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Northern Hemisphere Swelters Through Summer Of Severe Heat; Sri Lanka Swears In New PM As Forces Raid Protest; European Travelers Experience Delays And Disruption; January 6 Committee Holds Its Eighth Public Hearing; President Joe Biden Tests Positive for COVID; Russia Continues to Attack Ukraine; Talks to Resume in Turkey on Ukrainian Grain Exports; Germany Moves Ahead with New Energy Security Measures. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 22, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Live from the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Coming up, damning new revelations during primetime testimony. We are learning details about Donald Trump's refusal to call off rioters for more than three hours at the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Joe Biden in isolation after testing positive for COVID. What we know about his symptoms.

And, out of control, from wildfires in Europe to more than 100 million people under heat alerts in the U.S.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Where was Donald Trump and what was he doing for 187 minutes as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, forced the 2020 election certification to stop, and hunted for Vice President Mike Pence? Well, that was the question the January 6 Committee took great pains to answer in Thursday night's primetime hearing.

According to sworn testimony by numerous insiders, Trump had become irate when the Secret Service refused to let him go to the Capitol. He then spent most of the next three hours at his private dining room watching the chaotic scenes on TV and refusing pleas from everyone around him to end the violence.

His close advisers testified they never saw or heard Trump summon help from any federal agency. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY) (voice-over): Are you aware of any phone call by the president of the United States to the secretary of defense that day?

PAT CIPOLLONE, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Not that I am aware of, no.

CHENEY (voice-over): Are you aware of any phone call by the president of the United States to the attorney general of the United States that day?

CIPOLLONE: No.

CHENEY (voice-over): Are you aware of any phone call by the president of the United States to the secretary of Homeland Security that day?

CIPOLLONE: I am not aware of that, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: After the insurrection failed and Trump finally sent everyone home, the committee showed outtakes of Trump struggling to make videotape remarks about the riot the next day. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But this election is now over. Congress has certified the results. I don't want to say the election is over. I just want to say that Congress has certified the results without saying the election is over, okay?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: He is not wanting to declare the election over. Trump also refused to say the rioters broke the law. Congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of the Republicans on the committee, summed up Trump's behavior as a dereliction of duty. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): President Trump did not fail to act during the 187 minutes between leaving the Ellipse and telling the mob to go home, he chose not to act. But there were hundreds that day who honor their oaths and put their lives on the line to protect the people inside the Capitol and to safeguard our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: CNN's Ryan Nobles is following all the latest revelations from Thursday night's hearing and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There was a lot that we learned and saw for the first time in this Thursday night hearing of the January 6 Select Committee that they pushed to prime time because they believe it was some of the most important information that they had to share with the American people.

There were the outtakes from Donald Trump's speech on January 6th and January 7th where he seemed to have a very difficult time saying that the election was settled and it was time to move on.

There was also amazing radio traffic from members of the Secret Service that were protecting the vice president, Mike Pence, on that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ELAINE LURIA (D-VA): As rioters were entering the building, the Secret Service held Vice President Pence in his office right off the Senate chamber for 13 minutes as they worked to clear a safe path to a secure location.

Now, listen to some of that radio traffic, and see what they were seeing as the protesters got just feet away from where the vice president was holding.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Hold. Hold. They've entered the building. Hold.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Harden that door up.

[02:05:00]

UNKNOWN: If we're moving, we need to move now.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Copy.

UNKNOWN: If we lose any more time, we may have -- we may lose the ability to leave. So, if we're going to leave, we need to do it now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: The committee showing testimony and call logs from members of the Secret Service that actually had to reach out to members of their family on that day because they feared they may not make it out alive.

Just one example of the committee showing just how dangerous things were here and then juxtaposing that against the inaction of Donald Trump, who, his aides showed, was sitting in a dining room for a good portion of the time watching the whole thing on television and being more angry with the fact that his vice president, Mike Pence, did not stand in the way of decertifying the election results instead of being upset with the violent mob that was attacking the Capitol and trying to stand in the way of the peaceful transfer of power.

Now, while this at one time was thought to be the end of the committee's public hearings, they made it clear tonight they are not done and said -- they told the American people to be prepared for a series of hearings to take place in September.

One of the key areas of focus could be the Secret Service. The committee just now starting to look into the role that they played in and around January 6. They are obviously concerned about a set of deleted text messages, but there could be much more connected to the Secret Service's role. That could be a big part of what we see as their investigation continues on.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And we'll have much more on the January 6 hearing coming up. But first, U.S. President Joe Biden says he is doing well after testing positive for COVID-19. The 79-year-old president is now isolating inside the White House for the next few days and taking the COVID antiviral drug Paxlovid. He released a video saying his symptoms were mild. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hey, folks. I guess you heard this morning I tested positive for COVID. But I've been double vaccinated and double boosted, symptoms are mild. And I really appreciate your inquiries and your concerns. But I'm doing well, getting a lot of work done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Eric Topol is a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine with Scripps Research. Thanks so much for being here with us. So, President Biden is double vaccinated, double boosted, but he will be 80 this fall. So, what is your biggest concern over his health right now?

ERIC TOPOL, CARDIOLOGIST, SCRIPPS RESEARCH PROFESSOR: Well, good to be with you, Kim. I actually feel pretty confident that the president is going to weather this COVID infection fairly well just because, as you said, he has had the two boosters. We know that it really does add a lot of protection. He has also gotten Paxlovid, which is another layer of taking -- deactivating the virus pretty quickly.

So, it isn't any guaranteed because he is in high-risk group, but at least he is getting the prevention and the treatment that should help him get through this pretty well.

BRUNHUBER: You mentioned Paxlovid. So, what more can you tell us about that and how it might help sort of mitigate his symptoms?

TOPOL: Yeah, well, it is a nice way to add to the attack on the virus because you basically -- it hits on the choke point of the virus and stops it from replicating. So, it stops the infection in its track. And he got it very early. That is good.

The only downside that we recognize increasingly with Paxlovid chem is the problem with the rebound. So, we have to watch very carefully over the next couple of weeks because even if he sails through over the next several days, it is possible it could come back a few days later. So, that's the one thing we got to be careful about, that he doesn't get back to the swing of everything too quickly without monitoring.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. So, on the monitoring, I mean, you've seen the letter from President Biden's doctor. They are outlining the general plan of care. Any concerns there?

TOPOL: Well, the only thing I noted in the letter from the president's physician, which is quite good, was the isolation according to the CDC recommendations, and that is the last thing we should use because those recommendations are a flop. They are not evidence-based. They basically using five days when we know that the tip of infection is 7 to 8 days. And with this variant, the BA.5, it appears to be longer.

So, I think that the main thing is that he will get a rapid testing and very close monitoring, which is not a CDC recommendation. What that is for his benefit. And that is why everyone should have the isolation determined, not by if they're feeling okay at five days because that helps spread the infection.

BRUNHUBER: Right. Okay, well, as you say, he will be monitored throughout this, will be tested throughout. So, that is the short term. What about the longer term? I mean, some of the symptoms of long COVID include fussiness or a brain fog.

[02:10:00]

BRUNHUBER: Obviously, not ideal for a commander-in-chief. So, any concern over the medium or long term about things like fatigue or any effects on, say, his decision-making abilities?

TOPOL: Yes, this is a concern. No question. It doesn't happen frequently, especially with the two vaccines and the two boosters. But it does happen. And just as you say, you know, even after a very rapid recovery, days or weeks later, there can be symptoms that crop up. Fatigue, brain fog, you know, all sorts of other symptoms.

So, that's another thing we have to keep our eye on. And frankly, that's the real reason that we should be avoiding infection as much as we can because that's the one thing we still don't understand, we don't have any treatment for it, and it can be quite disabling.

BRUNHUBER: Finally, before we go, I mean, the thing that I keep seeing from people who are downplaying COVID and doubt the efficacy of the vaccines, they say, well, the president has got four COVID shots and he still got COVID, what's the point? So, what would you say to them?

TOPOL: You know, Kim, this really drives me crazy. These vaccines have saved, you know, over 20 million lives, at least. And the good thing about them is that, had we not had the vaccines, we would not have all these lives that were saved and all these people that were spared hospitalization and a long COVID.

But the problem isn't the vaccines, it's the virus. It has evolved so remarkably, particularly over recent months with the Omicron and these sub-variants that have gotten more and more challenging for us. So, it is really crazy to blame the vaccine because they're doing what they're supposed to do, right? And unfortunately, this perception, yeah, they are leaky, that is why we need nasal vaccine, sure, but it isn't the fault of the original vaccines.

We need to have 95% efficacy to block infection, hospitalizations, and deaths that lasted all the way through the Delta variant. It's remarkable. So, it's just unfounded criticism. They don't really understand it's the virus that is causing this by its evolutionary arc.

BRUNHUBER: Important point to end on. Hopefully, everybody is listening to that. Dr. Eric Topol, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

TOPOL: Thank you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we want to go back to our top story, the primetime January 6 hearing. So, for more on that, we are joined from Los Angeles by Democratic strategist Caroline Helmand. She is a professor of critical theory and social justice at Occidental College, and she is joining us on the phone. All right, so, plenty of revelations about the psychology of the Trump White House. What stood out for you?

CAROLINE HELDMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, PROFESSOR OF CRITICAL THEORY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE (via telephone): What really stood out for me is the just sheer inaction we heard from Pat Cipollone.

He went to the dining room, and for the next three hours, instead of calling the Department of Defense or the Department of Justice or the FBI or, you know, D.C. police, he called senators and representatives and continued to try to throw the 2020 election.

So, it was startling to hear that. It was also startling to hear how frightened the Secret Service agents were who were protecting Mike Pence.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. It was quite emotional to hear that. You know, looking at the stuff that we didn't see, how significant is that? The missing evidence, texts, photographs, and so on.

HELDMAN (via telephone): Well, I think it is telling that the Secret Service folks, some have lawyered up which means -- of course, there is a criminal investigation underway which means we will probably get to the problem of those missing messages.

But it's very significant that Trump even, you know, it's 6:00, on the night of the violent insurrection, was still telling folks that he loved them, that they were special, and then the next day, he refused to say that the election was over.

I mean, this was -- the timeline tonight, the 187 minutes and then the outtakes from a video that he recorded the day after the violent insurrection, were very damning in a sense that it showed that Trump didn't do anything.

And one thing that I really flagged is that Mike Pence, the vice president, was actually working with officials to get folks to the Capitol, to protect the Capitol law enforcement and, obviously, the Department of Defense. That is nowhere in the Constitution. The Constitution was thrown out that day in terms of who is in charge and what happened because Trump simply didn't take command.

BRUNHUBER: You mentioned the word 'damning." I am wondering how damning it will be and exactly how -- I mean, we heard Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger told CNN as he was leaving the hearing that Trump -- quote -- "certainly has criminal exposure."

[02:15:03]

BRUNHUBER: So, do you think last night's hearings were more effective building a case for prosecution or a case to potential voters that Trump isn't for reelection?

HELDMAN (via telephone): Yeah, that's a great question. I'm actually not seeing the evidence that would probably be needed for the Department of Justice to press criminal charges against Trump. I know a number of charges have been considered. But this committee is much more making the case to the American public.

It's much more difficult to draw a criminal case. You are not going to draw it unless you think that there -- you can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. I'm not sure they've given Merrick Garland, attorney general, enough ammunition for that in this particular hearing.

But just uncovering the timeline of what we all saw happened before our eyes as it was unfolding, the trauma of that day, it is very clear that Donald Trump planned this. We heard that from the mouth of Steve Bannon.

It's also very clear that when all hell broke loose that day, he very specifically did not act. In fact, he did not call folks away from the Capitol until it was clear that law enforcement would be putting down the violent insurrection.

So, I think it makes the case for public opinion. I don't think it makes the case for the Department of Justice.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right, so, on the public perception here, I mean, some polls suggest most Americans do not want Donald Trump to run in 2024, including nearly half of Republicans. So, what part, do you think, these hearings are playing in that, if any?

HELDMAN (via telephone): I don't think they're shifting the party much. I mean, I think Donald Trump will definitely run if he possibly can. It is clear this committee is trying to prevent that from happening because they see him as a democratic threat.

But at the end of the day, two-thirds of Republicans continue to believe the big lie that animated the violent insurrection that day. So, I think Trumpism will live long past Trump himself in terms of his political career.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely right. All right, we will have to leave it there. Caroline Heldman, thanks so much for joining us. I really appreciate it.

HELDMAN (via telephone): Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Diplomats in Turkey are about to sit at the negotiating table hoping to help millions of people put food on their table. That's ahead.

Then, scorching heat smashed records and furious efforts to fight the fires tearing through Mediterranean Europe. Stay with us.

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: New York City continues to sizzle under excessive heat. That is going to continue through a better part of the weekend. People taking advantage of the warm summer temperatures, heading outdoors into Central Park and trying to get a suntan, it looks like.

[02:20:02]

VAN DAM: Well, check this out. It is not just the eastern seaboard. It is also the central portions of the U.S. as well as the southwestern U.S. under excessive heat advisories and warnings. In fact, over 50 million Americans infected by these advisories and alerts, including Phoenix all the way to New York City.

This is what it will feel like as you step outside for your Friday. Look at Oklahoma City, 34, 35 for the nation's capital, 45 degrees in Phoenix, Arizona. Incredible heat across the southwestern U.S.

These are a look at the temperatures through the weekend and into early parts of next week. Temperatures flirting with the 40-degree mark from Dallas to Houston. Much of that heat building across the nation's midsection and more of the same for the East Coast. So that is one of the big stories.

But with all this heat, of course, the potential for stronger storms exist. This time, we look towards the upper Midwest and even towards New England. That's where we have the potential for marginal too strong, severe thunder -- severe storms today. You can see some of the forecast radar popping up those thunderstorms with the daytime heating.

But it is really Saturday we are paying close attention to across the Midwest, Minneapolis to Chicago. Damaging winds and large hail are possibility, 34 in New York today.

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's president is indicating his troops may try to do even more to put Russian forces on the defensive. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his military has significant potential to advance on the battlefield and inflict heavy casualties on Russian troops. This as Ukraine says their defense lines are holding steady despite Russian ground attacks across the country. The Donbas region is taking artillery fire around the clock. What we are seeing here, this is video from the city of Bakhmut, which Ukraine says was pounded with both artillery and airstrikes Thursday.

But as Russia keeps up attacks, it's reportedly running through its stockpile of high-precision weapons. Ukrainian intelligence officials say that Moscow has already used up to 60% of them.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's weapon supply is getting a boost. The U.K. says it will send hundreds more drones and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.

So, as the war drags on, negotiators are gathering in Turkey to try to finalize a deal on reopening Ukrainian ports to grain exports.

Jomana Karadsheh is in Istanbul with more. So, Jomana, how much optimism is there that a deal can actually get done here and what impact would that have?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kim, according to the office of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an announcement was made last night that we would be seeing the signing of an agreement for grain exports to take place at 4:30 pm local time today, that the signing ceremony will be attended by the Turkish president, delegations from Ukraine and Russia, as well as the United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, who arrived in Istanbul last night.

Now, according to the United Nations, Kim, up until last night, there was no deal in place, but they sounded quite optimistic that this would be happening today. We heard from the secretary general last week, following the first round of talks between the Ukrainians and the Russians, the United Nations and Turkey that took place here in Istanbul, he sounded very optimistic that they had an agreement in place, they are working out the final details, and the hope was that this week, we would be seeing the signing of this agreement.

Now, we've not had confirmation from the Russian side. We've heard from Ukrainian officials yesterday saying that another round of these talks would be taking place in Istanbul today, and that there could be the signing of an agreement.

But it seems, Kim, that the Ukrainians are still pushing for what they wanted all along during these talks that have been -- you know, Turkey and the United Nations have been really working hard behind the scenes for weeks to try and bring both sides to an agreement.

The Ukrainians really wanted security guarantees. That once they open up their ports for these exports, that Russia would not exploit any sort of an agreement to attack its southern ports, the port of Odessa and others.

So, this seems to be a main issue for the Ukrainians right now. As you know very well, you've got more than 20 million tons of grain sitting in silos in Ukrainian ports. So, any sort of deal, if we were to go with what the Turkish is trying to say, this will be signed today, this could potentially pave the way for unlocking these Ukrainian grain exports.

We understand from the United Nations, the secretary general flying in last night, it would appear, to try and push this to the finish line, that this would also include exports of Russian grain and fertilizer as well. Now, we don't know, Kim, what are the details of the agreement. Obviously, we'll have to wait and see.

[02:24:59]

KARADSHEH: But all indications from what we've heard from officials in the past, that it would entail establishing some sort of a coordination center here in Istanbul with the Russians and Ukrainians represented along with the United Nations and Turkey, that there would be some sort of inspection mechanism of ships moving in and out of the ports.

The key question everyone will be keeping an eye on is implementation, how to ensure that this agreement will be implemented considering the lack of trust between the parties involved.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, that is the key question and so much at stake. The Ukrainian grain feeds millions of people around the world. Jomana Karadsheh, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Germany says it can't rely on Russia to stay true to its word when it comes to future natural gas deliveries to Europe. Russia resumed gas exports through the key Nord Stream 1 pipeline Thursday after a 10-day break for maintenance. The E.U. was concerned that Moscow could use this to dramatically cut gas supply as redistribution for sanctions on Russia.

But Germany says that it still can't depend on Russia even though Russia says it will honor its export commitments. So, Berlin is announcing new energy security measures, including the reactivation of some of its coal power plants.

Heat emergencies are cropping up around the U.S. as record-breaking temperatures take hold. We will look at some of the hotspots and how communities are coping. Stay with us.

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[02:30:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. The U.S. House investigation into the January 6 insurrection has painted a dark and disturbing portrait of Donald Trump's final weeks in office. But Thursday's prime-time hearing revealed startling new details about what Trump was doing as the riot unfolded. A committee presented chilling testimony of Secret Service agents guarding the vice president inside the Capitol as angry rioters nearby chanted hang, Mike Pence. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voiceover): The members of the VP detail at this time were starting to fear for their own lives. There were a lot of -- there was a lot of yelling, a lot of -- a lot of very personal calls over the radio, so it was disturbing. I don't like talking about it, but there were calls to say goodbye to family members, so on and forth, it was getting -- for whatever the reason was on the ground, the VP details thought that this was about to get very ugly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, according to sworn testimony, Trump spent about three hours in his private dining room watching the chaotic scenes on TV and refusing pleas from everyone around him to end the violence. A former Trump White House aide who resigned soon afterward testified about her feelings after Trump criticized Pence in a tweet at the height of the insurrection. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE AIDE: It was essentially him giving the green light to these people telling them that, what they were doing at the steps of the Capitol and entering the Capitol was OK, that they were justified in their anger. And he shouldn't have been doing that. He should have been telling these people to go home and to leave and to condemn the violence that we're seeing. It was him pouring gasoline on the fire and making it much worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Scientists say the heat waves roasting much of the northern hemisphere are only going to become more common and more intense due to climate change. More than 100 million Americans are under various heat alerts from the West Coast, New England. The National Weather Service warns that most of the U.S. will endure Fahrenheit temperatures from the mid to upper 90s and 100s today and throughout the weekend. That's around 32 to mid-40s, in Celsius.

Meanwhile, drought-fueled wildfires are tearing through parts of southern Europe. Authorities say Slovenia is facing one of the biggest fires in its history. Some 800 hectares have burned in northern Tuscany, where at least a thousand people have been evacuated. And the Greek fire service has stepped up several fires on the outskirts of Athens that cause the least one death and sent dozens to hospitals but flare-ups remain a serious threat.

All right, CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking the temperatures and the fires. So, Derek, what role is climate change playing in what we're seeing right now?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, there certainly is that correlation with climate change and the increase in the area or the acreage or hectarage of wildfires that burn within the summer season. So as our planet catapults to that one and a half-degree to two-degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, we are noticing an increase in the area, or the acreage burned in an average summer season across the planet. So if we reach that two-degree Celsius tipping point, we'll have a 62 percent larger acreage burned within the summer months than compared to pre-industrial era averages.

Now I want to show you the wildfires, the hotspots burning across Europe. You can literally see the hundreds of hotspots specifically across the Iberian Peninsula. This is an area that has had several brush fires or wildfires burning out of control, Portugal into southern Spain, and unfortunately, the forecast for more wildfire activity continues. Anywhere you see that shading of red, including Central Italy, southern France, and much of the Iberian Peninsula, that's where we have extreme fire danger conditions through the better part of the weekend, according to the Copernicus climate monitoring group coming out of Europe.

[02:35:03]

Now, just check out these temperatures. This, of course, is Celsius, Madrid at 40 degrees today. That is extremely high. And we know that the temperatures have been running about that high this past week as well. We're talking temperatures over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, you bring it to the United States, and we have over 50 million Americans with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees in many locations, especially when you factor in the humidity level. So this has all kinds of implications on humans' health, and, of course, the climate is well, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much, Derek Van Dam, appreciate it. And, Derek mentioned hotspot in Greece is certainly one of them gracing deadly heat and fires. And that's where you find journalist, Elinda Labropoulou, who's coming to us live from Parga in western Greece. So, what's the latest on the efforts to fight the fires there?

ELINDA LABROPOOULOU, JOURNALIST: Well, in Greece, things are looking back up compared to a few days ago, when big fires broke out all around Athens in the outskirts of Athens. One person had died as a result, and 34 people were injured. At the moment, there are still dozens of smaller fires burning all across the country. And this is just an indication of how difficult it is to contain the flames when we're looking at these very hot temperatures. As we saw the situation in most of southern Europe around the Mediterranean is quite similar, and it has been today. And temperatures are expected to remain very high throughout the region, especially in Greece, we're expecting temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius, very strong winds are likely to persist.

And I think the point we're reaching now is really, what's the next step? You know, we've seen that we have more wildfires, we've seen that this is an increasing phenomenon across the Mediterranean as a result of climate change, so the discourse has partly moved on, on what do we do next, we need reforestation plan. You know, clearly what we have at the moment does not work. A lot of pine forests across the Mediterranean, for example. And a more central, a more EU-controlled response mechanism is what citizens and governments seem to be discussing at the moment, Kim. BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you very much, Elinda Labropoulou, I really appreciate that. So for more on this, I want to bring in Richard Steiner, who's a marine biologist and conservation scientist, and he's with us from Anchorage, Alaska. Thanks so much for being here with us. I'm really struck by not just the severity of what's happening, but just how widespread it is, the U.S. under so many heat alerts, Europe, the same thing, setting new records, fires burning everywhere.

RICHARD STEINER, MARINE BIOLOGIST: It's pretty amazing, isn't it, Kim? It's -- we're about 20 years advanced on where even the most extreme climate models predicted just 10 years ago with the severity of heat and drought and wildfires and floods and sea level rise and things like that. The intensity and speed and severity of climate change is -- should be frightening to everybody when you connect the dots and make the observations that the media is making for us. So, thanks for that.

BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. And the even more troubling thing is what we're seeing now. I mean, this is just the tip of the iceberg, right?

STEINER: It is, yes. Unfortunately, the -- we're in this disaster throughout this century. Throughout the entire 21st century, we're going to be dealing with this. And here we are in 2022, things are going to get much worse over the next 20 to 30 years, before even if we do everything right. And that's not a foregone conclusion, right yet.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

STEINER: But even if we do everything right, CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere will continue to rise from 420, maybe to 450 parts per million by mid-century, and then start to decline. The temperature will lag behind that. And if we do everything right, the temperature will start coming down, global temperatures, by the end of the century. So we're in this for the long haul, we need to acknowledge that, and be smart about it.

We need to adapt, and that's our energy systems, transportation systems, agricultural systems, and urban planning. I mean, there's a lot of things cities are doing and with engineers and urban planners to try to have cool adaptation plans, cool roofs, cool asphalt and roads, and things like that. Shading, green corridors, more water on the surface, porous asphalt that lets water in and evaporative really cools the heat island effect. There's all sorts of things that are well documented that will work, we just need to put them into action.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. And, you know, we just got a report there from our reporter just outside Athens. This is one of the cities that has been dealing obviously, with the heat and the fires. And Athens was one of the first European cities -- or it was the first to appoint a chief heat officer, somebody in charge of, you know, preparing for the impacts of warming.

[02:40:10] So how important is this to sort of recognize this? To have somebody in charge of something like this is that something many or most cities should have right now?

STEINER: Without question. We need to be smart about this and we need to really focus on the century-long plan of dealing with this extreme heat in urban areas. Overhead half the world population today lives in cities. By 2050, over two-thirds of the world population will live in urban areas. So these people are going to have to be dealing with this extreme heat, water issues, transportation issues as such. Urban planners and engineers have a pretty good idea of how to work urban planning and building construction and shading and cool roofs and green roofs and things like that. In order to mitigate some of the -- adapt to some of these heat problems in the future, we need to do that with certainty.

But the other real important part of this, and that we can't lose sight of is that we have to mitigate this problem. And we know how to do this. We know the consequences of not doing it. And that is reducing global carbon emissions by half by 2030. Every nation needs to be resolute about that. The UN, I don't think can do it anymore. They've had 30 or 40 years dealing with this and they haven't been able to.

But the group that can and must is the G20 and that's the 20 industrialized countries of the world, the richest, responsible for 80 percent of the world's GDP, 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We have the technological capability, we have the ethical and moral responsibility, and we have the finances to fix this problem. So the G20 at their Bali meeting in November needs to get -- needs to have some resolve and focus on this. This might be our last best chance to fix this in time.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. All of what you're talking about is very expensive, but certainly on the -- in the long run saves money and lives as well. We'll have to leave it there. Rick Steiner, thank you so much for being here with us. Appreciate it.

STEINER: Thanks very much. Thanks.

BRUNHUBER: Political turmoil in Italy with the country set to pick a new leader yet again. We'll have the latest on the coming snap election just ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:46:47]

BRUNHUBER: Sri Lanka has a new prime minister. Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in earlier today. He's a member of Sri Lanka's ruling party and a former classmate of the new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe. That comes shortly after Sri Lankan police conducted pre-dawn raids including forcefully removing anti-government protesters from in front of the presidential offices in Colombo. Nine people were arrested. The new president called on the armed forces to maintain public order after weeks of unrest triggered by the country's desperate economic situation. Western diplomats urged restraint.

Italians will be heading to the polls again in September. President Sergio Mattarella has dissolved parliament and called a snap election. And this comes after Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned on Thursday for the second time in less than a week after coalition parties abandoned him. The move plunges Italy further into political and economic turmoil which Mattarella blamed on inflation in particular. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERGIO MATTARELLA, ITALIAN PRESIDENT: Speaking in a foreign language.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have the duty to emphasize that the period that we're going through does not allow pauses and the necessary measures needed to contrast the effects of the social and economic crisis and particularly of the increase in inflation, which is caused primarily by the increase in the cost of energy and food and that has heavy consequences on families and businesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: At least 18 people were killed in gunfights in Brazil when Rio de Janeiro's military police raided a low-income community or favela in one of the city's most violent districts. Police say a local resident and a police officer are among the dead, four people were arrested suspected of being involved in organized crime. At one point, residents actually waved flags pleading with police to end the operation which involved about 400 officers.

Travelers are facing disruptions around the world. In Europe, long lines like this are the norm. Ahead, we'll take you inside Britain's busiest airport. Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:53:00]

BRUNHUBER: Well, if you plan to travel to Europe, remember to pack some patience. European airports are struggling to keep up amid staffing shortages and that's leading to long lines and lost luggage. CNN's Anna Stewart puts London's Heathrow to the test.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voiceover): Long lines, delays, and cancellations, travel in Europe has never felt so chaotic. One of the best ways to really show you issues is particularly for a trip. We're going to go through one of the worst disrupted airports in the world and to one of the busiest holiday destinations, we're going to Ibiza, Spain. And we were quickly confronted with challenge number one, we're too early. And we're not the only ones. What's the problem?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't check-in.

STEWART: Once bag check-in opens, this is the cue. Now my advice would normally be, don't check in a bag this summer unless you really have to. But out of curiosity, we're going to check one in any way. I'm actually going to put a GPS tracker in it so you can see where it gets to tracking the bag is a good idea, particularly through Heathrow. A shortage in baggage handlers has resulted in scenes like this, mountains of lost luggage. Bye-bye suitcase, hope to see you in Ibiza.

If the key for check-in looks bad, look at this. I have never seen a queue like this, security. I'm honestly worried that I'm going to miss my flight despite the fact that I arrived three hours early. I wasn't allowed to check in a bag until two hours before the flight. But this cue is going all the way from security. It's sneaking all the way around and then it's going all the way back down the airports and entranceway to the far corner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) within one hour.

STEWART: Oh, that's us. I'm fast track through, is getting too close to departure, so no time for a shop. A rush to the gate only to find it's delayed. But a couple of gates down, there's a flight delayed by a lot more. 14 hours. These girls and many others slept here at the airport.

[02:55:07]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My children is sleeping on the floor. He's feel cold. My children -- yes, is really bad. Me --

STEWART: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm tired as well.

STEWART: This couple's flight way started even earlier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My flight started in Dublin two days ago and my first flight got canceled. And then I started my flight yesterday to London, the second one, and now this one got canceled also and now I'm here and I hope today I will leave the country.

STEWART: Will you ever traveling again?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not to the UK.

STEWART: I made it onto the plane. It was an hour delayed but that seems small fry compared to others. And amazingly, even my bag made it, of course, it could all go wrong when I go back home. Maybe I should just stay here. Anna Stewart, CNN Ibiza, Spain. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber. The news continues with Christina MacFarlane after a break. Please stay with us.