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Deadly Hurricane Beryl Churns Towards Jamaica; Strong Turbulence Force Boeing to Make Emergency Landing; Biden Campaign on the Defensive; Growing Divide Between the Biden Campaign, Concerned Donors, and Voters; Trump Blasts Special Prosecutor Jack Smith; Therapy Dog Comforts U.S. Gymnasts; U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team Set for Summer Olympics. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 02, 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]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: As you can see there, the boats -- some boats flipped, piles of debris floating amongst them, high water there. In Martinique, powerful crashing waves, people walking through flooded streets as we obviously -- look how that water is rushing though. We know so far, at least three deaths have been attributed to the storm.

And this morning, dozens of passengers are recovering after a terrifying incident on board an overseas flight. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was bound for Uruguay from Madrid when it was rocked by severe turbulence, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Brazil. At least 30 passengers reportedly suffered injuries, including fractured limbs and faces.

Take a listen to what some of the people -- some of the passengers had to say about those moments on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVAN, PASSENGER (through translator): From one moment to the next, the plane destabilized and went into a dive. The people who didn't have seatbelts went up in the air and hit the ceiling, and they got hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It was a pretty horrible feeling. We thought we were going to die there, but thank God it didn't happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: For a closer look, CNN Aerospace Analyst Miles O'Brien joins me now. Miles, good to see you this morning. I feel like this is becoming more common, either that or we're hearing about it more. What causes this kind of such severe turbulence?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST: Well, thank you, Erica. It is. It seems to be happening more, doesn't it? And there's some scientific consideration of the fact that the turbulence caused by climate change may be a factor. But let me tell you what causes it. The aircraft, this 787 model, as it's flying along, it's getting, you know, a high river of wind underneath the wings like this. If there's a sudden change in direction, that reduces the lift on the wings, and it drops very suddenly, very precipitously, and anything that is not attached to the aircraft itself is going to fly up, as we saw.

And we saw one individual, one person, literally stuffed into the overhead bin, and they had to pull him out of there. So, I thought it was quite telling, the passenger saying, those without seatbelts on got hurt, those who didn't, not so much. And that's an important point for all of us to consider here.

HILL: Yes. To remember that it means something when they say, please buckle your seatbelt when you're not up and about my cabin. I think it also -- for a lot of people, it raises the question of, OK, so this is turbulent. Sometimes the pilot will get on and say, oh, there's going to be some turbulence, just a little bit of a warning. Everybody gets your seats and buckle your seat belts.

Is there less of a warning? Is there more of a piloting issue? Because in a lot of these instances, it seems so sudden.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it's strangely, oddly, perhaps surprisingly not a high- tech operation. When you're at altitude in an airliner like a 787, particularly when you're crossing the ocean, you have no capability on board the flight deck to see turbulence per se. You can see overall weather patterns before you take off, the rivers of air we call jet streams, that sort of thing. And you can make large-scale predictions and how to avoid it in your route.

However, as you're flying along, you're literally relying on the aircraft ahead of you to tell you, there's turbulence here, you might want to be ready. And that's why that seatbelt sign goes on often. It's the so-called -- we call them PIREPs, pilot reports. And that's fine. And that can get people buckled up, hopefully.

But it's still hard to predict these more sudden precipitous cases of either wind current changes, abrupt changes, which cause these sudden and quick falls, which can be so hazardous. And so, really, you should err on the side of caution and stay buckled while you're in that seat.

HILL: How much the concern is there in the aviation community, right? The passengers are one thing. We're not pilots. We don't -- you know, we get on board. It's a different experience for us. As you point out, there are these pilot reports. That's how pilots know about certain things. But is there more concern at all, or is it an understanding that this is just kind of the way things happen today?

O'BRIEN: I think there's growing concern about, you know, what we tell passengers and how passengers may be ignoring those signs. When that seatbelt sign goes on, it's there for a reason. And 99 percent of the time, it goes on, and then it turns off, and nothing has happened, and you think, oh, that's no big deal. But that 1 percent can really hurt you. And, you know, you think about would you ever drive your car without a seatbelt attached? I mean, you can't. The car starts screaming at you in many cases. Maybe the airlines consider, you know, turning off the entertainment system unless you buckle up. I'm sure there would be quite a hue and cry, but something like that to further educate the flying public, I think, is important. And I think the airlines need to step up their game here. Because ultimately, this is leading to some very serious injuries, which are completely avoidable.

[10:35:00]

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Miles, always great to see you. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome, Erica.

HILL: Coming up here, on the defensive. Days after President Biden's disastrous debate performance, the growing divide between the Biden campaign, concerned donors, and voters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: This morning, Donald Trump is reveling in the Supreme Court's decision to partly shield him from prosecution. In a post on his Truth Social account, the former president blasting Special Counsel Jack Smith as a wacko prosecutor, saying the court gave Smith a "high level spanking." Let's discuss more now with CNN political commentators Maria Cardona and Shermichael Singleton. Nice to see both of you this morning.

Look, President Biden coming up pretty forcefully last night against the decision and against the court, which is rather uncharacteristic for him, saying, Shermichael, that this decision would allow Donald Trump to do whatever he pleases if he returns to office. Shermichael, how are Republicans looking at this this morning? Is there some concern about this giving a boost perhaps to Joe Biden?

[10:40:00]

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think what Republicans are doing, Erica, to be quite frank with you, is trying to avoid this topic by all means and focus in more on what President Biden is currently experiencing. I think Republicans are very clear with the data showcases and with the data showcases that the American people, particularly those folks in the middle, are worried about last week's debate performance.

And so, while under the ordinary set of circumstances, you would see a whole bunch of plethora of post on Truth Social from Donald Trump about this issue, he posted one time, and from my understanding, he's been advised not to post more, not to make that an issue and allow the campaign to focus more so on President Biden.

HILL: To allow Democrats to sort of soak in their chaos is sort of what we've been hearing. But in terms of that Democratic focus, Maria there is some hope that perhaps this could light a fire under some voters. But as Shermichael points out, there are still significant concerns among Democrats about Joe Biden's mental fitness and the calls for him to step aside aren't going away. I was struck by something that veteran strategist James Carville said, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The country is clamoring for change. And what are we going to offer them, the same stuff? It doesn't make any sense. It'll be messy. It'll be a mess. It -- you know, that -- that's what change is. But if the Democratic Party is so committed to the status quo and so committed to sticking with something that three quarters of the country doesn't want, then we have to say, why do we exist? What are we here for?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Maria, do you have a sense that the party is listening?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The party is listening to the voters, Erica, because at the end of the day, what I say, what James says, what the chattering class says, doesn't matter. What matters is what voters say, that is what they are, right now, gathering information on.

And right now, Erica, the fundamentals of the race haven't changed and the voters that we have heard from and that the campaign has heard from, Latino voters, black voters, they are doubling down, tripling down, quadrupling down on supporting President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Do you know why? Because they also saw the debate on Thursday, but instead of focusing on how Joe Biden said things, they focused on what he said, and they focused on what Donald Trump said. And what Donald Trump said was incredibly offensive, dangerous, terrifying.

And I understand why Shermichael does not want Republicans -- and Republicans don't want Donald Trump to focus on the immunity Supreme Court decision because it underscores just how much of an imperial presidency Donald Trump would impose upon all us, and he's made no secret about it. And it is terrifying to Latinos, to black voters, to women, to young people, to LGBTQ community, to every single coalition that is going to support Joe Biden to ensure that Donald Trump is not the massive existential threat to our democracy, that he is even more so now because of the Supreme Court decision.

HILL: Go ahead, Shermichael.

SINGLETON: Just a quick rebuttal here. I completely understand the argument and the framing of the argument coming from Maria. And if I were a Democrat, that would probably be my argument as well. I think the issue for Democrats, however, is that the president isn't able to make that argument because the focus really is on whether or not he's mentally and physically capable of not only continuing to lead presently, but for an additional four years.

Why haven't we seen the president go before reporters for 30 minutes, an hour? It's been five days. We still haven't seen the president sit down for a live interview, perhaps not with a friendly journalist, but maybe someone who's going to really challenge him. We haven't seen those things. And so, I think in the mind of many voters, as we continue to see the polling leak out over the next couple of days and weeks, will indicate that the numbers have only gotten worse for the current president. And that is absolutely a benefit to Donald Trump.

CARDONA: You know, can I just say one thing? Shermichael, is right. And frankly, what I have heard is that the Biden campaign and his team are going to put him out to do exactly all of those things that Shermichael talked about, because the American people do need to see him talking to reporters. They need to see him in forums where he is exchanging conversations with voters. And he actually is very good at that, a one-on-one with voters and groups with voters.

And so, yes, I think that the country needs to see that. But I also think that we cannot lose sight of the fact of the things that Donald Trump said at the debate, the massive lies he told, the fact that he does not have any qualms about what happened on January 6th. He did not say he would accept the results of the election. He talks about wanting to do massive deportation camps. He talked about pitting immigrants against black people because, I guess, we're taking black jobs. I guess I'm taking your job, sir. Michael. Sorry. Just these offensive, offensive things, dangerous things that the SCOTUS decision underscored.

[10:45:00]

And so, I know Republicans don't want to talk about that, but that is hugely important and terrifying to the American people.

HILL: There is, I will say, one thing that you both said that's important is, there is -- both campaigns really are waiting to see what the numbers are as more polling comes out in the coming days. We haven't seen a bump for either candidate coming out of this --

CARDONA: That's right.

HILL: -- despite the chaos and the concerns, but there are still a lot of questions ahead. And it may only be four months, but a lot can happen in four months.

SINGLETON: Yes.

HILL: Maria, Shermichael, appreciate you both. Thank you.

CARDONA: Thank you.

SINGLETON: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: Just ahead here, a beacon of comfort. The therapy dog, helping to calm nerves for some of the nation's top gymnasts ahead of the Summer Olympics. Hi, Beacon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00] HILL: The U.S. Women's Olympic gymnastic team is set. Simone Biles dominating the trials, heading now to her third Summer Games. But of course, it's just the latest step in her comeback, three years after she withdrew from several events due to the twisties at the Tokyo Games. Suni Lee, Jordan Childs, and Jade Carey also making their return to the Olympic stage.

And rounding out the team, 16-year-old Hezly Rivera, the youngest American athlete heading to Paris this year. And boy, what a moment for her. In 2016, Rivera posted this picture. She was just a little peanut then when she was meeting her idol, Simone Biles. Of course, now she and Simone Biles are teammates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEZLY RIVERA, OLYMPIC GYMNAST: I'm so excited to represent Team USA at the Olympics. I'm like shocked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you even drive yet?

RIVERY: No. OK. Wait, wait, I technically can, but I haven't been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: You know, she's been a little busy qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team. The pressure for Rivera and her fellow athletes competing at this level is intense, and that is likely putting it mildly. But they did have a little help to deal with the stress at the Olympic trials from a very good boy named Beacon, a four-year-old golden retriever therapy dog who was working overtime, making himself available for a snuggle, maybe a little tug of war, a belly rub. And yes, he actually has a credential there around his neck. You may notice that. That's because Beacon is actually part of the team. His title, Goodest Boy.

Joining me now, sweet Beacon, and his trainer, Tracey Callahan Molnar. It's great to have you both here. So, Tracy, I am so in love with Beacon, as you know, because I was taking pictures of him during the break on the monitor. How did you and Beacon get involved with USA Gymnastics?

TRACEY CALLAHAN MOLNAR, TRAINER: I've been involved with USA Gymnastics for 40 years, working primarily with rhythmic gymnastics as scoring coordinator, meet referee, sort of helping the flow at the judges table, though not judging. And the head of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Program, Caroline Hunt, knew that I had Beacon and we independently had ideas for --Beacon, sit up and -- to pet therapy to U.S. Gymnastics.

And we started talking one day, and it just went from there for a Beacon. There you go, bud. It just went from there. Approached Li Li Leung, the CEO of USA Gymnastics, with the idea of bringing pet therapy to an event. And she was game to have us try it. So, we did a year ago, May. And it was an amazing success. So well received and appreciated by the athletes and their coaches. And from there, it's just a banded. HILL: I mean, give us a sense. What is some of the athletes say to you, especially -- I mean, this is -- it is so high pressure for these athletes. They have spent their entire lives training for these moments. What does Beacon offer them?

MOLNAR: So, for some, they've said it's just a nice, healthy distraction from the intensity of competition. For others, it's just a calming experience for them to be able to sit and have hands on the dog. Just sometimes they're -- Beacon, come on. There you go. Sometimes they talk to him. Sometimes it's just quiet moments of them petting. There you go. It's a little different with each in individual.

HILL: What do you notice with Beacon? I mean, how does Beacon seem to like it? He seems to do being -- be doing pretty well with all of it.

MOLNAR: You know, he loves people so much, which is part of the reason why he -- he's really sort of cut out. He's born to be a therapy dog. And so, he loves meeting people.

HILL: Do you think this would work with other sports too? I mean, therapy dogs -- I mean, full disclosure here, I love dogs, but I also think therapy dogs can really offer this and I have seen it firsthand in different stories what they can offer that sometimes a human can't in tough moments. Do you see this expanding to other sports?

MOLNAR: I sure hope so. We were contacted by another national governing body of a sport to understand how we brought pet therapy to gymnastics. And so, there's a possibility with that sport that something might come of it in terms of my association with them. But, you know, I hope that it expands and I hope that beacon is a part of helping other national sports take a look at the benefits of therapy. And I hope that it will, you know, broaden the horizons of pet therapy and sport.

[10:55:00]

HILL: I hope so too. We know Beacon had his credentials of course, for the trials. Does Beacon have a passport? Is he going to Paris?

MOLNAR: Oh, that's a great question. So, no dog passport required, but there are -- there would be some hoops to jump through. And I've researched that a little bit, but we have not gotten a thumbs up or a green light for that. So, I'm just trying to be prepared and in hopes that that might happen, because I feel like Beacon has started something really great with (INAUDIBLE), both at the championships in Fort Worth and following up with (INAUDIBLE) here. So, I'd love for him to continue that work.

HILL: I would love to see him continue it too. Well, keep us posted. Tracy, really appreciate you and Beacon joining us this morning. You are just the story that we all needed. Thank you.

MOLNAR: Thank you.

HILL: We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]