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Agreement Reached To Reopen Ukraine's Ports For Grain Exports; Skyrocketing Prices Leading To More Civil Unrest; U.S. Secret Service Scrutinizing Phones Of Ten Agents; Ex-Insiders Detailed Trump's Refusal To Stop Capitol Riot. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired July 23, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:14]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: All the silos full and the new artifice are being made so it's vital to export Ukrainian grains.
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BRUNHUBER: Turkey helps broker a deal between Ukraine and Russia after months of war, a deal which could help the world's food supply. Plus, U.S. Secret Service investigators zeroing in on the phones of 10 of their agents and messages sent and received around the January 6 Capital riot.
And a deadly heatwave is helping fuel wire fires in parts of Europe and the United States. We'll have live reports from Rome and the CNN Weather Center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin with both new hope and Ukraine and a new round of fighting. Official say 13 missiles struck a city about 300 kilometers north of Mykolaiv, leaving a number of people injured and killed the missiles targeted at a military airfield and a railway facility. Officials are urging people to stay in shelters for now, while the mayor of Mykolaiv is reporting what he called a powerful blast in that city as well.
But on the hopeful side, Ukraine and Russia have signed an agreement that will allow Ukraine to resume grain exports through the Black Sea. Much of that grain has been stranded because of a Russian naval blockade leaving 47 million people around the world in a state of acute hunger, according to a U.N. estimate. The U.S., Britain and the E.U. have all welcomed the agreement. The Ukrainian President Zelenskyy seemed skeptical that Russia will keep its word. Here he is.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): It is clear to everyone that there may be some provocations on the part of Russia, some attempts to discredit Ukrainian and international efforts, but we trust the U.N. Now, it is their responsibility and responsibility of international partners to ensure compliance with the agreements.
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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, the U.N. Secretary General is touting the agreement as, in his words, a beacon of hope. And in their interview with CNN, he said the deal will bring a much-needed relief to the global food market areas.
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GUTERRES: I believe it is in the mutual interest of the parties because these will represent not only an important solution for Ukraine that has all the silos fall and the new offers being made, so it's vital to export Ukrainian grains. But we are working also as it is known with U.S. and with E.U.
The U.S. has already issued a statement in relation to this. There are no sanctions on food and fertilizers. And so, Russian food and fertilizers will also be able to be in access to the world markets. And these two combined operations will mean a huge injection that I believe will bring prices down, will stabilize the markets.
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BRUNHUBER: For more on this, Nada Bashir joins us from Istanbul. So, Nada, walk us through this deal, how it will work and the skepticism as we just heard from President Zelenskyy around whether Russia will actually stick to it.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well can there is certainly skepticism, but it is as well a breakthrough agreement after weeks, months of negotiations of talks. Meeting after meeting, summit after summit, we heard those warnings from the United Nations, from other NATO allies around this food crisis, the need -- the urgent need, I have to say, to get that grain out of Ukraine. And now, of course, that breakthrough deal will hopefully allow vessels carrying those grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports to the parts of the world so desperately in need of that grain.
Now we've heard from senior U.N. officials and other parties on both Ukraine and Turkish officials outlining the framework that will underpin this agreement, essentially allowing vessels exporting that grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports of travel through safe corridors. Avoiding lines, which have been placed in the area with aerial supervision from the Ukrainian Armed Forces in order to carry that grain through those safe corridors out through the Black Sea through the Turkish straits.
Now, what will be important here and what is key, as we heard from the U.N. Secretary General speaking yesterday, is this Joint Coordination Center which is to be established here in Istanbul. And this coordination center will include representatives from both Turkey, Ukraine as well as Russian representatives and from the United Nations. And they will be charged with overseeing inspections of these vessels to ensure that they all carrying the goods that they have been agreed upon in this deal.
[04:05:04]
Namely, as has been concerned by Russia that they are not carrying weapons and that will be key here. Turkey already has some control over regulating the Turkish streets as outlined in the Montreux Convention, which was agreed upon back in the 1930s. And this will really extend Turkey's provisions over that portion of the sea, the Black Sea, and, of course, the Turkish straits. And this will be crucial in allowing these grain exports.
As you heard there from the U.N. Secretary General, there are millions dependent on these grain exports, particularly here in the region in the Middle East. President Erdogan has taken this as somewhat of a diplomatic win. He's long been seen as an outlier from his NATO Allies choosing to maintain their channel of communication with President Putin. All the while, of course, supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But clearly, that channel of dialogue that he has maintained with President Putin has yielded some pretty significant results.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely significant as you say, for so many millions around the world. Nada Bashir live in Istanbul for us. Thank you so much.
Well, as we mentioned, if Ukraine's grain finally gets to the world market, the expectation is it'll help ease global food prices. But that could be quite a while and it's the world's poorest who are struggling the most with skyrocketing prices in the meantime.
CNN's Matt Rivers explains how the economic stress is leading to more civil unrest in Latin America.
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like so many other places around the world, we have seen huge impacts here in Latin America and the Caribbean as a result of inflation. We have seen huge protests recently in countries like Ecuador, Panama, Argentina, and there is every chance that that is going to continue.
According to the World Bank, by the end of 2021, we were already looking at an average median consumer inflation figure at around 7 percent. And according to the World Bank, that trend is going to continue with inflation rising throughout 2022, in part, due to rising consumer prices, and also because of global supply chain issues caused in part by Russia's invasion in Ukraine.
But another trend or another factor in this inflation that we've seen in Latin America and the Caribbean recently has been rising prices when it comes to food and fuel, especially in this part of the world. According to the World Bank, about 40 percent of the average household consumption goes to costs related to food and fuel. So when prices of those two things go up, it has an outsized impact.
And even then, according to the World Bank, you know, the people who are affected most by that kind of inflation are people who live in dense urban centers, like where I am here in Mexico City, in places like Sao Paulo, Latin America, is replete with these major urban centers that have tens of millions of people, many of whom who are lower income. And those are some of the people, the most vulnerable people who were actually affected even more by price hikes, and both food and fuel.
Now to fix this problem, most experts would agree that it would take in the very short term, massive government spending. But when you look around this region, government finances are not in great shape. And there doesn't appear to be a situation according to experts that we've spoken to, that governments can actually meet the needs the kind of spend the money that would be needed to really ease the pain that so many ordinary people are feeling.
And even in places like Ecuador, like Panama, where governments have recently introduced price caps on fuel prices, that hasn't done enough to really quell the popular discontent that has seen people take to the streets. And so when we're looking forward into the near term, later in the summer, into fall, if the question is going to be, will there be more protests, more social unrest? As one expert told me, it's not a matter of if, but when.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
BRUNHUBER: It seems no one knows what's happening at Europe's largest nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia. The facility has been under Russian control since the war began. That means five months have gone without international inspections. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says it's alarmed by recent reports of an incident possibly with casualties as urgently calling for an international inspection.
On Thursday, the plant's operator said the Russian military was hiding weapons and munitions inside the facility where they'd be safe from Ukrainian artillery.
Why didn't Donald Trump stop his supporters from storming the U.S. Capitol? Former White House insider testify about what they saw and heard during the crucial hours of January 6. Well those details just ahead. Plus, an update on President Joe Biden's health after his COVID diagnosis. We'll hear from his chief medical adviser and top infectious disease expert. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: When the January 6 committee resumes its hearings in September, one key issue will be missing text messages from Secret Service agents who were present at the time of the insurrection. Now CNN has learned 10 agents may have sent or received relevant texts, but those messages apparently weren't preserved. Now if they're recovered, they could help corroborate testimony that Trump became irate when agents blocked him from going to the Capitol to join his supporters.
CNN has now learned that up to 24 agents in question, 10 had no text messages on their phones, three had only personal messages and one had saved a text conversation. But the metadata on the phones of 10 other agents did show text message activity that was now missing.
Now even if there is an innocent explanation, committee members say the timing is suspicious because the Secret Service had already been instructed to save all records. Listen to this.
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ZOE LOFGREN, U.S. HOUSE JANUARY 6 SELECT COMMITTEE: The chairman of four committees in the House, Homeland, Oversight, Judiciary and Intelligence, wrote to the Secret Service and ordered them to retain all the records. That was on January 16. All of the records related to January 5th and 6th. And it was 11 days later that the text messages were erased. So that is very troubling.
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BRUNHUBER: Thursday's primetime hearing zeroed in on Trump's behavior on January 6, particularly the 187 minutes between him telling his supporters to march on the Capitol and fight like hell until he finally called them off more than three hours later.
CNN's Manu Raju has the details.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump was sitting in the White House for more than three hours, watching TV as the deadly attack on the Capitol unfolded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you aware of any phone call by the President of the United States to the Secretary of Defense that day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not that I'm aware of. No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you aware of any phone call by the President of the United States to the Attorney General of the United States that day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you aware of any phone call by the President of the United States to the Secretary of Homeland Security that day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not aware of that. No.
RAJU (voice-over): Trump rejecting pleas from members of Congress, his aides and his family members to tell the mob of his supporters to go home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Pence came, we're going to drag -- through the streets.
RAJU (voice-over): Instead, inflaming tensions, including with a tweet attacking Vice President Mike Pence.
MATTHEW POTTINGER, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The tweet looked to me like the opposite of what we really needed at that moment, which was a de-escalation.
SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It was essentially him giving the green light to these people.
RAJU (voice-over): Trump was on the phone with his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who in turn was pushing senators to slow down the certification of Joe Biden's victory in a last ditch attempt to stay in power. As Trump went to the residence that night, he did not express concerns about the attack. Instead --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said only, quote, "Mike Pence let me down."
RAJU (voice-over): But the committee revealing that Trump's actions endangered Pence's life. Radio communications from the V.P. Secret Service detail showing the chaos with rioters just feet away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) building halls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). We need to move now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Copy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've gained access to the second floor and I've got public about 5 feet from me down here below.
RAJU (voice-over): This testimony from a White House security official, whose identity was kept anonymous for his own safety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The members of the V.P. detail at this time were starting to fear for their own lives. But there were calls to say goodbye to family members, so on and so forth.
RAJU (voice-over): Even the day after the attack, outtakes of Trump's speech show he refused to say the election was over.
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 Congress has certified the results without saying the election is over, OK?
RAJU (voice-over): As the committee plans witness interviews behind closed doors in August, and then more public hearings in September, some members believe they have laid out a criminal case against the former president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the President certainly has criminal exposure.
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RAJU: Now one of the things that committee will try to figure out during August is what is the story behind those missing texts from January 5th and January 6th of 2000 -- to 2021. Now, the Secret Service contends there was some sort of phone migration that led to the loss of some of these texts. But the committee's says they are determined to figure out the true story behind it.
Jamie Raskin, a member of that committee, told me that they're going to fill in a whole bunch of leads over August gaps in the storyline, and as well as those tax. And he said, quote, we're going to figure out this whole mystery with the Secret Service texts.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
BRUNHUBER: Last hour, I spoke about the January 6 investigation with Natasha Lindstaedt at the University of Essex and I asked her what we've learned from the hearings that we didn't already know. Listen to this.
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NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROF. OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: We know the extent to that, to which he was involved that this was months and months and months of planning, that he knew that there was no fraud and that there was nothing that he could legally do. And he knew that there was violence, that there was an attack on the Capitol, and he just didn't really do anything about it. And, in fact, just sat back and was actually reveling in it.
And we've actually seen public opinion change a little bit. I mean, if several weeks ago when I had spoken to you, I didn't think that this would move anything much. But we've seen that there's been a 4 percent shift and that now we have 57 percent of the public that think that Trump was at fault. And we have a little bit more of the public that thinks that this is a big threat to democracy.
Now, it's very partisan in the way that it breaks down. But you have 86 percent of Democrats that believe it's a big threat to democracy, 52 percent of Independents, but only 12 percent of Republicans. But it's still important because we need to provide transparency about what take place and we need to apply the pressure.
More pressure needs to be placed on the DOJ to actually prosecute and Merrick Garland finally did say something that no one is above the law. And we have to make an example out of this.
[04:20:07]
This is a democracy and we had a president that tried to stage a coup. And if he gets away with it, this is going to really shift our norms for what people can get away with, and it will lead to more bad behavior upon future presidents. That's how coup traps happen, when you have one coup that leads to another coup. And we see that it's the shifting norms that are really, really problematic for our democracy.
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BRUNHUBER: That was Natasha Lindstaedt speaking to me earlier.
While the January 6 hearings continue to pick up steam with the American public, 17.7 million people tuned in Thursday -- to Thursday night's hearings, and that's measured across 10 broadcast networks. It's just slightly less than the 20 million who watched the first Primetime hearing last month. And that's worth noting the committee hired two experienced television executives to help present the sworn testimonies and other evidence at each hearing.
Well Donald Trump ally and the former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon says he'll appeal and he's not afraid to go to jail after he was found guilty of contempt of Congress. Bannon was indicted last November after failing to comply with the subpoena from the January 6 committee. He was defiant after the verdict Friday. Here he is.
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STEVE BANNON, FMR. TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: We may have lost a battle here today but we're not going to lose this war. In the closing argument, the prosecutor missed one very important phrase, right? I stand with Trump and the Constitution and I will never back off that ever.
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BRUNHUBER: Now Bannon's testimony was sought because of his numerous contacts with Trump and because of a pre-riot statement on his podcast that, quote, all hell would break loose that day. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has more.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Steve Bannon, that adviser to former President Donald Trump, he was convicted on Friday by a jury in federal court in Washington, D.C., as they weighed whether Bannon was in criminal contempt of Congress for failing to appear for testimony or to turn over documents to the House Select Committee's January 6 investigation.
After this verdict was delivered in court, the chair and the vice chair of the House Select Committee applauded it. They said that, "The conviction of Steve Bannon is a victory for the rule of law and an important affirmation of the Select Committee's work. Anyone who obstructs our investigation should face consequences. No one is above the law."
So this was about punishing Bannon today not trying to get information out of him at this time. This was about a prosecution in criminal court. Now, Bannon is going to be back in court in late October for his sentencing. His attorney says he wants to appeal on court. He was smirking as the verdict was read, after the prosecutors presented this case.
The jury clearly agreeing with their simple take on the matter that you have to show up, you have to turn over documents when Congress wants you to, when they subpoena you. But after court, he reiterated that he stands with Donald Trump still.
Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Washington.
BRUNHUBER: White House physician says President Biden is improving, but is also taking additional medication to treat his COVID infection. The President tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday. He's fully vaccinated, twice boosted and said to be experiencing mild symptoms.
CNN spoke earlier with the President's chief medical adviser and top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Here he is.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: He's on Paxlovid, and he has symptomatology still, but it is improving. He had a bit of a mild temperature that responded very well to Tylenol. But he's been able to perform functions today.
And we fully expect given the fact that he's vaccinated, he's doubly boosted and he's on a very effective antiviral drug, Paxlovid, that clearly has a very good track record in preventing people from -- to progress to severe disease. And that's the reason why although there's never any guarantee, we feel quite optimistic that the President is already on his way to recovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And COVID cases are rising around the world driven by the BA.5 variant. On Thursday, China reported more than 1,000 new cases and nearly 1,000 the day before. And here in the U.S. cases are at the highest and rising fastest in the south, according to Johns Hopkins University, but also taking up in the Midwest and Northeast.
And New Zealand is coping with its own wave of infections driven by BA.5. During July, the country has seen some of its highest death tolls, and it's warning that the new wave of infections could put its health system under considerable pressure.
Deadly high temperatures are sending people in Europe and the U.S. scrambling to stay cool. Coming up, how those record breaking heat waves are also causing wildfires and the dangerous toll this climate crisis is taking on people's health. That's next.
[04:25:06]
And as the United States braces for expected record temperatures this weekend, another fires broken up near Yosemite National Park in California. We'll have the details. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
Scorching heat and suffocating humidity are expected to continue through the end of the month in many parts of the United States. Have a look at these heat alerts. As much as 85 percent of the U.S. population could see temperatures higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit over the next week. That's more than 270 million people.
On Sunday, the combined temperature of heat and humidity could go past 105 degrees in parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. A large fire broke out near Yosemite National Park in Mariposa County, California on Friday. The Oak fire started at about 2:00 p.m. local time and is now scorched over 4,000 acres.
With much of Western Europe sweltering in record breaking heat, wildfires are breaking out around the continent some 20,000 hectares nearly 50,000 acres and burned in Spain just this week. Crews have fought fires in Slovenia and Greece as well. And those temperatures soar.
People are looking for ways to beat the heat across Europe where air conditioning is quite uncommon. Dozens of cities are under extreme heat alerts with temperatures nearing 37 degrees Celsius, almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
CNN's Barbie Nadeau is in Rome where the temperature is expected to reach 36 degrees in a few hours. But we begin with Meteorologist Derek Van Dam in the CNN Weather Center.
[04:30:07]
Derek, so as I mentioned off the top is not just Europe but Asian and North America here as well that's sweltering under this heat.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Kim, that's right. This is a quite emergency that we are all collectively facing. We literally live in a world since the industrial era began, where extremes are getting more extreme and the heat that we experience, these extreme temperatures is becoming more frequent. So we've seen that shift in the climate across the planet.
So let's give you some examples of what's happening currently, right now. This is not a future problem. This is a now problem. We have excessive heat warnings in place across much of the eastern seaboard, including some of the most populated areas of the U.S.
As you step outside, it will feel like today near 105 degrees from New York all the way to Boston as well as Philadelphia. Nearly 80 million Americans under these heat alerts from the central U.S. to the west coast all the way to the east coast. So we're spanning both coasts here, the potential for over 35 record high temperatures to be tied or shattered today through Sunday -- of course of the weekend.
Here's an example in New York City. Five days in a row, we've had temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius, 90 degrees Fahrenheit. We add one more day to that. We tie a six-day heat record that was set back in 2013. Looks like we will maintain those temperatures right through the better part of the weekend.
It's not just North America, it's across the big pond, the Atlantic Ocean. This is a picture coming out of Milan, Italy. They are also scorching, they're battling their own extreme heatwave. And the temperatures there are not subsided much in the near future. Look at the Iberian Peninsula where fires continue to rage out of control.
Temperatures will flirt with 45 degrees through the end of the weekend in the early parts of next week. So check out the temperature trends. You can see the reds and the oranges hugging the Mediterranean, slightly shifting east. Of course, we have had some moderation to the oppressive heat that baked the U.K. earlier this week, setting their most extreme temperature ever recorded across England.
There's the heat now across Southeast Europe. So places like Croatia, Greece, and to Belarus, this is an area that will be in -- under the influence of extreme heat going forward for the next several days.
Look at the seven-day forecast for Madrid, 39 degrees. It's Northeast Asia as well. So the Korean Peninsula, Japan, China, all extremely hot and well above average for many locations, including Beijing. This is the climate emergency that's happening now. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Every time we talk, we're talking about new records across the world.
All right, let's bring in Barbie Nadeau in Rome where temperatures, as you can imagine, are expected to state brutally high over the next few days. So Barbie, how are folks being affected across the country there?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, people are staying indoors as much as possible and out of the sun trying to keep cool any way they can. There are lots of cities in Italy that have extended free entrance to elderly people to swimming pools, for example, to try to give people an opportunity to cool off.
Air conditioning is rare in this country. And we've seen temperatures just stay brutally hot here. You know, people aren't doing their normal activities that they would be doing in the summer at all at this point, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. And then the other big concern, of course, as we heard, fires are happening across Europe, including Italy, where you are. What's the latest?
NADEAU: Yes, there are 19 European countries right now that under -- are under alert for extreme fire and it's because it's been just so dry as well. And these areas are just tinderbox, and they go up in flames. And in minutes, there was a fire outside of Rome that was contained. It started inside a country club there.
You know, all of these factors, there's a lot of human error there, you know, flicking their cigarette butters to doing a barbecue or something like that. And these fires get out of control. But imagine those poor firefighters trying to battle these blazes under this extreme heat, you know, with their protective equipment. It's not an easy task. And these fires just seem to pop out of nowhere and spreads so fast. It's a dangerous situation for everybody, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, exactly right. All right, listen, both of you, Derek Van Dam and Barbie Nadeau, thank you so much.
I want to go now to Henna Hundal, she's a climate activist and researcher at the Stanford School of Medicine. Thanks so much for joining us here. So in our discussions about these heat waves and climate change, a lot of the focus has rightly been on sort of the long-term need for reducing global emissions and other sort of, you know, long-term goals. But I want to ask you about the short and medium-term view here.
You've been writing about how the heat waves and the related power outages because of increased demand. It can be a really deadly combination in California, where you are. I mean, it's been affected by both. So what have you been seeing?
HENNA HUNDAL, RESEARCHER, STANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Yes, you know, I was inspired to write an op-ed recently when I was on campus at Stanford University and a power outage occurred. And it affected the entire university and this outage occurred on a day when temperatures were climbing north of 100 degrees.
[04:35:11]
Now, fortunately, Stanford is a well-resourced institution. And in no time, officials were able to set up cooling centers around campus where students could cool off, could recharge their devices. You know, people needing support with medical devices could request support, parents could refrigerate breast milk for their children, you know, all of these supports. But, unfortunately, that's not the case for many people dealing with extreme heat and heat waves.
For example, this past week, we're seeing heat waves absolutely devastate Western Europe. Portugal, Spain, the U.K. have reported huge numbers of deaths. You see infrastructure really buckling under this heat. And I think it just highlights how much we need to do more to protect people.
BRUNHUBER: People of color, I mean, according to the EPA, people of color face disproportionate harm from climate change, which exacerbates the sort of existing health disparities. So explain what makes these communities so vulnerable in times like these?
HUNDAL: Yes, you know, it's really unfortunate, and it's something that we definitely need more public health action around. There's a study done in 2019, looking at heat-related emergency department visits between 2005 and 2015, in California. And although the number of heat-related emergency department visits increased across the board, you saw greater increases for Asians, Hispanics and Black communities. And so, you know, this is unfortunately, a huge problem. You know, also, minority communities, black and brown communities often have less access to central air conditioning units, as opposed to single room air conditioning units, which can affect the ability to keep the household cool. You also see something called urban heat islands. So, you know, when you have less foliage and greenery and you sat in hot, instead have kind of pavements and densely packed buildings and concrete and asphalt, that can make the surroundings feel a lot warmer.
BRUNHUBER: Assistant Health Secretary, Rachel Levine, recently said that -- and I quote her here, "Our hospitals are, for the most part, not completely ready." Referring to the -- dealing with the health threats associated with climate change. So what more needs to be done in the medical system when it comes to, you know, hospitals and doctors dealing with patients as well?
HUNDAL: Yes. You know, I think the medical community has to be at the forefront of open dialogue with patients about heat-related risks. You know, there needs to be proactive conversations rather than reactive conversations. You know, for example, there needs to be conversations about action plans in the event of a power outage, you know, where would a patient who requires power for their ventilator or dialysis machines, what would be done? Is that patient able to obtain a backup generator? If not, what other plan could be put in place to support this patient?
Another issue is that certain medications such as for blood pressure, or depression, can make patients more sensitive to heat. And so we have to make sure, are patients aware of this? Are they able to stay out of the sun during these extreme heat periods? And if not, what other treatment options are available to accommodate their lifestyles
BRUNHUBER: With these heat waves getting sort of worse and more frequent, you know, they say, you know, we need to invest in air conditioning, cooling, and so on. But that all contributes to global warming and climate change.
HUNDAL: I think, you know, what this crisis really highlights is that we need a system wide approach. We need to really rethink how we look at our infrastructure and how we design spaces where that people inhabit and work in to be more energy efficient. So looking at energy efficient buildings, how do we improve insulation? What kind of -- are we using sustainable materials? What about efficient landscaping that can also contribute?
Looking at -- you know, making sure that innovation extends to the transportation sector. This past week in the U.K., they actually had to close down one of the airport runways. The trains were buckling under the high heat. So improved -- making the transportation better as well.
BRUNHUBER: Well said. We'll have to leave it there. Henna Hundal, thanks so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it.
HUNDAL: Thank you, Kim. BRUNHUBER: The beautiful migrating monarch butterfly is now at risk of extinction. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature just added the colorful insects to its endangered list. They say habitat destruction, climate change, droughts and high temperatures are all playing a role in the monarchs' plight. Scientists say we can help save monarchs by planting nectar flowers and milkweed leaves which they eat and protecting them from pesticides.
Despite the war in Europe, millions are risking their lives to reach the continent and many don't survive the dangers of the journey.
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SAMIA JABLOUN, MOTHER, SEARCHING FOR SON, FADI: I hate this boat. I hate it. I hate it because they take my son.
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[04:40:04]
BRUNHUBER: We'll look at the migration crisis in the Mediterranean and as nations embrace Ukrainian refugees, but seem to ignore others. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: As Russia's war on Ukraine rages on countries across Europe have welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees with open arms, but many aid groups say the focus on Ukraine means other crises are being ignored. For instance, the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. Since 2021, there has been a big uptick in the number of people trying to reach Europe.
CNN's David McKenzie takes an exclusive look at the world's deadliest migration route.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Through Columbia's faded fishing boats, Samia Jabloun searches. Where is that boat? She asks. Did they take it back to see? Samia wears Fadi's image on her shirt. She still sees her son in her dreams.
JABLOUN: This boat that takes my son. I hate this boat. I hate it because they take my son.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): In this video. You can see Italy in the distance. It is Samia's last image of Fadi before he vanished.
In Europe, millions of Ukrainians are given shelter from the war. But we're in Tunisia, tracking what the U.N. and Tennessean officials called the biggest surge of illegal migrants in years. From across the African continent, migrants make the desperate journey across the Mediterranean, through a loose network of dangerous criminal gangs.
[04:45:04] (on-camera): So our producers just going to speak to the smuggling kingpin who works on trying to get people out of Tunisia into Europe. We're just seeing if he's comfortable to talk in this neighborhood.
(voice-over): But this is his own. These are his people.
He says this gang pulls up to $20,000 for a boat of migrants. That's up to $2,000 each, live or die. There are no guarantees at sea, he says, because we could take you but the authorities could catch you, unless you die then death is your destiny.
A destiny like this, crammed into vessels leaving at night. This passage is the planet's deadliest known migration route, says the United Nations. More than 24,000 have gone missing just since 2014. But still they go.
Next time I'm taking my wife and daughters, says the smuggler.
(on-camera): Even though you know some people don't make it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Yes, there'll be in God's hands, whatever God wants for us.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Those prayers often go unanswered. These migrant boats piled up at a Coast Guard harbor.
(on-camera): A small boat like this could fit 10 people on it to go to Italy.
COL. AYMAN MBARKI, COMMANDER, TUNISIAN COAST GUARD, BIZERTE SECTOR: OK. Imagine it's -- that we have 10 people on both of these small boats for a trip of 120 miles.
MCKENZIE (on-camera): 120 miles.
MBARKI: 120 miles. For that sometimes, the operation of -- looking for immigrants become operation of assistance and recuperation of dead bodies.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Even with the latest gear funded by the European Union and U.S., Colonel Ayman Mbarki says the Coast Guard can't possibly trace thousands of migrants trying to leave. When they catch them, he says, they often say they will try again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): No matter how well you are trained and equipped if you do not cure the economic and social causes of illegal migration, then it will continue for Tunisians and for other Africans.
MCKENZIE (on-camera): So we've met this group of Ivorian. They're coming to this place near the sea. Not only is a dangerous this perilous journey to Europe, but they're afraid while they're here on Tunisian shores.
(voice-over): They live a marginal existence, working for years just to save enough money to pay the smugglers, often as laborers and maids.
Here in Tennessee, it's bad, we live illegally, says Deborah, who wants to take a four-month-old daughter on a smuggler's boat. When we get to Europe, we will be illegal too, but the conditions are better. We have no liberty here.
(on-camera): Are you afraid of this journey?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Often, I'm afraid, but sometimes I'm not. Because when I see the problems that I'm going through, she says, when I see our future and my dreams, my fears vanish. She says Ukrainians are welcome because they are European.
(on-camera): The millions of Ukrainians are being led in by the European Union. Why aren't they letting more Africans into the European Union?
RAMADAN BIN OMAR, TUNISIAN FORUM FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FLIGHTS, MIGRANT DIVISION (through translation): Political systems still look at humans based on their color, gender, religion and ethnicity and don't look at them as people who are entitled to the same rights at the same level.
JABLOUN: There are the photo of my son Fadi.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Surrounded by her son's image, Samia says at least one migrant on the smuggling boat made it to Italy. They told her Fadi swam too, then like thousands before him, he vanished.
(on-camera): But do you still have hope he's alive?
JABLOUND: Yes, of course. Yes, yes. I suffer. Every day I suffer. When I look his photos, I (INAUDIBLE). I hope that God help him.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): David McKenzie, CNN, Tunis.
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BRUNHUBER: You can read more on David's excellent reporting on our website cnn.com, including how the political economic and social crises in Tunisia are driving these tragedies.
All right, we'll be back with more news after the break. Stay with us.
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[04:53:12]
BRUNHUBER: We'll have a look at this dramatic site in California. There's a small plane bombed in the waves after a crash landing at Huntington Beach. It's amazing. The Piper Cub was towing an advertising banner when it went into the water not far from sunbathers and local media reported that surfers and other onlookers rushed to the plane to pull out the sole occupants, the pilot, who is taking the hospital with minor injuries. Federal officials are investigating the cause of the crash. But the timing had an element of luck here. The crash occurred during a junior lifeguard championship.
Well space access 70 record.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And lift off Starlink 3-2, go Falcon 9.
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BRUNHUBER: It launch their 32nd reusable Falcon 9 rocket in a calendar year on Friday, beating the company's previous record of 31. Now as part of an effort to build and launch a constellation of broadband satellites called Starlink. An estimated 3,000 of these satellites are already in orbit and this mission added 46 more. SpaceX says it's on track to reach its goal of 52 orbital missions by the end of the year.
Vince McMahon who turned his World Wrestling Entertainment Company into a colorful global brand has retired as Chairman and CEO following hush money allegations. He tweeted the announcement on Friday saying, "At 77, time for me to retire. Thank you, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Forever. Together.
McMahon's departure came just weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported the WWE board was investigating a secret $3 million of settlement. McMahon paid a departing employee with whom he allegedly had an affair. His daughter, Stephanie McMahon will serve as interim CEO and Chairmwoman.
[04:55:12]
Sweden, the top ranked women's team in the Euro 2022 tournament made it to the semi-finals. The Belgium one nil with a game winning goal in the 92nd minute. They face off against host nation England next Tuesday.
And then on the other side of the bracket, France and the defending champion Netherlands will be playing later today for the final spot in the semis. The winner will face off against Germany and the other semi-final match next Wednesday. Now France are hoping 2022 marks the end of their decade long curse of being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
And American sprinter Noah Lyles won the men's 200 meter finals at the track and field World Championships in Oregon Thursday. His time of 19.31 seconds breaks the U.S. records that had been held by track legend Michael Johnson since 1996. Lyles win lead the way for an American podium sweep at the 200-meter and makes him the third fastest athlete of all time for the event.
And the Los Angeles Rams football team has finally unveiled their Super Bowl 56 championship ring. Have a look at this. It's well quite stunning with the most diamond carat weight in championship ring history. That's a lot of bling there. The diamonds on the columns between the top and bottom of the ring represent the 23 points the Rams scored in the game.
The top comes off to reveal an inside of SoFi Stadium. And Rams players actually helped to design it and on one side of the ring has each player's name and their number adorned in diamonds.
Well, that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in just a moment with more news. Please do stay with us.
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