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Surgeon General Calls for Social Media Warning Labels; Russian Navy Vessels Depart Cuba After Six-Day Visit; Putin Set to Travel to North Korea; Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese Renewing Rivalry. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired June 17, 2024 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Today, a new push by the Surgeon General. He says social media is so harmful for children and teens that it should be -- it should come with a warning label like the ones you see on tobacco products.
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DR. VIVEK MURTHY, SURGEON GENERAL: Not only have companies not demonstrated that their platforms are safe for kids, but there is growing evidence of harm. A warning label would help parents to understand these risks. Many parents don't know that those risks exist.
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ACOSTA: CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell joins us now. Meg, the surgeon general writes that the health risks from social media posing to young people are similar to unsafe cars, planes, and food. What more can you tell us?
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the surgeon general has been talking about these risks for some time now. Last year, publishing an advisory warning about these potential risks to children. And today, citing data in this op-ed, noting that kids on average spend almost five hours per day on social media. That's according to Gallup data as of last summer.
And he notes a study also that was published in JAMA Psychiatry that says that kids who spend at least three hours a day on social media face double the risks of mental health problems, like showing symptoms of anxiety and depression. He also cited data showing that nearly half of adolescents say that social media makes them feel worse about their bodies.
Now, a surgeon general warning does really hearken back to the 1965 warning that was put on cigarettes after that landmark surgeon general advisory that went out the year before that. And of course, over the ensuing decades, we've seen cigarette use decline. He also cited things like putting in legislation to require seatbelts and airbags and crash test dummies to make cars safer.
He also cited things, even this year, like the FAA grounding a bunch of planes after we saw the 737 MAX 9 issue with the door plug mid- flight, or even things like recalls of dairy products because of Listeria contamination. So, these are the kinds of things that the surgeon general is citing here. But of course, it would require Congress to act to put in this kind of warning.
ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, these apps are so addictive for our teenagers and young adults. I mean, it just -- it seems like it's already out of control. But the surgeon general is also calling on Congress for additional legislation. What can you tell us about that?
TIRRELL: Yes, he wants to see Congress step in in a number of ways here. He says that this legislation should shield young people from harassment, abuse, and exploitation, as well as exposure on these sites to extreme violence or sexual content. He also says they should prevent these platforms from collecting sensitive data from children and restrict use of features like auto play, push notifications, and infinite scroll.
[10:35:00]
He also wants to see these companies be required to share data on the health impacts on children with independent scientists and with the public so that independent audits can be done to try to examine these health risks. Jim.
ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Meg, I mean, the scrolling, I mean, how do you stop a teenager from scrolling over and over? And I'm sure you've seen a few teenagers do that. What can families do now about this?
TIRRELL: Yes, this is something that our colleague Dr. Sanjay Gupta has really dived into quite a bit, including on his podcast, "Chasing Life," where he interviewed the surgeon general about this. And he shared three tips that are really important for parents to know. One is to have the conversation with your kids. That's where you have to start. Second is to try to establish phone free zone, social media free zones like the dinner table, bedtime, social experiences to try to maintain that social connection.
And the third is to band together with other families so that your kids aren't saying, hey, we're the only ones with these rules in place, really trying to make sure that together your community is saying, hey, we're going to do the same things here. The surgeon general has said really before 13 kids should not be on social media.
ACOSTA: Great advice. All right. Meg Tirrell, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
Coming up, the Russian navy vessels, you've been hearing about this over the last week or so, they're now leaving Cuba. What we know about their six-day visit to the island, that's coming up.
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[10:40:00]
ACOSTA: Right now, the Russian fleet, including a warship and nuclear submarine are leaving Cuba after six days and what the Cuban government calls historically friendly relations between the two nations. This literally happened just moments ago. We were watching it during the commercial break. We're playing it back for you.
Meanwhile, in Russia's war in Ukraine, military officials say fierce fighting is raging in Ukraine's northern region -- northeast region of Kharkiv, with one border town coming under attack five times in just the past day. And as the war drags on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a clear message over the weekend for representatives from more than 100 countries at a peace summit. Take a listen.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: It's important that all participants of the summit support Ukraine's territorial integrity because there is -- will be no lasting peace without territorial integrity.
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ACOSTA: And joining me now, CNN Military Analyst and retired Air Force colonel, our friend Cedric Leighton. Colonel Leighton, I do want to go back to those Russian ships leaving Cuba, if we can show those pictures again one more time. Because, I mean, we were all talking about this all last week. I wanted to get your thoughts on this.
There, you can see the submarine heading out as well. What's your sense of it? Obviously, Putin was sending a message, it seems. And as far as we know, no -- there were no nukes on board these vessels.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND U.S. AIR FORCE: That's right, Jim.
ACOSTA: They weren't doing that much saber rattling, but there was a message being sent.
LEIGHTON: Absolutely. And it was really in response to the U.S. allowing the Ukrainians to use U.S. weapons to attack Russian targets on Russian soil. The Russian targets that are associated with the war in Ukraine. And that, you know, is one way to do it. It's kind of normal in these kinds of situations where one side will send a message to the other.
And, of course, there's a lot of historic significance to anything happening in Cuba because it's only 90 miles off the Coast of Florida. And, of course, we all remember, at least from history books, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. That's right. And getting to Ukraine, we've talked about Kharkiv so many times. Your sense of what's happening there.
LEIGHTON: So, one of the key things to think about when this happened, when the Russians started moving their forces into the Kharkiv region a few -- well, basically over a month ago now, we were thinking that what the Russians were trying to do, they had two possible choices. The official word was that they were going to use this area as a buffer zone.
The next possibility, though, that -- was that they would move on to Kharkiv itself, which is the second largest city in Ukraine. That would have been a major defeat, a major disaster, really, for the Ukrainians. But the Ukrainians have been able to stall the Russians.
ACOSTA: Yes. They've still not been able to take it.
LEIGHTON: Yes, they've not been able to take it.
ACOSTA: Yes.
LEIGHTON: And when you look at the map, you know, you see around the city, or the -- really, we should call it the village of Vovchans'k, right on the border, you see that there are really -- some very limited areas of Russian advance, and they haven't moved forward in weeks. There are certain tactical gains that they make, and then the Ukrainians move forward against them.
The Ukrainians were reporting last night that they had surrounded a Russian unit. Now, that may or may not be the case, we're not sure. But the real issue here is that the Russians have not been able to take advantage of any gaps in the Ukrainian defenses. They have also not been able to take advantage of any type of manpower superiority that they have in terms of numbers.
And in terms of equipment, the Russians have the capability to use air power. The Ukrainians do not, except for drones. And the fact is though, that the Russians haven't prosecuted that advantage at all. And the Ukrainians are getting much better at fighting the Russians and also giving them, in essence, a taste of their own medicine in many cases.
ACOSTA: Yes, they really are. And I do want to ask you, Putin is apparently going to North Korea tomorrow. I mean, what does this say about, I mean, Putin's orbit, you know, he can send subs and ships to Cuba and he can travel to North Korea. It's not exactly like, you know, the axis powers. You know what I mean? You know.
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LEIGHTON: Not exactly. And these aren't the world's garden spots, at least not by our definition. But yes, it's -- in some ways, it's sending a message, but it's also a sign of desperation. I mean, when you think about Russia, this very large country of 11 time zones and over 140 million people is dependent on North Korea for its weapons, for its munitions.
I mean, it is really an incredible situation. And it actually exposes the weaknesses of the Russian economy as well as the Russian military system.
ACOSTA: They're kind of going hat in hand to Pyongyang or to the North Koreans, Kim Jong Un.
LEIGHTON: Yes, that's basically what's happening and the North Koreans have delivered. So, that's one thing that is interesting, even in spite of the, I guess, we call it the primitive nature of a lot of their weapon systems, not all of them, but certainly some of them. The key thing here is the quantity is what matters. And that's one area where we have to be careful, they can be primitive yet effective. And if there's quantity, there's certainly, you know, as they say, equality all its own in that case, and we have to make sure that the west can respond in kind with these situations.
ACOSTA: No mojitos there in North Korea.
LEIGHTON: Definitely not.
ACOSTA: All right. Colonel Leighton, thank you very much. We really appreciate it. As always.
Coming up, from college to the pros, Caitlin Clark gets knocked down again as her rivalry with Angel Reese getting more intense. Have you seen this from over the weekend? Just welcome to the WNBA. All right. The dramatic video, straight ahead.
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ACOSTA: Another hard foul on WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark is stirring up more controversy. Check this out. Clark going in for the layup and then just gets pummeled in the head by fellow rookie and rival Angel Reese, a foul later upgraded to a flagrant foul. After the game, both players were asked about the intense moment on the court. Listen to their responses.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like that was the appropriate call or --
ANGEL REESE, CHICAGO SKY GUARD: As a basketball player, I can't control the ref's state. It affected the game obviously a lot tonight. Going back and looking at the film, I've seen a lot of calls that weren't made. I guess some people got a special whistle.
CAITLIN CLARK, INDIAN FEVER GUARD: We're competitors. That's the way the game should be. It's going to get a little feisty. It's going to get physical. But at the end of the day, both teams are just trying to win.
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ACOSTA: CNN Sports Analysts and USA Today columnist Christine Brennan was at last night's Fever-Sky game and joins me now. Christine, I mean, what do you think? You know, I'm watching this video, that -- I'm a little worried that Caitlin Clark's going to get injured. I mean, she is taking some hits. She's getting pummeled. We show our viewers this one more time here. She went down hard on that play. CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYSTS AND SPORTS COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: Sure, Jim. Well, she did. And of course, the arena -- packed arena, a full house in Indiana just, of course, didn't like it. Because, of course, they love Caitlyn Clark.
But, you know, she is a point guard. She drives to the basket. And as she said, and I think it's good to quote her, it was a basketball play. And her -- the question to her was, what were your thoughts about that right after it happened, and she said, I just wanted to make those two free throws.
So, she is a basketball player. She's an athlete and she stayed focused. And it was her best game by far. And she's played very well and a tough schedule to start, but by far her best game. She looked -- Jim, she looked Iowa comfortable. You know, so comfortable, running that offense, 23 points, almost a triple double, just beautiful passing. And she really led the team to victory.
So, all in all, a great day for Caitlin Clark. But you're right, another controversy involving Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
ACOSTA: Yes. And I'm just wondering, do you think that was the right call, the flagrant foul there? And I mean, she -- yes, she is going for the basketball there, but I mean, she hits her on the head pretty hard. Is this typical? Have you ever seen a rookie in the WNBA take this kind of abuse in the opening games of the season? I mean, it seems to me we're seeing something a little different here.
BRENNAN: Jim, we've never had a rookie -- the WNBA has never had a rookie like Caitlin Clark. I mean, she is so much bigger than basketball. You know, she is a national conversation, as you know. We've talked about it where she literally has transcended sports and is a part of every conversation in the grocery store and on the street corner and at the water cooler. And that fascination with her is great for women's basketball.
But, you know, it's a tough league and there's going to be a welcome to the league moment. The question is now, there's two flagrant fouls by Chicago -- Clark -- the first was the Kennedy Carter (INAUDIBLE) few weeks ago, June 1st. The blindside hit, it was called. The problem with that one, it was called several -- another day it took for them to call flagrant one.
This one, good news, they called it right away, within a couple of minutes. So, they defused any controversy other than, of course, what we're discussing. Yes, Caitlin Clark knows she's going to get hit. And she knows that she's going to keep, obviously, driving to the basket and doing everything she can to have her team, which has won four of six games and would make the playoffs, I believe, now if they -- if the season stopped today. This isn't going to stop.
But you're right, the Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark rivalry, Jim, something we've been discussing since the LSU victory over Iowa in the NCAA final in 2023. Since then, you know, that was the whole -- all of this stuff going on. Since then, Caitlin Clark is three and 0 against Angel Reese. And obviously, the storyline will continue. ACOSTA: All right. I think they'll sell more tickets. All right. Christine Brennan, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
In the meantime, have you seen this, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey says he's lucky to be alive after he was hurt in a cycling accident over the weekend? He shared before and after pictures on his Instagram account and said wearing a helmet saved his life. Take a look.
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GORDON RAMSAY, CELEBRITY CHEF: Honestly, you've got to wear a helmet. I don't care how short the journey is. I don't care, you know, the fact that these helmets cost money, but they're crucial. I'm lucky to be standing here. I'm in pain. It's been a brutal week and I'm sort of getting through it. But I cannot tell you the importance of wearing a helmet.
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ACOSTA: Wow. That looks brutal. Ramsay said the accident happened last week while he was riding his bike in Connecticut. Despite the severe bruising, Ramsay says he is doing OK and thankfully, did not suffer any major injuries. Great advice. It's warm out there. People want to go out, a ride on their bike. Please wear a helmet. He's absolutely right.
Thank you very much for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of "Newsroom with Wolf Blitzer" starts after a short break. Have a great day.
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