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Lebron James Gives Update After Son's Cardiac Arrest; Experts: July Is The Hottest Month Ever On Record; Biden Announces New Action To Address Extreme Heat; Poll: Biden, Trump Tied In General Election Matchup; U.S. Women Rally Late To Tie Netherlands. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired July 27, 2023 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Another health story we've been following, the NBA superstar, LeBron James, just gave an update on his son, Bronny. You'll remember the 18-year-old suffered cardiac arrest while practicing Monday with the USC basketball team.
LeBron Tweeted, quote, "I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers. We feel you. And I'm so grateful. Everyone doing great. We have our family together safe and healthy and we feel your love.
"We'll have more to say when we're ready. But I wanted to tell everybody how much your support has meant to all of us."
Continuing on the story on Tuesday, the LeBron family issued a statement saying that Bronny is now in stable condition, no longer in the ICU.
Amid record-breaking high temperatures, officials declare an emergency alert for the country's largest power grid system.
And President Biden has a new plan to combat the extreme heat. We'll tell you exactly what that is, next.
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[13:35:41]
SCIUTTO: The hottest average temperatures in human history. That is how experts are describing new data showing that July will be the planet's hottest month ever recorded.
Right now, nearly half the U.S. population is under a heat alert, impacting 150 million Americans in more than 30 states, all the way from Maine to California.
The unrelenting heatwave is now spreading to parts of the Midwest and northeast, leading the nation's power grid to declare an emergency for the 65 million people it services.
CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers joins us live from the Weather Center. White House correspondent, Jeremy Diamond, is also here because President Biden is considering taking steps to try to handle some of this.
So, Chad, let's begin with you.
Tell us where -- oh, my gosh, that's one big red map.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
SCIUTTO: Tell us where the hot records are being broken and just how out of whack with history this is.
MYERS: You know, it feels like 107 right outside of your studio right now. And 109 in St. Louis. Where's the worst? You just have to look at the numbers. It is bad everywhere.
What else comes with this? Sometimes severe thunderstorms. We'll get to that in a second.
It does cool down in New York and D.C. by Monday and Tuesday with a cold front. So this is only going to be a brief heatwave, unlike Arizona that had 26, 27 days above 110. This will be a three to four- day heatwave.
What we've seen in July so far are numbers so far above the skew of the last 20 years that now today's Copernicus, our partners out there in Europe, have already declared July will be is the warmest July ever and the warmest month ever on record.
A study hasn't been done yet. But how do they know? Because it is so far above anything else. Like this is a 10th or a 100th degree above. This is now two-tenths of a degree above everything else.
And we have this severe weather possible today across parts of Michigan, also in Wisconsin. We're seeing a few storms that are already firing up across the northeast.
And a severe thunderstorm watch is already in effect here. So some of these storms will be very big today.
Make sure that you have your weather awareness hat on today. It could be one of those days where you get caught outside and go, wow, I didn't know this was coming.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Literally, off the charts, those figures. Right off the charts. It's so unusual.
Chad Myers, thanks so much.
Jeremy, these extreme temperatures, of course, poses a severe threat to people's health. We're hearing of burns, heat exhaustion, you name it, worries about the power grid.
I understand President Biden has wrapped up a news conference describing some steps the administration will take. What are they?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jim. With nearly half the U.S. population under a heat alert today, President Biden reminding Americans that heat is, in fact, the number- one weather-related killer.
It kills more people than floods and hurricanes and tornadoes. That was the message from the president today.
But beyond the messaging, he also came armed with some concrete steps that his administration is taking to try and address these extreme temperatures.
It begins with protecting workers, in particular, those who have to work outside. The Department of Labor will be issuing a hazard alert, which offers federal-related protections as it relates to high temperature for workers. And it reminds employers of those federal protections.
There will also be increased inspections by OSHA, for example, to make sure that employers, particularly in the agriculture sector, in construction, where workers are working outside, are paying attention to these temperatures.
And $7 million in additional funding to improve weather forecasting and $152 million to build out water infrastructure across the country.
The president today also addressing this in the bigger picture, the bigger picture, of course, of climate change. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Even those who deny we're in the midst of a climate crisis can't deny the impact extreme heat is having on Americans.
Americans, like an elderly woman in Phoenix who fell out of her wheelchair and, after five minutes on the ground, had third-degree burns. Third-degree burns.
I want the American people to know help is here and we'll make it available to anyone who needs it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[13:40:55]
DIAMOND: And of course, Jim, that bigger picture of the climate crisis is why President Biden signed into law and pushed for the Inflation Reduction Act, which delivers the largest ever investment in climate change initiatives.
And I can tell you that certainly the heat and this extreme weather will be top of mind for the president.
It feels like 107 degrees out here today, Jim. I might ask for a dispensation on a suit jacket for the next segment.
SCIUTTO: Well, listen, it will be something we have to get used to. It is in the numbers. It's in the data. They're not making it up.
Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.
Boris?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: New polling shows a dead heat in what could be a rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Ahead, we'll speak we former Congressman Tim Ryan about the fund that he just created to empower what he calls, quote, "the exhausted American majority."
Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
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[13:45:12]
SANCHEZ: The race for 2024, according to new polling, is currently a photo finish. A new poll showing President Biden and heavy Republican favorite Donald Trump are tied in a head-to-head match-up.
This follows another poll that shows that despite Trump's growing legal problems, Republican voters are sticking with the former president. And 69 percent still believe he is the strongest candidate to take on Joe Biden.
Joining us to discuss this polling and more, former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan. He's also the founder of the new national advocacy group, We the People 250 Action Fund.
Congressman, thanks so much for being with us.
Let's start with the fund. You said that you want to move on from the toxic conversation that surrounds politics. How is the fund going to help you do that? What are you hoping to do with the money you are trying to raise?
TIM RYAN, (D), FORMER CONGRESSMAN FROM OHIO & FOUNDER, WE THE PEOPLE 250 ACTION FUND: Well, we'll be the home for the exhausted majority, which I think is the vast majority of the people in the country who are just really tired of the political conversation that is happening in the United States.
And we want better. We're going to head toward better. We want to usher in an era of reform and responsibility and increased civic engagement and really elevate the conversation.
But what we'll do is highlight the positive things that are happening in the country. There are so many ordinary people that are doing absolutely extraordinary things. It gets drowned out in the national conversation.
We're going to make very compelling videos that highlight what's going on in the country. We want to build the organization in all 3,142 counties and begin to knit this country back together from a cultural perspective, not necessarily a political perspective.
SANCHEZ: Well, Tim, respectfully, it seems there is a lot of demand for Trump's style of politics, the sort of populist anti-establishment voice. What do you have to say to those folks?
RYAN: Well, look, everybody will be welcome. Now let me be very, very clear. We'll take a firm and hostile position against all anti- democratic forces in the country. We do not want to undermine the democracy. So we'll do everything we can to protect this country.
We're coming up on the 250th anniversary of the country. It is really a miracle that we've made it this far. And we want to make sure we leave it better for our kids. That means we all have to be a little bit more responsible.
And we can have disagreements on policy but we can't tolerate people who want to undermine the democracy. And I think most people, Boris, are ready to come together. They're ready to heal. But we have to move toward better.
And We the People 250 Action Fund will do that. People can go to WethePeople250.U.S. if they want to contribute and be a part of this organization. And again, we want to start the healing process.
I don't think people have a place to go right now. We want to give them that place for the exhausted majority.
SANCHEZ: I think some of the polling, at least on the Republican side, paints a bit of a different picture.
Though you have said that in order for a presidential candidate to win purple states like your home state of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, they have to run a, quote, "high-energy campaign." You have to be able to communicate what you've accomplished.
On the Democratic side, do you think President Biden has been doing that?
RYAN: Well, he is going to have to. I mean, that will be the recipe for success.
We have, in Ohio, for example, and I know in Michigan and other states, really positive things going on from the initiatives that President Biden led and I supported when I was in Congress, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS bill that's allowing the reshoring of chip manufacturing.
Ohio will have a $20 billion investment just outside of Columbus, making chips again for the first time. We have auto plants, electric vehicles, batteries, a lot going on. Natural gas, power plants in the eastern part of the state.
A lot of positive stuff, mostly tied to these initiatives. So I think getting out and campaigning on those initiatives will be a recipe for success and the stability and the pro-democracy piece.
So there is a lot of time left before the campaign starts. So we'll see what happens.
Former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, thanks so much for sharing your time with us.
RYAN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
Jim?
[13:49:37]
SCIUTTO: All right, in sports, crisis averted at the World Cup. The U.S. women's national team managed a draw in a tough match against the Netherlands. What that means for their future at the tournament. Details just ahead.
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SCIUTTO: A U.S. soccer letdown averted for now. The U.S. women's national team fought back to secure a crucial draw at the World Cup. They now stand at the top of their group with one more game before the knockout round. But they have to win or tie that one.
Let's get right to CNN "WORLD SPORT" anchor, Don Riddell.
Don, you know, they put up a good fight, they came back. Listen, that's hard to do at this level. Not their strongest showing yet. I wonder, is there worry inside the team at all?
[13:54:58]
DON RIDDELL, CNN "WORLD SPORT" ANCHOR: Well, I think some of the fans might be concerned. They could have scored more goals in their game against Vietnam than the three they did.
And certainly, people would have expected them to win this game, even though the Dutch are one of the top teams in the world. This was a repeat of the World Cup final four years ago.
But the Netherlands gave them a really, really tough match taking the lead here. The Dutch had way more of the possession in this game.
But if you look the at tale of the tape, the American had 18 shots on goal. They only scored one of them.
And they will be ever so grateful to Lindsey Horan for what you're about see, a really brave thumping header to get the American team a point out of this game. So they will be glad they got the point.
They might struggle when the teams get even tougher in the knockout stages, assuming the American teams make it that far if they are struggling to score goals.
But for now, they are saying just give us time. There's 14 new players in this squad from the last World Cup. They haven't all played together until game one of the tournament so they are just getting things together, they're just jelling.
And overall, I think the American players were reasonably satisfied. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSEY HORAN, SCORED GAME-TYING GOAL FOR U.S.: I felt the momentum the whole time. I think the first half, we felt a little disappointed in how we played. But I think we fixed things right away, the pressure that we go on and the amount of chants and the opportunity that came from it. So I'm proud of the team and their response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: The American team do need a result in their next game. That will be against Portugal on Tuesday.
SCIUTTO: Listen, it's a tough group. Portugal and the Netherlands. Only two out of those three will make it through. We'll be watching.
Don Riddell, thanks so much.
Boris?
SANCHEZ: A possible third indictment looming. The special counsel and Donald Trump's attorneys met today. We're live from the federal courthouse in just moments.
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