Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Wildfire Rages In Southern California, Already Burned 15K Acres; Putin To Make First Trip To North Korea In More Than Two Decades; Surgeon General Calls For Warning Labels On Social Media. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired June 17, 2024 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: David Urban, thank you very much. Karen Finney, thanks to you as well.
DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: And be sure to tune in to the CNN debate moderated by our own Jake Tapper and Dana Bash on June 27 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN and streaming on Max.
Still ahead this hour. In Los Angeles County, a raging fire there has burned more than 14,000 acres. And authorities say it's only eight percent contained so far. We'll go live to the burn zone. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:35:10]
BLITZER: Right now, wildfire is raging in Los Angeles County. Firefighters are making what they described as some progress toward getting the blaze under control. It's now within described as eight percent contained.
The fire has already scorched nearly 15,000 acres and forced hundreds of people to evacuate a state park about an hour north of Los Angeles. Incredible video from the scene shows the spreading wildfire. The Los Angeles County Fire Department is saying more than a thousand firefighters are on the scene.
CNN National Correspondent Camila Bernal is joining us right now. She's on the scene for us. Camila, what are you seeing?
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf. So, still very high winds in this area. And that really has been the most difficult part for firefighters. Wind gusts of 30, 40, 50 miles an hour. And so that had been the concern for these firefighters because of the potential for this fire to spread.
If you take a look here, it is widespread damage when it comes to the vegetation. And something important to point out is that over the last couple of years, California has gotten a lot of rain. And that rain creates more and more grass and bush and helps those trees grow.
The problem is that then when it gets hot and you have these fires, those fuels, what the fire officials call them, that spreads the fire quickly. And that's part of that climate change scenario where you have very hot temperatures, you have a lot of rain here in California, and the back and forth is what's causing a lot of this. So, you know, in this area in particular 1200 people had to be evacuated because of the flames here -- because of the potential for them to spread so quickly.
Officials not only told the 1200 people to evacuate, but they also told a lot of other people that they would be under evacuation warnings. That means they had to pack their bags and be ready to go at a moment's notice because that's what happens when you have these high winds. The embers spreads -- they spread and so you have the potential for it to spread extremely quickly into areas where maybe more people live in.
So again, just a battle against the wind. But the firefighters I talked to are just very happy that they were able to keep those lines and they were able to increase that containment to now eight percent, Wolf.
BLITZER: Camila Bernal, stay safe over there. We'll stay in touch with you. Thank you.
As these fire crews are continuing to battle the blaze, the National Weather Service is now warning that heavy wind gusts in the region could fuel the flames. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking those weather conditions for us. What's the latest, Allison?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right. So, the latest is that the winds are still expected to remain very strong today and even through a little bit of tomorrow as well. Again, here you can see behind me a very similar scenario of what we saw overnight last night.
Now for those who are not -- don't really know the area very well, the actual fire is just to the northwest of Los Angeles. Now up to as we heard eight percent containment. But the reason it took so long for these firefighters to really make advances on the containment was how strong the winds were over the weekend.
You can see here through these numbers. Numerous 50, even 60-mile-per- hour wind gusts. And it essentially takes the flames that are already there and allows them to spread very quickly, especially if your wind is even changing directions rapidly as well.
Unfortunately, going forward into the forecast, you'll notice here several 40, 50 mile per hour wind gusts are still expected today and into tomorrow. Now, by the time we get to Wednesday, we finally start to see those winds calming back down. So, the real question is how much improvement can we make in those containment numbers over the next 48 hours before we finally start to see those conditions improve?
Another story we're keeping an eye on is the intense heat. Now, most of it is focused across the eastern half of the country. But even then, it's still affecting a lot of people.
Over 80 percent of the U.S. population is expected to see temperatures above 90 degrees at some point in the next week. That's a significant number. And for some of them, it's even to the point where it's record-breaking.
You're talking about almost 200 record-high temperatures possible in the next week. The bulk of them, yes are in portions of the Northeast and the Midwest, but you'll notice we have a few dots in the Southeast even a few dots out West. So, there's a lot of areas that are expected to be impacted by this particular heatwave.
It's why you have a lot of these heat advisories and excessive heat watches and warnings. For some of these places in the Northeast, they don't even peak until Wednesday or Thursday of this week.
BLITZER: That would include where I am here in Washington, D.C. Allison Chinchar, thank you very, very much.
Still ahead this hour. Kim Jong Un is about to host his anti-democracy neighbor. Talking about Vladimir Putin as the anti-democracy neighborhood of the West. What experts expect the two leaders to discuss during a two-day state visit? We're going to take you live to Moscow when we come back
[11:40:01]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to North Korea Tuesday, where he'll meet with the country's leader Kim Jong Un. It will be Putin's first trip to North Korea in more than two decades and as the latest sign of deepening ties between the two countries. The two leaders met last September when Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia's Far Eastern Region.
CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Matthew Chance is joining us live from Moscow right now. Matthew, what can we expect to see?
[11:45:04]
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, unlike when Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader came to Russia last September, we could see some agreement signed this time. In fact, the Kremlin has said there's a possibility there will be multiple agreements, a ceremony in which agreements will be signed as part of that official presidential visit. The first, as you mentioned, for 24 years by Vladimir Putin.
In terms of what the areas of agreement are going to be. Well, that's not been made public. But we know very well what Russia wants out of its relationship with North Korea, namely, a much more firm supply of ammunition so that it can use it and its guns on the frontline in Ukraine.
Already, the United States assesses that millions of artillery rounds as well as ballistic missiles have been shipped from North Korean factories to the front lines and are being used by Russian forces there. That the purchase of weapons from North Korea is something by the way, the Kremlin categorically denies because it's in violation of United Nations sanctions against North Korea. But nevertheless, many governments including the United States are saying that that is what is taking place.
From the North Korean side. Well, they need just about everything, including food and energy, and help with their ballistic missile technology and Space Program, which is something that Russia may well be willing to provide. And so, it's you know cooperation in those areas that I think people are most concerned about when they watched this burgeoning relationship between Kim Jong Un of North Korea and Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader.
BLITZER: Do we know, Matthew, where Putin is going after North Korea?
CHANCE: We do. The Kremlin has announced this as part of a sort of a multi-stop tour if you like. He's -- first of all, he's going to Eastern Russia before he goes to North Korea. He'll be spending Tuesday and Wednesday local time in North Korea.
Then he's going on to Vietnam, where he's going to be having obviously high-level meetings. And they're also going to be discussing strategic alliances when it comes to technology and trade and economic factors and things like that. And so that's an important trip for Russia as well. But the big concern, Wolf, have to be clear is the relationship that's growing between North Korea and Russia.
BLITZER: Big concern indeed. Matthew Chance reporting for us from Moscow, thank you very much.
Still ahead this hour. Imagine that opening up Instagram or Facebook and receiving this automated alert. Social media causes mental health problems for adolescents.
Would it deter you from letting your child log on? The Surgeon General of the United States seems to think so. We'll discuss his new plan just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:52:04]
BLITZER: A new and urgent warning from the nation's top doctor, the Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Vivek Murthy, telling Congress it is time to put a warning label on social media platforms. Dr. Murthy urging lawmakers to act in a New York Times op-ed earlier this morning saying the mental health of teens and children is at stake.
CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell is joining us right now. Meg, the surgeon general says parents are not fully aware of the risks of social media. Tell us what some of those risks are.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is something the surgeon general has been focused on for quite some time. You know, last summer, putting out an advisory warning about some of these potential risks and calling for more action. We haven't seen Congress act. And in order to put this kind of warning on social media apps, we would need to see an act of Congress.
The surgeon general in his op-ed today cited several studies that he found concerning. One is that kids on average spend almost five hours per day on social media. That was Gallup data as of last summer for adolescents.
He also cited a study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry that found that kids who spent at least three hours a day on social media had double the risk of experiencing mental health problems. Particularly, internalizing problems and feeling symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Further, he also noted that data show that almost half of adolescents say that social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. So, he writes "it's time to require a surgeon general's warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents." He says this kind of warning label which requires congressional action would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proven safe.
And, Wolf, this of course harkens back to the warning on cigarettes back in 1965. The Department of Health and Human Services put out a study in 2020 saying that since then, we've seen smoking decline by 67 percent among U.S. adults. Of course, there was a big societal push around that. This wasn't the only factor there, but he is hoping that Congress will act and that it will make a difference here.
BLITZER: And I understand, Meg, that Dr. Murthy is also calling on Congress for additional legislation on social media use in kids, right? Tell us about that.
TIRRELL: Yes. He wants Congress to do a few things in terms of these companies. One is to require that young people are shielded from harassment on social media, and abuse and exploitation as well as exposure to extreme violence and sexual content. He also wants Congress to prevent the platforms from collecting sensitive data on children and to restrict the use of features like autoplay, push notifications, and infinite scroll.
He says these "prey on developing brains and contribute to excessive use." Finally, he also wants these companies to provide data. To make it public when they have data about the health impacts of these apps.
BLITZER: So, in the meantime, Meg, what can families do now?
[11:55:02]
TIRRELL: So, in the meantime, Meg, what can families do now?
TIRRELL: Well, this is something our colleague Dr. Sanjay Gupta has done a lot about. He, in a conversation with the surgeon general have said one of the most important things is for parents to have these conversations with their kids. You've got to start talking about it.
The second is to establish tech-free zones around bedtime, dinnertime, and social events to keep that social connection and also to enable kids to get enough sleep. And finally, is to talk to other parents about this. You're not the only ones putting these rules into play. Wolf?
BLITZER: Good advice. Meg Tirrell, thank you very, very much.
And to our viewers. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.
I'll be back later tonight at 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM." right back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Eastern in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts right after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
