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Manhunt Underway For Active Shooter In Kentucky; Harris, Trump To Meet Tuesday In First Presidential Debate; Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leaves Country For Spain; Anti-Government Protesters Demand Israel Reach Hostage Deal; Ukraine: Russia Launches "Another Massive Drone Attack". Aired 12-1a ET
Aired September 08, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:43]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers watching in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
We're following breaking news out of the state of Kentucky where a manhunt is underway after five people were shot and wounded near a busy interstate highway. It happened Saturday afternoon near Interstate 75 in Laurel County just north of London, Kentucky. That's about 80 miles south of Lexington.
The London Police Department released a photo of who they call a person of interest in that shooting, a 32-year-old white male named Joseph A. Couch. Couch is about five foot ten and weighs approximately 154 pounds. Police say he is considered armed and dangerous.
The agency is urging people to contact their 911 call center with any information regarding the whereabouts or location of this individual where police closed a section of the interstate due to the active shooter situation, urging residents in the area to stay inside with their doors locked. And the state has now reopened in both directions. Laurel County sheriffs department said all five victims are now in a stable condition. Well, several travelers told scene and that they were stuck on a highway for more than an hour after police brought traffic there to a standstill.
Matt Downing said a police car begins swerving all lanes to stop traffic. A video he shared with CNN shows a police car speeding past a line of stopped cars.
Another woman said she and her friend had allowed noise sounded like a gunshot while driving on the highway, and later saw several police cars ill speed by. When they made it to their destination, Christina DiNoto noticed damage to her car and said her hands still shaking.
Well, Ed Davis joins me now. He is the former Boston police commissioner.
Good to have you with us. Thanks for joining us. So, we saw from the local beliefs to consider this suspect armed and dangerous, that warning from the London Police, Kentucky, where the picture of the suspect. What should we make of the fact that police have already named a suspect, and how will that help in this manhunt?
ED DAVIS, FORMER BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Well, there are a couple of remarkable things in this particular case. One is that the police so quickly put this picture out, but it's very unusual it would indicate to me that this probably then some past history with this guy and they sort of had a leg up on this investigation when it started. It's great the information is out there. People can keep an eye out for him and help the police, so with clues as to where he might surface.
The other complicating factor is the fact that this is a heavily wooded area that this occurred in. It's right off a major interstate highway in a rest area and that hole location is hilly and wooded. And it makes a very difficult search when you've got something someone with a weapon that can see you coming, the police have to use extreme caution in working in that environment.
They'll bring dogs out. They may bring horses out and start going through the woods, but it's a very dangerous situation, especially at night.
KINKADE: Yeah, exactly.
And given that it is at night, if he has it all fled on foot, what does that mean for the manhunt? And we likely to see resources, more resources deployed in the morning?
DAVIS: Without a doubt. They'll be fielding forces daybreak to move into these areas. There'll be using aerial surveillance, both helicopters and fixed wing craft. And there'll be using heat sensing cameras that will really give them some indication as to where he might be.
All of those things can be tricked especially if this individual has any type of military training but tomorrow morning, you'll see a big presence in that area.
KINKADE: And, of course, shooting happened on an interstate. It sounds like the government was in a car. How does that benefit -- the benefit the suspect with his getaway?
DAVIS: Well, in some ways its almost better if he gets into a car, makes it get away on the highways.
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The police are much more attuned and capable of catching someone in a vehicle, especially if they you have a good description of the vehicle with license plate readers and cameras that are out there right now. If the individual goes into a populated area or stays on the highway, the chances of him being picked up quickly improved quite a bit. So that's the best-case scenario for the police I think. KINKADE: And, of course, this is another mass shooting in as many days. We know at least in this case, of five people that were shot or injured in this incident are in stable condition, at least two in hospital at this hour. No doubt, many more traumatized.
But what's the advice for anyone who spots the suspect in the coming hours?
DAVIS: Well, to give the personal wide berth and to notify the authorities, you don't want to be confronting someone like this, as a civilian. The thing is tried to get away and don't make eye contact and let the authorities know they're much better equipped to deal with someone like that because you could end up in hostage situations or complicating the issue and in so many ways. So, it's just better to let the authorities handle something like this.
KINKADE: Alright, well leave it there for now. Ed Davis, we are going to continue to follow this story and bringing updates as they come to hand. Thanks so much for your time. I appreciate it.
Well, now I want to go to the latest on the school shooting here in Georgia where two students and two teachers were shot to death.
The mother of the accused gunman at Apalachee High School called a school counselor with a warning before the shooting. That's according to the woman's sister. The call is reportedly prompted by an alarming text message from her son in which he said, I'm sorry mom.
Marcee Gray then spoke to the school about what she described as an extreme emergency involving her 14-year-old son, Colt. She has now apologized for the, quote, absolutely horrific shooting.
His son has been charged with four counts of felony murder. "The Washington Post" reports that it has seen a phone logs showing a call made at 9:50 a.m., half an hour before police when notified of the shooting. The small community of Winder, Georgia, is still trying to process this tragedy.
There's been a huge outpouring of sympathy and support from the community after this mass shooting. As people, they continue to try and come to terms with Wednesday's mass shooting in Georgia.
CNN's Rafael Romo filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Residents, teachers, current and former students, police, people from neighboring towns and even from outside Georgia, all of these people and others have stopped here at Apalachee High School in Winder to pay their respects.
And also on Saturday, a group of bikers showed up, they brought flowers, they placed in the impromptu memorials set up around the flag flying at half-mast in honor of the deceased, then they all made a big circle holding hands in a minister said a prayer several men had previously carried a giant wooden cross into the circle. It's all an effort to tell this community that they are not alone in
this moment of crisis, that they are loved and supported.
Let's take a listen to what one of those people have to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a biker community, that's what we do. We rally around our neighbors, our kids go to school in this school system. We want to be here to support all the kids' families, first responders, just to show up and for them in this time.
ROMO: When we first arrived here, there were dozens of flowers around the memorial. Now, it's probably in the hundreds. Earlier, I spoke with a couple of former students who told us the reasons they felt they needed to be here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just crazy that anything like this could have been in our town, like there's a space for gun violence. And so just happening at all is because its shocking. Our high school doesn't stand for this and we don't -- we don't accept gun violence in the school like there's no space for that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're a community and we're small, man, and we're all like, because this shouldn't have happened and I just really feel for everyone, like, going into this school. You know, we went to the school and no worry in the world.
ROMO: There was supposed to be a football game here Friday night, but the game was canceled, and for the time being, classes are suspended as well here at Apalachee High School although other Barrow County schools will resume classes on Tuesday. A community recovery center is set to open here in Barrow County on Monday to support those affected by the shooting.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Winder, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, on Tuesday, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off at their first and possibly only presidential debate.
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New CNN polling shows the two candidates are running neck and neck in a slew of key battleground states within a miniscule difference between them in several areas. While it campaigns hope the debate will help them win over some undesired undecided voters in the two months before Election Day.
Well, Harris has been in Pennsylvania preparing for the debate and hitting the campaign trail. She took a break from prepping visit a spice store in Pittsburgh, where the vice president welcomed the endorsement of former VP Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDFATE: I'm -- actually, I'm honored to have their endorsement and I think that what they both as leaders who are well-respected are making an important statement that it's okay and if not important to put country above party. And I'm honored to have their support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, Donald Trump spent his Saturday campaigning in another battleground state. He gave a lengthy speech at a rally in Wisconsin, where he talked about the economy and called for change to the 25th Amendment. It was a line clearly aimed at Vice President Kamala Harris.
Alayna Treene explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Donald Trump spoke for nearly two hours on Saturday in Mosinee, Wisconsin. And this is a key battleground state. There's a reason that Donald Trump has been coming to Wisconsin so often, and that's because Donald Trump's campaign use it as being a key part of their pathway to achieving 270 electoral votes come November.
Now, look, they actually recognize its perhaps even more important now that Kamala Harris is at the top of the Democratic ticket prior to Joe Biden ending his campaign, Trump's senior advisers have told me they were very confident about their chances here.
But now recent polling, including CNN's own polling, released last week, shows that Harris has actually made up a lot of ground in this state. She is currently polling a little bit better than Donald Trump, although, it is incredibly close. You're going to be seeing a lot more of him in Wisconsin in the next two months, but a big focus of Donald Trump's speech on Saturday was about the economy.
Now we know that this is the most important issue for most voters across the country, but it's also an issue where Donald Trump is polling better than the vice president. And so you're going to hear a lot more about that as well on Tuesday when he faces off with Harris on the debate stage and one other thing I think is very notable to point out is that he made some news on Saturday.
He said for the first time that he would look into modifying the 25th Amendment if elected. Take a listen to what he said.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And finally, I will support modifying the 25th Amendment to make clear that if a vice president lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incapacity of the president of the United States, if you do that with a cover up of the president of the United States, its grounds for impeachment immediately and removal from office.
TREENE: So as you heard him say there is grounds for impeachment and removal from office. This is clearly in line with Donald Trump's language about the Kamala Harris trying to cover up for Joe Biden. He's been saying that without evidence, but, look, and all plays into his broader goal of trying to paint her as not being fit to serve as being part of the Democratic establishment and the overall D.C. establishment. You saw signs on Saturday that said drain the swamp. That is going to be another key message that you hear for him, talk about on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
Alayna Treene, CNN, Mosinee, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, new protests in Israel demanding a ceasefire and hostage release agreement, the director of the CIA says a deal is around 90 percent done. Why he says the hottest part of the talks is still to come, next.
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KINKADE: The political crisis in Venezuela continues. The opposition leader who ran against the President Nicolas Maduro in July's contested election has now left the country to seek asylum in Spain.
Journalist Stefano Pozzebon joins me now from Bogota, Colombia.
Stefano, both the opposition leader and the president had claimed victory in July's contested election and so now after a month in hiding, Edmundo Gonzalez has fled. What more can you tell us?
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Well, Lynda, this is a breaking news that is sort of really playing in front of her eyes. We got confirmation from the lawyer of Edmundo Gonzalez that he left the country, claiming asylum to Spain on a military plane, provided by the Spanish government.
As a reminder, Gonzalez has two daughters, one of them lives in Madrid with two of his grandchildren, and the first confirmation came actually from Maduro's deputy, the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who released a statement saying that Venezuela had granted a safe conduct allowing Gonzalez to leave the country, despite the fact that he was wanted for arrest, he was under arrest mandate for charges of terrorism, conspiracy and other charges related to the election, in order to guarantee the safety and the tranquility, the quiet of the nation.
These clearly, Lynda, marks the beginning of a new chapter in the confrontation between the opposition and Maduro, and a confrontation that has been characterized by two lines. On one side, the opposition claiming that they had won the vote and publishing tens of thousands more than 25,000 electoral tallies showing that Gonzalez had won at least the 67 percent of the total ballots.
And on the other side is Maduro, who hasn't provided any proof that he won the election, which is claims to have won with 51 percent of the vote. But who clearly has the control of the state apparatus, and of course, of the military forces and the security forces. Over the last 24 hours others opposition leader who are currently sheltering in the Argentine embassy have been under a state of siege. We their electricity, electricity can offer and police units and intelligence forces units stationed outside their shelter.
And this clearly has worked as a pressure for Gonzalez was decided to leave of Venezuela.
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In this new chapter of the confrontation, the legitimacy that the opposition claims to have will go against the brute-force of Nicolas Maduro without their main champion, without the leader, and the candidate who had been able to apparently allegedly beat Maduro at the poll, despite what the electoral authorities would say.
So, clearly, worrying times in Venezuela tonight, Lynda.
KINKADE: Yeah, certainly, is Venezuelan opposition leader fleeing to seek asylum in Spain. Stefano Pozzebon, thanks so much for that update.
Well, after 11 months of fighting, Israel's war with Hamas shows no signs of ending. And in Tel Aviv, there have been new protests one week after the bodies of six hostages were recovered in Gaza. Anti- government protesters are demanding any immediate ceasefire and hostage release agreement. They've lined the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night saying its time to bring the hostages home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OSNAT GOSH, PROTESTER: We have to shout loud that we have to bring them alive now. We cannot wait any longer. It's been enough 11 months, exactly today that the people are dying in the tunnel. We cannot to let it happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Matthew Chance was in the middle of that massive protest and filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You get the chance of the crowd in Hebrew. They're saying all of them mad, talking about the 101 Israelis who are still being held captive inside Gaza. The people here want an immediate deal to bring those hostages back home. And they blame the government of Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, for failing to secure that agreement.
There's a sign over here, look, blaming specifically Netanyahu for the deaths that we've seen, the six hostages who were executed last week and all abandoned by Netanyahu. They're all shouting now, now. People don't care at this point here what the price of that deal is, whether it's territorial or evacuations by the military inside Gaza, whether it' the release of hundreds of convicted Palestinian, some of them convicted on terrorism charges held in Israeli jails.
These are the things that are the sticking well up for a deal at the moment, according to all the people negotiating it. But a growing number of Israelis now that are angry the more is not being done by the Israeli government to get those hostages out of Gaza as soon as possible.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, CIA Director Bill Burns says a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is about 90 percent complete. He joined MI6 chief Richard Moore in London for a rare public foreign policy discussion. Burns said the last parts of any agreement are usually the most difficult to negotiate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: You were working very hard with the Egyptians and the Qataris to mediators right now to try to refine that framework, add more details to it and put it in a form a good enough proposal. I cannot tell you how close we are right now. It is -- it is a fact that if you look at the written text, 90 percent to the paragraphs have been agreed to. But in any negotiation, I've been involved in, the last 10 percent is the last 10 percent for a reason because it's the hardest part to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Ukraine says it's fended off another massive drone attack, taking down nearly 60 Russian drones. The attack targeted several locations across the country, including the capital Kyiv.
But as our Frederik Pleitgen reports, the frontline in the east is still seeing some of the heaviest fighting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A really dynamic situation on the battlefields here in eastern Ukraine.
One of the main focal points remains the city of Pokrovsk. That, of course, a major logistics hub for the Ukrainian military. But in general for Ukraine and definitely place they want to hold. Now, the Ukrainians are saying that for them, it is also one of the most difficult battlefield situations.
The Russians have been pressing towards that town for quite awhile, but the Ukrainians are now saying that they've also moved additional units to that area, that they've stabilized the situation on the frontline. And in some places there are even able to mount counter attacks.
All this comes as the Russians continue can you a high rate of missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, against Ukrainian infrastructure but, of course, against the Ukrainian military as well. Sixty-seven drone attacks registered by the Ukrainians in the night from Friday into Saturday. The Ukrainians, however, are saying that they were able to shoot most of those drones down.
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At the same time, also, the rate of missile attacks remains pretty high. And now, two sources within the United States saying that Iran has apparently given ballistic missiles to the Russians. That, of course, would amount to a pretty significant escalation in the military cooperation between Iran and Russia.
The Iranians have not commented in this instance, however, they have said in the past that they have not given any military technology, including missiles and drones to the Russians, all this as Ukraine is really suffering from a lot of Russian missile attacks, especially over the past couple of weeks, we have seen a significant increase, not just in ballistic missile attacks, but it other attacks with missiles as well.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Dnipro, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, at least four people are dead in northern Vietnam after Typhoon Yagi made landfall on Saturday. The tropical cyclone recorded maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour. The equivalent of a category before Atlantic hurricane.
Yagi uprooted thousands of trees and damaged countless houses across northern Vietnam. That's according to local authorities. And Asia's most powerful storm this year continues to tear across Laos where it is expected to bring significant wind damage along the coast and widespread rainfall of up to 300 millimeters. That's about 12 inches until Sunday.
Well, I'm Lynda Kinkade. For our international viewers, "HIDDEN TREASURES" is coming up next. But for our viewers here in North America, CNN NEWSROOM continues in just a moment.
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KINKADE: Welcome. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Returning now to our breaking news, a manhunt is underway after five people were shot and wounded near a busy interstate in Kentucky. It happened Saturday afternoon near Interstate 75 in Laurel County, just north of London, Kentucky. The London Police Department released a photo of who they call a person of interest in that shooting, a 32- year-old white man named Joseph A. Couch. He's about five foot ten and weighing approximately 154 pounds. Police say he is considered armed and dangerous.
Police have closed a section of the interstate due to that active shooter situation, urging residents in the area to stay indoors with their doors locked. The interstate has now reopened in both directions. The laurel county sheriffs department said all five victims are in stable condition.
Juliette Kayyem is a CNN senior national security analyst and former assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Defense and joins us now live.
Thanks so much for your time tonight, Juliette.
Of course, we know mass shootings very common here in the U.S. This one happened on an interstate. How unusual is that? And what could that tell you about a possible motive?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, it's -- it has happened before, but it is unusual. Most of the time when we see mass shootings or active shooters, there's either a theater or there's a large accessible crowd as school of theater a bar, because the person presumably wants to have a mass casualty event. This kind of behavior essentially going after cars is intended for two things.
One is, of course, to go after a particular -- target individuals drivers, or passengers. But also too, in some ways witness the response which is cars out of control, crop cars trying to the noise. We have testimonials about people hearing noises and wanting to get out of the way and so there's a certain I would say performative aspect to it.
Because it happened in the daytime I think that explains how they know who it is or clearly enough eyewitnesses to at least narrow down on the search. So now it's just a matter of finding where specifically he is.
KINKADE: Yeah, it was interesting to note, Juliette, how quickly police identified this man as a case suspect in this mass shooting? What does that tell you and how will that help the manhunt?
KAYYEM: So, I mean, one of the differences, even in just the last ten years, is anyone nearby is now -- is not just an eyewitness, but is -- has a -- is like journalist and so presumably what happened is people are taking pictures, are taking videos, they know what's happening. They can narrow down the car.
There's even in these interstates in more rural states, there's all sorts of radar, all sorts of visuals. So that once they put the pieces together, there's highway cameras, there's individual cameras, then they can figure out who were in fact were the shots coming from? They can tell that by the noise and then figure out who owns the car.
The car identification likely lead to the perpetrators identification and he's likely on the run and knowing that he's now been caught. His motive may be exceptionally perverse he just wanted to have an event that that would not only harm people, but would harm others who were not shot at because of the nature of what a car accident or a car swerving would entail.
KINKADE: And we do knowing this case, five people were injured in the shooting.
KAYYEM: Yeah.
KINKADE: We don't have details on the injuries. We know that two are still, at least two are still in hospital. But in terms of the manhunt, what sort of resources we deployed come first light?
KAYYEM: So, right now -- so exactly first light is the key part here. It's going to be very hard to do and a lot of these rural areas, without the light, but once a couple of things are happening, one is, of course, family and friends and sort of figuring what are is this typical behavior, does he go fishing and a certain place does he go hunting in a certain place?
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Second, is he -- presumably, he has a cell phone and other ways to monitor what where he might be, credit cards, bank -- bank ATM cards. He's going to get hungry. He's going to get thirsty at some stage, especially if he was not intending an exit. And then you'd want to have aerial surveillance.
So the second the light comes out, there'll be helicopters, drones, and others trying to identify other aerial views, trying to get large swaths of visuals over -- over this area. So these things are scary in real time. I'm pretty confident just given how fast it's gone, that unless he was very prepared for an exit and a long stay away, he will eventually do something, buy water, buy food, need gas, that will expose him.
KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. So what is your advice, Juliette, to anyone who may come across this suspect?
KAYYEM: That -- I mean, no -- no uncertain terms. Stay away. Call police, lock the doors, do not engage, and there's no reason to that at least right now, he is on the run. He's on defense and don't -- people should not make themselves part of a story they don't need to be a part of. And that's really key at this stage.
KINKADE: Yeah, exactly.
KAYYEM: And no harm has been done. Yeah.
KINKADE: Stay safe. Call 911.
Juliette Kayyem, appreciate your time as always. Thanks so much.
KAYYEM: Thank you. Thank you.
Well, earlier, my colleague, Jessica Dean, spoke with Christina DiNoto who says her car was shot at while she was driving on that interstate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Joining us now is Christina DiNoto who was an eyewitness to the shooting and she tells us she was shot at while she was on I-75.
Christina, thank you so much for joining us. I know this is still really fresh for you. You and a friend, right, were on a trip driving from Tennessee to New York? Is that right?
CHRISTINA DINOTO, SHOOTING WITNESS: Yeah. My friend Jeremy and I were actually driving from New York to Tennessee so we were on I-75 and Kentucky around the London area.
And while we were driving, all of a sudden, we just heard this deafening, loud sound and it sounded like -- like a rock went through my back window and our ears were ringing and we just looked at each other and we were like, was that a gunshot? And then were like that cant be a gunshot because were driving down the highway.
And there was a white truck that was next to us and the right-hand lane and all of a sudden, he slowed down a pulled off to the shoulder and we thought maybe it was his tire head blown out or something, but it was much louder than a tire blowing out that was just so loud and so scary its something very unexpected while you're just driving.
So that was what had happened and then a few minutes later, we just saw dozens the police vehicles going in that direction I believe it's northbound on I-75, and we were like what is going on here and we saw tons of tire shreds on the side of the highway and it's all these things were happening that didn't really add up and about an hour later, we got a call from Jeremy's dad, and he said he was watching CNN and what there was an active shooter on I-75.
And we were beside ourselves, like, oh, my God, we just drive through a shooting. So we made it to Knoxville and got out and checked my car. And on the rim of my Forerunner, and on the rim, there's a huge indent. It looks like a like a bullet divot. And then all the paint is chipped off of the back panel of my forerunner.
DEAN: That is so, so scary and must have been so confusing because it sounds like you were trying to put the pieces together, but it's such a rare thing to happen, a shooting on an active interstate. Did you have any where that gunshot came from? Was it coming from a car? Do you have any idea?
DINOTO: No, if I had to guess, I would say off to the side of the road because it hit my tires which are pretty low to the ground. So I don't -- I don't imagine it came from a vehicle, but I don't know for certain.
DEAN: Yeah, it's hard. When you're moving probably so quickly. Were you going with the normal rate of speed like you were going the normal speed limit, right?
DINOTO: Correct. Yes.
DEAN: Yeah. Yeah. Then what about I know you mentioned the car that pulled off to the side. Did you see anybody else around you being affected or was it kind of happening so fast? DINOTO: It happened very fast, but I just happened to notice the truck that was next to us because we were kind of neck and neck at the time and then I just noticed him slowing down and pulling off and, you know, you know, normally don't see people just pull off to the side of the road, especially with the loud noise that we believe to be a gunshot at the same time very confusing, and it all happened very fast that makes sense.
[00:40:03]
DEAN: No, of course, it does. I think in those moments its like really hard to put into context what's happening. And it's loud. What did the sound sound like?
DINOTO: It was so -- it sounded like -- like a rock smashed through the back window and my ear was ringing, my right ear and it happened on the passenger side of my vehicle and I was in the drivers side. So there's just a very loud and I know what a tire blowout sounds like, and it didn't sound like that it was much louder and it we both looked at each other and said, is that was that a gunshot?
But we know were driving and it seemed like impossible that that would be a gunshot.
DEAN: And you seem to be physically, thankfully, okay. And hopefully your friend is as well. But I would imagine that in your mind, you probably they keep it really probably shatters a sense of security in a way that you would never expect this to happen. I would think it's a very frightening thing that's probably you're still trying to process.
DINOTO: Absolutely. And as a matter of fact, earlier today when we were still in New York, I actually got pulled over and got a speeding ticket which held us up a little bit. But in retrospect, I feel like you know, divine intervention, right? Like held us up to maybe missed the actual bullet hitting us directly.
DEAN: Yeah. No, I think that's certainly one way to think about it for sure.
Is there anything else you want people to know about your experience?
DINOTO: Definitely just be aware of your surroundings at all times. You know, I would never in 1 million years think that something like that would happen in Kentucky of all places, you know. So just always keep your eyes and out end if you see or hear anything that seems out of place, there might be more to it.
DEAN: Well, I'm very glad you're okay. I'm glad your friends okay. I'm sure that was a very, very frightening experience, but thank you for sharing your eyewitness account with us. We really appreciate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, still to come on CNN NEWSROOM, Aryna Sabalenka is officially a U.S. Open champion. Later this hour, you will catch up with the world's number two fresh off her third grand slam title win. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:56]
KINKADE: Well, the wait is over for world number two, Aryna Sabalenka, who took home her first U.S. Open singles title on Saturday. She defeated American Jessica Pegula in two straight sets. This was the second year in a row that Aryna Sabalenka reached the U.S. Open final. The win marking the 26-year-old's third career grand slam singles title.
The Belarusian won the Australian Open for the second consecutive year back in January.
Andy Scholes caught up with the newly crowned champ.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARYNA SABALENKA, U.S. OPEN WOMEN'S SINGLES CHAMPION: It feels amazing, you know. It's -- I mean, I don't know how to describe how it feels, but I'm definitely the happiest person in the world right now. I cannot believe that, you know, like, I've been dreaming about this trophy for so long. I had a lot of -- like I felt like I had a lot of opportunities I didn't achieve, And yes, and now, finally, I'm holding this beautiful trophy. It's -- yes, it means a lot.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: It can't be easy going up against this New York crowd when they're rooting for your opponent. But you had some really nice moments with the crowd this year in New York. You had the mini me fan earlier on. Then you offered to buy everyone drinks to get them on your side.
SABALENKA: I tried my best. I tried my best.
SCHOLES: How do you think you adapted to this unique atmosphere this year?
SABALENKA: Well, honestly, I would say that this year I felt so much love from the crowd. And even though I was facing Americans, they still were supporting and cheering for me a little bit. I felt like last year there was like kind of like close to zero on my side. And this year, I felt a lot of support, even in the finals. And yes, I'm just super happy to feel so much love in New York.
SCHOLES: Did anyone from the U.S. Open come to you with a bar tab after you said that you were buying everyone drinks?
SABALENKA: I said that my boyfriend going to cover it.
SCHOLES: All right. You did say you learned a lot of tough lessons after losing in the final to Coco last year. How do you think you evolved as a player and a person over the past year?
SABALENKA: I mean, I improved a lot. I worked really hard after that tough loss in the finals. And yes, I think I improved as a person, as a player a lot. And the variation of my game is there, you know, I'm not only hard to hear, I don't know how to say that right. But I think I improved a lot, especially mentally.
SCHOLE: Three Grand Slam titles now. What do you want your legacy to be one day?
SABALENKA: That's a big question. And probably I'm not ready to answer it right now. But I definitely want to be one of the greatest. And I mean, I think everyone wants that. But of course, I want that. But I'm just trying to focus, you know, on improving myself every day. And let's see how far we can get in this sport.
SCHOLES: You do have one of the most famous tiger tattoos now. Any chances of a celebratory edition, another tattoo?
SABALENKA: Oh, you know, one day I said it's going to be my first and the last one, and I'll try to keep it like that. But you cannot imagine how many times I wanted to do another one. Like, especially after I won Australia Open, I was like, OK, I have to go for one. Then like right now, and then another Australia Open, like -- but I'm trying to stay strong and resist that because I don't want to end up being, like, full of tattoos. I want to keep it, like, one in the last line. I want to keep my word.
SCHOLES: All right. Finally, how are you going to celebrate tonight in New York?
SABALENKA: A lot of drinks. A lot of drinks. I need to feel this relief and, yes, I hope we're going to have a lot of fun with my team.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Hopefully, she's still out celebrating.
Well, on the men's side, Taylor Fritz became the first American to advance to the final since Andy Roddick back in 2006. He'll face world number one Jannik Sinner, and the first Italian man really to reach the singles final. Fritz beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals. Confident Ritz is backing himself to victory, but he'll have to overcome Sinner's ten match winning streak to claim the prize, the two have met twice before, and they've split the proceeds with one each.
Still to come, some 55 million Americans are under heat alerts.
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We'll let you know where the scorching temps are and how long people can expect to swelter. That's just ahead.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
The skyline in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is forever changed after the town's largest structure imploded on Saturday.
The Capital One Tower in Lake Charles was demolished after being vacant for four years. According to our local affiliate, KPLC, the high-rise was damaged during Hurricane Laura back in August of 2020. And after years of trying to find a buyer, the owner of the tower and the city decided that the building should come down.
Well, extreme heat across the western United States is prompting weather alerts blazing temperatures spread across the southwest and into southern California and the Pacific Northwest. CNN meteorologist Elisa Rafah has the details.
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ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The heat goes on, the southwest continues to swelter with temperatures up in the triple digits from places like Fresno, Las Vegas, and Phoenix on Sunday.
[00:55:05]
This is after many locations have already tied or broken daily records with temperatures in the triple digits. Downtown L.A. hitting 112 degrees, the airport hitting 102, even temperatures up in the upper 90s for some cities in Washington and Oregon tying and breaking records.
Will keep these temperatures of near 100 degrees or hotter through the next couple of days. Las Vegas continues to see that heat stretch through Tuesday. So, does Phoenix, temperatures up near 110 degrees. Palm Springs as well. We keep temperatures up near the triple digits in Los Angeles through Monday.
Now, downtown L.A. hit 112 degrees on Friday for just the third time on record since 1877. It was just one degree shy of that all-time record of 113 degrees that was set back in September of 2010. The forecast again is expected to be at 100 or hotter through Monday, but average for this time of year is 84 degrees. Again, this is kind of late in the season to be seeing heat like this.
Phoenix continues to plow through their records currently at 103 consecutive days at or hotter than 100 degrees, and that completely shatters the previous stretch of 76 days that was set back in 1993.
So, again, we're seeing this heat get more extreme and last longer. That is a sign, a symptom, a fingerprint of climate change. And our climate shift index from Climate Central tells us, you know, by how much, and we're seeing for a lot of this heat there in the southwest, for parts of Southern California, we're seeing that this heat was made four to five times more likely due to climate change as this heat, again, becomes more extreme and just last longer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINAKDE: Well, thanks to Elisa there.
And thank you for joining us tonight. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back with much more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.
