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DC Police Corroborates Details Of Heated Trump-Secret Service Exchange; Biden Returns To U.S. After Meeting With Key Leaders In Saudi Arabia; East Coast Officials Warn Beachgoers To Be Extra Cautious; Father Pleads For Help To Find Missing Student Jimmie "Jay" Lee; Bond Hearing Set For Former SC Attorney For Murders Of Wife, Son; Man Discusses His Experience With Monkeypox As It Spreads Across U.S.; Russia's War In Ukraine Affecting World Food Supply. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 16, 2022 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:41]
RYAN NOBLES, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ryan Nobles in Washington. Jim Acosta is off today.
A showdown in Washington over missing text messages. The January 6th Committee has subpoenaed the Secret Service seeking text messages from the day of the Capitol riot and the day before. Texts that were erased.
This is the first subpoena the committee has publicly issued for an executive branch agency. The Secret Service says that it will comply swiftly and one committee member indicates the messages may have already been recovered.
The texts could provide a crucial window into then President Trump's movements and his plans and his heated exchange with Secret Service agents about going to the Capitol on January 6th. According to explosive testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, she was told that Trump even tried to lunge at a Secret Service agent. A D.C. police officer who was in the president's motorcade on that day corroborated details of her stunning account.
And let's bring in former D.C. Metropolitan police officer who defended the Capitol on January 6th. He's a CNN law enforcement analyst, Michael Fanone.
So, Michael, you were there at the Capitol obviously. What do you think would have happened if Donald Trump had gotten his way and actually made it to the Capitol on that day? How much worse would that have made the situation?
MICHAEL FANONE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I think it would have made it considerably worse. I mean, in addition to having the president in his speech incite the activities of that day, it would have given the individuals who were on the ground at the Capitol that much more -- trying to think of the right word here, but it would have allowed them to believe that the president himself was authorizing their behavior.
And I don't know, I think we would have had to physically remove each and every individual off the grounds.
NOBLES: Yes, and could it have created tension too between law enforcement individuals like yourself that were trying to protect the Capitol and then the president would come with his own security detail, right? I mean, what would have been the back and forth between Secret Service trying to keep the president safe with you trying to keep his supporters at bay? I mean, that would have just probably been a dangerous elixir of things.
FANONE: Yes, I've been thinking about that a lot lately, especially with all the back and forth between the committee and Secret Service regarding text messages and, you know, Tony Ornato. I -- yes, I don't know. I mean, you have a law enforcement agency that has a very specific responsibility, and that is to protect the president of the United States, and had he been present there, absolutely would have put that agency at odds with certainly my agency and U.S. Capitol Police, and any of the other agencies that were there that day. And I don't know how it would have resulted so.
NOBLES: Yes, I mean, talk about how close we were to the peaceful transfer of power not happening. I mean, I think what you're describing right there may have prevented it.
So on Tuesday, the committee showed this evidence that he wanted to go to the Capitol in advance, and you've talked a little bit about what he said in that speech encouraging them to go there. You know, what was it like to be in that hearing room on that day and listen to the testimony about his thought process, about what went into it, and then how these individuals that were there, and you actually talked to one of them after, how they felt compelled to do more because of what they heard from the president?
FANONE: Yes, I mean, again, I think I've said before it's clear to me at this point in the game that violence was part of the plan all along. I believe that that went all the way up to the office of the president of the United States, that he anticipated violence, planned for violence, and supported violence occurring on January 6th, not just on the day itself, but in the days and weeks leading up to January 6th.
You know, clearly you had groups that were there who were prepositioned, preplanning for violence. That's the Oath Keepers, Three Percenters and Proud Boys, and some of these other right-wing, anti-government militia groups. But then you had the individuals that just came there for the Stop the Steal rally who were inspired by his rhetoric on that day. My reaction is, I mean, it's infuriating.
[16:05:05]
NOBLES: Yes. I wonder too about -- I've had so many people, a friend just recently asked me, well, why wasn't there enough security there on that day? And that's always a big question. That's something Republicans bring up over and over again, why wasn't there more of a preparation for this. Is there any way, without bringing in the National Guard and erecting the fence, just based on the security that's available to the United States Capitol on a day-to-day basis that you could have ever prepared to prevent something like that from happening?
I mean, you weren't even supposed to be there that day, right? You got called in as everything was falling apart, right?
FANONE: Well, I mean, I'll say this, like the U.S. Capitol Police has the responsibility for protecting the Capitol complex, period. If they have -- well, I'll say their executive level should have contingency plans for any type of threat. I mean, that's their job is to imagine all of the worst possible scenarios and prepare and plan for it.
NOBLES: Right. Yes.
FANONE: If that means that they need to have, you know, access to other agencies to call upon, then they should have had a contingency plan for that. It's clear to me that there were catastrophic failures on January 6th on behalf of the executives, that is the, you know, managerial levels of the U.S. Capitol police. And in so much so that, you know, the officers, the U.S. Capitol police officers that stood their ground that day really did so in spite of their leadership.
They were almost acting or in many cases were acting as individuals, not as a part of an agency as they should have, which is the sole responsibility of their leadership. Capitol Police's leadership failed and nothing has been done to address that within their ranks.
NOBLES: So I want to take you back to that hearing on Tuesday, and we've already talked a little bit about this Capitol rioter that testified about his experience there. And after the proceeding, he actually came up to you and some of the other officers who were there, and we actually have that moment that it was caught on tape.
Tell me a little bit about that interaction. What happened?
FANONE: Well, he came up to me. I could tell he had approached several of the other officers first. It looked like, you know, an apology tour. I don't remember the exact words that he said to me. I just remember that he did apologize, and I told him that no apology was necessary. I mean, honestly I was caught off guard.
NOBLES: Would you go so far to say that you forgive him? Are you ready to do that or?
FANONE: I was on with Victor and Alisyn the other day, and I said I am not anyone's rest stop on the road to redemption, and I stand by that. When it comes to January 6th, I don't care to hear anybody's apologies. I, you know, and that's just how I feel about the people that were involved in January 6th.
NOBLES: Right, right.
FANONE: I want accountability.
NOBLES: Right, right. Do you think you're going to get it? Do you feel you're heading in that direction or are you still skeptical?
FANONE: I mean, it remains to be seen, I guess, you know, I've seen -- the DOJ has done an outstanding job, their line prosecutors, line supervisors with charging the individuals that were involved in the activity that day. I mean, it's a little bit disheartening to see some of the light sentences and watching people get charged with, I don't know, trespassing when you know what the ultimate purpose for their presence that day was.
NOBLES: Yes.
FANONE: The light sentences. I don't know what the sentences will be with the individuals involved in my assault. I guess I'll, you know, I'll be able to better answer that once I see what happens to them.
NOBLES: All right, well, Michael Fanone, always appreciate your perspective. Thank you for being here. We appreciate it.
FANONE: Thank you.
NOBLES: And with a pledge that the U.S. will remain active and an engaged partner in the Middle East, President Biden left that region today, and he is heading home. The four-day visit took Biden to Israel and Saudi Arabia. That's where he had a one-on-one meeting and a fist bump with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man who the CIA says ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
CNN senior White House correspondent Phil Mattingly joins me now.
Phil, the president's meeting, that fist bump both firing up some intense backlash. Does the White House think long-term it's going to be worth it to the future and the relationship between the United States and the Saudi Arabian kingdom?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ryan, I think that's the critical question because there is no chance this trip would have occurred if they did not think that would be the case. This was a very clear strategical calculation and a long-term one at that.
[16:10:04]
They recognized that there was going to be blowback for the president's sit-down with the crown prince. They are very aware in the last 24 hours just how fierce that blowback has been, but you only really need to pay attention to how the president framed this moment in time and this trip earlier today in remarks in Jeddah laying out kind of the strategic principles his administration would take for the U.S. presence and role in this region, a rapidly transitioning region, a region with shifting alliances where many officials in the region have said both publicly and privately to reporters like myself that they were concerned the administration was not paying close enough attention. They were leaving a vacuum.
That is precisely why President Biden came here. If you want to deal in this region, you have to have a relationship with Saudi Arabia. That includes the crown prince, the de facto ruler. And yes, there was certainly consideration when it comes to oil production, Saudi being one of the biggest players in that marketplace. Energy security a critical component of the conversation. But there was a broader effort here. And I think that's what officials want to emphasize.
They understand the fist bump is an indelible image, and it will likely define this trip. What they're looking towards is what happens next, what happens going forward, and how the U.S. can try and block or box out very aggressive efforts by China in particular to make inroads in the region. In fact, that was how President Biden responded to a question about the most visceral and personal criticism he received from Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sir, two quick questions if I may. First, we just heard from Jamal Khashoggi's wife who said after this visit the blood of MBS's next victim is on your hands. What do you say to Mrs. Khashoggi?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm sorry she feels that way. I was straightforward back then. I was straightforward today. What I -- this is a meeting not -- I didn't come here to meet with the crown prince. I came here to meet with the GCC and nine nations, to deal with the security and the needs of the free world, particularly the United States, and not leave a vacuum here which was happening as it has in other parts of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: You're right, that's a lens through which we've seen the president's foreign policy since he took office. The autocracy versus democracy, the view of China and the efforts in the U.S. to try and blunt their rise in the ongoing competition.
There are very clearly still significant portions of work that need to be done in this region, but U.S. officials believe this was a critical first step, and according to officials in the region I've been speaking to today, they believe it was as well. That blowback, though, certainly not going anywhere anytime soon -- Ryan.
NOBLES: All right, Phil Mattingly live from Saudi Arabia. Phil, thank you for that report.
Still to come, swimmers beware, shark attacks are suddenly on the rise in parts of the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BRUEMMER, SHARK ATTACK SURVIVOR: Wham, this most -- I don't even know exactly what happened, but it was just -- I was just, well, it turns out I was bit ferociously by a shark right across my thighs and my abdomen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: Should we think twice before getting into the water this summer? Jeff Corwin joins me live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [16:17:17]
NOBLES: In New York, officials in Long Island this weekend urging people to stay -- the people I should say that are at the beach to stay out of the water, and if they do go in, be careful, and there's a pretty good reason why. At least four people have been bitten by sharks just this month. This happened in Suffolk County, Fire Island, Ocean Beach, and other places off Long Island. Now no one's died yet, and beach officials would like to keep it that way.
Jeff Corwin joins me now. He is a wildlife biologist and a conservationist who hosts the amazing show "Ocean Treks with Jeff Corwin," which is streaming now.
So obviously, Jeff, it's easy to make some jokes about "Jaws" here, Long Island, summer vacation, we're going to need a bigger boat, all that stuff. But this is actually pretty serious, and people probably should be taking these warnings pretty seriously, right?
JEFF CORWIN, WILDLIFE AND CONSERVATION EXPERT: Well, I think, Ryan, it really comes down to common sense. You have a better chance of winning the lottery and being struck by lightning than you do of being attacked by a shark. With that said, in certain parts of the country especially along the Eastern Seaboard, New England where I live, Cape Cod, New York, California, we are seeing an increase in shark populations, so of course when you have the increase in population, the odds increase that you could have some sort of conflict, but it's still incredibly rare.
NOBLES: So what kind of sharks are we talking about here that are behind these recent biting incidents? Are they these big great whites that we see in the horror movies, and why are we -- and you've already mentioned this, but maybe explain why the population has gone up so much that there's more human encounters with them right now.
CORWIN: Sure, and of course it's like the ultimate premium real estate, right? Beach front, coastal real estate, it's important to us, and it's important to wildlife like sharks. The three species that tend to be on the radar screen when it comes to having issues, white sharks or great white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks. The truth is, though, the great whites which populations now are building up, especially where I live, and the populations are growing because their prey is increasing.
Great white sharks are marine mammal eaters, thankfully not primate eaters like ourselves. They're focusing on sea lions, on the west coast or here, gray seals and harbor seals. Both gray seals and harbor seal populations have exploded because they're going up, cycling up with them are the predators that consume them, including great white sharks.
In the south we tend to have more of an issue with bull sharks. Bull sharks are not a species you want to mess with, and the thing that's tricky about bull sharks is not only can they make their way up to places as far north as New Jersey or southern New York, they also can go in fresh water. [16:20:10]
And I can't think of anything more terrifying being in a fresh water lagoon or river ecosystem or remote lake or tributary that's fresh water and then connecting with one of these predator sharks. But again, the good news, it's incredibly rare. But increased prey, healthier ecosystems, Ryan, it means more sharks.
NOBLES: So, just to be clear, this is a good thing, right? It seems like whenever we have you on to talk about conservation, it's usually bad news. But this must be a good thing that we're seeing this increase in both the shark population and on the type of animals that they prey upon?
CORWIN: Well, I don't know how much of a good thing is it if you're on the buffet or halfway inside a shark, that's probably pretty terrifying. The good news is that's incredibly rare. The good news about an increase in shark populations is because they're such big, complex creatures they require a healthy ecosystem. They are what we call an apex predator.
They're the cherry on the wildlife sundae in our oceans, so when we see an increase in shark populations, at least woo where we live in New England, that means our environment is healthier with a resurgence of creatures like harbor seals and gray seals, which practically disappeared a century ago.
Of course with an increase in shark population means there's an increased chance that something could go awry. There's commonsense things we can do to avoid being attacked by a shark. Not going in the water at sunrise or sunset when there's poor visibility, after a rainstorm or when you get a high congregation of sharks, you want to be staying out of that water.
NOBLES: All right. Let's take a listen to this man who was bitten pretty badly by a shark back in June in California. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUEMMER: I was about 150 yards from being done near the beach when just wham, just this most -- I don't even know exactly what happened, but it was just -- I was just, well, it turns out I was bit ferociously by a shark right across my thighs and my abdomen, and it grabbed me and pulled me up and then dove me down in the water. Then, of course, it spit me out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: Is that typical behavior? Do sharks just spit people out like that? I mean, how lucky is this guy?
CORWIN: If you're lucky the shark will spit you out and leave you fully intact. That must have been absolutely terrifying to be serious. But what we're doing is we're getting a great example of how humans aren't on the menu for most species of sharks, especially great white sharks, which was the species that attacked this surfer in California. It probably confused him being on a surf board with your flipper hands and feet hanging on the sides, dark, slick like wet suit that looks like a sea lion probably confused him for a sea lion or a seal went up and took a test bite and discovered this is not what I want to eat. Spit him out and thankfully no significant organs were severed.
The problem with sharks' teeth is they're so sharp, that test bite can cause a lot of damage. Your average shark bite even on a small shark, takes about five pounds of flesh, so clearly if this shark was in a human predatory mood, this gentleman would not have survived.
But, Ryan, sharks are such complex creatures. Today we're now learning more about them, really how mysterious they are. So a lot of people don't realize that many shark species including great white sharks, they actually don't reproduce. They don't start sexually reproducing until they're in their 20s.
NOBLES: Wow.
CORWIN: The Greenland shark doesn't become sexually mature until it's over 200 years old.
NOBLES: Wow.
CORWIN: So we know that you certainly don't want to be on the wrong side of a sharks but, we also know that our environment, especially our marine ecosystems are much better and healthier with sharks there.
NOBLES: All right. I'm going to focus on the positive, A, it's like getting struck by lightning or winning the lottery. B, I just have to use common sense, and C, overall the ecosystem is a lot better, and that's ultimately good news. And that will help me not think about the term test bite, which frankly sounds terrifying.
Jeff Corwin, thank you so much --
CORWIN: Yes, Ryan. If this comforts you the next time you're swimming in the beautiful waters, the beautiful ocean waters in the East Coast, just take comfort to know that when you're in the water, you're probably never more than 100 feet away from a shark.
NOBLES: You ruined the whole thing, Jeff. We were leaving on a good note.
All right, Jeff Corwin, thank you so much for coming in. We appreciate it.
Coming up, a father of a missing 20-year-old college student is desperately pleading for help. That's next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:29:26]
NOBLES: The family of a missing college student is pleading for help. 20-year-old Jimmie "Jay" Lee disappeared near the University of Mississippi on July 8th.
CNN's Nadia Romero is following developments, and she joins me now.
So, Nadia, what is the latest on this investigation into Lee's disappearance?
NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ryan, we know that his family and friends are really heartbroken at this disappearance. We're hearing from Oxford Police telling us that they have executed dozens of search warrants, both physical and digital, to try to find out more information.
[16:30:00]
So when you say what's a digital search warrant? That would be a laptop or an iPad that would show investigators who he was messaging with, who he was taking pictures with, just anything that would tell them more about him and those people surrounding him.
We also know that his car was recovered on Monday and that car is now at the Mississippi state crime lab where it's undergoing forensic testing.
They're looking for DNA samples, fingerprints, even something as simple as a receipt from a fast-food restaurant that has a time stamp on it could help them piece together where he was before he was last seen last Friday.
And this has been such a hard time for his family his father, and his sister.
A local station in Oxford, Mississippi, caught up with his sister and other people in the community who were searching for him at a nearby hike. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLA CAREY, SISTER OF MISSING COLLEGE STUDENT JIMMIE "JAY" LEE: We're just holding strength and that faith the size of a mustard seed is just -- that's all we're holding onto. It's just that faith and that strength and staying strong, not only for ourselves but we're staying strong for Jay Lee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMERO: And Jimmie also goes by the nickname Jay. And he was a vibrant personality if you talked to people who knew him on campus.
And this has impacted Ole Miss's campus entirely so much so that the university released this statement to students saying"
"We understand that this may be a very distressing time for members of our campus community, and you may feel a need to speak with someone. Students who need assistance can access support services from the university." And then in that message, they went on to list ways that students could talk to someone about feeling anxious or feeling distressed about this disappearance.
I want you to take one last look at Jimmie Jay Lee. He's 20 years old, 5'7", 120 pounds. You'll notice in some of the videos and pictures that he may be wearing makeup and hair extensions and a dress. Other times he is not. He has black and blond hair with brown eyes.
Ryan, right now the search is on to try to find this student, and the goal is to find him so he can come back home to his family. There's a $1,000 reward for information leading to his safe return.
NOBLES: OK Nadia Romero, thank you for that update. We appreciate it.
Now to South Carolina, where a once-prominent attorney returns to court next week for his own bond hearing.
Alex Murdaugh has been in jail since last fall on a very long list of charges. He's now indicted on two counts of murder. The victims, is own wife and son.
CNN's Dianne Gallagher is in Charleston this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The murder indictments handed down by the South Carolina grand jury on Thursday allege that it was Alex Murdaugh who pulled the triggers and yes, I said triggers as in plural.
The indictments have very few details in them, but what they do say is that Alex Murdaugh shot and killed his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, with a rifle and that he shot and killed his 22-year-old son, Paul, with a shotgun.
Now, Murdaugh was once a power and feel prominent attorney here in the low country area from a very prominent legal family, but he was disappeared earlier this week by the state Supreme Court.
Murdaugh's attorneys released a statement soon after those indictments were handed down that said, in part:
"Alex wants his family and friends and everyone to know that he did not have anything to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul. He loved them more than anything in the world."
"It was clear from day one that law enforcement and the attorney general prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son, but we know that Alex did not have any motive whatsoever to murder them."
Now, his attorneys have said they plan to request a speedy trial that they want to get whatever evidence that law enforcement says they have out in the open and hope all of this can begin to unfold sometime within the next 90 days or so. We said there's not much detail included in those indictments, so
that's likely when we would learn more information.
But a source does tell CNN that they may be looking at some evidence including the potential of blood spatter on Murdaugh's clothing he was wearing the night of those murders, which could indicate a close firing of a rifle at close range.
Now, Murdaugh was already in jail because he is a $7 million bond on some of the more than 70 financial related charges that are pending against him with a slew of his former clients and other victims saying that he defrauded them.
But the nation, not just the low country, has been gripped by this case because of all the mystery that surrounds it. Much of that going back to the initial arrest of Murdaugh where it was that bizarre roadside attempted suicide for hire, insurance fraud plot.
And then there are the death investigations. Three of those investigations have either been opened or reopened in the past year that are connected in some way to the Murdaugh family, in addition, of course, to the murders of Maggie and Paul.
Now, again, Alex Murdaugh is in jail, but he will appear for a bond hearing on those murder indictments on Wednesday of next week.
[16:35:02]
Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Charleston, South Carolina.
NOBLES: Dianne, thank you.
Let's talk more about this with retired FBI profiler and former prosecutor, Jim Clemente. He joins me now.
Jim, besides the murders of his wife and son, police have tied Alex Murdaugh to three other death investigations and then his own suicide for hire plot.
As a former profiler, how do you assess Murdaugh?
JIM CLEMENTE, RETIRED FBI PROFILER & FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, there's a number of things we have to look at, and I think the first thing we can say is that the fact that the bodies were actually found outside of the house tells me something, that the killer had a proprietary interest in the House.
Anybody who would break into a house to kill somebody would kill them right there. But somebody who owned the house or didn't want to get blood all over the house might do it outside or at least bring the bodies outside.
So it was always strange that the bodies were found outside where more people had the opportunity to hear the shots or actually see the bodies or the killing happen. So that actually tells me that there's probably a high likelihood that
whoever killed the mom and son was somebody who had a proprietary interest in that house.
But this guy was clearly into a lot of very bad things, and I think it all came to a head.
NOBLES: So let's talk more about that. Obviously, once a very prominent lawyer, you know, from the outside before we knew all these seedy details about what was going on, the family seemed to have it all.
Where do you think it really began to unravel for Murdaugh?
CLEMENTE: Well, it seems like he's apparently had a very big drug addiction. And that can be the downfall of any person and especially someone in such a high stress and powerful position. So he had to get money to feed that.
Obviously, he was doing a lot of things or at least allegedly he was committing all sorts of fraud.
And of course, the issue, for example, about the housekeeper who died in a slip and fall at the house, that's being looked at again because this is a very strange thing.
To have three murders around one house in a very short period of time is -- or three deaths even is very unusual. And now that we know at least two of them are murders, probably by the husband, the other deaths are very questionable at this point.
NOBLES: Yes, so maybe expand on that a little bit. Investigators are looking into these other deaths.
From your experience, you know, if you find somebody that's accused of murder and you see other suspicious deaths around the same person, around a similar timeline, is that something that immediately sets off a red flag for investigators?
CLEMENTE: Of course, of course. They're going to have to look at them much more closely. And they'll have to re-examine those deaths before because there may be some evidence that ties them to it.
I mean, in this case, the blood spatter evidence that they're talking about is -- it could be very, very damning.
For example, blood is a very viscus liquid, which means it's a thick liquid. And so it generally tends to drop in big droplets.
But if you hit it with a high-speed object like a bullet, the droplets get smaller. If it's a very fast bullet, there's almost a mist of blood.
So if he has mist-sized droplets of blood on his clothing -- and blood doesn't travel very far when somebody is shot -- then he was very close to those victims when they were shot, and that's actually very damning evidence.
NOBLES: No doubt a tragic situation. And it's caught the nation's attention when he goes to trial, a lot of people will be paying attention to that.
Jim Clemente, thanks for your expertise as always.
Be sure to check out Jim's podcast if you're into the true crime podcasts like my wife and I are, "Midwest Monster, the Hunt for the Kansas College Rapist."
Thanks, Jim.
Still to come, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talked to someone who got monkeypox as frustration grows about access to the vaccine.
[16:39:16]
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBLES: The CDC is predicting that monkeypox cases will continue to rise in the U.S. in the coming weeks. But as the outbreak spreads and demand for the vaccine rises, some are having a hard time getting their hands on the vaccine.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT FORD, HAD MONKEYPOX: It started off with just a few lesions. I got intense flu-like symptoms. As the flu-like symptom abated, the lesions will, A, more of them start to appear, and, B, they became, at worst, excruciatingly painful and at best mildly irritating.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Knowing exactly what it feels like to have monkeypox, Matt Ford has taken to social media to now warn people about the virus.
FORD: This (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sucks and you don't want it.
I've got these on my arms.
GUPTA: But now his frustration is that, even as awareness grows, those who need it might have a hard time finding a vaccine.
FORD: Supply is so low that there's not that much to go around.
GUPTA: Since May, the number of cases in the United States has continued to grow quickly. But the two-dose Jynneos monkeypox vaccine has been rolling out slowly.
DR. DAVID HOLLAND, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER, FULTON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH: We got an allotment of 200 vaccines. And the appointments for that went in about an hour and a half. GUPTA: New York City Mayor Eric Adams has reached out to the White
House to underscore his state's unmet demand. The two doses are usually given four weeks apart.
But Mayor Adams wants the White House to consider a longer interval in between the doses so more first doses could be administered immediately.
Right now, the CDC recommends the vaccine for high-risk individuals, people who have been diagnosed with or exposed to monkeypox and people who are at higher risk of being exposed to monkeypox. That means not for the general population's prevention.
[16:45:10]
DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: The problem is, we simply don't have enough vaccine. So we're trying to play catch-up.
We need to get vaccination to people because we know that it -- you know, vaccinating people may not necessarily prevent the infection, but it will certainly decrease the severity of the disease.
GUPTA: The CDC estimates this vaccine is at least 85 percent effective. Giving it within four days of exposure is best to prevent the onset of disease. And even if given within 14 days of exposure, it may still reduce the symptoms.
GUPTA (on camera): I'm looking at something that I've never seen before as a doctor.
I want to introduce you to Kori (ph). She's 22 years old. And what she has is an active case of monkeypox.
GUPTA (voice-over): But this is not necessarily what monkeypox always looks like.
For Matt Ford, the lesions started smaller and not as obvious.
FORD: I maybe would have suspected that they were like the herpes simplex virus or some other skin condition.
GUPTA: Right now, public health officials are sounding the loudest alarms in the LGBTQ community. That's due to most cases being reported in men who have sex with men.
But experts warn the outbreak could still expand.
DEL RIO: It's very reminiscent of the early days of HIV, right, in which it was impacting, you know, men have sex with men, the gay community in the United States.
And it's almost like the general public were not paying attention. And then HIV became a disease that affected other people. It affected everybody. And then all of a sudden people got interested.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLES: Sanjay, thank you.
Next, how Russia's war on Ukraine is affecting the world's food supply. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[16:51:14]
NOBLES: Russian troops are setting Ukrainian wheat fields on fire, and it's severely straining the country's once prosperous export economy.
CNN's Ivan Watson is in southern Ukraine.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A war against one of the biggest bread baskets in the world. Ukraine's fertile farmland now a battleground.
Military drone footage exclusively obtained by CNN shows Russian artillery pounding wheat fields, burning the summer harvest charcoal black.
Farmer race to protect their crops. Until Russia's invasion Ukraine was the world's fifth largest exporter of wheat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
WATSON (on camera): All right, this looks like some kind of munitions over here.
(voice-over): Now Ukrainian farmers are harvesting a deadly crop.
(on camera): Mikael (ph) says these are pieces of Russian rockets that they gathered out of the fields.
(voice-over): Mikael Lupchenka (ph) takes me on a tour of his farm.
(on camera): He'll show us.
That's another shell strike?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WATSON (voice-over): Acres of wheat waiting to be harvested within earshot of pounding Russian artillery.
(on camera): This is absolutely surreal. We're amid the wreckage of previous battles, armored personnel carriers, military vehicles. And then you've got farmers out here that are harvesting wheat right now.
The vehicles that have been destroyed here this could have happened back in March, February, much earlier.
But we're also seeing these impact craters from shell strikes that we're told probably took place within the last couple of weeks.
(voice-over): Despite the threats these brave farmers still bring in their harvest only to face another obstacle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
WATSON (on camera): This is 3,000 tons of wheat from last year's harvest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WATSON: He can't sell this wheat because the Russian military has blockaded Ukraine's ports. So there's no way for this to be sold except at an enormous loss.
(voice-over): Ukrainian ports where ships once carried millions of tons of grain a month to global markets now blockaded by the Russian Navy. The log jam driving up global food prices triggering warnings of famine in some of the world's poorest countries.
Last month, the Ukrainian military forced Russian troops to abandon Ukraine's Snake Island in the Black Sea.
The Snake Island victory freed up channels to the Danube River. Ukraine reactivated Soviet era ports on this waterway as an alternative route for the export of grain.
But experts warn the river can only handle a fraction of Ukraine's pre-war cargo.
This week Ukrainian, Russian and U.N. delegations meeting in Istanbul say they reached a deal in principle to resume shipments of grain by sea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
WATSON: But Ukrainian farmers continue to face deadly threats on land making it too risky for many to plant crops for next year.
This frontline farmer vows not to give up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
WATSON: "Our soldiers are fighting and dying to get rid of these occupiers," he says. "We need to feed our country, the soldiers and help the whole world with our food. That's why we'll keep working."
He calls his farm the second front in this deadly war.
[16:55:04]
Ivan Watson, CNN, in southern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLES: Still to come next hour, why the Indiana doctor who helped a 10-year-old rape victim get an abortion is now facing an investigation by her state's attorney general.
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