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L.A. Flower Vendors Fear ICE Raids on Valentine's Day; Southern California Storm Leaves Behind Flooding, Mudslides; Asteroid's Odds of Hitting Earth in 2032 Just Almost Doubled. Aired 9:30-10 am ET

Aired February 14, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

WILL OREMUS, TECHNOLOGY NEWS ANALYSIS WRITER, THE WASHINGTON POST: -- conservatives who have a cause that they would like to get onto the Trump administration's agenda can reach him. So the followers who often amplify Musk and add to his posts and support his posts will also post their own suggestions for what DOGE should take on next.

[09:30:19]

We've seen Musk also use X as a place to solicit public opinion on what he should do next. He said, should DOGE audit the IRS? And he ran an X poll. And of course, most of Musk's followers being Musk supporters, the answer was a resounding yes. And at the end of the poll, he said, all right, you know, IRS is next on DOGE's list.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, you know, as one -- everyone can understand those, the polling on X, the former Twitter, not scientific with no methodology at all. This gets to a key question as he continues with this role, which is transparency and what they think of transparency. Because Elon Musk said, has said this week, leaning, pointing to X, that he thinks, or at least says that he is being transparent with the DOGE effort. Let me play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Well, we actually are trying to be as transparent as possible. In fact, our actions -- we post our actions to the DOGE handle on X and to the DOGE website. So all of our actions are maximally transparent.

In fact, I don't think there's been -- I don't know of a case where an organization has been more transparent than the DOGE organization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: A lot of people, if they're being candid, are very skeptical of the definition of transparent that he is using. I mean, do you see any evidence that he is being transparent?

OREMUS: It's a certain type of transparency. I was talking to the open government advocate, Alex Howard, who called it weaponized transparency. So you offer transparency into the things that you want the public to know. Sometimes arguably too much transparency, you know, putting out there things that haven't been vetted or fact- checked.

There was an example yesterday where Musk seemed to be upset about reporting that the news agency "Reuters" did. And he said, let's look into what funding "Reuters" gets from the government.

And again, he has a circle of people who follow him and back him up on X. And they started digging into it. And one of them posted a screenshot of a government contract between "Reuters" and the Department of Defense. The scope of work said it was for large-scale social deception. So Musk seized on that and said, look, the government is paying "Reuters" to perpetrate large-scale social deception. What a scam. This is incredible.

Well, the contract was real, but what was actually being paid for was a different branch of "Reuters" that doesn't do journalism that does data analysis. And what they were doing was looking for evidence of large-scale social deception and highlighting that so that the DOD could understand when there were influence campaigns.

Many people have pointed this out to Musk that he had it totally wrong. There are community notes, which are these crowdsourced fact checks that are proposed on X, but have not been shown on X. And he has only doubled down on it.

So either he's not listening or he doesn't seem to care that he has mischaracterized this contract.

BOLDUAN: And that is not the first example of having like maybe a syllable accurate in what you're looking at. And then the rest of the detail, which is just completely factually inaccurate. Then saying, he'll be wrong sometimes and he'll correct it, but we don't see that. It's like slash first and then clean up the mess later. But let's see what happens and what starring role he continues to play.

Will, thanks so much for coming on.

Still ahead for us, it's Valentine's Day. Just a heads up in case you forgot. The vendors in LA's -- in LA's Flower District say immigration raids are keeping shoppers away and shrinking sales.

Also, Eagles fans flooding the streets in Philadelphia this morning as the Super Bowl victory parade gets ready to roll.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:38:30]

BERMAN: It is Valentine's Day, one of the biggest days of the year for lovers, but also flower vendors across the country. The president's immigration crackdown is casting something of a shadow for them.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is live in Los Angeles at one of the biggest flower exchanges in the country, Julia.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The biggest flower market in the country, John, actually. And we are feeling that. We're hearing from vendors, vendors here that there has been a low. It's been very slow. Today, they're hoping that this bump from Valentine's Day will help them make up for the loss in sales.

We did speak to the president of the farmers, of the flower market here. Take a listen to what he had to say about this.

Oh, I apologize. Well, I'll tell you, John, what he told us. He told us that basically the fear of immigration raids, lots of potential actions happening here in Los Angeles, has driven vendors to actually buy less products. So there is fewer roses, for example, and specific kinds of roses here in Los Angeles for sale today because vendors were fearful that there wouldn't be enough people.

Now, this flower market here, it doesn't just serve people like you and me who are coming here to buy their dozen roses for their Valentine's. It also serves a lot of people who come here to buy and sell these. We sell them around Los Angeles, throughout downtown Los Angeles.

[09:40:07]

This is a heavily immigrant community, and we heard from vendors here and from the administrators here that this is an immigrant-powered operation. So, of course, that the fear of immigration actions happening here in Los Angeles is affecting them.

Another issue that's in the minds of flower vendors and wholesalers and sellers here is the potential for tariffs. The majority of these flowers, they're coming from South America. They're also coming from Canada, but they're coming from Mexico, from Colombia, countries that have seen threats of tariffs from the Trump administration. They're saying that if there is any kind of economic impact, this place, which moves around $1.1 billion annually in the six-block radius, this would be heavily impacted. And it's not just the sales, John, it's the jobs of the people that work here and that have been here for over 30 years.

BERMAN: Ripple effects, to say the least. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for your reporting on this.

Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also this morning, parts of Southern California are cleaning up after a storm brought heavy rain and flooding to an area still reeling from those devastating wildfires last month. We're going to show you some time-lapse video showing just how bad the mudflow can get, sliding down a hill, flooding the area below.

And also we want to show you this, mudslide and debris sweeping a car, not just sweeping it away, but sweeping it into the ocean in Malibu. City after city facing a dangerous mess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, guys, we got a second one right there. This crew's about to get wiped out down there. Right there, right there! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out! Get out!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: I mean, showing how immediate it is and how terrifying it is. Just saying the crew is about to be in danger. My goodness.

A flood watch is still in effect for some in the area. Let's go to our CNN's Allison Chinchar, tracking all of this.

That video really shows how quickly it can go from just watching it to a very, very dangerous situation.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And also it doesn't take much rain. I think that's the key thing. A lot of these areas got between two to six inches of rain. And you think those numbers can't possibly cause this, but it can, especially when it comes down in a very short period of time. And for some of these areas, that's exactly what happened. So it takes not only the water, but a lot of the mud and the debris and just spreads it all over these roads, streets, and even into the neighborhoods.

It is still raining right now across California, not just Southern California, but Central and Northern California, also still looking at the showers. But this system is going to gradually spread off to the east. So you can see all of that moisture continuing to spread across the rest of the country.

So that by the time we get to Saturday, we have the next concern that's developed, and that's going to be severe storms across the Southeast. And not to mention the potential for very heavy flooding across the Tennessee and the Ohio River Valley as we go Saturday, but also even into the very early hours of Sunday.

Here's a look at the potential for the severe storms. This does include damaging winds, and yes, even some possible tornadoes for places like Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, back down through Shreveport, Louisiana. And then the flooding concern also includes the Southeast, but you can see the bigger concern stretches farther north from Memphis up through Nashville, Louisville, and even Lexington, Kentucky.

BOLDUAN: All right, so much to keep an eye on. Thank you, Allison.

John?

BERMAN: All right, so the chances of Earth being struck by a football field-sized asteroid, just double. So there's that. We hope you enjoy your weekend.

Also, a reminder that the comedy quiz show, "Have I Got News For You," is back for a new season. Join Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin, and Michael Ian Black as they serve up a smart take on the news of the week. That is tomorrow at 9 p.m. and streaming the next day on Max.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:48:21]

BOLDUAN: I got something to tell you.

BERMAN: What on TV?

BOLDUAN: And here we go. Now to the craziest story of the day. Man, that could have gone a certain way. A man named Adrian went kayaking off the coast of Chile last Saturday, and he almost died. A humpback whale literally swallowed. Apparently, that's disputed. It just put in the whale's mouth. But I'm going to say swallowed the 24-year-old.

BERMAN: We've got a whole department investigating whether we can say it was swallowed or just positioned gently in his enclosed mouth. Because it's important. The distinction apparently is very important.

BOLDUAN: New guidance. It was only for a few moments, because the whale said he tasted yucky and spit Adrian back out.

BOLDUAN: Adrian's poor father captured the moment on video. They were able to paddle away. Adrian is fine, and I know you are wondering, what the heck does it feel like to be swallowed by an enormous whale?

Adrian's take on the whole experience was the following. He's kayaking, and then he didn't know what was happening to him, thought he was going to die, and then suddenly he's back on the surface of the water. And he described the whole thing as sliming. And there we have it for the day.

BERMAN: So here's the thing. There's a good chance that maybe this didn't matter at all. Because happening now, there is the chance of an asteroid the size of a large building that could slam into the Earth, and the chances of it hitting Earth are double, double what they used to be.

BOLDUAN: Still not much. Still not much.

BERMAN: That's according to the European Space Agency. Don't ruin this. Space rock has a 2.2% chance of hitting the planet in 2032. Now, --

BOLDUAN: Do subtraction. Do subtraction.

BERMAN: Kate and others think that's not a lot, but it's literally double what it was according to the previous estimates.

[09:50:00]

With us now is Adam Frank, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Rochester. The chances of us getting hit by an asteroid is double. I should also say the author of the book Little Aliens.

Professor, double the chances --

BOLDUAN: The Little Book of Aliens.

BERMAN: Little Book of Aliens. Book of Little Aliens. Big Book of Little Aliens. Little Book of Big Aliens. It's all there.

BOLDUAN: Adam's regretting his life choices right now.

BERMAN: What's going to happen when the asteroid hits, Professor?

ADAM FRANK, PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER: Wait, can we go back to the whale? That was amazing.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Adam. Thank you. Thank you so much. Exactly. But it doesn't matter, because that's exactly what it's going to look like when the asteroid hits.

FRANK: That's great. Swallowed by an asteroid. First of all, happy Valentine's Day to everybody. So this asteroid, you know, space is full of these -- these asteroids. These are construction debris left over from the assembly of the solar system. And we've been mapping them for a while. And when we find new ones, we don't really quite know their orbits. So, you know, we do our best to understand them, and we do our best to project what's going to happen.

This one has a small probability of hitting Earth. It was 1%. Now it's up to 2%. But that's only because we're just figuring out its motion through space. So as time goes on, we're going to get better data. And if you look to the past, that number is going to actually go down. So this is not the asteroid of death. But sooner or later, there will be an asteroid of death, which is why we're doing this mapping of the solar system.

BOLDUAN: At what point does one become concerned that we are about to encounter the asteroid of death? Like, what percentage is enough that we should start panicking?

FRANK: Yeah, well, that is exactly why NASA and the European Space Agency are doing this kind of detailed mapping. We only know about 7% to 20% of the -- this size asteroid, what we would call city killers. We've only been able to find somewhere between 7% and 20% of those.

So once we have them all mapped out, and we really understand their orbits, at some point, we may find one that has a high enough probability that we really should be worried. And then, you know, once you start getting to 20%, 30%, 40%, then you've really got to -- you've really got to start worrying about it. But that -- you know, we're not even close to that now.

So, I don't think anybody should be losing sleep. We have bigger problems right now than this asteroid.

BERMAN: But when you do start worrying about it, is that when you put the two shuttles on the launch pad with Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis? I mean, what does this knowledge do?

BOLDUAN: No, they do evasive maneuvers now, right?

BERMAN: Well, what do you do when the asteroid's coming?

FRANK: Well, you know, one of the things NASA is doing is studying how you might be able to divert an asteroid. So two years ago, we did this project where NASA fired a satellite at two asteroids orbiting each other and hit one of the asteroids to see whether or not the orbit could be deflected a little bit. And it was successful.

So we actually now know that there is the possibility, if we got there soon enough, that we might be able to just push the asteroid a little bit off. So this is the future of the science that we have to do for this, is really work out whether or not this kind of method could work, be ready to have, you know, missions ready to launch if we found something like this.

And I want to point out, this is why you have science. It's amazing. You know, the dinosaurs didn't have this. That's why they're gone. That we can do this. And it requires funding science over long periods of time if you can figure this kind of thing out.

BERMAN: I didn't think you were going to be dunking on the dinosaurs, but I really do appreciate that.

BOLDUAN: Adam's silly city killer Frank, but also highlighting the importance of science and potentially funding science for years to come. Adam, thank you so much.

Want to go to Philadelphia?

BERMAN: Let's do it.

BOLDUAN: Let's do it. Philadelphia, live pictures of Philly right now. They are worried about an asteroid. No, they are not. They are getting ready for a parade. The Eagles Super Bowl Parade. It's already a party, and it hasn't even begun.

Danny Freeman, live with us right now.

BERMAN: With a smile.

BOLDUAN: How much fun is it, Danny?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, if an asteroid came down to Philadelphia right now, we would welcome them into the party. That's how good Philadelphia is feeling right now.

BERMAN: You would have booed it.

FREEMAN: It's always fun in Philadelphia, especially because the birds are Philadelphia champions. Guys, look at this, we have probably about millions of people here on the parkway right now, the parkway. We're ready for this parade to start in just a little bit over an hour. We're ready for Jalen Hurts. We're ready for Saquon Barkley.

We've got Sherry (ph) right here. Sherry, where did you come from this morning?

SHERRY, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES FAN: Bethlehem.

FREEMAN: How excited are you to see the birds today? SHERRY: I'm so excited. I can't even tell you.

FREEMAN: You know, what does it mean to you to see the birds win their second Super Bowl in only a couple of years?

SHERRY: It's phenomenal. I couldn't be more proud of the birds. They did it. I'm so proud of them. That's wonderful.

[09:55:03]

FREEMAN: Sherry, describe the environment out here for me. What's it feel like?

SHERRY: It's insane. This is really the coolest day ever.

FREEMAN: What was your favorite part of the Super Bowl on Sunday?

SHERRY: When the confetti came down. That was when it really hit that we did it again. That was great.

FREEMAN: Sherry, thank you so much. I'm excited. You guys, this is Philadelphia right here. This is the spirit. We're ready to celebrate. Parade starts at 11:00. But this party is going well into the night.

John, Kate, go birds from Philly.

BERMAN: I feel like he should interview himself. I'm Danny Freeman here with Eagles fan Danny Freeman. What do you think of the Eagles winning?

I think it's really great. What do you think? I mean.

FREEMAN: Yeah. That's right.

BOLDUAN: I want to do any reporting assignment like that.

Listen up, Buffalo Bills. Bill's propaganda from Harriet and enough Patriot's propaganda from John. It's time for the birds to get their say.

BOLDUAN: Birds are having their say. I want any assignment -- I get to ask a question. How excited are you? It's the best. All right. You have fun with that. We'll be watching. We'll go to an amazing picture from the sky. The bird's eye view, if you will.

BERMAN: That was awesome. Thank you all so much for joining us. Happy Valentine's Day. CNN Newsroom --

BOLDUAN: Whales, asteroids, and eagles.

BERMAN: And love.

BOLDUAN: And love.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)