Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

U.K. Records Hottest Temperature Ever as Heat Wave Rocks Globe; Ex-Trump NSC Official to Testify at Thursday's January 6th Hearing; Police Say, Shooter Had 100-Plus Rounds of Ammunition, Three Weapons. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 19, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

DILLON MURPHY, GIANT WAVE CRASHED HIS HAWAIIAN WEDDING: And, fortunately, we were able to have a party and still be able to dance and we're dancing on the grass and --

RILEY MURPHY, GIANT WAVE CRASHED HER HAWAIIAN WEDDING: And I think the one thing that we cannot really salvage was our dance floor, but nobody seems to mind. We had a really fun night. It didn't stop the party one bit. It was just a really good union of everyone coming together and kind of make things work even though its (INAUDIBLE) washed away a good amount of our reception people. So, it was pretty beautiful to watch.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It is amazing and it's obviously memorable, you'll never forget that this has happened. Most importantly, was your dress okay? Were you anywhere near this when this happened?

R. MURPHY: My dress was okay. My bridesmaids and I had actually just arrived to venue. And so we were we kind of eyeing my -- one of my bridesmaids were hiding in the palace of the grounds that we were on. And so, luckily, I was far enough away from the wave but I just watched outside of the little flat from the windows. And I missed the initial wave but I was -- I looked out and I saw the entire dance floor submerged. I saw all of our bud vases and everything knocked over.

And at first, we were like, oh, my goodness, what a disaster, but it really turned out to be the most beautiful union and a really good bringing of our families together.

D. MURPHY: Yes. We both needed to have time to kind of gauge what happened. We looked at it and we were like, okay, it's just basically this little area that got taken out, we're going to continue, the ceremony is on the other side, and our coordinators Bliss in Bloom and then (INAUDIBLE) rentals, they sprung out into action with a lot of our families and friends and just kind of --

R. MURPHY: And our amazing D.J., D.J. Tiger, who was able to keep the show going despite being --

D. MURPHY: Yes. He was told he couldn't keep playing, but he kept going and we're really lucky for all of our friends and family.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Look, experience weddings are the thing right now. So, you really have done it the right way. Dillon and Riley Murphy, the most important thing is you're happy, you're smiling, you're well, it was an event you'll never forget. We wish you a lifetime of mostly dry happiness.

R. MURPHY: Yes, thank you so much.

D. MURPHY: Thank you so much.

COLLINS: You guys and D.J. Tiger.

BERMAN: Yes.

New Day continues right now.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. It is Tuesday, July 19th. I'm John Berman. Brianna is off. Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins is here.

Just in time for a brutal heat wave, deadly and extreme weather all over the world, including in places that can't handle the temperatures. The breaking news just moments ago, we learned the United Kingdom just hit its highest temperature ever, three centuries of records broken just moments ago.

To get some context here of just how hot it is around the world, records for heat are outpacing those for cold by more than ten to one. 188 records for heat have been set this year, 50 in the last week alone. Compare that to 18 records for cold.

In the United States, there have been 92 record-high temperatures in 2022, five record low temperatures. 85 percent of the population this week, we're talking about right now, what's going on right now, could see a high in the 90s for more than 70 million people, temperatures will be in triple digits.

COLLINS: And extreme heat is also roasting Southern and Western Europe. Monday was the third hottest day on record in the United Kingdom. Today is expected to be even hotter and it could break the all-time mark. London's heat wave is so stifling that the guards that are roaming outside Buckingham Palace, so stoic, broke their famous stance to drink some water.

It's worth noting that less than 1 percent of households in U.K. have air conditioning. So, just imagine how those people are feeling this summer.

The intense heat has fueled wildfires in France and Spain. Railway service in Spain was been suspended actually between Madrid and Galicia because the fire is near the tracks. Video from inside one of the cars shows flames raging on both sides of the train.

Fire has consumed some 27,000 acres in Southwest France, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Sweltering heat in Portugal has also intensified with severe drought and sparked wildfires. Government officials say that nearly 700 people died in just the last week.

We have CNN reporters covering this from around the globe. Meteorologist Chad Myers is at the scene in Weather Center in Atlanta, CNN's Nada Bashir is in London, and CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Italy.

Chad, we are going to start with you because we want to know in the United States who is going to be feeling the heat the most this week, and I know it's ramping everywhere. But where is it going to be the worst?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oklahoma and Texas for the most above normal. Now, it's going to be brutal in Phoenix, 110 to 115, but that's not that much higher than normal out there.

So, we're talking about heat index, the heat and humidity. It's going to feel like 115 in all of those red spots. It's going to feel like 100 degrees across parts of the northeast. Temperatures are going to remain hot for a long time.

This isn't a one or two-day heat wave like it is out here to our east. It has never been 100 degrees in London., or at least one time. It's 99 right now and it's only lunchtime, and still hours and hours to go.

Europe, they're not breaking records for cities, they're breaking records for entire countries. Like it's never been hotter than 43 in France ever, well, it was yesterday. Not just one city, but for the entire country. It was going to get better. We are going to see some breaks across parts Northwest Europe, across Northern Europe, but not for the Iberian Peninsula, not for Spain, not for Italy. These areas are going to be hot for the next few weeks.

Temperatures are nice across parts of London for tomorrow. After today, they will be all the way to 100 and likely, especially in the city above.

BERMAN: All right. Chad, thank you.

Let's go to the U.K. now. Nada, we just learned that London has broken its all-time record, all-time record in the U.K for heat, and you're not used to temperatures like this. How is everyone holding up?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, John, it is certainly sweltering already today. And you're right, U.K. just simply isn't used to this kind of weather, the main office here in the U.K., provisionally breaking its record for temperatures, 39.1 degrees Celsius, that's around 102 degrees Fahrenheit. And for other parts of the world, it's quite typical for this time of year, but here in the U.K., the infrastructure simply isn't prepared for that kind of heat.

We are, of course, outside of King's Cross Station, usually one of the busiest stations in the capital today. It's pretty quiet. There have been severe delays and cancelations as a result of these high temperatures. The British government has issued and the main office has issued its red warnings for parts of England. That is the first time England has have that issued.

Other parts of the U.K. include in Southern Scotland even has an ample warning due to severe heat that we're seeing. And this is, of course, owing to these intense temperatures that are threatening infrastructure. But also it's a health and safety risks. We've heard from the government, people need to take extra precautions. We saw yesterday severe heat, an uptick in calls to ambulances and National Health Service with regards to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. And that is expected today.

But we are set to see even higher figures than yesterday. Last night was pretty sweltering as well, the hottest night on record. And, of course, we are still seeing tourists and people getting on with their days but it is particularly hot.

What we've heard from government ministers now is that this is a lesson from the United Kingdom. Key lessons need to be learned from this heat wave in regards to how they better deal with these intense temperatures that we're seeing over the coming years. And we are expecting to see this to increase over the coming years. John?

BERMAN: All right. Nada, stay cool, if you can. Thank you.

COLLINS: And, Ben, you're in Italy, where there's already a drought under way. And, obviously, this extreme heat is not going to be helping it much.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, in fact, we understand that five Italian cities have declared heat red alerts. Now, that includes Rome, Bologna and Genoa.

Now, Rome at the moment is relatively cool compared to Paris, for instance, where it's 104. And Rome is just 98. The problem, of course, in Italy is that it hasn't rained, particularly in this part of Northeastern Italy. It has barely rained since the beginning of last winter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice over): land once lush and productive is drying up. In the delta of Italy's once mighty river, Po, drought has struck.

70 percent of the crop is gone, Federica Vitali tells me. If it doesn't rain, you can see the plants are burning up.

But this year, the rains didn't come. It's Italy's worst drought in 70 years. Her soya crop is all but gone. The drought has impacted a third of Italy's agriculture.

It didn't rain much during the winter or the spring. Plus, Italy is going through an unprecedented heat wave, Those combine to create the perfect storm for Italian agriculture. Five major food-producing Italian regions have declared a drought emergency.

Three generations of Antonio Bezzi's family have cultivated rice.

[07:10:00]

We've never seen a drought like this, he says. Climate change here isn't a myth. It's reality. In the last ten years, Antonio says, the area planted with rice has gone down almost 50 percent as a result of drought.

Close to the sea, there is water everywhere but not a drop to drink.

In normal times, this is where the saltwater reached in this river, about three miles from the Adriatic. But now because of the drought, because of the low level of fresh water in the River Po, the saltwater reaches about 18 miles inland and that is having a disastrous effect on crops.

Rodolfo Laurenti works for the local water authority, which closely monitors the flow and salinity of water in the Po Delta.

At the moment of real climate crisis, he says, is 2022.

To ensure adequate drinking water, one local authority has resorted to renting expensive mobile desalinization plants. Climate change means we have to be ready for emergencies like this, says Director Monica Manto.

Elsewhere, the little fresh river water still available is used to save at least a portion of the rice crop.

The climate scientist, Romana Magno, warns, it's too little and --

ROMANA MAGNO, CLIMATE SCIENTIST, CNR DROUGHT OBSERVATORY: It's too late. What we can do now is try to reduce losses.

WEDEMAN: And as this drought goes on, the losses will only mount.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (on camera): And up here up here in the Lombardi -- upriver from here in the Lombardi region, officials say that by the end of this month, water for agriculture will completely run out. And, unfortunately, there is no rain in the forecast. Kaitlan, John?

COLLINS: Not the forecast they want to see right now, John.

BERMAN: And it looks hot. It just looks hot there.

COLLINS: Ben, we feel for you.

BERMAN: Thank you so much.

COLLINS: Thanks, Ben.

BERMAN: And, again, I have to say, the hottest temperature ever recorded in the U.K. just a short time, provisionally, if confirmed, again, this would be a record forever.

COLLINS: And you stack that on top of all of the travel drama lately, I just -- you feel for them.

BERMAN: Unpleasant, to say the least.

All right, first on CNN, we learned the identity of a new witness who will testify in Thursday's prime time January 6th hearing. Matthew Pottinger who served on former President Donald Trump's National Security Council, he resigned the day of the Capitol riot and he is slated to appear alongside former Trump White House Aide Sarah Matthews.

With us now, Daniel Goldman, he served as lead majority counsel in the first impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump and as lead counsel to House managers. He is also running for Congress in the Democratic primary for New York's 10th Congressional District. Daniel, thank you so much for being with us.

Matthew Pottinger, Sarah Matthews, these are staffers who were known within the halls of the west wing, but not maybe to the rest of the country. What role will they play, do you think, Thursday night?

DANIEL GOLDMAN, FORMER HOUSE IMPEACHMENT LEAD COUNSEL: Well, I think it's very interesting that we're now in the eighth hearing and we've seen excerpts from so many depositions but not from these two. It is clear that the committee has been saving these two witnesses for the last hearing, which is going to dive into Trump's dereliction of duty on the day of January 6th, when he did nothing to stop the rioters, even though he was being requested from all angles, his own team, Mike Pence, Congress, the Republican Congress persons. So, we are going to understand, in great detail, through these two witnesses, what Trump was doing that day.

And also, John, as you'll remember, there's a suspicious gap in White House records as to what calls were coming in and out for Donald Trump for about six hours that conveniently overlaps with the riot. So, I suspect we are going to learn more from these two witnesses about who Trump was speaking to and what he was doing that day.

COLLINS: And Sarah Matthews, Daniel, was a deputy to Kayleigh McEnany. She obviously was in the west wing, saw what was happened that day.

[07:15:00]

But Matthew Pottinger, just for people at home who aren't familiar with this name, he was the deputy national security adviser. It's a huge job inside the White House. He was one of the few people who resigned in protest that day because he saw what had happened and he said it was very clear after Trump had attacked Pence that he couldn't work there anymore. And he was someone who had a very high-ranking position, felt the need to resign over what happened.

And so when he goes before the committee publicly, he is someone who is in the room for a lot of meetings, maybe not a lot of the legal meetings about what was happening with the effort to overturn the election. But what can he reveal to the committee about the inner workings of the west wing that day given, of course, his key role? GOLDMAN: The National Security Council, as you know, Kaitlan, is the body that oversees all of the intelligence and largely all of the foreign policy within the White House. And the deputy national security adviser is the one who -- everything runs through the deputy, going up to the president.

So, I would suspect that Pottinger would know about what the intelligence was, about the expectations for what was going to occur on January 6th. He will be able to say what Donald Trump received in briefings from the national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, that Pottinger probably was in the room for.

And he will be able to say what communications occurred within the executive branch, which would include the Department of Defense or the Department of Justice, or any of the intelligence community, the 17 agencies, that include the intelligence community. So, he will have a lot of information that day. And when you pair it with Sarah Matthews, who was probably present with Donald Trump for much of the day, we're likely to get a much clearer picture of what Donald Trump was doing that day.

I would add that there is a witness that Donald Trump called. We don't know the identity of that witness, but it is someone that Liz Cheney said has not yet appeared. And it is someone we understand who worked in the White House who Donald Trump did not have a significant relationship with. I will be very interested to hear whether one of these witnesses received that call. I would suspect that that is the case.

BERMAN: CNN has been told, our reporting, is a staff, a support staff member before, but we'll see.

Daniel Goldman, thank you so much for your help in understanding all of this.

GOLDMAN: Thanks, John. Thanks, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, new details are emerging about the fatal Indiana mall shooting, including the identities of the victims and the Good Samaritan who took down the gunman within just minutes. Authorities say that Pedro Pineda, his wife, Rosa Pineda, and Victor Gomez, were killed in the shooting by a legally armed bystander who had fatally shot the gunman that has now been identified as 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken. That is the bystander who so heroically helped save a lot of the people who were inside the mall that day.

Police say that the gunman, 20-year-old Jonathan Spearman, was armed with two rifles, a handgun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition at the time of the shooting. But he only used an AR-15-style that had been legally purchased.

The Greenwood police chief also said that the gunman prepared for the shooting for a little over an hour in a bathroom inside the mall, according to surveillance video.

Joining us now is the mayor of Greenwood, Indiana, Mark Myers. And, Mayor, first off, thank you so much for joining us this morning, because I know that you've been incredibly busy over the last few days.

And I first just want to start with how is the community doing? Because we have seen over the last several weeks and years, all of these communities hit by these kinds of mass shootings that terrify people. And I just want to know how the 60,000 people that you serve how they're doing right now.

MAYOR MARK MYERS, GREENWOOD, INDIANA: You know, I've got to say, Kaitlan, it's amazing how well they're doing. People are definitely grieving. They're hurting. But at the same time, they're all coming together. They're supporting each other. They're supporting the public safety officials. They're being very open and receptive to wanting to come together as a group and just heal.

COLLINS: And what is the latest that you've heard on the investigation into the shooter and any potential motive that he had?

MYERS: Unfortunately, he tried to destroy his cell phone. He tried to destroy his laptop. Those have been turned over to the FBI for forensic analysis. And until they can dry out his cell phone and they can get to the hard drive on his laptops, we really don't know that much.

His social media page was deactivated a couple months ago. And talking to family members, they were totally shocked.

[07:20:01]

They didn't see this coming. So, right now, we're just still trying to find out what his motive might have been.

COLLINS: When you're talking about the laptop and the phone, we know the laptop that the SWAT Team found in his apartment in an oven that was turned on, the phone had been dumped into a toilet in the mall. And what do you read into that? Do you think he was trying to hide whatever he'd been looking at online or texting or talking about before he committed the shooting?

MYERS: You know, one could only speculate what he was looking at on those, what he was searching. Yes. So, we can't know, and all we can do is speculate until we can actually prove what it was he was looking at.

COLLINS: I know it's going to Quantico, but have you heard that it is possible to get data from the laptop and the phone from the condition that it's in so far?

MYERS: Talking to one of my detectives that was on the scene, he believes that, yes, the data can still be retrieved off of the hard drives. When he put it in the stove, he didn't shut the door for some reason. So that -- it didn't get hot enough to totally destroy the laptop. And as far as the cell phone, we're hopeful that the FBI can dry it out and retrieve all of the data off of it, if they believe they can. COLLINS: They didn't shut the door of the oven. That raises a lot of questions. But I do want to ask you about the weapons that he brought into the mall with him. We know he had three guns. All, we are told, had been legally purchased. And the governor recently signed a bill people in Indiana don't have to carry a permit or don't need a permit to carry a handgun in public. And so I wonder, what is the reaction that you've heard from your constituents since this has happened over the gun aspect of this?

MYERS: You know, we really haven't gotten into the politics of it right now. The main theme that everyone is seeing is they are praising this young man for being there at the right time in stopping a mass casualty from happening. He saved countless lives, and people are just very proud of this young man for that.

COLLINS: Yes, you're talking about Elisjsha Dicken, the Good Samaritan who stopped the shooter within two minutes of him opening fire. How is he doing? Have you spoken to him lately?

MYERS: I have reached out to him, talked to him via text. I have not been able to talk to him over the phone. He's asked for time to just be able to sit back, absorb what's really happened. And we've also offered counseling to him if he wishes.

COLLINS: Of course, and everyone is thankful for his efforts that day, and I know you are as well. Mayor Mark Myers, thank you for joining us this morning and giving us an update on the investigation.

MYERS: Thank you, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, parents in Uvalde are furious at a school board meeting demanding that the police chief resign by noon today. We'll take you there with the latest on what they said.

Plus, he wrote former President Trump's coattails to win the Republican Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, but now, Dr. Oz is telling the supporters, quote, the MAGA movement is dying.

BERMAN: East Coast beaches seeing a rise in shark attacks, just what you want to hear. So, what's behind it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BERMAN: Pennsylvania Republican Senate hopeful and Trump-endorsed Candidate Mehmet Oz sent out an unusual fundraising request to supporters telling them, quote, the MAGA movement is dying. So, what is Oz referring to there exactly? Well, unclear exactly, but one thing is for sure, the Democratic nominee for Senate there, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, has just doubled his fundraising hall in the last quarter despite spending a significant portion of that time in the hospital.

Joining us now David Chalian, CNN Political Director and Host of the CNN political briefing podcast. What exactly is going on here, David? DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. Those fundraising numbers tell the story. That amped up rhetoric that Oz is using, remember, right after that, he said it will just take seven MAGA supporters to turn it around. So, it's not that he thinks the MAGA movement is dying. He's just trying to amp up the rhetoric to close this shortfall.

So, John Fetterman in the second quarter raised $11 million, Mehmet Oz, 5.5 million. And, by the way, more than $3 million of this was his own money. So, it's unclear how much Mehmet Oz is willing to pour into this race. That's one way to close the gap. Another way is to amp up up your fundraising appeals.

And, by the way, this Democratic advantage of fundraising, John and Kaitlan, this is something we're seeing across several key contests. In Ohio, Tim Ryan raised $9 million, well ahead of J.D. Vance's total for the quarter, Raphael Warnock trouncing Herschel Walker in the fundraising with a huge haul of $17.2 million, and Mark Kelly raise the $13.6 million. Of course, we've seen just before, just in 2020 actually, there were some Democratic candidates who raised bonkers cash, like Jaime Harrison against Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, but that did not amount to a victory. So, money is not everything.

COLLINS: Money is not everything, neither is polling. If you ask the White House, they say it goes up, it goes down. But we do have some new CNN polling that does not spell good things for the White House. David, I know when you look at this polling that CNN has, it can't be good for the White House when people say their top economic concern is inflation. 75 percent of people when they ask people how is Biden handling inflation, that's just at 25 percent.

CHALIAN: Yes. Kaitlan, these numbers are dismal for the White House. And that's why these Democratic fundraising advantages are important right now because the national environment is so treacherous for Democrats.

The eye-popping number of our brand new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, to me, was this question I'm asked about, does Joe Biden have the right priorities?

[07:30:00]

Is he working on the right problems? Nearly seven in ten, 68 percent of Americans of this poll say no. Only 31 percent say yes.