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Massive Blast, Fire Rock Central Paris; White House Pushes To Regulate Artificial Intelligence; Court Docs: Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger's DNA A Statistical Match To Blood Found At Crime Scene; Scorching Temps Blase Across Swaths Of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana; Man Who Assaulted Michael Fanone Sentences To 12 Years. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 21, 2023 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: But down here things don't move very much.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: That's helpful to know. Chad Myers, thanks so much. Seeing those depths it really tells you so much of the picture -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, a fiery explosion in central Paris injuring 29 people. Up next, we're going to tell you what police say caused the blast.

Plus, experts raising red flags about the future of artificial intelligence. How the White House is racing to regulate it. I had, we're going to speak with someone who met with President Biden to discuss the risk and benefits of AI. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Unfolding right now, rescuers looking for victims after an apparent gas explosion and fire in Paris. It happened inside a building that houses the Paris American Academy. It's a design school in the heart of the French capital. Kent State University says all of its students there are OK, but at least 29 have been injured and two -- at least two are missing. CNN's Melissa Bell is on the scene there for us. And Melissa, it looks like the fire is more or less under control right now. What are you seeing where you are?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Boris. You can see behind me the huge operation that's taking place here in central Paris, an enormous part of the Left Bank, the Latin corner, has been cordoned off and 270 firefighters involved. And earlier on those images were really quite dramatic.

What we understand happened was inside that Paris American academy that you speak of, a fashion design school here in central Paris, an explosion, a gas explosion -- that is the assumption as a theory that Paris officials are working off of. There are inquiries actually been trying to figure out exactly how this came about. An explosion that was so large, Boris, and that what we've been

hearing from eyewitnesses who live nearby by, is that the apartments all around actually shook, furniture moved. Apparently, one described it as sounding like an earthquake. So extremely shocking scenes when it took place just before 5:00 p.m. local time here in Paris.

The entire front of the building, as we understand it, completely collapsed. And then fires were set off in several surrounding buildings. As you say, in the end 29 people injured, of those four still in critical condition. The French interior ministry is on the scene there just behind me. As for those American students from Kent State University, that statement you just seen, that are about 20 of their students here in Paris at the time, although they say all the students and their faculty are safe and accounted for.

Still this hour, several hours after that explosion, Boris, the search continues for two people that are apparently still reported missing. And of course, an inquiry that will tell us more about this, how this gas explosion could have come to be.

But for a few hours we saw in Paris here those huge fires raging, that fire billowing out over the Left Bank of Paris, really pretty impressive. And for all of those who have been in the vicinity and heard the initial bang and seen the chaos afterwards, extremely shocking scenes -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: And we hope those two that are unaccounted for are soon found. Melissa Bell from Paris, thank you so much -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Now to some of the other headlines we are watching this hour. The maker of Ozempic and Wegovy is suing some pharmacies, clinics and spas for allegedly selling knockoffs of its drugs that claim to contain semaglutide which is the active ingredient in the weight loss medications. Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk says the unlawful marketing and sales practices have created confusion, deception, also potential safety concerns for customers.

Also a new report from the World Economic Forum shows a bleak outlook for women. New data estimates the world will not see gender equality for another 131 years. If you are marking your calendar, that would be the year 2154. The report shows the gender gap closed by a mere .3 percent this year compared to last year. It says in part that progress was disrupted by the COVID pandemic's impact on women and girls both in education and the workforce.

And the Supreme Court is already looking at cases for next term, the justices set to meet behind closed doors tomorrow to consider whether to take up a blockbuster Second Amendment case. The challenge comes from the conservative leaning Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal which is claims a new federal law barring domestic abusers from buying a gun is unconstitutional -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The White House is scrambling with how to address and regulate artificial intelligence as warnings about this rapidly growing technology continue to mount. A recent poll found 42 percent of CEOs surveyed fear artificial intelligence could destroy humanity in five to ten years and dozens of industry leaders, academics, even some celebrities issued this statement last month warning that AI could lead to human extinction. Yes, you heard that right.

In the meantime, President Biden met with a group of experts and academics in San Francisco to discuss the future of AI. Joining me now is Jim Steyer. He is the CEO and founder of Common Sense Media. He was part of these talks yesterday. And Jim, I know that you are especially worried about kids when it comes to AI. What was your message to the president?

JIM STEYER, CEO AND FOUNDER, COMMON SENSE MEDIA: Well, my message to the president was this is really the way to frame the narrative around AI. Because the big winners potentially or the big losers are going to be the next generation, are going to be young people.

[15:40:03]

Whether it's the damage to democracy. Whether it's the potential to improve our education system. Whether it's the chance to make AI actually work on behalf of kids and families, these are critical questions. And the president has a big opportunity to lead on that.

KEILAR: So he has this meeting. You're part of that. You are one of many people who are sounding some alarms about this. He also attended though a fundraiser on this trip hosted by Reid Hoffman, who is an early investor in the parent company of ChatGPT. Do you worry that big companies are going to lobby their way out of effective regulation, ala social media companies how they have?

STEYER: So great question, Brianna. And by the way, I know Reid Hoffman. He lectures in my class at Stanford. And I have a lot of respect for Reid. But, yes, you asked the right question here. Look, AI is going to be a bigger deal than social media. And I think that's really important for the public to understand. That the impact of AI will be bigger than Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, et cetera.

And the truth is, there've been no regulations that are meaningful on social media. So we don't want to blow that again with AI. And the truth is, is now incumbent upon us to put guardrails and common-sense regulation around this extraordinary new technology. Because used well, there is incredible potential to improve our lives. Used badly -- I don't know if I'd talk about existential extinction, Brianna, but there is some very, very scary things that could happen in terms of misinformation, polarization, and the damage to our democracy.

And President Biden understood that. And I actually think that it was a very small conversation with a handful of experts, and we all said you cannot leave this extraordinary new technology up to a handful of very large companies who may or may not have the best interests of the public in mind.

KEILAR: And today you had Senator Chuck Schumer laying out a plan for that, for Senate regulation of AI. I want to listen to what he said. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY) MAJORITY LEADER: Later this year, I will invite top AI experts to come to Congress and convene a series of first ever AI insight forums for a new and unique approach to developing AI legislation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: What -- you know, you heard it there. Has he invited you to participate in this?

STEYER: Yes, he has. But you know what I would say to Congress? Show me the money. Show me the action. Look, when you look at privacy issue -- by the way, which affect every American -- as you may know Congress has still not passed any kind of significant privacy legislation, Brianna, since Mark Zuckerberg was in kindergarten. And we actually passed a major piece of legislation in California in 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Law, which is the law of the land. So privacy is an important issue -- and by the way it's related to AI.

But if we're going to have an important set of guardrails and a public interest orientation towards this extraordinary new technology, then Congress is going to have to stop being politically polarized and unable to get out of its own way. And so, I'm very glad that Senator Schumer invited me to these meetings and is talking about hearings. But actions speak louder than words. And as a citizen, all of us should want the government to defend the best interests of kids and families and schools and take advantage of these new technologies. But not let them be managed by a small group of trillion-dollar companies. So the proof is going to be in the pudding.

KEILAR: Jim, you say the way to frame this is to talk about the effects on children. What are you worried will happen? What negative effects would this have on children that people really need to be focused on?

STEYER: So Brianna, think about for example the big youth mental health crisis in the United States. So at Common Sense we've been focused on a national campaign working with the Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, around the fact that we really have a youth mental health crisis in the United States. AI amplifies everything. It basically -- so if you think of all the stresses and all of the bullying that can happen on platforms like Instagram or YouTube. And then you magnify that with AI. You could really go down the rabbit hole there in terms of the impact on youth mental health.

And the question is, will we regulate that? So there's a down side. But there's also the extraordinary potential. Sal Kahn, the founder of Kahn Academy was there with me yesterday, a good colleague.

[15:45:00]

We were talking about, if you used AI well, we could actually transform educational opportunities and tutoring opportunities and coaching opportunities for young kids particularly in low performing schools in this country. So a lot of it is, will we have a public interest common sense perspective on this and will we put the appropriate regulation in place? And that's why I say, it's up to Congress and the president to do that. It's up to states like California and Europe by the way to do that. But at the end of the day, we should make AI safe, high quality, and beneficial to children and families, period.

KEILAR: Optimize the good, minimize the bad. Jim, great to have you. Thank you so much for being with us.

STEYER: Great to see you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Boris.

SANCHEZ: Police unveiling new evidence against Bryan Kohberger, the criminology graduate accused of murdering four University of Idaho students. What DNA is now telling investigators when we come back.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We are following some new developments in the murder case of four University of Idaho students found stabbed to death November inside of their off-campus home. Just released court documents reveal new evidence against Bryan Kohberger, the criminology graduate student charged in the case, a University of Washington graduate student. Pardon me, Washington State University graduate student. CNN's Jean Casarez here with more on this. Jean, what could you tell us?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this document was filed because the defense has asked for all information in regard to DNA testing. They want the sources. They want the methods. They want the numbers. Prosecution is responding by saying you should not get all of it. You don't deserve all of it. But in this filing, the headline is, they are stating as a fact that when Bryan Kohberger was arrested, a buccal swab -- which is normally done in the cheek -- of his DNA was taken. So they finally had his DNA.

And that they compared that to the unknown DNA found on the knife sheath. Which we first have learned -- this was new information -- the knife sheath was turned over on the bed next to Maddy Mogen, partially under her body and partially under a comforter. But they compared that and statistical match they say to Bryan Kohberger was that unknown DNA on the knife sheath.

Let's look at documents here. Because here's what they say.

Quote -- and it's the STR testing they did. They say the STR profile is at least 5.37 octillion times more times likely to be seen if defendant is the source than if an unrelated individual randomly selected from the general population, is the source. That is the science data for STR DNA testing.

Here's one more thing we learned for the first time from this document. Now CNN, we had reported this through our sources on the day that Bryan Kohberger was arrested. But it's the first time the prosecution has admitted it. That the FBI did genetic genealogy early on. They took that unknown DNA from the knife sheath -- according to documents -- they put it through public data bases, finding relatives, distant relatives, generational relatives and they used that with investigate techniques and they went to local law enforcement and said, Bryan Kohberger is your suspect. And it went on from there.

KEILAR: Octillion. Sounds like a pretty good DNA match. Jean Casarez with some pretty big news there today. Thank you for that -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: That is big news in that case, no question.

Well, another story we're following right now, 30 million Americans under heat alerts. This in the South and Southwest. Texas breaking daily temperature records, some cities climbing close to scorching 120 degrees. Adding to people's misery, hundreds of thousands have also lost electricity. Of course, that means no air conditioning. CNN's Rosa Flores, she's in Galveston Beach, Texas. I wonder any relief in sight.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it feels like you feel dizzy when you're in the heat. Your vision gets hazy. It's that hot here in Galveston. Right now it's about 90 degrees but in nearby Houston, given the humidity, the heat index has been between 110 and 115 degrees.

Now one of the things that experts say is that you cannot forget your pets or your children in the car because temperatures rise very quickly. Now my producer, Sara Weisfeldt had this salad in the morning. We arrived here about 5:45 this morning and it was a beautiful leafy green salad and take a look at it now. The plastic, Jim, is even crumbled and it is completely dead. So there -- these are some of the dangers that the experts tell us about when it comes to the heat. You have to be very careful and stay hydrated and of course, don't forget your kids or your pets in the car.

SCIUTTO: The heat could be dangerous. We know that. Rosa Flores In Galveston Beach, Texas, thanks so much -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, the man who attacked D.C. metro police officer Michael Fanone with a stun gun on January 6 has just been sentenced. We're going to get you a live update when we come back.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Just into CNN, Daniel Rodriguez, the January 6 rioter who attacks police officer Michael Fanone was just sentenced to 12 years in prison. Rodriguez attacked officer Fanone with a stun gun after the pro-Trump mob dragged him into the crowd. You could see him falling to the ground in this video.

KEILAR: Rodriguez pled guilty to four criminal counts back in February. He was also ordered to pay more than $96,000 to the D.C. based Metropolitan Police Department for Fanone's medical and leave expenses which, of course, resulted from the attack. Fanone suffered a heart attack. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury from that assault.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[16:00:00]

MICHAEL FANONE, FORMER DC METRO POLICE OFFICER ATTACKED ON JANUARY 6: Experienced the most brutal savage hand-to-hand combat of my entire life. Let alone my policing career which spans almost two decades.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Fanon, who addressed the court today said in his mind his attacker, quote, ceased to exist a long time ago. The former officer also demanded the Justice Department pursue a indictment Against Former President Trump over the Capitol attack.

So many political charges around that. But you see what you see with those eyes in those videos and it's quite a reminder.

We'll continue to follow those stories and many others. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.