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Out Of Control Oak Fire Devastating Mariposa County In California; One Person Dead From Heat Exposure In New York City; President Biden Only Has Sore Throat As Predominant Symptom; Election Deniers On The Ballot This Midterm; What's Next For The January 6th Committee; Seventeen Haitian Migrants Dead After Boat Capsizes Off The Bahamas. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired July 24, 2022 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have broken over 200 high temperature records just this month. This is madness. And we've got more records today.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What's it like in your apartment?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hell.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It's like hell?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major wildfire burns quickly out of control in California.
(On-camera): We're still at zero percent containment.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We're not finished yet.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): I certainly think there's evidence of crimes and I think it goes all the way up to Donald Trump.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): The attorney general was committed to following the evidence wherever it may lead and it has led to Donald Trump.
CHENEY: He can never be anywhere close to the Oval Office ever again.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden in day three of COVID isolation.
(On-camera): The predominant symptom is a sore throat.
DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID RESPONSE COORDINATOR: This is a president who has at this moment have a mild respiratory illness. This is really good news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Sunday.
Dangerous heat and a state of emergency. The Oak Fire explodes near Yosemite National Park in California. It has raced across more than 14,000 acres and is zero percent contained. The blistering temperatures adding to the danger here and creating health concerns for more than 90 million Americans. They are under heat alerts. Some cities such as Boston and Newark have seen the mercury hit triple digits.
CNN's Camila Bernal is near the wildfire in Mariposa County. So, Camila, what is the situation there right now?
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Pam. So we just got back from the mountain here behind me. CalFire took us there to just see some of what this fire has already done, and unfortunately I think the number of structures destroyed is going to go up. Last report it was 10 but just going into that mountain and seeing the destruction you can tell that it is likely going to go up.
We're waiting for the next report to come out, but firefighters just looking at the fire and looking at the flames and the smoke telling me that they don't think they made that much progress, despite the fact that we've seen plane after plane dropping that fire retardant doing everything they can to put those flames out. But what they're telling us is that there are a number of things that are making this fire fight even more difficult.
The first is the drought and then weather. They say the afternoon is really the hardest time for them because the temperatures increase, the humidity drops and the winds tend to pick up in the afternoon. They also say that it's a really difficult terrain. It's steep so it's hard for them to get into those mountains and into the flames. They also say that it's hard to get to the homes because the homes here are large.
They're in large lots maybe five acres and they're covered in this forest. A lot of it is dry and overgrown so they're having difficulty going into these homes trying to get people out or trying to save the structures.
So what they're saying is, listen to the warnings. If you're under an evacuation orders, get out. Although a lot of people are saying, you know, they'd just rather stay and protect their homes. You hear that from a lot of the people in this area. I talked to one resident who's been here for 20 years, his name is John Mullen, and he said, look, I'm not leaving yet. Here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MULLEN, MARICOPA COUNTY RESIDENT: I get real nervous. But when the ambers -- Friday night was the worst night for us on tiptop. BERNAL: Why?
MULLEN: Because this stuff was coming out of the sky and it'll spot. The fires will, you know, jump to our property. So we had to be, you know, prepared. I've seen fire before. So I feel like I can protect myself. I have no kids with me in my house so I can leave at a moment's notice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERNAL: Now we do expect some progress because there are more resources. Yesterday there were 400 people working on this fire. Today there's more than 2,000 -- Pam.
BROWN: All right, Camila Bernal, thanks for the latest there.
I want to go now to New York and CNN's Polo Sandoval -- Polo.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, it has been absolutely relentless all weekend long with New Yorkers trying to find any sort of creative way to stay cool. A lot of parents here in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, bringing their kids out to try to make the best of this because really next door in New Jersey today they recorded 102 degrees I believe. That would have been the fifth consecutive days that New Jersey has seen temperatures in the triple digits.
The longest stint since they started taking those records in the early 1930s so it gives you a sense more or less of what it has been like. Here in New York they have certainly been on alert in terms of first responders. Sadly they confirmed the first heat related death on Saturday. This is an individual that had some preexisting health conditions which is certainly tragic. Outside of that, though, New York Mayor Eric Adams saying that largely hospitals have not noticed any significant surge in heat-related illness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK: It appears as though through the media and through other notifications people are taking the notice seriously.
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We only have had one heat-related death that was reported thus far. But we opened the cooling systems. And so I believe people are really responding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: In terms of what we expect tomorrow, finally a little bit of relief, though. It certainly will still be warm, Pamela. They are still expecting temperatures in the 90s which will make it, if the forecast turns out to be exactly what we expect it to be, then New Yorkers will have experienced seven straight days on temperatures above 90 degrees. The first time in nearly a decade.
BROWN: Wow. Meantime, those kids behind you look like they're having a lot of fun in those fountains.
Polo, thank you so much.
SANDOVAL: I will be joining them in a bit.
BROWN: You should. Totally. Why not?
All right, well, former vice president Al Gore isn't holding back when it comes to climate change. He is comparing climate change deniers to the police officers who failed to take action during the Uvalde school shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: You know, the climate deniers are really in some ways similar to all of those almost 400 law enforcement officers in Uvalde, Texas, who were waiting outside an unlocked door while the children were being massacred. They heard the screams, they heard the gunshots, and nobody stepped forward. And God bless those families who suffered so much.
And law enforcement officials tell us that's not typical of what law enforcement usually does. And confronted with this global emergency, what we're doing with our inaction and failing to walk through the door and stop the killing is not typical of what we are capable of as human beings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Gore went on to say that we need unity to fight climate change and to not make this a partisan issue.
Well, President Biden's symptoms continue to improve significantly four days now since his COVID diagnosis. That's according to the president's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, wrote in a letter today that Biden's main symptom is a sore throat.
CNN's Arlette Saenz is at the White House. So, Arlette, the president continues to quarantine. What else do we know about how he's feeling?
SAENZ: Well, Pamela, President Biden's physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor said that the president's condition continues to improve that he is now completing his third full day of isolation here at the White House. Dr. Kevin O'Connor released that letter earlier today where he said, quote, "His symptoms continue to improve significantly. His predominant symptom now is sore throat. This is most likely a result of lymphoid activation as his body clears the virus, and is thus encouraging."
The doctor also noted that the president's other symptoms of body aches, runny nose and cough has really started to diminish considerably. The president is still going to proceed with that Paxlovid treatment as well as using things like Tylenol and that inhaler when needed for his cough.
Now his wife Dr. Jill Biden, the first lady, continues to be up at their home in Wilmington, Delaware, and she tested negative for COVID- 19 a bit earlier today. And also Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID Response coordinator was asked if the White House would be transparent and provide more information if the president does start to experience any longer term COVID symptoms. Take a listen to what he had to say when asked that question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JHA: Absolutely. You know, we think it's really important for the American people to know how well their president is doing which is why we have been so transparent, giving updates several times a day, having people hear from me directly, hear directly from his physician. And obviously if he has persistent symptoms, obviously if any of them interfere with his ability to carry out his duties, we will disclose that early and often with the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now one big question is what the president's upcoming week will look like. He will remain in isolation until Tuesday and then not return to work until he tests negative. The last time we saw the president was when he participated in that virtual meeting with his economic team on Friday. The White House says that he's been speaking and talking to staff on phone calls over the weekend.
We're still waiting to get a more detailed schedule of what the president's work week will look like as he still remains in isolation due to this COVID-19 diagnosis. And I should note, Dr. Jill Biden, the first lady, is planning to remain up in Wilmington until at least Tuesday and we will see what further information her office has to release on that as well.
BROWN: All right. Arlette Saenz, from the White House for us on a Sunday night. Thank you so much.
And still ahead for you tonight in the CNN NEWSROOM, new election fears brought up in Arizona even before voters head to the polls. I'm going to talk to the secretary of State there, Katie Hobbs, about her efforts to protect the midterm elections, up next.
Plus, fresh off the eight public hearings the vice chair of the January 6th Committee says Donald Trump is unfit to hold further office.
And after the show stay with us for a CNN Special Report "DEEP IN THE POCKETS OF TEXAS."
[19:10:00]
Our Ed Lavandera gives us a sneak peek ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: In Maryland this week a proponent of 2020 election lies won the Republican primary for governor. In Wisconsin a top state lawmaker said Donald Trump recently called him in another effort to overrun the 2020 results. And in Arizona, a leading GOP candidate for Senate is raising doubts about the legitimacy of the upcoming midterms. 538 says so far 120 election deniers have won Republican nominations and will be on ballots in various races this fall.
Katie Hobbs is the top election official in Arizona. She is also running for governor there as a Democrat.
Hi, Secretary Hobbs. So I want to talk about what has going on in your state. You had Mike Pence and Donald Trump holding these dueling rallies for the Republican gubernatorial candidates Friday. It's a proxy fight between them. Both candidates have raised doubts about the 2020 election that the residents of Arizona are soaking up.
[19:15:03]
How concerned are you about that misinformation impacting the 2022 election and how are you combating it?
KATIE HOBBS (D), ARIZONA SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I continue to be concerned about the misinformation about elections. Certainly the doubts from 2020 are playing into 2022. In my office we are continuing to do everything we can to get out ahead of the misinformation and ensure voters that our elections in Arizona are fair and secure.
Every voter in Arizona can rest assured that that is the case and we are continuing to do our jobs and make sure that the 2022 elections are as secure as the 2020 election, but it is concerning that all of these leading candidates across the state are continuing to promote the big lie and sow these doubts and try to create chaos and disruption in the systems that we have.
BROWN: Bottom line, though, is these candidates have been effective. I mean, Donald Trump as the leader of it in pushing these election lies and people are buying into that. Given that backdrop and the heightened scrutiny on the electoral process, how can you assure voters that the Arizona election will be safe and fair given the fact that you also oversee elections as secretary of state?
HOBBS: Right. Well, first of all, I took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the constitution and laws of the state of Arizona, and I've done that and I'm continuing to do that. In 2020, people across the board on both sides of the aisle, we prevailed because people did their job, they upheld the will of the voters and they upheld the laws. And we're going to continue to do that.
We're also going to continue to provide transparency into all of the processes that are in place for conducting our elections. Folks can go to Arizona.vote to find out information about our elections and how these processes work.
BROWN: But if you win the race for governor, are you expecting your opponent to say the election was rigged, the election was stolen? How are you preparing to handle that in the event that you do win?
HOBBS: Well, we've already seen candidates sowing doubt in the upcoming election. Kari Lake specifically saying that she wouldn't accept the results if she didn't win, either the primary or the general. But voters can rest assured that we are doing our jobs, we are upholding the laws, and the elections in Arizona are fair.
BROWN: All right. Last week the Arizona Democratic Party released a statement thanking the Pence candidate Karen Taylor Robson for donations she's made to Democrats, and that attack was actually meant to boost Trump's candidate Kari Lake, you just mentioned, presumably because Democrats think she would be the easier opponent possibly for you in November. We've seen Democrats use similar tactics in other races this year. Does it concern you that this strategy could possibly backfire and your party, well, played a role in possibly electing these anti-Democratic candidates?
HOBBS: Well, one press release isn't going to make or break a campaign for anyone. But I can say with utmost confidence that I am confident in my ability to take on either one of these opponents, and I am running my own race and I am ready to hold either Lake or Robson accountable for the out-of-touch positions they've taken in this primary.
BROWN: OK. Really quickly before I let you go, I want to ask you just about the extremist violence that women, secretary of states who are female are experiencing in particular. How would you describe the current threat landscape against officials like yourself? And what are you doing to protect yourself and the workers in your office?
HOBBS: Well, it is daunting, and I am particularly concerned about the impact on election workers in Arizona. We've seen turnover. We're continuing to work to try to -- we report threats. We have good relationships with law enforcement. I myself have private security many times in public. And it's unfortunate that this is where we are but it's not going to stop me from doing my job and making sure that the will of the voters in Arizona is upheld.
BROWN: All right, Katie Hobbs, thank you for joining the show.
HOBBS: Thank you.
BROWN: Well, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife could face a subpoena from the January 6th Committee and could face questions about her role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. We're going to discuss that with our political panel, April Ryan and Alice Stewart, up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:23:46]
BROWN: Well, there are new developments in the January 6th investigation. Today Republican Liz Cheney, the vice chair for the committee, put Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on notice. Cheney telling CNN Thomas could be subpoenaed to testify for her role in trying to help overturn the 2020 election. Cheney also accused former President Trump of dereliction of duty as we've heard her say before and says the committee is not ruling out recommending criminal charges against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: I think that Donald Trump, the violation of his oath of office, the violation of the Constitution, that he engaged in is the most serious misconduct of any president in the history of our nation. We've not decided yet as a committee whether we're going to make criminal referrals but that's absolutely something we're looking at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And joining me now Alice Stewart, a CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, and April Ryan, CNN political analyst and White House correspondent and bureau chief for TheGrio.
Hello, ladies. Great to see you both. Let's jump right into it. Let's start with January 6th. Committee members we heard today saying that they could subpoena Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Thomas, if she doesn't come in voluntarily. The timeline for producing the panel's final report is ambiguous we've heard but still time is of the essence here, April.
[19:25:05]
And it was like more than a month ago that Ginni Thomas told (INAUDIBLE) I'd be happy to come in, talk to the committee. That still hasn't happened. What is the committee waiting for?
APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the committee is waiting for her to move but they will move indeed if she doesn't. Let's look at what happened with Steve Bannon, let's look at just the methodical information that has been revealed when it came to those 187 minutes. This committee is very serious. I mean, you know, Ginni Thomas said, I wanted to clear up all the misinformation. Well, it's been a month. Where are you?
From funding buses to go to -- for those to go to January 6th. And also trying to talk to White House officials to begin the process to overturn the election where Joe Biden was clearly the winner.
BROWN: Texting Mark Meadows about the election.
RYAN: Yes. Mark Meadows, yes.
BROWN: And there were e-mails with John Eastman.
RYAN: Yes.
BROWN: But the committee clearly wants to learn more, still no subpoena for her.
I want to go to you, Alice, last night I interviewed retired officer Michael Fanone, and I asked him if he thought the January 6th hearings are moving the needle for the general public. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL FANONE, FORMER DC METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICER: I don't believe it's moving the needle as people say with regards to public opinion. I think people are pretty firm in their beliefs as to the justification for January 6th, whether it was a great day in American history or an awful day in American history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Do you agree with his assessment?
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's true. People have their minds made up on this. Some have moved their thinking of this based on what they're hearing in January 6th but in some ways it's a Rorschach test. Those that have supported Donald Trump from the very beginning, supported his nonsense about the fact that there was widespread election fraud that caused him the election, and they believed his nonsense that he should gone down and stop the certification of the election.
But what has happened, what we're seeing with these January 6th hearings, there has been some moving of the needle with rational thinking Republicans. Some people at FOX will say we've moved the ball down the field. What we're seeing in conservative news outlet, we've seen "The New York Post" which is very supportive of Trump put out a very explosive opposition page on him talking about how he was willing to do whatever it took, damn the consequences, to stop the peaceful transfer of power, and even the "Wall Street Journal."
Look at that. The president who stood still on January 6th. Stood still and did nothing. And Rupert Murdoch was very supportive, longtime friend of the president. And they said, look, when you have a time of crisis you test your character. And they said that Mike Pence passed and Donald Trump failed.
Here's the thing. Many rational Republicans were willing to look past Donald Trump's shortcomings for policy, and they thought, many of us thought he would rise to the occasion, respect the office and become presidential. In hindsight looking back he hasn't done so. He did not respect the office. And he did not engage in a peaceful transfer of power. And he defied the Constitution. So the question now is, is he the one we want to continue the mantle moving forward and the question for many is no.
RYAN: Let me say this, Pam. You know, this last hearing that was Thursday night, many Republicans have looked at the evidence and the committee was very strategic in holding that hearing, that hearing in a nighttime moment so people, the world could see because when they start lining up these indictments, or referring to the Justice Department who they would like to see indicted, the American public is brought along.
And one of the most compelling interviews I had that night in that hearing room was with Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro who was also an impeachment manager for the second impeachment of Donald John Trump. He said, you know, Donald John Trump left us for dead that day. That is, along with all other evidence we saw, so impactful. STEWART: And another component of that, I saw the video, she played it
for me before this segment, it's chilling.
RYAN: Yes.
STEWART: Another thing that we heard in that hearing was from Mike Pence's security detail saying that while he was running for cover and hiding, they were calling their family members, giving basically their good-byes.
RYAN: Good-byes.
STEWART: While Donald Trump sat in the dining room doing nothing.
RYAN: They were concerned --
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: You know, we haven't spoken directly to the Secret Services.
RYAN: They were concerned for their lives.
BROWN: But yes, no, absolutely. I mean, there was a lot of compelling testimony which makes it interesting that you had the Murdoch newspapers, the "New York Post" and the "Wall Street Journal," with these headlines. But my question is, what about Murdoch's biggest megaphone FOX News? Do you see them jumping on to that train?
STEWART: I don't see. I see one or two of them saying an offhand comment here and there. But overall, this network is supportive of Donald Trump.
[19:29:56]
What is happening, though, is Republicans who are out there running for office and trying to win in the midterms and 2024, they are recognizing the fact there are other people out there that will support our policies and our ideology that do have this conservatism without the chaos and do not have the baggage and they are supporting them.
We're seeing many of them already that are doing tremendous in fundraising. Of course, Ron DeSantis is one. And what we've seen in the polling, the recent POLITICO poll that Donald Trump's numbers with the base -- the Republican bases around 53 percent and has stayed that way, but we're seeing people like DeSantis who are slowly inching up.
So this did impact his support, and the key is, how much will that continue.
RYAN: But I want to go back to FOX for a minute. It doesn't necessarily mean right now that FOX has to say yes or no, we support him. We already saw in that testimony in the January 6 Select Committee this last -- the latest one -- that Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, all of them -- and others -- were saying, "Please tell the President to stop this now." So already, even if FOX doesn't say anything, it was damning to hear
those who he is close to those who he talks to, text messages, phone calls, what have you -- they were telling the President to stop themselves.
BROWN: All right, I want to ask you about something else before I let you ladies go, and that is what has been going on the House this week.
We saw the House pass -- advance a legislation protecting the right to contraception. And of course, this move comes after Justice Clarence Thomas suggested contraception could be next, the next target for the Supreme Court, just eight House Republicans joined Democrats in supporting this measure.
In fact, more Republicans joined Democrats in passing the Respect for Marriage Act, same sex marriage than this.
STEWART: It's all in the details. You look at the polling numbers, 71 percent of Americans support same sex marriage, even a larger number of Americans support contraceptives.
But the devil is in the details. This legislation does more than just provide contraceptives. Pro-life Republicans are opposed to abortion. We are not opposed to contraceptives. But in the details of this legislation, there is a language that provides for chemical abortions, and those are dangerous, and they have had serious medical implications.
And you can roll your eyes all you want --
RYAN: I didn't roll my eyes. I didn't roll my eyes.
STEWART: There is more to this than simple contraceptives. There is a lot more language into it, and that's the pushback that the pro-life Republicans are putting in.
RYAN: Contraception, same sex marriage, and come October, the next session of the US Supreme Court, they're going to deal with admissions, they're going to deal with race-based admissions. Where does it end? Where does it end?
STEWART: I would like to think it ends with abortion because as --
BROWN: I do want to say I mean, the FDA has said that the abortion pill is safe and effective, and when you look at the rate of adverse -- potential adverse effects, it's very low statistically compared to all the women who have taken the pill.
STEWART: It's low, but it's not foolproof, and a lot of it --
RYAN: A lot of forced pregnancy.
BROWN: Okay. Thank you so much.
STEWART: Thanks.
BROWN: All right, Alice Stewart, April Ryan, appreciate it.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Sunday.
Plus, less than 30 minutes from now CNN takes you deep into the pockets of Texas. We'll look at the power billionaires that they have in the State's politics.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins me live with the preview. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: At least 17 people are dead after a boat capsized in the Bahamas. Officials believe the victims were migrants being smuggled from Haiti to the United States.
CNN's Matt Rivers has the story.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What authorities in the Bahamas are saying likely happened here was that it was around 1:00 AM early on Sunday morning when a twin-engine speedboat carrying about 60 people left the coast of one of the islands in the Bahamas called New Providence, and it was shortly thereafter that authorities say they responded to an incident involving that boat.
And when they got to the scene, roughly seven miles off the coast, they recovered the bodies of 17 Haitians, recovering those bodies finding out 15 of them were female, one of them was male, and the last body being that of an infant.
They also say they rescued some 25 people from the water and they say they're investigating this as a human trafficking incident and say the likely destination of this speedboat was Miami, Florida.
And we know that the number of Haitians seeking to make these journeys to try and get to the United States via boat, those journeys have been increasing as of late, just look at the numbers from the United States Coast Guard.
It was in late June that the Coast Guard put out a press release saying that they had intercepted more than 6,000 people from Haiti trying to get to the United States by boat since October of 2021. That number is roughly four times the amount of people from Haiti that were intercepted in a similar manner in all of the previous fiscal year. That is a clear trend there.
And while every single migrant has his or her own individual story about why they are going to the United States, what is true is that the broader trends going on in Haiti right now affect everyone.
You have huge levels of poverty, of hunger, food scarcity, you have a political vacuum that has been left since that country's President was assassinated in July of 2021, and in part that vacuum has led to incredible levels of gang violence that have just decimated huge portions of the capital city of Port-a-Prince that has created a massive number of internally displaced people, some of whom have tried to migrate to the United States.
Again, we don't know the individual stories behind the people involved in this latest incident, but what we do know is that it illustrates how dangerous journeys like these can be.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Very sad.
Well, you were in the CNN NEWSROOM on the Sunday, and later tonight, is winning more important than mental health for athletes? W. Kamau Bell joins me next with a preview of tonight's "United Shades of America."
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[19:44:23]
BROWN: In Russia, a supremely bad move at the Moscow Chess Open: A chess playing robot apparently malfunctioned and broke its young opponent's finger.
The video shows the robot grabbing the boy's finger and then squeezing. Bystanders jumped in and were able to free him and the youngster did finish the tournament in a cast. Wow.
Well, sports can showcase the pinnacle of physical human achievement, but there is a darker side and this week on an all new episode of "United Shades of America," W. Kamau Bell looks at the toll that constant pressure and expectations take on athletes and their mental health.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, people can't like tell you that you suck and everything else. It's when it goes off the court. When it is about --
W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA": Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about your family, it is about what you're doing. There are times when people will question people's intelligence, questions people's like character and not know the person.
BELL: Yes, and especially when it is a White person, White media outlet doing that to a Black person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
BELL: I always credit Dream Hampton for bringing this to me. It used to be that if you were an athlete, the outliers were the ones who paid attention to the events of the world. You think about like Muhammad Ali, or Bill Russell, they were like, "That guy is the political guy."
And now, it's to the point that like, if you're not paying attention, then it looks weird. Like you know, especially as a Black man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. There's definitely encouragement to speak up nowadays versus --
BELL: Do you feel pressure, though?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can say that there's definitely pressure and that is part of the reason why, I've got the roll with the PA and trying to not only be educated for others, but helping guys really grow and understand how they can create change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:45:54]
BROWN: Joining me now is the host of "United Shades of America," W. Kamau Bell. He is also director of the Emmy nominated series, "We Need to Talk about Cosby," and co-author of "Do the Work: An Anti-Racist Activity Book," which is available now. And somehow he found time to join the show to talk about the next episode coming up.
So let's talk about this. The issue really came to a head recently, with elite athletes like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka stepping aside to prioritize their mental health. Why is it so controversial for athletes to say they need a break?
BELL: I mean, the minute that the money went up in sports, you know, if you're a fan of your team, you sort of feel like you own the athlete, which you do not. That gets more complicated when the athletes is black and the fan base is White.
And so I think it becomes more complicated and people only want to hear about sports injuries when we're talking about physical injuries you can see. No one wants to understand in this country, whether it is sports or not that mental injuries are injuries, too.
BROWN: And you talk to a number of both fans and athletes in this episode. What did they tell you about the role that mental health plays in sports?
BELL: You know, I think we forget that these are people and the things they're doing are very hard and complicated, and there's a lot of pressure on them, especially in the social media era.
During Bill Russell's day, people couldn't necessarily tweet to Bill Russell and how they felt about him. He had to deal with the racism in real time. But now these athletes are under so much more pressure, because they are in more direct contact with the fans.
BROWN: It is so true, it can be so toxic, right, to be exposed to that day in day out, and you point out in the episode that sometimes the harshest criticism against an athlete or team comes from their biggest supporter. So what role do the fans play in all of this? Why do they sometimes act like athletes owe them a performance as you point out earlier, a win, or a championship?
BELL: I mean, I think we have taken sports too seriously in this country. And I think that, you know, in especially in days, like now, where things are so complicated, and our lives are so hard, and the pandemic, people want sports to sort of provide them with some pleasure and they're forgetting the fact that the athletes are also going through the same exact thing you are, maybe their check is bigger, but they're also dealing with a lot of stress, too.
So the more we can treat athletes as human beings, I think the better the athletes will perform.
BROWN: So what needs to change to give athletes from kids to Olympians to pros, the support they need to succeed and the physical and mental and emotional?
BELL: I mean, I think, we first of all need to remember that most people in this country who are playing sports or are doing athletics are not ever going to do it at a professional level and that they are just doing ways to improve their mental health and as a way to connect with people.
I think when you look at like all the places around the country where they're trying to stop trans kids from playing sports, we have to understand, most people are playing sports just because they want to have a good time to connect with people, and we have to stop acting like that all of that is connected to professional sports, and somehow we have to keep it pure, whatever the nonsense that people talk about.
BROWN: Or just professionalize everything, instead of just letting people just go out and have fun, right?
What was the biggest thing that you learned shooting this episode?
BELL: I think we have to understand that mental health in this country, and this is bigger than athletics, that we are under a lot of mental health challenges in this country, and whether you're an athlete or not, the more we can sort of mainstream talks about mental health, the better we will be as a society.
And the more we can sort of take athletes serious when they say they're having mental health challenges, maybe the more we can take each other seriously and we can all talk about our mental health challenges.
I'm in therapy, I am just going to say that. I am in therapy.
BROWN: Hey. Look, I've been there, too. I've been open about my anxiety issues. I've written an op-ed about it. You can find it on CNN.com. I think it's so important to be open about it.
And you know, what's interesting for me, I don't know if you felt the same way, but once I talked about it, and kind of like let people know what I was going through, I felt like so free, right? Like, I felt like it actually helped with my mental health.
And I just think that that's such a big part of this, and I don't know if you found that working on this episode, if that also played a role.
BELL: I feel the same way. I feel the same way. The more we normalize discussions about mental health, especially in my community, the Black community or other communities of color, the more people who need help can get to help.
And the more we understand that your mental health is just as important as your physical health.
BROWN: Yes. Exactly. And there is strength in asking for help, not weakness.
I could go on and on about this, very passionate about this issue, can't wait to see this episode, W. Kamau Bell, thank you so much.
BELL: Thank you.
[19:50:09]
BROWN: And his all-new episode of "United Shades of America" airs tonight at 10 only on CNN.
A startling moment off the coast of Massachusetts as a whale slammed into a boat and you can see here what it looked like when the whale breached and then landed on the bow of the boat this morning.
This happened near a beach in Plymouth and incredibly, no one was hurt and the Town Harbormaster says there was only minor damage to the 19- foot boat.
Now, harbor officials are recommending that boats remain at least a hundred yards from whales to minimize potential interactions that could be dangerous.
Well, there is a saying that everything is bigger in Texas and that may be true when it comes to the power of money in the State's politics.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins me next with a preview of his special report, "Deep in the Pockets of Texas."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:49]
BROWN: A new official platinum pricey model from Ticketmaster has some seats for a Bruce Springsteen concerts. The good ones are going for as much as $4,000.00 and $5,000.00.
[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]
BROWN: The good news for Springsteen fans, a new US and international tour launches in February, but as seen in an op-ed on New Jersey, nj.com is titled "Bruce Springsteen does not care about you" and Twitter is predictably on fire.
One fan figured out it's cheaper for him to fly to Munich to catch the show because Ticketmaster isn't selling the tickets in Germany.
CNN has reached out to Ticketmaster for comment.
And in Texas, there are no limits on how much money an individual can donate to a political campaign. In a new CNN Special Report, our Ed Lavandera follows the money and examines the grip of billionaires have on Texas politics. He joins me now from Dallas.
Hi, Ed. I know you've been working really hard on this. What can you tell us about your special airing in just a few minutes?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's no secret that Big Money drives politics all over the country. But here in Texas, a state that has been dominated by Republicans for nearly 30 years, understanding where that money comes from and what the influence and what the goals are of the people donating that money is important to understand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wealthy people spend a lot of money to get policy made the way they want it, and they get, now to sign the law.
LAVANDERA: The average voter doesn't know what's happening behind the scenes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A Texas Bill targeting LGBTQ+ children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want to keep it secret.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And a Texas law banning abortions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They really believe that they've been given a mandate by God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has set us free from the law.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They want to destroy the public school system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not contending against flesh and blood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The money is all tied back to the same people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Follow the money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not comfortable with the transgenders.
LAVANDERA: More than 90 percent of your financing came from billionaires.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think he would have any comment.
LAVANDERA: We're going to go inside and see if he'll talk to us.
Is it about control?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Ted Cruz.
LAVANDERA: The power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a Russian-style oligarchy, pure and simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: So Pam, our goal here tonight is to shed some light on this world of Texas politics that the average voter simply just doesn't know much about. So, I hope you'll stick around.
BROWN: Yes, and so tell us a little bit more. How well-known are these political donors?
LAVANDERA: Well, you know, much of the Special Report focuses on Ferris Wilks and Tim Dunn, these are two West Texas billionaires who have donated millions to lawmakers all across the state. And they have been very effective, very smart about the way they've spent their money. We'll get into a lot of that.
But you know, outside of the political world, if you work in politics here in Texas, you know full well who these men are, but the average voter doesn't and that's why we thought it was important to kind of shed light on it.
BROWN: Yes, and what do you think for our viewers, why should they stick around to watch this? What do you think will really surprise them and the takeaway will be?
LAVANDERA: Well, you know, we were really focused on hearing from people who were intricately -- intimately involved in the behind the scenes work of governing and getting people elected.
So you'll hear from Republicans who are very close to all of this, some of them were the victims of the political fights that went on here. You'll hear from lawmakers who were essentially pushed out of office, and that's what you heard from in that clip there.
So it's really fascinating to see the way these billionaires have wielded their influence across state politics.
As I mentioned, they have been very effective. You know, they figured out a long time ago that they could really get a lot of what they wanted by focusing on races that frankly many people weren't paying a lot of attention to.
So a billionaire with a ton of money can influence elections like a Statehouse race.
BROWN: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you.
The CNN Special Report, "Deep in the Pockets of Texas" is next.
Thanks for joining us this evening.
I am Pamela Brown. See you again next weekend. [20:00:25]
