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110 Million+ Under Threat Of Severe Weather From Southeast To New England; 12 Hurt After Turbulence On Qatar Airways Flight; Former "General Hospital" Actor Johnny Wactor Killed In L.A.; Coral Reefs Dying As Thai Sea Temperatures Hit Record Highs. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired May 27, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Right now, severe storms are expected to hit some of the East Coast's biggest cities, New York and Philadelphia. And the holiday weekend weather has already been devastating. Farther south, 21 people have died in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky from storm systems that spawned multiple tornadoes.

Today, people are beginning to clean up and get their power back amid soaring temperatures in some parts.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: And among the hardest hit, Valley View, Texas. That's about an hour north of Dallas. Three of the seven people killed statewide were a mother and her two children. Investigators believe the tornado that hit was at least an EF-2.

Let's go down to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers for the latest. And Chad, we know today more than 100 million people are under the threat of severe weather. So this just continues.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, And because it's in the big cities, Jessica, that's the problem here really. And right now, the biggest threat to you or anyone outside, including pets, will be lightning.

But later on today, things are going to get bumpy again, especially across the Northeast, including New York City, all the way through the Green and White Mountains, Vermont and New Hampshire. And right now we're seeing just a little bit of a flare up here in the Carolinas where the Severe Prediction Center is expecting. We are expecting a new watch issued there.

But here's what the radar looks like right now. It looks like the weather has moved across the Long Island Expressway and it's going to move off, but it's not. More weather is going to develop behind it.

So there's another round of weather for you, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, all the way down even toward Baltimore and D.C. You haven't even gotten in on the act yet, but there will be lightning in your forecast if you're having a picnic outside and if it's by your house, OK, you're running the house. But if it's not, if you're at some pavilion somewhere out at a park, make sure you keep a car close in case there is lightning. You can get to it. There's still 465 million -- there's still four hundred and sixty five million people without power at this hour. Of the 58 tornadoes that were reported over the weekend from Friday to today, 58 tornadoes, 737 reports of wind damage and still almost 300 reports of hail. And some of that hail was very big.

I mean, we're talking as big as baseballs. So here's what we have right now. We're going to move you ahead to about seven o'clock. Rain and Thunderstorms, you see them. They're developing over New York City right there at this hour, moving offshore into the Carolinas, but all the way down toward Georgia and South Carolina, the low country there.

And just what we don't need for the Lavandera live shot that we just looked at. More rain thunderstorms in the forecast for that area here near Valley View, north of Dallas for tomorrow. It just seems like the hits just keep right on coming.

Yes, we will have severe weather tomorrow and not much severe weather for the rest of the week, but it's still going to be there. Something else you could call severe, although we don't technically put that under the category, obviously 117 degree heat indexes across parts of South Texas. No matter where you are, especially if you're in the sun, it's going to feel that warm or warmer if you're actually standing in the sunshine.

So make sure your pets, your people, your adults, your kids are not in a car any length of time because temperatures like this inside of a car go to one thirty one forty one fifty very, very quickly.

DEAN: Yes, just like that. All right, Chad Myers. Thanks so much.

And for more information about how you can help us storm victims, you can go to CNN.com/impact.

We are hearing of another case of airplane turbulence so rough that people on board had to go to the hospital.

[15:35:00]

Six passengers, six crew members were hurt on a Qatar Airways flight that was traveling from Qatar to Ireland. Eight of them had to be hospitalized. That's according to the Dublin airport.

SANCHEZ: One passenger said that she kept her seatbelt buckled after hearing of the Singapore Airlines incident earlier this month. One man died in that incident. More than 100 others were hurt after severe turbulence forced an emergency landing in Thailand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILOMENA PRENDERGAST, PASSENGER ON QATAR AIRWAYS FLIGHT QR017: We had our we had our seatbelts on just from watching the episode that happened last week. It was just it was there in your mind. It was so scary at the time. You just don't know if they see it or not. Like, but the staff were amazing, like to actually get up and have to look after us. And they're going around with bandages on their hands and bloodied faces like and they have to serve us as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN business editor at large Richard Quest joins us now. Richard, what more are you learning about the Qatar Airways flight?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: Well, the seatbelt sign was on and it looked like they were aware that there was going to be turbulence. They were in the middle of the meal service. I believe hot drinks had stopped being served.

But there's not much you can do. I mean, this is, I suppose, the element of mitigation in the Singapore Airlines new measures. If you've already got all the meal trays out and you've got the carts out and the galley is full of whatever and then you hit bad turbulence, you can't put it away in a second or two.

You can certainly make it more safe for the flight attendants by having them take their jump seats. But the ability to make it more safe for passengers really only comes down to ware you see belts.

DEAN: Yes, and to that end, Richard, is there anything else the industry is doing to better predict?

QUEST: Oh, yes.

DEAN: Turbulence.

QUEST: Absolutely. Absolutely. They are trying as best they can to use every bit of Doppler radar, you name it, to try and work out exactly what are those flight plans, what are the weather patterns that will be experienced?

You know, we joke about the fact that the weather is always wrong, but the reality is it's usually right. And these pilots are getting detailed meteorological forecasts. But look at the number of turbulent events.

Five and a half thousand is severe. Sixty five thousand is moderate. What's the difference?

Moderate will be you'll be bouncing around. You really will be feeling it. You'll be really thinking, oh, I don't like this. Severe will be, I'm really not happy with this at all. I'm not. You know, can we please can we please get off?

But the majority of turbulence is what they call chop. Just a little bit of nonsense and moderate. And you have to have your seat belt fastened. I feel like I'm sort of repeating myself.

DEAN: Well, I have learned in the last couple of weeks talking to you and other experts. It really comes down to just the best thing you can do.

QUEST: Are you are you guilty? Are you guilty? I can feel it. That's as soon as you're on board the plane. SANCHEZ: It is a heavy accusation, Richard.

DEAN: I normally wear my seatbelt. I will take it off to go to the back, get up and go to the bathroom. But I'm pretty good about it. But this is like this sleeping -- over a blanket.

QUEST: Sleeping over a blanket.

DEAN: Yes, yes.

QUEST: Yes.

DEAN: I'll put it on if I'm sleeping here.

QUEST: And look, the analogy I constantly use, egg in a bottle. Just take an egg, put it in the bottle and shake it around. And that's you in a plane.

DEAN: Oh, boy.

SANCHEZ: Richard Quest, thanks so much for the advice and also the demonstration of turbulence. That was really good, Richard. Appreciate you. Thanks so much.

Still to come, the shocking shooting death of a former soap opera star in downtown Los Angeles. We're getting some new details about exactly what transpired. Stay with CNN.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: A disturbing, senseless story out of Los Angeles. Police there are looking for the suspects who shot and killed former General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor. He's best known for his role as Brando Corbin in the soap opera. His agent is remembering him as someone who was committed to his craft.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Camila Bernal has been following the story. Camila, Wactor's mother says that he was walking from a bar with a co-worker and thought his car was being towed when all this happened.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jess and Boris, this happened at around three in the morning on Saturday, and even though he is most well known for his acting, his mother said he was actually working at a rooftop bar here in downtown LA. She spoke to her affiliate KABC, and what she said was that after work, he's walking out and he thinks that these people are either working on his car or towing it, so he approaches them, and according to his mother, one of the suspects looks up and shoots him. Authorities later said that it was actually three people that were there and were trying to steal his car's catalytic converter.

Now, this is something that normally gets stolen for its precious metals, and authorities saying that these three men fled, they drove off in car. We don't have a lot of information in terms of the suspects, but we do know that LAPD is looking for the people responsible at the moment.

[15:45:04]

And while they continue that investigation, the soap opera community really coming together to remember Wactor, and his role in General Hospital. The show releasing a statement, I want to read what they said.

They said this: The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Johnny Wactor's untimely passing. He was truly one of a kind and a pleasure to work with each and every day. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones during this difficult time.

You know, he was on the show from 2020 to 2022, more than 150 episodes.

So his on-screen wife also releasing a statement saying this: Johnny was the absolute best, so genuine, so caring, incredibly hardworking and humble, with a huge heart that spread so much kindness and joy.

So again, just a lot of people remembering him. He was just 37 years old, his agent saying that he accomplished his dreams, and that he was really the kind of person that would take the shirt off his back. So just a lot of people coming together to remember him as we continue to wait for LAPD in terms of the suspects here -- Boris, Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Camila Bernal, thanks so much for that reporting.

SANCHEZ: Next, some scientists say that global warming isn't a fitting term, given what we're seeing. They warn that this, especially off the coast of Thailand, is more akin to global boiling. The devastating impact of rising sea temperatures straight ahead.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Let's take a look at some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

A man has been arrested for allegedly setting a stranger's shirt on fire on a New York City subway. Police say the suspect threw a cup with flaming liquid on a passenger before running off the train. The victim suffered burns on his upper body and is now listed in stable condition. Police also believe the suspect carried out a similar attack on a subway platform back in February.

Aerial footage captures an incredibly close call in Sydney, Australia. This small plane lost power and just barely missed several rooftops and brushed a tree before crash landing at an airport.

SANCHEZ: Yes, not much margin there. The pilot says he kept the landing gear up the whole time, knowing that he just had inches to spare on the way down. Both people on board fortunately walked away unharmed. And tennis fans in Paris may have just witnessed the end of an era. 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal lost in the tournament's first round for the first time in his entire career today. The 37- year-old fell in straight sets. And while Nadal hasn't ruled out another round at Roland Garros next year, he's been hobbled by injuries recently. So today's loss may have been the last time there for the so-called king of clay.

Record-breaking sea temperatures are bleaching the once vibrant coral reefs in the waters around Thailand.

DEAN: And that bleaching is not only devastating the reef, but the fishing communities that depended on them. CNN's Lynda Kincaid has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's yet another beautiful day on the water in Chao Lao Beach, Thailand. But it's what lies beneath the surface that's been left unrecognizable. Where this fisherman used to make up to 10,000 baht or U.S. $276 a day. He says now he's lucky to earn a fifth of that. As the coral below him dies off, the marine animals who inhabit it and feed off it disappear.

SOMMAY SINGSURA, FISHERMAN (through translator): The coral reef is my heart and soul when it isn't bleached, healthy and abundant and you can go out fishing at night. You can easily catch a squid in a fishnet on the coral reef, earning a living was nice and easy.

KINKADE (voice-over): The third-generation fisherman is among some 200 who live and fish on this beach. The fisherman here help provide seafood like blue swimming crabs and other small fish to Bangkok, Vietnam, and China.

But with 50 percent of coral in the gulf of Thailand already bleaching according to Thai government scientists, their regular catch is dwindling. Without healthy coral typical marine life is forced to migrate.

LALITA PUTCHIM, MARINE BIOLOGIST, THAILAND MARINE AND COASTAL RESOURCES (through translator): The factor causing the bleaching is the rising of the sea water's temperature. When I got into the water just now, I immediately felt that the water was warm, very warm.

KINKADE (voice-over): To some scientists, the term global warming doesn't do the situation justice. Global boiling is a better fit. As atmospheric temperatures rise, so do ocean temperatures. The heat stresses the corals, causing them to lose their algae and pigment. What's left is a colorless graveyard.

SINGSURA (through translator): The coral bleaching is happening so quickly this year. It's unusual. Look, all of it has turned white. It's never been this bleached before. All very white this year. All of it is bleached.

KINKADE (voice-over): Unless the world drastically cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions, 90 percent of living corals could decrease by 2050, an ominous threat not just to our reefs, but to the marine life they sustain and the fishermen whose livelihoods depend on them.

Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And up next, we mark Memorial Day.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: It is Memorial Day, a time for Americans to honor military members who made the ultimate sacrifice. President Biden marked the somber holiday by laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. And here was some of the president's message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Freedom has never been guaranteed. Every generation has to earn it, fight for it, defend it in battle between autocracy and democracy, between the greed of a few and the rights of many. It matters. Our democracy is more than just a system of a government. It's the very soul of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We also want to remember a group of fallen heroes, often unacknowledged on this day.

[16:00:00]

And those are service members and veterans who've died by suicide, inextricably linked to their service.

The most recent data finds that in the years since September 11th, more military members have died by suicide than in combat. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an average of 17 veterans take their lives every day. If you or someone you know needs help, you can dial 988 and press one for the Veterans Crisis Hotline. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And there are folks there eagerly waiting to offer help.

Thank you so much for watching. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.