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New Study: Nearly Half of Global Cancer Deaths Linked to Preventable Risk Factors; Finnish PM Takes Drug Test after Private Party Video Leaked; Apple Urges Users to Update Devices Now Due to Security Flaw; Report: Student Makes $110 Million Trading Bed, Bath & Beyond Stock; Ohio Lawsuit Targets Scam Auto Warranty Robocalls; Uber Driver Helps Evacuate Residents from Burning NY Building. Aired 1:30- 2p ET

Aired August 19, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:18]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: Welcome back. More proof that changing some habits now could help keep you from getting cancer later in life.

A new study shows nearly half of cancer deaths worldwide were linked to preventable risk factors. I'm talking things like smoking, drinking too much alcohol or having too high a body mass index.

CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, joins us now.

Jacqueline, help us connect the dots here between some of these habits and the correlation with cancer later on in life.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Alex, here's how the researchers really broke this down in their study. They looked at global cancer deaths in the year 2019. That's the year with the most recent available data.

And here's what they found. They analyzed the information to specifically look at deaths that were attributable to preventable risk factors. They found that 44.4 percent of all cancer deaths globally for that year were attributable to preventable risk factors.

So that's more than four million deaths, Alex, worldwide for the year 2019.

And the three leading risk factors that they found in this study, number one, smoking, as well as excessive alcohol use, and high BMI. So that's going back to what you said, Alex, having a high body mass index. That's being overweight or obese.

And also in this study, they found these risks attributable to cancer deaths appear to be on the rise. They found that between the year 2010 and 2019, there was a 20 percent increase in these cancer deaths.

So Alex, I think the takeaway here is we really do need to see this information as a way to take better care of ourselves. If you work out, eat right, don't smoke and limit your alcohol intake, I think those are all great ways to help reduce your risk based on this study -- Alex?

MARQUARDT: That's a remarkable number, 44 percent.

Jacqueline Howard, in Atlantic, thank you for your reporting.

Turning back overseas, Finland's prime minister says she's gone so far as to take a drug test after leaked video showed her dancing and partying with friends.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin's political opponents have seized on the private footage, saying that the 36-year-old's behavior is unbecoming as a prime minister.

CNN's Melissa Bell has been covering this story for us.

Melissa, we understand the prime minister just spoke about this scandal, a scandal for so many, but she seems to be downplaying it and calling it a private matter.

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Calling it a private matter. And I think it's worth noting, Alex, that, even before this video became public, which she regrets -- and we'll get to that in a moment - Sanna Marin had been the subject of a great deal of attention.

Simply because, when she became Finland's, the world's youngest prime minister in 2019, she was 34. And even then, stood out in family photos with other leaders. A lot was made of her looks.

Of course, this latest video that's come out takes that to a whole new level. You can see the Finnish prime minister at a private party dancing, dancing boisterously, she's recognized.

But she's also put out a statement saying that she feels quite strongly these films are private, that were filmed in a private space, that she resents the fact that they were made public.

She also points out, Alex, that she did nothing illegal. There was a lot of speculation when the video first emerged that there may have been drugged consumed at the party.

As you say, she's now spoken directly to that, pointing out that this was a weekend when she had no serious meetings and she was simply doing what any 36-year-old would do, which is enjoying time with her friends. But she's agreed to take the drug test.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:35:01]

SANNA MARIN, FINNISH PRIME MINISTER (through translation): I consider these accusations to be very serious. And though I consider the demand for a drug test unjust, for my own legal protection and to clear up any doubts, I have taken a drug test today, the results of which will come in about a week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: Sanna Marin adding that she never used drugs even in her teenage years.

The question is how much political damage this does her.

There are other incidents we can remember more recently. Boris Johnson, who, in the end, after many leaks about many parties that, remember, Alex, were illegal because they took place under lockdown, in the end, paid the political cost, but it took a long time.

And perhaps, closer to home, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, when she first entered Congress, that video that emerged of her dancing, that she managed to turn against her detractors.

It seems that the Finish prime minister is following a similar route, saying, look, I'm doing normal things of my age, I am as I am, I will continue being who I am, and I just hope that people will accept that.

For the time being, she retains the crucial support of her party. And only last week was voted by one of Germany's leading publications the "coolest prime minister in the world."

There may be a generational divide here. But there's also a question of a woman, who's been the heart of controversy, not just for the party but, in the past, for the way she's dressed. And it may be that the world is not used to seeing such young women in power -- Alex?

MARQUARDT: Yes, that's right. She's been seen in clubs, she's been seen at music festivals, so many people praising her for living as 36- year-olds should do. And on the other hand, she's a prime minister.

Melissa Bell, in Paris, thank you very much.

Now, unless you're one of those very rare people who might enjoy robocalls, I think this is a crackdown we can all get behind. How officials are trying to take down two men who may have been responsible for billions of those incredibly annoying spam calls. We'll have that story coming up.

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[13:41:44]

MARQUARDT: Apple users, update that software right now.

CNN business correspondent, Rahel Solomon, is here.

Rahel, there seems to be a real urgency to this warning.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Alex, absolutely. Because what we're learning is that, because of this vulnerability, hackers could gain full control, could gain full control of an iPhone, of different Apple devices. Apple also saying there's a chance this may have already been

exploited. So certainly adding to the seriousness of this warning.

In terms of what devices are impacted, well, you name it, iPhone, iPad. This is why, for all of these reasons, both the scope of the warning in terms of gaining control of your phone and how broad it is, federal cybersecurity experts are warning update your phone and do it as soon as possible.

MARQUARDT: I want to ask you, Rahel, about another business story. There are multiple reports that a 20-year-old college student made over $100 million by investing in Bed, Bath & Beyond, which is --

We should point out, however, he's not an ordinary 20-year-old. He had a significant amount of capital to invest in the first place.

SOLOMON: Yes, Alex, nothing about this story is ordinary. Bed, Bath & Beyond, their stock, their shares have been all over the place this year. We'll take a look at their performance this year. The stock has been up. The stock has been down.

At one point, when the stock was down in July, the third week of July, according to regulatory filings, a young investor, young, not amateur, by the name of Jake Freeman, purchased nearly five million shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond when shares were closer to $5.50 a share.

A few weeks later, he cashed out after shares had quadrupled, and his profit was reportedly about $110 million. That, according to the "Financial Times," who interviewed the young investor, who said, look, he may be young, but he does have quite a bit of experience investing.

And clearly, the means because he had $25 to put into the position to begin with.

MARQUARDT: So, $25 million from friends and family. Yes, that's not a --

SOLOMON: That will do it.

MARQUARDT: -- not your run-of-the-mill investor.

SOLOMON: Yes.

MARQUARDT: Rahel Solomon, thank you so much.

There's a new lawsuit in Ohio targeting two men who authorities say are behind billions of scammed robocalls involving car warranties. The suit is part of a year's-long effort by the public and private sectors to crack down on the robocalls and get rid of them once and for all.

This report from CNN correspondent, Gabe Cohen.

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ROBOCALLER (voice-over): Hi, there. This is Jessica, calling in regard to your Volkswagen warranty. GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Odds are you received a

bogus auto warranty call similar to this.

ROBOCALLER (voice-over): The warranty is up for renewal.

COHEN: Now authorities are cracking down on a scheme an FCC official calls the most sophisticated illegal robocall operation they've ever seen. More than eight billion spam calls to Americans.

And a new lawsuit claims two California man are behind nearly all of it.

Aaron Michael Jones and Roy Cox Jr are accused of violating telemarketing laws by tricking Americans into buying vehicle service contracts and making millions of dollars off the scam.

CNN tried to track them down, dozens of calls, texts, and e-mails, but no response.

Both Cox and Jones have been sued by the Federal Trade Commission in the past and ordered never to telemarket again. And yet, like many robocall scammers, they are accused of just retooling their operation.

[13:45:04]

DAVE YOST, OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are coming in to try to take them down.

COHEN: So now, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing Cox, Jones, and their associates, potentially for millions of dollars.

YOST: It's enough to take back everything they've made. If a slap on the wrist doesn't work, punch them in the face and knock them down.

COHEN (on camera): Did you consider criminal charges here?

YOST: Criminal charges are not off the table.

COHEN (voice-over): Yost is part of a new anti-robocall task force, attorney's general for nearly every state working with federal officials to ramp up illegal robocalls enforcement.

In 2021, Americans received an estimated 21 billion scam robocalls, costing them nearly $40 billion dollars in a 12-month period.

MARGOT SAUNDERS, SENIOR COUNSEL, U.S. CONSUMER LAW CENTER: It's usually very hard to find the callers. All of these unwanted robocalls are undermining the value of our telephone systems.

COHEN: Most of the calls come from overseas and tracing them is a fairly new technology. So up to now, authorities have struggled to stop them. And the callers that do get caught often go right back to scamming, according to an FCC official.

So, authorities are turning attention to the gateway providers, the telecom companies that let those robocalls on to the U.S. phone network.

JESSICA ROSENWORCEL, CHAIRWOMAN, FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION: Specifically, those that we believe maybe turning a blind eye to these kinds of calling scams.

COHEN: When a call comes from overseas, typically several small carriers get paid to pass it along before it reaches your cell.

Investigators are using a technique called "trace backs" to identify the original source of these illegal calls. Then the agencies like the FCC can then order the rest of the industry to stop doing business with those carriers.

JAMES EVANS, ATTORNEY, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: If there are not this tier of providers who are willing to take this bad traffic, then the robocallers will find themselves with nowhere to place their calls.

COHEN (on camera): That's the case with the auto warranty scam. In July, the FCC ordered all telecom companies to block all robocalls from Cox, Jones and eight voice service providers they say are linked to the scheme.

Since then, those calls have nearly vanished, according to a robocall analysis company.

Do you think you can really stop these scammers?

YOST: I think we can significantly decrease them.

COHEN: How long will that take?

YOST: Years, not months. It's an arms race between the enforcers and the criminals. But we're getting smarter, and we are on to their ways.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: It's an arms race.

Our thanks to Gabe Cohen for that report.

Coming up, talk about a heroic detour. An Uber driver was taking a passenger a passenger to an airport in New York City until he saw a building on fire. We'll have his story next.

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[13:52:15]

MARQUARDT: An Uber driver turns into a superhero. Fritz Sam was taking a passenger to the airport when he saw a four-story building on fire. He couldn't just drive by, so he ran in.

Fritz Sam joins us live from Brooklyn, New York.

Fritz, this is such an incredible story. First of all, you asked your passenger if she would mind if you pulled

over to run out and help rescue people. I think a lot of people might have just called 911 and waited for firefighters to show up.

Why did you feel compelled to run inside this building that was on fire?

FRITZ SAM, UBER DRIVER WHO RESCUED PEOPLE FROM BURNING BUILDING: First of all, thank you, Alex, for having me. I really appreciate it.

I'll tell you, I had no intentions of running inside. As a matter of fact, I made a promise to my wife that I wouldn't do such things anymore.

I'm impulsive in helping people in the sense that I want to just -- you know, if there's an opportunity to do something, you want to do it. That was not my intention.

MARQUARDT: So you got inside. What did it look like? Was it full of smoke?

SAM: Well, like you said, I did ask the woman who was going to the airport -- I knew ahead of time she had time, so it was a casual ride to the airport. So once we saw what was happening, I asked, can we pull over.

All I wanted to do is find out if anyone called 911 or if there was anybody inside, just doing little things to actually help out.

At some point, we were shouting, come on out, there's a fire, because I wasn't sure if everybody was aware that the second floor was on fire. So at some point, someone said, oh, there's someone inside, because some people did come out.

And at that moment, I can't say it was a word, it was more like a feeling that I had to do something. So the decision was made.

I handed the stranger my phone and I'm running up the staircase and I see somebody downstairs, coming downstairs. I'm shouting everybody get out, there's a fire.

I grabbed the individual and he was resisting, and he wanted to go downstairs. I was like, you know what, let me not worry about him right now, he has time to grab something.

I went upstairs and saw another young lady upstairs and she was standing by the door of the apartment that was on fire. I couldn't see any flames, but I saw the smoke coming out.

She didn't want to come out. She said it's not a big deal. It's just my A.C. was on fire. We were negotiating and I said, I'm not leaving until you're leaving.

At some point, thank god, she decided to come down. So I held her hand, talking to her the whole way down, telling her don't worry about it, don't worry about the A.C. As long as we're OK, that's what's important.

We were outside. Went back to the gentleman to make sure he was still down there. And I kept calling, come on up. And at some point, he came up.

[13:55:04]

He was kind of wobbly. I held his arm and walked to the door and that's when the police came in and grabbed him. And the firefighters came in at the same time with the water hose.

I got out of the way and let the professionals do their thing. I was afraid, I'm not going to lie. I was afraid. Things go through your mind when you're in there, like explosions.

MARQUARDT: Fritz

(CROSSTALK)

MARQUARDT: Fritz, we only have 20 seconds left. The CEO of Uber has called you a hero. What does it feel like to be called a hero?

SAM: You know, it's weird, because all I thought was I'm doing the right thing and that's all that matters. The hero thing, it feels good. Every kid wants to be a hero, but I just did the right thing.

MARQUARDT: You did more than the right thing and you got your passenger to the airport and she caught her flight. So well done, sir. Five stars --

SAM: Yes, and she's an amazing woman.

MARQUARDT: And we've been looking at pictures and video of hers.

Fritz Sam, five stars, sir, five stars. Thank you so much for coming on today. I really appreciate it.

SAM: Appreciate you, Alex. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

MARQUARDT: All right. And that will do it for me. I'm Alex Marquardt. Thank you for spending your day with me, hopefully, even your week.

Don't go anywhere. The news continues right after this break. Take care.

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