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Reports Indicate Secret Service Deleted Text Messages Sent Day Before and During January 6th Insurrection; President Biden Meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman During Middle East Visit; President Biden Says He Pressed Mohammed bin Salman on Murder of "Washington Post" Journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired July 16, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the Newsroom, the January 6th committee subpoenas the Secret Service after claims the agency deleted text messages from the day of the Capitol riot. Why one committee member says that explanation just doesn't make sense.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, President Biden meets with the Saudi crown prince and says he did raise the murder of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Now the crown prince is firing back.

SANCHEZ: Plus, more than half the country is seeing high community spread of coronavirus. And now some cities are reconsidering mask mandates.

Newsroom starts right now.

FISHER: Good morning. It is Saturday, July 16th. I'm Kristin Fisher. And I can't believe it's already July 16th. We're halfway through the month. It's flown by.

SANCHEZ: Yes, this whole year has flown by. Good morning, Kristin, I'm Boris Sanchez. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. And there is plenty to get to this morning.

FISHER: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We start with a series of new revelations in the Capitol attack investigation, the January 6th committee digging into reports that the Secret Service deleted text messages sent the day before and during the insurrection. The committee issued a subpoena to the Secret Service yesterday after meeting with the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security. We should note this is the first time the committee has subpoenaed an agency in the executive branch.

FISHER: And earlier this week a government watchdog accused the Secret Service of erasing those texts after his office had requested them. But the Secret Service says that the messages were deleted simply as part of a device replacement program. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): I will say that the explanation that you have to factory set and eliminate your data without backing up your data just seems -- I'm skeptical. I wouldn't do that. The argument about when the request was made is largely irrelevant. The Secret Service was aware that this was one of the signature events of our country and that there would be a need to preserve all of the evidence because of that. And also, there's an obligation for federal agencies to retain records. So this is troubling. But they've said they've got the texts, and the committee intends to get them all asap.

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SANCHEZ: Let's get straight to CNN's Katelyn Polantz. She joins us now. Katelyn, walk us through the details. What is in the subpoena?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Right, so this is a moment of focus for the House Select Committee where they really want to nail down exactly what was happening, what the Secret Service witnessed leading up to January 6th and then on January 6th, around Donald Trump. So this has come together in a few days. The House didn't even know that this was an issue until the 13th. So three days ago this story unfurled. The Department of Homeland Security inspector general has long been looking at the Secret Service under DHS in January 6th. This is what a lot of inspector generals were doing and had tried to get documents out of the Secret Service, realized these text messages had been erased, that is what DHS had communicated, and became very frustrated with not being able to get documents. So told Congress on the 13th these text messages have been erased, and you should know that.

And so the House Select Committee then took great interest in it, got a briefing yesterday, all nine members of the House Select Committee were briefed by the I.G. about this. That led to further questions. Committee members were coming out of that saying, we really want to get to the bottom of this, we want to know what is out there, what we can get. And so the subpoena last night asks for the text messages that were erased and also any after-action reports that if there were things lost in the migration, how did that happen, were there backups made, things like that.

I should mention, the Secret Service has said this was not done malicious. This was the sort of thing. It was a tech update. It was ongoing when January 6th happened, that it was not malicious, that anyone accusing them of that is false.

[10:05:00]

Their statement also said that they have been fully cooperating with their inspector general in every respect in interviews, documents, emails, and text messages.

SANCHEZ: The committee wants to corroborate a lot of testimony, including from Cassidy Hutchinson. Probably the most intense moment of her testimony was describing Donald Trump lunging for the steering wheel in the motorcade after the rally on January 6th. I understand a D.C. police officer has now corroborated some of that information to CNN, right.

POLANTZ: That's right. And this is why the Secret Service is so important at this moment. This is the sort of testimony the House committee is trying to lock down. And we do know now, my colleagues Jamie Gangel, Annie Grayer were able to confirm that Hutchinson's testified about this altercation with an agent and the president in the SUV. And a D.C. police officer, so outside of the Secret Service, has corroborated details of that story. That police officer was in the motorcade and has spoken to the House committee. So the House committee still working on nailing that down.

FISHER: And so now we have an eighth hearing coming up this week. What do you expect it to be focusing on? Do you think it will be as big as Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony?

POLANTZ: Well, Cassidy Hutchinson wasn't in primetime. This one is lined up for primetime this week on Thursday. and the committee has been very clear, this is about Donald Trump, and this is about the 187 minutes where he did nothing as the Capitol was being taken down by his supporters. The committee has made quite clear they believe this was a dereliction of his duty as president.

And one of the things that's really interesting about this is we've seen this arc of these hearings over the past -- looking at different parts of the administration, the campaign, and now we're getting to that moment in the White House. It feels like it's the last one. But it might not be. One of the things that the committee is still having on the table is, do they want to subpoena Mike Pence and Donald Trump, do they want to get more testimony? And as we're seeing even through this Secret Service subpoena, there's just a lot of work that is still ongoing even as we hurtle towards this final hearing.

FISHER: Yes, so one more hearing this week. But still may not be the end of it.

POLANTZ: Might not be.

FISHER: We know you'll be on top of it. Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Katelyn.

FISHER: So turning now to President Biden's trip to the Middle East, he is now wheels up, on his way home after a series of meetings today.

SANCHEZ: Let's get you out now to Saudi Arabia and CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He's been following the trip. He joins us now live from Jeddah. Wolf, the president attended meetings on energy production and security in the region. One of the things looming over specifically his meeting with Mohammed bin Salman is the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the "Washington Post" journalist.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": You're absolutely right. It was a huge issue sort of overlooking what's been going on here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's crown prince, he fired back at President Biden over the murder of the journalist, the "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The president confronted the Saudi leader, citing the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that says that the prince ordered Khashoggi's killing. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, of course, denied responsibility during the meeting. Sources say he responded by bringing up incidents that he says put the U.S. in a bad light. He pointed, for example, to the sexual and physical abuse of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison by U.S. military personnel. He also brought up the killing of a Palestinian American journalist in the occupied West Bank.

Khashoggi's murder and President Biden's interaction with Mohammed bin Salman threaten to cast a shadow over the Middle East summit here in Saudi Arabia, but the president is trying to write a new chapter in relations with Saudi Arabia and with the crown prince. He's also trying to strengthen ties here in the region. Listen to this.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me state clearly that the United States is going to remain an active, engaged partner in the Middle East. As the world grows more competitive and the challenges we face more complex, it's only becoming clear to me how closely interwoven America's interests are with the successes of the Middle East. We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia, or Iran.

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BLITZER: The trip to the Middle East certainly comes as the president is dealing with high gas prices and soaring inflation back home. The administration says steps Saudi Arabia is taking and will take will eventually, and he says could be within weeks, bring down oil prices and provide some relief.

Our chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins is with me here in Jeddah. We've been following all of this unfold. I'm really anxious to get your major takeaway from what has happened.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think today the president wanted the focus to be on U.S. influence in the region, and assuring other leaders here, other Gulf leaders that they are not going to let China and Russia dominate the conversation, dominate the region.

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And making sure they knew that the U.S. is committed to this given there have been big questions about it as that was really not the Biden administration's focus in his first year in office. And that is why he wanted to come and show them that.

I think, as you saw President Biden climb those stairs of Air Force One, getting ready to leave less than 24 hours on the ground here in Saudi Arabia, obviously one of the takeaways that the White House wanted to have was an assurance from these leaders to pump more oil so they could have more oil production, bring down gas prices back home. He is returning to a country where inflation is incredibly high. And gas prices have been going down over the last 30 days or so, but it's still a very big concern for this White House.

But I think, Wolf, the main takeaway from this trip and what has been the centerpiece of conversation ever since he departed for the Middle East on his first trip to the Middle East since taking office has been human rights. And you heard the president bring it up, gently nudging some of these leaders today as he was talking about this meeting with them. You just saw small snippets of all of these meetings. That's really been the big focus ever since he first came up to the Saudi crown prince yesterday, fist bumped him, and then today, seeing them sit side by side in this GCC plus three summit, taking those world summit leaders photos shoulder to shoulder. I think that's really been the big takeaway. It is really a complete reversal of what he had promised on the campaign trail of how to treat Saudi Arabia.

But when you talk to U.S. officials about this, they say it's just the practical reality of being in office and that they, even though there is a political cost in this, and they are well aware of that, they still felt it was important. And they knew the criticism they were going to get, the blowback they were going to get, but they decided to proceed with the trip anyway because they felt it was in the best interests.

BLITZER: I thought it was interesting that at the top of the meeting with the crown prince, when the president raised the issue of Jamal Khashoggi, the crown prince immediately responded, trying to go on the offensive and pointed to U.S. issues that have occurred in the past like Abu Ghraib, for example.

And by the way, the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, when I interviewed him yesterday, he made the same point. The U.S. intelligence community doesn't always get it right. They may be wrong, and he pointed to the fact that going into Iraq, there were no Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. They got it wrong then. And he made the point in the interview with us, this is Adel Al-Jubeir, that the U.S. is getting it wrong now as far as the crown prince's involvement in the murder of the journalist.

COLLINS: Yes, and that's not surprising for the Saudis to say that. They have tried that tactic before. And they have also argued that President Biden was less forceful in pushing back on the prince. He said yesterday that he said that he did believe he was responsible when the crown prince had said he didn't have any personal responsibility in it.

And of course, there are differences coming out of that meeting. The Saudis are going to say one thing, U.S. officials are going to say one thing. I will say I do think it's important that when the president came out last night and he said that he pushed back on the Saudi crown prince, that he said that he pushed back, because I remember when Trump was in office, and this was a huge point of issue, and Trump issued a statement where the Saudi crown prince had also denied personal responsibility to him, and Trump in the statement said maybe he did, maybe he didn't. And I think it's important for the U.S. president backing up U.S.

intelligence agencies publicly to say I do believe he was personally responsible for the murder of this reporter, even though, of course, he had met with him for several hours. He has faced criticism from Khashoggi's family. He did make clear publicly that he does think the Saudi crown prince is responsible.

BLITZER: And the U.S. intelligence community's assessment was not only confidential or classified, they declassified it and released the document publicly, which I thought was very significant as well.

He wrapped up his public remarks, the president of the United States, by saying the United States will remain an active partner in the Middle East, we will not walk away, once again expressing concern if the U.S. were to walk away from this part of the world, China, Russia, or Iran would fill that vacuum, and that's something he doesn't want to see happening. So very significant indeed.

We're watching all of this unfold. We're going to continue our special coverage here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but in the meantime let's go back to Boris and Kristin.

SANCHEZ: Wolf and Kaitlan, thank you so much.

We still have plenty of news to get to this hour, including this heartbreaking story. A 10-year-old rape victim forced to travel out of state to get an abortion because of the restrictions where she lives. Now the doctor who performed the procedure is the target of an investigation, and she's hitting back against the state's attorney general. We're also going to talk to a lawmaker about the case who just passed some legislation in the House related to abortion. That's just minutes away.

FISHER: Plus, as cases of monkeypox rise in the U.S., vaccines in high demand. Now health officials are stepping up efforts to try to control the outbreak and get more shots distributed.

SANCHEZ: And the United States not the only place dealing with sweltering temperatures and unrelenting, dangerous heatwaves gripping parts of Europe. We have more on that just ahead.

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FISHER: Indiana's attorney general says that his office is still reviewing the doctor who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim who had traveled from Ohio even though records show that the doctor complied with the state's privacy laws.

SANCHEZ: Now the doctor's attorney tells CNN her office has sent a cease and desist letter to the attorney general. Let's go to CNN's Polo Sandoval now. He has more. Polo, what else do we know about this case?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys. It's Dr. Caitlin Bernard from Indianapolis who is currently being investigated by Indiana's Republican attorney general right now for alleged failure to report an abortion. But as you guys just correctly point out, documents obtained by CNN now reveal that the doctor did in fact report it. In fact, she did it two days after the procedure was carried out as required by Indiana's Department of Health.

In fact, when you look over her report, it indicates the pregnancy was the result of care that was being provided for a patient being, quote, abused. That's a reference to that Ohio little girl and that horrific incident that occurred to her and the procedure that she underwent after her home state in Ohio basically made abortions illegal, essentially, after about six weeks in light of the Supreme Court decision that we saw just a few weeks ago.

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After CNN obtained Dr. Bernard's report, we did reach back out to the attorney general there in the state of Indiana, and they basically said that they're still reviewing all of the evidence. But when you hear from the attorney of Dr. Bernard, she's basically asking, what is left to review? In fact, she is even submitting that cease and desist letter that you mentioned a short while ago to the attorney general, asking him to stop, quote, "making false and misleading statements about alleged misconduct by Dr. Bernard." As she told our Erin Burnett last night on CNN that her client, a doctor, basically followed all the right rules and procedures in providing care for her patient, this 10-year-old little girl.

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KATHLEEN DELANEY, ATTORNEY FOR DR. CAITLIN BERNARD, OBSTETRICIAN WHO TREATED 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL: We want Mr. Rokita to stop lying about Dr. Bernard and stop smearing her reputation and making ridiculously unsupported accusations when even the barest minimum of homework on his part would have found that that report had been timely done. So we want him to stop the smear. And then we want him to stop this dangerous rhetoric that he's using where he is whipping people up into a frenzy at a very unsettled time in our nation's history. And we want to make sure that our client stays safe.

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SANDOVAL: In light of the cease-and-desist letter that was filed, at least sent out yesterday, CNN did reach out to A.G. Todd Rokita's office. We are still waiting to hear back. Guys, back to you.

FISHER: Polo Sandoval, please let us know if you do. Thanks so much.

Democratic Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher of Texas joins us now. A bill she wrote that would protect the right to travel between states to seek an abortion actually passed in the House yesterday. Congresswoman, we're grateful that you're sharing part of your weekend with us. I want to ask you about the bill. But first, your reaction to the Indiana attorney general announcing he may investigate the doctor who helped that 10-year-old rape victim. REP. LIZZIE FLETCHER (D-TX): Well, the circumstances in that case are

absolutely heartbreaking. Unfortunately, they're not entirely uncommon. And that's what we hear from health care providers here in Texas, that there are a lot of victims of rape and incest who seek abortion care, and there are people who seek abortion care for all kinds of reasons. And that is why what we've done in the house is worked to codify the right that's supported by the vast majority of Americans who understand the complexities and the deeply personal nature of these decisions.

I think what we're seeing in Indiana is the same kind of thing that we see in Texas and in other states, which is going after health care providers who are trying to provide care for their patients, and all the people who are helping them. That's how we've been living here in Texas since September, and that's why it was so important for the House of Representatives to vote yesterday on this bill to protect the right to travel.

SANCHEZ: So as you noted, your bill was voted on in the house yesterday. It passed. It's not going to get the 60 votes it needs to pass in the Senate. So what comes next?

FLETCHER: Well, I'm not sure that it won't get the 60 votes it needs in the Senate yet. And certainly, we're not going to stop trying, because these are fundamental rights. We did see in the House of Representatives, we passed two bills yesterday, one, the Women's Health Protection act that codifies the statutory right to abortion in all 50 states. And that's important because what we're seeing relating to this travel ban is that in Texas, people have been leaving the state since last September when our bill, SC-8, went into effect here, about 1,400 Texans are traveling every month for abortion care.

And now as more and more states are outlawing abortion following the Dobbs decision, they're traveling even further. And what we're seeing here on the ground in Texas is that lawmakers and others are threatening those people who are leaving the state, exercising the fundamental right to travel. They're threatening them and their threatening their employers who might cover the cost of their care, they're threatening their friends and family members who might assist them, and they're threatening the health care providers giving this basic advice about what their rights are and where they can go, what they can go.

And so we can't give up the fight. And I am hopeful, there is a bill in the Senate. It was blocked on procedural grounds earlier this week. But there were three Republicans in the House that voted for this bill. And frankly, the Republicans should be voting for this bill and protecting this fundamental right to travel that is as old as our country.

SANCHEZ: I want to press your optimism here. Have you heard from Senators like Kyrsten Sinema or Joe Manchin, some of the Democrats that may not necessarily support this legislation? Have you heard from them about where they stand on your bill?

FLETCHER: Well, we're working with our partners in the Senate. I have not talked to either of those senators directly. But we're working with our partners in the Senate.

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And we're not going to give up on fighting for this bill and fighting for our constituents and for all Americans to exercise their fundamental freedom that has been recognized by the court to travel freely between the states. This is in our Constitution. This is something that Americans take for granted every day. And the alternative is almost unimaginable, to have tests to leave the state? What is the world that is envisioned by banning people from traveling between the states?

So it's really important that we keep fighting and we've got to keep advancing legislation that protects our rights. Next week in the House we'll be taking up a bill to protect access to contraception which we have also heard from our colleagues and of course from Justice Thomas in his concurring opinion that that's next on the list. So we need to protect these things. We cannot give up this fight. We can't simply say, well, it's not going to pass so we can't do anything. We have got to keep working to get it passed, and we have got to make sure that people know when they go to the polls in November who supports their fundamental freedom and who does not.

SANCHEZ: So your state is suing the Biden administration, Texas is disputing this new guidance that says the federal government can force health care providers to perform abortions when emergency care is needed, in other words, when the mother's life is at risk. How do you think the Biden administration should respond?

FLETCHER: Well, I think the Biden administration is absolutely correct. And look, this is a crisis on the ground here in Texas because what we're hearing is that people, pregnant people are going to the emergency room and being turned away. And that is inconsistent with the law which has been the law for decades. That is critical care, and you must provide care. It's consistent with our doctors' oaths. It's consistent with the law.

And instead, what we're hearing is women with ectopic pregnancies are being sent home from the hospital here in Texas, told to wait until they're running a fever, until they have sepsis, until they're about to die to go back to the hospital. These are life and death circumstances. And it is very clear that when someone shows up in the emergency room for care, they need to be given the care that they need.

And so that's why this is so important. And there's a lot of confusion on the ground here. That's the other thing. So the Biden administration's guidance is particularly important to give that clarity to those medical providers who are giving care, whether it's in the hospital or in a private setting, they need to know where their protections are, and it's very important that the administration has laid out clearly the guidance that needs to be followed in all 50 states.

SANCHEZ: And quickly, Congresswoman, you echoed something we heard previously from President Biden, that Roe is on the ballot in November, though there is a poll that was taken earlier this month, and it shows just five percent of registered voters thinking that abortion is the most important issue facing the country. This is a "The New York Times"/Siena College poll. The last majority of voters, some 35 percent, look at the economy and inflation and think that is going to drive them to the ballot box. So how much do you think abortion rights will actually motivate your base this fall?

FLETCHER: I think it's going to motivate a lot of people. Look, there are a lot of issues in front of us. There are a lot of challenges that we're facing in this country, whether it's continuing to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, whether it is inflation and economic concerns. There are a lot of things that are important to people.

But here on the ground in Texas, people are outraged at what we are seeing, that our state government has been doing, that our state legislators are threatening to do next year, including this right to travel. They're threatening employers with felony criminal prosecution for reimbursing their employees for these costs. They're threatening lawyers with disbarment for representing those people and for providing access to care and funding from those employers.

So it really is a crisis on the ground here. And that's what I'm hearing from people across the state. And I think it's really important to recognize that when the voters go to the polls, they want to know who will protect them, who will protect their rights, and who is trying to do that, whether it's with our economic policies where you see the administration and the Democrats in Congress working hard to come up with things to help ease the pain at the pump, and prices are going down at the pump, of course. But we know all these things are out there. And I think that voters are very sophisticated when they make these decisions. And we know that this is a hugely important part of the decision for voters about whether they can control their own lives and make their own decisions about what's right for themselves and their families.

SANCHEZ: Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate your time. Thank you.

FLETCHER: Thanks so much.

FISHER: COVID is making a comeback in parts of the country thanks to a highly contagious new subvariant. Now the nation's largest county is eyeing a return to mandatory masks indoors.

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We are live in Los Angeles, next.

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SANCHEZ: New this morning, the nation's largest county is set to bring back indoor masking. Officials in Los Angeles County, home to some 10 million people, say that an indoor mask mandate could go back into effect in about two weeks if COVID cases and hospitalizations there continue to soar. FISHER: But it's not just L.A. More than half of Americans live in a

county with a high community COVID-19 level where the CDC recommends universal indoor masking. CNN's Camila Bernal is live in Los Angeles.

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And Camila, I imagine you have some mixed opinions out there about whether or not this indoor mask mandate should be reimplemented.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Boris, Kristin, good morning. Yes, it is very likely it will be back in place here in Los Angeles County. And part of the reason is because what we're seeing here is an increase in these numbers. And that's really what you're seeing all over the country. The case rates are the highest they have been in weeks.

And that's even as officials believe that these numbers are highly undercounted. It's part of the reason why the Biden administration this week extended the public health emergency. It's been in place since January of 2020. But now it will at least be in place until October. For the first time in weeks, the CDC is forecasting an increase in hospitalizations instead of those steady numbers that we've been seeing for weeks. So that's why it's so concerning.

When you look at the country as a whole and you take a look at the map, you realize that at least more than half of the country is in those areas where the CDC is concerned about hospitalizations, about what those hospitals can handle. And that, at the end of the day, is the biggest concern. That's what we've been talking about this entire pandemic, the worry about what will happen when hospitals are overwhelmed.

And of course, this new variant, which is of course highly contagious, is causing not just cases but also hospitalizations. And that's also the concern here in Los Angeles County, because what they say is that for every 100,000 people, more than 10 are being hospitalized because of COVID-19 infections. And that's what the CDC says is concerning. And so that's the numbers that we will look at over the next two weeks to see whether or not that mask mandate is implemented again here in Los Angeles. But it is very likely, especially as we're celebrating the All Star week this week here in Los Angeles. Boris, Kristin?

FISHER: That's a great point. Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

This morning we're also following a major spike in monkeypox cases here in the United States. The CDC now says that there are more than 1,800 confirmed cases across the country, and that's nearly 500 of those cases are in New York state alone. So we're going to talk about this with Dr. Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at UCLA who has spent the last two decades in the Democratic Republic of Congo working on monkeypox. So you're certainly the expert to talk to here. Good morning, Doctor.

DR. ANNE RIMOIN, EPIDEMIOLOGY PROFESSOR, UCLA SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Nice to be here. FISHER: So the U.S. government is going to produce about 130,000

vaccine doses to try to fight the spread of monkeypox. But people are looking for vaccines right now, and there's some really strong similarities to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Not enough testing, not enough contact tracing. Do you think that the U.S. government is doing enough to stop the monkeypox outbreak?

RIMOIN: Well, you bring up a very good point. We're seeing the same thing that we saw with COVID-19 at the beginning. We don't have situational awareness because we don't have testing, we don't have access to vaccines. There are many similarities here. And it comes down to being prepared, investing in the infrastructure that needs to be invested in long before we have a problem. It's impossible to keep chasing behind these viruses.

And I think that this outbreak of monkeypox, which is something that we've known is a possibility for decades, is a perfect example of not being prepared. It's much easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble. And once again, here we are.

FISHER: Yes, and once again, here you have the CDC now saying that people in high-risk groups should be getting two doses of the monkeypox vaccine after previously saying one shot was enough. So again, this mixed messaging coming from the CDC. Doctor, where do you come down on this new guidance?

RIMOIN: I think that the key here is that we have limited supply of vaccine, that demand is really outstripping the supply. And there was some indication that a single dose might be enough to be able to protect against this virus with the JYNNEOS vaccine, the two-dose vaccine. But I think the key here is it really is a two-dose vaccine, and so we do want to make sure people get the full protection. We don't want people to think that they're protected and act as if they are protected and then have this vaccine fail. That will do more damage than good. So it's important to stick with the guidelines. Everybody that is eligible and wants to get vaccinated should get vaccinated. But the truth is we just don't have those vaccines stored right now.

FISHER: Yes, so anybody can get monkeypox, but the CDC is warning about a greater chance of exposure among gay and bisexual men because monkeypox spreads by skin-to-skin contact.

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So why does this particular group appear to be more at risk in this outbreak? And are you worried about the risk of stigmatizing the LGBTQ community?

RIMOIN: Monkeypox spreads through close contact. And it's managed to get itself into a social and sexual network where we're seeing a lot of contact. And so it's just doing what it does, which is spreading through very close contact. And that's the network it's spreading in right now. But it could spread to anybody. It has nothing to do with who you are, what your orientation is. And an infection anywhere is potentially an infection everywhere, we

should have learned that. This has been spreading in sub-Saharan Africa, and cases have been rising. Now we're seeing it spread in a different population here. So the key is it has nothing to do with who you are. It's just that the risk group, the people who are in close contact with each other, are more likely to get it. So that's where we should focus first, but that is clearly not the only group at risk.

FISHER: Absolutely. That's why these vaccines are so important. Dr. Anne Rimoin, thank you so, so much. And you've been sounding the alarm on monkeypox for quite some time, so we really appreciate your guidance and advice here.

RIMOIN: My pleasure.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, retail sales have bounced back even amid high prices and soaring inflation. But is that momentum going to last? Will consumers keep spending? That story and more when Newsroom continues.

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[10:45:39]

SANCHEZ: So there's new data that shows Americans are starting to feel slightly better about the economy. But high inflation is still keeping consumer sentiments close to all-time lows as people continue to spend for everyday items.

FISHER: But you know those U.S. shoppers, they're still spending. As new numbers show that retail sales nationwide rose one percent from May to June. CNN's Alison Kosik has more.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kristin and Boris. Shoppers spent more in June despite feeling lousy about skyrocketing inflation. The Commerce Department on Friday said retail sales rose one percent in June from the month before. This comes after retail sales declined in May. Consumers last month spent more for a wide range of goods and services, including automobiles, groceries, gas, and in restaurants. Sales declined on building materials, clothing, and at department stores declined.

The retail sales data doesn't adjust for inflation, which is currently at the highest level in 40 years. So some of the jump is likely caused by people paying higher prices, not due to more spending. And though higher prices didn't put a damper on spending, it's still impacting the way consumers feel. Painfully high inflation is still keeping consumer sentiment as close to an all-time low.

New survey data from the University of Michigan shows that Americans are feeling slightly better about the economy, though. The preliminary index for the university's surveys of consumers rose to over 51 percent in July from the record low of 50 posted in June. But the share of consumers blaming inflation for eroding their living standards continued to rise to 49 percent, matching the all-time high reached during the great recession. Keeping a close eye on this data, the federal reserve as it tries to

rein in stubbornly high inflation, and with higher inflation numbers, Wall Street is preparing for more aggressive action from the Fed, including a potential rate hike of a full percentage point to cool consumer demand. Boris and Kristin?

SANCHEZ: Thank, Alison, for that report.

Feeling the heat, more than 15 million Americans are under some sort of heat alert today. We're tracking the temperatures and where the records temperatures could be broken, next.

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[10:52:39]

SANCHEZ: One of the most intense heatwaves on record is unfolding right now across western Europe with deadly consequences in Spain. Officials there believe at least 84 people have died since this dangerous weather began. Temperatures in the southern and western regions of the country have soared to nearly 113 degrees this week. That's nearing record levels. This is Spain's second heat wave in less than a month, and temperatures are expected to rise throughout the day.

So let's bring in CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar who is on standby in the CNN Weather Center.

FISHER: Yes, and Allison, it looks like Spain might get a brief break after this weekend?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're right, they will. The question is how much does it really help when it's such a short-lived break? When we take a look at the map, you've got three levels here in terms of alerts across Spain and Portugal. The lowest level, that's the yellow color you see here, a level one, all the way up to a level three, which is the red color.

And essentially what these colors are supposed to do is just to emphasize how extreme the heat is across the region and the variety of heat-related illnesses that can be a result of that heat. Yes, we are going to see a little bit of a drop in temperatures. Madrid going from triple digits back down to the 90s by Tuesday. By then by Wednesday, they're right back up again into the triple digits. Same thing for Sevilla. Their little break only lasts about one day before you see that rebound.

Areas like Paris and London also likely to see their temperatures continuing to rise over the next several days. The interesting thing about the U.K. is their all-time record for any month of the year is 101 degrees. That is the exact forecast London is set to have on Monday. Now, the interesting thing here to note is that less than five percent of homes in England have access to air conditioning. Back home here in the U.S., Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso also looking at triple-digit temperatures. And in the coming days, that heat is expected to spread into the eastern half of the country as well.

SANCHEZ: A lot of 100s on that map, do not like that. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

Hey, if you did not yet buy your Mega Millions lottery ticket yesterday, don't worry. You still have a chance to strike it rich.

FISHER: There were no winners in last night's $480 million jackpot drawing. The next one is on Tuesday and will now be an estimated $530 million pot.

[10:55:01]

Lottery officials say that makes next week's drawing the eighth largest mega million jackpot. What would you do if you won the lottery?

SANCHEZ: I wouldn't show up on Wednesday, that's for sure. You would be here alone.

(LAUGHTER)

FISHER: I would just the heat turned up in the studio a little bit.

SANCHEZ: It is cold in here, right?

FISHER: It is. I'll take some of that heatwave this way.

But thank you guys so much for watching. We've got much more ahead in the next hour of CNN's Newsroom.

SANCHEZ: That's right, Fredricka Whitfield is up next. But first, we have a quick programming note for you. Tune in tomorrow night as W. Kamau Bell travels to central Appalachia. Appalachia, Appalachia?

FISHER: I think you nailed it the first time.

SANCHEZ: I think I got it the first time.

FISHER: But I'm not going to second guess you.

SANCHEZ: He's learning more about its largely unknown population of black Americans. And it's on a special new episode of "United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell." It is tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

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