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Heatwave Shifts South As Flooding Threatens Communities; New FBI Report Says Active Shooter Incidents Down Slightly Last Year Amid 13 Mass Shootings Over The Weekend; California Hiker Reunited With Family After Lost For 10 Days. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 24, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:46]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: It's been a few weeks of extreme weather covering much of the country. There's triple-digit heat in the south, monsoon-like conditions heading to the southwest, and nearly two dozen rivers are at major flood stage. Just a taste of what people are experiencing across the country.

In New Mexico, there's a one-two punch of flooding and wildfires.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes. And today, residents of the village of Ruidoso were allowed to return to their homes, finally, as crews continue fighting the Salt and the South Fork Fires, which has burned more than 25,000 acres over the past week.

So let's turn now to CNN's Chad Myers for look at the rest of the country.

Man, we are feeling it. We have been feeling it a little better today, I will say in D.C. But wow, it has been crazy.

Where's all this extreme weather today?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I never thought the word "hot" would be a four-letter word but it seems to be now.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: It's just right in the middle of the country, all the way down to the Florida coast where temperatures are going to be very close to 100. A lot of my maps are going to say 96, 97, 98, but you're not going to be able to tell the difference because the humidity is there.

Some other four-letter word, "wet," here across parts of Iowa, South Dakota, even in parts of Nebraska and Minnesota. There was a place that picked up a foot and a half of rainfall over the weekend.

Now, all of that water in these rivers has to eventually get into the Missouri River and then head on down toward the Mississippi. That may help Mississippi levels months from now. But now we're still dealing with 24 outages here where some of these

river gauges are so high, they can't even record anymore. They can't report anymore.

Here's one here from the Big Sioux River. Now it's still going up in Sioux City, but finally coming down here after getting all the way past record levels.

We'll get some rainfall today. We'll even get the chance of a thunderstorm or two. But it's going to be the heat, all the way from the upper Midwest all the way down to the Deep South. And 77 percent of you will be over 90 degrees today.

This record heat goes all the way from about 1,000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, all the way to it. And here's what I'm saying. You know, 96 in Atlanta. That's what the computer thinks for today.

But it was 99 yesterday. I don't see that being any different. There's just no different air mass. So just sitting right over us. And so, yes, the heat will be here today.

Not as much for the Ohio Valley, not as much for D.C., certainly not for New York and all the way into Boston. But for tomorrow, same story. Same heat. Same humidity.

And it will feel like 107 to 110 around New Orleans, especially on that concrete as you walk around the city there, or for that matter, any little city center will certainly be warmer than the surrounding rural areas, feeling greater than 100.

My thermometer on my balcony today said my heat index was 107 and I left my house about an hour ago. So that's how hot it already is.

KEILAR: And isn't it lovely there in the CNN Weather Center, Chad?

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: Beautiful here.

KEILAR: Beautiful. And the humidity is perfect.

Chad Myers, thank you.

Everyone needs to stay cool, obviously.

Five New Yorkers and a man from D.C. have each been charged with disrupting a PGA golf tournament for a stunt that played out on the final hole yesterday.

[13:35:00]

They wore shirts reading, "No golf on a dead planet," as they threw colorful smoke canisters onto the 18th green at the Travelers championship in Connecticut.

SANCHEZ: This happened as the last group was about to finish their round. It confused pro, Scottie Scheffler, and his playing partners. Scheffler did go onto win in spite of the chaos.

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SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, WINNER, TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP: When something like that happens, you don't really know what's happening. So it can kind of rattle you a little bit.

Just because there's people running around the green and there's police officers run around the green and you don't know if they are peaceful. You don't know what they're doing. You have no idea what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And the demonstrators belong to a group called Extinction Rebellion, which has claimed other antics, like dying Venice's Grand Canal green and members gluing themselves to a Picasso painting.

KEILAR: Wow, that is chaos. They're unbelievable.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: Up next, following a weekend of deadly mass shootings, a new FBI report out today gives a surprising assessment of gun violence in America. They say the number of active shootings is actually down. So we'll be talking about that.

And a hiker stranded in the mountains for 10 days is now safe. How he says he survived with only a flashlight and scissors.

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[13:40:36]

KEILAR: That cargo ship that struck the Key Bridge is finally leaving Baltimore harbor. Tugboats are escorting the "Dali" to Norfolk, Virginia, for extensive repairs.

The cargo containers will also be removed from the vessel. That's a trip that's expected to take nearly 20 hours.

SANCHEZ: It was nearly three months ago that the "Dali" lost power, you might recall, after leaving the port of Baltimore and smashing into the bridge, causing its collapse and leading to the deaths of six construction workers.

The ship was stuck for weeks amid the wreckage until it was finally refloated. The FBI has launched a criminal investigation into that crash.

And while some crew members were allowed to leave Baltimore, others actually had to stay behind during the ongoing litigation surrounding the incident.

Happening right now, a new report that's been released by the FBI reveals that active shootings were down slightly last year, but it also underscored the fact that active shooters are more likely to target people in public -- in public places.

KEILAR: This report comes after a violent weekend where there were at least 13 mass shootings across the country.

Let's go to CNN's Josh Campbell on this.

So, Josh, what are some of the key takeaways that we're seeing in this report?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, so a lot of statistics here. But it's important to note that all of these numbers represent actual people impacted by gun violence, many of them killed.

In this new report, the FBI looked at active shooter incidents from last year, 2023. They found that there were 48 so-called active shooter incidents. So that's what they defined as one or more people actively trying to kill people. Most of the incidents were seen in California, Texas and Washington State.

As you mentioned, looking at the trends here, down slightly from the previous year, about 4 percent. But if you look since 2019, the FBI has seen a 60 percent increase in active shooter incidents.

And take a look at this graph. This is from the FBI. There's a lot going on in this chart, but look towards the right there. You can see the last few years. Since 2000, there's been the spike of incidents that the FBI notes.

And so, overall, what criminologists say is that violent crime has been down, the murder rate is dropping, but still, looking at these numbers, guys, a lot of work to be done by public and safety officials to try to bring down the number of these deaths.

KEILAR: And the Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting, Josh, as one in which at least four people are shot or killed in a single event. Often though, the extraordinary stories of how people survive these shooting is only the silver lining.

Now that the Supreme Court overturned the ban on bump stocks, what are your thoughts on the potential that were seeing for more people not surviving a mass shooting?

CAMPBELL: Well, you know, you're right. The first point there, when we talk about injuries. So often when we focus on these shootings, rightly so, we talk about the number of people killed.

But there are a number -- you know, time and again, so many debilitating injuries that people suffer. So even if they do go on to survive, that impacts their lives, sometimes for the rest of their life.

Now with respect to this whole debate regarding bump stocks, you know, one of the central themes we've continued to hear from both law enforcement as well as from gun safety advocates is focused on trying to reduce the amount of time that a shooter can fire without having to reload that weapon. And you know, with this device called a bump stock that allows shooters sometimes to fire hundreds of rounds in a very short amount of time, there has been a debate on the high-capacity magazines that go into a lot of these firearms.

And again, the longer that someone could shoot, quite obviously, that is less time that law enforcement can be intervening or that people can be fleeing.

So certainly an ongoing debate, even despite that Supreme Court ruling.

SANCHEZ: And, Josh, on the heels of these 13 shootings over the weekend, is it based in data that we see a summer surge, that we see more mass shootings during the warmer months?

CAMPBELL: Yes. Law enforcement and academic researchers have both talked about what is called the so-called summer surge. And that is, during the summer months, we see increases in violence, increases in shooting.

And looking at some of the reasons for that, first and foremost, particularly as it relates to youth violence, is obviously school is out. So that provides more opportunity for young people to be doing other things, including gathering and congregating. We've seen some of those gatherings lead to violence.

Also, interestingly enough, a lot of people might not think about climate change and crime, but there's been a lot of academic research on the physiological impacts of heat, with researchers noting that the higher the temperatures are, the more uncomfortable people become, the more agitated that they can become.

[13:45:01]

Then finally, we know that this is a nation that is awash in firearms. And so, so often now, we see so many disputes ending with someone pulling out a gun.

All of those factors taken together have often made for a violent summer.

SANCHEZ: Josh Campbell, thanks so much for the update on that.

CAMPBELL: You bet.

SANCHEZ: Coming up, a hiker goes missing for 10 days in the California mountains. He might just have his boots to thank for his survival. We'll explain.

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[13:50:10]

KEILAR: A California man is back home with his family and he is thankful to be alive after being rescued from the Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

And 34-year-old Lukas McClish was lost and stranded for 10 days. He set out on what he thought would just be a three-hour hike in the Santa Cruz mountains back on June 11th. And he got lost, in part, because landmarks have been destroyed by recent wildfires.

SANCHEZ: And when he missed Father's Day dinner, his family reported him missing. Rescuers, using a drone, eventually were able to track him down.

Now, McClish says that he survived the ordeal by drinking lots of water from creeks and waterfalls. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUKAS MCCLISH, RESCUED HIKER: So I kind of just -- I -- each day I go up the canyon, down the canyon to the next waterfall and sit down with the waterfall and drink water out of my boot.

I felt comfortable the whole time I was out there. It wasn't worried about -- I had a mountain lion that was following me. But it was cool. He kept his distance. He -- I think it was just somebody watching over me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A cool mountain lion, yes.

We're joined now by survivalist, Zachary Fowler, who also has an outdoorsman YouTube show that focuses on surviving in the wilderness.

Thanks so much for being with us.

Ten days stranded in the mountains. That's a pretty precarious position, no?

ZACHARY FOWLER, SURVIVALIST: Yes. Thanks for having me.

Yes, 10 days, yes, that's not exactly a fun little hike in the woods, is it?

KEILAR: No. I mean, at that point in time, what do you -- incredible. It sounds like he was very hydrated and he focused on that.

But even so, I wonder what the risks are with that if the water is not filtered and at what point you're really starting to have struggles because you don't have sustenance?

FOWLER: Ten days isn't so bad. When I did 87 days in Patagonia, the first 10 days was with like four fish for food. And your body kind of goes through this cleanse where you drink a lot of liquids and it just -- like your system flushes and you lose a ton of weight early on.

So he says he lost like 30 pounds, which doesn't surprise me. You're going to lose a lot of water weight that your body is holding, things like that. And then you balance back out after 10 to 14 days. And your body will go into high gear and start to digest itself for

energy on a better rate. And you'll be doing -- you can do pretty good. You can go 30 days to three months easily without food, depending on your body weight amount --

SANCHEZ: Wow.

FOWLER: -- without mental fatigue in that kind of circumstance.

SANCHEZ: I was not aware of that.

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SANCHEZ: I get hangry after a few hours and I treat Brianna poorly sometimes --

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KEILAR: That is -- that is untrue.

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KEILAR: I don't think I could go that long, though, Zachary. You are quite amazing to be able to do that.

SANCHEZ: Yes. So let's talk about -

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FOWLER: Well, it's harder at the beginning.

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FOWLER: It's always harder at the beginning, you know?

SANCHEZ: Yes. So he got lost, in part, because some local landmarks were destroyed by recent wildfires.

Do you have tips for keeping track of where you are on a hike so you don't get lost in the first place if the terrain has changed in a way perhaps that you didn't expect?

FOWLER: I would say that -- I mean, the majority of that all going to come into the beforehand preparation, you know? Whether you've hiked a place a whole bunch in the advance in the past and just knowing your situation and going into it with the right stuff.

Now I have a survival belt that on -- in my belt that has tabs for purifying water. But that would only help me for 48 hours. So it's like you can't carry that much stuff that easily. But you can carry a ton of stuff up here mentally.

The water isn't going to hurt you that bad, especially when you're getting, what, moving water that's oxygenated. It's going to be fairly clean. The odds of getting giardia or something like that are very slim. But going into it mentally and knowing your situation, knowing the

maps of the area, knowing what stream, if you bump into it because you're moving north, is going to take you down to the highway. Things like that will prevent you from ending up in a situation like this.

KEILAR: What do you do, Zachary -- I think there's a question of, do you stay put? Because we are in the age of drones and technology where they can look for a body heat signal.

But what do you -- how do you make a decision about, OK, I'm lost at this point. I'm really lost. Should I stay put or should I keep going? Also, keeping in mind, he did say there was a mountain lion. So that might have been a consideration.

But how do you make that decision?

FOWLER: That's going to come into a lot of your prep from beforehand. If you're smart and you're going hiking alone in anything besides like the backside of a golf course where, like, somebody is going to stumble upon you on a regular basis, then you want to let somebody know.

[13:55:00]

Text a friend to let you know to check in. You know, they said that Father's Day came along and he was missing still. So they went -- it sounds like they went and checked his favorite hiking spot and that's when they finally were like searching him out.

Like you -- you should know that you're not going to have a cell phone signal, that you're going to tell somebody where you're going to be and when you're going to be back, if you're going to go alone.

And when being out there, and then you're being stuck -- if you're hurt and you can't move, yes, try to make a signal, like other people have made with rocks on the beach, palm branches, saying SOS, things like that.

Otherwise, you really need to make an informed decision to move somewhere to safety yourself. Because being found is -- it takes a lot of work. There's a lot of ground to cover.

Drones work pretty good nowadays. But the odds of them finding you, if you're just so happened to be tucked underneath a bad spot, hidden by trees, they just happened to sweep to the left, to the right of you, it's not as good as you saving yourself and getting out of there unless you can't move and you really need to be rescued.

KEILAR: Yes. All good points. And listen, tell people, when you're going someplace, if you are going on your own, where you're going to be, when you should be back. It's so important.

Zachary, thank you so much. Obviously, this story of Lukas McClish has captured a lot of -- focuses attention and imagination.

We thank you for speaking with us about it. FOWLER: Yes. He did a good job.

KEILAR: Yes, he sure did. He's back.

Thank you.

And coming up, three days and counting until President Biden and former President Trump face off in a CNN primetime debate. New details on how they're strategizing ahead of it.

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