Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Netanyahu Admitted To Hospital For Medical Evaluation; Gilgo Beach Murders; Interview With Raymond Tierney; Than 90 Million Americans Under Heat Alerts; Tv/Movie Actors Join Writers' Strike; Farm Workers Exposed To Dangerous Conditions As Heat Wave Grips Much Of The U.S.; WH Announces $39 Billion In Student Debt Relief. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired July 15, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:38]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with breaking news.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been admitted to the hospital. His office says he arrived at the hospital a short time ago.

CNN's Hadas Gold is joining us live from Jerusalem with more on this.

What do we know about his condition and why he was taken to the hospital?

HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is all coming in just in the past hour or so. Very much developing story that we're trying to confirm all the details.

What we know for a fact though, is that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to the hospital. He was taken to a hospital north of Tel Aviv, and appears not far from where one of his homes is north of Tel Aviv. That is according to the prime minister's office, who says he is in good condition and undergoing medical evaluation.

We are seeing from Israeli media that is reporting that he was taken by his convoy, so not in an ambulance or anything like that, and that fully conscious when he walked into the hospital.

Now Benjamin Netanyahu has no known major health conditions but he is a 73-year-old man. It has been very hot here in the past. And this is actually not the first time he has been hospitalized in this fashion within the past year.

Actually in October of last year, during the Yom Kippur holiday, he was also admitted to the hospital for checks and stayed overnight, after feeling unwell. Yom Kippur is, of course, the holiday, Jewish holiday, where Jews who are observant fast so that could have all, of course, played a factor.

But obviously, it has been a very stressful and intensive time here in Israel and in the region with violence, by the violence in the West Bank, and across Israel. Of course, there have been so many protests especially this past week against the judicial overhaul that the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to push through.

But again, we are still trying to confirm all of the details, but all we know so far is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been admitted to the hospital north of Tel Aviv. So far his office is saying that he is in good condition and is, as we speak, undergoing medical tests, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Bring us more when you get it. Hadas Gold, thank you so much.

All right. Now turning to a major arrest in this country.

In a series of murders on Long Island, New York the killings puzzled investigators for more than a decade and terrorized the communities there. But today, 59-year-old New York architect Rex Heuermann is in custody charged in connection to three of the so-called "Gilgo Beach Murders".

These cases date back to 2010 and that's when authorities began discovering human remains along the Long Island shoreline. Over several months, they recovered at least ten sets of human remains, most women.

CNN's Miguel Marquez walks us through how investigators broke this cold case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAYMOND TIERNEY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: I'm standing here with my law enforcement partners in the Gilgo Taskforce to announce the indictment of defendant, Rex Andrew Heuermann.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sex workers found tied up, their bodies wrapped in camouflage burlap, dumped near Gilgo Beach on New York's Long Island.

TIERNEY: When I took office in January 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, I lived 29 years here. I mean, I've seen some things but this is worst --

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 in search for information related to the investigation into the long unsolved murders.

MAJOR STEPHEN UDICE, NEW YORK STATE TROOP COMMANDER: We recognize that these crimes may have happened years ago but that pain continues.

[11:04:55]

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 as a suspect in the murder 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 is 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, GILGO BEACH MURDER SUSPECT: Rex Heuermann, 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Miguel Marquez thank you so much that.

Let's talk more about this. With me right now to talk about this major development is Raymond Tierney. He is the district attorney for Suffolk County, New York which brought these murder charges against the suspect.

Ray, so good to see you.

So you formed this task force, you know, to investigate these murdered in February 2022 when you took office. Why were you so laser-focused on trying to crack, you know, these unsolved crimes?

TIERNEY: Well I mean I think it was -- it's you know a case that really captured the imagination of not only the area but, you know, all over the country. And the one thing I saw was that there was a lot of evidence that still needed to be looked at, reviewed, developed. And we were optimistic that if we developed the right task force we would have success.

WHITFIELD: So your team used, you know, a variety of things. I mean they used a secret grand jury to obtain more than 300 search warrants and subpoenas for phone records, Internet search records and DNA evidence.

The suspect's attorney as you saw in Miguel's, you know, piece says, you know, the case against his client is based on circumstantial evidence. What, in your view, helped cement your confidence in being able to make this arrest.

TIERNEY: Well, I think what we did was we looked at all of the available evidence with regard to phones, with regard to location, with regard to witness statements, vehicles used. And then we backstopped that with the DNA evidence that was left at the scene.

WHITFIELD: You allege the suspect was leading a double life as an architect, a married man, a family man. So his attorney of course says, you know, he didn't do it. Are family members among the cooperating witnesses for you?

TIERNEY: You know we're not going to talk about you know cooperating witnesses but you know really basically what we're able to do is we were able to use the grand jury and were really able to you know pierce that level of secrecy that the defendant attempted to utilize through these burner phones and these fictitious accounts.

and what it revealed was a lot of evidence with regard to that secret life.

WHITFIELD: And so far, you've charged the suspect, you know, with three murders. He's a suspect in a fourth killing. But what about the other six or seven multiple victims found in the same area? Do you believe you were able to build a case making him a suspect in those as well?

TIERNEY: So the specific grand jury dealt with these four murders, you know, but the investigation continues with regard to those other murders as well. And we're hopeful that we'll be able to develop results on those as well. WHITFIELD: And so Ray, I wonder too I mean, you know, he allegedly was

taunting family members of the victims. In your view was he, you know, the suspect was he overly confident? Do you feel like in a way he was teasing investigators?

TIERNEY: No I think he was -- at that time I think he was very confident in his anonymity. And you know, that was back in I believe about 2010 or so.

[11:09:59]

TIERNEY: So I think he was confident back then I think, you know, after the discovery of the bodies, you know, he became less confident. And certainly with all the notoriety and the development of the task force, he became even less confident than that.

And that is really why we wanted to maintain the anonymity of our investigation because we didn't want him to know that we were closing in.

WHITFIELD: What do you believe this arrest has meant for the community which has felt terrorized for so many years?

TIERNEY: Well, I think it gives them some closure. I especially hope that it gives a small measure of closure for the victims' families.

We have a lot more work to do. But we will, you know, so this was good.

The other thing about the arrest is you know with the arrest comes search warrants, so we're hopeful that we will be able to garner even more evidence.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it is still just the beginning of the road. He's a suspect. You know there's yet to be a trial.

All right.

TIERNEY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Suffolk County district attorney Ray Tierney, thank you so much.

TIERNEY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. And now to the dangerous and suffocating heat wave that much of the country is enduring. More than 90 million people from Florida to California are under heat alerts today. And in the west, a heat dome is intensifying threatening to break more all-time high heat records this weekend.

Phoenix is in the middle of a likely record-breaking streak of consecutive days topping 110 degrees -- unbearable. And Death Valley, California could see temperatures over 130 degrees which has only happened a handful of times.

CNN's Mike Valerio is in Valencia, California.

Mike, I mean unbearable, but how are people enduring these temperatures?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know Fredricka in southern California, so you can always go to the beach. But say you're not going to the beach, say that is out of reach for you. This is always an option for you right here.

Hurricane Harbor, Six Flags Magic Mountain where we're expected to see a high of 106 degrees today. So Six Flags tells us they have been preparing for a day like this when temperatures are going to reach triple digits. And thousands of people are expected to descend on the water park here.

Just over my left-hand shoulder, a couple of yards into the background, it is one of two first aid stations nerve centers where about a dozen medical personnel huddle and get ready for a day like this.

If you are here either at one of the rides or in the water park and you feel as though you might be succumbing to a heat-related illness, you can wave down a park official and then they will radio to one of the medical personnel members who is in that first aid station. They will come and take care of you.

We talked to Six Flags a couple of minutes ago about how they're getting ready for today. Listen to what they told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX FRENCH, PARK SPOKESPERSON, SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN AND HURRICANE HARBOR: We do have a Sheriff's (ph) station on-site for different emergencies and things like that that take place. But our staff is overly prepared to make sure that everyone is staying cool. We have our medical training staff like I said on-site. We do have an ambulance.

We do have great relationships with local fire department, EMTs that can come in and we can call them at any given notice. And they do come on-site to help us if there is anything that is more drastic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So they're preparing for heat-related illnesses and there is also preparing for potential fire danger. Fred, about 90 miles southeast of us, three wildfires in Riverside County in southern California broke out yesterday.

But the good news that we have to report from overnight, firefighters seem to have a good grasp on controlling those three wildfires. None of them have come close to densely-populated areas or too many homes. So that is certainly good news.

Six flags is also telling us that, you know, we're in a new era where they've had to design more shaded areas as temperatures more and more often are getting into the triple digits. So they feel as though they are ready. We are ready with our sun screen, our CNN hats as well. We're going to be here all day so watch this space. We will see as more and more people descend on the park when it opens in two and a half hours.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I like it. Mike, you're prepared. Everyone else be prepared and proceed with caution still.

All right. Thank you so much. We will check back with you as it gets a little warmer toward midday for you.

All right. The sky-rocketing temperatures are forcing some businesses and parks to readjust their hours or close all together. And the heat is only going to intensify this weekend.

CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller is joining us right now.

Brandon, so why is this happening? I mean I realize we're in the throes of summer. We're right in the middle of it all but this is tough.

BRANDON MILLER, CNN SENIOR METEOROLOGIST: Yes. This is.

And I'm glad you brought that up because that is what I keep hearing from people oh you guys are talking about all of this heat but it's July. It's the middle of July. This is the southwest. It's the hottest place, you know, one of the hottest places on earth. It is supposed to be hot.

And that's true. It is not supposed be this hot. And especially not for this long. And here is why.

[11:14:59]

MILLER: We have this dome of high pressure. We talked about this seemingly for weeks because it has been here for weeks. It has just sort of meandered from Arizona, kind of over to Texas and back again. And they're taking turns setting records for heat.

And right now this weekend that dome of high pressure which doesn't allow any rain showers or anything to cool down, the air sinks down and just heats up, and that's bringing hot desert air all the way into the southwest and into California where we saw Mike reporting from.

And that's why they're really heating up this weekend. And they're going to see a lot of temperature records broken.

So here is the problem we talked it is the hottest time of the year. And the hottest places in the country. But even with that, these temperatures are 5, 10, even 15 degrees above average.

And that's why it is a problem. If it is already going to be 105 and it is 10 to 15 degrees above that, you're getting to 115. You're getting to 120. These are temperatures that your body can no longer withstand. That your house can no longer stay cool if you're lucky enough to have air conditioning. And that's why we see these excessive heat warnings blanketing all of

-- much of California if you're not lucky enough to be about 10 miles or less from the ocean, you're blanketed by one of these alerts.

And actually about one in four Americans all across the country have heat alerts for this weekend. And going through Monday at least, and for other parts of the country well through the week.

Look at Las Vegas at 114 today. That's going to be a record for today. And 117 for tomorrow. that would also tie a record for Sunday. And it would also tie their all-time heat record.

It has never been hotter than this in Las Vegas. So that kind of puts it into perspective for you. And also you saw those low temperatures only dropping to 90 at night. \

Right now in Phoenix if you're getting up maybe it is 8:00 in the morning thinking I'm going to get maybe an early morning run before it gets too hot.

Too late. Go back to bed. It's 97 degrees already this early in the morning and that's why we're going to see over 100 heat records set today and tomorrow and Monday. And they're both high temperatures record maximums and also record minimums where it is not cooling into the 70s, it's staying in the 90s.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh and if you are to go for a run I wonder how the rubber on your shoes can endure that kind of heat against the pavement.

MILLER: Yes. And also don't --

WHITFIELD: So it's melting while you're running.

MILLER: Don't take your pet with you either. That's another one. You know, their feet are not protected and you know we've seen reports of lots of burn injuries in the southwest during this heat wave.

WHITFIELD: Oh, it's serious. Yes. So you see those little booties, sometimes you're seeing, you know, dogs wearing them and you laugh and you think how ridiculous. This is why.

MILLER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: It protects their little paws.

All right. Brandon Miller, thank you so much.

All right. Still ahead did you check your lottery ticket this morning? Well, no one hit the mega millions jackpot. Just wait to hear what's up for grabs now.

And Hollywood brought to a screeching halt. Actors and writers band together for the largest strike in decades. How long could it last and what it means for your favorite shows next.

[11:18:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. So you didn't win the Mega Millions Jackpot after last night's drawing. The good news no one did which means you still have a shot. And now the jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $640 million. The next drawing is on Tuesday. So you've got time.

And then there is another whopper being offered tonight. The Powerball jackpot is now estimated at $875 million. That's the third largest in Powerball history. And no one has won the grand prize since April 19th and it has rolled over 36 times since then.

All right. Right now, not feeling very lucky. Hollywood is at a standstill after 160,000 actors hit the picket line this week. They joined more than 10,000 writers who had been on strike since may. And it is the first time both actors and writers had been on strike at the same time since 1960.

The major union representing actors SAG-AFTRA says rapid changes in the industry in recent years along with the rise in streaming services has made it impossible for most to earn a living.

The union is asking for a deal to improve wages and limit the use of artificial intelligence. The TV and film studios say they offered the highest pay increase in 35 years and a proposal to limit the impact of A.I.

Well, the strike means production for movies and television shows are now on hold. And the trickle effects of this are huge as well.

Joining me right now is Anousha Sakoui. She is an entertainment industry reporter for the "Los Angeles Times". Anousha great to see you.

So try to break it down for people. What is at the heart of what -- let's zero in on the actors on what the actors are asking for.

ANOUSHA SAKOUI, ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY REPORTER, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": So like many of the workers in Hollywood, writers and directors, one of the things that the actors are saying is effectively that the change in the business of Hollywood, how it has shifted to streaming, has changed the way that they get paid and their working conditions and it's basically made to have sort of a middle class life as a professional actor very difficult. So they want changes in how they're paid on streaming. They want their minimum wages increased and they want protections from new technology like artificial intelligence and how their voice and likeness is used.

[11:24:48]

SAKOUI: And also, you know other issues like, you know, during the pandemic, a lot of casting was done over, you know, Zoom and the video and that created a lot of costs for actors. So that is another area that the union wants curbs. They have, you know, quite a few proposals that they laid out. WHITFIELD: Now the A.I., artificial intelligence, is a gigantic threat

because, you know, you talk about, you know, the use of image or the use of image or likeness of actors in one production. Help people understand what is being proposed or, you know, what the movie houses want to do with the likeness and image of someone who may play, you know, a role and how artificial intelligence now can kind of use them nearly indefinitely right, without pay.

SAKOUI: Right. Yes, I mean one point that SAG-AFTRA made actually at their press conference this week after they announced the strike, they said that the alliance of studios that they're negotiating against proposed that background actors have their faces scanned and that that capture of their likeness could then be used in perpetuity without any kind of consent or pay.

Now the studios countered that and, you know, said that wasn't a correct description of their proposal and that background actors would have consent. But you know, if you see it from the union's point of view that would obviously be, you know, a big threat to the ability of background actors to work if their faces could just be put on some digitally created body in a film or TV and then they don't need to turn up and get paid for a day.

So that is kind of one example of how A.I. can really threaten the pay of actors.

And help people understand you know who among the 130,000 members of SAG-AFTRA?

SAKOUI: Yes. 160,000 actually. It's Hollywood's biggest -- yes, Hollywood's biggest union. It is very diverse. It includes broadcasters who would not be affected by the strike. There are many different contracts that they have. This is specifically film and television so it affects all of the members that might appear in, you know, your biggest shows or films but it excluding some things like soap operas variety shows, live talk shows, so some of those can continue.

WHITFIELD: So right now as a result you've got the Writers' Guild, you've got, you know, the SAG-AFTRA members all on strike. Movie, television productions are mostly on hold right now. How do you see this strike impacting the economies that support all of those productions?

SAKOUI: Well you know, the economy was clearly starting to hurt already here in southern California and other film hubs where, you know, we have spoken to businesses here at the "L.A. Times" that have been dependent on the film industry and they talked about having to do layoffs and already having struggled.

So, y k, this will only compound that as a SAG-AFTRA strike would really shut down any production not only here in the U.S. but around the world that have continued despite the writers' strike.

You know some estimates, for example, if you look back at the 2007-'08 strike, the writers' strike the estimated cost then to the local economy just southern California which was the main hub of film and TV then was $2.1 billion.

Now, we have spoken to experts that say, you know, it could exceed $3 billion. And, you know, this industry is now spread around the world. It's in New York, it's Georgia, it's New Mexico and other countries overseas, the U.K. and Australia, for example, are massive film and TV hubs.

WHITFIELD: Widespread.

Anousha Sakoui, thank you so much. And I'm sure we will be talking to you again because very few are able to predict when all of this is going to come to an end.

SAKOUI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

All right. The U.S. is not the only place dealing with extreme temperatures. People fainting, tourist sites being closed down, and wildfires all being blamed on the heat wave hitting Europe.

[11:23:54]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. For those of you who have to work outside, soaring temperatures like what the U.S. is experiencing right now can be extremely dangerous.

Farm workers have to spend long hours in blistering conditions and now there are calls for federal regulations to ensure their safety.

Joining us right now is Antonio De Loera-Brust. He is the communications director for the United Farm Workers of America. Antonio, so great to see you.

ANTONIO DE LOERA-BRUST, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, UNITED FARM WORKERS OF AMERICA: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So currently there are no federal standards specifically to protect workers from heat illness and your organization is asking OSHA Occupational and Safety Health Association to enact emergency heat standards. What would you like to see?

DE LOERA-BRUST: Yes, that's right. I mean farm workers are absolutely on the front lines of climate change here. These are men, women and children who are doing incredibly physically demanding labor and truly dangerous temperatures. And they're too often afraid to speak out or just take a break whether it is because of fear of retaliation or just because of the level of poverty that some of these farmers live and they're just trying to work as much as they can to make ends meet.

So we absolutely need OSHA to step up here. We want emergency temporary standards and we are talking really basic things here. We're talking access to shade, access to water, a right to take a break when needed. These are basic lifesaving things that any human being doing physically strenuous activity outdoors in these temperatures would require to survive.

So that's really what we're pushing for and every day workers are out there in danger without a rule to protect them, is a day too long.

WHITFIELD: I'm probably among many who is surprised that there wouldn't be those kind of recommendations already in place that were enforced by you know Occupational Safety Health Administration.

[11:34:54]

DE LOERA-BRUST: Yes I mean the United Farm Workers we have been raising the alarm about this issue for decades after heat killed several farm workers here in California during the early 2000s.

Our organizing led to California becoming the first state in the nation to adopt heat rules at the state level. We actually sued both Governor Schwarzenegger and then Governor Jerry Brown back in the day to get these rules done and to strengthen enforcement. And we're seeing it make a real difference.

We're seeing more workers here have access to shade, to water, to breaks. Of course, compliance remains an issue including here in in California. And as a labor union we, of course, believe in building worker power so that workers can enforce their rights themselves. But at the end of the day this is really a job for government and we need a strong federal rule long-term. We support federal legislation and we have supported such efforts in the past.

But unfortunately this hasn't gotten done yet. And every summer we see temperatures that are getting more extreme we just had three of the world's hottest days on record in a row, broke the record three days in a row. And we need to think about what that means for the men, the women, and the children who are actually out there doing work in these conditions.

You know not everyone can just hide inside with the AC.

WHITFIELD: Perhaps, you can to try to paint a picture. What would a typical day, if there is such a typical day, for a California farm worker?

DE LOERA-BRUST: Yes I mean most farm workers especially in these temperatures they start really early. Most farm workers get up between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. they're out in the field by 5:00 a.m.

And then they work, one of the things that makes farm workers particularly vulnerable to heat illness is actually the fact that many of them work piece rate. That means they're not paid by the hours they work. They're paid by how much they pick. So for example 25 pound bucket of tomatoes gets 83 cents. So the workers are really just out there trying to fill their bucket as fast as possible and get those 25 pounds of tomatoes and then run the bucket back to the truck so that they can get that counted, they can get their 83 cents and then run back to the field to start picking the next bucket as fast as they can. So you know too many workers feel this pressure, this economic

pressure to just power through even as they get dehydrated and even if they start to feel nauseous or get dizzy. Those are all early warning signs of a heat stroke. And they have their supervisors rushing them and they're just thinking I need to put food on the table for my family.

So it is just tragic that workers who are literally feeding all of us, feeding America putting the food that all of us are buying at the grocery store are putting themselves in danger and in these heat waves they're real the human shield for our nation's food supply. And that is coming at the expense of their health, their safety and sometimes their lives.

WHITFIELD: And then what happens when many of them end up in urgent care or emergency rooms. Many probably don't have health insurance right?

DE LOERA-BRUST: Yes I mean, the reality is this is a work force that is around 50 percent undocumented, varies a little bit state but this is a work force that is excluded from the social safety net, right? It is excluded from democratic participation. And farm workers regardless of immigration status are excluded from federal labor laws. So agriculture is explicitly banned or barred from the National Labor Relations Act.

And this goes back to the 1930s and the Jim Crow era when decisions were made that look these are majority back then a lot of African American sharecroppers in the south, already a lot of Mexican and Asian immigrants in the west. And the decision was made we're not include them in labor laws.

And so there's a lot of structural issues that create a really imbalanced power dynamic in the workplace. And then when you add in the temperatures and you add in lack of access to water and lack of access to shade and lack of access to breaks, I mean means that is a tragedy waiting to happen.

And we see this all the time we just lost a farm worker in Florida to heat stroke earlier this month. And you know these are real people. That farm worker's name was (INAUDIBLE) Lopez Garcia, who's 30 years old.

And again it is Florida, right. So is Ron DeSantis going to step up to protect the lives of Latino immigrant workers? Or what about Greg Abbott in Texas who's actively repealing what little water ordinances exist at the local level for construction workers, right?

So we know that some of these states aren't going to do the right thing which is again, why we need OSHA to step up.

WHITFIELD: All right. Antonio De Loera-Brust, thank you so much. And thanks for enlightening so many.

DE LOERA-BRUST: Thank you. WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, more than 800,000 student loan

borrowers may have their debt wiped out. We'll explain President Biden's new relief plan next.

And this quick programming note. CNN's Fareed Zakaria has a smart, surprising documentary on immigration airing tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. looking at the border immigration and politics, the economy and the fascinating history of immigration. A story that is intertwined with America's most contentious issue.

[11:39:51]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: 2.4 million migrants were apprehended at the border last fiscal year.

That shattered the record set the previous year and nearly equal to the total population of Chicago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the clock is ticking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tomorrow night on a "FAREED ZAKARIA SPECIAL", "A Border Overwhelmed".

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not about politics. It's about calamity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: a history of hatred. What is happening now has a long lineage as a system on the brink.

If America can't get immigration right, could our democracy be at risk. If liberals won't defend the borders, fascists will.

"IMMIGRATION BREAKDOWN: A FAREED ZAKARIA SPECIAL", tomorrow night at 8:00 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Right now to an update on a story we brought you at the top of the hour. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had been admitted to the hospital earlier today now says tests on the prime minister came back normal.

[11:44:59]

WHITFIELD: His office says the initial assessment was dehydration. The 73-year-old had complained of mild dizziness. On the recommendation of the doctor, the prime minister continues to undergo additional routine tests at the Sheba Medical Center.

And good news for thousands of American student loan borrowers. The Biden administration says it is wiping away $39 billion in debt. It is a move that will affect more than 800,000 borrowers.

The move comes just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Biden's previous plan to eliminate billions in debt.

CNN White House reporter Jasmine Wright is in Washington for us with more on this.

So Jasmine, the Education Secretary says this plan will fix payments made through what he called the broken system. So what exactly does this plan do?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Well, this program is about fixing what the White House has called historical inaccuracies felt by borrowers who are under the income repayment plan and so what he is going to do is basically those borrowers who have been paying under that program for more than 20 years and who expected to see the balance of their student debt like this action would actually do that automatically fitting in line with President Biden's promise to try to erase debt wherever he can for student borrowers.

Now we know as you said in the top there that it is going to have really a big impact. $39 billion of debt will be erased by this new action. And it will affect 804,000 borrowers money that they say is fixing from administrative failures -- past administrative failures.

But it is not just the amount here Fred, that is going to be a major impact but it's also about the timing. Like you said it comes just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down President Biden's widespread Student Loan Forgiveness Plan, throwing a wrench in his promise to do widespread student debt relief.

Now, this new program that they announced on Friday is separate. It fixes past administrative errors. It does not go through that total widespread program that President Biden advised. But he says that he is still going to go forward and doing that through the Higher Education Act of 1955, still try to get that program on its feet as it's underway in the regulatory process right now. But we know that that could take months or even up to a year to get on its feet.

Now this action is separate from that. But it is something that the White House feels that the president has the constitutional ability to do and therefore will do it as they try to get that larger process on its feet.

Now one thing I'll just say lastly here is that in addition to announcing this plan yesterday what we heard from President Biden was really attacking Republicans who have criticized his efforts to try to erase the student debt over the last few months. In this specific statement we got yesterday the president said that their disregard for working and middle class families is outrageous, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jasmine Wright in Washington, thanks so much.

All right. It is a dream matchup for tennis fans at the Wimbledon final. The world's current top player versus the best ever. We'll preview it next.

[11:48:09]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right.

It was another thrilling end to the women's tournament at Wimbledon. CNN's Carolyn Manno is here to break it all down for us.

Carolyn, so both of these pros were, you know, looking for their first ever grand slam title. Who came out on top?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi. You know, it was quite a final, a surprising final. Market Vondrousova making history here at Wimbledon becoming the first unseeded woman to win this tournament. Nobody expected her to be here. The 24-year-old from the Czech Republic upsetting Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

Vondrousova was a really heavy underdog but she beat the odds on center court in more ways than one, Fred, because just a year ago she could only watch from the sidelines. She had her wrist in a cast. She had just had surgery.

And so her run for the title this year was so unexpected that she actually told her husband to stay at home and look after their cat Frankie. She's like don't even come. It won't even happen.

And then once she made the final they found a pet sitter so that he could make the trip to London. See her hoist the trophy as Wimbledon Champion.

But just a remarkable run for so many women on the women's side. And the men, of course, taking center court tomorrow for the match up that so many tennis fans wanted. You've got the top player in the world right now, Carlos Alcaraz, against the best ever Novak Djokovic who continues to cement that legacy. He's now just one win away from that record-tying eighth Wimbledon title and his fifth straight.

So he beat Jannik Sinner in straight sets. He's on an incredibly dominant run. He has not lost a match on center court in a decade. He's won 34 matches in a row at Wimbledon. In fact, he's only lost once when he's reached the Wimbledon final and that was all the way back ten years ago when he was beaten by Andy Murray.

So when he gets to a final, he gets it done. And he is facing top seeded Carlos Alcaraz who took care of business himself with a dominant straight sets win over Daniil Medvedev. That took less than two hours.

He's 20 years old. He's looking to become the fourth youngest Wimbledon men's finalist in history and hoping to add to that grand slam haul because he won the U.S. Open last year.

So this is going to be the second meeting between the two. They squared off last month at the French Open, Djokovic winning that contest in the semi-finals but everybody had their eyes on that match and I think we'll have our eyes on this one as well.

WHITFIELD: Right. I like what Djokovic said. He was like 36 is like 26 so we'll see what happens.

MANNO: Yes. 26 years old versus a 20-year-old, yes.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right. Carolyn Manno, we'll all be watching.

Thank you so much.

And we'll be right back. But first here's today's "Impact Your World".

[11:54:59]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASMIN GRAHAM, CO-FOUNDER, MINORITIES IN SHARK SCIENCE: I'm a shark scientist. I very quickly became aware that there's not a lot of people like me in the field.

We had this sort of movement on Twitter of black scientists with the hashtag Black and Nature.

When we started talking we said well, we should start a club. Minorities in Shark Science's mission is to change the culture so that people from historically excluded groups participate in marine science. We have programs like our Gill Guardians which is curriculum that lives online to help educate people about sharks and move them from fear to fascination.

We have camps for our kids, Science at the Sea, where we bring kids out to the oceans. And then then we have Science on the Move for those kids that can't get to the ocean and we can bring the ocean to them.

We also have professional development so people can get very specific skills that they need to be successful in this field and help connect people with other people that are doing research.

MAGRIELL RODRIGUEZ-RUIZ, MISS EUGENIE CLARK FELLOW: This has opened a lot of doors that I didn't think were feasible. Being 45 years old pursuing my degree later in life.

MCKENZIE ZAPATA, MISS EUGENIE CLARK FELLOW: This reminds me that anything I want to do is possible.

GRAHAM: What I hope is that one day Minorities in Shark Sciences doesn't need to exist because barriers are eliminated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. To learn more about shark conservation, visit CNN.com/impact or text FINS to 707070 to donate.

[11:56:31]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)