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Cruise Ship Battered By Rough Weather Off South Carolina Coast; Atty.: Joran Van Der Sloot Has Agreed To Be Transferred To The U.S.; Miami Heat Crush Boston Celtics 103-84, Advance To Finals. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 30, 2023 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:30:00]

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, passengers are back home after a terrifying cruise. Passengers on board the Carnival cruise ship Sunshine were tossed and turned by a powerful storm. It happened as the ship was returning to Charleston South Carolina from the Bahamas, and the storm which you just saw sent water like pouring down the hallways. It damaged rooms throughout the ship.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins us now. Dianne, this sounds awful.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The Carnival cruise ship Sunshine was anything bought for a lot of those passengers late Friday night when it was returning from the Bahamas to the port in Charleston, South Carolina.

[11:35:02]

It was rocked by this storm that sort of just hovered over the area. And that's when passengers say that high winds and big waves sort of just punished that ship. They started posting videos of those waves.

You can see in some cases, there was water and belongings that were just floating down the halls of the 14-storey level ship. They said that they felt frustrated in some cases because they didn't really get any information. They lost internet connectivity at one point, and the crew wasn't really giving them guidance on what was going on causing some of those passengers to tell us they feared for their safety and in some cases, even their lives as this was going on.

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DANIEL TAYLOR, CARNIVAL SUNSHINE PASSENGER: Left us blind, you know, not reassuring us you know what was going on where we were heading to what the plan was. You know, they could have updated us and let us know something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Now. Carnival cruise ships did give CNN a statement. I want to read part of that too. They said Carnival Sunshine's return to Charleston was impacted by the weather and rough seas on Saturday. The weather's prolonged impact on the Charleston area delay the ship's arrival on Sunday and as a result, the next voyage embarkation was also delayed.

They thank their guests for their understanding, John, and they pointed out that the Carnival Sunshine is now sailing on its next cruise. But you saw that video there. That's scary. And for some cases, many people said they got sick during this as well.

Carnival said they did have medics and medical attention for anybody who was ill because of that storm. Rough seas though, not how you want to end a vacation to the Bahamas for sure.

BERMAN: No. And when you see the water like going down the hallway there, that is not the kind of site you want to see on a cruise ship.

GALLAGHER: Yes.

BERMAN: Dianne Gallagher, thanks so much for being with you -- with us. Rahel?

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Nearly 15 million young Americans between the ages of two and 19 are considered obese. It's an issue that the CDC has labeled a serious problem. Well now, research shows that more young people are turning to weight loss surgery to try to treat the issue.

CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. So, Elizabeth, how old are these children getting this weight loss surgery and at what point do doctors determine that it may be needed?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, Rahel, these children, they're teenagers, they're preteens, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says they should be severely obese before a doctor would consider doing weight loss surgery. Let's take a look at what severely obese looks like.

So, for example, for a 17-year-old girl, if she were five foot two, she should be around 200 pounds before doctors would start considering doing this surgery. For a boy the same age, let's say he's five foot 10, he would have to be around 240 pounds before doctors would consider doing this surgery. Now, let's take a look at some obesity statistics in the United States, Rahel.

If you look between 2015 and 2018, five million more children -- nearly five million more children fell into that severe obesity category during those three years. So, as we can see then, the rates of severe obesity going way up. That helps explain this number.

What this study did was it looked at obesity surgery between 2020 and 2021. It went up 19 percent for this age group. Up 19 percent for children and teens in just one year, Rahel.

SOLOMON: And, Elizabeth, from your perspective and your analysis, I mean, how old should a child be before something like this is considered? You mentioned critically severely obese, but how old should they be, do you think?

COHEN: Yes. So, Rahel, a lot of people were asking that question, so the American Academy of Pediatrics put out guidelines to doctors and they said 15 plus for obesity surgery. In other words, they said you know, look, really we don't think you should be doing the surgery under 15. They said 13 plus for medication. And for children under 13, they said try diet and exercise.

But I will say that oftentimes medical organizations put out guidelines like this, and then doctors you know, sort of stretch it. So, this is what's suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yes, doctors' supports have discretion. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, the numbers are in and summer travel is back in a big way. Travelers packed U.S. airports over the more -- Memorial Day holiday weekend surpassing pre-pandemic levels. CNN's Pete Muntean has more on this for us. He's back with us.

He finally left Reagan National Airport. He is back though he will never -- he will -- he'll be back to his second home I'm sure very soon. Pete, what are you learning in these numbers?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: These numbers are way bigger than what we saw back in 2019 before the pandemic. The total, Friday, Saturday, Sunday Monday if you add all of those up, the number of people screened by TSA at airports across the country, 9.8 million people. That's 300,000 more people than the same period back before the pandemic.

2.5 8 million people yesterday. That was the second wave of folks coming home all at once. 2.74 million people on Friday. That is now the pandemic-era air travel record. We've not seen a number that high since 2019.

[11:40:15]

The good news here for all of those people is that airlines really passed a big test here, and the cancellation numbers were relatively low. About 700 cancellations over five days. About a quarter of what we saw over the same period last year, which really kicked off a summer of cancellations. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, airlines cancel about 55,000 flights in total.

I spoke to Scott Keyes of the travel site, Going. And he says that airlines really cannot let their guard down just yet because there's a lot of summers left. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KEYES, FOUNDER & CHIEF FLIGHT EXPERT, GOING.COM: I think we can say without reservation that airlines have passed the test. I'm hopeful that means we're going to have a pretty good summer when it comes to flying. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Rushing out over, Kate, 2.14 million people expected at airports today by the TSA. Of course, a lot of people driving. Worse times to drive according to AAA, between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. So, John Berman has a little bit of extra time to pack his sensible swimwear if you put off that trip.

BOLDUAN: This is why you got to watch the show every day. We're just continuing our hilarious inside jokes from Memorial Day Monday. The reason -- the reason why, John, that Pete is giving us the numbers is we still haven't hit the peak because no one's coming back to work until tomorrow.

BERMAN: Because Pete Muntean says that experts tell him that the best day to travel home for Memorial Day weekend is Wednesday.

BOLDUAN: So --

BERMAN: So, if you're doing what Pete says, you're still off.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Guys, he's a pilot. He's a scheduler. He's a weatherman. He's, a triple threat, OK? Thanks, Pete.

MUNTEAN: Thanks. I appreciate that.

BOLDUAN: He hates us.

BERMAN: All right, the suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway says he was beaten behind bars. The new twist in this case.

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[11:46:32]

SOLOMON: Just in to CNN. We're learning that Joran van der Sloot, the suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, has agreed to be transferred to the U.S. according to his lawyer. This comes as Peruvian prison officials are denying a new report from ABC News that van der Sloot was severely beaten in prison. Van der Sloot is set to be extradited to the U.S. on charges of extortion and fraud allegedly committed against Holloway's mother.

CNN's Jean Casarez still following this for us. Jean, you and I spoke about this earlier in the show. I mean, this is a significant development quite quickly. I mean, do we think this agreement has anything to do with this Peruvian report?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well -- but the timing is very suspect, right? You know, Rahel, CNN Espanol has just spoken with Maximo Altez. He is the attorney for Joran van der Sloot. Has been from the very first day.

He is confirming with CNN that there was a prison fight. It was on Saturday at maximum security prison in Peru. And why do we care about this is because of the extradition that is days away. Now, here's what Mr. Altez says to CNN. He said. "It wasn't a direct assault against him. It was a fight among some inmates. And my client got involved when he tried to defend his friend who was injured in the leg. As a consequence, Joran got injured on his hand." And van der Sloot, he says, has cuts on his fingers and he has bruises. He was taken to the medic area.

But I think another headline is that he could also confirm with CNN Espanol that Joran van der Sloot said "I want to go to the United States." He wants to be extradited out of Peru temporarily because that's what the president of Peru is allowing for. He would then return to complete his murder sentence.

But the attorney also says that he does not know the timeline at this point because he has not been told the timeline. But we know by law, and by the president of Peru, they said that it would be within 30 days from that May date that the President came out saying this, confirming that Joran van der Sloot would be extradited to Alabama here in the U.S.

SOLOMON: Yes. A lot more to come here. Jean Casarez, thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Coming up still for us. The Miami Heat, they're headed to the finals after denying the Boston Celtics' what would have been could have been a historic comeback. You can see the Celtics fans there. What now after one of the wildest playoff series ever? We'll be back.

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[11:53:27]

BERMAN: So, Denver has never won an NBA championship, Miami was a lowly eighth seed this year, and now they face off in a finals that no one could have predicted. Unfortunately, Miami had to beat the Celtics to get there. Andy Scholes with us this morning. Andy, I have to say, I mean no one would have predicted this finals matchup at the beginning of the season. Not even close.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. You were the guy like 301 on your money, John, if you were to put it down. You had a Nuggets (INAUDIBLE) to NBA Finals. But at some point, we're going to have to stop discounting this Miami Heat team.

You know they were underdogs against Giannis and the Bucks in the first round, underdogs against the Knicks, then underdogs against the Celtics. They always seem to just find a way to get it done. And it's because this team, it's just got so many gritty individuals.

They have seven guys who are undrafted on this team playing big minutes on this roster. I mean Caleb Martin was incredible this entire series. These -- seven players undrafted, it's the most any team has ever had that's made it to an NBA Finals. And they just dismantled the Celtics in that game seven.

It was never a ballgame. Boston scoring at four points, their lowest output of the entire season. And Jimmy Butler, give him credit. He was confident that they were going to win the entire time.

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JIMMY BUTLER, MIAMI HEAT FORWARD: I'm just confident. I know the work that we all put into it. So I know what we're capable of.

But nobody is satisfied. We haven't done anything. We don't play just to win the Eastern Conference. We play to win the whole thing.

Everybody's confidence is so high. We got to believe that we can do something incredibly special. So we're going to hit the ground running when we get to Denver. And I like our chances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:55:07]

SCHOLES: Yes. Jimmy Butler wasn't lying when he said that they don't play to win the Eastern Conference, John. A funny video right here. Bam Adebayo tried to hand Butler the Eastern Conference trophy and Butler just shook his head, like no, I don't even want to hold that and celebrate it.

BERMAN: Andy, we got about 20 seconds left. Who's going to guard Jokic though in the finals, or which 12 of them will guard Jokic?

SCHOLES: Yes. Yes. They might have to go to the old zone like they did against the Celtics and see if that works.

But, hey, coach Erik Spoelstra is many good regards him as the best coach in the game now, John. So, I would -- I -- you know, I'm pretty sure he's going to come up with a good game plan. But the Nuggets are heavy favorites in this NBA Finals.

BERMAN: Andy Scholes, thank you very much for making this as least painful as it could have been for me. Appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Still want it, Berman? Are you still (INAUDIBLE)

BERMAN: Yes. Yes. I mean --

BOLDUAN: I mean sounds one from like, the 1970s something or rather than Boston loss --

BERMAN: 1978.

BOLDUAN: -- so, I don't --

BERMAN: And I think that's 70-something.

SOLOMON: It's a long time.

BOLDUAN: Ah, friends.

SOLOMON: Good to be with you, guys.

BOLDUAN: Thank you again, Rahel.

BERMAN: Thank you.

SOLOMON: It did.

BOLDUAN: And thank you all so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

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