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Italy Wins Over England to Claim Euro 2020 Title; Novak Djokovic Wins 20th Grand Slam Title at Wimbledon; Cubans Protest Against Government; Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic's Successful Flight on the Edge of Space; Racist Abuse Against England's Players in Euro 2020; Football Assn: Appalled At Racist Abuse Of England Players; PM Johnson Condemns Racial Abuse Of Players; California Sweltering Under Triple-Digit Temps. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 12, 2021 - 02:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN HOST: Hello, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I am Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up here on "CNN Newsroom."

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After a year of delays, it all came down to a nail biting finish. Details on the big finish at Euro 2020 as we take you to the streets of Rome and London.

Meanwhile, England's football association condemning reports of racial abuse directed online at some of the teams players.

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And a rare display of rage in Cuba. We'll bring you protests over the lack of freedom and an ever worsening economy.

Well, for the first time in more than 50 years, Italy is the European football champion. They claim the title on Sunday with a win over England. England scored the first goal just two minutes into the Euro 2020 final and it seemed the three lions could be headed for victory at long last.

But, then, Italy equalized in the second half with its own goal, 67 minutes in. The two sides stood level at one all after extra time. Italy, eventually winning the penalty shootout, 3-2, sparking celebrations back home.

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You see a street party there in Rome went well into the night after fans gathered to watch the Azuri hand England a heartbreaking defeat.

(VIDEO PLAYING) And you can see there the celebrations. Italy's first major title in 15 years. The first European championship in 50. The team has returned to Italy, now got back in the last hour or so where Prime Minister Mario Draghi is set to greet them in the coming hours.

CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau, joining us now from Rome. Good to see you Barbie, what a tournament really, no doubt, the celebrating will go on for a long time. What has it been like there?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, during the match, you could've heard a pin drop in the city. There was absolute silence. Everybody just glued to every possible screen. They area set up in the piazzas, T.V.'s in every restaurant.

And, you know, one of the greatest things about watching these football matches in Italy is you don't really need to watch it. You can hear by the crowds. There was so much energy when they scored their first goal. And then the way it finished, the city came alive, the country came alive. It's almost as if they've been asleep in some sort of cocoon for so long through the pandemic. And, boom, it was just magical, Michael.

HOLMES: It's been a tough time for Italy with the COVID pandemic, of course, everyone around the world, but Italy particularly hard hit early on. I mean, is there a sense that this eases some of that pain and loss?

NADEAU: Yes, absolutely. I think this was a victory of, you know, much more than just a football match. I think Italy feels like they've recovered from the pandemic. Things are going to start again fresh, anew. There's a lot of energy. There's a lot of enthusiasm, but most importantly, there's a lot of optimism.

You know, people weren't necessarily believing in this team that they could do it. Not necessarily even believing in this country, that they can pull themselves back together. So, it's very symbolic and I think that that energy is going to carry through for the rest of the summer. The celebrations will continue, certainly, for the rest of the week. Michael?

HOLMES: I am sure they will, and deservedly so. I'm curious, how much of a hero will Roberto Mancini become, the Italian manager? I mean, he took a team that was at a low point, built them back up. They didn't qualify for the World Cup. Now, they are European champions, haven't been beaten and 34 games now.

NADEAU: That's right. You know, he is very much a national hero and everybody put a lot of pressure on his shoulders going into this. There have been a lot of, you know, things written about him, a lot of commentary, and one of the most I think touching ones, is the fact that Italy's team was sort of, you know, after an earthquake, it was the rubble.

He cleaned up the ruble. He cleaned up the mess. And he got the Italians to believe in the team, again. And that was what was especially important to have those fans behind them, to know that, you know, this Italian team who had done so poorly last time they had a chance.

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Somehow Italy believes in them again and everybody is crediting him with that, bringing the whole country together.

HOLMES: Great to see you Barbie. Thanks for that. Barbie Nadeau in Rome. What an atmosphere.

Now England, also saw a dramatic play at center court. Another match, many in Italy we're watching closely. We're talking about world number one, Novak Djokovic, topping his Italian opponent to claim the Wimbledon men's singles title for a 6th time.

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UNKNOWN: He has done it! Major title number 20!

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HOLMES: And with that win against Matteo Berrettini, Djokovic grabbed his 20th grand slam, tying Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most grand slam singles titles in men's tennis.

For international viewers, Patrick Snell will have much more on both of those stories, Wimbledon and the Euro 2020, coming up on World Sport. That starts in about 40 minutes from now.

And we are seeing outpourings of rage in Cuba. Thousands of protesters marching in the streets of several cities, angry over economic conditions and the way the government is handling the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, the country reporting a record number of new cases and deaths. Patrick Oppmann tells us now about the protests and how the government is responding.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands of protesters took to the streets here in Havana and across Cuba on Sunday demanding change. This is something that almost never happens here, that people engage in anti-government protests. The government does not permit it. Usually, they are shut down very, very quickly, and many people are just too afraid to openly criticize the government.

But on Sunday, it was a very different picture as thousands of people did just that. They said they were sick of energy shortages, of empty store shelves. Many complained about their government's coronavirus response. The economy here has been deeply, deeply damaged. This economy was already ailing before the pandemic, but now with more than a year of almost no tourism, very little tourism to this island, people are hurting.

And many of the people who took to the streets said they were simply not afraid anymore. They had nothing left to lose. In front of Cuban police officers, they criticize their government, they called for change, but so far, at least, those calls have fallen on deaf ears because we saw several arrests, people being taken away violently by the police. We saw the government sending in their own counter protesters that

said they supported the revolution that tried to drown out the anti- government protesters. And Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, the successor to the Castro's, said that the supporters of the revolution needed to take to the streets, needed to defend the revolution.

And he was giving them an order to flood the streets to defend their government. So far, at least, despite these calls for change, unprecedented calls for change, the Cuban government does not appear to giving an inch. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

HOLMES: The U.S. voicing support for the demonstrations. The White House national security adviser tweeting, "The U.S. supports freedom of expression and assembly across Cuba, and would strongly condemn any violence or targeting of peaceful protesters who are exercising their universal rights."

As the delta variant prompts new concerns of a surge in COVID infections, the drugmaker, Pfizer, is set to brief U.S. officials on vaccine boosters on Monday. Last week, Pfizer reported lowered immunity among people who received their shots and said that they would seek emergency use authorization for a booster from the FDA in August.

Now, according to the FDA and CDC, there is no evidence that boosters are yet needed. Meanwhile, Israel announcing it will immediately allow third doses of the Pfizer vaccine for people with compromised immune systems. Here is what one expert says about the need for a vaccine boosters in the U.S.

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MEGAN FLANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: Let's be clear that for almost all folks who have gotten both Pfizer shots or both Moderna shots, or their single Johnson & Johnson shot, they are fully protected from COVID-19, even this new delta variant. Study after study, from the U.K., from the U.S. and from elsewhere across the globe shows that these vaccines still work, even against this novel variant.

Now, there is one small exception, and those are people who are immunosuppressed, people who are on biologics for rheumatoid arthritis or who are getting chemo, who or organ transplant recipients, we know that those folks are less likely to have an adequate immune response after their first set of vaccines.

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That might be the one group for whom a booster might be indicated at this point, but for right now, honestly, I don't want to focus on giving people a third shot a vaccine. I want more Americans to get their first shots of vaccine. That's the problem we are facing, not winning immunity.

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HOLMES: Well, a new age of space travel is dawning according to the billionaire who just made his own out of this world voyage.

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UNKNOWN: Three, two, one, release, release, release.

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HOLMES: We'll discuss what Richard Branson's journey could mean for the budding future of space tourism.

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HOLMES: The small step for a daredevil billionaire and a giant leap for space travel. Richard Branson becoming the first to reach the edge of space on a craft made by his own company. It was an exciting moment on CNN as Virgin Galactic's Unity spacecraft detach from its mother ship. You see it there, and then roared high above our planet.

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RACHEL CRANE, CNN INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT: You can hear the crowd cheering, behind me. This is that historic moment that Richard Branson and his team at Virgin Galactic have been waiting for, for nearly two decades and we have release, Brian. We have released. The rocket engine has ignited. This is the moment that Branson and his team have been waiting for.

Brian, I got to pause. I got to take this in. This is really an incredible moment here.

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HOLMES: Now, the entire flight lasted about an hour with Branson and his crew enjoying several minutes of weightlessness and panoramic views of Earth. CNN's Rachel Crane, who you just heard there very excited, was on hand for the launch and spoke to Branson about his groundbreaking voyage.

CRANE: This flight was nearly two decades in the making and the company saying that Richard Branson's maiden flight was flawless. And nobody more excited about that than the company's founder and new astronaut, Richard Branson, himself.

I have the opportunity to speak with him, following the flight about the excitement and the energy of it. Take a listen to what he had to say.

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RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: I've dreamed of going to space since I was a kid. I have always pictured what it would be like. And it was just far more extraordinary than I could ever, ever imagine. From going north to 3,000 miles an hour in seven or eight seconds, being pressed into the seat, the roar of the rocket, to arriving in space, and the silence.

And, you know, to looking out of the window, to seeing our glorious, glorious -- the colors of the sky, to unbuckling and floating, just literally lifting -- just going off to the ceiling and floating. Looking back down on these big windows that have now the spaceship is upside down, facing back down to the Earth.

Seeing these three float around underneath me like, you know, a giant fish. Get out of my way, I want to see the Earth. And then, of course, you know, when we came back into the Earth's atmosphere, the shuddering as the spaceship comes back in. Anyway, we just had a pretty extraordinary day.

CRANE: Oh my god. It was amazing.

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CRANE: But luckily for him, this was not a dream. This was reality. And space enthusiasts all around the globe are celebrating. That's because Virgin Galactic and Branson hope that this fourth manned spaceflight will help usher in a new era of space travel.

The company is saying that they expect to start their commercial operations in early 2022. That is when people like yourself and I could potentially one day hop a flight on their vehicle. But, it's going to cost us. Right now those tickets, selling for around $200,000 a pop, a cost that Virgin Galactic has said might go up before it comes down.

HOLMES: And let's bring in Greg Autry who is joining us from Cape Canaveral I n Florida. He is a space policy expert and a professor at Arizona State University Thunderbird School of Global Management. Great to see you. Your thoughts on the flight, first of all? What it means? What it achieved?

GREG AUTRY, SPACE POLICY EXPERT: Well, for me, personally, you know, I was on the runway at Mojave, California in 2004 when Sir Richard announced Virgin Galactic and I have engaged and followed with the effort ever since. So this is important for me too. I am so happy to see their success and their tenacity and persistence that he has applied payoff for him, for the team, and the company.

But this is going to be a seminal moment in human history. This is a tipping point where we're not just leaving the planet with a government program and a few quasi-military people. This is the moment that humanity really begins, our expansion out of the atmosphere.

HOLMES: Yes, that's an interesting way of putting it. And let's get the sort of negativity if you like out of the way because people are saying things like that, you know, this is a couple of rich guys playing with toys no one else can afford, but you have an argument against that.

AUTRY: Certainly. First of all, every great invention that we've had in the past was originally something that, you know, only the wealthy could afford and I remember paying $1,200 for my first C.D. player. That's not the point. The point is that they are putting their money, their private capital into something that's going to make the world better for all of us.

And secondly, by getting a lot of people up there and seeing, I've had the opportunity to be friends with a number of astronauts and when they come back, they are changed. They see the world with no borders. They see the thin atmosphere and realize how precious our biosphere is. Getting a bunch of wealthy and powerful people to experience that transformative awareness is hugely valuable.

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HOLMES: And space does have implications for climate change in a good way. We've learned a lot about climate change from space, right?

AUTRY: Absolutely. We wouldn't know anything about climate change without space data from NASA and NOAA. Solar power was developed in great extent by NASA and DoD for satellites. GPS makes every transportation system on earth more efficient, saves more CO2 emissions than other emissions that any technology that's ever been developed.

To pretend that investing in space is not the right thing to do for our environment is incredibly shortsighted.

HOLMES: I wanted to ask you, if you though that this is a sustainable business in terms of, you know, profitability and that eventual accessibility for ordinary people. And, also, what are the implications for future commercial flights?

AUTRY: Yes. So, a lot of people have said, you know, this only lasts. Everybody that is superrich will go a couple of times then it will be done or they will be an accident and it will stop. And I say, look at what's happening on Mount Everest. Every year, hundreds of people are going. They have to put ladders in in order to get them through faster.

And when you do that, you actually march apparently by the frozen dead bodies of people that went before. And it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to mount this campaign. So, I don't think you'll see anything different here except that space tourism is much more pleasant and safer than that.

HOLMES: Wow. Yes. It was interesting to see Branson had kids there as part of the media briefing. And it struck me that that has been important to him the whole way through, inspiring kids to take an interest in space and its potential.

AUTRY: I do have to say, I've had the opportunity to speak to all three of the billionaires involved here at one time or another, and Sir Richard has been, by far, the most sincere and passionate about what this means for the future of our planet and our people and, you know, that just shines through every time you see him.

HOLMES: Greg Autry at the Kennedy Space Center. Really great to speak with, you. Certainly a momentous day, as you say. Really appreciate it. Thanks.

AUTRY: Thank you.

HOLMES: A look now at some of the more memorable moments from Sunday's one-of-a-kind journey.

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CRANE: The rocket engine has ignited. This is the moment that Branson and his team have been waiting for.

BRANSON: I was once a kid with a dream, looking up to the stars. And now, I'm an adult in a spaceship, looking back to our beautiful Earth.

For the next generation of dreamers, if we can do this, just imagine what you can do.

As you go into space, it's just -- the views are breathtaking. I mean, there's no question, we are so lucky to have this planet that we all live on. We've got to all be doing everything we can to help this incredible planet we live on. I will devote the rest of my life doing that.

UNKNOWN: You exude such confidence. Is there even just a small part of you feeling perhaps an intense relief that it all went to plan?

BRANSON: The only thing I was worried about was some tiny little something that would get in the way.

UNKNOWN: What did you see from space?

BRANSON: What do you see from space is this wonderful, dark sky and then this incredible blue. We've got these incredible windows, and Dave and (inaudible) they turn the spaceship upside down so when you are floating, you are looking out of these giant windows, back at this beautiful, beautiful sky, beautiful earth back down here. And it is -- I mean, it is indescribable.

We've been to space everybody!

I am definitely still up there. We're going to come down with a big thump soon. Anyways, it is so, so thrilling when it's a lifetime dream comes true and --

UNKNOWN: Ladies and gentlemen, this here is Sir Richard Branson, astronaut.

UNKNOWN: Did you guys see any planets in space?

BRANSON: We saw a number of different aliens out there. One of them hitched a lift on the top of the spaceship. I think you managed to throw them off, didn't you Dave?

UNKNOWN: I did, yes.

BRANSON: So, we left the aliens up there. But, maybe next time we'll open the door and we'll bring them back.

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HOLMES: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Appreciate your company. I'm Michael Holmes and you are watching "CNN Newsroom."

Euphoria in Italy, heartbreak in England, after the European Championship left just one winner on the pitch, and that was Italy holding the trophy high as the Azuri marked their first major title and 15 years. And, while there was plenty of celebrations, London's Metropolitan Police say they made 49 arrests for a variety of offenses, as they put it, while policing the final.

You can see some fans rushing the gates at Wembley on Sunday. Police also report they are investigating "a number of offensive and racist social media comments being directed towards footballers." England's football association releasing a statement saying it is appalled at the racist abuse and that it condemns all forms of discrimination.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz join me now live from London to talk about all of it. Yes. So, even if their team lost, this tournament has been a big boost for a country emerging from COVID restrictions, but tell us about that but also this controversy about racist social media posts.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Michael. I mean, yesterday was a night of very high tension here in London to be completely honest. Two teams desperately fighting for that trophy. England trying to break the curse of 55 years to win that final. Of course, unfortunately, that is not what happened. They lost on penalty shootouts.

But the repercussions of that are that we have seen this racist abuse against certain players online.

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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The players that missed penalty shootouts were black players, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jaden Sancho, all of them receiving vile comments online according to the Football association, England's Football Association who say they are looking for legislative action.

They want a harsher response from social media companies and they are doing everything they can to try to stop these very disgusting tweets that are being directed towards these players, who are being blamed for England's loss in this way.

We've also seen a statement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson just in the last 20 minutes. I want to read that out to you, Michael. It says, "The England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves."

So a lot of condemnation for this. But Michael, unfortunately, we both know that racist abuse targeted towards players is not something new, especially when fans feel like the result hasn't gone their way. So why does this matter?

This matters because this England team was trying to do something larger than just win the tournament although of course, that in and of itself was something huge. The manager of this team Gareth Southgate wanted these players to represent a new kind of Englishness, a kind of Englishness that is progressive, that is inclusive, that changes really some of the stereotypes that people have about England fans that largely do come down to this idea that fans are often racist, abusive, closed minded, and Southgate wanted to tackle that through this team.

So these players were standing, kneeling rather at before - before the start of every match for the Black Lives Matter movement. They were booed at times for doing that. Marcus Rashford who's receiving negative abuse right now he stood up for free school meals for children. Saka again, he had worn a George Floyd shirt last year, stood with the Black Lives Matter movement.

So these players really are trying to do something larger, Michael, and that's why this is important. That's why you hear the Prime Minister speaking out against it.

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN HOST: As he should. Despicable stuff after what should have been a great day of sport. Salma Abdelaziz in London. Appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you. We'll take a quick break. When we come back on CNN Newsroom. As chaos grips Haiti in the wake of Wednesday's presidential assassination, police say they've arrested a mastermind behind the attack. We'll have details when we come back.

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HOLMES: Welcome back. A Taliban offensive is forcing some countries to make tough choices in Afghanistan. India says it is pulling out some of its consular staff as fighting near Kandahar intensifies. They say the move is temporary until the situation stabilizes but the Taliban aren't just gaining ground near Kandahar.

That video there on your screen reportedly shows civilians and security forces fighting the militants. This is in Takhar province. According to the long war journal, most of that region has already fallen to the Taliban. As U.S. nears a full withdrawal, a return to Taliban rule looks more like a pending reality and that is what's driving a new wave of refugees.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports now on a family stranded in Turkey, after a desperate bid to flee their homeland.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As America's Military presence in Afghanistan nears an end, and with the Taliban continuing to gain more and more ground, so many Afghans are terrified of what might happen to them. They are looking at every possible option to try and get out of the country.

Here in Istanbul airport, we found a one of those many stories. These desperate attempts to try and flee Afghanistan to escape the Taliban. A group of 16 Afghans, members of an extended family say they bought tickets to Euro 2020 match in St. Petersburg last month that allowed them to get on a flight from Afghanistan to Russia with a stopover in Turkey without needing visas. The plan was to apply for asylum when they got to Turkey, but they have been stranded in the transit area here for about three weeks. It is a heart breaking situation.

They've been sending us photos, videos of what they have been going through, children sleeping on the floor, some in the group appear like they need urgent medical attention. Take a listen to one of them describing what they have been going through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are living here without food, water and milk for our baby. We have nowhere to sleep and - on the ground and stone. We're scared from Afghanistan due to life threatening situation with Taliban.

KARADSHEH: So we've come here to the airport to try and meet this group. But they have since been moved to an immigration holding area. They don't know what is going to happen to them whether they're going to be allowed to apply for a temporary protection status in Turkey which would allow them to apply for asylum later on, elsewhere.

They're really worried that they could be put on a flight back to Afghanistan. They say going back is not an option. Since they left Afghanistan, their hometown in Herat province has fallen to the Taliban, a relative they say was recently killed. In the words of one man in that group, he says sending them back to Afghanistan would be like a death sentence. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

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HOLMES: Now the Turkish Interior Ministry didn't respond to CNN's requests for comment but the family told CNN they have now been allowed to submit an application for international protection and are awaiting a decision.

Haiti's First Lady appears to have broken her silence following the assassination of her husband - husband, President Jovenel Moise. In a voice message posted her Twitter account she encouraged Haitians to persevere through the chaos now gripping the country.

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MARTINE HOISE, HAITI FIRST LADY (through translator): Tears will never dry up in my eyes. My heart was still bleed, but we cannot allow the president to die a second time. It's true, I'm crying but we can't let the country go astray.

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HOLMES: CNN still working to independently confirm the authenticity of that video or that audio rather. Meanwhile, Haitian Police say they've made a major arrest in the assassination case. CNN's Matt Rivers with that.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we got an update on Sunday evening from Haitian authorities after they held a press conference giving some updates into the investigation of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Authorities holding that Sunday evening press conference in part to announce the arrest of a 63-year old man they say was born here in Haiti.

They allege that that man actually helped recruit and then organize here in Haiti, this group of Colombian mercenaries that the Haitian government says were the ones who actually carried out this assassination upon raiding this 63-year old man's home. Authorities say they found multiple boxes of ammunition, they found shooting targets, they also found pistol and rifle holsters.

[02:40:00]

Meanwhile, the political situation here in Haiti remains tenuous at best, with a couple of different leaders and different political factions here in Haiti tweeting, or saying publicly on Sunday that they actually met with a U.S. delegation here in Puerto Prince to talk about the political situation, to talk about who should be running the country right now and to talk about elections that should be happening at some point in the future, not only to elect a new president, but also to elect new members of parliament here in Haiti.

But based on those public statements, it's clear that no consensus was reached at that meeting. And when there is disagreement, political disagreement in Haiti, that can often lead to protests that sometimes turn violent. That is what we're going to be looking out for over the next few days, and even the next few weeks, as Haiti tries to grapple with the assassination of its president. Matt Rivers, CNN, Port au Prince, Haiti.

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HOLMES: Now for our international viewers, World Sport is coming up next. For everyone else, I'll be right back with more CNN Newsroom.

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HOLMES: Welcome back. 10 more victims pulled from the rubble of the collapsed condo in Surfside, Florida have been identified more than two weeks since the disaster. Crews are dedicated in their task of painstakingly sifting through the debris scene. CNN's Natasha Chen reports.

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NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 90 people are now confirmed dead. 31 people potentially still unaccounted for. The search teams have now removed 14 million pounds of concrete and debris. They've got heavy machinery lifting the pieces so delicately that we're told they even found an undamaged bottle of wine and someone's ring, other people's heirlooms in the pile that means so much to these families.

The Miami-Dade Police chief also said they've brought rabbis onto the scene to help them understand what may be significant objects. Here's the Police chief talking about that effort.

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FREDDY RAMIREZ, DIRECTOR, MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPARTMENT: It could be the smallest little thing that to - to a common person, it just looks like a little container but really means generations. It's - it's very spiritual. And I'm just so impressed with our officers, are learning so much about culture, that there's just so many dynamics here with the sadness and the sorrow there's, there's like a unity component, we learn about each other. So we definitely respect that and honor that.

CHEN: He said there's a database where families can actually upload information on the items of significance that they're looking for. And as the search teams find things, they are also carefully cataloging that putting that into storage. And at a later date, they can connect with families to reunite them with their belongings.

As far as the search teams go, some of them are starting to leave, the Israeli Defense Forces left today Sunday, and the Virginia team is also on its way out. But the Fire Chief did say that on average, the number of personnel throughout these two and a half weeks has remained about the same and this is still a 24-hour operation. Natasha Chen, CNN, Surfside, Florida.

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HOLMES: Now from Washington State down to Arizona, more than 30 million people in the western U.S. are under a heat alert as brutal high temperatures are expected to continue Monday. Take a look at the next few days. This comes after cities in Colorado, Nevada, and California set new all-time highs last week. Authorities in Nevada asked people to conserve energy.

A major power supply said the extreme heat along with out of state wildfires are impacting the transmission lines in the region. Now wildfire in Oregon has more than tripled in size since Friday. The flames have even impacted the power supply to neighboring California. For the latest and all of this, let's go to meteorologist Tyler Mauldin. What are you seeing out there Tyler? Pretty dire situation?

TYLER MAULDIN, THE WEATHER GUY, CNN: It is and Michael, as you mentioned during that toss, more than 30 million people are under heat alerts right now across the west. And you can see that the entire state of Nevada is under a heat alert. The pink is here are excessive heat warnings, the orange areas are heat advisories.

This is extremely dangerous heat that we're dealing with and you know that it is dangerous heat when you can't cool off overnight. Look at these overnight temperatures for the next few days. Death Valley near 100 degrees overnight, Palm Springs in the 80s. Redding will be near - near 70 degrees, Salt Lake City will be in the 70s.

And Salt Lake City heats up to 103 degrees once we get to the afternoon hours on Monday, and then Palm Springs will continue to be around 108 to 110. That's a little above average for you, will be above average in Sacramento too and also Redding and Death Valley has had a string of temperatures above 127 degrees and will be close to hitting 130 on Monday.

The temperatures are going to continue to be above average. So we are going to see the record heat start to wane once we get to midweek. But will continue to be above average not only across the Southwest but also across the Pacific Northwest and then that starts to push to the east a little bit on into the northern plains.

Las Vegas, your average high is 105. You're going to top out at 116 degrees on Monday, and we will be above average all the way through - through the rest of the week. In addition to that, we have thunderstorms across the East, a flash flood threat across the Northeast too, so it's really active as you can see.

The heatwave is being generated because we have a heat dome sitting right on top of the West Coast and it's just waxing and waning here and one day, one week it's - we got record heat across the southwest and then it starts to wane. And we saw it - see it wax up here to the Pacific Northwest and it drops right back down. And as long as we have that heat bubble, that heat dome, Michael, we'll continue to see the above average heat across the west.

[02:50:00]

HOLMES: Yes, yes, pretty uncomfortable. Tyler, good to see you. Thanks for that. Tyler Mauldin there. Well, now that many Americans are coming out of pandemic isolation by hitting the road and going abroad, it might be time to rethink how tourism impacts the environment.

Well, that's the pitch from a new opinion piece in The New York Times. The article says it is the perfect time to reform the ways we travel and lays out data to prove its point. The UN World Tourism Organization says travel accounted for 5 percent of the world's human produced carbon emissions in 2016. And one study of cruise ships found a midsized ship can emit as much particulate as a million cars.

Well, New York Times Columnist Farhad Manjoo, who wrote that article joins me from Sunnyvale in California. Thanks. Thanks for doing so. I mean, the point of your piece is a fascinating one that, you know, tourism should not return to anything like its old normal. The pandemic has presented an opportunity to reset how we tour the planet. Explain what you mean?

FARHAD MANJOO, OPINION COLUMNIST, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Oh, well, you know, before the pandemic started, we were just traveling at a kind of an extreme amount. And, you know, traveling is an amazing thing, I think that it brings the world closer together. But we were sort of doing it for you know, Instagram changed how people travel and for that reason, people were just sort of flooding like the most, you know, beautiful or picturesque places on earth and, you know, using a lot of planes and cruise ships to get there, which is just not good for, for any of us.

HOLMES: Yes, and you write in the article that you know, in 2019, according to an industry trade group, the world spent about $9 trillion, nearly a 10th of global GDP on tourism. It's a staggering number, why this growth is astonishing expenditure, and what damage does it do?

MANJOO: Yes, well, I mean, the simple fact is that there are - that people in the world are getting wealthier, especially in developing countries and as they get wealthier, they have more money to travel. And so we've just seen a huge number of travelers from all over, in the last 10 years, there's been enormous growth.

And, you know, on - on the one hand, that is that really does sort of get people to see new cultures and sort of understand people in a way that is positive for all of us. But I just wanted to point out that, you know, when we do it, we should do it sort of judiciously, because there's a great cost to it, you know, every time you take a plane trip across the Atlantic, you're using as much carbon as you would save in a whole year without using a car. So it's just kind of an amazing amount that you don't really consider when you're doing something that you think is, you know, for fun. There are all these kind of extra costs to it.

HOLMES: I guess, you know, how to affect change, though? I guess the question is, how do you exercise control over something like tourism, which is so diverse, so disparate? How do you sort of convince the industry and those who are using it to sort of mitigate some of this damage?

MANJOO: Well, I mean, sort of, there's a kind of obvious thing here, but it's very difficult is a kind of a global, or, you know, a continental carbon tax. If the United States or European governments were able to, you know, price in the amount of carbon emissions, that planes and cruise ships and other kind of modes of transportation that we use, that they emit, we'd be able to, you know, at least get a hold of that, of that kind of at least of all the emissions from there.

And that really would go - that would affect how people travel, you know. If it's more expensive to travel and if there was - you know, if it was done in such a way that that - like, we could have higher taxes for sort of the billionaires and private jets that travel, I think we would get kind of more judicious perhaps, more careful, cautious use of - of all of our modes of transportation and there's really like kind of the end - the end result here - it's not - there's - it's not a very good planet to travel and visit if it's sort of covered in climate disasters for the foreseeable future.

HOLMES: That's - that's interesting. And that's absolutely right. You know, and - and real quick, we've got less than a minute left, but do you think we're going to see more of what we've seen from some cities, I'm thinking Venice and Amsterdam and places like that who are saying enough, you know, less of you?

[02:55:00]

MANJOO: Yes, I mean, and I think that what will happen because of those is that people will discover kind of other places. And so that'll kind of spread people around in a way that will like reduce crowding, which is, you know, a terrible problem for visiting if you're just kind of surrounded by other people and you can't see anything.

So I think those - those moves will help and I think more cities will do that.

HOLMES: All right, Farhad Manjoo, a fascinating piece here in the New York Times. I urge people to check it out. Great to talk with you. Thanks so much.

MANJOO: Thanks a lot. Good to be here.

HOLMES: All right. And thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram, @HolmesCNN. Rosemary Church is going to be along with more CNN Newsroom in just a moment.

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