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Record-breaking Heat Wave Continues; House Democrats Hold a Critical Meeting Today; Wisconsin Voters Weigh in on Biden; Russia Hits Kyiv Children's Hospital; Weight Loss Medications Study. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 09, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Not expected to drop in the week ahead.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is in the very hot Woodland Hills, California.

Good morning, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

OK, maybe we're not really hot yet, but I can promise you it will get hot and it's going to stay hot for several days out here. I'm going to just look at the temperature gauge out here in beautiful Woodland Hills. And right now it says it's 68. It was 69 two seconds ago. But I promise you, we are going to get up into some very high temperatures.

And this is not just happening here. We are looking from Seattle, all the way down through Sacramento, coming down here into southern California, Los Vegas, Death Valley. We are seeing record temperatures that are falling day after day. This is all as we are seeing climate change because how humans are warming up the earth. It is affecting many of these big cities and making it very dangerous.

Last week the National Weather Service calling it a lethal heat wave that continues here. Vegas, yesterday, hitting 115 degrees. Just to put that in perspective, that's a third day in a row of it breaking its daily record high. It's going to perhaps continue to do that going into Monday. And they have been above 100 degrees, 110 degrees, since July 3rd. Just to put that in perspective. Death Valley also showing very high temperatures, 125 degrees or higher. We did hear of that one motorcyclist who died because of heat and then they couldn't even get the helicopter in to help out because the temperatures were too high for the helicopter to fly.

This is what we are seeing around this region and it's going to persist so people really have to stay vigilant. All of this, John, while we are still dealing with some very massive wildfires that continue to pop up across the state.

BERMAN: All right, Stephanie Elam, let us know when it breaks 70 there. Thanks so much for being with us. Stephanie Elam in Woodland Hills, California.

ELAM: On it.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: House Democrats are gathering this morning. The topic, what to do about President Biden. Will they stand with him? Will they look for a new candidate? Lots of questions and maybe, finally, some answers to come out.

Plus, it is the 20th anniversary of the most iconic movie of all times, and that is maybe only slightly a stretch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much time till we're on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ron. Ron.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on the air right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. I'm ready.

Good evening, I'm Ron Burgundy. Here's what's going on in your world tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:37:28]

BOLDUAN: House Democrats are gathering very soon for a closed-door meeting as President Biden fights to prove Democratic doubters wrong about his ability to continue running and winning possibly and serving another four years. As of last night, six House Democrats have publicly called on President Biden to drop out of the presidential race. A big question today, will more join them after this morning's Democratic caucus meeting?

CNN's Lauren Fox is tracking all of this for us from Capitol Hill.

Lauren, what are - what are you expecting from this gathering?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a really critical meeting for President Biden, in part because he has been buoyed by the support of the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. So, things seem to be moving in his direction among House Democrats.

But what's going to be really interesting to watch is after this meeting, what do some of those frontline members, those members who are running in swing districts, what do they say about President Biden and whether or not they are comfortable with his chances to both win the election for himself and help them win back the House. I think one of the key questions going into this meeting today is,

what is the message from Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader. He has been really careful to listen to members, to understand their concerns, while also saying that he is backing Biden. So, I think that his view and what he says in this meeting is going to be critical.

I will note, Kate, that we expect members are not going to be allowed to have their cell phones inside this meeting. This is supposed to be a private family discussion. This is really sensitive. This is an opportunity for members to voice their concerns openly in a safe settings. So typically, sometimes we get live readouts of these meetings. That may or may not happen given the fact that so many of these members are not going to have access to their phones during this ongoing conversation.

I will note that yesterday President Biden called into a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. This has been a cornerstone of support that the president has had over the last several years on Capitol Hill. And a lot of members said that he asked for their support and no one really pushed back in that meeting. That is a good sign for Biden.

I will note, however, in the United States Senate, where you have a number of Democrats running for re-election in red states, like Montana, Ohio, Jon Tester, Sherred Brown both voiced the fact that they believe voters have a right to be concerned. Will their concerns be assuaged? That's what we're going to be looking for in the next several hours.

Kate.

[08:40:01]

BOLDUAN: Yes, that's a good point.

It's good to see you, Lauren. Thank you so much. A busy - busy couple of hours ahead.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, voters in key battleground states are keeping a close eye on the political storm caused by the last presidential debate. In this week's "All Over the Map," CNN's John King spoke to Democratic voters in the Wisconsin area about how they feel after President Biden's performance and whether or not they think he should stay in the race.

John is back with us this hour.

You know, if they want to know what voters are thinking, if these politicians want to hear, you've been talking to them. What have they been telling you?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Sara, when you listened to the president yesterday, he said elites are trying to drive him from the race. Well, the people of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, where I was last week, they're not elites. They're middle American - middle American people in this town they call a Norman Rockwell painting. Some Democrats do think it's time for the president to step aside. Others, though, think it's really complicated and messy. But here's one thing that's clear. They say before the debate, they thought he could win Wisconsin again. After the debate, they're not so sure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice over): Cedarburg, Wisconsin, the Fourth of July. The city's legendary parade runs two hours. As middle America as it gets.

Locals call Cedarburg a living Hallmark movie, picturesque, polite. Gina Cilento was parade grand marshal this year and carries the keep it civil theme over to her growing pickleball studio.

GINA CILENTO, WISCONSIN VOTER: It just really is a place for people to forget what's going on in the real world and they can focus on just having fun and getting along.

KING: You think they need a place to forget what's going on in the real world?

CILENTO: They do. They do.

KING: Why?

CILENTO: Because it's extremely - you know, people have these anger issues. It's so polarizing what's going on.

KING (voice over): Yes, signs of polarization even here, but anxiety among Democrats is what jumps out now.

TROY REISSMANN, WISCONSIN VOTER: I think it's - last week hurt so much that he's really got to think of the party and the country before he thinks of himself.

KING (voice over): Lisa and Troy Reissmann own a moonshine business, are Biden voters, and are still stunned by his debate disaster.

LISA REISSMANN, WISCONSIN VOTER: Quite frankly, I didn't even finish watching. I was really having a hard time watching it.

T. REISSMANN: Yes, it was definitely scary. The first people that I called were my parents, who are really old, and I said, what did you guys think about that? Because, obviously, I still know where I'm going to vote, where my vote's going to lie, but they don't. And they - they were equally as scared.

KING (voice over): Tiny Cedarburg, population 12,000, is a new battleground community within one of America's most competitive battleground states. Not long ago it voted lopsided Republican, but Donald Trump struggles in America's changing suburbs. He won Cedarburg in 2016, but with just 55 percent. Joe Biden won in 2020, just barely, by 19 votes.

Biden's voters say a repeat win here suddenly feels less likely. L. REISSMANN: We just need fresh leadership, new leadership, and

somebody who's a little bit more - I like Joe Biden as a - as a person. You know, I think he - he stands for good things. But I'm just not sure he's - he's there anymore to lead the country.

T. REISSMANN: Think of the future. Think of our kids and grandkids. And maybe you should step aside only because there's a - this future doesn't look too - too bright with the other side taking over.

KING (voice over): Allen Naparalla is a fiscal conservative and socially liberal. Like many here, disgusted with the choices.

ALLEN NAPARALLA, WISCONSIN VOTER: There's something wrong. You know, are we going to keep going for the better of two evils? I mean it's - something's got to change. We need a logical party. We need an independent party that makes sense.

KING (voice over): Naparalla leans Biden because he can't vote for Trump.

NAPARALLA: It's embarrassing how he speaks to people, how he treats people, how he responds to other countries.

KING: What was going through your mind watching the debate?

NAPARALLA: Watching Biden try to get through his words was just bad. Just bad. Now, yes, everybody has a bad day. I get it. I get it. But the thing is, is, this was a time that was your time to shine.

KING: Did he look to you like someone who could serve for president for four and a half more years?

NAPARALLA: I don't - I think that what's - let me put it this way, I'm voting for the party right now.

KING: Do you think Vice President Harris is qualified to be president?

NAPARALLA: No, I don't think so.

KING: But you might vote for Joe Biden -

NAPARALLA: Anyway.

KING (voice over): Before the debate, Naparalla thought Biden could eek out another Wisconsin win. Now, big doubts. Yet he worries switching candidates might backfire.

NAPARALLA: Who's going to do it? And it's so late in the election process that, you know, Trump will be a shoo-in anyway.

KING (voice over): Naparalla moved here to care for his aging mother. His wines are made in California and sold in small town Cedarburg with a flashy slogan that draws fewer complaints now than when he first opened shop five years ago. NAPARALLA: I've seen the demographic change a little bit. So now

you're kind of getting on a, you know, an even keel between conservative and liberal.

[08:45:03]

KING (voice over): Gina Cilento calls herself an independent libertarian, a good teacher, very competitive. A past Trump voter, very unhappy with the present.

CILENTO: This is the best our country can do? There's certain things I feel just overall sadness for. And to me the biggest issue is that a house divided cannot stand. That's just - there's truth to that. And I'm seeing our country erode instead of thrive.

KING (voice over): Cilento can't see herself voting Biden, but won't commit to voting Trump. Proof there, Biden's setbacks aren't automatically points for Trump. But in politics like pickleball, it helps to set the pace.

Nothing interrupts treasured tradition here. But as the election year calendar turns another page, the mood change in this battleground is stunning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING (on camera): It was striking, Sara, just how much Democrats thought before the debate Biden would win Wisconsin and win their small community. Now they have serious doubts about that.

One thing that came up repeatedly in Cedarburg that's coming up in Washington too, a lot of Democratic voters asking me, how did they hide this for so long? Anger at the president and his staff for maybe masking some of the issues we saw in the debate. What happens from here, we'll see. We'll go back to Cedarburg again, one of America's great battleground communities where Democrats right now are nervous.

SIDNER: Well, one thing I know that you can tell us who won is who won the pickleball game. That's what I want to know.

KING: It was my first time. It was a lot of fun. I'm going to learn. I'm going to learn. I wasn't sure it would be fun. It was a ton of fun.

SIDNER: Oh, so you lost that one, John. OK.

KING: We didn't keep score, Sara, we didn't keep score.

SIDNER: Uh-huh. OK. I will check back in with your opponent.

KING: (INAUDIBLE)

SIDNER: John King, thank you. That was wonderful. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: It was a moral victory.

All right, this morning, rescue operations underway after multiple Russian strikes across Ukraine. Several children confirmed dead as Ukraine's largest children's hospital was hit in the strikes.

A new study just out on a popular weight-loss drugs shows that not all are created equal. New results show which drug will help you reach your goal weight perhaps the quickest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:40]

BERMAN: All right, new images this morning from the brutal Russian aerial assault on Ukraine that killed at least 39 people. One missile hit Ukraine's largest children's hospital in Kyiv, wiping out two floors there. A baby was covered in the blood - you can see right there in that rubble were doctors and nurses have been caring for some of the sickest children in Ukraine throughout this war every day. Young patients were lined up on the street.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Kyiv this morning, outside the hospital.

Fred, we can see the rubble behind you. Tell us the latest.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John.

I'm actually standing right at the impact site of where that missile hit. It certainly looks to us as though it was a lot more than two floors that seem to have gotten blown up. You can see behind me, that is where that - part of that building used to stand. And you can see that it was just absolutely annihilated by that missile. I think on some of the rooms you can still see the tiles, obviously demonstrating that this is indeed the children's hospital. One of the biggest children's hospitals in Europe, not just the biggest in Ukraine, but one of the biggest in Europe.

As we stand here right now, John, the death toll here is two, but also dozens injured. One of the lucky things the folks here say is that they heard a rocket alarm and they managed to get at least the children and the staff evacuated out of the building as fast as possible.

But I want to show you something else because this is just absolutely remarkable and shows just how big the impact was. You can see, that's what's left of some of the floors that are here. You can see some of those supporting beams. But if we actually pan over there, you can see that there's a car underneath that, that's been absolutely flattened by - when all of that came crushing down after the explosion took place. So you can see, a massive explosion that took place right in the heart of Kyiv.

The Russians, of course, for their part have been saying that they believe this could have been a straight Ukrainian surface to air missile that might have hit this building. The Ukrainians having absolutely none of it, saying it was a Russian rocket and also saying that this was a deliberate attack on the health care service here in Ukraine, but also on the children of Ukraine well.

And then, of course, John, one of the things that we've been seeing so much of as the war here has been unfolding, you can see the Ukrainians very quick to come in and try and clean all this up. These are volunteers that we've been seeing working here. They obviously have their work cut out for them.

One of the things that the Ukrainians have said that they want to do after an attack like this, as horrible as it is, as big as the carnage is, 29 people killed in all of Kyiv. There's other impact sites as well. They say they want to clean as much of this up as fast as possible to try and get back to a fairly normal life. All that, of course, also in defiance of what they say is the Russian onslaught that's been happening. The Ukrainians have said, this is the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that they will respond to this. And they also say they need more surface to air missile systems.

John.

BERMAN: Children dying. Fred, it's important to have you there.

Frederik Pleitgen, thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, this morning, 41-year-old Taylor Casey is still missing in the Bahamas as the search for her goes into week three. The Chicago woman disappeared while visiting the islands for a yoga retreat. She was last seen on June 19th, around Paradise Ireland. Local authorities say they're using ground search crews along with canines, marine teams, and flight crews to try to find her.

And brand new pictures from San Diego Zoo this morning.

[08:55:02]

The country's newest pandas are settling into their new home well according to the zoo. The pair will spend several weeks acclimating after the long travel from China before being viewable to the public. Only get these gorgeous pictures. That care includes veterinary teams from both China and the U.S. They're the first new pandas in more than 20 years. A little cuddly diplomacy you're seeing there.

And you can bet panda watch would be the lead story on another news program. Not ours. It's one of the most iconic and quotable films. "Anchorman" turns 20 years old today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to dance, Rodgers (ph)? I want o polka (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come get a taste.

Rick, where'd you get a hand grenade?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: This really happens, by the way, with news crews. So, that part is real. Will Farrell's absurd comedic performance as San Diego news anchor Ron Burgundy and a swath of iconic comedians created one of the funniest movies in the early 2000s.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Inspired so many of us to take this on as our careers. Inspires us still today.

SIDNER: True (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: Amazing. I was just looking at the video behind you.

SIDNER: And then here comes Sanjay. He's like, I don't want any part of this.

BOLDUAN: Yes, Sanjay's like, let's move on guys. Let's move on to other news.

A new study finds that not all weight-loss drugs are created equal apparently. The study put popular weight-loss medications to the test and found that some are more effective than others.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to break down the latest science, and will also be answering our questions. You can weigh in on Ron Burgundy later, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: OK.

BOLDUAN: You can do in later.

Talk to me about what these studies are finding.

GUPTA: Yes, you know, it's really interesting, these drugs. So many people are hearing about these medications now. First the pronounces, Tirzepatide and Semaglutide. A lot of people know these terms now. But Tirzepatide, these are the drugs that are made by Eli Lilly. There is Zepbound and there is Mounjaro. These are all FDA approved drugs. Semaglutide are the ones that are made by Novo Nordisk, Wegovy and Ozempic. And they are for diabetes. And they are also for weight loss.

Now, what's interesting is, first of all, the Semaglutide, the way that these medications work is they're all what are called post- nutrient hormones. You eat and your body releases hormones to make insulin, to tell your brain that you are full, and to allow your food actually make - be digested. With the Tirzepatides, you have two hormones. With the Semaglutides, you have one hormone known as GLP.

So, this study, now after all that, this study was basically trying to figure out which of these drugs work better specifically for weight loss. So, the study was of some 18,000 people. They went back and looked at medical records between May of 2022 and September of 2023. So over a year. And they said, which of these worked better? And here's the findings.

First of all, everybody lost at least 5 percent of weight. Almost everybody on any drug. But what the Tirzepatides, again, the Mounjaro, on average people lost about 15 percent of their body weight at one year compared to the Semaglutides, such as Ozempic, 8 percent at one year. So, that was - that was the big headline. You know, we didn't really know. But this was sort of the - the best, I will say, head-to- head comparison of these medications.

BOLDUAN: So, does that - I mean the 15 percent versus 8 percent, I mean does that just conclusively say that people should be using Tirzepatides versus the other?

GUPTA: I don't think so. And here's why. First of all, there's medications again for diabetes. There's medications for weight loss. People sort of confuse these things a little bit. There's different dosing if you're taking it for obesity versus weight loss. So, in some ways, even though I said, you're comparing Tirzepatides and Semaglutides, you weren't really comparing the appropriate dose of each medication if weight loss itself was sort of the end point that you were looking at.

So, I think we - we have to wait a little bit longer to see on the weight loss specifically. But also, you know, there are side effects to these medications, and some people are going to have more side effects with one class of drugs versus the other. So, that's a big part of this.

You know, in these trials, about half the people actually stopped taking the drug within that first year. For all sorts of different reasons. But I think a big part of that is side effects.

BOLDUAN: How severe are the side effects now that there's been some time and some more study and more just real life examples of people taking these drugs?

GUPTA: In most people, they are going to be mild side effects. But I'll put a list of the side effects up and I'll tell you, as you think about these side effects, remember, this is working on the brain to say that you're full. It's working on the gut to slow down your digestion so that you can actually digest your food better.

[09:00:01]

Well, that can lead to nausea. That can lead to vomiting, even bowel obstruction in some cases. It's stimulating your pancreas to make more insulin.