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CDC Says, Nearly One in Four Young Adults Sought Mental Health Treatment During Pandemic; Officials Say, Ukrainian Forces Making Gains in the South, Aim to Retake Kherson by Year's End; Bidens to Welcome Obamas Back to White House for Portrait Unveiling. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired September 07, 2022 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:30:00]
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the first day of school canceled for thousands of students today in Seattle. Just a few minutes ago, more than 6,000 members of the Washington Teachers Union officially went on strike. Seattle public school teachers want more support for students in special education and multilingual classes. They're also seeking a more competitive salary structure.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: One official says the free lunches will be available for students and after-school sports are still expected to happen. The union president says 95 percent of the members who voted opted to go on strike.
A new report shows the pandemic had significant effects on the mental health of young people. A CDC survey shows that nearly one in four young adults are now receiving mental health treatment in the wake of the pandemic. The biggest increases among white and Asian people and women more likely than men to receive treatment.
[10:35:08]
HARLOW: CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Tara Narula joins us with more. Welcome to CNN. This is your first day on air. We have often watched you and we're so glad you're part of the family. You're welcome.
DR. TARA NARULA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. I'm so glad to be here.
HARLOW: Talk to us about what the study shows. Because this was such a question for all of us, still is, what will the mental health impact be.
NARULA: Yes. And I think we've just seen the tip of the iceberg of issues to come. But this was a CDC study that looked at the percentage of American adults who received mental health treatment, and that was defined by prescription medication or counseling or therapy from 2019 to 2021, so those real pandemic years. And they found that for all American adults over 18, the numbers increased. But the biggest increase, as you mentioned, was in those 18 to 44 years old. There was a 5 percent increase in the numbers who sought mental health treatment.
They also looked at differences across the country and found there was no real differences based on metropolitan or rural areas. There were differences based on race, so non-Hispanic whites most likely to receive mental health treatment, and that gender difference you mentioned, women, on average, almost 10 percentage points each year higher than men more likely to receive mental health treatment.
SCIUTTO: Listen, first of all, thank you and welcome, Dr. Narula. It's great to have you on the team.
NARULA: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Listen, it stands to reason, right? I mean, we saw the separation, kids out of school, missing so many important events, proms, after-school sports, graduations, et cetera. What were your other takeaways from the findings from this report?
NARULA: Yes. I mean, it's been a challenge for all of us in so many different ways. It's challenged us in terms of our health issues, in terms of our financial issues and social issues, as you mentioned in particular having an effect on young children, for sure. And I think that, as I said, we are just beginning to see the ripple effects of probably mental issues for years to come.
And so that one in four that sought treatment, that's great. I'm glad the numbers are increasing, but that's really way less than it probably should be. And so I think, if anything, this has brought this into the light so that we are talking about mental health more. I think we need to recognize that mental health is just as important as physical health, that mental health has an impact on physical health, and, you know, we need to do better about lowering costs and increasing the accessibility to people.
SCIUTTO: If you need help, reach out, right?
NARULA: Yes, and no stigma, no shame around talking about it.
HARLOW: Yes, great point. And I was going to say how providers are compensated for it, especially by insurance companies, et cetera, right, so that people go for the treatment. Doctor, thanks again and welcome.
NARULA: Thank you.
HARLOW: Well, Ukraine is pushing into Russian-controlled territory in the south gaining ground in Kherson. We have new reporting on the timeline from the U.S. and Ukrainian officials on what it will take to regain that region.
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[10:40:00] SCIUTTO: New reporting this hour, U.S. and Ukrainian officials tell myself and my colleague, Tim Lister, that Ukraine is pushing into Russian-occupied territories in Kherson, the goal, to take the city of Kherson by the end of the year. This as Ukraine's latest counteroffensive moves forward in the south.
Geolocation data shows Ukrainians have launched their most ambitious ground assault since the beginning of the invasion just over the last week or so since. A senior U.S. official says the Ukrainians have achieved some success, in particular, in attacking Russian supply lines aiming to cut off and isolate Russian forces, thousands of them, west of the Dnipro River, that is close to Kherson.
Ukrainian officials also want to take the city of Nova Kakhovka, which is the site of an important hydroelectric plant and a canal that supplies Crimea, also occupied by Russia with much of its water. American sources say the Ukrainian goal is ambitious but does remain possible given these early gains.
Ukrainians officials are now considering shutting down a nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, due to the deteriorating security conditions around it, this, of course, the plant in Zaporizhzhia there. Experts say a Chernobyl-style disaster unlikely due to modern security systems. However, a top U.N. inspector says the threat remains catastrophic.
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RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: The mere fact that there is a continuity of attacks and shelling, deliberate or not, wittingly or unwittingly, people are hitting a nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. So, I must say that the danger continues.
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SCIUTTO: Joining me now is Sasha Dovzhyk. She is the Ukrainian writer, East European studies expert who serves as special projects curator at the Ukrainian Institute in London, also happens to have grown up in the town of Zaporizhzhia. It's good to have you on, Sasha.
You wrote a piece for CNN titled, don't wake the nuclear giant on our doorstep. The IAEA has now visited the plan there, and there are pictures of you growing in and around Zaporizhzhia, so this is a problem that hits home to you. Do you believe the IAEA, the U.N. have a plan to keep the plant safe now?
SASHA DOVZHYK, SPECIAL PROJECTS CURATOR, UKRAINIAN INSTITUTE LONDON: Thank you for having me. Obviously, the cause is quite grim. The I.A., obviously, have come up with some conclusions. They say that it is necessary to de-occupy and demilitarize the area around the plant.
[10:45:05]
However, it is not quite clear how they will go about implementing this plan. It is quite obvious that, for the first time in history, a war has been brought to a site of a civilian Ukraine infrastructure. This has not yet happened before. So, the situation is unprecedented and it is not clear how the international organizations will respond.
SCIUTTO: The IAEA report does not determine, at least it doesn't say which side is responsible, most responsible for the shelling, for the threats to the plant. CNN has captured images of Russian military vehicles inside the grounds of the plant. Do we know who bears chief responsibility here? I mean, is it correct to say, as the report seems to, that both sides are endangering the plant?
DOVZHYK: I think the goal that the International Atomic Energy Association is preceding here is to be mediator, and in order to mediate, they want to preserve some good relationships with the side that has actually occupied the station and that has actually conducted the shellings of the station, with the Russian side.
It is quite clear that the Russian military vehicles are currently occupying the basements of the plant. It is quite clear from the testimonies of witnesses, of the staff personnel, that is the Russian side who are subjecting them to severe pressure, threats of death and torture. Actually, what the report doesn't mention is that the Russian side is conducting war crimes at the Zaporizhzhia power plant.
Several members of the staff of the plant have been killed already at short or close distance or tortured to death. And as far as I understand, the safety and operating conditions of the staff is one of those seven pillars for ensuring security over the plant, according to the agency. And as we can see, that pillar is compromised by the Russians, as have been all other pillars. It is quite unclear why this is not mentioned in the report and why our attention is not brought to this issue.
SCIUTTO: And, of course, there is the bear fact that it is Russia that occupied the country, invaded the country and continues to occupy large parts of it.
You grew up there. This is your hometown. Do you believe this is a deliberate effort by Russia to destabilize Ukraine by endangering the nuclear power plant?
DOVZHYK: Exactly. Thank you for being so clear on the terms. It is indeed Russia that invaded the country and Ukraine has pushed back and this was not expected. Russia is losing on the battlefield because Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well Ukrainian civil society and Ukrainian people have been incredibly defiant and this has left Russia with very few leverages. Nuclear terrorism seems to be one of the leverages left for them.
And this is the weapon that they are using against all of us because, you know, radioactive plumes are quite notorious for disregarding country borders. If an accident happens at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, it is not only Ukraine that will be affected by it but the entire continent and probably the world at large.
So, the world has been very, you know, undecisive on how to counter Russia this time around fearing a nuclear strike, but it is a different kind of nuclear threat that we all should have been paying attention to because civilian nuclear objects are just as dangerous.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen, an accident there in the midst of war would be quite a dirty bomb, as it's known.
Well, Sasha Dovzhyk, we know this is your hometown we are talking about here. So, we hope that it remains safe and we appreciate you joining us this morning.
DOVZHYK: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: And we will be right back.
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[10:50:00]
SCIUTTO: President Biden and the first lady will welcome the Obamas back to the White House today as they host the official unveiling of their White House portraits.
HARLOW: Our CNN White House Correspondent Kate Bennett joins us with more. Kate, this event marks the first time Michelle Obama has returned to the White House, is that right, since leaving?
KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is correct. Since 2017, she has not been back to the White House. Barack Obama has been back. He was here this spring but Michelle Obama hasn't. We're also going to hear from First Lady Jill Biden and Michelle Obama today too besides the presidents.
But today is a big deal. 99 percent of the time, this sort of light- hearted tradition at the White House occurs. It didn't occur during the Donald Trump administration. He did not choose to invite, nor did President Obama, go back to the White House for the unveiling of these portraits. So, he sort of skipped this moment with the Trumps.
But the Bidens will there today to unveil these portraits. No one yet knows what they look like, what they were, who they were painted by. And I just want to make clear, these portraits today being unveiled are different from the ones that we saw unveiled for the National Portrait Gallery, those sort of spectacular, colorful images of Michelle and Barack Obama.
[10:55:03]
They're separate portraits. Those are for the Smithsonian. These will preside in the White House as part of the official collection.
I think we remember also during the Trump administration, there was some kerfuffle because Trump had the portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush moved from the grand foyer of the White House into the old family dining room, where there is not a lot of foot traffic. President Biden moved in and remedied that, put them back at the grand foyer.
But these portraits hang on an iconic way in the White House of presidents and first ladies. So, today is a pretty big deal in terms of bringing these traditions back and moving forward that way.
HARLOW: Yes, no question about it. Kate Bennett, thanks so much.
BENNET: Thank you.
HARLOW: Thanks to all of you for joining us. We will see you back here tomorrow morning. I'm Poppy Harlow.
SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto.
At This Hour with Kate Bolduan starts right after a short break.
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