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Protecting Yourself against Ticks; DeSantis Faces Backlash over Black History Standards; Israel Judicial Reform Bill Passes; "Barbie" Debut Hit. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 24, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: End in sight for all of this.

Sam Kiley, really appreciate the reporting, live from Greece.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, so many people, of course, outside during the summertime. Temperatures rising. Along with those temperatures, the tick population is also rising. That means your chances of potentially contracting Lyme disease, which is carried by certain ticks, are also higher.

Joining us now with more on how to protect yourself, CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell.

So, Meg, you and I were talking in the break. Full disclosure, two people, one of them being my mom, very close to me in the last two weeks, have been diagnosed with Lyme disease.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Really?

HILL: And it took a while to get there. They kept thinking maybe they had mild Covid.

TIRRELL: Yes.

HILL: So, why are we seeing - is it there are just more ticks and that's why more people are now getting bitten and infected?

TIRRELL: Yes, there are more ticks and they're in more places. That's what experts have been telling CNN about what's going on here.

And primarily we expect to see Lyme disease in the northeast, in the Midwest, but really anywhere these black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, exist you can see Lyme disease risk. You can also see it in the West Coast, where another kind of tick carries Lyme disease. And so this is an increasing problem. And we all have to be really careful this summer.

HARLOW: I grew up in Minnesota, and summers in the northern woods of Minnesota, where they are all over.

TIRRELL: Yes. HARLOW: Deer ticks look a little bit different than regular ticks, right? What should people be looking for? And has this Lyme disease grown over the years?

TIRRELL: Yes, it actually has. If you look over the last three decades, the incidence of Lyme disease has actually doubled since the early 1990s.

HARLOW: Wow.

TIRRELL: And so it's both more prevent and happening (ph) in more (ph) places. You can see the differences between '96 and 2018 here. And the reason for that is warming temperatures, so the tick can exist in more places and it can sort of live its life cycle in more places, but also deer are just encountering people more frequently. The white tail deer population, which carries these ticks. And one of the important things to look out for is just how small they can be.

HARLOW: They're tiny.

TIRRELL: They can be the size of poppy seeds.

HILL: Yes.

TIRRELL: And those ticks can spread Lyme. So you have to be really careful.

HARLOW: Wow.

HILL: It's also important to note that it's much more treatable than when it was first discovered. You can get an antibiotic now. Not a reason to get bitten by a tick, obviously, but that's also good to know that it's not quite what felt like the sentence that it was initially when it was discovered.

TIRRELL: Yes. .No, that's really important. And so if you - the most important thing to do is try to avoid getting ticks.

HILL: Yes.

TIRRELL: And so cover up your skin, tuck your pants into your socks. You can use Permethrin-treated clothing. That's something that can kind of repel ticks. There are repellants, but they don't work quite as well as they do for mosquitoes and things like that. You can also stick your clothes in the dryer when you get home if you've been in an area where you suspect there are ticks for 10 minutes. That should kill ticks.

HARLOW: Huh.

HILL: Huh.

TIRRELL: Jump in the show. Do careful tick checks. The CDC has a diagram to show you everywhere you should check. And remember how small they can be.

HARLOW: Yes.

TIRRELL: But if you find one, you've got to take it off right away and try to do it cleanly. You can save it in some alcohol to show a health care provider. And look out for symptoms because, as you said, ,they can be similar to what you see for a cold.

HILL: Yes.

TIRRELL: And you can get treated with antibodies and that can cure it. The CDC doesn't recommend it for everybody who's been exposed by a tick, though. So you've kind of got to talk to your doctor about it.

HILL: And check your animals, too, right? The animals are in and out.

TIRRELL: Yes.

HARLOW: Oh, yes, those dogs.

HILL: Yes.

HARLOW: Check your pups!

Thanks, Meg.

HILL: Thanks.

TIRRELL: Thanks, guys.

HILL: Democrats are slamming Florida's new standards for teaching black history. Governor Ron DeSantis has a history of embracing the classroom culture wars. And this is no different. So. how could it impact his bid for the White House? That's next.

HARLOW: Also, "Barbenheimer" shattering box office expectations. In the end, it is a "Barbie" world. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:53]

HILL: As parents, teachers and students gear up for the start of the school year, the classroom culture wars continue. In fact, they may be pushing into overdrive. And we're not just talking about public schools. We're going elementary school all the way up through universities.

Within just the past few days, the president of Texas A&M University resigned following controversy over the school's failed attempt to hire a new professor to lead its journalism program. There was backlash of the professor's hiring because of her work on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

In California, Governor Gavin Newsom just brought a $1.5 million fine against a school district after it refused to carry a textbook which references the first out gay politician elected in that state, the late Harvey Milk. A school board member there called Milk a pedophile earlier this year. It is really important to note, there are no credible accusations of pedophilia against Milk.

And then, of course, there's Florida. Vice President Kamala Harris flew down herself to bash Republicans for their new state standards for teaching black history, including one new rule which would require that middle school students be taught, quote, how slaves developed skills which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit. Florida governor, and 2024 presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis was asked to clarify that standard on Friday.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL) AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, I didn't do it. I wasn't involved in it. But I think - I think what they're doing is I think that they're probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into - into doing things later - later in life. But the reality is, all of that is rooted in whatever is factual. They listed everything out.

I mean these were scholars who put that together. It was not anything that was -- that was done politically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining us now, CNN political commentator, former White House senior policy adviser and former national coalitions director for Biden/Harris 2020, Ashley Allison. Also with us, Republican strategist and former U.S. Senate candidate Joe Pinion.

Good to have both of you with us this morning.

I was struck really by Ron DeSantis doubling down on this. You know, these are the standards. This is the history. Hey, you could be a blacksmith and then you could go use that somewhere. It is remarkable. And I think Will Hurd perhaps put it really well when he said in a tweet -- and I think we can call it up here -- basically saying, I can't believe I have to say this, but slavery wasn't a jobs program that taught beneficial skills. It was literally dehumanizing and subjugated people as property because they lacked any rights or freedoms.

When you look at this, Joe, especially as a Republican strategist, when you look at this, how is it that this is where Ron DeSantis is going? He is doubling down on this. And there is this push that somehow this is a more accurate view, accurate telling of U.S. history.

JOE PINION, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, look, the only thing slavery taught anyone was that there are no limits to the brutality that lurks in the hearts of man. And I think the only thing that those comments teach us is that in many ways the vestiges of that brutality still exists. So, there's nothing worse than trying to tell the people who are descendants of such brutal subjugation that somehow there were some lessons learned along the way.

[08:40:03]

So, it's a sad day, but I think ultimately, and unfortunately, it detracted from the real issue. I mean we talked a little bit about the tenureship that was denied there. Certainly we can talk about the -

HARLOW: You mean at Texas A&M?

PINION: At Texas A&M. Certainly you can talk about that in the context of this article. But it's a broader issue, the fact that black professors have struggled to get tenureship at many institutions, including the most prestigious institutions in this time. Ask Professor Cornel West how that worked out for him. So, issue by issue, I think the actual issues confronting black people in many ways on a day-to-database get lost because of the insanity on the far fringes, when in reality you're looking at California, where we have 70 -- over 70 percent of juniors who are not reading at proficient levels. You look at Florida, you see those numbers, much the same way for black students. So, those are the real issues. Those are the real stakes.

The civil rights issue of our time. And we have people trying to relitigate the values of the civil rights movement in the first place.

HARLOW: This is the second time, Ashley, in a year that we have seen Vice President Harris go to Florida and speak in a way that I think many of her Democratic supporters have wanted to see even more of from her. Was she in her element with what she delivered there?

ASHLEY ALLISON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SENIOR POLICY ADVISER: I think she was doing what the vice president of the United States should be doing. And as the first woman of color, the first black woman, the first woman to ever serve in that high office, it's so important to have her voice in this moment.

She went to Florida the first time to talk about abortion -

HARLOW: Yes.

ALLISON: Because the governor, DeSantis, passed a six-week abortion bill. And so she spoke up for the women across this country who have for the first -- many, like myself, for the first time in their life have lost a constitutional right. And now we see the shenanigans that the governor is pushing around -- this is not up for debate. That debate is over. Slavery is wrong. No one benefited for slavery except for the slavery holders that profited from free labor of black folks. And so she went and said, no more! We are not going to do this. And we are better than that as a country.

And so I appreciate her voice. I hope we hear more of it as a candidate, but more importantly as a vice president of the United States.

HILL: It's remarkable to me too that this is, in terms of the culture wars - and we know - look, we know that the culture wars do work with some voters. That they are engaging certain voters. But to - you know, to both of your points, it's - it's clear. We all know what - what - what slavery was and it was terrible and it should not be repeated and it was not beneficial.

What's remarkable is that there seems to be this feeling that history is a threat. And I think to a dear friend who is German who told me about the field trips in high school to concentration camps so that you learn a fulsome history of what happened, not in a way that say, you should feel bad because your parents or your grandparents may have been involved in that Nazi regime, it's simply, let's learn from history so we don't repeat it. Why is history such a threat?

PINION: Well, I think those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, obviously. It's an old saying, tried and true, because we know where history tells us things like this go.

I think that there are two things that are kind of juxtaposed here. There is the very real concerns of parents, whether you're talking about them being exposed to material of a sexual nature they think at an inappropriate age, whether you think that they're concerned about the fact that we are teaching history in a manner that in many ways has children to have more questions than answers at an age before they're able to fully comprehend them. Those are real concerns.

What is not a real concern is trying to go down to the Florida Department of Education website, as I did, you just have to make sure I wasn't actually losing my mind, where it was there as a clarifying bookmark. It's literally what it says that we're here.

HARLOW: Yes.

HILL: Yes, it's true.

HARLOW: Page six and page 17, two important clarifications, they felt.

ALLISON: Yes.

PINION: It was -- it's shocking! It would shock the conscience. And so, I think, the hard truth is that the overwhelming majority of Republicans, including the ones that texted me last night, do not believe in this, don't feel this way, don't want to have a world where we try to dress up slavery as a good thing. But I think, unfortunately, that's the only conversation that gets had. Not the conversation about when should we have these conversations, not the conversations about, is there a better way to tell the whole story. None of that gets discussed because, again, we're ending here with idiocy on both ends of the political spectrum.

HARLOW: Final word, quick.

ALLISON: Well, I appreciate and I'm excited to hear that some Republicans are standing. I wish that the folks in the Republican field right now would all come out with unquestionable deniability that no one in - that no slave benefit from slavery. That's a simple line that they all should put on their website and should say -- and stop this conversation. And if Ron DeSantis can't do that, then he should get out of the race. He doesn't deserve to be the president of the United States.

HARLOW: Ashley Allison, thank you. Joe Pinion, thanks. Good to have you both.

So, actor Jamie Foxx, we're finally hearing for him for the first time since that medical emergency landed him in the hospital. His message to fans and his well-wishers, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:04]

HILL: We have breaking news out of Jerusalem at this hour. A final vote on that controversial bill, part of the judicial system overhaul.

CNN's Hadas Gold is live for us now with the very latest.

So, Hadas, the vote - we were talking about the vote moving up a little more quickly than anticipated.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the vote has actually now passed, 64-0. This vote that will take away the supreme court's ability to stop government actions, declaring them unreasonable. It has passed. The reason it was 64-0 is because all the members of the opposition left the floor in protest to this vote.

We are just outside the supreme court. Organizers here have set up big screens so that protesters can see what's happening on the parliament. And you can hear that they are getting very loud and they are actually all starting to walk down towards the parliament building. They don't seem to be indicating that they're going to be leaving anytime soon despite the fact that this passed. It appears that all attempts at last-minute negotiations failed. We know that there was lots of back and forth with the coalition and opposition to try to negotiate potentially a delay. Those appear to have failed.

The government has managed to pass the first aspect of this massive judicial overhaul. This isn't the only part of the judicial overhaul. It's one bill of several. We're seeing on the screens what's happening on the parliament floor, coalition members congratulating each other, including Benjamin Netanyahu, just out of the hospital, actually, for a pacemaker that was just installed. He literally left the hospital this morning and came straight to the parliament when this vote passed.

Now, this does not mean necessarily that starting at this very moment the supreme court cannot stop government actions. There are still several steps that need to be taken. And, ironically, one of those steps is most likely an immediate legal challenge to this legislation, which will ironically be heard in front of the supreme court likely.

Now, if the supreme court decides that this legislation cannot stand because it is, ironically, unreasonable in their eyes, then we are set up here for a major politician crisis here for a country that has no written constitution.

[08:50:03]

That's partly what's the issue here. Now, for these protesters, this passing, this, they believe, is the

beginning of the end of an independent judiciary. This, they believe, is the beginning of government having unfettered power to do what it wants because the supreme court is the only check on the government power here.

I don't think that these protesters are going home anytime soon. I have a feeling we're going to be in for a very eventful next few hours as these protesters get potentially even more riled up.

Guys.

HARLOW: Hadas, what will happen now? Because Benjamin Netanyahu, and those who supported it, said the judiciary needed reform, it had too much power. Opponents say, if you take away this sole check on the government, then you essentially have a dictatorship. So, now exactly what happens once these bills pass?

GOLD: So, most likely what will happen, well, we know, the Israel Bar Association has said they're going to file an immediate petition in front of the supreme court. The supreme court can file an injunction, a temporary injunction, stopping the legislation from being enforced.

Now, that might happen. We have a feeling that that will happen. And then there will be a legal battle in front of the supreme court about whether this can stand. There's a lot of unanswered legal questions here, and (INAUDIBLE) questions here about what the legality of this will be. And I think also the more immediate will be, keep in mind, thousands of military reservists have said they will not heed the call to serve if this legislation passes.

This legislation has now passed. So now we're going to see whether they are going to live up to that pledge. Whether, if they get called up for service, if something happens on the north with Lebanon, if something happens with Gaza, if something happens even with Iran, will they call up - will they heed the call to get into their jets, to get into their tanks and serve as per their military reserve duty? And if they don't, will they be arrested? Will there be legal ramifications for them? These are all the questions now on the table because this legislation has now passed.

HILL: All right. We're watching it very closely. Israel, of course, one of this country's closest allies.

HARLOW: Right.

HILL: President Biden, of course, was very direct in where he stands on this and what he thinks should happen. Those words may have been heard, but it didn't certainly change anything, Hadas.

GOLD: No, it didn't. And we've heard from President Biden now twice in the past week urging Netanyahu -- urging Israeli leaders, take a step back, take time to come to a consensus, there's no need to rush this, have a negotiation. But clearly that pressure didn't seem to have much effect. Now, remember, Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet been invited to the White House, not been yet invited officially for that big White House visit. This judicial overhaul was one of those potential reasons why.

Now, we did hear from President Biden saying that they do - and from the White House saying that they do expect Netanyahu and Biden to meet sometime in the U.S. soon. Now the question will be, this legislation has passed. There was no compromised negotiation. Will that invitation still stand? How will this affect U.S.-Israel relationships? The Israelis have been saying for the longest time, you know, this is our own internal debate, this has nothing to do with the United States. Our partnership with the United States is strong, especially when it comes to security issues.

There's a lot of questions, though, now hanging, especially with all these military reservists saying that they will not serve. We have yet to hear, of course, from the White House on this legislation passing since this has just happened in the last few minutes, but it could very easily effect U.S.-Israeli relations right now with all of the legal, political questions going on.

HILL: Absolutely.

Hadas, really appreciate the reporting. So good to have you there on the ground. We'll continue to check in with you.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:59]

HARLOW: It was a sea of pink this weekend across the nation's movie theaters. "Barbie" raked in a stunning $155 million in its debut, taking the crown for the largest opening weekend of the year. It was released on the same day, of course, as director Christopher Nolan's historical epic "Oppenheimer," which inspired what we haven't seen in some time, a double feature weekend.

Joining us now, new editor at "Variety," Jordan Moreau.

Good to have you here.

We should note, obviously, "Barbie," made by our parent company Warner Brothers, which is part of our parent company Discovery.

But what a weekend. And it did not disappoint. It exceeded not only the money expectations but I think -- you saw it -- viewer expectations.

HILL: I thought - I mean, I loved it.

HARLOW: She loved it.

HILL: Full disclosure. So -

HARLOW: Yes.

JORDAN MOREAU, NEWS EDITOR, "VARIETY": No, it was incredible. It exceeded expectations. No one thought that "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer" could do this much at the box office. And this was a weekend we haven't seen in a very long time, in years, to have two movies do this well at the same time.

HILL: And it's fascinating that you have these two big summer blockbusters, right, which hasn't happened, as you pointed out, in so long. And you also have it at a moment where these stars can't even react to the success because of the strikes.

HARLOW: Oh, yes.

MOREAU: Yes, it's an odd moment right now. You can't have Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling out doing press to talk about the success. But, I mean, I think everyone still knows the marketing for this movie was everywhere.

HILL: Yes.

MOREAU: You see pink people in costumes everywhere. "Oppenheimer." "Barbie." It all came together and I think everyone's benefitting. The fans are benefitting for sure.

HARLOW: Do you think the studios will capitalize on -- well, I don't know how you make another - a sequel to "Oppenheimer," but -- I haven't seen it yet, but -

MOREAU: Yes, "Oppenheimer" -

HARLOW: But on the "Barbie," I mean, this really exceeded expectations. A different kind of film, too.

MOREAU: Yes, I mean, hopefully we see a sequel for "Barbie." It's made so much money. It seems like the natural next step would be to make a sequel.

"Oppenheimer," we kind of now the story. I don't know if that one quite lends itself to a sequel.

HARLOW: Yes.

MOREAU: But hopefully, you know, this is not the last we see of "Barbie."

HILL: We also want to -- Jamie Foxx, speaking out for the first time after being hospitalized. He's been very private about what happened. But speaking out. I think there's a little bit of that sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR, COMEDIAN AND SINGER: I know a lot of people were waiting, you know, or wanting to hear updates. But to be honest with you, I just didn't want you to see me like that, man. You know, I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, television show. I didn't want you to see me with a -- with tubes running out of me.

I went to hell and back and my road to recovery had some potholes as well, but I'm -- I'm coming back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: A lot of support for Jamie Foxx, understandably. Fans happy to hear from him. There's still a lot of concern, though, about what it could mean. He says he's coming back. You know, this is littered with potholes in terms of the recovery. Do we have a sense of whether he plans to share more about what happened to him?

MOREAU: I mean no one's really sure. There hasn't been a lot of details about what happened to him. Finally, he's speaking out to his fans. I mean everyone was worried about him. This is a pretty beloved actor. I think it's -- everyone can breathe a sigh of relief now. And I think when he's ready to share more details about what happened, I think he'll find a time and a way to do that.

HARLOW: And he has a new movie out now on Netflix.

MOREAU: Yes. He's in "They Cloned Tyrone." So, you know, because of the strike, because of his recovery, he's not able to really promote that right now. But I think everyone watching on Netflix has been a fan of it. And they're happy to see he's doing well now.

HARLOW: OK. Well, so are we. We really appreciate you being with us.

MOREAU: Thank you so much.

HARLOW: I have to -- I have a busy weekend ahead of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer."

HILL: You have a lot of movies. We may have to make it "Oppenheimer" week because neither one of us has seen that.

HARLOW: Let's do it. Matinee. Matinee.

HILL: We'll do it. We'll go to a matinee. That's my favorite kind.

HARLOW: Jordan, thank you.

HILL: Jordan, good to see you. Thank you.

MOREAU: Thank you so much.

HARLOW: Thanks very much.

And thanks to all of you for joining us. We will see you back here tomorrow morning.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts now.

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