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BA.5 Drives Wave Of Infections, Official Case Numbers Undercounted; NASA Releases Stunning First Images Taken By Webb Telescope; Columbus Dispatch: Arrest Made In Rape Of 10-Year-Old Ohio Girl Who Had To Travel To Indiana For Abortion. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 13, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: The most infectious COVID variant yet, it's fueling a new global surge in cases, and prompting U.S. health officials to work on an urgent plan for second boosters for all adults. This chart shows the official U.S. case count, but experts warn this is just a fraction of the real number.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Because the rapid home tests are rarely reported to public health officials, some officials believe the U.S. could be clock as many as 1 million new infections each day. Dr. F. Perry Wilson is an associate professor of medicine at Yale University. Doctor, welcome back. So, now you've got what some are calling the worst strain so far. For people who are fully vaccinated and boosted, should we be changing anything about our daily life because of this new variant?

DR. F. PERRY WILSON, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, YALE UNIVERSITY: It of course depends what we're already doing. The reason this variant BA.5 is out competing all the other variants in the U.S. right now is because it's pretty good at evading immunity, and most people in the U.S. between vaccinations and that Omicron wave that infected 60 percent of people in the U.S., most of us have some immunity already. So, any variant that's good at evading your immune system is going to catch on like wildfire, and that's of course what's happening here. Cases are skyrocketing.

What people can do is play it smart. If you're not vaccinated, obviously get vaccinated. People really should get boosted. There's a dramatic improvement in protection between two doses and three doses and in older people, certainly between three doses and four doses as well. So, people should certainly be doing that. And if you're in crowded indoor spaces where people are coming and sharing each other's air, and you don't want to get infected it's a good time to wear a mask certainly.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Wilson, what about for those who have been boosted, have gotten one boost, and I think that the feeling for many people I've talked to was, OK, we'll wait until the fall. You know, we've been boosted, now we can wait until the fall. Are we supposed to be doing that or getting boosted sooner now?

WILSON: You know, there's a lot of talk about Omicron specific boosters being available in the fall, and I very much hope that's the case. Of course, you know, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And there's nothing that says that getting a fourth booster now will make you unable to get a more specific booster in the fall.

There's data out of Israel right now that suggests for older people between the third dose and the fourth dose, there's a pretty dramatic improvement in efficacy, about a 2/3 reduction in hospitalization risk, and that's from a level that was already reduced because they've gotten one booster. So, it does work. It's less clear in younger people, to be honest, how much protection that booster is going to provide.

For people that have been vaccinated and gotten infected during the Omicron wave, that's another sort of open question. That said, the risks of the vaccines are so low, we've given billions of doses now that for many people, the option to get a booster and get those immunity up during this particular surge is a reasonable one.

BLACKWELL: How much has the protection from the original vaccine, the boosters back in 2021, when people got that third shot, how much has that diminished over the last seven months?

WILSON: Well, against infection, it's diminished quite a bit. You know, this new variant is quite good at gaining a foothold in your body, that infection component. And for people whose last dose of vaccine was in 2021, their risk of infection if they come in contact with an infected person is going to be pretty high.

[15:35:00]

But the protection against hospitalization, intensive care unit usage and death is still fairly high. People with prior vaccination are protected. They're about five times less likely now to end up in the ICU. And so, you know, it's not perfect. Nothing's 100 percent here, but there is still some protection against those worse outcomes.

BLACKWELL: Dr. Wilson, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

WILSON: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: So, astronomers detected a cosmic heartbeat billions of light years away. We'll tell you what that means next.

CAMEROTA: I look forward to hearing that.

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[15:40:00]

BLACKWELL: A mysterious radio bust with a pattern similar to a heartbeat has been detected in space. Now, astronomers believe it came from a galaxy far, far away. Now roughly a billion light years away.

CAMEROTA: These new pictures are giving us an idea -- look at this -- of what astronomers are seeing. These are the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space telescope ever. One NASA scientists had an emotional reaction to first seeing these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JANE RIGSBY, NASA OPERATIONS PROJECT SCIENTIST, JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE: Personally, I went and had an ugly cry, OK, I just -- and yeah. Because it works. What the engineers have done to build this thing, it is amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining us now, University of Rochester astrophysicist professor Adam Frank. Have you had a good ugly cry after seeing these pictures?

ADAM FRANK, PROFESSOR OF ASTROPHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER: No, but my head did explode, absolutely.

BLACKWELL: OK, all right, that's something.

FRANK: Yesterday was a -- for people like us, it was a glorious day in nerd town, essentially. It was remarkable after so many years to see the fruit of all of this, you know, come to bear.

CAMEROTA: Can you just tell us what you are seeing. I mean, let's just pull up the -- well, I think that this is -- is this the star dying, is this a picture of a star.

FRANK: Yes. Yeah, yes.

CAMEROTA: So, tell us what you see there. well, let's go back to the star dying for second and you can tell us what you're seeing there.

FRANK: What's interesting about this one is I've worked on these things my whole life. My PhD thesis was on these objects. And this is basically -- you're seeing the sun in about 5 billion years. So, think about your long-term investments. This is a star that has reached the end of its lifetime and is literally blowing itself apart, is tearing itself apart through stellar winds and it creates this enormous light yearlong sculpture.

And so, what we're learning here is how material, how stars age and die. And then also all of that material you're seeing being blown out into space and that beautiful piece of cosmic architecture is going to go out and turn into other stars and other planets and life perhaps. So, it's a truly remarkable view of, you know, cosmic recycling.

BLACKWELL: And so, let's look at the next one. I think -- do we have the comparison? Do we have the comparison of the images from Hubble versus the -- oh, wow, I mean, this is beautiful. This our executive producer was joking that this was the background of every school picture in the '80s. Which I love. I know I have it.

Blue and white striped turtle neck, I remember it. But the comparison from the Spencer Space Telescope and the Webb Space Telescope, it's remarkable how much clearer these photos are. What can scientists now do with them?

FRANK: Well, it's like, you know, imagine that somebody gave you a picture of your grandparents on their wedding and all you could see was like blobs. And then somebody gave you another picture that had much higher resolution, and now you can see that your grandmother -- actually when she was that age looks just like your daughter at that age. And you can see your grandfather's smile, and you know, a little bit of fear in his eyes.

We can see with all of this detail, we can actually see the details of the processes going on, shaping galaxies, shaping stars, and from that, we can tell the stories of how the universe was born, and how we emerged out of these structures. So, it's that resolution that is all important that allows us to really dig in and see the physical processes and tell those stories.

CAMEROTA: Professor Frank, I think you're burying the lead. I think we all are because you just mentioned life in space, and I know that you have also written about how you said we now have enough information to conclude that life on other planets has almost certainly existed. Please explain.

FRANK: OK. So, there are 10 billion trillion stars and planets out there. 10 billion trillion planets, and every one of those planets is a place where life has the experiment, nature has run experiments on the formation of life. Now we can't say for sure. We can't say for sure. We have to do the actual study. But what's amazing that we found all of these planets is that we now understand exactly where we have to look and how to look to see whether or not we are the only time in cosmic history that life has formed.

And James Webb, the telescope, is actually giving us -- is going to give us our first views of these extra solar planets, we call them. Alien planets orbiting other stars, and we'll be able to see into their atmospheres and see whether or not there are compounds, molecules that could only be produced by life.

So after, you know, 2,000 years of people yelling at each other about whether there's other life in the universe, we are now just setting sail with this telescope and the others that are going to come to actually answer humanities most important question.

[15:45:00]

CAMEROTA: I feel like this telescope is so good, we're going to see an alien pop in front of it and be like, you know, we're going to be able to actually see it. That's what I'm waiting for.

BLACKWELL: I was mesmerized by pictures and you come with that imagery, all right.

CAMEROTA: Well, Professor Frank, we always appreciate talking to you. Thank you very much for all the enthusiasm and information.

FRANK: Great pleasure. Have a lovely day, guys.

CAMEROTA: You too.

BLACKWELL: You too.

CAMEROTA: OK, now to this, hundreds of homes are devastated, at least 40 people are missing in Virginia because of this severe storm that has slammed into the state. We have all the breaking details, next.

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[15:50:00]

CAMEROTA: This is just in to our NEWSROOM. The "Columbus Dispatch" is reporting that an Ohio man has just been charged in the rape of a 10- year-old girl. Her story made headlines after she was forced to travel from her home state of Ohio to Indiana to get an abortion because of Ohio's new abortion laws.

BLACKWELL: Well, Pro-choice advocates circulated the story on social media with a simple sentence. She's 10. CNN's Brynn Gingras joins us now. So, what more do we know about this arrest?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot to know. It happened, that's the first thing. We'll get you more about that in just a minute. But here's the facts. 27-year-old Ohio man from Columbus, he's behind bars right now on $2 million bond. He's charged with raping this 10-year-old girl. And according to the criminal complaint, the 10-year-old victim pointed out her rapist to police. We have his mugshot, I think. His name, Gerson Fuentes, and he admitted to the crime when he was brought in for questioning according to authorities.

Now Fuentes was in court today for his arraignment. His 10-year-old victim, according to the "Columbus Dispatch," traveled to Indiana to get an abortion on June 30th. Ohio's law restricts abortions after six weeks.

Now, earlier this month, we had on our air an OB/GYN and doctor who said she had been contacted by a child abuse doctor in Ohio who helped a 10-year-old girl with getting this procedure done. And the newspaper said authorities are now taking samples from the clinic to match with that suspect's DNA.

Now, as you mentioned, this case has garnered national attention. It's been widely reported recently, for many reasons. You may have actually heard the president talking about it, referencing it when he signed that executive order last week and when he condemned the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade.

But there's been some skepticism in some circles even more recently, did this even happen. And Ohio's own Attorney General Dave Yost -- he actually appeared on Fox News recently and said he couldn't find a whisper of this case happening in his state.

Well today, guys, I want to report that sentiment is very different. Let me read part of his statement. He says: My heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child. I'm

grateful for the diligent work of the Columbus Police Department in securing a confession and getting a rapist off the street. Justice must be served and BCI stands ready to support law enforcement across Ohio putting these criminals behind bars.

So again, the swift change that we saw from did this happen, all the skepticism that was being reported about a 10-year-old we're talking about in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade to hey, yes, this happened, and it could happen again.

CAMEROTA: This is the very type of case that people feared when Roe v. Wade was overturned, people thought, uh-oh, what happens in this scenario, and now this scenario is real.

GINGRAS: And it didn't talk long.

CAMEROTA: Brynn, thank you.

GINGRAS: All right.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Brynn.

At least 40 people are missing after fast moving storms caused flooding and mudslides in Buchanan County, Virginia. The state's department of emergency management shared this aerial photo. This is a neighborhood filled with muddy floodwaters. Crews are working to clear the roads and restore power.

CAMEROTA: Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is in the Weather Center with more. Jennifer, what's happening?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, this rain started around yesterday evening at 7:00, and the rain just kept coming. You can see we have the area circled and you can see heavy downpours within that lasted until about midnight or so. Radar estimates more than 6 inches of rain across this one area where the flooding was reported. More widespread amounts of about anywhere from 2 to 4 inches, and you have to remember, this is a mountainous region. The mountains don't have to be very tall for this effect to happen.

This funneling effect where the rain flows basically down the sides of the mountains, through the valleys, and it can result in very, very fast water level rises. And that's what we saw, intense flash flooding across this region, in just a moment's notice. A flash flood warning was issued for that region, by the way, and it looks like things are going to be clear. I looked at the forecast for that area. They're not expecting any more rain until Sunday so they will be able to dry out for the next couple days -- guys.

CAMEROTA: OK, good to know. Jennifer Gray, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Right now, President Biden is in Israel for the start of his high-stakes trip to the Middle East. A live report from Jerusalem ahead.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: An Ohio woman is being hailed as a hero today after saving a family from a house fire in the middle of the night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALLIE MOSS, SAVED A FAMILY FROM A HOUSE FIRE: You guys' garage is on fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Yes, that's Hallie Moss, she's pounding on the door, yelling as of course she said the garage is up in flames. She had no idea how many people lived in this house, if anyone was even at home. That's until an entire family, including nine children, came rushing out. And they were sound asleep until they heard Hallie's desperate calls. The father this morning is calling her an angel and saying she saved his entire family.

CAMEROTA: That's nice. Good for her. She did the right thing.

BLACKWELL: Certainly did.

CAMEROTA: Thank God.

BLACKWELL: Didn't just drive by.

You know, I'm a bit of a beach baby. So, --

CAMEROTA: Yes, you love the beach.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I do love the beach. And I like a nice nap on the beach. Sometimes, though, there are just too many people. And maybe that's what set off these two sea lions on a beach near San Diego.

CAMEROTA: So, they're chasing the beachgoers, as I see. And the beachgoers are scrambling. Look how fast the sea lions move. I didn't think they could waddle quite that fast.

BLACKWELL: Oh, my.

CAMEROTA: But they are chasing all the beachgoers away. These are sea lions. They're charging basically.

[16:00:00]

The woman who took the video says someone was trying to take a photo of them when they suddenly woke up. You're enjoying this?

BLACKWELL: I don't know why, I just imagine those little sea lion voices cursing these people out and then chasing them. And just cursing those people out.

CAMEROTA: You think the ocean would be big enough for all of us, but no.

BLACKWELL: Oh, man. That's what I needed.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.