle to get the coveted supplies. new cases have shot up, across the country, in the past month. forcing stay-at-home orders in some major cities and townships. and some hospitals to run out of beds. sydney, australia, also, under lockdown. officials there warning it could get worse, before it gets better. the delta variant, moving faster than they can keep up with. >> i think what we see is chains of transmission and we're having

difficulty getting ahead of those chains. >> reporter: getting ahead of this virus, all the more difficult when so many places across asia are, already, behind. michael holmes, cnn. in just a matter of hours, tokyo will be under a new state of emergency due to a surging coronavirus outbreak. new infections are spreading with the olympic games less than two weeks away. officials have taken the unprecedented step of banning spectators at the vast majority of events. they are waiting to decide on whether to allow fans at the paralympics, in august. selina wang is live in tokyo for us. selina, what's the latest there? >> well, kim, i think there is a lot of frustration here. this is going to be the fourth state of emergency since the pandemic began. instead of the usual olympic spirit, instead tokyo is going to be under a state of emergency. restaurants are, once again, banned from serving alcohol. and people are urged to stay at home with spectators banned from 97% of olympic events.

so certainly, not the usual excitement that you would see leading up to the olympics. those stands are, largely, going to be empty. it's going to be an extraordinary sight to see. people are concerned here about the spread of covid-19 in japan. cases, once again, surging here in tokyo. the prime minister warning about the further spread of the delta variant. there have been several demonstrations held in tokyo and around japan, in recent days. and i attended one a few days ago, and was speaking to, both, protestors and residents and they are anxious leading up to these games. and for the protestors, especially, a lot of anger, kim, directed at the international olympic committee as those officials start to arrive. they see that organization as plowing ahead with these games for their own profit, at the expense of the japanese public's health. a big concern for medical experts, even though officials say the majority of olympic participants are going to be vaccinated, is the low-vaccination rate, kim, here in japan. still, less than 20% of the

population here has been fully vaccinated. lot of residents i speak to are frustrated that they, still, have not been able to get a vaccine, while olympic participants are being prioritized with the games just days away, now, kim. it's still unclear if we are going to see that public sentiment here turn, once those games begin. >> all right. thanks so much, selina wang, in tokyo. appreciate it. the questions europeans are having to deal with now. weather. and how to re-open? covid-19 cases are picking up, again, and the last thing the continent wants right now is another outbreak. cyril vanier is in london for us. >> reporter: a rise in coronavirus infections fueled by the highly-contagious delta variant is forcing european countries to face uncomfortable choices as they open up. the netherlands u-turned on saturday. reimposing restrictions on nightclubs and restaurants just two weeks after society, mostly, re-opened. clubs shut down, again, as the government found that nightlife

was driving the infections. and while the dutch closed their nightclubs, the french just opened theirs on friday. virtually, all restrictions have now been lifted in france. but the president is expected to address the nation, on monday, and with infections starting to creep back up, the french press is speculating that new measures could be on the table. countries are racing to immunize their population. 44% of adults in the european union are fully vaccinated and good news. the eu is no longer experiencing delivery shortfalls. the european union has now supplied member states with enough doses to fully immunize 70% of the adult population. so now, it's all about getting shots into arms, as fast as possible. cyril vanier, cnn, london. australia is reporting its first covid-19 death since april. a woman from sydney, who was in her 90s, died on saturday. that brings the country's total-reported deaths to 911.

sydney is currently under lockdown, until at least july 16th because of an uptick in cases. all right. coming up on "cnn newsroom." lionel messi wins his first major title with argentina. we will have the highlights of their thrilling match against brazil. plus, another football clash looms ahead in londons as england and italy prepare to fight for the euro 2020 title. we will go live to the british capital for a preview of sunday's big match. stay with us.

every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the fastest, most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just 30 dollars per line per month when you get four lines- or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. welcome back to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom."

ten downing street has dropped any hint of english reserve over the soccer craze that's gripping the country as its national team prepares to face italy in the euro 2020 finals. prime minister boris johnson showed off the english flag on saturday at his suitably-decorated official residence. he and queen elizabeth also sent letters of support to the english squad. now, sunday's match at wembley is a huge deal for both teams but maybe a little more so for england and that's because it's been 55 years since they've reached the finals of any major tournament. let's bring in darren lewis for more on today's final. darren, so italy has a long-winning history. not so england never won a european championship. haven't won a major tournament since 1966. england, often, accused of buckling under the pressure. so mentally, can they handle the strain here? playing at home against a team playing, probably, the best

soccer consistently across the tournament in italy. >> kim, yes, they are packed with players. they have won tournaments at their club at the high lest lev of european football. now they have a chance of ending decades of hurt by doing so with their clubs. yes, there is pressure but they coped with that pressure superbly to win four of their five matches, so far. and there is huge optimism, as you ever been saying, kim, here in england. that can create the biggest sporting story, certainly, of my lifetime by making it five wins out of six at wembley tonight. >> all right. so let's widen out the -- the -- the focus here and look at the tournament, as a whole. taking place, obviously, in the context of covid. it's -- it's being largely hailed as a success, i'd say. as much for giving the fans or even -- even people who don't regularly follow soccer a reason to cheer, again, together.

often, in person. it -- it's important seems to be a bit larger than the sport, itself, is that fair? >> absolutely fair. you know, it kicked off in rome on june the 11th and that was quite symbolic in a way because italy was a country on its knees over the coronavirus crisis just like england. it had been hit hard over the past-18 months. so, to have the italians and england in the final, after everything that has taken place over the last 18 months is quite something. it comes readily, of course, after they failed to qualify for the world cup in 2018. they are a tough side. it will be a tough assignment but as i say, the story of their resurgence, in particular, really has been beautiful. >> all right. before you go, i am going to put you on the spot. i said on the air before the tournament started, italy was going to win. what do you think's gonna win the match? >> well, kim, do you know what?

i tipped england right at the start of the competition. and at the time, i kind of felt like jerry maguire when he gets fired and wants people to come join him at his new company. but since then, england have proven me right. they just need to do it one more time. and i think they will. i really do. >> all right. well, i'll be watching, for sure. and all of england will be, as well. all italy, of course, too. darren lewis in london, thank you so much for joining us. appreciate it. >> thank you, kim. argentina is celebrating a big win in the copa america championship. they beat their bitter rivals, brazil, 1-nil saturday at rio de janeiro. and this is the first lionel messi has won with his international team. cnn brazil has more. >> reporter: it's been 29 days since the kick off of copa america despite all the doubts and questions about brazil's ability to host the tournament. it happened successfully.

the final act took place with few supporters. only 10% of capacity. 7,000 spectators were allowed by rio de janeiro officials to watch the first title concurred by lionel messi with argentina. the supporters invited maintained a safe distance from each other. brazil accepted hosting copa america after the refusal of colombia and argentina. a last-minute decision taking place only 12 days before the competition is started. the tournament was joined by ten south american nations during an ongoing covid-19 crisis in brazil. during the tournament, more than 28,000 covid tests were made and 179 people tested positive for covid.

it represents less than 1%. all samples were brought to be analyzed at lab. until now, no results were released. everton souza, cnn, brazil, rio de janeiro. >> australia's ashleigh barty one her first wimbledon title on saturday in three sets. barty is the first aussie woman to win the wimbledon single's title in more than 40 years. this is her second grand slam title. she won the french open in 2019. and several hours from now, the men's final gets underway when novak djokovic takes on italy. if djokovic wins it, it will be his 20th grand slam singles title and that would tie him for the most all time with roger federer and rafael nadal. berentini is seeking his first major win. still ahead on "cnn newsroom." confederate statues are finally coming down in charlottesville, virginia. but they're not the only ones.

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when you upgrade to xfinity xfi. baby ninjas? i love it. the official-death toll at the collapsed condo in surfside, florida, has increased as more bodies were recovered on saturday. the grim job is moving at a faster pace, after the demolition of the remaining tower. cnn's natasha chen has more. >> reporter: on sunday, the remaining members of the israeli rescue team will baefb leave the building collapse site. a ceremony at a church a few blocks away from here. then, they walked to the sea view hotel to meet with family members of victims. it's been an emotional couple of weeks with search teams finding not only people but their belongings. signs of the lives lived there.

children's toys, passports, photo album, among the rubble. meanwhile, families are, still, eagerly awaiting news about their loved ones. 86 people are now confirmed dead. 43 people potentially, still, unaccounted for. pablo rodriguez, whose mother and grandmother were missing after the collapse, tweeted on saturday that they had been identified. he said, quote, last night was the first night since this nightmare started that i was able to get a little bit of sleep. the thought they suffered was weighing on me, heavily. and confirmation that they did not was a relief. it was the best, bad news i could receive, in this situation. only hope i had. also, among the victims was the sister of the first lady of paraguay. her husband and one of their children. on saturday, their 23-year-old nanny was, also, identified among the victims. the paraguay ministry of external relations tweeted that the paraguayan president arrived in the u.s. on friday and will stay in florida, until tuesday. natasha chen, cnn, surfside,

florida. a little more than six months after the u.s. capitol was stormed by a violent mob of trump supporters, the final section of security fencing, added after the insurrection, has been removed. there are now concerns about how the campus will be protected, going forward. and if capitol police will have the resources they need. they are having staffing and recruitment issues, and the house and senate have yet to agree on a funding package. a symbol at the heart of white supremacist violence has been taken down in charlottesville, virginia. on saturday, statues of confederate generals, robert e. lee and stonewall jackson were trucked away and banished to storage. almost four years ago, white nationalists commandeered the debate over the city's effort to remove the lee statue. their unite the right rally turned violent and deadly, as neo-nazis fought with counter-protestors. cnn's evan mcmorris-santoro reports from charlottesville.

>> reporter: three hours and a saturday morning, charlottesville has wanted for years. a monument to confederate general stonewall jackson on its way to storage. the notorious statue of general robert e. lee, which overlooked the park that held the deadly unite the right rally, also, hoi hoisted away. >> it's only a moment for people who aren't affected. >> for zyahna bryant who kicked off these efforts to remove statues which she was in 9th grade, it was the end of an effort that brought the world to her doorstep. >> looking back to that horrible day in august of 2017 when people were on this very park where we are right now, fighting over these statues. someone eventually died. at a moment like that, did you think we would ever see a day like today when these statues actually came down? >> no, i wasn't going to believe it until i saw it. when it was finally lifted off its pedestal today, that's what i was able to process it was happening. >> reporter: bryant convinced charlottesville.

the world outside the city took longer. in early 2017, the city council voted to remove the monuments but groups who defend the confederate legacy took charlottesville to court. they succeeded in getting the removal delayed. >> we are a people! we will not be replaced! >> reporter: then, white nationalists, neo-nazis, and other groups, joined the cause. in august 2017, a woman was killed and several other people injured, as white supremacists and other far-right groups fought with counter-protestors at a rally about the statues. that made the monuments a national cause. and the driver of a dark moment in recent american-political history. >> very fine people, on both sides. >> reporter: that created a national movement. >> no president, sitting president's ever said anything like that. and i realize that, um, things weren't going to change very much with this president. >> reporter: but in charlottesville, the statues still stood. the removal still tied up in

court. the city council voted to shroud them in black, just days after the august protest. in october, 2017, a judge ruled, again, that they couldn't remove the statues. and in 2018, a judge ordered that those coverings be removed. but charlottesville never changed its mind. the city kept fighting in court. this april, the virginia supreme court ruled in its favor. then, came saturday. >> what happens, we have the ability to remove the statues today. it has stood for 104 years, and it doesn't need to stay a moment longer. >> reporter: the end of a long and bloody battle for one city grappling with how to tell our nation's story. >> there is a lot of work left to do but i'm trying to find a way, as a black woman, who has been on the forefront of this issue, to celebrate the small wins, as they come. and that is important, and i think this work is long and hard. it's not the end. it's not the beginning. um, but it is a win. >> reporter: evan mcmorris-santoro, cnn, charlottesville, virginia. lee and jackson weren't the

only statues to come down in charlottesville. the city council also voted to remove a monument to american explorers, meriwether lewis, william clark, and their native american guide, sacagawea. a man charged with illegal voting in texas is reportedly out of jail. the nonprofit bail project says it put up the money to have rogers released after bail was set at $100,000. rogers was arrested on wednesday. he spoke to cnn, in 2020, about waiting for six hours to vote in the democratic primary. authorities say he, also, voted in 2018. now, all that would be fine, except texas says rogers was on parole after burglary charges in the '80s and '90s and that would make his votes illegal, under state law. the american civil liberties union has taken up roger's case. the aclu says laws shouldn't intimidate people from voting and it will push back on efforts to restrict voting rights. the western u.s. is sweating

through a historic heat wave. when we come back. the dangers and when we can expect a break in the temperatures. we'll bring you that, next. stay with us. no, he's not in his room. ♪ dad, why didn't you answer your phone? your mother loved this park. ♪ she did.

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well, it's often extremely hot in death valley, california, as the name implies. but not this hot. it hit 130 degrees, on friday. the hottest of the year, so far, and inching ever so close to the all-time record of 134 degrees. hot temperatures are forecast to continue throughout the weekend as another record-breaking heat wave sweeps across the western u.s. right now, tens of millions of americans in the west are under heat alerts, including residents of las vegas. that's where cnn's camilla bernal is braving the skocorchi temperatures for us. >> it feels like you are walking innen oven. that's how some tourists described it this afternoon. and that's because here, in las vegas, we could tie or break the highest temperature ever recorded here of 117 degrees. the national weather service telling people not to gamble with these dangerous conditions.

and a lot of the locals here. they know how to handle this heat. but some of the tourists who are here for the fight, concert, or for a celebration, they don't always know how to handle the heat. i talked to some of them, earlier, and here's what they told me. >> going back to jersey and our cold weather. we were expecting maybe 90, 95. but when we look at the weather, it's all 104, 115. so, we're -- and now, we -- we went out early so that we can roam around. it's 9:00 and it's all burning. it's like -- it's like hell here. >> we're pretty much just outside to take these pictures and then go in between casinos. but we are going to stay hydrated with margaritas and ipas. >> and it is a always fun here, in las vegas, but it is dangerous. these temperatures are only making the drought in the western part of the united states even worse. water levels are at low levels in many of the reservoirs. when you are talking about fire, it is increased-fire danger.

and electricity, both, here and in california, officials asking people to conserve power because imagine being in this heat without power. well, that's what they're hoping to avoid. camilla bernal, cnn las vegas. >> for more on this, joining me now is meteorologist, derek van dam. so, derek, as we are seeing long-standing heat records are falling. how worried should we be about this? >> yeah, well, i mean, if opening your front door feels like you're checking on a pizza in your oven, every day. if that doesn't set off alarm bells to you, you should be concerned. i mean, come on. we are talking all-time record high temperatures being broken. being shattered in some instances. and that is just incredible because just put this into context. we have to put that double asterisk. i talked about this yesterday. for locations that either tied or set that all-time record high and that was las vegas, nevada, today.

where we were just reporting from. needles, california, for instance. also, into bishop, california. but that wasn't just the only three locations. there were other daily record high temperatures that were shattered yesterday, as well. and they were all triple-digit heat. one thing interesting to note here is when we talk about extreme-weather events from tornados to hurricanes, droughts and floods look at this graph and i want you to see the link. it gets stronger and stronger. the evidence there. pointing towards the longer-duration, higher-frequency heat waves like we've experienced in the month of june in the pacific northwest. and what we are experiencing now across the southwestern u.s. and linking that, directly, to climate change. so global warming. there is the strongest evidence that points towards those longer-duration and more-frequent heat waves that we have seen. well, what's the cause of this? well, you can call this an atmospheric traffic jam. almost, a very stagnant air mass that builds up. this time, it's centered over the southwestern parts of the u.s. the great basin, they call it. it is a heat dome. high pressure sinks the air, suppresses the cloud cover,

maximum sunshine. traps in the heat. and then, what do we do? we have temperatures that soar well-above 110. even 120 degrees, in some instances. las vegas, a very populated city. all-time record-high temperature of 117 was matched, yesterday. will we break it again? not likely, in this heat-wave event. but you'll see, in just one moment, we do have some relief and by some, that is the operative word here. you will see in the seven-day forecast, in just one second. on friday, though, at death valley where they had the world-record high temperature, 134 degrees, set back in 1913. we reached a high of 130 degrees. yesterday, it was 129.4. so, we're a few degrees shy from breaking the world record. but nonetheless, it is hot. sounds like a bad joke, right? how hot is it? well, it's extremely hot. in fact, national weather service has heat advisories and heat alerts over much of the western u.s. 30 million americans. and here is that brief respite in the heat. we are going to go from 115,

today, to 110 by the middle of the week? i -- i don't know if that's relief, or not. what do you think, kim? >> yeah, not -- not so much. but at least it's not going the other direction. derek, thanks so much for that. appreciate it. former-u.s. president jimmy carter and his wife, rosalynn, are celebrating a record-setting anniversary. the couple marked 75 years of wedding bliss, in their hometown of plains, georgia, on saturday. surrounded by friends and family. carter thanked his wife for staying by his side through the years. the carters are the longest-married president and first lady in american history. congratulations, to them. i'm kim brunhuber at cnn center in atlanta. we will have the latest on an historic mission to the edge of space when "cnn newsroom" continues, in a moment. please, do stay with us. air wick

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a renowned risk taker, now, about to reach the edge of space. how richard branson's journey kicks off a commercial-space race. and the other billionaires he is beating to get there. also, ahead. england helps to leave 55 years of hurt behind them. and they beat formidable opponent, in the euro 2020 final. and excessive heat is smothering millions along the u.s. west coast. we will tell you just how high the mercury will go today. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta. welcome to all of you watching us here, in the united states, canada, and ar