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State of Emergency in New Mexico; Texas Under Tropical Storm Warning. Rare Update on Gaetz Probe; Virginia Race to Early to Call; Biden's Executive Action on Immigration; Video of Timberlake Before his Arrest. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 19, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:14]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of Americans are on high alert as insufferable heat, deadly fires and the first possible named storm of the 2024 hurricane season all throttle the United States.

Also, it is too close to call. In Virginia, the congressman who helped oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could be on the verge of losing his own seat.

And, banning cell phones in the classroom. How one of the nation's largest school district aims to curb negative mental health issues for students.

Kate Bolduan, out today. I'm Sara Sidner, with John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, at least one death so far as two raging fires burned through hundreds and hundreds of homes and businesses in New Mexico. We are seeing more and more pictures of the damage.

One fire alone has destroyed 1,400 structures. It is 0 percent contained. Thousands have been forced to flee in just seconds. Sara just spoke to one man who did manage to escape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Do I understand correctly, you just moved into the home in March?

ERIC MORO, FLED NEW MEXICO HOME TO ESCAPE WILDFIRE: Yes, we just bought the house in March.

Just - we don't know what's going to happen with our home. And my daughter was crying when I was packing stuff up. She thought we were leaving the home. She thought we were never coming back. And I said, no, we're not - we're not leaving. We're not giving up the house. It's just dangerous right now. We have to - we have to, you know, in case, you know, the fire comes, we have to be prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So hard.

All right, let's get right to CNN's Ed Lavandera, who is in the middle of the smoke there.

Ed, give us a sense of what you're seeing. It just looks - it looks terrible.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are on the northern edge of Ruidoso, New Mexico, a mountain city that is a ghost town at this point. As you look, this is the road that takes you kind of out to the northern edge of town. I'm not even sure how far you can see past that roadblock there. And as you look south back into town as well, the same view here, John, where - that is - this - these are actually two massive fires surrounding the city of Ruidoso. About 20,000 acres in all been burned. As you mentioned, 1,400 structures according to state officials here that have now been destroyed or damaged because of these fires. And more than 8,000 people have headed the evacuation warnings.

And you can understand why. It's just so - you know, the - with the mountains and the trees, it's very difficult to kind of get a sense of where the fires are moving from, how quickly they're moving. So, just a very dangerous situation. And that is why, as we look around here, there is almost no one left here.

We have seen, in some places around the city, and other parts where yesterday afternoon people were being - getting new evacuation orders as fires were moving around through the mountains, in the canyons and the valleys of - of this area. And one person that we spoke with, Michael Scott, who doesn't live too far from where we are standing, we've -- he evacuated late Monday night, wasn't able to grab much, but was able to grab his wife, their three dogs, and their - and his mother, and raced out of town as the fires were raging. Ad this is what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SCOTT, RUIDOSO, NEW MEXICO, RESIDENT: We reached a point where it was just a solid blackout. I've never seen anything like it.

But the thing that kind of startled me more than anything, my truck was being hit with chunks of ash. I could feel them hitting the hood. And the gray. It was almost like big gray rain hitting my truck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: So, John, there could be a sliver of good knew that the best and fastest relief from these wildfires could come from the skies later today. Weather forecasts showed that it could start raining here after 3:00 Mountain Time and into tomorrow as well. So that hopes to be the fastest relief for the firefighters who are on the ground here and for the thousands of people who call this home, and so many people anxiously awaiting to see if their homes have survived these wildfires. John.

BERMAN: Some extraordinary images behind you, Ed. It's like the cars are driving right out of the abyss, the smoke, and then past you. And we see you blinking your eyes there. Is it - is it hard to breathe? Can you just feel the smoke all around you?

LAVANDERA: We've been out here a couple of hours this morning. It's starting to get - you know, you're starting to kind of feel the effects of it. It's been able to manage here throughout -- throughout the morning. But it does, you know, as we continue to report from out here throughout the day, I imagine it will kind of get harder and harder. But it's manageable at this point, but, you know, you can - if you look back into the distance, you get closer to where the fires are, I would imagine it gets - you know it gets worse and more intense.

[09:05:03]

So, you know, we'll pay attention to that throughout the day.

BERMAN: All right, Ed, listen, please take care of yourself and your crew. Thanks so much for being there. I appreciate your work, as always.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, John, it's not fire, but wind and water that is the real concern in Texas. A storm bearing down on the coast right now that has the potential to become the first tropical storm of the hurricane season.

Rosa Flores is live in Corpus Christi for us.

Rosa, you've been showing us pictures from different places. You are now back in an area that is clearly flooded there.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, you know, Sara, one of the things that's fascinating about this storm is that it's expected to make landfall in Mexico, and I am hundreds of miles from that location. And just take a look around me, the effects being felt here in the Texas Gulf Coast.

Take a look. Over here to my left what you see is the Corpus Christi Bay. Normally it's a beautiful beach. Right now you can see the waves crashing onto the beach and the water levels rising. Now, this is not unique to Corpus. The entire Texas Gulf Coast is expected to have some sort of coastal flooding. And that's exactly what we're seeing seen here in - in Corpus.

Now, this street that I'm live on right now, you can see that it is flooded. You can see that the parking meters are pretty flooded right now. From talking to officials, I can tell you that they don't appear very concerned. Again, the Texas Gulf Coast is used to hurricanes.

Let me show you the water levels here right now. You can see that it's about eight inches deep. And the water has ebbed and flowed. And look around me. Like, you can see that the water level stays pretty level all the way to the end of the street. Now, this street meets up to the highway. And you can see public works vehicles parked out there. We've seen them driving around. They are prepared to block roads if needed.

Again, officials telling us that they are preparing for the worst. They always do. But, Sara, they also tell us that they have high water vehicles, boats, rescue equipment on the ready just in case, but they are not expecting to issue evacuation orders.

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes. And you're right there near the beach, so that's an area that obviously is going to get flooded if the water is pushed up. But it's incredible. This storm is so far away and you're getting that kind of an effect, even where you are.

Rosa Flores, thank you for showing that there in Corpus Christi. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, let's get right to meteorologist Elisa Raffa.

You've got a whole lot to watch today.

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we are very busy. I wanted to point out why we're finding these effects so far away from the center of the storm. It's because it's so disorganized and lop-sided, which is why it doesn't have the name Alberto yet. The hurricane hunters need to find that center of circulation, and it's just tough to do that right now. It doesn't mean, though, that you're not getting some of that heavy rain already on the coast there of Corpus Christi, down towards Brownsville. We've had some gusts up to about 30 miles per hour so far. Storm surge already observed, as we just saw in Rosa Flores' live shot, where you've got - this storm surge already up to two to three feet along the coast from Galveston.

So, as this thing continues to move inland, you can see where you have the tropical storm warnings going up into Texas. The classic example of impacts outside of the cone, right? And like I said, the storm is wide. It's got a lot of moisture with it. So that will continue to sling on. Some of the showers and thunderstorms as we go through the day today and into tomorrow and could dump some heavy rain. We're looking at some widespread four to six inch totals of rain possible, some up to ten inches possible.

Plus, we're also watching the heat. Eighty-two percent of the lower 48, that's 260 million people, will have temperatures above 90 degrees as we go through the next couple of days, in an area that's not quite as used to extreme heat. I mean we're talking about the Midwest and New England. More than 150 temperature records, both daytime highs and overnight lows can fall. Exactly - especially today, 96 degrees would be the hottest temperature ever in Caribou, Maine. And we could hit that today. Parts of the state have their excessive heat warnings for the first time ever. So, truly unprecedented in an area that just doesn't get as much extreme heat.

John.

BERMAN: Ninety-six in Caribou, Maine.

All right, Elisa Raffa, thanks so much for that.

Only a few hundred votes separating the candidates as the counting continues this morning. Will one of the most conservative members of Congress lose his seat just because he pissed off Donald Trump?

Police say his eyes were bloodshot and glassy and his breath smelled like alcohol. New details from Justin Timberlake's DWI arrest.

And 50 million of laundered money, 24 defendants and one gigantic drug bust. New developments in the crackdown against one of the world's largest cartels.

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[09:14:34]

BERMAN: This morning, a very unusual update from the House Ethics Committee. They are investigating Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. We knew they were investigating. What is unusual is the kind of mixed cocktail of what they say they are and are not looking into.

Let's get right to CNN's Lauren Fox.

I mean, if I'm Matt Gaetz, am I saying, gee, guys, thanks for saying this?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's really unusual about this statement that we got yesterday from the House Ethics Committee, John, is the fact that it's so long, so detailed, so extensive.

[09:15:09]

Typically, the House Ethics Committee works very quietly. They may issue a statement when they begin an investigation. They will issue a statement to announce they are continuing an investigation or ending one. But they don't typically give a series of details like they did in this statement.

And here is the explanation they're giving for that. They say, quote, "there has been a significant and unusual amount of public reporting on the committee's activities this Congress. Much of that reporting has been inaccurate. The committee's investigations are conducted confidentially, but the committee's confidentiality rules do not prohibit witnesses from disclosing information about the committee's requests or conversations with committee investigators. The committee is confident in the integrity of its process."

Therefore, making clear that some things have come out and they want to basically say it wasn't us. Now, this is what they are telling us they are still investigating

when it comes to Congressman Matt Gaetz. They are saying that they are looking into whether not Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors, and sought to obstruct government investigations.

Now, what's also interesting about this is just the day before this statement was released, Congressman Gaetz actually tweeted that the ethics investigation was continuing frivolous investigations into him. So that just gives you a sense that he had a sense that this was coming, clearly, and he wanted to get out ahead of it.

But, John, this is a very unusual and interesting statement from the House Ethics Committee.

BERMAN: Yes, look, I've never seen anything like this. It was very interesting to see.

Lauren Fox, thanks so much for explaining it so well.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, this morning, the Republican congressmen who helped oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, now in danger of losing his own seat. Virginia Congressman, and House Freedom Caucus chair, Bob Good is less than a point behind his challenger, State Senator John McGuire. The race, at this point, lots left to count. Too early to call. But it's the most expensive Republican primary so far with more than $14 million being spent on advertising alone. Some of that money spent by McCarthy's allies, who spent millions in a revenge campaign.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator Karen Finney, and former White House spokesperson for President George W. Bush, Pete Seat.

Pete, I'm going to start with you. The Virginia results super close. There are, of course, a lot of votes left to count. But is this surprising that an incumbent, who is uber conservative, part of the Freedom Caucus, is struggling against an opponent?

PETE SEAT, VICE PRESIDENT, BOSE PUBLIC AFFAIRS GROUP: It's surprising because incumbents win 99 percent of the time. And it takes a real and true perfect storm to oust an incumbent in a primary like this. But that's exactly what you had. It's not just about Donald Trump campaigning for Bob Good's opponent in this race. It's the fact that Kevin McCarthy was campaigning against Bob Good. It's the fact that Marjorie Taylor Greene was campaigning against Bob Good. It's the fact that a lot of Bob Good's colleagues in the House of Representatives, who he has gone after in their own primaries, were going after him in his primary. So, it was coming back to him.

He forgot that MAGA world is not like a parking garage with in and out privileges. Once you're in, you can't go out and come back in without paying the price.

SIDNER: I'm curious what you - what you think the message is, though, if - if he ultimately wins? What is that message to Donald Trump and MAGA?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it certainly -

SEAT: Well, it - the messages don't cross Donald Trump, but the - sorry, go ahead, Karen.

FINNEY: Oh, I was just going to say, I mean, I think it says that, you know, if you spend a lot of money and you have MAGA world on your side, you can beat someone who, again, on the face of it, as you said, Sara, at the opening, this is someone who we would have expected to win. But it does, you know, look, I think for Trump he's trying to send a message that if you cross me, this is what's going to come - I'm coming for you. And that's something, if you think about it, it's very consistent with what he continues to say across the board when he talks about, you know, the revenge that he wants to seek should he be re-elected to the White House.

SIDNER: Yes, that is a concern certainly for those who have stood up against him.

Karen, I want to ask you now about Biden and this immigration action that he has taken.

Here's how some of members of Congress reacted to this new policy that would keep the spouses who may - are undocumented immigrants, give them a chance to become a legal immigrant here of the United States.

[09:20:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADRIANO ESPAILIAT (D-NY): And I think this action balances that out.

It says that border protection is important but that the spouses of U.S. citizens and their children that have been here for over ten years also deserve to work.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): So, I think all these are both him trying to have his cake and eat it too. In the one sense saying he's going to shut the border down, but on the other sense reassurance his progressive left that - that he's still going to be sensitive to letting people in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Karen, what do you think that Biden's calculation is when he announced this plan?

FINNEY: Well, sure. Well, I think it's important for us to remember a couple things. Number one, the president actually introduced legislation on comprehensive immigration reform the first day in office. And unfortunately, the Republicans walked away from what would have been one of the most consequential and far-reaching pieces of legislation that we've seen in a very long time. So, I think the president was motivated by two things. Number one, the

need to do something at the border and if - and to solve the problem. And if Republicans aren't going to join him, what can he do by executive action. That's why you saw him announce those actions, you know, a couple weeks ago about the border. And at that time he said, we are going to do some other measures to make sure that our system is humane. And by that I - this is exactly what this measure is meant to do, to say, let's keep families together, because previously, you know, someone would have had to leave the country and then tried to come back in to be with their family - with their spouse and their children. This is going to affect about 500,000 families in this country. And so I think this is the right kind of approach. And polling shows us this is actually what the American people want. They want immigration reform, but they want humane immigration reform.

SIDNER: You know, it's interesting because we haven't heard until now, but this is sort of close to that, a peep about DACA. And you have all these children who were brought into the country working, going to college, and, you know, they're wondering what their status is at this point.

I'm curious, Pete, what you think Republicans will do with this new action by Joe Biden and the fact that just before that he made it harder for people to seek asylum if they come over the border illegally.

SEAT: He's not just trying to have it both ways, he's trying to have it every single way possible. And he's motivated in that by politics. He's not motivated by policy, he's motivated by politics and pandering for votes.

Look, I'm the only child of immigrant parents. I 100 percent support legal immigration to the United States of America. But this announcement yesterday is rewarding undocumented immigrants who are in the United States. So, if he's looking at polling, he's misreading the polling because the number two issue on the minds of the American people is immigration. And it's because of the border situation. So, he's completely misreading and I think yesterday was a blunder.

Pete Seat, I'll let you have the last word this time. Karen Finney, thank you so much. I appreciate you both coming on this morning.

FINNEY: Thanks. Thanks.

SIDNER: All right, coming up.

FINNEY: It's great to be with you, Sara, and great to see you back.

SIDNER: Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate that, Karen.

Coming up, CNN has brand new video showing the moments before pop star Justin Timberlake was stopped and arrested for drunk driving.

And, the nation's second-largest school district banning the use of cell phones during the school day. How will it be enforced, and what's been the reaction? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:31]

BERMAN: All right, brand new video this morning showing what appears to be Justin Timberlake's car just minutes before he was arrested and charged with a DWI. Now, he told police he only had one martini, but the arresting officer says Timberlake reeked of alcohol and did poorly on his sobriety test.

Brynn Gingras is out in Sag Harbor with the very latest.

Brynn, what are you hearing so far this morning?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well nothing from Justin Timberlake himself, John. No common from him or is reps or even the local attorney that represented him when he appeared before a judge yesterday pleading not guilty to that one charge of DWI.

But here's what court paperwork is telling us. Essentially we're learning from sources, Justin Timberlake left a hotel around 12:30 or so in the morning on Tuesday and then headed outside of this small town of Sag Harbor in the Hamptons. And police, according to the paperwork, say that he blew through a stop sign, traveled another six blocks or so swerving in-between lanes before they actually pulled him over.

And what we're learning is police say he reeked of alcohol on his breath. He at blurry eyes and glassy eyes. And then they gave him a field sobriety tests, which we understand he failed, saying that he didn't have steady footing and he even had, you know, slowed speech when he was trying to give them his vehicle registration.

He was taken into custody. We learned that he refused to take a breathalyzer test three times. So, he was charged with that DWI count. He spent the night in jail and appeared in that arraignment the next morning.

[09:30:02]

And he was released about this time yesterday.