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3 Killed After Helicopters Collide Fighting Fire; FL Man Saved After Being Lost At Sea For 30-Plus Hours; Red Cross Loosens Blood Donor Restrictions On Gay Men; NYC Mayor Announces Plan To Build New Relief Center On Randall's Island To Accommodate 2,000 Adult Migrant; U.S. Women Knocked Out Of World Cup After Penalty Shootout With Sweden. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 07, 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]

NICK SCHULER, CAL FIRE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & INCIDENT AWARENESS: And our number-one priority was making the unfortunate notifications to the family that a tragic event has occurred, and they have lost a loved one.

And secondly, taking care of the other firefighters and their families.

There is an active investigation going on to determine why those aircraft collided. We have one of the most highly sought-after aviation programs in the world.

Last year alone, we dropped over 24 gallons of water and retardants on fires. And this is an extremely rare event.

So it's extremely important the investigation is methodical. But currently, at this point, it remains under investigation.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Can you tell us a little bit about the role of these aircraft? These helicopters were two of the six aircraft that were responding to the fire. These are obviously essential tools for fighting fires in southern California.

SCHULER: You are correct, Brianna. In southern California, or in California in general, we respond to thousands of fires each year.

And one of the aircraft with the helicopter coordinating aircraft that essentially coordinates the fire traffic area for all the other resources.

The other helicopter had fortunately landed safely. It is a water dropping helicopter known as the sky crane that can drop approximately 2,600 gallons of water.

It's a tragic event, but we are at least happy to report that two of the pilots in the other aircraft were able to land safely and were uninjured.

KEILAR: Thank goodness they were able to land. According to Cal Fire's tracking site, these deaths we're talking

about are the first of the 2023 firefighting season.

Are we going to learn more information? Can you tell us when we'll learn more information about what happened and about the lives lost?

SCHULER: Yes, you know, the lives lost are a story that will continue not only at fire stations around the state, but in memory of the families, and that is something important to remember.

In regards to the investigation itself, we're going to look to the experts who are the FAA and NTSB to provide us guidance, and we will fully cooperate and support that.

As the safety of not only our aviation fleet, but firefighters on the ground are our number-one priority.

KEILAR: Nick, thank you so much for taking time with us today. We're so sorry for what you and the entire Cal Fire community and these families are going through, as you continue to fight fires during such a critical time in California.

SCHULER: Thank you for your time and thank you for covering the story.

KEILAR: Thank you.

Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Here's a story with a happy ending. A routine fishing trip turned it into a stranded-at-sea saga for one Florida man. You are looking at the Coast Guard rescue of 25-year-old Charlie Gregory. This on Saturday. This is about 12 miles off St. Augustine, Florida.

Gregory had been floating in a tiny boat that, by then, as you can see, was half submerged in water. For nearly 2 days out there. He saw sharks, suffered sunburn, jellyfish things as well.

His father said Charlie never lost hope. Quote, "He said he's had more conversations with God in that 30 hours and he's had his whole life."

CNN's Carlos Suarez joins us now.

Carlos, my first question is, that's a tiny boat to go out to sea in. How did this happen?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, so according to the 25-year- old's father, the boat his son was on was hit by a large wave, and once that boat began taking on water, well, the current, it took it out some 12 miles off the coast of St. Augustine.

According to the United States Coast Guard, 25-year-old Charles Gregory, he went out on this fishing trip early Friday morning, and then he ran into some pretty big problems early on in that trip.

He was on board this 12-foot boat, a lightweight vessel that has this flat bottom portion to it there. According to his father, he hit this large wave, causing the boat to start taking on water.

Throughout this entire process throughout this entire process, Charles ends up losing his cell phone, he ends up losing his life vest, ends up losing a seat cushion because all that goes overboard.

But he makes the decision to try to hold onto this boat. We are told at some point, Gregory decides to take the motor off the entire thing, all in an effort to keep that boat afloat.

It's a decision the United States Coast Guard says really probably saved his life because he was able to stay on that boat for about 35 hours until the Coast Guard rescued him.

Here now is the commander with the Coast Guard talking about this entire ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK BARROW, COMMANDER, U.S. COAST GUARD, JACKSONVILLE SECTOR: He got into a pretty bad situation. He did not intend to be at sea, but that's where he ended up. And unfortunately enough, as mentioned before, he capsized and lost his cell phone and what limited safety gear he had on board, overboard.

[13:35:07]

But he made the decision to stay with the boat, re-right the boat. And I think that was a very important factor in us being able to ultimately find him with the C-130.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: Jim, we are told, at one point, Gregory took off his swimming shorts in an effort to try to flag down some boats as well at that airplane.

The good news at this hour if he is back home. He's being treated for severe sunburns, as well as some dehydration. But again, he is back with his family and has quite the story to tell.

SCIUTTO: A boat, a lot more visible than a person floating in water. Wise decision, it seems.

Carlos Suarez, in Miami, thank you so much.

Brianna?

KEILAR: Unbelievable.

A big adjustment in the policy regarding blood donation going into effect today. More gay and bisexual men will now be able to donate. Ahead, why it's being called one of the most significant changes in blood banking history.

As New York City deals with an influx of migrants, the city's mayors said that the shelters are maxed out and the new arrivals are sleeping on sidewalks. We will tell you the latest plan for dealing with the surge.

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[13:40:40]

SCIUTTO: Starting today, the American Red Cross has updated its guidance on who can donate blood. The new rules will allow more gay and bisexual people here in the U.S. to donate.

That 40-year-old policy was created early in the AIDS epidemic. But the Red Cross will now use more inclusive risk-based management assessment to determine if someone is eligible or not eligible to give blood, regardless of sexual orientation.

CNN health correspondent, Meg Tirrell, joins us now.

Meg, so tell us how this decision came to be.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, this is really a 40- year process. And it's really significant because the Red Cross, it's not the first blood center to adopt these new guidelines of the FDA, but it does appear to be the largest.

It provides about 40 percent of blood and blood components in the United States, so this is just a huge move.

Really, this policy goes back 40 years to 1985 when a lifetime ban was placed on gay male blood donors because of the concerns of the spread of HIV.

In 2015, they shortened that to a one-year abstinence requirement, shortened it again during Covid to three months. But only now are they really making these guidelines the same for everybody based on individual risk, not based on sexual orientation.

And, Jim, this really brings the U.S. into step with other countries, like the U.K. and Canada, who've done this previously and who the FDA says they look at the data there has not made the blood supply any less safe.

It's a step a lot of people have been calling for a long time.

SCIUTTO: Screening as part of this as well. And I imagine demand, right? You often hear that the need outstrips the supply.

TIRRELL: You know, only 3 percent of people who are age eligible in the United States actually donate blood.

There are still some exclusions to who can do this though. And the community is still saying that it does create stigma. Those exclusions are based on sexual history.

But also based on taking antiviral drugs to prevent HIV infection because the FDA said this can create possibility for false negatives when they are screening the blood supply.

People are still calling for more work to be done, but also calling it a major historical step forward.

SCIUTTO: Meg Tirrell, thanks so much.

Brianna?

KEILAR: This just in. New York Mayor Eric Adams has announced plans to build a new humanitarian relief center on Randall's Island. The city has struggled to find housing for the tens of thousands of migrants seeking asylum. The problem has left some people sleeping on the street.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the story for us.

Polo, tell us about this plan of the mayor's?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we are hearing from the New York mayor's office, Brianna, it is a potentially house up to 2,000 adult male migrants.

Keep in mind, this is happening as the city continues to care for roughly 57,0000 asylum seekers and over the nearly 90,000 will arrive here in New York City. They will turn to municipal authorities for any sort of assistance they can get.

The hotel across the street in Manhattan, that's actually where there were dozens of asylum seekers who had to sleep on the sidewalk. Many of them adult single males because the city had run out of space. This was last week.

The city was eventually able to place them in at least temporary housing, so we have not seen a repeat of that.

However, Eric Adams, the mayor, said it was made clear that, that kind of heartbreaking scene is likely going to repeat itself if the city, once again, runs out of space.

Here we are today, the mayor's office announcing it's, once again, going to be erecting these temporary structures in the area known as Randall's Island.

You will probably remember that from late last year. They actually set up a shelter facility there last fall, but then quickly closed it back down, citing dwindling asylum seeker numbers.

But here we are now in the summer. Those numbers, again over 2,000 asylum seekers that arrived in the city just in the last month alone.

KEILAR: It's quite an issue they are having there.

Polo, thank you so much for that report.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, just a devastating loss for the U.S. women's national team, knocked out of the World Cup. What is next for the team? We will discuss with a national team veteran and two-time World Cup champion. [13:44:58]

Plus, a severe weather outbreak with hurricane-force winds expected today across major cities along the east coast, including here in Washington. We will have the latest forecast.

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SCIUTTO: Now to some of the other headlines we are watching this hour.

At least three people are dead, multiple others injured following a charter bus crash in Pennsylvania. The accident happened on Interstate 81, just outside Harrisburg on Sunday night.

[13:50:03]

Police say the bus carrying 45 to 50 passengers flipped on its side after colliding with a car that had stopped in the right lane.

Today, more than 120 million Americans are under a severe storm threat. Damaging wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain and a few tornadoes as well, possible all the way from Philadelphia to Atlanta.

The first tornado watches of the day have been issued in parts of Ohio Valley, the Appalachians, Tennessee and North Carolina, you see there.

Just moments ago, a tornado watch issued for the entire Washington, D.C., area, Baltimore as well, along with parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. That's quite a swath.

And residents in Juneau, Alaska, are dealing with record glacial flooding. Drone footage shows one house collapsing into those flood waters. Those floods happen when glaciers melt and pour just massive amounts of water into nearby lakes. And then they overflow.

Another story, "Barbie" continues to make history and a whole lot of money. Greta Gerwig's block buster raked in an astounding $1 billion at the box office, just three weeks after its premiere.

That makes Gerwig the first solo female director to ever reach that billion-dollar milestone. "Barbie," distributed by Warner Brothers, which, of course, has the same parent company as we do at CNN.

Brianna?

KEILAR: A heart breaker by just a hair. The United States women's national soccer team heading home after losing a sudden-death shootout with Sweden in the round of 16.

The winning goal just barely crossing the line. It was so close that officials had to use goal line technology to confirm that it was, indeed, legit.

And this loss now ending U.S. hopes for a record World Cup three-peat and also sparking speculation that the rest of the world has finally caught up with the Americans. Here is TNT soccer analyst and two-time World Cup champ, Julie Foudy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE FOUDY, TNT SOCCER ANALYST & TWO-TIME WORLD CUP CHAMPION: You're seeing these teams, three out of the four African teams got through. Jamaica got through. Colombia got through. So South America doing better.

So, you're seeing really a rise globally of the game. And so, this is a situation where I think people expect the United States because of all our past dominance to continue to dominate. And I just think that's unrealistic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's talk about all this now. Joining us we have former U.S. women's national team goalkeeper and World Cup champion, Briana Scurry. She's also the author of the book "My Greatest Save, The Brave Barrier-Breaking Journey of a World Champion Goalkeeper."

Of course, Briana, you were the person to talk to about this. We all remember just how pivotal your performance was in '99. And so when you're looking at this, as a goalie and a national team veteran, what was your reaction to just how close that was?

BRIANA SCURRY, WOMEN'S SOCCER OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST & WORLD CUP CHAMPION: I was actually very astonished that we even got to the penalty kick shootout phase because that Sweden goalkeeper was on fire. I mean, she made so many amazing saves.

And it was just, in my opinion, fortunate that we went into the pks. And I knew Alyssa was fantastic at pks. And I really felt confident that we would win.

And I just -- my heart was broken for her because you could see on her face she couldn't believe it because she felt she had made that save. And any other year, it would have been a save because it was so close, so razor close, like you said.

But it was just a heartbreaking way to end it because she had literally taken that team on her back in that penalty kick shootout and almost pulled it off single handedly.

KEILAR: The athleticism of grabbing that ball was unbelievable, but just barely, barely missing it there.

Back to Julie Foudy's point here. The U.S. had been dominating for so long, four titles out of nine women's World Cups. Do you think the rest of the world has caught up to the U.S.?

SCURRY: I think they definitely are catching up. I see a little differently than Jules does. I feel the definition of catching up would be teams that have won consistently over time. And we are still the only team that's been able to do that. We are missing a few pieces right now. I think with Vlatko choosing to

have 14 first-timers on the team at once, I think that was too much to expect from those players that started to carry the weight of goal scoring and whatnot on the team. That was a little too soon to have that young of a team in that environment.

But now that they had the experience, I definitely feel like we could come and win again.

[13:54:58]

We have a little coaching change. If that were to take place, I think what we would do -- this may be controversial, but Serena Wegman, the coach of England now, is by far, in my opinion, the best coach on the planet for women's soccer.

And if we could somehow woo her to coach our team, I think we could find ourselves hoisting trophies again.

KEILAR: We know what you want then. You were out there vocally lobbying for that.

(LAUGHTER)

SCURRY: Yes.

KEILAR: Of course, and you know this, this team has inspired a flood of armchair analysts who are chiming in, including people who know nothing about soccer, some who do.

Former President Donald Trump posted a rant on Truth Social. He said in part, "Woke equals failure."

The former U.S. men's national team player-turned commentator, Alexi Lalas, "Don't kill the messenger. This team is polarizing, politics and stance and behavior have made this team unlikable to a portion of America."

We should note that his record, if you put it up against, say, Megan Rapinoe's, it pales in comparison.

But what do you say to critics who are saying that this is a team that lost because they're too Woke. Or is there -- what do you think about that?

SCURRY: I completely disagree. I think the reason this team was unable to do the greatness that it's used to doing has nothing to do with any of the things that these people mentioned.

I think that having so many rookies on the team in positions of expectation of carrying the team with Sofia Smith, Trinity Rodman up top, expecting them to score a bunch of goals and this is their first time playing on a national team, major tournament, Vlatko playing different lineups a lot.

I don't think it has anything to do with the amazing achievements that we have done off the pitch. And the way that we have as a group stood up for those who can't speak for themselves.

That's something we have done for 30 years and obviously has not been something that has hindered us in winning championships. We will win again, whether it's in the Olympic games or the World Cup in the future. We will. And we are the standard bearers for women all over this world.

If that's what it takes to help other women in this country and other countries stand up and fight for what they deserve, then I, for one, am very proud of being someone who does that.

I hope the team will continue to do so. I will do my part in that as well.

KEILAR: Briana Scurry, always great to have you. You certainly know what a difference a save or a goal makes. So you're the person to talk to today. Thank you.

SCURRY: Thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.

KEILAR: Jim?

SCIUTTO: Coming up, a key deadline. Trump's defense lawyers have just a few hours to respond to a special counsel filing that might place restrictions on what Trump can do with and say about certain evidence in the January 6th federal case.

This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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