Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Extreme Weather Across the U.S. and Europe; John Kerry in China for Climate Talks; Lionel Messi Joins Inter Miami; Spanish Carlos Alcaraz Wins Wimbledon; Explosions at Crimea Bridge; Black Sea Grain Deal in Peril; Gilgo Beach Murder, More Possible Victims. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 17, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom," extreme weather across the U.S. Deadly flooding in the northeast and a record setting heat wave to the west, with no relief in sight.

Records also being set in Europe just as tourism season reaches its peak. We are live in Rome with a look at how the ancient city is dealing with its modern threat. Plus, the Gilgo Beach murders, we will talk with the author of a best-selling book examining the case from the very beginning. Why he says that the police were so quick, at first, to dismiss the young female victims.

Good to have you with us. We begin with extreme weather around the world, starting here in the United States where more than 18 million people are under heat alerts and 14 states, stretching from Washington State all the way to Florida. A dangerous heat dome remains locked down over the western U.S. and the relentless blistering temperatures are breaking records by the day.

The National Weather Service says about three dozen daily high temperature records were broken on Sunday, and parts of California, Nevada, and Arizona are seeing the mercury shoot well past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Well, people in southern Europe are also sweltering with a scorching heat wave coming right in the midst of the busy summer tourist season.

On the Spanish island of La Palma, a forest fire is only making matters worse. It's burning out of control forcing at least 4,000 people to evacuate. In Italy, it least one person has died and several tourists have collapsed from the heat. Sixteen Italian cities, including Rome and Florence are under extreme health risks because of the heat and people in France, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, and Spain are also facing dangerously high temperatures.

So, let's bring in CNN's Barbie Nadeau. She joins us live from Rome. So, Barbie, what is the latest on this record heat hitting Italy and, of course, other parts of Europe?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. You know, here in Rome, certainly we're expecting temperatures to really rise today and tomorrow. They are warning people that we could really break a record. The record, of course, just set last year in Rome, in June of last year, 40.7 degrees. Expecting it could rise above that today, almost certain tomorrow.

We're seeing the same sort of warnings in southern Italy, in Sicily especially. They are looking at topping the all-time European record which was 48.8, set last year as well. So, temperatures are going to get hot. We've just seen this continuation of the rise in temperatures as --- as you said, as you mentioned, you know, the height of tourist season. These tourists have been here, their trips are planned, and they're not changing their plans at all, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Barbie, here in the United States, the elderly and other vulnerable citizens and are often advised to seek out air-conditioned centers for relief from the heat. So, what are citizens across Italy being told to do at this time, given there is not a lot of access to air-conditioned areas?

NADEAU: No, that's right. But you have to remember people in Italy are in front of the Mediterranean region, know how to deal with heat. This heat is common, it's always hot in the summer in southern Europe. This heat is a little bit extreme, but people understand. They are smarter than the tourists in a lot of ways because they're not out running around during the heat of the day.

You know, we don't have the so-called air conditioning centers here in Italy, but there are places that are air conditioned. Shopping malls, stores, things like that. You know, you've got people flocking to places like that. And air conditioning is becoming more and more common in places like -- certainly in places like Rome and Florence and things like that.

But, you know, people know how to deal with the heat here. It's really the tourists who are the main problem because they are out during the heat of the day, during the hottest times. We've seen, you know, for the last several days, people lining up under the blazing sun in the Roman Coliseum. I can guarantee you there aren't any Italians among them. They know how to deal with this.

And so, the authorities are less concerned about that. Of course, elderly people, vulnerable people, people who have respiratory problems, they are really being cared for. But, you know, Italian health services are very good with those people, making sure everybody has access to that kind of health care if they are vulnerable.

[02:05:02]

But, again, you know, it's the tourists that the authorities are more worried about at this point because they are the ones that are not taking the advice very seriously, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yeah, yeah. Good point. Barbie Nadeau, joining us live from Rome. Many thanks.

Well, it appears that the massive heat wave in the southwestern U.S. has a firm grip on conditions for at least the next week. CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller tells us if there is any sign of relief in sight.

BRANDON MILLER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So, the question everyone wants to know is when will the heat wave in the U.S. southwest break? And the answer is no time soon. These above average temperatures, if we put this in the motion going through the work week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, into Thursday, they really just expand.

The high pressure that's been here over the four corners region, near Nevada, just sort of drift a little bit, but that heat dome stays massive and it blocks any of these winds and rain that could cool things off and things are going to stay 10, 15 degrees above average. That is Fahrenheit, above average, for the next, at least, week. And we're talking the hottest times of the year.

So, take your hottest time of the year, add 10 to 15 degrees fahrenheit, and that is where we are. Nearly every day this week, in Phoenix, will be a record high. That is scary and what is even scarier are the lows; 94, 95, 94, those would be in the top of 5 to 10 hottest nights Phoenix has ever had, any one of them, and you've got seven in a row. It's been since last Sunday when the low dropped below 90.

So, that is a record stretch for them. We are setting records everywhere. Las Vegas more of the same, looking at setting a record and then staying above 110 all week long. Again, lows not dropping down where they should be. That is where heat turns deadly. The next several days here, going through, actually next weekend.

Here in the northern plains and even the northeast, you've been dealing with a lot of rain. You are dealing with smoke from the Canadian wildfires, but you are at least staying out of this record heat wave that shows no signs of breaking in the U.S. Back to you.

CHURCH: Thanks for that. And as Brandon just mentioned, in the northeast United States, it is not excessive heat, but too much rain all at once. Authorities in Pennsylvania are searching for a two-year- old and an infant who disappeared in flash flood waters. The children's mother and four others died in that flooding.

Well. the storms also put major airports in New York and Boston under ground stop Sunday afternoon. Conditions have forced airlines to cancel nearly 2,000 U.S. flights since early Sunday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

To Asia now, and authorities in South Korea say 40 people have now died from flash floods and landslides in the past few days. Nine people are still missing. What you are seeing now is one of the most concentrated disaster areas, a flooded underpass in central South Korea. Emergency workers recovered the bodies of 13 people who died after several cars and a bus were trapped there.

More dangerous weather is headed for East Asia. Tropical Storm Talim has now strengthened into a typhoon in the South China Sea. It's carrying winds of 120 kilometers per hour, equivalent to a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane. It's expected to make landfall in southern China in the next 24 hours and forecasters warn heavy rainfall could trigger flash flooding and landslides.

Well, U.S. climate envoy, John Kerry, is in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart. They are discussing how to reduce their country's carbon emissions. China and the U.S. are the world's largest carbon polluters, and the backdrop for their talks couldn't be more appropriate. They are meeting in China's capital during the city's hottest ever recorded summer.

And Anna Coren joins me now from Hong Kong with more on this. Good to see you, Anna. So, what all does John Kerry and his team hope to achieve during his Beijing trip on climate change?

Ann Coren, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, I think there is real commitment on both sides, you know, to get momentum back on track regarding climate talks. John Kerry has just wrapped up a four-hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua. We are waiting for readouts from both sides, but its length certainly suggest that they had a lot to discuss.

You know, China and the U.S., the world's two largest economies, they are also the world's two biggest emitters accounting for 40 percent of global emissions.

[02:09:58]

So, there needs to be cooperation and a concerted effort to drastically cut fossil fuel production to make an impact on climate change and obviously lead the world by example. Climate talks came to a standstill last August, Rosemary, after the then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Beijing severed talks in protest. But as we have seen, there have been a slew of high-level U.S.-China meetings in the past months to improve this bilateral relationship starting with the U.S. Secretary of State, then the Treasury Secretary, and now U.S. climate envoy, John Kerry, in Beijing.

Now, Kerry and Xie, they have a history. They worked together in 2021 for COP26 in Glasgow where they made some real progress. Then they met on the sidelines of COP27 in Egypt last year. January of this year, they had a video talk. And it would suggest that communications have continued despite the strained relationship.

So, this face-to-face meeting between the two men very important. It's about resuming the joint working group on climate cooperation before COP28, which will happen at the end of November in Dubai. And Kerry has said it's imperative that China and the U.S. make real progress in the next four months.

Let me read to you what Kerry also said about these meetings in Beijing. He said, "In the next three days we hope we can begin taking some big steps that will send a signal to the world about the serious purpose of China and the U.S. to address the common risk, threat, challenge, to all of humanity created by humans themselves." Kerry we'll meet with other Chinese officials over the next few days

and possibly, Rosemary, even Xi Jinping. Kerry met with Xi when he was U.S. Secretary of State under Barack Obama, and experts believe that a meeting of Xi and Kerry would send an important signal of Beijing's commitment to tackling global warming, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right there. Thanks to Anna Coren joining us live from Hong Kong. Appreciate it.

Well, smoke from Canadian wildfires is causing more problems for the U.S. The National Weather Service in central Illinois posted this photo showing how the skies darkened dramatically over the weekend. The situation has been made worse over the past week with nearly 400 new fires in British Columbia. A firefighter died Thursday responding to a blaze there.

Smoke from those wildfires is triggering alerts in at least 11 states across the northern U.S. Air quality health advisories are being issued Monday for the entire state of New York.

Well, one of the greatest football stars of his generation has been formally introduced to his new fans in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Lionel Andres Messi!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Despite a two-hour rain delay, Lionel Messi was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd at an Inter Miami introductory celebration Sunday, including a team co-owner David Beckham, a former world class player himself, of course. Messi's first met with Inter Miami takes place this Friday. The 36-year-old Argentine joined the team as a seven-time Ballon d'Or winner. Messi's deal runs through the end of the 2025 season and will pay up to $60 million a year.

And world number one Carlos Alcaraz says winning Wimbledon is a dream come true. The Spaniard beat reigning champion, Novak Djokovic, in a thrilling five set men's final on Sunday. Alcaraz prevailed after nearly five hours on center court. The 20-year-old becomes the third youngest Wimbledon champion in the open era.

Well, there is an emergency right now on the bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia that's damaged the span and reportedly killed at least two people. We will have a live update on what made have caused it. That's coming up.

And this emergency comes as Vladimir Putin ponders whether to extend an expiring grain deal that's critical to Ukraine and many countries around the world. We'll explain what's at stake and why the Russian president is holding out. Back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:00]

CHURCH: Two blasts, a girl injured, her parents killed. A roadway damaged and traffic at a standstill. These are the various reports we are getting, at this hour, about an emergency on the bridge connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland.

Multiple, unconfirmed reports indicate two explosions rocked the Kerch bridge just after 3:00 a.m. local time Monday. Officials say some of the roadway was damaged and traffic, including cars and trains, has been halted. The governor of Russia's Belgorod region says a girl was injured and her parents killed in a car on the bridge. There is no confirmation yet on what may have caused all of this.

And, to the west, the last Ukrainian ship protected under the Black Sea Grain Deal with Russia has left the port of Odessa. That deal, which allows safe passage for Ukrainian grain, will expire later today unless Russia extends it. President Vladimir Putin has complained the agreement is unfair to Russia, but he has still agreed to previous extensions, despite threatening to pull out of the deal.

The U.N. has offered Russia some financial concessions, but it's not clear if Putin will accept them this time. And CNN's Scott McLean is tracking all of this from London and has the latest for us. He joins us live. Good to see you, Scott. So, what more are you learning about these explosions hitting Crimea's Kerch bridge? Russia calling this an emergency situation.

SCOT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, again, Rosemary, we have unconfirmed reports that there were two explosions, about six hours ago, so 3:00 a.m. local time and they are about 15 minutes apart or so. We have not got official confirmation from the Russian side, but what the Russian Ministry of Transport has confirmed is that the bridge has been damaged. Spans of the bridge, they say, have been damaged and officials right now are inspecting the bridge.

[02:20:01]

Officials have also confirmed though that there were Ukrainian drone attacks on the city of Sebastopol, this is on the other side of the Crimean Peninsula. So, again, not near the bridge, but certainly there has been incoming into Ukraine overnight.

Now, the Ukrainian's have not taken responsibility for either, but the Ukrainian intelligence has said that this will make it more difficult for the Russians on the battlefield. They have also said, quote, "that the bridge is an unstable structure." Now, of course, it is not only strategically important for the Russians to get supplies into the civilian population of Crimea, but also potentially for the war effort as well.

But it is also symbolically important because it is the only link between Russia proper and the illegally annexed territory of Crimea, which was taken by the Russians in 2014. In fact, Vladimir Putin himself, when the bridge opened in 2018, was on hand for the official opening driving across the bridge himself. It has also been targeted before. It was just earlier this month that the Russians say that it intercepted a Ukrainian cruise missile, causing the bridge to be closed for some time, causing traffic backlogs.

And of course, in October of last year as well, a truck carrying explosives detonated on that bridge causing huge damage. It was in December that Putin actually personally visited the bridge to oversee the rebuilding process. It February that the bridge reopened to traffic and the train part of the bridge, which carries freight and passengers, that was set to reopen last month. Obviously now, there are going to be more problems getting across that bridge, Rosemary. The extent of the damage though, obviously, we still don't know.

CHURCH: Of course. And Scott, what is the latest on the Ukraine grain deal that is set to expire midnight Monday and how likely is it that Russia will renew this agreement?

MCLEAN: Yeah. Frankly, things are not looking good. Case in point, last month, a Ukrainian diplomat said she was 99.9 percent sure that Russia would not renew that deal. Obviously, the deal has helped to stabilize global food prices because Ukraine is such a big exporter of grain. On Saturday, Vladimir Putin told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that the deal has not been living up to its objectives.

And the crux of the deal is, essentially, is that Russia allows free passage of the Ukrainian grain to get out of the country via ship on the Black Sea in exchange, in part, for help from the U.N. to help its grain and its fertilizer get to market. Now, it's grain and its fertilizer, Russian grain and fertilizer, is not subject to any international sanctions, but complicating things is the fact that Russian banks are largely sanctioned and disconnected from international payment systems.

And so, the U.N. has offered to connect one bank or remove barriers for the Russian agricultural bank. It's not clear whether the Russians are in the mood to accept that kind of a deal. Obviously, the ball is in their court. And one other thing, quickly, is that, of course, Ukraine does have other options to get grain out of the country, but the difficulty going via rail through Europe is that the gauge of the tracks in Ukraine and Europe are actually different so, it causes a huge logistical issue to actually transfer the cargo from one train to another once it gets to the border with Poland, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Scott McLean joining us live from London. Still to come, a suspect arrested and charged in the cold case of the Gilgo Beach murders. What a top investigator had to say about the alleged killing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:25:00]

CHURCH: A top investigator on the long, unsolved case of the Gilgo Beach murders says it's possible that there may be more victims. New York architect, Rex Heuermann, is charged with the murders of three women over a decade ago. He was arrested on Thursday in midtown Manhattan, about 40 miles from where the victims remain were discovered on Gilgo Beach in Long Island in 2010. Heuermann has pleaded not guilty. The case is tied to at least 10 sets

of human remains which were found in the area. Heuermann is also the prime suspect in a fourth murder. One official said he is alleged acts were the worst he had ever seen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY CARTER, SUFFOLK COUNTY DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: I knew that this person was a demon. And the fact that we are able to bring some closure and some peace to the families as well as take a violent person off of the streets is rewarding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now from Brooklyn, New York, is Robert Kolker. He is the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery" about the Gilgo Beach murders." Bob, thanks so much for joining us.

ROBERT KOLKER, AUTHOR, LOST GIRLS: AN UNSOLVED AMERICAN MYSTERY: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, you have followed the Gilgo Beach killings for more than a decade and, as I just mentioned, wrote a book about the case. What was your reaction to news on Friday that an arrest had been made of a suspect in this case, 16 years after multiple women were found dead in that area?

KOLKER: Well, it's simply a stunning development. I think what people who are unfamiliar with this case might need to understand is that it has been 12 years, not just without any promising leads, but with no declared persons of interests, no suspects, no arrests, and barely a peep from the police or the authorities, except perhaps identifying another victim or releasing a small piece of evidence for information.

There has been practically nothing, and now suddenly to have this, a suspect who has been hiding in plain sight the entire time, a suspect with 92 gun permits, it's simply stunning.

CHURCH: Yeah. Let's look at that because the suspect, we are looking at the photograph there, Rex Heuermann, is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to the charges.

[02:30:05]

He appears to have been living, as you say, in plain sight in a Long Island town not far from where the bodies were found. Why do you think it took so long to find this suspect, a family man, very well educated with a high-profile job?

KOLKER: He fits the profile in so many ways. He's lives in this centrally located town in Long Island, that's a short drive from where the human remains were first found. He commutes into Manhattan which is where some of the phone cell signals got pings from. So, we think that, you know, perhaps it matches up that way. On the other hand, he has this public facing job. A job where he is very visible. He's dealing with architecture clients all the time, perhaps high-profile people. So, it's hard to imagine somebody like that thinking that they can stay below radar forever. The fact that he stayed below radar this long, has everything to do with problems with the Suffolk County Police. Problems with the Suffolk County D.A., institutional apathy about this case from the very beginning.

Cooperation problems with the FBI. And frankly, there was a long period where there was corruption that was keeping the FBI out of this case.

CHURCH: Right. And I wanted to ask you why these murdered women were viewed by the public as prostitutes and worthless from the very beginning and what changed that perception slowly over the years.

KOLKER: In my book Lost Girls, I try not just to profile the women who were victims in this case, but also their families. It's really a portrait of five families. And these families are all families that were in crisis in different ways, from parts of America, where financial opportunities have been narrowing for generations. And then the internet comes along and disrupts everything, and provides an irresistible way to make quick money for people who otherwise might be working at minimum wage jobs or perhaps going nowhere in their lives.

So, it was a tool of social mobility for a lot of these women. The problem is that our society made them vulnerable. They were overlooked when they went missing, their disappearances weren't taken seriously by the authorities. Some of them never got on to the official registry of missing persons that the United States has because they were escorts. And then once their bodies were found, the police didn't want to take the case as seriously as they might have otherwise, that these women were college students perhaps or, you know, corporate employees.

Instead, they told the public that it was the constellation, that the killer was only targeting women like this. It really is a textbook case in why women like this get overlooked and why serial killers target women like this because they know they'll be overlooked. It was a tragedy back then it's really quite, quite a positive development that things have changed a little bit now.

CHURCH: And Bob, why did you decide to write about this case in your book Lost Girls? A best seller that was actually later adapted into a movie.

KOLKER: I think, to me, the best True Crime books don't just offer you, you know, thrills and plot twists. They also lift the veil on a part of the world and part of society that you might otherwise never get to see. The thing about crime stories is that worlds collide and claim stories. The rich and the poor, collide, law enforcement bump up against people who are living off the grid.

And we learned something about ourselves as a society about who becomes vulnerable. Lost Girls is a social issues book as much as it is a crime story. And mostly it's a book about families and about people who become vulnerable and why they become vulnerable. CHURCH: Bob Kolker, thank you so much for shining some light on this and for joining us. We appreciate it.

KOLKER: Thank you very much.

CHURCH: In Georgia, a gunman accused of fatally shooting four people in an Atlanta suburb was killed in a shootout with police. Authorities say Andre Longmore died during a confrontation Sunday that also left two officers injured one of them seriously. The shooting Saturday sparked a manhunt across North Georgia. The motive for the shooting is still unclear, but officials say the gunman was not related to any of the victims.

Still to come. New economic data out of Beijing shows a bounce back from COVID-19 may have run its course. We'll break down the numbers. That and more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:37:48]

CHURCH: New data out of Beijing shows China's economy is slow to less than one percent growth in the second quarter of this year. The National Bureau of Statistics released those figures just hours ago. And here's a look at how the Asia markets are faring right now. You can see there. All errors in negative territory. And China's slowdown comes after a better showing at the start of the year.

Beijing saw more than two percent growth in the first quarter when the economy began to shake off the effects of years of pandemic restrictions. But the post-COVID recovery has quickly faltered as Chinese exports fell the most in three years due to lower demand.

And CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins me now from Hong Kong with more on this. Good to see you, Kristie. So, walk us through the data and what it says about the pace of China's economic recovery after COVID.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, China's economic growth is losing momentum. Growth is stronger if you compare it to last year when zero COVID lockdowns gripped the country. But the pace of economic recovery is slowing down and adding to this negative economic picture. We've also learned today that China's youth unemployment rate has hit another record high of 21.3 percent in June.

So, the pressure is on Beijing to come up and to roll out some more stimulus measures. Now according to official data that was released earlier today. China's GDP grew 6.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, but it grew only 0.8 percent from April to June. And according to economist Carol Kong, she says this. "The data suggests that China's post-COVID Boom is clearly over. The higher frequency indicators are up from maize numbers but still paint a picture of a bleak and faltering recovery. And at the same time, youth unemployment is hitting record highs."

Economists say that China is counting the cost of weak demand both at home and overseas. Data that was released last week showed that China's exports fell, their fastest pace in three years in June. And an additional factor is the so-called scarring effects of zero COVID. You know, that time of deep uncertainty, it caused consumers and businesses to save more instead of going out to purchase more and making new buys and investments.

[02:40:09]

Now looking ahead, investors, economists are looking towards this expected Politburo meeting that's taking place at the end of the month. The government has promised to make stimulating consumer spending a top priority. Back to you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Kristie Lu Stout joining us live from Hong Kong. Many things. Well, in just a few hours, tickets go on sale for select dates of Taylor Swift's U.K. tour. The singer has scheduled multiple shows in the U.K. next year with staggered ticket drops all this week to avoid another ticket master crash. Early U.S. sales were impacted by Web site problems prompting an investigation by the U.S. government. Similar issues affected sales in France earlier this month.

And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, World Sport is coming up next. And for those of you here in the United States and in Canada, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break. Do stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:29]

CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers in North America. I'm Rosemary Church. Well, much of Hollywood has gone dark and made a push from unions representing actors, writers and others who have gone on strike. The Actors Union SAG-AFTRA joined the Writers Guild of America on the picket lines last week, adding thousands more voices to the cause including many A-list celebrities.

They're fighting the major movie studios and streaming platforms for better pay residuals, benefits and protections over the use of artificial intelligence. The group representing the studios says it's already presented a new deal offering "historic pay and residual increases acclaim SAG-AFTRA has refuted.

And for more, I'm joined now by Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. The national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. Appreciate you joining us.

DUNCAN CRABTREE-IRELAND, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF NEGOTIATOR, SAG-AFTRA: Oh, it's a pleasure to be with you.

CHURCH: Wonderful. So, at the center of this writers and actors strike is, of course, this disparity in pay and access to streaming profits, reduced residuals and concerns about the negative impact of artificial intelligence on the industry. Let's start by focusing on that last issue. What are the main concerns for Actors and Writers about how A.I. might negatively impact the industry? CRABTREE-IRELAND: Yes. Really, it's more of a question about their personal rights. And I think this is a question that resonates probably with all of us, not only our members, but the idea that a big corporation could essentially use their economic power to force you to give them the right to control your image, your likeness, your voice, create digital replicas of you and then have that digital double go out and act as though it's you when it's not really you doing it.

That's the kind of thing -- that's the kind of technological development that needs to have some fences around it. And those fences are very straightforward. It's informed consent so that any performer or really any person who is going to have that done with their -- with their image, their persona has the right to understand what the use is going to be and consent to it. And then also fair compensation for that.

But we haven't been able to get the companies to step up and really agree to provide a full informed consent and fair compensation. And that is absolutely essential. Our members won't make a deal without it.

CHURCH: So, what proposal was offered by the T.V. and film studios to help limit the use of A.I.? And why did Writers and Actors reject that proposal?

CRABTREE-IRELAND: Well, sure. In the -- in the Writers negotiations, according -- I wasn't part of those negotiations. But according to what they put out, what was offered was an annual meeting for them to discuss the issues. In our negotiations, we had very specific proposals on the table from us and the companies responded to them. But the devil is in the details. So, for example, in one of those proposals, they responded by saying that background performers could be engaged to work for one day in one day's pay.

And then the company would own the digital replica of them and be able to use it in any future project for the rest of eternity, with no additional consent and no additional compensation. That is not the kind of deal that any person much less than the performer would accept.

CHURCH: So, the T.V. and film studios say that they offered the highest pay increase in 35 years, residual increases. And this proposal we've just discussed to limit the impact of artificial intelligence. But clearly you, the Actors and Writers don't agree. So, what would an acceptable deal look like that would address all your concerns? If you can break that down, what are you looking for?

CRABTREE-IRELAND: Sure. We already talked about the A.I. part. When we talk about compensation, what's on the table from us is an 11 percent increase in the first year. That's the only area we're a part on. They're offering five percent in that first year. Five percent of an increase leaves our members working for less in 2023 in real dollar terms than they made in 2020. And their proposal package will leave them still earning less in 2026 than they made in 2020.

Our members don't think it's OK to go backwards, especially when they're the faces and the voices of the projects that make this business operate. The streaming platforms wouldn't exist without our members. These studios wouldn't exist without our members. And it's not fair while CEO's compensation continues to go up for our members to be falling behind.

[02:50:06]

And a five percent increase is really not something that I think they should be trumpeting is the historic greatest increase in 35 years. I mean, if that's the greatest increase you've ever paid your employees in 35 years, that's a -- that says something about you.

CHURCH: And these T.V. and movie studios say they can't afford any more than this. How would -- what would you say to them on that point when you mention what some of the top guys are earning?

CRABTREE-IRELAND: Well, I wish I could show you a chart of CEO compensation at these very companies. But I would -- what I would tell you is we're talking eight and nine-figure salaries, you know, if you can afford to pay your CEO at one year more than the entirety of the Writers and Actors request combined that cover tens of thousands of performers and writers, that says something about your company if you think that's an affordable, but it's affordable for you to do that for your CEO.

The times are changing. Workers are not willing to just listen to companies say, oh, we can't afford it all at the same time. They've got CDOs with multiple yachts. That is not how this industry should operate. And the creativity of our members is why this industry functions. It's why this interview has been successful. And it's the only way it will be successful in the future is to have creative people like our members, writers, directors and others who are engaged in the industry treated respectfully and fairly.

CHURCH: And just very quickly. I mean, we know that there's a lot of material that they can keep using over and over again. How long could the writers and the actors go on strike for though while that all plays out?

CRABTREE-IRELAND: Yes, sure. Well, it shouldn't be -- shouldn't distraction have been necessary and we've said we're ready to go back to the table immediately. Tomorrow, we would be there. The company is the studios are the ones saying they're not willing to talk. But our members voted 98 percent to authorize the strike and our members are willing to stay out as long as it takes to get a fair deal. They will not accept a deal that doesn't respect them. And that isn't fair.

CHURCH: Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, thank you so much for talking with us. Appreciate it.

CRABTREE-IRELAND: Thank you. Appreciate it.

CHURCH: Well, U.S. Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is facing backlash after she called Israel a "racist state" during an event over the weekend. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): We have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state. That the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy, that the dream -- that the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us that it is not -- that it does not even feel possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: House Democrats were quick to condemn her comments. She issued an apology Sunday saying words do matter. And so, it is important that I clarify my statement. I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist. These are not easy conversations, but they are important ones if we are ever to move forward. It is in that spirit that I offer my apologies to those who I have hurt with my words and offer this clarification.

Well, just over an hour from now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will chair a weekly Cabinet meeting one day after being released from the hospital. He was admitted Saturday for what doctors say was dehydration amid an ongoing heatwave in the country. His office says the Prime Minister complained of mild dizziness before being admitted. The doctor says Netanyahu has completed a series of tests and is in excellent condition.

A kidnapped America and is now back on U.S. soil eight months after she was snatched from a street in Mexico. The FBI says Monica de Leon Barba was walking her dog in Mexico when she was kidnapped. Investigators say the professional photographer was targeted. CNN's Mike Valerio is in Los Angeles with the latest.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that this is the combination of 227 days of teamwork between the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to bring Monica back home to here in California. And when we're talking about who is behind the missing, the kidnapping fires that were sent by -- out by the FBI, Monica de Leon Barbra is a profoundly talented photographer.

She decided to take a summer job down in Mexico last summer to share her photographic talents work on a few projects, according to her family members. What they've told our partners in San Francisco. So, we moved to a few days after Thanksgiving last year, and she's in the middle of the street in an idyllic beautiful town of Tepatitlan in Mexico, walking her dog and she's kidnapped, she's abducted.

The FBI says that there are at least five people who kidnap her. Three vehicles that come up next to her and then simply drive away. So, to imagine her family going through the holiday season, New Year's into this year without knowing where she is.

[02:55:03]

The captors demanding a ransom and the FBI saying that this was a targeted kidnapping, not random. They were simply beside themselves. Up until this weekend when the FBI releases a statement saying that she had been released writing in part according to the leader of the FBI in San Francisco, "Our relief and joy at the safe return of Monica is profound. The FBI investigation is far from over, but we can now work this case knowing an innocent victim is reunited with her family."

So, something from that statement between the lines is that the, you know, the FBI is also saying here that suspects have not been identified in this case. That's one of the reasons why the investigation continues here. They also say that no arrests have been made. So that is why the matter is enclosed. But certainly, the most important part of this entire case is that Monica is back with family in California. A reunion that they certainly were hoping for has come to fruition.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Los Angeles.

CHURCH: An update now on a story we are following. It regards the bridge connecting Russian-annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland. We are told -- we told you earlier how Russia's transport ministry said the bridge suffered damage to its spans. This is the first video we've received that appears to show that. Multiple telegram channels reported strikes on the bridge and a local official confirmed at least two deaths.

Ukraine has not confirmed that it launched a strike. The Russia appointed head of Crimea says an emergency incident has halted traffic on the bridge. The span of course serves as a vital logistical node for Moscow's military in its war against Ukraine. And we will have more in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more on CNN NEWSROOM. Just after the short break. Just (INAUDIBLE).

[03:00:00]