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NTSB Holding Public Hearing on Deadly DC Midair Collision; Tea Dating Advice App Suspends Direct Messaging After Cyberhack; Weight Loss Drugs Could Be Driving a Cosmetic Surgery Boom. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 30, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Happening right now, these are live pictures coming to us as the NTSB is holding the first of three days of fact- finding hearings into that deadly midair crash near Reagan National Airport. The January collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people. Today investigators showed in real time how the two flight paths crossed, while also revealing what they called discrepancies in altitude readings for the helicopter crew.

CNN's Pete Muntean just stepped out of that hearing so that he could give us an update here. Pete, this is really interesting stuff that could shed light perhaps on what happened. What more are the investigators saying?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It is technical and it is tough, Brianna, because what keeps coming clear over and over in this investigative hearing that this was so preventable. The scope of this investigative hearing is huge. Three days of hearings, 10 -- sorry, 10,000 new pages of findings and 200 new documents, and this 11-minute long video that shows the flight paths and air traffic control audio as this collision course was brewing that fateful night of January 29th.

Investigators have really zeroed in on problems in the cockpit of the Black Hawk helicopter, specifically problems with the instruments, the altimeter. That is the instrument that shows the aircraft's height above the ground. And the NTSB did a test after this crash with three Black Hawks from the very same Army battalion in which they discovered that the altimeters read 80 to 130 feet low.

I asked NTSB Chair Homendy how significant that was. She says it's very significant because of the problems baked into the airspace there near Reagan National Airport. The clearance vertically between the helicopter approach path called Route 4 and the approach path for flights going into Reagan National Airport was only 75 feet.

So an altimeter discrepancy of 80 to 130 feet is huge. Listen to how she described it.

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JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: I don't think anyone did the math until the NTSB did the math to show there was only 75 feet of separation at a critical point on that route circling to Runway 33. And that's significant. My concern is where else in the national airspace does that exist?

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[14:35:00]

MUNTEAN: In these 10,000 pages of new findings released by the National Transportation Safety Board, perhaps the most significant. And what we have not seen before is the transcript of the black box, the cockpit voice recorder on board that Black Hawk helicopter.

In it, the crew discusses changing their course. There was confusion about the location of that incoming regional jet operated by American Eagle and PSA Airlines. They said they were going to change the course, but only a second later, the recording picked up the sounds of a collision.

So preventable here, Brianna.

KEILAR: Just looking at the faces of these family members suffering through this, Pete, it is tough as they're going through this but getting some important information.

Pete Muntean, thank you very much for the latest -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Let's discuss with CNN Transportation Analyst Mary Schiavo. She's a former inspector general at the Department of Transportation. Mary, thanks for being with us.

The range of acceptable equipment deviations on these older helicopters, which the Army apparently knew about, in comparison to the actual clearance space at DCA, it essentially gave the pilots no room for error.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, not only was there no room for error, just flying within the envelope that the Army stated was acceptable. They said it was a common discrepancy, but it was within the envelope of acceptable operations. Literally would put it in collision with aircraft coming into DCA.

And you know, I have to say, I mean, this hearing this morning was, you know, it's already, it's only one of the five segments that we're going to have. And this morning's was electronic data and the helicopter data systems, including the altimeter. And you know, I've been a pilot for 50 years and doing aviation investigations for 30. And I thought I'd seen it all, but some of this data was shocking.

And I was fairly outraged because what we also learned this morning is, you know, when a tragedy happens, you would think that the Army would rush to fix what the NTSB did find. And most of this stuff, the NTSB surfaced, not the Army, not the FAA.

What we learned this morning, which was shocking, is these problems haven't been fixed. These helicopters, they have technology from the 70s, and there was a lot of questioning from the NTSB as to whether they should even be in the airspace. And the conclusion probably will be at the end of this hearing, they should not be in this airspace. They should be retired immediately.

And they haven't changed the tolerances yet. So we still have this wide margin of error. And these helicopters are flying at other places other than DCA. And that, I think, was probably shocking. And even members of the NTSB got a little hot under the collar when they learned from the Army that they haven't fixed things yet.

SANCHEZ: Yes, these helicopters might wind up getting grounded.

I also wanted to ask you about another issue. Department of Transportation is set to spend some $50 billion on the next generation of air traffic control. But if the technology on board these older aircraft isn't able to communicate with this new equipment, then what's the point of spending $50 billion?

SCHIAVO: Exactly. We're all clamoring for a new state-of-the-art air traffic control system. And we do need it. I mean, back when I was inspector general, they were saying we needed it and they're going to build it. And they didn't. But unless the equipment, the aircraft and everyone in the system is seen and seeable, in other words, if this 70s equipment is out there on these helicopters, they simply cannot be seen and react in a modern system to avoid all collisions in the future.

And the new system can do that. The technologies available make mid- airs and runway incursions, collision on the runway, a thing of the past. But unless the government mandates that everyone has to be able to fly in this system, there's no point in having it.

SANCHEZ: Mary Scavo, appreciate the analysis. Thanks for joining us.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Coming up, the dating advice app Tea says it's shutting down direct messaging as its data breach widens. We have details just minutes away.

[14:40:00]

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KEILAR: A cyber attack on an advice app for women who secretly share information about the men they date appears worse than first thought. The Tea app shut down its direct messaging system following a security breach that exposed thousands of user profiles and photos online. The app confirmed the hackers access the women's private messages, discussing sensitive topics like cheating partners and reproductive rights.

But the breach is also raising serious privacy and safety concerns.

CNN business tech writer Clare Duffy is following this and has more details. Clare, tell us what you've learned. CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS TECH WRITER: Yes, Brianna, this app had gained a ton of attention even before this breach. It has really surged on the Apple App Store, gained huge popularity. The platform says it has more than four and a half million users and it's really billed as this safety app where women can anonymously share red flags, green flags about the men that they've dated.

But of course, it's controversial because the men who are posted there say that it puts their privacy at risk. Now, following this breach, both the men posted on the app and the women users have had their privacy at risk. The platform says that 72,000 images were leaked in this hack.

That includes 13,000 images that were used for account verification.

[14:45:00]

The platform requires that users upload a selfie or an I.D. document to prove that they are women before they can get access to the platform. Now it says those images are automatically deleted. But these breached images affect users who signed up before February 2024. The platform also saying, as you said there, Brianna, that DM's were leaked and so they've shut down their DM function.

And cybersecurity experts say this is potentially really damaging to the people whose information has been leaked in this hack because face images could be used to train AI systems to impersonate people or access their sensitive data online by bypassing biometric sensitivity or security systems. So potentially serious ramifications for both the users who are affected and the men who had their photos posted on this platform without their consent. Tea now saying that it is reaching out to affected users and will be offering identity protection services for free -- Brianna.

KEILAR: My goodness. All right, Clare, thank you for the latest on that. Big news.

When we come back, the weight goes down and plastic surgeries are going up. Why so-called Ozempic face could be behind the surge. We'll talk to plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow about that next.

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SANCHEZ: Amid the boom of Americans losing weight with drugs like Ozempic, some plastic surgeons are seeing a spike in clients dealing with a phenomenon known as Ozempic face. So what is it? According to the Cleveland Clinic, the features of Ozempic face include wrinkles, sunken eyes, more prominent bone structure, thinner lips and overall a sagging skin effect.

This can be caused by the rapid weight loss from using GLP-1 medications.

KEILAR: And a lot of people use them. About one in eight adults have used one of those drugs. And the American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that one in five of its members patients on a GLP-1 drug underwent cosmetic surgery.

The use of facial fillers doubled from 2.6 million the year that Ozempic was first cleared for use to more than 5.2 million in 2023.

Dr. Terry Dubrow is with us live now. He's a renowned plastic surgeon who specializes in cosmetic procedures. And he is, of course, known for co-hosting the reality TV series Botched, where he works to remedy extreme plastic surgeries that have gone wrong.

Dr. Dubrow, thank you so much for being with us. Just talk to us a little bit about this. How often you're seeing this, how patients are coming in with Ozempic face and what their complaints are.

DR. TERRY DUBROW, BOARD-CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON: OK, I'm really glad you're asking me about this because doctors love talking about the fact that there's this phenomenon called Ozempic face where this rapid weight loss leads to defaceable changes in the face, leading you into the plastic surgeon's office to either have early surgery or extra filler or fat injected to your face. And we're talking about this. We love this.

It's kind of an advertisement to get people in our office. But the truth and this is an unpopular opinion. But this is the truth, because I'm certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine.

The truth is, when you lose weight using these GLP-1 drugs, first of all, you lose about 50 percent in fat and 50 percent in lean muscle mass. OK, fine. So you would think build the face up.

That's a mistake because within a year, about 60 to 75 percent of those people will gain the weight back. So if you go to a plastic surgeon or cosmetic medicine specialist and have overfilling done with fat or filler or early surgery, when you gain that weight back, you're going to look weird. You're going to look altered. And it's not the right thing to do.

The better thing to do, OK -- and plastic surgeons won't like me to say this, but it's true -- is to increase your protein intake and do resistance training, thereby minimizing the fat, the facial muscle loss in your face. And you won't suffer from Ozempic face as badly.

And anyone will tell you who's lost weight very quickly. You lose it in your face first and then your body and then your face sort of regains it and re-equilibrates. So if you think you're suffering from Ozempic face, wait, pause, increase your protein, increase your resistance training.

Don't rush and have extra filler done or an early facelift. Pause and be careful and wait about six months and see where your weight actually settles on these drugs.

SANCHEZ: Doctor, you've also had some concerns about the use of filler generally, and you're known for being very transparent, as you were just saying, a lot of plastic surgeons may not like that you're sharing this with folks. But talk to us about why this filler may be problematic, because it is a huge trend.

DUBROW: It is a huge trend. And people think having filler done is like having your hair and nails done. It's no big deal. And it's easily reversible. Actually, it can have permanent irreversible effects. For example, if you inject too much filler into the face, it can get into the major blood vessels that supply the circulation of the skin.

And for example, the tip of your nose can die. Your entire cheek can suffer from circulatory problems. Or if you get it too close to the eye and it tracks back in your optic nerve, blindness can occur.

So it's not as benign and simple as people make it out to be. So my recommendation is be very careful. Don't buy into this Ozempic face. Rush into your doctor and have fillers and early surgery done. Increase protein, exercise, and let things come out as they may.

[14:55:00]

And then if you want to do some judicious light filler later, consider going to a board-certified surgeon and looking carefully at the consent form.

KEILAR: That's some very nice, cautious advice. We also wanted to get your reaction to something that actress Jamie Lee Curtis said. She says the so-called cosmeceutical industrial complex, as she put it, is responsible for quote, the genocide of a generation of women who have disfigured themselves.

What do you think about what she's saying there?

DUBROW: OK. I mean, you know, I am a cautious plastic surgeon. I do warn people about the problems associated with plastic surgery. I am the botched doctor. But you know, that's a little bit, maybe a little -- that's hyperbole. That's I think goes a little bit too far.

Somewhere in the middle is the place we want to end up, right? Aging is not for everyone, right? It's not a disease, but if it can increase your self-confidence by having enhancements done, a facelift, filler, and you go to a good doctor and you weigh the risks carefully, I think it's a very reasonable thing to do.

So let's not be on either side of the hyperbolic extreme with that. Let's just be reasonable. It's plastic surgery, as you know, is here to stay.

We're all doing it. I do filler. By the way, I've done too much filler in the past, and there's pictures of me online that looked very weird, OK?

So I'm here to tell you as a patient, I have done too much. But disfigurement, I mean, you know, I just think that's a little extreme.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Terry Dubrow, thank you so much for sharing your afternoon with us and for the transparency and candor as well.

DUBROW: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, under pressure but not undeterred, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell keeping interest rates unchanged. He's speaking right now. We'll bring you what he says in just a moment.

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