topping our political radar, a super pac supporting robert kennedy jr. says it raised more than $10 million for his presidential bid. american values 2024 said donations for the democratic challenger have come from both sides of the aisle. three black and latino groups are suing harvard over donor-related and legacy admissions. the lawsuit alleges that gives preferential treatment to white students and violates the civil rights of black and latino applicants. this suit comes less than a week after the supreme court ruled colleges can no longer use affirmative action in admissions. cnn's july 4th special is returning tonight with an all-star lineup. it will be there. i hope you will be, too, to

watch cnn's fourth in america. it starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern, right here on cnn. thanks so much for joining "inside politics." cnn's "news central" starts right now. gunfire interrupting holiday festivities, with dozens of victims across the country and children among the dead. as the nation marks 247 years of independence, we're also marking this tragic number of mass shootings. 345 so far this year, in just over six months. plus, new bloodshed in the middle east. the israeli military is extending an operation in the west bank for another day. new violence erupting as far away as tel aviv. what will it take for this stop? can it? and a new lawsuit on affirmative action.

a civil rights group is trying to stop harvard from making it harder of sons and daughters of alumni to join the ivy league. we're following all of these stories coming in right here to "cnn news central." on this fourth of july holiday, police are investigating two mass shootings in the span of 24 hours. first in philadelphia, five people are dead, two kidsessing neighborhood. a suspect was arrested, he had a bulletproof vest, an ar-15-style rifle, and a handgun. then in ft. worth, texas, just before midnight, three dead, eight others injured in a shooting police believe was related to a fourth of july celebration. let's take you now life to ft. worth with cnn's ed lavendera. so, ed, what are you hearing about a potential suspect in that ft. worth shooting?

>> well, so far, we have not gotten any indication from ft. worth investigators if they've zeroed in on a suspect. we have heard from several witnesses being out in this neighborhood, where this shooting unfolded last night that they believe that there were several people shooting their weapons in this crowd. so, what you see behind me is kind of the remnants of the fourth of july parade that is just wrapping up here in the neighborhood in southwest ft. worth. but just 12 hours ago, boris, this was the area that was lined with hundreds of people in a chaotic late-night kind of pre-fourth of july celebration. there were cars spinning out in the roadway, people setting off fireworks. and as all of that was happening, one witness told us, things started to change a little bit, and that's when the gunfire erupted. you can hear a little bit from what that witness told us a little while ago. >> everybody was just having fun and then, you just heard gunfire

and everybody started running away. >> and what did you do? >> i went to the other side of the street, just trying to like find cover. like, trying to find my people that i was with, make sure that nobody else got hurt that i was with. >> reporter: and that witness also said, as he returned back this way, he saw several bodies here laying in the street. many people were taken to hospitals in private vehicles, as emergency crews were trying to get here to this scene. investigators still have not made any arrests. they don't know exactly what was behind the shooting. a similar shooting took place exactly the same time, july 3rd, the night before fourth of july, two years ago. in that shooting in this neighborhood, there were eight people who were wounded. no one was killed. but in this shooting, 11 people shot in all. three of those victims have died. boris? >> and that's not the only mass shooting incident in the united states last night. tell us about the one in philadelphia.

>> reporter: another chaotic scene. this happened about 8:30 p.m. last night. philadelphia police say a gunman started moving his way through a neighborhood in philadelphia, wounding and killing five people and it's a crime scene that expanse several blocks, we are told. philadelphia police say that they were able to follow the suspect into an alley, where they were -- where they cornered him and they took him into custody. police say that that man was in his 40s. he had a bulletproof jacket on, on the bulletproof jacket, he had several extra rounds of ammunition magazines on him, as well as using an ar-style assault rifle in that attack. so very troubling situation, but as well, investigators there still saying that they don't know what the motive behind that particular attack was either. >> ed lavendera, thank you so much for the details. brianna? >> cnn's josh campbell is with us now. josh, looking at this philadelphia shooting, authorities arrested the suspect with a bulletproof vest and an

ar-15-style rifle and handgun. a photographer capturing an image that we see of some of the dozens of shell casings that littered the area. does that say anything to you about the motive? >> well, this appears, brianna, to show a considerable amount of pre-planning. this wasn't the subject engaged in some type of confrontation and decides to open fire. when you're talking about somebody with a bullet-proof vest, multiple weapons, multiple rounds of ammunition on that person, and a police scanner, think about that? the suspect is trying to listen in realtime as he begins opening fire to where the police are moving towards, so that he can apparently continue that shooting. again, that shows a considerable amount of planning. one thing that's interesting in this case is that he was taken into custody alive, and so many of these attacks, we've seen either the shooter killed by police, the shooter take their own lives. the reason that's important, obviously, is that now police were able to interview that person, to try to -- if he's

willing to cooperate and talk with him, to try to determine what that motive was. of course, none of that will give any comfort to the families of those who are once again mourning. as you mentioned, over 345 mass shootings in this country, the latest in philadelphia. but this really shows you this premeditated-type of attack, where you bring that type of weaponry and those kind of resources. >> today, of course, is one year since the highland park, illinois, shooting, which it feels like it's been so long. i think part of that is because of how many shootings we've had since then. nonetheless, it's just been a year since seven people were killed at that fourth of july par parade. why are we seeing more instances of gun violence around this holiday, do you think? >> holidays provide the opportunity, and i use that in a very sinister word for a shooter. you have people in large gatherings, if you have someone who is trying to conduct some sort of premeditated attack, like what happened in highland park, where you had a shooter who was actually on top of a building. i was there interviewing the

police right after that shooting. they described it as a sniper's nest, quote/unquote, where he was firing down on this innocent group of people who were there for a holiday parade. that gathering providing a lucrative target for those who were intent on causing harm, and that's why we see police trhavi to ramp up security. as we talk about guns in this country, committee talk about this all the time. when people start talking about policies, how do we stop these things? republicans will say, well, we've got to harden the targets. whether it's a school or an office building, a place or worship, think about what this is. these are people who are out gathering together at these types of festivities, so that kind of policy prescription obviously isn't going to help here. and then beyond the actual holiday gatherings, we've seen a lot more people in this country determined to settle confrontations with firearms in a way we haven't seen throughout the history of this country, where you have a heated confrontation between people, people go to their guns and quite often, in so many of these

cases, we see innocent people, bystanders, who are shot as a result. it is truly an epidemic, brianna. >> what should people be considering as they are going to gatherings on this holiday, josh? >> well, it's sad that we have to talk about this, but vigilance is key. obviously, this is the place where people are out and about. they're gathering with their loved ones and with members of the community, but you have to maintain that agree of situational awareness. be on the look out for, is there someone in this crowd that maybe something seems off. we often, in the security profession tell people to to know where your exits are, to understand what type of security might be in that location, where police officers are, where places of ingress and egress, where you can get out of a situation if you need to. that is heartbreaking to say. again, it's independence. we're supposed to celebrate and have fun. but the reality is, with so many guns in this country and so many people intent on causing harm with guns, these are factors that people have to consider, even as they go out to celebration nation's independence. >> i think increasingly, people think about egress when they

gather in all kinds of places, indoor and outdoor. josh campbell, thank you so much for the analysis. we appreciate it. jim? >> brianna, sad fact is, we certainly do in my family. now to the middle east where renewed tensions are boiling over into renewed bloodshed, like this. police say a man rammed his car into pedestrians near a tel aviv shopping center and then jumped out and started stabbing people. nearly ten people hurt before authorities say an armed civilian shot and killed the attacker. israel calls the car ramming and the stabbings an act of terror and hamas, the terror group, is now claiming responsibility. this comes as israeli forces continue a massive military operation in the occupied west bank city of janine. thousands there now fleeing areas of the city left in a smoldering ruin. israeli defense forces say they have detained at least 120 people. palestinian authorities say the operation has killed at least ten people, injured more than 100 others.

cnn's hadas gold is live in jerusalem. hadas, first on the attack in tel aviv, tell us what the latest is that we know about the attacker and the number of casualties. >> yeah, jim, we were on the scene just a few hours ago in northwest tel aviv, a rather quiet neighborhood. and israeli police saying that this attacker was driving what we saw seemed like a work pickup truck of some kind, mounted the pavement, hitting people right outside the shopping center. the bus stop and trucker were very severely damaged before he got out and started trying to stab people. an armed civilian who wanted to be there shot and killed the attacker while he was in the midst of his attack. we spoke with the israeli police spokesperson who told us a little bit more about how the attack unfolded. take a listen. >> a short while ago in tel aviv, a terrorist used a vehicle to commit a car ramming attack. he drove right into the bus stop that's behind us, got out of his car with a large sharp object, and tried to stab more civilians

to extend the terror attack, but luckily, there was an individual that was armed in the vicinity and managed to neutralize this terrorist, preventing a much larger attack from taking place. >> reporter: and we know at least one of those victims is in critical condition. hamas, the military group, as you noted, taking credit for the attack. saying the attacker is one of their fighters. and hamas had called on all of their their cells to strike israel in any way possible in response to what's been happening in janine. and they said this attack today was in direct response to what's been happening in janine. we're now in day two of this extensive israeli military operation. the largest the israeli military has undertaken in the occupied west bank since those days of the second intifada in 2002, when tanks were seen rolling down these same streets. there are no tanks yet, but there are bulldozers, there are military vehicles, as we speak, there are still military vehicles in there. there's still a very active military operation in the israeli military saying that they are trying to dismantle what they call a safe haven for

militants there. but of course, civilians are also the ones who are being caught in the cross fire. thousands of mapalestinians hav now fled their refugee camp for safer grounds, jim? >> as you said, the idea that these are counterterrorism activities, but they have acknowledged civilians among the wounded. and palestinian authorities are saying more than a hundred wounded. what do we know about how many civilians were injured here and what's been the idf response to those civilian injuries? >> in the last hour, they are now saying the death toll is at 11. when it was at 10, the idf told us that they are confident no non-combatants have been killed. they said that everyone who has died were fighting in some way. but they have acknowledged that there are civilians. and when we've been talking about to residents there, there would be no way to avoid

civilian casualties. and are israeli soldiers are taking over sometimes civilian homes to use them as bases, sniper bases. this is still a very dangerous and ongoing situation, and that's why these families, these palestinian people are trying to flee the refugee camp to find safety somewhere else. jim? >> hadas gold in jerusalem, we'll continue to follow events there. boris? as hundreds of thousands of troops from ukraine and russia descend on the front lines, the kremlin says its forces took out five ukrainian drones inside russia near moscow. you can see some of the aftermath here. there's a bit of smoke between two buildings in this video. so far, no comment from kyiv, but today russia responded with more strikes injuring dozens of civilians. let's go to eastern ukraine now with cnn's ben wedeman. ben, details are still coming in about these alleged drone attacks. what can you tell us? what's the latest? >> well, we understand from russian officials that five

drones approached moscow, four of them were brought down by air defenses, one by electronic warfare means. there were no damages or casualties. as a result, the spokeswoman for the foreign ministry said that the target was an area with civilian infrastructure, as well as an airport. a civilian airport. in fact, more than a dozen flights had to be diverted to other airports in the moscow area, as a result of what they described as technical issues. the spokeswoman for the foreign ministry also said that it was an act of international terrorism. now, the ukrainians responded with a bit of irony, that it's odd that a country that since february last year has been firing cruise missiles, artillery, and other weapons at civilian infrastructure in ukraine, including last week,

that kramatorsk, they killed around 13 people. so this has left ukrainians thinking that this statement from the russians is perhaps beyond ironic, it's absurd. boris? >> ben wedeman live for us in eastern ukraine. brianna? republican presidential candidates spending the fourth on the stump in key early voting states. we'll take you out to the campaign trail, live. plus, legacy admissions are now in the spotlight after the supreme court's ruling on affirmative action. ahead, we'll show you the new lawsuit against harvard. and it's being called nature's ozempic. a new dietary supplement creating quite the buzz on social media. we'll show you if it's really worth the hypepe. ooooh, let me put a reminder on my phone. on the top of the pile! oh. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪ tourists tourists that turn into scientists.

tourist taking photos that are analyzed by ai. so researchersan help life underwater flourish. ♪ sleep more deeply. and wake up rejuvenated. purple mattress's exclusive gelflex grid draws away heat, relieves pressure, and instantly adapts. sleep better, live purple. save up to $800 off mattress sets during purple's july 4th sale. visit purple.com or a store near you. (vo) if you have graves' disease, your eye symptoms could mean something more. that gritty feeling can't be brushed away. even a little blurry vision can distort things. and something serious may be behind those itchy eyes. up to 50% of people with graves' could develop a different condition

called thyroid eye disease, which should be treated by a different doctor. see an expert. find a t-e-d eye specialist at isitted.com

the all-new tempur-pedic breeze makes sleep feel cool. so, no more sweating all night...

...or blasting the air conditioning. because the tempur-breeze feels up to 10° cooler, all night long. for a limited time, save $500 on all-new tempur-breeze mattresses. the morgan stanley client experience? listening more than talking, and a personalized plan ♪ to guide you through a changing world. ♪ okay everyone, our mission is complete balanced nutrition. together we provide nutrients to support immune, muscle, bone, and heart health. everyone: woo hoo! ensure with 25 vitamins and minerals. enter the $10,000 nourishing moments giveaway. several gop presidential hopefuls are celebrating the nation's birthday on the campaign trail.

right now, ron desantis, tim scott, will bergen are walking in an independence day parade in merrimack, new hampshire. and in iowa, mike pence and frances suarez are stumping for votes in that key early caucus state. we have reporters with the candidates in both of these states. let's bring them. omar jiminez in new hampshire. kyung lah in iowa. first of all, omar, how important are these campaign stops in these small new hampshire towns? >> it's important to try to just make inroads with some of these very important voters in what will be an early contest in the primary season. and on this independence day, look, i didn't want to be the one to raid on this parade, and it is raiding on this parade here behind. this is a parade where we expect florida governor ron desantis to appear. he marched in a parade a little bit earlier this morning, meeting voters, talking to them, trying to get that on the ground presence that is so important to many of these voters. but also, we're expecting to see south carolina senator tim

scott, north dakota governor doug bergen, former texas congressman, will hurd. and all of them are operating in an environment where former president trump has been the clear and far away leader, at least what polls have shown to this point. so all of these events have been trying to, how can they decrease that distance between them? we even heard the spokesman for a pro-desantis super pac, never back down, admit that they feel that they are way behind in the polls. not that this isn't winnable, but the super pac acknowledged that they are way beyond. and a lot of that work begins on the ground at events just like this. where music is playing, you're trying food. you're meeting the people, trying to gain some of that momentum. and what better way to do it. what more american way to do it than running for president and marching on the fourth of july. >> yeah. and i think i -- >> the border -- number one to me is the border.

got to stop it. we've got to stop this. they're ruining the country. >> reporter: that was a voter we spoke to just right here along this parade route, laying out why some of that is so important, because to him his number one issue is what's happened down at the border, even though illegal border crossings have been down as of late, it is important to him, nonetheless. and he hopes to at least be able to say some of that to some of these candidates as they will likely pass through just behind where i am standing right now. >> you can come to the parade for the political candidates and stay for that little yellow submarine i just saw go by and the giant publ bubbles which ar really nice touch where you are in merrimack, new hampshire. let's head over to iowa, where kyung lah is. that is also where the former vice president, mike pence, is. what is he saying, as he's trying to attract some voter attention on this holiday? >> reporter: well, this parade just ended a short time ago, brianna.

and what we saw was the former vice president admitting, yes, he's running for president, but we actually saw him running this two-mile parade route here in urbandale, iowa. this was quintessential mike pe pence. the man who ran for congress in indiana, out shaking hands with midwesterners, really trying to get in there and talking to people, looking at them in the eyes, hugging babies, doing exactly what you might expect here in the midwest on the fourth of july. and the former vice president seemed to relish in it. he was truly enjoying saying hello to everybody. and this is the strategy, he tells us. he wants to hit all 99 counties here in iowa. he says, yes, he's well known, but he's not known well. we should point out that while mr. pence is here, his former running mate, donald trump, is not. a very sharp contrast in campaigning that mr. pence was asked about.

take a listen. >> there was no place we would rather be than in iowa on the fourth of july. we actually announced our campaign for president here in iowa, because this is where it all begins for america. and the upcoming caucus will play its usual outsized role in shaping our national leadership. and i would tell you, i can't account for what other campaigns have decided, but for me, it was vitally important to be here where the journey to the white house always begins. >> reporter: and for the former vice president, that next stop will be boone, iowa. he is going to hit six counties through this week. brianna? >> yeah, he is throwing some not-so-subtle shade there. we're picking that up. kyung lah, thank you for that interview. jim? >> yeah, i caught that too, brianna. noticeable. well, another story we're following, harvard facing a new lawsuit. the university accused of discrimination for allegedly

giving special treatment to the children of alumni. we'll show you how the supreme court's affirmative action ruling could fit into this case. and i'm sure you've heard of runner's high, well, couldn't get any lower for the defending champion of the country's largest 10k race. ahead, how a wrong turn cost her the title and thousands of dollars in prize money. changes your struggle with missing teeth forever. it changes how you eat, how you feel, and hohow you enjoy life. itit changes your smile and how others smile at you. clearchoice nenetwork doctors have changed over 100,000 lives with dental implants, and they can change yours, too. because a clearchoice day changes every day. schedule a free consultation.

i'm nathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate

starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information. the first time you connected your godaddy website and your store was also the first time you realized... well, we can do anything. cheesecake cookies? the chookie! manage all your sales from one place with a partner that always puts you first. (we did it) start today at godaddy.com

what its critics call a different form of affirmative action is now being challenged at harvard university. three minority advocacy groups are suing the school over its legacy admissions, which gives preference to the children of alumni. though comes just days after the supreme court decision and -- ended race-conscious affirmative action in higher education. cnn's athena jones joins us now with the details. and this has been percolating for some time, outside of the debate over affirmative action for racial preferences, the question of whether it's fair to give preference to the children of alumni. so where does this -- what argument does the lawsuit make and where does it stand? >> reporter: hi, jim, that's exactly right. this is a discussion about merit. what qualifies as merit? if you can qualify on merit, can you give special preference to people who have a parent or relative who went to harvard or who are big donors to harvard?

these three black and latino groups are joining together to say, no, that is not far. that these legacy donor admissions get preferential treatment. the vast majority of them, nearly 70%, are white. so what this amounts to is a policy that ends up giving an advantage to ruich, white students and disadvantages other students who don't have those kecks or are minorities. the complaint notes that the district court called these preferences given to legacy applicants sizable and significant. and the complaint really goes to great lengths to spell all of this out by providing at of data using admissions numbers. so let's look at some of that. they found that for the class of 2026, just under 2,000 applicants gained admission out of an applicant pool of more than 61,000. but look at that admission rate. 3.24% is minuscule. but it's very, very different if you are related to someone who has donated to harvard or if you have a parent or relative who went. for donors, those applicants were seven times more likely to

be admitted, with an admissions rate of 42%. if you have a parent or relative who went to harvard, you were six times more likely than an ordinary student to be admitted for an acceptance rate of 43%. so this complaint arguing that this is just not fair. they want the u.s. department of education to call on harvard to stop doing this, to call this practice discriminatory. and of course, the timing of this matters so much, because it's less than a week since the supreme court severely limited the use of race in college admissions. and so these groups are arguing that if the court is going to do that about race, it is now even more imperative to eliminate any policies that disadvantage minority students while advantaging white students. jim? >> one interesting thing about these cases, if you go back to the harvard case, the data that the lawsuit found was a whole host of benefits that came in the process, including for athletes, right? folks who play sports, they got a big boost over the general population. but there were specific ways

that this complaint lays out about how legacy applicants benefited during the admissions process. can you lay out a couple of them? >> sure. this is so interesting. you're right, athletes, people who have athletic skills, get a special leg up. but when it comes to legacy and donor applicants, day get all kinds of what the university calls tip factors that get weighed into their application. for instance, fur related to a donor, you could end up on the dean's interest list, which includes ratings for how important the donor is to harvard. if you are one of these donor-related or legacy applicants, you have your application closely monitored throughout the entire process. they say it's annotated, notes or symbols are added to make sure admissions officers pay it special attention. and these folks also get flagged again when they're trying to narrow down the final pool of applicants. these legacies get flagged again. a lot of advantages that these groups are not fair and should be eliminated. >> it would be interesting to

know if the dollar amount of donations can be co-related with an increased chances of admission. part of a longer conversation. athena jones in new york, thanks so much. boris? still to come, an act of heroism. a georgia officer pulling a driver from a burning car. some really dramatic body cam footage we're going to share with you. and a new dietary supplement is causing quite a stir on social media. some people calling it nature's ozempic. what are experts saying? "cnn's news central" returns in just a moment. with new scopsqueez mouthwash concentrate,

just a water. squeez to control the strength of your mouthwash. and find a zone all your own. ♪ ♪ scope squeez.

show summer who's boss

with wayfair's fourth of july clearance. shop all the top grills and more up to 40% off. with smokin' fast shipping. and get wayfair deals so epic, it'll feel like you're getting away with something. yes! so take summer into your own hands - and get extra outdoorsy with wayfair's fourth of july clearance. june 28 through july 5. ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪

now to some of the other headlines that we are watching this hour. a sheriff's deputy in georgia racing to save a woman trapped inside of her burning suv. that is body camera video capturing this dramatic rescue, battling these billowing flames and all of this smoke. the deputy managed to smash the driver's side window and pull that woman out safely here. her car caught fire after she had crashed into woods. also, nasa is showing off its first image of the planet sat turn from the highly sensitive james webb space telescope. this photo shows a very dark sat turn with this bright fluorescent-like rings around it. saturn appearing very dark due to the near total absorption of methane gas. the image has enabled them to learn surprising details about saturn's atmosphere. and mark zuckerberg coming

for elon musk working on a new app called threads that's supposed to rival twitter. it mimics twitter's live conversation format. it is set to go live on thursday. musk angered millions of users over the weekend after announcing a new policy that will limit how many tweets users can read while using the app. boris, a lot of people looking for an alternative. >> make sure to thread me. it's being called nature's ozempic. we'll talking about the dietary supplement berberine. jacqueline, how effect is this berberine in reality? >> that's the question. we don't have many clinical trials looking specifically at

the effectiveness of berberine for being weight. but there's one study showing it associated with a 0.25% reduction in body mass index among those who tried taking the supplement. but when you think about those who have taken ozempic and wygove, those are associated with a 4% reduction in body mass. and we don't have the rigorous scientific data to really. it the effectiveness for berberine. >> and what about any potential risks? >> well, with that we know for sure people who are breast-feeding, those who are pregnant should not take berberine. there is the risk of it potentially interacting with certain medications and it should not be given to infants. and then there are some common side effects, as you see there. abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea. those are some side effects that

some people might experience. >> jacqueline howard, thank you so much for the reporting. we'll be on the lookout for anymore serious research into be be be berberine. a big let down moment during the annual peachtree race in atlanta. last year's champion was seconds away from defending her title when she took a wrong turn, just meters before the finish line. >> and tefari is trying to get herself to the finish line. look at the moves back and forth -- >> oh, no! she took a right turn! it looks like she went off-course. >> goodness! you saw her there take that right turn, the other runners continuing on to the finish line. it's hard to see looking at that line of fences, as she was approaching the finish line, there's that right turn. there was a lead motorcycle and it was that that apparently turned right and ran off-course. you can see that there.

the lights flashing there, so she took that as a signal to go right, though the finish line was ahead. goodness. understandable mistake. she ended up finishing just seconds behind the first place winner. she also lost out on a $10,000 prize, but she didn't walk away empty-handed. third place earns a $3,000 award. in the next hour, we'll be speaking with one of the organizers of the race to talk about what happened, why did that motorcycle turn right? fair question. that's all coming up. and cnn meets with a fan base of moms, several of mom were lifelong democrats about why they now stand with ron desantis. what the florida governor and 2024 candidate said that won them over. we have that ahead. ? liberty mutual customizes your car insurance... so you only pay for what you need. that's my boy. ♪ stay off the freeways! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty.y. liberty. ♪ living with diabetes?

glucerna protein smart has your number with 30 grams of protein. scientifically designed with carbsteady to help you manage yo blood sugar. anmore protein to keep you moving with diabetes. glucerna ve every moment

old school hard work meets bold, new thinking, ♪ to help you see untapped possibilities and relentlessly work with you to make them real. ♪ i brought in ensure max protein with 30g of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. uh... here i'll take that. -everyone: woo hoo! ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein, one gram of sugar. enter the nourishing moments giveaway for a chance to win $10,000.

florida governor ron desantis' consistent second-place position in polling does not appear to be worrying his presidential campaign. a spokesman for a pro-desantis pac admitting the campaign is fighting an uphill battle, but still believes he can win. >> clearly, donald trump is the runaway fruont-runner, particularly since the indictments. it was not the case before the indictments, it is the case afterwards. and it is understandable that a lot of folks want to rally to

him. >> the latest cnn polling showing that only 26% of republicans and republican-leaning registered voters prefer desantis as the gop nominee. he is in second. that is second to donald trump's 47%. but one group that has been solidly behind desantis, suburban moms. some of them actually life-long democrats, who supported his covid-19 policies during the pandemic. cnn's elle reeve asked these moms how they feel about him now. if ron desantis were to win tomorrow he would win. that would be a heard pill to swallow for many people. >> in 2021 vanessa steincamp was the first to tell me she was a fan of florida governor ron desantis and there were more like her. when we first spoke in 2021, you mentioned that you had this group of mom friends that you met on twitter who are just obsessed with desantis and it stuck in my mind for years. >> he would just do stuff and

say stuff with this conviction. we were all like, thank you. >> reporter: did you have a nickname? >> daddy desantis. i mean, it's all joking. we're like desperate women who had tried everything that we could do in our own power, in our own communities, and we weren't getting anywhere. >> he was very vocal starting in the summer of 2020 about the need to open schools in particular. >> reporter: during the covid lockdowns in 2020, these frustrated moms built an informal twitter network of people angry about closed schools and the difficulty of remote learning. they were from all over the country but saw desantis as a model of what they wanted in their cities. >> school is a safe haven. >> when i started advocating for kids to go back in person, i was called a granny killer, a teacher killer, selfish on twitter. they were -- it was awful. >> reporter: steincamp is a teacher in dallas and warned early on that lockdowns would hurt kids, especially poor kids. >> we can't forget our most

vulnerable, and we've created the single largest inequality generator in a generation by having some schools opened, some schools closed. >> reporter: on twitter, she connected with a levi's executive who moved her family from san francisco to denver in early 2021 so she could send her kids to school in person. >> we quickly sort of found a community on line, and i found it really interesting that she was a teacher that was advocating for in-person school. in san francisco you could go to a bar or a strip club, but my high school student couldn't go to english class. >> reporter: she said she was forced out of levi's in 2022 because of coast tweets, which is said it sowed confusion around employees. >> 90% i wrote about was playground in schools. there's nothing embarrassing now. >> reporter: the moms shared news about covid and desantis. one chat created more than 80 people. they traveled to each other's homes. many had been lifelong democrats including julie hamill who has

three kids and lives near l.a. you voted for obama. >> yeah. twice. >> reporter: clinton? >> yes. >> reporter: did you vote for biden? >> yes. i have never voted for a republican presidential candidate. i have always considered myself very socially liberal. but as we became more vocal on twitter, we were really demonized. >> reporter: in 2022 she ran for school board in palos verdes and won. >> i'm going to fight back. >> reporter: and was an active defender of her twitter friends. >> they aren't crazy. data from the education department shows kids have been hurt by long-term remote learning. black and brown students more than white. >> reporter: in august, 2020, desantis was early to open schools compared to other u.s. states but not the world. many european countries went back under national policies. in may, 2020, for example, a fin land health official cited data that kids didn't play a significant role in spreading the virus. in the last two years, desantis has launched his presidential

campaign and focused more on the culture war. >> we will make sure as president we leave woke idealogy in the dust bin of history where it belongs. >> reporter: the twitter backlash they experienced made these women more receptive to parts of desantis' fight against wokeness been not all of it. i'm wondering if you think that desantis is very public, more unwoke, distracts from the message that you like about him. >> a little bit, i do. yeah. i mean, like to be honest, i do feel like it would be really good to have a big public debate about what did we get wrong in covid. like -- >> the left doesn't want that debate. they're never going to allow that debate. i think there's a lot of incendiary tactics being used to smear him. i think there's -- >> reporter: he did sign a law that restricts transgender care for adults as well as kids. >> i have greater concerns about the six-week abortion ban. >> reporter: tell me about that. >> i think if he made it clear

that he's a states rights person and that he's not looking to kind of pass a national law in this regard, i would be less concerned. >> reporter: not everyone in their twitter orbit agrees on his tactics, but these three do think florida's new six-week abortion ban is bad. >> i think that's dangerous. that's something that i cannot get behind. and i don't think that's going to bode well for his presidential campaign. i think that that might be a real impediment to bringing in moderate women. >> reporter: none of these women like the idea of a 2024 rematch between biden and trump. they're open to voting for desantis but are not sold. so there's been criticism from republicans that desantis is like too on line, that his campaign is too influenced by stuff that's popping up on line but isn't affecting people in real life. so someone struggling to pay their bills isn't thinking about pronouns.

is it possible that's true? >> i don't think so. i've been down all over florida, and you know what they say? he helped my business open up, he helped my kids go to school. the media just fixates on the culture war pieces. >> reporter: is it possible that you are too on line? >> yes, for sure in the beginning, but not anymore. do i need to fight with some random on line? no. >> i would love to be off twitter, but i feel like there are discussions that need to be had. for all the bad that comes with it, there's also a good. and i've connected with all of these like-minded women who are not alt-right demons, they're moms who have been unseen and unheard. >> reporter: ellie reeve, cnn, dallas. >> our thanks to ellie for that story. we're getting word of another mass shooting in the united states. this one in indianapolis. as people begin to gather for the fourth of july holiday. new details when "cnn news central" comes back. what do you? these straps are mind-blowing! they collect hundreds of data points like hrv and rem sleep,

so you know all you need for recovery. and you are? i'm an investor...in invesco qqq, a fund that gives me access toto... nasdaq 100 innovations like... wearable training optimization tech. uh, how long are you... i'm done. i'm okay. sleep more deeply. and wake up rejuvenated. purple mattress's exclusive gelflex grid draws away heat, relieves pressure, and instantly adapts. sleep better, live purple. save up to $800 off mattress sets during purple's july 4th sale. visit purple.com or a store near you. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85,

and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason.

so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information.

the day you get your clearchoice dental implants makes every day... a "let's dig in" day...