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CNN This Morning

Record-Breaking Heat Wave Continues to Scorch South and Southwest, Deadly Flooding Occurring in Northeast; Record-Breaking Heat Wave Heightens Throughout South and Southwest, 80 Million People Under Heat Warnings; Flooding Near Philadelphia Leaves 5 People Dead, 2 Children Missing; Airlines Attempting to Recover from Severe Storms that Forced Ground Stops at Airports Throughout the Northeast; Attack on Bridge Linking Russia-Crimea Claimed by Ukraine; Suspect in 3 Murders at Gilgo Beach, According to Investigator, May Have Committed More Murders. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 17, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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[08:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone. That was Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz, he's basically our best friend now this morning.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We are besties.

MATTINGLY: And we kept him from breaking the trophy.

PHILLIP: I may want to keep the trophy but --

MATTINGLY: Well, yes. Everything's great. And he's a champion. His second Grand Slam title, his first at Wimbledon. We'll have more with our conversation with the new champion in a little bit.

But let's start with extreme weather impacting millions of Americans. Deadly flooding swamping the northeast. While a record-breaking heat wave grips the south and southwest.

And new overnight, explosions rocking the bridge that connects Russia to Crimea. The Russians say it was attacked by drones in the water. A source inside Ukraine's security service tells CNN that it was a joint operation by Ukrainian intelligence and naval forces.

PHILLIP: And Hollywood grinding to a halt. Actors and writers are digging in for the long haul as they demand fair pay from the studios and from the streaming services. Coming up right here, Lea DeLaria and Emma Myles, two of the stars of the hit Netflix show "Orange is the New Black," they'll join us. They're speaking out about claiming that they never received compensation that they deserved from that show. This hour of "CNN This Morning" starts right now.

MATTINGLY: Well, good Monday morning, everyone. And this morning, around 80 million Americans across the nation are facing dangerous heat as a brutal and record-breaking heat wave continues to scorch the south and southwest. In Phoenix, it's been hotter than 110 degrees for 17 straight days. Las Vegas, it already tied its daily record yesterday at 116 degrees.

Meanwhile, the northeast is cleaning up after severe and deadly flash flooding, you can see some of it right there. At least five people are dead and two children are missing in the suburbs of Philadelphia after they were swept away by floodwaters.

Let's get started with that extreme heat. Rafael Romo is live in Las Vegas. And Rafael, how hot is it expected to get there today?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Phil, it's been amazing. And it was already 90 degrees here in Las Vegas an hour ago, about 93 right now. And we're expecting another scorcher today. Just to give you an idea of how hot it's been, the thermometer hit 115 degrees yesterday, just one degree shy of the record of July 16th. And just two degrees away from the all-time record of 117 degrees.

And this is dangerous not only for obvious reasons, but also because surface temperatures can be extremely hot and cause burns. The local office of the National Weather Service here in Las Vegas made some measurements and found that concrete temperatures, Sunday, reached almost 127 degrees. And listen to this, there was a reading on asphalt that got very close to 160 degrees. This is dangerous to humans, of course, but officials are also warning people with pets about burns they can suffer. If, for example, a dog is walking on a hard surface outside.

As bad as it's been here, Death National Valley Park in California reached 128 degrees Sunday, only six degrees shy of the all-time record of 134 degrees. And there's a reason why it's known as the hottest place on Earth. We also visited Hoover Dam, where a couple of tourists told us what they were doing to try to cope with the heat.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like you're actually on fire after you're out here for a while. And we just been -- I just slammed about two bottles of water at lunch. This is definitely like touching surfaces.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not used to burning myself on concrete.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just harder to breathe, like, without the moisture in the air. It's just kind of hard to breathe, you know. So, it's -- it makes things a little difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Phil, high temperatures at Hoover Dam were well over 110 degrees during the weekend and are expected to remain at the same level during this week. Back to you. MATTINGLY: Rafael Romo, the numbers are so high, you almost can't get your head around them. Great reporting, my friend. Stay cool out there.

PHILLIP: It is scary out there. And that extreme weather and also flooding forcing major ground stops at airports across the northeast. Airlines are trying to bounce back after more than 11,000 flight delays and cancellations.

[08:05:00]

Our friend, CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is tracking the situation this morning. So, Pete, how bad is it?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, today is looking a lot better than it's looking from yesterday. We've got about 280 cancellations just took FlightAware, about a thousand delays. So, about 15 percent of what we saw yesterday. 1,700 cancellations just yesterday. But get this, the number of delays, almost 10,000, 9,794. Those are the most flight delays we have seen all summer, 40 percent of all flights scheduled in the U.S. delayed. The average delay, flights arriving at their destination, about an average of an hour and 10 minutes late.

So, a lot of misery at airports across the country yesterday. The worst airports were in the New York area. Unsurprising. Newark, JFK, LaGuardia. There were ground stops there for most of the day. Yesterday, also at Boston Logan, there was a ground stop instituted by the FAA, meaning that flights there can't get in, just because the weather was so poor, and the issues stretched all the way down to D.C., at Reagan National Airport.

This is the blunt warning from United Airlines CEO, Scott Kirby. Remember, United has its own meltdown the last week of June. Canceled about 3,000 flights. He says with climate change, that means more extreme weather events that leads to more cancellations and delays, and no airline is safe. Listen.

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SCOTT KIRBY, CEO, UNITED AIRLINES: The regular operation events are, you know, going to be more likely to occur as the climate warms. More heat in the atmosphere, thermodynamics 101, we're going to have more thunderstorms.

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MUNTEAN: FAA is warning of more ground stops today, especially as the day goes on and the heat builds along with the thunderstorms in New York, but also in Philadelphia, in Boston, and in central and South Florida. So, a lot of people could be going through a lot more flight misery today. Although at least right now, things are remaining relatively stable, but we'll see as the day stretches on.

PHILLIP: It can be so frustrating, especially this time of year --

MUNTEAN: Oh, yes.

PHILLIP: -- people going on family vacations and whatnot. Peat, thank you very much.

MUNTEAN: You bet.

MATTINGLY: Thanks, buddy.

All right. Well, this morning, big news, on two fronts. Ukraine claiming responsibility for an attack on the vital bridge connecting Russia to the annexed peninsula of Crimea. Now, the full extent of the damage, currently unknown. But Ukraine says, it will cause logistical issues for Russian forces. Meantime, Russia is also announcing it's pulling out of the crucial Black Sea grain deal until its demands are met.

CNN's Alex Marquardt is live in Odessa, Ukraine for us with more. And Alex, I want to start with the attack on the bridge to the Crimean Peninsula -- between the Crimean Peninsula and Russia. The importance of this bridge, both from a symbolic perspective and from a tangible logistical perspective. What is it?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hugely important on both fronts. I mean, this is a bridge that connects Southern Russia, the Krasnodar Region with the occupied Russian -- or occupied Crimea Peninsula, which Russia, of course, has held since 2014. And since that bridge was built five years ago, they've used it to carry all kinds of things across it. Food, fuel, and of course, military supplies, since the war began.

We do understand that this was a deadly attack by Ukraine. At least two Russians were killed. We understand them to be parents and their young child was injured in this attack. The extent of the destruction is becoming a bit clearer, based on videos and photos that we've seen on social media. It does appear that the roadway was significantly impacted. It looks like the traffic came to a complete stop. The train tracks, meanwhile, which run parallel, do not appear to have been damaged. We've seen video coming from that train. We have heard that there have been some delays, but that the trains haven't stopped.

But of course, this is hugely significant and very remarkable, Phil, that Ukraine is claiming responsibility. Normally, they're very coy when they carry out brazen attacks like this. But Kyiv saying firmly today that it was their security services, the SBU, and the navy that were jointly in an operation to bomb this bridge, which Russia has called a terrorist operation.

The Russian side is saying that it was carried out by two sea or surface drones. Of course, now we're waiting to see what the Russian reaction is. The last time there was an attack on this bridge back in October, which Ukraine did not claim, there was a huge Russian attack on Ukraine very quickly after that, Phil.

MATTINGLY: All right. Alex Marquardt live for us in Odessa, thank you. PHILLIP: And a suspected serial killer captured in New York. But a top investigator tells CNN that his case could be ongoing. There could be more victims that we don't know about yet. Police arrested Rex Heuermann on Thursday in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders. Investigators say, he killed at least three women and as the top suspect in a fourth. All of their bodies found near each other more than 10 years ago. Here's what the Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney told us this morning.

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RAYMOND TIERNEY, SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: You're talking about something that is 13 years in the making. So, when you talk about the unbelievable amount of material that was there prior to me assuming office in January of '22. And then you also have over 300 search warrants and judicial requests, so there is a tremendous amount of information, which obviously, you know, the defense is going to want to look at.

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PHILLIP: Let's bring in now CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, John Miller. John, so -- what is so incredible about this case is just the sheer number of victims, three that he's been charged with, a fourth. But also, several bodies, frankly, that are still being investigated. What do you think are the respects here that we could have more charges related to either that fourth victim or others.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So, I think there's a good likelihood there because you've got three essential things. First, you start out with the crime scenes back in 2010. That is what unearthed these remains and the scant clues that they had to go by in terms of forensic evidence.

But now, you have two other interesting places to gather evidence. One, the suspect's home. Why is that important? Because in these serial killer cases, what we see in offender characteristics is that they keep things from victims. In these cases, victims had property missing. Their phones were missing. Clothing items were missing. And it is not unusual for these offenders, these suspects to keep these things, so that they can use them to relive the murders, to fantasize about it again.

They've got a search that is still continuing, even as we sit here now, this many days after the arrest at the home. And then, of course, you have the suspect himself. Now they're not getting DNA from a discarded pizza crust, they're getting DNA directly from him, hair directly from him, and other forensics that are going to be helpful.

MATTINGLY: John, can you take us behind the scenes, I mean, the idea of this all coming together, finally. This had been, kind of, a case that had gone cold. This has taken years and years to actually get to this point. What happened. What changed? MILLER: So, when Rodney Harrison became police commissioner of the Suffolk County police in 2021, he did something very unusual. Without knowing the outcome, he vowed that we were going to solve this case. He was coming from the NYPD as chief of detectives. And he basically assembled a task force -- the Suffolk County Police Department had, kind of, gone this alone in large measure. Worried about other agencies. Leaks about the investigation. People taking over the case.

But he brought in the FBI's CAST Team. They do the telephone work. They're amazing. He brought in the Suffolk County sheriff and they brought in Rich Zacarese, who was another NYPD person, who was experienced with putting together extraordinarily complex cases out of mountains of digital evidence. They brought in, of course, the experienced detectives from Suffolk County homicide who knew the case the best, but also a state police investigator who was extraordinarily determined and was actually the individual who broke that clue that connected the green pickup truck to the suspect.

So, what he really did was he took his offset statement, which is, you know, teamwork makes the dream work. And he said, we're going to build out beyond this department. Bring in the best and the brightest, technology and science, and we're going to get this thing done.

MATTINGLY: That's a remarkable breakthrough. John Miller, thank you very much for reporting.

MILLER: Thanks.

MATTINGLY: Well, Democratic lawmakers denounced comments made by a fellow Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapal, after she called Israel a, "Racist state." How she's now walking what it back, coming up next.

PHILLIP: And Democratic Senator Joe Manchin speaking today at a town hall in New Hampshire. It's hosted by a political group that is considering a unity ticket for the 2024 presidential race. Is Manchin planning a third party run?

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[08:17:27]

PHILLIP: A group of Democratic lawmakers slamming their progressive colleague, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal after she called Israel a racist state.

At least seven Democrats drafted a letter calling the congresswoman's comments unacceptable, writing in part: "Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people and efforts to delegitimize and demonize it are not only dangerous and anti-Semitic, but they also undermine America's national security."

Now, the congresswoman was speaking to a group of pro-Palestinian protesters when she made those comments, and she has since walked them back.

CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju is here with us. So Manu, the lawmakers who wrote this letter did accept her apology

and her retraction. However, this is a deep wound in the Democratic Caucus that won't go away.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and look, it has gotten more pronounced over the last several years. There are outspoken members on the left in the Congressional Progressive Caucus who have sharp concerns with Israel, who have voiced those concerns. Those concerns should not be raised because of the political backlash that could ensue by talking negatively about Israel.

But you've seen a small bloc of these members becoming very outspoken. People like Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and she is a Muslim Somali refugee, someone who has supported the Boycott Israel movement, so the same with Rashida Tlaib supporting the Boycott Israel movement.

Now, that's not what Pramila Jayapal, the Congressional Progressive Caucus leader supports, but she has been sharply critical of the Israeli government in and of itself, and these comments were significant for a lot of those members, given how prominent she is within the party, which is very rare to see the leadership of the Democratic Party come out yesterday and issue a statement rebuking those comments.

Hakeem Jeffries and his two deputies coming out and saying that Israel is not a racist state and saying that the United States supports Israel.

What the Democratic leaders don't want is to see the Republicans again to try to drive a wedge between them and their support for Israel, given the prominence of Israel in the American political movement and the fact that Republicans are eager to drive that wedge as they've done with Ilhan Omar, trying to -- stripping her from her assignments on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and trying to associate Omar's remarks.

There are a lot of Democrats who do support Israel. They did not want to see that happen again with Jayapal. Jayapal was quick to issue that statement, saying that she does not believe that Israel is a racist, the idea of Israel as a racist state and say that her words have some impact here, but of course this all comes ahead of Wednesday's high- profile state visit from the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog who is going to be addressing the joint session of Congress.

[08:20:04]

It will be interesting to see how many members of that left flank decide not to go. Already, we know a handful of them have decided to boycott and where will Pramila Jayapal be?

She told me last week, she had not yet decided, but it was unlikely to attend. So, we'll see if she changes after this controversy here.

MATTINGLY: Are you surprised? We have some other topics to get to, but just how fast this all kind of evolved. RAJU: Yeah, I did. It is Saturday and then all of a sudden, Sunday

she was walking it back. Typically lawmakers are disengaged for the most part over the weekend, but the Democratic leadership recognized they've got to clear this up before Monday.

MATTINGLY: Yes, all right, Manu, stick around. We've got more to get to you with, but first today, Senator Joe Manchin is set to attend a Town Hall in New Hampshire hosted by the group No Labels fueling speculation about potential third party run.

No Labels is actively considering running a third party candidate in the 2024 presidential race and pushing for a unity ticket featuring one Democrat and one Republican.

Now, Manchin told Manu last week as he does just about every week about whatever the topic is, at Manu, the event is not about running for president, but wouldn't rule it out either.

For more on this, let's bring in CNN senior data reporter, Harry Enten with this morning's number.

Harry, the number?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, so you know, if we want to talk about how much why there is all this talk about a third party potentially getting traction versus four years ago, take a look at this morning's number, all right?

It's 21 percent. Why there is 21 percent? Because voters who dislike both Biden and Trump, it's 21 percent of the electorate.

Compare that to three percent who felt that way on election day 2020. This 21 percent is more than the percentage of voters who disliked both Trump and Clinton on the heels of the 2016 election. So this is a large chunk of voters and that is fueling all this talk about a third party bid.

PHILLIP: So Harry, who would win the voters who not like neither Biden nor Trump, if they faced each other in a general election matchup?

ENTEN: Yes, so take a look. This sort of gives you an understanding how those voters who don't like Biden or Trump say they'll vote in 2024.

Look, it's close, but those voters are favoring Joe Biden by a 41 percent to 34 percent margin, and I think that is part of the reason why you're seeing all of these Democrats, perhaps be worried because they know this is a chunk of voters that Joe Biden needs to win, and if they like Biden more than Trump, and all of a sudden you introduce a third party candidate, maybe things might end up a little bit differently.

MATTINGLY: You know, to that point, what if Joe Manchin or Cornel West ends up on the ballot as a third party candidate come November? ENTEN: Yes, so here's the big reveal, right, at the end of the

segment. All right, Biden versus Trump in 2024, if there is no third party, look at this, Biden, by a point. The effect of a third party, potential third party candidate is small, but it is enough to flip it.

And now if a third party candidate is included, look at that, Trump by one point. So Democrats are the ones who don't want a third party candidate and this is the polling. This is the data that they're looking at, guys.

MATTINGLY: Manu, can you -- that was a great big reveal, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: You backed it up with actual details. Explain Manchin to people, not -- broadly, it would take a while but like on this issue specifically, you have a better read and talk to him more than maybe anybody I know. What's the genesis here of this town hall?

PHILLIP: And why does he keep flirting with this idea?

RAJU: Yes. It is not clear he is actually all that interested in running for president. He likes his name being out there. He likes being discussed. He wants to be in the center of this discussion and he legitimately has concerns the way the two parties are running things in Washington and the fact that there is really not much effort to try to come to the middle. So that's been his whole political mantra.

And if flirting with the presidential bid allows folks to pay attention to that, that's great, but the second he rules that out or the second, he says, I am not going to run for re-election in a very critical state of West Virginia, if he doesn't run for re-election in the Senate, that is almost certainly going to feed to the Republicans, people will stop paying attention to him. People will stop cutting deals with trying to cut deals with him and try to achieve his own political objectives.

So there is a real reason for Manchin to be doing this to get the attention he wants. Now, will he eventually run for the president? I tend to doubt it. But you know, he hasn't ruled it out, so you have to at least consider that, that remains a possibility and one that Democrats, frankly, are very concerned about.

PHILLIP: If he does run for re-election, it doesn't hurt him to be seen as sticking it to the current president who is a Democrat, doesn't poll that well over there in West Virginia.

MATTINGLY: It just came out, his Labor Secretary now hangs.

PHILLIP: Absolutely. So Harry, Manu, thank you both very much.

MATTINGLY: Thanks, guys.

PHILLIP: And 160,000 Hollywood actors are on strike and one of the biggest sticking points here is fair compensation and residual checks from the streaming giants.

We will talk to two of those actors who say that they were and still are being unfairly compensated for their work.

Lea DeLaria and Emma Myles from "Orange is the New Black," they join us next.

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[08:28:46]

PHILLIP: Actors are now reinforcing the writers on the picket line in Hollywood. They are on strike to demand in part better compensation from the studios and the streaming giants. The struggle for fair pay being highlighted by the stars of one of the first hit shows from the streaming era.

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KIMIKO GLENN, ACTOR: My God. I am about to be so rich. What?

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PHILLIP: That was Kimiko Glenn who played Brook Soso on Netflix's "Orange is the New Black." She earned just $27 on that residual check, you saw it there.

Her frustration being echoed by many of her co-stars. Lea DeLaria telling "The New Yorker," "I get $20.00. I would love to know how much money did Ted (Sarandos) make last year?"

Well here's the answer, Sarandos, who is the CEO of Netflix, according to the company's financial statements last year, he received $20 million in base salary, more than $50 million if you include the stock and the options and bonuses.

Emma Myles and other "Orange is the New Black" alum told the New Yorker, "When you're a kid, you have this idea, once I'm on something that people actually see, I'll be rich and you'll look around after being on that hit show and you're like, wow, I'm still in the same one bedroom apartment. Was this how it's supposed to be?"

Now, Emma Myles and Lea DeLaria join me now.

Emma, can you explain to the audience, first of all, what are residual checks, right? What are they supposed to be? And what does that financially look like for you, once you've been on a show like "Orange is the New Black"?

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