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High Temperatures From Severe Heat Wave Affecting Parts Of U.S. South And Southwest; Death Valley Park Ranger Gives Advice On Visiting Park During Record High Temperatures; Extreme Heat Also Affecting Parts Of Europe Including Spain, France, And Italy; Suspect Arrested For Murders In Gilgo Beach, Long Island, Beginning In 2010; Pennsylvania And New Mexico Secretaries Of State Interviewed As Part Of Special Counsel Investigation Into 2020 Election Interference; House Republicans Pass Defense Spending Bill With Numerous Rightwing Amendments Unlikely To Pass Senate; Actors Join Screenwriters In Strike; World Health Organization Classifies Artificial Sweetener Aspartame As Carcinogen But States Quantities Typically Consumed Not Dangerous. Aired 10-11a ET.
Aired July 15, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:00:27]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you. It's July 15th. I'm Victor Blackwell.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rahel Solomon in this morning for Amara Walker. And you are in the CNN Newsroom.
BLACKWELL: A dangerous heat wave that has already lasted weeks is getting worse this weekend -- 85 million Americans are under heat alerts after a heat dome expanded into California. We've got live pictures here now from earth cam. These are from Dallas, one of the major cities hoping to keep everyone safe through this heat. The temperatures there are expected to rise to 102 degrees. The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings across Arizona, too. Dallas -- the temperatures, rather, in Phoenix, have reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit every single day this month. That's forced a lot of businesses and parks to close or adjust their hours.
SOLOMON: Yes, national park websites across the west and the southwest warning hikers about the dangerous heat. And these are live pictures from earth cam over the Grand Canyon where the highs could reach 116 degrees. And the Sacramento Zoo in California, the zoo is still open to visitors but it's going to close early today and tomorrow due to triple digit temperatures there.
BLACKWELL: And it is not just here in the U.S. Cities across Europe are also getting hit with severe heat during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year. CNN's Rafael Romo is live in Las Vegas. Las Vegas also, Rafael, flirting with some record highs.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Yes, that's correct. Victor and Rahel, good morning. And that's one of the reasons why we're here. People here in Las Vegas are going to have to wait for a few more days for a respite. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for the city expected to last until Tuesday evening. And it's just past 7:00 a.m. here in Las Vegas, and the temperature is already getting close to 90.
And that's not all. Meteorologists are taking a close look at the climbing temperatures, because there's a possibility, and it's a very good one, that the city's official all-time record of 117 degrees could be tied or at least approached sometime this weekend or Monday. A good portion of the country is experiencing extreme heat. About 85 million people are under heat alerts from the National Weather Service in at least 15 states from Florida to California. And you mentioned Phoenix topping 110 degrees for more than two weeks now. And a city official has a warning for people who live not only in the state of Arizona, but also others going through this heat wave. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPTAIN ROB MCDADE, PHOENIX FIRE: This is a very dangerous heat wave. I think sometimes we're insulated in our homes, the air conditioning is on, we're in our air-conditioned car, we go out, we travel across the parking lot for one minute and then we're inside the restaurant, but it is dangerous. And it is fatal. It's fatal and it is something that you just can't brush aside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Of course, Victor and Rahel, this is one of many cities experiencing very high temperatures. Miami has seen a record 33 straight days where the heat index has climbed above 100 degrees. But the last 12, topping 105 degrees, which is double the previous record of six. Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, saw its heat index climbed to 126 degrees on Thursday, the highest in 30 years.
The city of Las Vegas is reminding residents about something we don't really often think about, and that's many people have refrigerates or freezers in the garage or a storage room that is not cooled or insulated during a heat wave. Compressors get extremely hot and can cause a fire, officials say. Also city officials here are reminding residents, and this applies to people in other states, too, that you should never leave pets or people in hot cars, even for just a few minutes, because the temperature inside can increase to dangerous levels very quickly. Victor and Rahel, back to you.
SOLOMON: That's a good reminder. Rafael Romo live for us there in Las Vegas. Thank you, Rafael.
And officials from some of America's national parks are warning visitors about the extreme heat. The website, for example, for Death Valley National Park even warns people to, quote, travel prepared to survive.
Joining me is Nichole Andler. She's a park ranger at Death Valley National Park. Nichole, welcome to the program. Good to have you. So look, for people who have made their travel arrangements, they're planning to come, how do they visit the park safely?
NICHOLE ANDLER, DEATH VALLEY PARK RANGER: Well, the first thing that we recommend is staying on paved roads. Death valley can be -- you can experience the highlights going through the main roads of the park, and so we recommend staying on the main roads.
[10:05:03]
Coming prepared with a lot of water, we recommend four liters per person per day. And have those salty snacks. It's a good excuse to have your chips and enjoy them, so that you keep hydrated as well as keep your body in balance.
SOLOMON: What about before you even get to the park? I mean should you perhaps let someone know where you are and what your plans are?
ANDLER: Yes, at this time of the year, especially when it is this hot, it is great to have someone back at home who is not on the journey with you who knows where you're going, when you should be at certain places, and when you should be checking in with them, so that if you don't check in, they know to let someone know that you haven't checked in and where you should have been going.
SOLOMON: Nichole, we know that the precautions vary park to park, but what's Death Valley doing in terms of precautions to try to keep visitors safe?
ANDLER: Well, obviously, that's a warning on our website trying to get people's attention before they even get here. Our visitor center is open year-round, so that's a place where folks can come in and they can cool down if it is starting to get hot. And we also invite everyone to come see our rangers in the visitors center, let us talk to you, come talk us to about what your plans are, so that we can help you prepare, make sure that you know how to protect yourself from the sun, that you have enough water, and that you can visit Death Valley safely and enjoy all the scenic beauty.
SOLOMON: Talk to me about, I read that Death Valley emphasizes self- reliance, survival skills, rather than expecting to be rescued. Talk to me a little bit about that.
ANDLER: Yes, so we do have staff here, our park rangers are 100 percent willing to help and assist anyone in need. But we have 3.4 million acres of park, and during these summer months, our visitations go up again to about 90,000 people a month. And so we are not making contact with every single person. So that's why we want you to have that backup plan so that someone can let us know, so that if we have to deploy a search and rescue effort, we can.
But then also some of our other work, like our outdoor work, is done very early in the morning. If it gets to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, all outdoor work stops unless there is an emergency. And then we follow OSHA guidelines. And for every hour, you spend 10 minutes working and 50 minutes cooling and rehydrating.
SOLOMON: Have you seen any dip in attendance? I know you said 90,000 on a busy month, June, July, et cetera. Have you seen any dip in attendance because of the duration of this heat?
ANDLER: No, a lot of our visitors during this time of year are folks coming from either further away in the U.S. or from Europe, and so they've made their plans and they're still coming and arriving here in the states to do their visit.
SOLOMON: And Nichole, we just had in our last reporter a map of what temperatures are expected to be, and I saw Death Valley is supposed to be 126, 127 today and tomorrow. What does that feel like?
ANDLER: Yes, so the intense cold that many more people have probably experienced in the past, it's kind of the same. It can be a little painful. And I personally sometimes, when I feel that sun, I think about it, and it feels like it is going straight through my skin and deep inside to my bones.
SOLOMON: We will have to leave it on that, we will have to leave it on that, it feels like through my skin and through my bones. Nicole Andler, thank you so much for being on the program today.
ANDLER: Rahel, was she in Furnace, California? Was that the date line of where she was?
SOLOMON: You know, I didn't see that, but if so, that is --
BLACKWELL: I mean, aptly named. If it's Furnace -- my contacts aren't the best. But let's take it to Brandon Miller, meteorologist now. Maybe you can answer that.
BRANDON MILLER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I do know.
BLACKWELL: Yes, where was she?
MILLER: She was in Furnace Creek --
BLACKWELL: Furnace Creek.
MILLER: -- is the name of the place where they have it. And it's very cool.
SOLOMON: Aptly named.
MILLER: There's a big, huge thermometer out there. Yes. There is not a lot there, but there is a big, huge thermometer. And everyone will be flocking there this weekend, because as you can see, 129 is the forecast high, could get to 130, and even 131, and that would be sort of a modern record. The hottest the world has ever been according to all the official records is 134 degrees back in 1913.
[10:10:02]
Now, that is a hotly debated number, pun intended, because, let's face it, that was well over 100 years ago, the instrumentation wasn't the best, and it doesn't necessarily match some of the other figures around. So some leading experts say it's maybe bogus. But at least the modern record of 130, set back in 2020, and 2021, we could absolutely get there this weekend.
So yes, there's going to be a lot of people going out there to see it. It's like being at LeBron James' game, when he breaks a big scoring record. You would like to say you were there on that day. Some people would. Not me. I'll take the air conditioning.
But it's not going to be the only place seeing records. Over 100 records across a lot of the country, don't forget Florida down here. They're on quite the streak of record temperatures in south Florida. But this weekend, the focus is really on the southwest, from Texas to Arizona, and up into California. Why? Because of this heat dome. This heat dome has been in place for weeks. It seems like we have been talking about it forever, because it has been here since June, and it is sort of meandering back and forth. Now it is over Arizona, and that hot air just sinks down, and it is able to build that record heat.
So again, this is the high temperatures you see. And again, look compared to normal. These are 10, 15 degrees above normal. These are some of the hottest places on earth at the hottest times of the year, and they are still 10 to 15 degrees above normal. That is why this is dangerous. And as you mentioned, the longevity of this heat wave is really what is setting it apart from ones previous to it. It has been ongoing, and unfortunately, guys, it's showing no signs of abatement.
Above average temperatures, this is the map, it looks a lot like the one for this week, this is for next week, starting about middle of the week to the weekend. We're talking about the same hot temperatures in these same locations. Victor?
BLACKWELL: All right, we're going to stick with it. Brandon Miller, thank you.
So these blistering temperatures also breaking records in Europe. They're baking some areas. In Italy, health officials have issued an extreme health risk warning for 16 cities including Rome and Florence. Temperatures there could reach record levels topping 120 degrees.
SOLOMON: Our team is spread out across southern Europe to see how residents and tourists are staying safe. Let's begin with Melissa Bell. She is in Paris. Melissa, it's a busy week for Paris with Bastille Day celebrations. What you are seeing out there, Melissa?
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Melissa Bell in Paris, where the heat is sweltering, as it is over so many parts of Europe. These next few days predicted to get even hotter still with record temperatures never seen before on the European continent that are likely to be recorded. It isn't just one heat wave that has brought these temperatures, but a second one that is now taking over. And already we're seeing in some parts of Europe, from Croatia to Greece, those forest fires beginning that we saw cause such devastation last summer when more than 61,000 people across the continent are believed to have died as a result of the extreme heat.
What authorities are predicting this time is not just that we globally the hottest June on record, but that here in Europe, the next few days could bring temperatures that we've simply have never seen before.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- are not just the usual frying pan areas in the south, around the cities of Seville, Cordoba, and Grenada, where temperatures have reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees Celsius. Spain's national weather agency says it is also sizzling on Spain's resort island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea where temperatures have reached 97 Fahrenheit, 36 Celsius. And even in parts of the normally mild region of Navarre in the north, it has been 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Two Spanish farmers in their 40s died recently in separate incidents while working their fields in southern Spain. That's according to Spanish media. Spanish officials have urged farmers to take precautions if they have to work during the hottest part of the day.
Spain had more than 11,000 heat-related deaths last summer, 18 percent of all the heat-related deaths in Europe, according to a study just published in the journal "Nature and Medicine." Only Italy had more. Here in Madrid, it's very hot. But at least overnight, it cools down to 68 Fahrenheit, or 20 degrees Celsius. But in some of the hottest parts of Spain, the lows overnight have been 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It's a rough way to start your day.
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I'm Barbie Latza Nadeau in Rome, where temperatures are expected to continue to soar throughout this weekend and into next week. We've seen just an onslaught of tourists trying to take cover, trying to stay out of the sun. The authorities here are telling visitors who flocked to the city during the summer to try to spend those hot hours, those midday hours inside museums.
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But we've seen people lined up outside the Coliseum, throwing their coins into the Trevi Fountain under the midday sun, and the temperatures are only going to get worse.
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BLACKWELL: Barbie, Al, and Melissa, thank you.
Police in New York state believe they have cracked a decade-old serial killings cold case. They have arrested a 59-year-old architect for some of the Gilgo Beach murders. Beginning in 2010, authorities discovered ten sets of human remains, most of them adult women, all found along a strip of Long Island's waterfront over several months.
SOLOMON: It started with the "Gilgo Four," four women found in the bushes along a quarter mile stretch. Each were found bound with camouflage burlap over a two-day period. And these killings really baffled authorities for years. But as CNN's Miguel Marquez explains, the case was broken open thanks to burner phones, pizza crusts, and DNA testing.
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RAY TIERNEY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY: I've standing here with my law enforcement partners and the Gilgo task force to announce the indictment of the defendant Rex Andrew Heuermann.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sex workers tied up, their bodies wrapped in camouflage burlap, dumped near Gilgo Beach on New York's Long Island.
TIERNEY: When I took office in 2022, I made Gilgo a priority.
MARQUEZ: The Gilgo Beach murders traumatized and captivated Long Island just east of New York City for more than a decade. Now the suspect as unthinkable as the murders themselves.
RICHARD HARMON, RESIDENT: This is a shock. Like I said, 29 years here. I've seen some things, but this is wicked.
MARQUEZ: Rex Heuermann, 59, charged with three murders today. The investigation continuing, he faces a possible fourth murder charge. Investigators say they identified Heuermann using DNA from the bodies of the victims and from witness descriptions of him and the car he drove. Investigators obtained hundreds of search warrants and subpoenas linking Heuermann to temporary burner phones and fake email accounts. Investigators allege he used them to communicate with his victims, taunt the family of one of them, and search for information related to the investigation into the long unsolved murders.
MAJOR STEPHEN UDICE, NEW YORK STATE POLICE TROOP COMMANDER: We recognized that these crimes may have happened years ago, but that pain continues.
MARQUEZ: Investigators' biggest break came when they were surveilling Heuermann at his midtown Manhattan office. He was eating pizza and discarded it in a public trash can. DNA from the pizza crust, say investigators, linked Heuermann to the murders.
Heuermann has been charged with the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Amber Lynn Costello, and Megan Waterman, all sex workers, all in their 20s. The investigation is continuing, and he has also been named in the suspect of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. In all, there were 11 bodies found in and around Gilgo Beach, only three and possibly a fourth now linked to one alleged killer so far. Investigators say they made the arrest now because they feared Heuermann could strike again.
TIERNEY: One of the reasons why we had to take this case down was we learned that the defendant was using these alternate identities and these alternate instruments to continue to patronize sex workers.
MARQUEZ: Rex Heuermann has pled not guilty and insists through his lawyer that he's innocent. He is an unlikely suspect. A husband, father of two, an architect working in Manhattan, dealing with arcane building codes. In February, 2022, he was even interviewed about his job for a YouTube show.
REX HEUERMANN: Rex Heuermann, I'm an architect, I'm an architectural consultant, I'm a troubleshooter, born and raised on Long Island.
MARQUEZ: As for the several other victims found near Gilgo Beach, many of their family members hope this will lead to answers about their loved ones, Were they victims as well.
JASMINE ROBINSON, FAMILY REPRESENTATIVE FOR VICTIM JESSICA TAYLOR: I'm hopeful for the future, and I'm hopeful that a connection is made.
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BLACKWELL: Miguel Marquez, thank you for that report.
Still to come, the House passed a sweeping defense bill that now heads to the Senate. But what will the Senate do with all of those conservative add-ons related to abortion policy and transgender health care access? We'll take a look.
And there are new concerns this morning over a popular sweetener found in thousands of products people use all the time. What you need to know after the break.
SOLOMON: And later, do you have your Powerball ticket, because $875 million bucks is just waiting for one lucky winner tonight. We have more on that coming up ahead.
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BLACKWELL: Breaking news now coming in from Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been admitted to a hospital for a medical evaluation in Tel Aviv. According to his office, he is in good condition, undergoing a full medical review. Those are the only details they are giving at this moment. He is 73 years old, and as soon as we get more information, we will update you on the latest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a hospital, admitted for medical evaluation.
CNN has exclusive new reporting on the special counsel investigation into the 2020 election interference. Sources say that the Pennsylvania and New Mexico secretaries of state were interviewed as part of that investigation.
SOLOMON: Let's go to our CNN politics reporter Jeremy Herb. He joins us live from Washington. Jeremy, good morning. So what more are you learning about these meetings?
JEREMY HERB, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning. What these new interviews, what they tell us is, is they give us a better understanding of the kind of questions that special counsel's team is asking to these state election officials. Sources tell CNN that Al Schmidt, the Pennsylvania secretary of state, he was interviewed in March by the special counsel's team. During the 2020 elections, Schmidt was a Philadelphia city commissioner and was one of the people who was attacked by Donald Trump's allies over allegations of election fraud.
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And what the special counsel's prosecutors asked Schmidt, according to our sources, is how these attacks impacted him and how the misinformation about election fraud, how that affected him and other election workers in the state.
And the other interview we learned about is New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver. She was also interviewed in recent months, New Mexico was one of the states where Trump's team made these allegations of voter fraud and put forward a slate of fake electors. Now these are just two of several states where we are learning about these interviews of election officials, Rahel and Victor.
BLACKWELL: Jeremy, does this tell us anything about when potentially this investigation could wrap up?
HERB: Yes, it's a great question. And the short answer is it gives us more clues into what the special counsel is looking for. What really it underscores is just how sprawling this January 6th investigation is, especially in comparison to the documents case, where we have seen charges. We have the state officials and the fake electors. We have the effort inside the Justice Department to try to get involved with overturning the election. And we have the effort to pressure Mike Pence and then the violence that happened on January 6th.
And so what that means is there really is this wide net that the special counsel has cast. And this is certainly a sign that they're looking into all of these states and they're really looking forward. So we're trying, we're looking for any clues we can get that this is in fact going to be nearing the end of the investigation, Victor and Rahel.
SOLOMON: Jeremy, thank you.
Meantime, the House of Representatives passes a sweeping defense bill after a heated debate over some controversial amendments. Hard line conservatives pushed for the amendments on hot button issues including abortion.
BLACKWELL: Infuriated Democrats call the amendment radical and extreme. CNN Capitol Hill reporter Annie Grayer joins us now live from Washington. So this is typically something, the NDAA, that's voted and passed on without much fanfare. How did it become so partisan this time around?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Victor and Rahel, it was a bumpy road in the House this week. We saw Republicans insist on a defense package that is normally overwhelmingly bipartisan, have a number of extreme amendments that got added, turning this into a culture war partisan exercise. Some of the amendments that Republicans insisted get added to this bill included reversing longstanding abortion access policy, eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in personnel, and restricting health care for transgender individuals in the military.
So this put moderates on both the right and the left in a really tough spot. And while conservatives argue that this eliminated what is called wokeism from the military, this just shows again, Rahel and Victor, how members of the right flank of the Republican conference are pulling House Republicans to the right and turning what is normally bipartisan legislation into a partisan exercise.
Now, this is going to head to the Senate, where we're told this is basically dead on arrival. I mean, this, remember, the Senate is controlled by Democrats, and they don't want to take up this legislation that includes all of these rightwing amendments in it. So we're going to have to see if the two sides come together, because remember, both sides have to come to an agreement for this important defense package to become law. Right now, though, Rahel and Victor, it's unclear how that is going to happen.
SOLOMON: Annie Grayer, thank you.
Coming up for us, no lights, no cameras, and no action. Hollywood actors say they will stay for as long as it takes to reach a deal with studios and streaming services. The impact that could have on major production hubs coming up next.
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[10:33:15]
BLACKWELL: Hollywood is at a standstill this morning. Actors join screen writers this week on the picket line. Both are now on strike for the first time together in more than 60 years. The actors' union says it wants a deal to improve wages and benefits and limit the use of artificial intelligence. The TV and film studios say they offered the highest pay increase in 35 years and offered a proposal to limit A.I.'s impact.
But all this means that production for many of your favorite TV shows and movies, they are on hold. And that key could mean a lot more reality TV and game shows and reruns in your future. But this is more about more than the actors and writers and studios and the people who watch TV. It also impacts major production hubs like where we are in Atlanta.
Joining us now, Jason Ivany, he is the founder of Ambient Plus Studios here in Atlanta, which is used for TV shoots and music videos and commercials and weddings, too. Also joining us is Day Permuy. She is a production supervisor and producer who has worked on several big projects like "Tomorrow Wars," "Remember the Titans," and "Lost." Welcome to you both.
DAY PERMUY, PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR AND PRODUCER: Thank you for having me.
BLACKWELL: So let me start first by just, do you support, as we get deeper into the impact here in Atlanta, do you support these unions' decisions to strike?
PERMUY: I am definitely in solidarity with the two unions. I know everybody would like to get back to work as soon as possible, but definitely these talks are necessary.
BLACKWELL: Jason?
JASON IVANY, FOUNDER, AMBIENT PLUS STUDIOS: Yes, we hope for a fair deal for everybody.
BLACKWELL: So back in May, when the writers' union first started to strike, you said you were seeing some major impact. How has it been over the past couple of months?
IVANY: In May, we saw it sort of gradually declining. Very recently, it has been much more steep. We've been seeing cancellations and such.
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BLACKWELL: Yes. Give me a percentage. How much of your business has been impacted?
IVANY: Approximately 80 percent of our film-related bookings have gone on hold.
BLACKWELL: So 80 percent of the film-related bookings. How much does that make up of your overall business?
IVANY: I would say it's in the neighborhood of 50 percent of our total revenues.
BLACKWELL: OK. And so what we were talking about actually is that this impacts more than just the people who are directly related to the industry. You've got all of the restaurants and the car rentals and everything that's impacted.
PERMUY: Yes, hotels, all of the vendors that support our industry, everything from the people who do the layout board on the locations to the people who service our trucks and trailers, there's a huge extras pool that is out of work, there's furniture that we rent. The list is -- anything you need to set up an office or run a business, we definitely also need, and we use in volume. And with us being shut down, all of that percentage is taken out of that.
BLACKWELL: So you're shut down completely because your work on these productions.
PERMUY: That's correct.
BLACKWELL: That's a portion of your business. That's everything do you.
PERMUY: That's correct.
BLACKWELL: So what are doing instead now?
PERMUY: I'm spending a lot of time cleaning my house, and spending the summer with my daughter.
BLACKWELL: Yes. How long will you be able, Jason, to keep operating if the writers and the actors continue with the strike?
IVANY: It's a little bit of a crystal ball question. But I would say we're in the area of months. Six months seems reasonable.
BLACKWELL: Six months?
IVANY: Yes, give or take.
BLACKWELL: And what will you do?
PERMUY: We'll be pulling out our savings, working on that. We might have to end up getting some sort of side gig that we can do in the interim. I'm also married to a film worker, so it makes it a double whammy in our household. But a lot of people are definitely looking to short-term projects, or even changing their careers if they have to.
BLACKWELL: There are people leaving the industry because --
PERMUY: If they have, to, yes.
BLACKWELL: They have got families to feed.
PERMUY: They have been people out of work since March is when it started to taper off in anticipation of the writers' strike, and then in May, when the writers went down, it got very far and few between, and now everything for the most part that I worked on is shut down.
BLACKWELL: Most people, and I did it at the top, we talk about this in the context of Hollywood shutting down, but the film and television industry in Georgia has been booming over the last, what, decade or so.
PERMUY: Since 2008.
BLACKWELL: OK, so 15 years now. Let's put up some of the numbers here. We've got them on the screen for you -- $4.4 billion generated in the state between July of 2021 and June of 2022, and up on the screen before, we had the numbers of the types of projects here -- 32 feature films, 36 independent films, more than 260 TV episodic productions, and 75 commercials and music videos. And do you think there is some long-term impact on the viability of the Georgia market if this continues, if you have people pulling out?
PERMUY: Well, I mean we have a great infrastructure here. We've been working on it for the last 15 years, so we're definitely set up and ready to come back, just like after COVID.
But definitely I can see people needing to do something to support their families, so we might lose some crew base. And I really hope that we don't lose any of the vendors who have actually opened businesses specifically to cater to our industry, because I don't know how long they can last.
BLACKWELL: What do you tell those who are, I guess, away from, but could return to the bargaining table, between the producers' organization and the writers and actors unions, what do you say to them?
IVANY: Just we're hopeful and optimistic. We hope that we can see fair deals for everybody. BLACKWELL: All right, Jason and Day, thank you so much. And good luck.
We don't know how long this will last. Obviously, impacting families far from California. And we'll check back in if this continues on for a while. Thank you both.
IVANY: Thank you.
PERMUY: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: Rahel?
SOLOMON: Victor, that was such an interesting conversation, not just the impact outside of Hollywood, but also all of the vendors, all of the different industries, but also for the families who both are in the industry, really fascinating stuff. Thank you, Victor.
Coming up for us, there are new concerns this morning over a popular sweetener that's found in thousands of everyday products. The doctor's recommendations and what you need to know after the break.
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[10:43:56]
BLACKWELL: Let's check some other headlines for you this morning. Police in North Dakota confirm that one officer has died and two others are critically injured in the city of Fargo. There was a shooting incident on a busy street Friday afternoon. An officials say that a suspect started shooting at the police officers, and then the shooter was shot and killed by police. One other person was also seriously injured. It's not clear what the motive was. Look at this. You can see all of the lights here down the center of the screen. This is a procession honoring those fallen officers last night. Police will hold a news conference later today to release more information.
SOLOMON: An Alabama woman has mysteriously vanished after calling 911 to report a toddler walking along the freeway. Police say 25-year-old Carly Nicole Russell told the dispatcher what she saw, then stopped to check on the child. But then she disappeared. Her car and her phone were both found at the scene but no sign of her, no sign of the child. Officials say they haven't received any reports of a missing child as well. They are now offering a $25,000 reward for information. Russell, who you can see her here on your screen, is five feet four inches. She was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, black pants, and white Nike shoes.
The Biden administration has announced more than 800,000 borrowers could have their student loan debt wiped away in the coming weeks. It is about $39 billion worth of debt. Officials say they're making some administrative fixes that would more accurately count monthly payments under existing plans. The Department of Education says these corrections address historical failures that miscounted previous payments made by borrowers.
SOLOMON: Well, some potentially worrying news now for diet soda drinkers, potential. The World Health Organization has labeled one of the most commonly-used artificial sweeteners, aspartame, as, quote, possibly carcinogenic to humans, and that means it can cause cancer.
BLACKWELL: But the FDA and another WHO team of experts has deemed it safe for consumption based on current guidelines. That's because of the small, small amounts that are in a typical can of soda or other foods. CNN's Meg Tirrell explains.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So there's a bit of confusing guidance coming out from the WHO, because two different committees weighed in on aspartame risk. The first one said that there was limited evidence for the cancer-causing potential of aspartame, while the other one didn't change any of the recommendations for the daily suggested intake of aspartame.
So of course, this is a sweetener that's found in thousands of different items, from diet sodas to tabletop sweeteners to even breakfast cereals, chewing gums, even things like cough drops and chewable vitamins. So this is in a lot of different products.
The WHO's director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, Dr. Francesco Branca, saying in a statement that, quote, "While safety is not a major concern at the doses which are commonly used, potential effects have been described that need to be investigated by more and better studies." And the issue really here is that all of the studies that suggest any potential link really are not strong enough to say that there is an actual causative effect of aspartame in terms of cancer risk. And so what they're trying to do here is to spur better research.
But just to put this into some context, they are putting this into a group which is really the third lowest of four in terms of potential cancer risk to humans. That group includes other things like aloe vera, occupational exposure to dry cleaning, gasoline engine exhaust, and traditional Asian pickled vegetables. And to compare that with the list of the highest risk of cancer to humans, that highest group one includes cigarettes and asbestos. And so this is really not in that category.
In terms of how much diet soda is in the limits recommended by the World Health Organization, it you think about the amount of aspartame in a can of soda, the industry has given us a suggested limit here of about 100 milligrams. For a person who is 180 pounds, they have to drink 33 cans of diet soda a day to hit that limit of suggested aspartame intake per day by the WHO's guidelines which are not changing as a result of this. And that's obviously, probably a lot more than most people are consuming. However, of course, that is a weight-based recommendation, so it is lower for children who are smaller.
Now, of course, the World Health Organization is not recommending, a, that people drink that much diet soda or that they switch to regular soda. They said there is a third option, and they would suggest water. Of course, there has been a strong reaction to this from the beverage industry, as well. American Beverage, the industry group, telling us, quote, "there is a broad consensus in the scientific and regulatory community that aspartame is safe. It's a conclusion reached time and time again by the food safety agencies around the world." So of course, there is a lot of consternation coming out of this, but
no actual recommendations to change behavior on a large basis. Rahel, Victor?
SOLOMON: Meg Tirrell, thank you.
And a quick programming note. Don't forget to watch the next episode of the CNN original series, "See It Loud, The History of Black Television." This week's episode explores the rich history and impact of black comedy. It airs tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.
BLACKWELL: Take a second, and just daydream with me. What could you do with $640 million? So much. No winner in the Friday night mega millions drawing means another chance for you to grab that prize. What are the odds though? That's when reality hits. We've got that for you next.
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[10:53:57]
BLACKWELL: If you don't like snakes, look out the window or something. But we have new video of a group of snake hunters capturing the longest Burmese python ever caught in Florida. Watch.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: OK, so that, what you're looking at, that was 19 feet long and weighed 125 pounds. According to the conservancy of southwest Florida, nonprofit officials say the hunters caught the female python here Monday morning in Big Cypress National Preserve. To put this in perspective, the longest python previously documented in the state was 18 feet, nine inches.
Victor, I tried to look away like you said, but I couldn't because I had to talk about it. So here I am.
BLACKWELL: So look, this is what annoys me about the video, is that the man jumps on and grabs this snake by the head, right behind the head, and his friends are cheering him on. Yes. Oh, man. Help. This thing is rolling me over. Jump in.
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[10:55:03]
BLACKWELL: All right, the mega millions jackpot has grown again to more than $640 million, the seventh largest after no winner in Friday's drawing. Some people took home $1 each in California, North Carolina, and South Carolina after they got the first five numbers, but not the mega ball. The drawing is -- the next drawing is Tuesday. SOLOMON: OK. So things didn't go your way with that drawing, there is
another whopper being offered today. And the Powerball prize now estimated at $875 million. By the way, just, you know, to give you some reality here. The chances of winning a jackpot that big is said to be about 1 in 300 million.
BLACKWELL: It's worth $2.
SOLOMON: But you've got to play to win.
So thanks for watching. Victor, good to be with you.
BLACKWELL: Good to be with you. There's much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.
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