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Northeast & Southeast Reeling As Flooding Slows Recovery; CNN: WH May Have To Scale Back Vaccine Booster Rollout Plan; Surging Delta Variant Leads To Disappointing August Jobs Report; Latino Voters May Be Key As Democrat Gov. Newsom Faces Recall; The Connection Between Climate Change And Severe Weather; Naomi Osaka To Take A Break From Tennis After U.S. Open Loss. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired September 04, 2021 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
All right, right now, millions of Americans are still reeling from the impacts of Hurricane Ida, hundreds of thousands without power, at least 50 people died in the northeast, and many more are facing flood warnings again today.
In Cranford, New Jersey stunning video showing water, right there just rushing right into the home and the basement, plowing down that wall.
In nearby Passaic, New Jersey the search continues after two college students still missing were swept into a storm drain. Their car can be seen sitting atop a railing above the storm drain.
And across Louisiana, the situation is becoming increasingly desperate as temperatures soar, and food and fuel run short.
In Jefferson Parish, a man was shot and killed while waiting in line at a gas station.
CNN has a team coverage on the ground as the cleanup continues. We'll check in with Nadia Romero in New Orleans in a moment but first, Evan McMorris-Santoro is in Paterson, New Jersey. Evan, what is the situation?
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, you mentioned that video out of Cranford, of that just that water, just rapidly filling in that basement. That's what happened here in Paterson as well. The Passaic River runs through this town, it flooded very, very quickly, put feet of water all over parts of town. And you can see three days later, there's still a lot of water around parts of this town.
You're looking down this road here, you can see, there's water, there's submerged vehicles. Now, we've seen some vehicles trying to make it through here, but this kind of water is still sitting here doing damage. It can take a long time for to dry and then after that, the damage can be assessed and then repaired. I spoke to the mayor of Paterson earlier today about what his city is facing once things like this dry up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRE SAYEGH, MAYOR OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY: About 300 people have been rescued to date, a very daring rescue here in the north side of our city. There have been countless cars that have been left abandoned about 100, we have 30 families that are at the emergency shelter that we opened up, and our streets are strewn with debris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANTORO: So Fred, when I spoke to the mayor, what he said was there's a lot of examining that has to be done. Decisions have to be made about what to keep and what to get rid of, what to fix, how to pay for it. There's a lot of Ida still to come here in the northeast, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yes, and the cost to tackle, I mean it it's exorbitant. Nobody really knows. No one's really put an exact figure. Evan McMorris-Santoro, thank you so much.
Onto Louisiana now, more than 700,000 remain without power nearly a week after Ida hit. That, on top of fuels shortages, leaving many in dangerous situations as the temperatures rise to sweltering levels.
CNN's Nadia Romero is in New Orleans for us.
So, Nadia, you're speaking with people who are evacuating to shelters, but tell us about what they've been experiencing and what they're hoping is around the corner for them.
NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, a lot of people are just looking forward to some AC, fresh clothes, food, water, I mean the basics, right? The basics that you need really to survive, and not just be comfortable, but to go day to day.
And so Fred, we're inside of a Convention Center here in New Orleans, and there are about 12 pickup locations all across the city. People get on a coach bus, come here, and this is where they do their registration.
So, you can see behind me, there are people who are coming in, a lot of them the city tells us are coming from assisted living facilities, from nursing homes, in places where they didn't have power, they didn't have generators and not living in the best conditions, and so they were transported here.
And other people who wanted to come here, who were living in their homes that had roof damage from a storm or mildew mold that is growing because they don't have AC and it's so hot, and they were flooded out during the hurricane, they're able to come here, get registered, and then they get on a coach bus to go to Northern Louisiana or to Texas where they can finally find some relief. And I spoke with a man named Terry. And Terry told me he said Nadia, I have been in a storm since February. He said his wife died of COVID-19 in February, then, the storm hit, Hurricane Ida, and now he has nothing left and no one to lean on. Listen to Terry
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This seemed like it's worst than Katrina. You know, like I said, you know, nobody's trying to -- you know the lady that runs the place isn't trying to, you know, try to make sure the elavator works and they're trying to get the old folks out of here.
[13:05:01]
ROMERO: How's it worse can -- than Katrina?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's worse -- it is the light, electric, you know, the power, you know, stuff like that, you know. For as Katrina, Katrina was worsened but you know this thing right here, you know, this is ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMERO: Tough for Terry. It has been so tough for Terry. He lives in a building, he says it's him and people who are in their 70s and 80s. Electricity went out, they have to go upstairs, they have no air conditioning in those buildings. The heat index today, 102.
So, he said, I found a mask, I found my way to the evacuation center, I am getting out of here so I can get some relief. But his heart is broken, Fred. He misses his wife, he wishes that she was here to lean on her during this hard time, and he's just doing it by himself as an evacuee from a major storm.
Those are the stories that we're hearing time and time again, Fredricka, as people are trying to find their way out of New Orleans, and to some sense of whatever their new normalcy will be.
WHITFIELD: Right, it's so sad, how many times over, and yes, it is hard for him and a lot of people to try to see anything hopeful that is around the corner because the misery is just so deep. Nadia Romero, thank you so much.
So Ida is now being blamed for at least 63 deaths across the nation. CNN's Ed Lavandera has the tragic story of a father in Louisiana who died in his backyard after he was hit by a falling tree.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Recovering from the aftermath of a major hurricane is hard enough, figuring out how to recover from a broken heart at the same time, is even harder. That's the nightmare Chasity Fatherree and her family are cleaning up.
CHASITY FATHERREE, LOST FATHER TO HURRICANE IDA: I close my eyes and I just see the tree hit him, like, it's just -- it's horrible. The tree that he hated, tree that he hated.
LAVANDERA: The way -- he wanted to go in?
FATHERREE: He wanted to go in.
LAVANDERA: Sixty-year-old Dennis Duplessis was finishing last-minute storm preparations at his house in Gonzales, Louisiana. That tree, Duplessis hated so much, a nearly 100-foot tall oak, crashed down on him in the darkness and driving rain as he stepped out of this truck.
FATHERREE: My mom called me and my uncle had to break it to me.
LAVANDERA: Duplessis family says a tree limb severed an artery in his leg. As they waited for medical help to arrive, a relative held him.
FATHERREE: She was with him and when he took his last breath and I'm so thankful that he was not alone.
LAVANDERA: They say Duplessis recited the Our Father prayer. He asked that one last message be shared with his wife. Tell hope, I love her. Those were his last words.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god.
LAVANDERA: Storms like Hurricane Ida change lives. The damage can't be measured solely by the physical destruction. Storms take symbols of the past.
JOY BANNER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, WHITNEY PLANTATION: Lot of plaster damage.
LAVANDERA: Joy Banner is the Communications Director for the Whitney Plantation Museum west of New Orleans. She's a descendant of the slaves who once lived here.
BANNER: Whitney plantation is the only plantation in this region that focuses on the experience and the life of the unsaved people.
LAVANDERA: Hurricane Ida flattened some structures and damage the plantations, historic church, artifacts touched by the hands of slaves and freed slaves. History that lives today.
BANNER: There were lots of tears when I was walking through the site. I've never have such a surreal experience and it was such a sinking feeling in my heart just walking around and seeing some of our buildings did collapse, seeing the trees and the debris all over the site.
LAVANDERA: Banner rode the storm out in the plantation's main house built in 1791.
BANNER: It is built by the artisanship, the craftsmen, the skill of the enslaved Africans and their descendants.
LAVANDERA: 230 years of history survived the storm. Taking measure of all that's lost is part of recovering from a storm like Hurricane Ida. The landscape changes in ways big and small. Life is never quite the same. Ed Lavandera CNN, Laplace, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Coming up. Booster shot confusion why the Biden administration's September 20 rollout plan may be scaled back. Plus, voters will decide to keep or replace California Governor Gavin Newsom in just 10 days, and Latino voters could be key on election day.
[13:10:00]
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WHITFIELD: All right, this just in. The U.S. Navy has confirmed the deaths of five missing sailors off the San Diego coast. They were in a helicopter that crashed into the Pacific Ocean, Tuesday afternoon. One crew member was rescued on Wednesday. The helicopter was conducting routine flight operations off the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
And CNN has learned, the White House may have to scale back its rollout plan for Coronavirus booster shots set for later on this month. The planned rollout set to begin September 20, may now be limited to just the Pfizer vaccine. But it could take a few weeks longer to move forward with Moderna's shots because the FDA needs more data on that company's doses.
And this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci explained why he thinks a booster shot may be inevitable for most people.
[13:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: But I must say from my own experience as an immunologist, I would not at all be surprised that the adequate full regimen for vaccination will likely be three doses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk more about this right now. Joining us right now, Dr. Carlos del Rio. He is the Executive Associate Dean of Emory University School of Medicine at Grady Health System in Atlanta.
Always good to see you. So, are the White House's ambitions matching the science on boosters right now?
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, you know, Fredricka, we need to remember that we're learning about this vaccine as we're using them. But I want to remind people that a fair number of vaccines we use are actually three-dose vaccines. Many vaccines, you go a first shot, a shot a month later, and a shot six months later. So, that sequence -- that sequence, hello -- WHITFIELD: I can hear you. Can you hear out there? Yes.
DEL RIO: -- That sequence -- yes, I can hear you, fine. Can you hear -- that sequence tends to be very characteristic of vaccines, so I would not be surprised if many COVID vaccines require something very similar to that.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about Georgia. I mean, you know, it's called out the National Guard to help in some of the state's hospitals overwhelmed by COVID patients. Almost two dozen of them were sent to help at Grady Hospital. Other hospitals in the area say, they too, are at capacity. So, describe the scene for us, whether it be a Grady or other hospitals, particularly in Georgia.
DEL RIO: Well, hospitals in Georgia, like in many places in the United States, especially the southern U.S. are at capacity. We surpassed 6000 people hospitalized with COVID in Georgia, and while those numbers don't seem very large, you got to realize that there's many other patients in the hospital with other diseases and simply hospitals are in capacity right now, particularly in critical care areas.
I am -- I'm very thankful of the National Guard coming in, unfortunately, many of those in the National Guard coming in are not medically trained, so they're being used to deploy in other activities that frequently you will see nurses and other medical personnel be doing such as, for example, bringing food into patient's room, or answering calls or bringing water and those kinds of activities will then release some of the medical staff to be able to do other activities.
But I want to emphasize that we have a serious problem with exhausted healthcare workers and simply not enough nurses particularly to go around.
WHITFIELD: Yes, that is very worrisome. I mean, how are in general, you know, medical personnel, nurses, doctors, everybody who is helping to care for people in hospitals, how are they holding up? I mean, at some point, just everyone reaches a breaking point, right? Just a stress level where they just can't handle it any longer.
DEL RIO: Well, we're obviously in totally uncharted waters, right? But clearly, resilience is very important. Clearly, I want to, you know, commend all our healthcare workers for what they're doing and the resilience they're showing and the commitment they're showing, but people are having mental health issues.
People are exhausted, people are physically and mentally exhausted, and you got to realize that they also have lives outside of health care. So, they may have a sick relative, they may have kids now going back to school and coming back infected. And all that is affecting -- is adding additional stress to their lives.
WHITFIELD: And then more children, you know, have been going to the hospitals and emergency rooms in states with lower vaccination rates according to a new study of the CDC. So director, Rochelle Walensky explains how she sees it. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CDC: Although we are seeing more cases in children, and more overall cases. These studies demonstrated that there was not increased disease severity in children. Instead, more children have COVID-19 because there is more disease in the community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: What are your thoughts and concerns particularly about children and especially, you know that the area of children who are not eligible for vaccines?
DEL RIO: Well, you know, we're seeing an increase in hospitalizations in children. We're seeing them across the United States. They're not many, but clearly, they are much many more than they were ever before.
And pediatric hospitals are experiencing something they have never experienced before, which is sick children coming in into the ICU, into the hospital. Many of them requiring additional support measures such as, for example, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which is a very extreme way of getting -- delivering oxygen to people, which in the past, we had not done with children with COVID.
So, are -- we are seeing sick children with COVID, but I want to emphasize that for those children under the age of 12 not eligible for vaccination, the best things we can do to protect those children is, number one, vaccinate all the adults around them, and number two, use mask. I mean, face masks and vaccination are the key to keeping our children safe.
WHITFIELD: Very true. Still got to wear those masks. All right. Dr. Carlos del Rio, always good to see you. Thank you so much.
[13:20:01]
DEL RIO: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, coming up. California's governor Gavin Newsom fighting to keep his job. Could a Republican candidate win the blue state? We'll discuss straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Americans could soon learn more about the 9/11 terror attacks as President Biden orders the government to conduct a declassification review of top-secret documents tied to 9/11. Any documents deemed eligible for declassification will be released within the next six months.
More than 1600 people affected by the attack signed on to a letter to Biden last month, calling on him to stay away from 9/11 Memorial events at Ground Zero unless he releases documents related to the attacks. [13:25:11]
WHITFIELD: President Biden is expected to attend events to commemorate the 20-year anniversary next week.
And this disappointing August jobs report shows the surging Delta variant has become a major roadblock in the nation's path to economic recovery. Only 235,000 jobs were added last month when economists were expecting more than 700,000 jobs.
CNN Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans has more on how the rising number of COVID infections stalled the job market last month.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Call it the Delta drag. Jobs growth slowed in August as the Delta via variant surged. After a very strong hiring in June and July, August was the slowest job growth since January. And the very sector that drove so much of the job gains this year stalled. Hiring, leisure, and hospitality was flat.
Employment in that sector is still down about 10 percent from before the pandemic. Job losses last month were in retail stores, bars, and restaurants. Even without renewed lockdowns economists say Americans are turning more cautious about going out as the variant spreads and hospitals fill up.
There was strong hiring in professional services. Think architects, engineers, computer systems design, scientific research, gains in manufacturing and transportation warehousing.
And notable the jobless rate fell to the lowest of the pandemic, 5.2 percent as households reported stronger jobs growth there.
Now big picture, 17 million jobs have been added since the crash in the spring of 2020, the economy still down 5.3 million jobs since the pandemic began.
WHITFIELD: Christine Romans, thank you so much for that.
All right, coming up, in just a couple of days, voters -- 10 rather days for the voters will decide to keep or replace California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Latino voters could be key to his political fate.
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[13:31:44]
WHITFIELD: The California recall vote is just 10 days away and Governor Gavin Newsom is going on the offense to fight for his job.
This hour, Senator Elizabeth Warren will be campaigning for the governor in Los Angeles. And tomorrow, Senator Amy Klobuchar is expected in that state to campaign for Newsom.
Recent polls show his chances of keeping his job are looking good. But if Newsom is to remain governor, Latino voters could be key on Election Day.
CNN's Kyung Lah explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gary Montana's day as a maintenance technician is so jammed he doesn't have time to care about the upcoming California recall election.
A registered Independent, he carries one overriding feeling about Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
GARY MONTANA, CALIFORNIA REGISTERED INDEPENDENT: He just said that lack of -- I don't think he really understood like the average person voted you in.
LAH: He's most upset about Newsom dining at an exclusive restaurant in the middle of the pandemic while he works.
It is in California's Latino communities where COVID's impact was felt the most. Everyone in Montana's family got COVID.
MONTANA: I just saw the lack of leadership skills like, I was thinking he was like, OK, and that's when I thought we needed to recall the governor.
LAH: Latinos make up an estimated 30 percent of California's voters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All roads to victory on September 14th are going to lead through every Latino neighborhood in the state of California. Am I right?
CROWD: Yes.
LAH: Key in whether Governor Newsom keeps his job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for your help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
LAH: Why Democrats are blanketing Spanish-language media with ads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
LAH: As are the Republican challengers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
LAH: With less than two weeks to go to recall Election Day, the drive is getting the base out to vote.
Progressives have been knocking on doors through this Central Los Angeles neighborhood. While some say this --
(on-camera): Have you heard about the recall?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I have not.
LAH (voice-over): And there is frustration over the Governor's economic policies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're recalling Governor Newsom, right?
LAH (on camera): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, a little one that blew (ph) in there.
LAH (voice-over): Most in this predominantly Latino community say they'll vote no on recalling Newsom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to vote no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most likely will say keep him in office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He could end up with something worse, something like Donald Trump.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Thank you, California.
LAH: In 2018, 64 percent of Latinos voted for Newsom, part of a resounding victory sending the Democrats to the governor's mansion.
While the most recent recall poll shows Latinos support keeping Newsom, there are questions about whether those voters will even cast a ballot.
LUIS ALVARADO, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Sometimes we show up and sometimes we just don't. It depends on what the issue is. And sometimes we're the ones who can change the whole paradigm. And sometimes we just don't show up and everybody wonders what happens.
LAH: One frustrated Independent feels so disconnected he's considering voting Republican.
MONTANA: Yes. I would rather see someone more in touch with the people.
[13:34:58]
LAH (on camera): Montana and the other voters we met in the story, none of them had actually turned in their ballots yet. That is something important to watch.
Now, the governor will get some help trying to rally those voters. In addition to other Democrats in the state with some national figures, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.
Both will be in Los Angeles this weekend, standing beside Governor Newsom, hoping to energize that Democratic base.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles. (END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Interesting situation becomes even that much more fascinating, which is why we have brought in Seema Mehta. She is a political writer for "The Los Angeles Times," and she has been covering this election very closely.
Seema, so good to see you.
So, mail-in ballots, have they been flooding in or trickling in?
SEEMA MEHTA, POLITICAL WRITER, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, each of California's 22 million registered voters received a mail-in ballot because of the pandemic. And so far, about 5.7 million have been returned. So that's roughly a quarter of the electorate.
But different groups are returning them in different numbers. Democrats have returned twice as many as Republicans. Old voters, seniors have also returned a lot.
But Latinos have not been voting in their share. And young voters have not been voting as much. And these are two really key coalitions for the governor's chances of holding on to his seat.
WHITFIELD: So what are the feelings about -- we're still in the height of a pandemic. And if you don't have significant turnout with the mail-in opportunity, is there a feeling that people will actually show up at polls and it could make an impactful difference?
MEHTA: In Los Angeles County, where I am, voting centers just opened today. So starting today, you can go and cast your ballot that way instead of just mailing your ballot.
But there's also, before -- you know, a couple of cycles ago, it was very common for Republicans to vote early and Democrats to vote on Election Day.
But because of former President Trump, that math has just been completely thrown in the air. The former president questioned the integrity of mail voting.
So when you talk to Republican voters, there's a concern about, if I mail my ballot in, is it really going to get there, is somebody going to mess with it?
So we do know that a number of Republican voters are definitely waiting until Election Day to cast their votes.
WHITFIELD: As we saw in Kyung's piece, the Latino vote could be pivotal. Is Newsom working hard to appeal to them? Does he feel fairly confident that he's got them in his camp?
MEHTA: I think he realizes that both Latino voters and young voters, these are people who are more likely to vote in presidential elections but are notoriously more difficult to turn out during off year elections. It's a rare election. It's not even a midterm election. It's an off
year. It's September. You know, people are just finishing up their vacations, sending their kids to school. You don't have a history of voting at this time.
So they're cognizant of the task that's ahead of them. And I think they are spending at least $10 million in communities of color around the state.
They're bringing out influencers like celebrities like George Lopez and Katy Perry and some Instagram people that I've never heard of who are meant to attract the young people.
So they're certainly cognizant of the task ahead of them.
WHITFIELD: So celebrities and even some big Democratic heavy hitters, who are holding national office, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar. Does that move the needle for voters in California?
MEHTA: I think Elizabeth Warren is popular among progressive voters, so I think that she's effective there.
And even though he's not physically here, he's on the air. And that is somebody who's very popular in California Latinos and California young people. So they're clearly bringing in national fireworks.
And we're hearing rumors that the vice president is indeed coming back next week. She was supposed to be here about a week and a half ago but, unfortunately, there was a tragedy in Afghanistan, so they canceled the trip.
But it sounds like she will be coming out here next week.
WHITFIELD: All right, Seema Mehta, "Los Angeles Times," thank you so much.
MEHTA: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, Naomi Osaka gets emotional after losing at the U.S. Open. What the tennis star is now saying about her potential future on the court.
But first, an entrepreneur in San Diego has designed a box that brings sunshine to anyone having a bad day. Here's today's "START SMALL, THINK BIG."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEEANNE ANTONIO, FOUNDER, BAD DAY BOX: Bad Day Box is a way to package empathy and send it to someone's doorstep. It's a way for you to send sunshine on a dark day and let them know that you're thinking about them.
I'm Leeanne Antonio, the founder of Bad Day Box.
Bad Day Box stems from heartbreak. A lot of my friends showed up for me during a really dark time and I thought, what if I took this concept and packaged it into something tangible.
The boxes are designed with healing in mind. If you're a coffee lover, there's one called Caffeine, Please.
If you enjoy something new, you can get the calligraphy starter kit.
And if you enjoy the great outdoors, there's one specifically to take on your next adventure.
The Shower Crying box was inspired by one of my friends who is a busy mom who doesn't have a lot of time for self-care.
[13:40:00]
There are 10-plus themed boxes that you can choose from. Some of the products featured are from our LBGTQ communities, some are eco- friendly and also charitable.
The impact that I want my business to have is to show people the importance of empathy. And sometimes we may not know what to say, but we can still show that we care.
There's no shortage of bad days in our life and there's no shortage of bad days that need brightening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:45:02]
WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, in the Atlantic, Hurricane Larry is a is a category 3 storm. It's already the third major hurricane of the year.
And it comes as residents from the gulf coast to the northeast are struggling to recover from the devastating impact of Ida.
On the west coast, massive historic fires continue to burn out of control.
These extreme weather events around the globe are raising serious questions about what role climate change is playing in these large weather-driven events.
Natasha Chen has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From coast-to- coast, people are fleeing flames, wind and water.
DAVE LAUCHNER, CALFIRE SPOKESMAN: They are very dangerous conditions. And in 22 years of doing this, we've never seen fire conditions like we're seeing now. CHEN: The Caldor Fire has forced tens of thousands of people in the
south Lake Tahoe area to evacuate. It's the 15th largest wildfire in California history. And out of the largest 20 California fires, 11 of them happened in the last five years.
Up the coast, the Pacific Northwest saw a record-breaking heatwave earlier in the summer.
DALE KUNCE, AMERICAN RED CROSS: The Red Cross traditionally doesn't support cooling centers, but this is unfortunately our new normal. This is the first time it was 116 degrees. It won't be the last time.
CHEN: In the south, people are displaced from Hurricane Ida, which arrived on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
And in the northeast --
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NEW YORK CITY): We are in a whole new world now. Let's be blunt about it.
CHEN: -- the remnants of Ida brought flash flooding and tornados to areas that rarely saw these events in the past.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): The records that were brown in central park, for example, 3.5 inches in one hour. It broke a record literally set one week earlier. That says to me that there are no more cataclysmic unforeseeable events.
CHEN: In August, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says it is, quote, "unequivocal that humans have caused the climate crisis."
The report confirms that widespread and rapid changes have already happened, some of them irreversibly.
The lead author of that report, Kim Cobb, explains how the earth has warmed more than one degree Celsius since pre-industrial levels.
KIM COBB, DIRECTOR, GLOBAL CHANGE PROGRAM, GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: We have known for decades that rise in fossil fuel emissions are driving warming across the planet.
This warming is related to the heating of the atmosphere that has caused a 7 percent increase in the amount of water vapor that the atmosphere can hold.
CHEN: More water vapor leads to higher humidity. In some areas, more drought.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've had drought cycles, but this is the first time we've ever seen a mega-drought, where it's year after year.
CHEN: And in other areas, the potential for more rainfall and more frequent heavy rainstorms.
With oceans retaining more heat, hurricanes can get stronger, slower, and wetter. And Ida was a prime example of those changes.
With every fraction of a degree of warming, the effects get worse.
COBB: If we think this is bad, we have to get ready for the climate of the next decades, when we know we have a couple of tenths of degree warming more.
CHEN: In the U.N. report's most optimistic scenario, the world's emissions need to drop sharply, beginning now to net carbon emissions by 2050.
Even then, we'll peak above a dangerous warming threshold before falling again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHEN: CalFire tells us, since the beginning of this year, nearly two million acres of land have burned in California. That's a size larger than the state of Delaware.
And in just thinking about when I was growing up here in the state in the '80s and 90s, we didn't hear about as many frequent, large wildfires.
And so in looking up those lists of largest and most destructive wildfires, indeed, most of them happened in the last 10, 20 years.
So, Fred, this -- the effects of climate change aren't just for future generations to handle. It's happening in front of our eyes right now in our lifetimes.
WHITFIELD: Right. And it seems like you can't live in any corner of the United States and, in some way, feel its impact. It is impacting all of us in some kind of way.
Natasha Chen, thank you so much.
[13:49:07]
All right. And as the cleanup continues from Ida, many scientists and politicians are sounding the alarms about climate change. But what can we do to address the crisis now? The experts are weighing in, coming up in the next hour.
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WHITFIELD: Tennis star, Naomi Osaka, is planning to take a break from the game after suffering a stunning loss in the third round of the U.S. Open last night.
The defending U.S. Open champ and third-ranked player in the world got emotional as she contemplated her future after the match didn't end well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NAOMI OSAKA, U.S. TENNIS PLAYER: I feel like, for me, recently, like when I win, I don't feel happy. I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. And I don't think that's normal. And I didn't really want to cry but, basically, I feel it.
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WHITFIELD: You can hear her pain in her words. And just look at her, too.
Osaka cited her mental health and decided to take some time away earlier in the summer.
[13:55:02]
She withdrew from the French Open and then did not play at Wimbledon after she was fined for refusing to speak to the media back in May.
And then, of course, we saw her on the world stage during the Olympic games and even being the torch bearer in Tokyo.
Let's discuss all this now with Christine Brennan, a CNN sports analyst and columnist for "USA Today."
I mean, Christine, I find it very painful. You know, I'm hurting for her because I think we're all trying to figure out, even though she's been very open, right, she even penned that "Time" magazine article, very open about struggling with something at the root of her mental health.
But did we hear from her anything more telling about what's at the root of why she says she feels very happy when she wins but very sad but then doesn't want to cry.
But she's kind of like, sharing with us all a little bit. But I think there's still a lot of questions about, what is she really going through? What's happening?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Totally, Fredricka. It's heartbreaking and your heart goes out to her.
Of course, we wish her well. She's 23 years old. She's already won four grand slam titles. She's had a career of a lifetime in four years, and actually three years. And so it's all coming to bear. It's coming down on her.
She has been so honest over this summer, a summer that has highlighted mental health for her, for Simone Biles, obviously, other athletes.
Thank goodness they're talking about it and have the forum to discuss it. And, hopefully, helping others as this is going on. But in the meantime, it's just heartbreaking.
She's going to take a break. Who knows how long that will be? Certainly, we hope for the best for her. If she never plays tennis again, she's already one of the greats of all time. I certainly hope, though, that we see her again and that she does play
and can get everything settled in her mind to become that great tennis player that she wants to be and we'll see how it goes.
But all the best wishes for her, of course.
WHITFIELD: Also very courageous of her to try to express all that she can and wants to so publicly.
I mean, this is often a very private struggle, can be a very private struggle, and she has felt compelled to share as much as she can.
And I think that's what makes it, I guess, all the more palpable about her pain because you want to have some answers for her.
And you almost want her to articulate the answers for herself but, of course, she can't do that and she's letting everybody know how hard this is.
I wonder if, too, is fame, is that part of the struggle, too, of just -- you know, she's got her earned spot, but it's the weight of the world because of the expectations.
BRENNAN: Fredricka, we hear this all the time, we hear it all the time, too much too soon. That's wrong. It's not too much too soon. She deserves everything she got.
But it's been really, really hard. And it's played out on a worldwide stage in front of our eyes. And I think that's why she's let us in. And that's wonderful. But also, it is so difficult to watch.
But I give her lots of credit for the courage, as you're describing, to be able to talk about this and bring it to the fore.
WHITFIELD: Women's soccer players, they've let us in on their pursuit, the lawsuit filed by U.S. women's national team players against the U.S. Soccer Federation in 2019. I mean, that's colossal.
The players allege they're not getting equal pay with the men's team. A federal court last year dismissed the claim saying women's team negotiated a different play structure. The players are now appealing.
This all-new CNN film, "LFG," brings you a behind-the-scenes look at the determination that these women bring to their game, both on and off the field.
Here's a preview and then I want to talk some more to you about it.
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JESSICA MCDONALD, U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: It took true blood, sweat, and tears to obviously get to where I am today. There were times I wanted to give up.
I mean, here I am, three-time pro champion, two-time NCAA champion. I've achieved my dream. I wanted to make USA team. And I did. [14:00:00]
But even though all of these accolades sound absolutely incredible, we don't get paid very much.
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WHITFIELD: Christine, I love that shot with her son helping her work out. It's just so sweet.
