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More Than 90 Million in 15 U.S. States Under Heat Alert; Europe Swelters under Heat Wave; GOP Hopefuls Court Iowa Evangelicals as Trump Alternative; U.S. Defense Bill Passes with Controversial Amendments; Zelenskyy Aide Says U.S. Close to Decision on ATACMS; India Reaches for the Moon; From Sin City to Sports City. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired July 15, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
From the ancient streets of Rome, heat records are being broken.
Two states are now getting calls from federal prosecutors investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
And police make an arrest in a case of serial killings from a decade ago. What broke the cold case.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Right now, 85 million Americans are starting the weekend once again under heat alerts. This comes after the heat dome expanded into California, which is in its first extreme heat wave of the year.
Elsewhere in the U.S., Phoenix surpassed its record of 18 days of 100 degrees. And currently at 1:00 in the morning there, the temperature in Phoenix is 102.
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BRUNHUBER: A dangerous heat wave is also in southern Europe. That comes at the height of the summer tourist season. Heat is known as the silent killer. In Greece, authorities shut down the Acropolis because of the heat.
Sicily also bracing for record breaking levels. There are fears that parts of the continent could see a repeat of the wildfires last summer. In Italy, health officials issued an extreme health risk warning for
15 cities, including Rome and Florence. We go live to Rome.
The folks in the Mediterranean are used to the heat but not like this.
How are folks coping out there?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People are trying to stay out of the sun from noon to 4:00. But there is not a lot of air conditioning in Europe. Only 10 percent of the homes have air conditioning. It is not that comfortable going home.
People are trying to drink water and stay cool. A lot of people are not changing their plans because they make their plans months and years in advance.
BRUNHUBER: And it's not just Italy; Spain and Greece has been deadly.
NADEAU: Yes. Spain, they're seeing high temperatures in places that don't normally have the high temperatures. In Greece, they had to close the most popular tourist site in Athens.
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NADEAU: We have not seen that sort of closure of sites in Italy. But we have ambulances at all the major tour sites, people there in case tourists collapse. And people who are vulnerable, who have respiratory problems, they should stay out of the heat. It will just get worse.
People will have to deal with it, I guess. There is nothing more you can do except protect yourself from the heat in some way. For the tourists out here, we have seen large groups from 7:00 am this morning trying to beat the heat. But tourists say there is little they can do if they want to see Rome and other cities.
BRUNHUBER: Experts keep saying this is the new normal. Last year, 61,000 died last year in Europe because of the heat.
Have they learned or adapted since then?
NADEAU: Last summer was the hottest summer ever. This summer is even hotter. They will have to look at infrastructure issues. This is tourist season in Rome. I cannot imagine that is going to change, that people will not come during the height of the summer.
The heat is always here. It is always hot in Rome in the summer. It is just the extreme temperatures and those that are predicted for next week make it so dangerous, even for the tourists. Some are from northern Europe, sunburn like I've never seen. It is really dangerous for a lot of people.
As you mentioned, the heat is a silent killer. People don't realize how dangerous it is to them until it is too late. There are civil authorities trying to make sure people stay cool and have water. And they are there in case people have medical emergencies. BRUNHUBER: That is why they're hiring the heat officers to deal with
the issues. As you say, it will be the new normal. Thank you very much.
CNN has learned that special counsel Jack Smith's team met with more top officials from the states crucial to Trump's attempt to cling to power after the 2020 election. The prosecutors are meeting with the secretaries of state from Pennsylvania and New Mexico.
That as cooperation with the special counsel is public. This is a sign that charging decisions may be near. It is clear that former president Trump is feeling the pressure. In Georgia, a grand jury was just selected to look into his efforts to interfere with that state's 2020 election. Trump's lawyers are asking the court to toss out the evidence.
This is happening at the same time that Trump's lawyers submitted a request to delay the criminal trial that he mishandled classified documents.
Republicans are focusing on a state that has huge significance. Jessica Dean reports.
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JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signing her state's six-week abortion ban into law onstage during the family leadership summit Friday, which gathered evangelical voters in Des Moines.
GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R-IA): I could not imagine a more appropriate place to sign this bill.
DEAN (voice-over): It was an issue Florida Governor Ron DeSantis embraced during his remarks to the conservative audience.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will be a pro- life president. So I mean,, of course, I want to sign pro-life legislation. We need to develop a culture of life in this country.
DEAN (voice-over): But he stopped short of committing to a federal six-week abortion ban like the one he signed in Florida.
DESANTIS: I will be somebody who will use the bully pulpit to support governors like Kim Reynolds is a critical issue and it's one I'm happy to have done.
DEAN (voice-over): One conspicuous absence on Friday, former President Donald Trump, who skipped the event but will travel to Iowa next week.
REYNOLDS: Thank you so much.
DEAN (voice-over): Governor Reynolds, popular among conservatives in the state, has pledged to remain neutral in the state's caucuses but has appeared at several events with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
Earlier this week, Trump attacked her for not endorsing him, writing on Truth Social in part, quote, "I opened up the governor position for Kim Reynolds.
And when she fell behind, I endorsed her." In response, DeSantis called Reynolds, quote, "a strong leader who knows how to ignore the chirping and get it done." While Haley touted the Iowa governor as a, quote, "conservative rock star."
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Isn't it good to be in a nation where you are free to praise the Lord?
DEAN (voice-over): Trump's rivals who continue to lag behind Trump in the polls, hoping to use his absence Friday as a moment to stand out to voters.
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DEAN (voice-over): Former Vice President Mike Pence calling Trump's words on January 6the, quote, "reckless."
MIKE PENCE (R-IN), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whatever his intentions in that moment, it endangered me and my family and everyone that was at the Capitol that day. I believe history will hold him accountable.
DEAN: Former vice president Mike Pence went after former president Trump, who was not in Des Moines. Others in the room were going after Democrats and President Biden -- Jessica Dean, CNN, Des Moines, Iowa.
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BRUNHUBER: Trump will appear at the Turning Point Action Conference tonight in West Palm Beach, Florida. DeSantis will hold a meet and greet in Iowa. Then DeSantis heads to Nashville.
Police in New York believe they have cracked the cold case of a serial killer that preyed on women more than a decade ago. A 59-year-old man has been charged with the murders of three women. They tracked down him using burner cell phones and DNA from trash collected from outside his Manhattan office.
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SHELLY MOLASCHI, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): A major development in a cold case murder mystery. A series of murders terrorized a Long Island beach community. Now a family man, farther of two and a New York architect is in custody.
COMMISSIONER RODNEY HARRISON, SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE: Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us, a predator that ruined families.
MOLASCHI (voice-over): On Friday, Rex Heuermann was charged in the deaths of three women, part of a group known as the Gilgo Four, Amber Costello, Megan Waterman and Melissa Barthelemy, found dead on the beach.
JOHN RAY, VICTIMS' FAMILIES' ATTORNEY: This is a bittersweet victory.
MOLASCHI (voice-over): Rex Heuermann became the suspect due to email addresses with fake names and DNA matches to the crime scene. We are learning the disturbing details about the murders and the suspects.
Prosecutors alleged that he used burner phones and made taunting calls to a victim's family and admitted to the murder.
The arrest was part of a larger investigation into an unsolved case, involving 10 sets of remains found since 2010 in Long Island.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing I can tell you that he said I didn't do this.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. film and TV actors are joining writers on the picket line in Hollywood.
This is now the biggest U.S. strike in decades -- after the break.
And how Republicans pushed the U.S. military into the middle of the culture wars. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: A vote on the U.S. military is being drawn into the country's culture wars and is raising questions whether speaker Kevin McCarthy has controlled his caucus.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Showcasing the power of the far right and the political calculations of speaker Kevin McCarthy. The House today approved a $186 billion defense bill but not before bowing to hardliners in a bitter partisan feud.
The bill that would set national security priorities and authorize pay raises for troops was amended on the House floor to cover lots of cultural issues.
Hardliners threatened to block the bill, forcing votes on hot button amendments, including to eliminate the Pentagon's postural policy, providing reimbursement to military personnel for abortions and nixing diversity programs and health care for transgender veterans.
Conservatives said that the bill goes after the woke military. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they think about our military is a little
different than what the bureaucrats and three-star generals think about it.
RAJU: Just four Democrats voted for it and four Republicans voted against it.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: They are turning their backs on the military.
REP. NANCY MACE (R): We need to stop being assholes to women.
RAJU: Democrats expect that the Senate will strip out the controversial provisions. That will mean that McCarthy will have to compromise on a final deal, something that risks angering the far right House Freedom Caucus, which in the past has paralyzed the House.
They could call for a vote for speaker Kevin McCarthy's ouster.
Some want McCarthy to hold the line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not going to just surrender.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to hold the line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to drive a hard bargain.
RAJU: What if the speaker does compromise?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're hoping to preempt that.
RAJU (voice-over): Democrats revolted. The speaker wooed the far- right.
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RAJU: If you voted no, you would not have been on the conference committee?
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Of course not. That would not make sense.
RAJU: Speaker Kevin McCarthy defended his decision to name Marjorie Taylor Greene as part of the committee. She is now advocating to try to restrict the United States' support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. That does not have much support in Congress.
But he said, "What I believe in any conference, you have to be reflective of the entire conference so a number of people will serve on the committee" -- Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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BRUNHUBER: Joining us is former Army Ranger Adrian Lewis.
The military being at the center of the nation's culture wars is not new.
How different is what we're seeing now, from the fight over desegregating, admitting women and letting gay and lesbians serve openly?
ADRIAN LEWIS, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS: The armed forces are always dealing with some sort of social change. You have the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement. And you had the anti-draft movement. Social change and social issues during war is not new.
Does it damage the morale?
Does it hurt the military effectiveness?
To some degree, yes, absolutely it does. Some of the social change that you see going on right now.
Does it damage military effectiveness?
To some degree, the answer is yes.
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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Increasingly diverse society, ,you have to have all hands on deck. Every corner of society should feel welcome in the military. We have to recruit from every segment of
society in order to make sure that we're prepared in an increasingly dangerous world.
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BRUNHUBER: The rebuttal from the Right can be summarized from Eli Crane from Arizona.
He said, "The military was never intended to be inclusive. Its strength is its standards."
How do you think this is going to affect the morale when it comes to attracting service members?
LEWIS: Let me say first, diversity is important. I served in the armed forces of the United States. My father served in World War II. We just celebrated his 100th birthday. He served in a segregated army. That was damaging to millions of Black soldiers.
In 1948, Truman issued the executive order called the Integration of the Armed Forces of the United States during the Korean War, but it was not until the Vietnam War that we entered with an integrated army.
Should all be people be treated equal in the armed forces of the United States?
Do we need all Americans to show up to fight? Yes, we do. Currently the U.S. Army is having great difficulty in terms of recruitment. Last year they missed their goal by 15,000 soldiers. When you think about the 82nd Airborne Division, imagine the whole thing going away. That is how many soldiers that we fell short last year.
This year, we're also going to miss our recruitment goals. Let's say that we're going to alienate the African Americans or women.
Women make up 16 percent of the armed forces of the U.S. We can't go to war without them.
So should we have an inclusive armed forces?
Absolutely, we should.
BRUNHUBER: There have been a lot of change in the recent years, like admitting openly gay service members. The military was seen as a conservative institution and resistant to change.
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BRUNHUBER: But it seems more in step with the broader public opinion, like gay rights, abortions, than many Republicans in Congress.
Is there a danger that the military is polled from one side to the other and how do you prevent this?
LEWIS: I think there is reason for some concern. I think the armed forces have weathered these problems before. I talked about the integration of the armed forces with African Americans. It was a difficult period. But we survived it.
Was it for the best?
I think yes. During the Obama administration, the armed forces opened up all positions to women. You can have women Rangers and women in Special Forces and infantry units. As long as we don't go over the standards, I think that is fine. Quite frankly, you cannot go to war without women these days.
BRUNHUBER: Thank you very much for your perspective and your service, Adrian Lewis. Appreciate it.
LEWIS: Thank you.
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BRUNHUBER: Television actors have joined writers on the picket lines and it's now the largest strike since 1997. They walked outside Rockefeller Center on Friday. SAG-AFTRA represent some 160,000 professional actors. They want better pay and the stopping of artificial intelligence and want better control of streaming residuals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KATE COMER, SAG-AFTRA MEMBER: We get paid once a year. If that payment is about $1,800, if this was on broadcast, we would have made, I think the number is around $3,600 for one rerun on broadcast. And now we're making less than $2,000 a year. Right now, we cannot make a livable wage on what we're earning.
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BRUNHUBER: But the studios said they offered a historic deal, including the largest pay increase in decades.
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BOB IGER, CEO, DISNEY: This is just not realistic and they're adding to challenge this business is already facing, very disruptive. You have to be realistic about the business environment and what the business can deliver. It has been a great business for all of these people. And it will continue to be, even through disruptive times.
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BRUNHUBER: Very few actors make big money, according to salary.com. The average American actor makes just under $61,000 a year.
Russia's president makes it clear who he wants to lead a mercenary group. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to everyone in the United States, Canada and all around the world. This is CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get a check of one of our top stories.
Tens of millions of Americans are under a heat alert from the Pacific Northwest to south Florida, including California, in their first extreme heat wave of the year. Phoenix may surpass its record of 18 straight days over a 110 Fahrenheit.
Experts say that the extreme heat is a silent killer.
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SUSAN JOY HASSEL, DIRECTOR, CLIMATE COMMUNICATION: It kills more people every year in the U.S. than hurricanes and floods combined. So it has serious impacts for our health.
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BRUNHUBER: And animal advocates want people to protect their pets from the exposure. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's easy to forget about the situation. Your animals are far more stressed. If you're unsure if it is too hot to walk your dog, put the back of your hand on the pavement. If it is too hot for your hand, is it too hot for your dog.
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BRUNHUBER: Ed Lavandera has more.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 90 million people across the country are feeling the suffocation of an extreme heat wave. Widespread temperatures well over 100 degrees and heat index temperatures topping 110 degrees in many places. The heat unrelenting, like the popping sound off pickleball on this Dallas courts and at least one player looking for an escape.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE : I'm getting out of town. I won't be back until August. It's because of the heat. I mean, Minnesota is a place to be right now. So I'm going up there.
LAVANDERA: The American Southwest has seen 34 straight days of heat alerts and while some might dismiss this as just another summer, the author of the book "The Heat Will Kill You First" warns people underestimate the dangerous heat.
JEFF GOODELL, AUTHOR, "THE HEAT WILL KILL YOU FIRST": What I have learned is that we radically must understand the risks of extreme heat. We think that heat means a good day to go to the pull or go to the beach. We don't understand how dangerous it is.
LAVANDERA: When elephants at the Dallas Zoo need relief to fight for the heat wave, it is a sign of the humans need to be aware as well. The zoo is shifting its hours to open earlier and monitoring animals not accustomed to these extreme temperatures.
SAM SAFRANEK, DALLAS ZOOLOGIST: Mostly being lethargic is a good indicator of whether they are too hot. Hosing them down, most animals do appreciate a good host. Down
LAVANDERA: ERCAT, the agency managing the Texas power grid says the state set an unofficial record for peak energy used on Thursday but also says the grid has enough power to handle the increased demand.
But for millions of people who work outside, it's impossible to escape the punishing heat.
For package delivery drivers --
SHEA SQUALLS, UPS DRIVER: You have to prepare yourself each and every
day. That mission starts at home. You start -- as soon as you wake up, you start hydrating. LAVANDERA: And farm workers and landscaping crews out in the field.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it gets very hot, we'll actually pull our crews and not allow them to work that day.
LAVANDERA: And for children like Kameron Johnson trying to enjoy summer vacation -- well, this is no fun.
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KAMERON JOHNSON, DALLAS, TEXAS: It feels like if hot sauce could be felt without you having to taste and it got poured on my back.
LAVANDERA: We find ourselves in the scorching misery of summer heat and there is no relief in sight. This weekend it is especially dire in the southwest part of the United States, where temperatures and heat indexes are expected to reach over 110 degrees in many places.
In Death Valley, California, it could be a stunning 130 degrees. That temperature has only been reached five times since records have been kept there in more than 110 years -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas, Texas.
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BRUNHUBER: With the severe heat, the United Airlines CEO is making the link between travel chaos and climate change.
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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: United Airlines' CEO said that climate change will mean more extreme weather, making the misery of flight delays and cancellations more common.
United Airlines canceled about 1,300 flights and delayed 8,000 in June mostly because it was hit by storms. But it also placed some of the blame on the shortage of air traffic controllers.
Scott Kirby said, regardless of the carrier, travelers should brace for cancellations more often.
SCOTT KIRBY, CEO, UNITED AIRLINES: The regular operations events are going to be more likely to occur as the climate warms, more heat in the atmosphere. We'll have more thunderstorms.
MUNTEAN: Kirby said that airlines cannot control the weather, only prepare for it and react to it. He said United's meltdown was a learning experience. It forged a better relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration. He referred to that agency as heroic.
Extreme weather events are not limited to just thunderstorms. A few days ago, an Allegiant flight was hit by horrible turbulence that sent two flight attendants and two passengers to the hospital -- Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: In parts of Europe, officials are concerned. In Serbia,
temperatures could reach 104 Fahrenheit and are expected to remain above average for at least 10 more days.
For a different kind of extreme weather in South Korea, 21 people have died in the heavy rain, flooding and landslides. Look at this dramatic video as the side of a mountain falls to the ground. Two died when their building collapsed in a landslide.
In New Delhi a river has dropped about a meter since the waterway breached its banks but it still remains above the danger mark. Crews are working to reopen the flood gates. More rain is expected in the country's north. Some people said that they sheltered on their balconies because the homes were waterlogged.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a power cut, a shortage of water and food. We are living on the terrace and cooking here. We have not gotten any help from anyone.
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BRUNHUBER: About 30,000 people were forced to flee when the river burst its banks.
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BRUNHUBER: Russian president Vladimir Putin used a divide and conquer strategy when dealing with Wagner mercenaries. He met with Yevgeny Prigozhin and senior Wagner commanders after their failed mutiny and said that he proposed a new leader for them.
Prigozhin's fate is still unclear. The Russian president wants a senior commander and one of Wagner's founding members, a retired colonel that fought in Chechnya and Afghanistan.
We're getting word of new Russian drone strikes on Zaporizhzhya. Ukraine said that it was hit overnight, damaging residential building and an industrial facility. One person was wounded. This is as President Zelenskyy says Moscow is going all out to stop Ukraine's counteroffensive.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our full focus is on the front line. We must all understand very clearly, as clearly as possible that the Russian forces on our southern and eastern lands are investing everything they can to stop our warriors.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. is very close to making a decision about sending ATACMS to Ukraine.
[04:40:00] BRUNHUBER: Those missiles have a range up to 190 miles, that would allow strikes deeper behind the front lines. Scott McLean joins us from London.
What is the latest on the discussion of the U.S.' decision on the long-range missiles?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A top aide to President Zelenskyy believes that the U.S. is very close, in his words, to making that decision. This has been on Ukraine, the top of their wish list, for some time, since the early times of the war.
That would open up the battlefields, namely in Crimea, and also in Russia proper. That is why the U.S. is a little bit hesitant to send them in the first place, because it doesn't want its weapons to be used to strike inside of Russia.
They say that could risk escalating the conflict. The U.S.' view up to this point has been, frankly, the Ukrainians don't need them. But that was also the answer when it came to HIMARS, tanks, the list goes on and on. The pattern is that one NATO ally agrees to send in a particular weapon and the others follow.
In this case, other NATO allies have already agreed to send long-range weapons. The British say they've been used to great effect. And the French also agreed to send the French version of what is the same weapon to the Ukrainians.
The concern that the U.S. has, frankly, the cat is out of the bag on that. So perhaps that gives the Ukrainians reason for optimism.
One other thing to mention, over the past week, the Ukrainians figure that they got about $1.5 billion in commitments in Western, NATO weapons from countries at the NATO summit this past week.
And we heard from the secretary of state who was in Southeast Asia. He said that should be a sign to Ukraine President Zelenskyy that NATO has committed to Ukraine in the long term, that Putin cannot just wait it out. As soon as Putin gets that message, the sooner, this war might actually end.
BRUNHUBER: Thank you, Scott.
Still ahead, India is taking another shot at landing on the moon. But it will be weeks if we know the mission is a success. We'll have that report coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: India's hope to join an exclusive club soared on Friday with the spectacular launch of a mission to the moon. It is a long way from its space program's humble beginnings in 1963.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three, two, one, zero.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: India's literally shooting for the moon with a historic mission that could cement its position as a space
power. The Chandrayaan-3 which means moon vehicle in Sanskrit launch Friday afternoon. As the name suggests, this is India's third lunar mission and
it's part of the country's greater bid to be a space power. During the last mission in 2019, the rover crashed after a hard landing.
With this mission, they're aiming to land the rover near the moon's unexplored South Pole. Officials say the lander is due to reach the moon on
August the 23rd. After the landing, scientists plan to deploy the rover and to conduct scientific experiments including analyzing the chemistry of the
lunar soil. Measuring the temperature of the lunar surface and scanning for moon quakes.
On launch day, India's Prime Minister tweeted this. "14th of July 2023 will always be etched in golden letters as far as India's space sector is
concerned. Chandrayaan-3, our third lunar mission will embark on its journey. This remarkable mission will carry the hopes and dreams of our
nation."
Success would be huge for India. So far, only three countries have successfully soft landed a craft on the moon. The U.S., the former Soviet
Union and China.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
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BRUNHUBER: Las Vegas, long known as Sin City, is turning into a sports mecca. We have the details next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Tennis history will be made in the coming hours, each trying to win their maiden grand slam title. In the men's final, age is just a number. The 36-year-old Novak Djokovic is just one serve away from winning a record eight time at the All England Club.
Las Vegas is known to be over the top, from the casinos to the glitzy entertainment. Now it is betting its future on athletes of all kinds.
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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said the Oakland A's started the application process to officially move to Las Vegas. This coming after Nevada approved a $380 million bill last month to help fund a ballpark there on the Vegas strip.
The A's' move to Vegas is the latest example of pro sports leagues going all in on the entertainment capital of the world.
Las Vegas has always been known as Sin City but it's quickly becoming the top sports city in the country.
SCHOLES (voice-over): For the first time ever the Super Bowl is coming to Vegas as Allegiant Stadium will be the site of the big game in February. It's also getting its first ever NCAA Final Four in 2028. Formula 1 will return to Vegas in November. After being ignored by pro sports leagues for years, Vegas is now the hot destination.
DOUG CASTANEDA, WYNN LAS VEGAS: Once Allegiant Stadium got put into play, that's when we went to the next level. We could say hey, we can host a Final Four one day. We have the infrastructure.
SCHOLES: Did the fact that gambling started becoming more accepted nationally help Las Vegas starting to get these pro teams?
JIM GIBSON, CHAIR, CLARK COUNTY: It's been really important for that to happen. It had to fade in the minds of some of those in control. We couldn't buy an ad for a Super Bowl in the late '90s and early 2000s. They wouldn't sell Las Vegas anything.
SCHOLES (voice-over): In just the past six years, Vegas has added the Golden Knights in the NHL, the Aces in the WNBA and the Raiders in the NFL.
SCHOLES: And this is currently where the Tropicana Hotel and Casino is. But all of this is going to be demolished to make way for a state of the art Major League Baseball stadium right here on the strip that will be the future home of the Oakland A's.
GIBSON: Nothing could be more spectacular than to have that kind of a facility and that kind of activity happening and fans being able to pour in and out of such a location.
SCHOLES: What do you think a Major League Baseball team on the strip will do for Las Vegas? CASTANEDA: I think it will pump visitation up, definitely. A lot of fans want to follow their team.
GIBSON: We imagine people will travel better to Las Vegas than most destinations. So when the A's play the Cubs or the Yankees or the Mets or other teams that really travel well, we're going to see them here. So it's exciting.
[04:55:00]
SCHOLES (voice-over): In just the past year Vegas has had two championship parades for the Golden Knights and the Aces. With the NFL, NHL, WNBA and Major League Baseball on the way, the only league the city will now be missing is the NBA. And LeBron James has already made it known he wants to own that team.
LEBRON JAMES, NBA CHAMPION: I would love to bring a team here at some point. That would be amazing. I want the team here, Adam (ph). Thank you.
GIBSON: That would be fun if LeBron wants to be the owner. We invite him to town permanently.
SCHOLES: It would be pretty cool if LeBron goes straight from player to owner when he retires.
I asked NBA commissioner Adam Silver about the NBA's plans for expansion. He told me the NBA would figure out the new collective bargaining agreement and TV deals first, then think about expansion. They got the new CVA done in April. A TV deal should be done shortly. When that happens, Vegas will be on the clock officially.
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BRUNHUBER: The Powerball lottery jackpot is up for grabs today at $875 million. It is the third largest in the game's history. No one has won the Powerball since April 19th. So it has rolled over 36 times since then. The big payout has some people dreaming of what they would do with all of that cash.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think I would do a payoff and travel. Pay everything off and travel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd put it back in the community. Good luck to me.
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BRUNHUBER: The Mega Millions was drawn Friday. But no big winners. Its jackpot is now $640 million.
That wraps up this hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. More news in just a moment. Please stick with us.
