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Feds Testing Detached Alaska Airlines Plane Piece; 30 Million Plus People Facing Severe Storm Threat Across The U.S.; Study: Thousands Of Tiny Plastic Bits In Bottled Water; Biden Learned Today The Austin Had Prostrate Cancer; Jimmy Kimmel Blasts Aaron Rodgers For Suggesting Epstein Ties; Hooded, Armed Men Storm Ecuador TV Station. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired January 09, 2024 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:47]
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The big saving grace here is that this happened at 16,000 feet, not at 33,000 feet like it was planned. Because there's a lot less useful consciousness time. It's much, much colder. They were closer to 10,000 feet where the air was breathable. The pilots did a really good job here, air traffic control did a really good job here, the flight attendants did a great job, they really had to coordinate, although at a lot of chances, a lot of places in this in this narrative, they couldn't talk to one another. There were a lot of communication challenges. So they did a great job here.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: That's right, that's what we're making, we got to make light of Bob and the phones landed and one survived, but the truth is this could have been such a different story --
MUNTEAN: No doubt.
KEILAR: -- and just by the grace of God did this turn out to be like this and everyone's OK.
MUNTEAN: Yes.
KEILAR: So thank goodness for that as they get a handle on this. Pete, thank you so much.
MUNTEAN: Anytime.
KEILAR: We appreciate it.
A punishing storm is wreaking havoc across a large swath of the U.S. today, reports of multiple tornadoes touching down in the Florida panhandle.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Emergency responders say that they're seeing significant damage around Panama City Beach, and let's go there now, because we've got CNN's Derek Van Dam there. Derek, what does it look like where you are?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Brianna and Boris, you know, imagine this, even before your first cup of coffee, just before sunrise, you see a wall of wind and cloud in the form of a water spout, move on shore across Panama City Beach and topple buildings behind you. That is exactly what residents of Panama City Beach, where I'm located, woke up to this morning. Terrifying moments.
This house literally taken off of its pylons and it is now supported by its neighboring home. Look at the neighbor's house and some of the paint that's actually been kind of etched off because of the power of the wind and the sand being picked up.
And even here to the right side of this leaning building is another home without its roof. Well, that is the scary moments that people had to deal with this morning. There's even some condos here from this water spout turned tornado earlier this morning, one of several tornadoes that moved ashore along the Florida panhandle, ripping off some of the protective barriers on the outsides of the condos and the porches here.
There are currently over 500,000 customers without power along the entire eastern seaboard. And this storm is kind of eyes set on the northeast with heavy rain and the potential for flooding. So yeah, this is a tumultuous day across the eastern seaboard -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Really intense picture of that structure behind you. Derek Van Dam live from Panama Beach. Thanks so much.
Coming up before you buy that next bottle of water, you may want to hear about this new study. It may make you think twice. We'll explain in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:35:01]
KEILAR: Some startling news about the bottled water that you might be drinking now. A new study found that it could contain up to 100 times more pieces of plastic than previously thought.
SANCHEZ: Yes, those pieces are so small you can't even see them under a microscope and they could invade and damage your body cells. Primary care physician and public health specialist Dr. Saju Matthew is here to discuss. Doctor, great to see you as always. What's your reaction to this study? How dangerous are these plastic bits?
DR. SAJU MATTHEW, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, let me just tell you up front, you know, drinking out of a bottle of water should be a thing of the past, Boris and Brianna. And I'm telling you, we've always known that bottle water coming out of plastic bottles is harmful. But now this should put any doubts to rest.
We're talking about nanoparticles, as you mentioned in the in the intro. These are tiny particles that we always knew existed, but now we can actually see them. And just to give us a perspective, about one million products of bottle water are sold every minute globally in the world. So this is really a global issue of consuming products that could be very dangerous. It can actually affect infertility. It can increase your risk of breast cancer.
It could seep into our cells and digestive systems. So we really need to figure out ways to change our human behavior.
KEILAR: Yes, there's something about this study that just kind of like rocks you. I don't know. The potential impact here when you're talking about these little pieces of plastic. Fertility, you're talking about small children and the effects to small children. What specifically for them is at issue?
MATTHEW: Well, you know, when we talk about small children, you know, Brianna, we're talking about the developmental stages of the brain, of the different organs, the liver.
And I think what's even more scary is the fact that we don't have studies, long term studies, as to what these effects, how these effects might show up in a child later in adolescence or as an adult.
Also, when we talk about plastic products, we have to think about toys. A lot of kids around the world play with plastic toys and children put these pieces in their mouths.
And also, we have evidence to show, Brianna, that there is plastic even in placenta, even in human feces. So these nanoparticles are so dangerous for us as scientists because they can seep into the tiny cells. And over time, it can cause so many different issues.
SANCHEZ: So, doctor, this study focused on bottled water.
[04:40:00]
You mentioned other products that contain plastic. There are other food products that contain plastic as well, like soda, frozen dinner trays. Are you saying that the risk is similar?
MATTHEW: The risk is similar. You know, we're not talking about just, you know, bottled water. We're talking about food that comes out of plastic containers.
And here's actually what makes it worse. You have a plastic container that's stored in the fridge. The cold temperatures will actually keep the plastic from seeping cells, just like our human body basically sheds cells every single day. When you take it out of the freezer or the fridge and you put it in the microwave, now the heat can actually cause that plastic to shed even more cells.
And also, let's not forget that the human body temperature, Boris, is much higher than outside. So that also causes, if you will, the shedding of the plastic into our bodies and organs.
KEILAR: It's just about finding alternatives than to plastic. Take us through what people should be doing here to reduce risk. MATTHEW: Yes, I think, you know, one of the best things is to really
embrace the way that we live before bottled water. How about looking at tap water in a very different realm? I'm a huge tennis player and I'm guilty as charged, but I'm definitely going to change my behavior.
It's easy to get a bottle of water when you go out there in the heat than to actually put water, like, say, in a Yeti. But I think what we need to do is maybe add a filtration system to the faucet at the kitchen so that you're not worried that the tap water is contaminated. Also, remember that tap water is so much more tightly regulated than bottled water.
We think of bottled water as maybe being more pristine and coming from springs, but that's not necessarily true. A lot of bottled water actually can come from tap water, just regular tap water.
Dr. Saju Matthew, thank you so much for the time. Appreciate it.
MATTHEW: You're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Of course.
So just moments ago, the White House responded for the first time since it was announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's mysterious hospital stay was due to complications after having an elective procedure for prostate cancer. Here's some of the White House briefing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN: Nobody at the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning, and the president was informed immediately after.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the president or the White House instruct Secretary Austin to make this disclosure today?
KIRBY: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the president plan to stick with Secretary Austin through the rest of the term?
KIRBY: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:46:58]
KEILAR: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, for some reason, doubling down on several conspiracy theories even as he refuses to apologize for comments that he made about late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
SANCHEZ: Remember that Rodgers suggested without any evidence that Kimmel could be named in those documents identifying associates of alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Last night, Kimmel fired back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": A lot of delusional people honestly believe I am meeting up with Tom Hanks and Oprah at Shakey's once a week to eat pizza and drink the blood of children. And I know this because I hear from these people often.
Either he actually believes my name was going to be on Epstein's list, which is insane, or the more likely scenario is he doesn't actually believe that. He just said it because he's mad at me for making fun of his topknot and his lies about being vaccinated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Let's bring in CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy. Oliver, Kimmel says that he would accept an apology from Rodgers. He just spoke the quarterback on ESPN. No apology? What did he say?
OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: No apology, Boris. No surprise there either. Kimmel said he wasn't anticipating one.
You look, Rodgers said that he understood why Kimmel would be mad if he made the accusation, but insisted he did not make this accusation. He certainly did signal or suggest that Kimmel might be on the supposed, you know, involved in the Epstein documents that were released over the last several days. He was not.
What Rodgers did do is he used his time to go on this anti-vaccine rant, assailing Jimmy Kimmel for apparently standing with the medical community and the likes of Dr. Fauci during the pandemic. Why don't we take a look at that?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON RODGERS, NEW YORK JETS QUARTERBACK: He gave a platform to one of the biggest spreaders of misinformation during the COVID times, Dr. Fauci. So in my opinion, you know, he wrote me about the vax and that turns out to be an L on many occasions because the vax was not safe and effective like we were told that it was in the beginning. There are a lot of injuries now that we've seen related to the vaccine.
So in my opinion, you went after me. That's fine. You're a comedian. Go for it. Not offended, but that was an L.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DARCY: Of course, what Rodgers is saying there is just not true. The medical community would of course say that the vaccine was both safe and effective. And at some point you have to wonder when ESPN and its parent company, Disney, when they step in here, you know. Disney is at this point, one of the only major media companies outside maybe Fox News that would allow this sort of dangerous anti-vaccine medical misinformation to be aired unchecked on their air. And this isn't the first time Rodgers has done this. You know, he goes on these extended rants during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee show, which is aired on ESPN. But for now, ESPN and Disney, they're staying silent and not commenting.
[04:50:03]
KEILAR: Yes, we'll have to see if that can last. Oliver Darcy, thank you for that report.
There are some dramatic images coming out of Ecuador where hooded and armed men interrupt a TV broadcast live on air, unrest there leading to a nationwide state of emergency. We have more details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Some breaking news, a terrifying situation unfolding right now in Ecuador. Masked gunmen stormed a television station, hijacking a live broadcast, forcing the production staff onto the floor.
KEILAR: Police say they have now intervened.
[04:55:00]
They say the staff have been evacuated. This is happening during a national emergency triggered by a notorious gang leader's escape from prison. In the end, they say the staff have been evacuated.
This is happening during a national emergency triggered by a notorious gang leader's escape from prison. In the hours since, there has been other violence, including the kidnapping of police officers. CNN continues to follow this story. We are going to keep you updated. Obviously, a lot of developments as there are incredibly, incredibly scary times there at that TV station.
And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
