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Milton's Intensity Rebounds, Winds Now 155 MPH, Just Shy Of A Cat 5; New Book Reveals Biden's Candid Views On Allies, Enemies; America's French Fry King Sounds An Alarm. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired October 08, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:32:44]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MORALES, WTVJ METEOROLOGIST: Just an incredible, incredible hurricane. It has dropped -- it has dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours. I apologize. This is just horrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: That is Miami Meteorologist John Morales. He is with NBC6 in Miami. He's actually someone that I grew up watching as a kid.

And an advocate for policy change when it comes to climate change. For years, he's been warning that hurricanes are becoming much stronger, much quicker, and far more common.

That's his reaction to watching how Hurricane Milton, in the span of hours, went from being a tropical storm to now flirting with category five winds.

The latest update from federal officials, having it just two miles an hour shy of sustained winds that are the highest category of hurricane that are on record.

This storm is one of the most powerful ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. And over the weekend, it was essentially just a tropical storm.

We want to get some perspective on the science behind what we're watching unfold in the gulf right now.

Joining us is Dr. Marshall Shepherd. He's the director of atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia. he's an international expert on weather and climate.

Doctor, thank you so much for being with us.

First, I just want to get your reaction because I am certain that you've been tracking the storm throughout its evolution. What stands out to you about the way that this has rapidly intensified? MARSHALL SHEPHERD, DIRECTOR OF ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF

GEORGIA: Well, first of all, I know John very well, a former colleague at the American Meteorological Society.

I feel what he feels. I have a pit in my stomach in talking to my family and friends, I've had it for days because this storm, as I wrote in "Forbes," a couple of days ago, is a worst-case scenario for the western peninsula, Florida, including the Tampa Bay.

I mean, we have not seen this type of storm impact that region in over 100 years. And it's not just the intensity. It's the way it's approaching the coast. And also after going through something it has grown in size.

[14:35:11]

SANCHEZ: Yes, and it's expected to continue to grow in size, even though it may weaken with wind speed, you're going to see that storm gets bigger as it approaches the gulf coast of Florida.

What does that mean for people on the ground that are deciding to ride out the storm in areas like Tampa Bay?

SHEPHERD: Yes, I am -- I am encouraging people listening to us right now, don't focus on these nuanced changes in intensity. It will likely be a major hurricane at landfall. And that encompasses wind, storm surge, rainfall, and even the potential for tornadoes.

So though, in the meteorological world, we're talking about cat four, cat five, cat three, the bottom line, a major hurricane is impacting a region three million people with potentially catastrophic storm surge and winds.

Particularly on what we call the dirty side of the eye, that region to the right of center. That's where well see the strongest winds and storm surge.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and it's also to point out that it's not just the gulf coast that's going to be impacted. There are hurricane warnings and watches through the I-4 corridor.

So essentially, it is going to T-bone the state of Florida, as one of CNN's meteorologists put it.

Dr. Shepherd, I am curious about how this hurricane compares to Hurricane Helene, which came through the Big Bend region of Florida just two weeks ago.

It is rare for hurricanes to approach this way, but it seems like it's becoming more common. Is it?

SHEPHERD: So Hurricane Helene was a much larger footprint storm. And we certainly know about it here in Georgia. We still have cities in Georgia recovering from Helene as well.

What concerned me from the start and when I saw what was happening with Milton is it was going to traverse the entire Gulf of Mexico. And that Gulf of Mexico is warmer than average.

And we know that there are some climate warming that's likely contributing to that. And that's the fuel supply for these storms.

So I was increasingly nervous when I saw the model tracks and, candidly and unfortunately, exactly what we expected is playing out with the storm.

SANCHEZ: Doctor Shepherd, I have a bizarre question that is completely out of left field.

But I think it is worth asking because I was at a dump site earlier today in Pinellas County, very similar to the one that is behind me now, where folks who have debris from Hurricane Helene are being asked to bring their debris so that it's not scattered in their neighborhood.

And I approached an elderly woman who was dumping out some branches and large pieces of a tree that was in her yard. And I was asking her what she thought of the fact that there we're two storms within two weeks, both hitting the same area of Florida. Again, one that is not used to seeing storms of this magnitude.

And Dr. Shepherd, she suggested to me that these storms -- that this one in particular, Hurricane Milton, was geoengineering. That somehow it was designed by man to hit Florida at this specific point.

Doctor, I cannot believe that I'm asking you this on TV because it sounds absurd. But for folks who believe that, listening to an expert might actually dissuade them.

Is it even possible for man to produce something like Hurricane Milton?

SHEPHERD: Yes, well if it is, I wasn't tuned in on it when I went to graduate school. And I've been the president of the American Meteorological Society. And I'm a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

I'm not in on that secret. But what I will say is human beings, through greenhouse gas emissions, have affected our climate. That -- there's no argument there. And that is leading to warmer waters and warmer atmospheric conditions.

And so we see rapid intensification in the peer-reviewed literature. Our currency in science suggests the intensity would certainly respond to that type of water. So that's all I can say about that.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Marshall Shepherd, I know it sounds out of left field, but that's the world that we're living in. And we appreciate you offering your expertise.

Thanks so much for joining us.

SHEPHERD: Thank you for having me. SANCHEZ: We're going to continue monitoring Hurricane Milton as it approaches Florida. We've got officials to speak to and residents to hear from as well as this area is barreling down for what will be a massive storm.

[14:39:43]

Stay with CNN. We're back in just moments.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A new book is giving a stunning behind-the- scenes look at what President Joe Biden apparently really thinks about America's enemies and allies.

Legendary investigative journalist, Bob Woodward, reveals that Biden privately said about the Israeli prime minister last spring, quote, "That son of a B, Bibi Netanyahu, he's a bad guy. He's a bad F'ing guy. He doesn't give a blank about Hamas. He gives a blank only about himself."

Woodward also writes the Biden told advisers not long after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, quote, "that "F'ing Putin. Putin is evil. We are dealing with the epitome of evil."

[14:45:02]

CNN special correspondent, Jamie Gangel, obtained the not-yet-released copy of the book titled, "War." And she is here with us now.

And Woodward's book also reveals some new details about Trump's relationship with Putin, including since leaving the White House.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. So, first of all, it reveals for the first time that Trump and Putin, according to a top Trump aide, who told Woodward that they have had as many as seven phone calls since Trump left the White House.

We don't know what the substance of those calls are. But there is a notable call while Trump is president that Woodward reports on for the first time.

And this is a verbatim conversation. It is a conversation between Trump and Putin where we find out that Trump secretly sent a shipment of Covid test machines, the avid Covid test machines at the height of the Covid pandemic when these we're very rare.

And here is the conversation between the two men.

Putin, "Please don't tell anybody you sent these to me."

Trump, "I don't care. Fine."

Putin, "No, no, I don't want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me. They don't care about me."

Verbatim.

KEILAR: That is fascinating, yes.

There are some personal moments of Biden's as well, including with his son, Hunter?

GANGEL: Correct. So there are scenes in the book and the -- you know, Woodward's reporting is based on documents, transcripts, firsthand conversations.

And there is a scene in the book in which Hunter talks to his father about his legal troubles, thinks they're never going to go away.

But I think the thing that will get most attention is notably there is a moment where President Biden says he regrets picking Merrick Garland as his attorney general.

He says, quote, "Should never have picked Garland. This is never going to F-ing go away."

So whereas Biden has really kept hands off publicly from the Justice Department, as we've seen with all of the cases, this is how he really feels behind the scenes.

KEILAR: Wow. That -- that also is fascinating.

And in the book as well there is Vice President Harris talking about her relationship with Biden. What did you learn?

GANGEL: So this is a lighter moment. And let's just put this in perspective. Like a lot of people we know, it turns out that both President Biden -- I don't think this is a big secret -- and Vice President Harris, have to swear. They use the "F" bomb.

And this is a scene where Vice President Harris has reached out actually to a friend of President Biden's and said, you know, he's isolated. You should call him more. They talk about the relationship.

And then Vice President Harris says to the friend, "That might be the only reason that he's still really is comfortable with me to a point because he knows that I'm the only person around who knows how to properly pronounce the word -- I don't even know how to shorten that -- but Mother F-er -- F-er -- there we go.

KEILAR: There you go.

GANGEL: There we go. Fairly, she says it better than I do.

KEILAR: Look, I was helpful in some regard.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Thank you, Jamie. It is so interesting. It really is. Just to pull back the curtain. Thank you so much for that.

GANGEL: Thank you. KEILAR: This just in. President Biden speaking moments ago about the

preparations ahead of Hurricane Milton. Here he is speaking at an event in Milwaukee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to say we've prepared for another horrible hurricane to hit Florida. I've directed my team to do everything they can to save lives in communities before, during and after this hurricane.

The most important message today, for all those who may be listening to this in impacted areas, listen to the local authorities, follow safety instruction, including an evacuation order.

[14:49:19]

This is serious. You've got to be safe because people are dying. People have died so far, not from this hurricane, but from the last one.

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KEILAR: Americans are revolting against McDonalds and other fast-food chains. And it's having a bit of a trickle-down effect.

The biggest French fry supplier in North America sounding an alarm. The company, Lamb Weston, who's largest customer is McDonalds, says it is forced to make significant cutbacks in response to slowing demand.

CNN consumer reporter, Nathaniel Meyersohn here with the details on this.

All right, why are customers turning away from fast-food, Nathaniel?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN CONSUMER REPORTER: Very simple, Brianna. It's because prices have increased so high. Fast-food just isn't cheap anymore.

Take a look at McDonald's prices, 2024 compared to 2019. You've got fries are up. Big Mac meals are up. Prices overall up 40 percent. So that's clearly taking a toll on McDonalds sales, down 0.7 percent last quarter.

More people switching from fast-food and buying at grocery stores.

KEILAR: Yes, we do burger Friday in my house.

MEYERSOHN: Yes.

KEILAR: And I'll be honest, my kids love McDonalds. And it is not cheap. It is not the way it was when we we're kids. It's kind of wild.

How is this impacting? How does this trickle down then to Lamb Weston?

[14:55:03] MEYERSOHN: So Lamb Weston is highly exposed to the fast-food industry as a fry producer. Look at this stat: 80 percent of all fries consumed in the United States are eaten at fast-food restaurants.

And, you know, as McDonald's largest customer, Lamb Weston is also really exposed to McDonalds.

And, look, Brianna, the way that fast-food chains are trying to lure people back into restaurants is through these value deals. McDonalds has the $5-dollar Meal Deal.

The problem, though, is it comes with a small fry and not a medium fry. So the small fries, Brianna, is hurting Lamb Weston.

KEILAR: Who wants a small fry?

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Do you want a small fry, Nathaniel?

MEYERSOHN: I'm going for the medium.

KEILAR: I'm going to go to the large, probably.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Nathaniel Meyersohn, thank you so much. Really interesting stuff.

We're going to take you back to Florida as the state braces for Hurricane Milton. The storm intensifying to near category five strength. We'll be looking at what's ahead here. Stay with us.

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