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Biden Says, "I'm Running and We're Going to Win"; Biden Holding Meetings with Congressional Democrats; Jury Begins Deliberation in Menendez Trial; Netanyahu Reverses on Key Concession in Ceasefire Talks; Russian TV Seizes on Biden Gaffes; Russian Superjet Crashes near Moscow; Michigan Governor Mentioned as Sub for Biden; Heat Wave Hits Texas amid Ongoing Power Outages; World Sport Highlights. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired July 13, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Joe Biden is back on the campaign trail trying to appeal to voters in a battleground state, insisting once again he is staying in the race.
That has left Democrats scrambling to figure out their messages amid questions about Biden's age and mental fitness. We will tell you who's the latest to call on him to end his campaign.
Meanwhile Donald Trump is talking about what will go into his choice for a running mate just two days before the start of the Republican National Convention.
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BRUNHUBER: In the coming hours, U.S. President Joe Biden has some tough meetings scheduled with Democratic caucuses on Capitol Hill. He's still working to convince his own party that he's the right candidate to face Donald Trump. But on Friday, he was on the campaign trail, connecting with voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going home unless I get one sign and that is Motown is Joetown. It is.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Biden addressed a crowd in the battleground state of Michigan, directly attacking Trump.
And for the first time he laid out his priorities for the first 100 days of a second term. Those include passing a law to make abortion legal, expanding Medicare and Medicaid, raising the minimum wage and banning assault weapons.
BIDEN: You've probably noticed, there's been a lot of speculation lately.
What's Joe Biden going to do?
Is he going to stay in the race?
Is he going to drop out?
Here's my answer: I am running and we're going to win. I'm not going to change that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Joe Biden won Michigan's electoral votes in 2020 by just 3 percent. In 2015 against Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump won by 0.2 percent.
Now with top Democratic leaders raising questions about Biden's age and ability to perform, Biden's looking for any support he can get. CNN senior White House correspondent MJ Lee has more from Washington.
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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden is soliciting more direct feedback from worried Democratic lawmakers. On Thursday night, he hosted House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries here at the White House.
We know that he is said to have offered honest feedback from members of his own caucus to the president, though sources tell us that he didn't offer a direct endorsement of the president himself.
And this afternoon the president calling in to meetings with Hispanic lawmakers and Asian American lawmakers. And in that first meeting, we are learning that congressman Mike Levin directly told the president that he believes he needs to step down, stop running for a second term.
And the president responded by defending his record and then saying this.
He said, "That's why I think it's important. I got to get out and show people everything from how well I move to how much I know and that I'm still in good charge."
The president did try to do some of that with some retail politics in Michigan. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to finish this job. There's more to do. I know I'm only 41.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: For the longest time I was too young because I was the second youngest man ever elected to the United States Senate. And anyway -- and now I'm too old. But I know hopefully, with a little bit of age comes a little wisdom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Now there has been so much anxiety and so many concerns being voiced by Democratic lawmakers since the president's disastrous debate performance.
And one concern has been whether the concerns that they are raising to some of the president's advisors are actually getting through to the White House and directly to the president.
I am told that, in a meeting with Senate Democrats on Thursday on Capitol Hill, Steve Ricchetti, who is a top adviser to the president, told senators in the room that he was taking copious notes of the concerns that they were raising.
And he said, "I promise I am sitting down with him" -- being the president -- "to go over all of this."
What is clear is that the high-stakes press conference that the president held on Thursday night, even though the White House and the campaign felt like that it had gone well.
Basically, that he had done a solid job, that that definitely was not enough to help the president fully turn the page on what has been a moment of real anxiety for the Democratic Party -- MJ Lee, CNN, at the White House.
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BRUNHUBER: There are 260 Democrats in the House and Senate plus four independents who caucus with them. The 20 Democrats calling for Biden to step aside represent about 7.5 percent of the total number in Congress.
Most have either refused to comment or have offered the president staunch support. California representative Barbara Lee says she's backing the president. Here she is.
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REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA): He has to continue this work. And I'm adamant about that, Anderson, you know.
And I don't get out there too often on -- for too many candidates. And he's been a president you can talk to, and that ordinary people can look up to. And he has integrity and honesty, and he's smart. And, you know, he's 81 years old and he's got a lot of experience and, right now, the world needs experience.
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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, the president has lost another celebrity supporter. Actress Ashley Judd wrote in "USA Today" on Friday, quote, "I'm calling on Biden to step aside. Beating Trump is too important."
Meanwhile, Republicans are getting ready for their national convention that begins Monday. More than 50,000 visitors and attendees are expected to flood Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the four-day gathering.
But two days out, the big questions are who Donald Trump will select as his running mate and when will he make the announcement?
CNN's Alayna Treene has more.
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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just two days until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee is slated to begin, Donald Trump has yet to announce who his vice presidential pick will be.
Now I've been talking to many of Donald Trump's advisers pretty much regularly about the topic of who it will be and when will it come.
And they say they still do not know. Now there are a couple of notable moments I want to mention.
One is that they view Monday evening, when Donald Trump will be officially nominated for Republican nominee at the convention, they view that as their deadline to announce.
And on Saturday, Donald Trump is also holding a rally in Pennsylvania. It's actually Butler, Pennsylvania, which is just on the border of Ohio, home to senator J.D. Vance, someone we know to be a top contender.
Also another few names that we know Donald Trump is considering on what I'll call his short-short list. Those are North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, senators Marco Rubio and Tim Scott as well.
And so we're still waiting to see exactly when this will come. But I do want to point your attention to an interview Donald Trump did with a radio station on Friday. Take a listen.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: It's like a highly sophisticated version of "The Apprentice."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TRUMP: OK. If you think about it. And they're great people and they really -- got to know them very well.
I'd say four people, you know, four or five people. but I got to know them very well.
Some dropped out over the course of -- and they didn't draw -- you know, I had -- there were reasons why they wouldn't have done as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it's still open, though, sir? You're telling us that it's not necessarily a done deal in your mind,
is that right?
You're still --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I am -- I am -- no, I'm going into great detail. But more ultimately, it's more of an instinct. You know, you develop an instinct.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
TREENE: Trump was really saying the quiet part out loud there by saying he kind of views this as a highly sophisticated version of "The Apprentice," of course, the reality television show that he was a part of for several years.
But that is how he's looking at this. All of these men are competing to claim that spot. But again, still no word on when exactly it will come -- Alayna Treene, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And CNN will be covering all the action at the Republican convention. Our special coverage kicks off on Monday at 7:00 pm Eastern time. That's 4:00 in the afternoon on the West Coast and 11:00 pm GMT.
A judge ruled Friday that former New York mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is no longer entitled to bankruptcy protection. That means his creditors can begin pursuing his assets immediately.
Giuliani sought bankruptcy after a jury awarded two Georgia election workers $148 million because Giuliani defamed them after the 2020 election. Last week, Giuliani lost his New York law license because he pushed false information in court challenging those election results. He is also fighting criminal charges in Arizona and Georgia.
Special counsel Jack Smith says Clarence Thomas' attack on his appointment should have no bearing on Donald Trump's classified documents case. Smith told the presiding judge that the Supreme Court justices writing in the presidential immunity case is not binding.
It doesn't provide, quote, "sound basis" to question his appointment by the attorney general. Last week, Trump's lawyers said Thomas' comments bolster their argument that Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional and it's not legal.
The jury in the federal corruption trial of senator Bob Menendez and two co-defendants has begun deliberating after nine weeks of testimony. The New Jersey Democrat faces 16 counts, including bribery, extortion and wire fraud and acting as a foreign agent.
[05:10:00] Prosecutors allege the senator tried to use his power to advance foreign interests, among other things. He denies any wrongdoing. The presiding judge told the jury to return Monday morning to continue deliberations.
Well, there's a dramatic turn of events for Alec Baldwin in his manslaughter trial arising from the "Rust" movie shooting. The actor left the courthouse free of all charges after the judge dismissed the case. Josh Campbell has this report.
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JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A stunning end to the prosecution of actor Alec Baldwin, who had faced an involuntary manslaughter charge following the fatal shooting on the set of the movie "Rust" in 2021, that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
In a shocking move on Friday, the judge abruptly dismissing Alec Baldwin's indictment that came after his legal team had filed a motion to dismiss, accusing state investigators of misconduct, specifically saying that key evidence in the case was not properly disclosed. Here's a judge reading a ruling.
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JUDGE MARY MARLOWE SOMMER, FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO: The state's discovery violation has injected a needless, incurable delay into the instant jury trial. Dismissal with prejudice is warranted to ensure the integrity of the judicial system and the efficient administration of justice.
Your motion to dismiss with prejudice is granted.
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CAMPBELL: Now after the case was dismissed, Alec Baldwin broke down in tears. He was being consoled by his attorneys. And the gallery members of the Baldwin family were there.
They were also in tears, embracing. We caught up with the special prosecutor in this case afterwards, who said that she respects the decision of the judge but maintains that the state did nothing wrong.
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KARI MORRISSEY, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: There is no reason to believe that the evidence that we discussed in court today was related to the set of "Rust." It never left the State of Arizona.
I understand that the court disagrees with me and I respect the court's decision. There is absolutely no evidence that any of that ammunition is really related to the incident involving Ms. Hutchins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL: Now the way the judge ruled here is so important. She dismissed Alec Baldwin's indictment with prejudice, which means prosecutors cannot retry the case. Alec Baldwin is a free man-- Josh Campbell, CNN, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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BRUNHUBER: All right. Still ahead, new potential hurdles in the Gaza ceasefire talks. Israel's prime minister reneges on a key Israeli concession. Those details when we come back.
Plus Russian media ridicule Joe Biden for his latest gaffe.
So what does Moscow fear about a second Biden term?
That's next, stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Israel's prime minister is reversing course on a key concession in Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas. Benjamin Netanyahu had previously agreed to allow Palestinians fully unrestricted access to northern Gaza during an eventual ceasefire.
But an Israeli source familiar with the talks tells CNN, the prime minister told his negotiating team this week to demand that armed men be barred from northern Gaza as part of any ceasefire and hostage deal.
The new demand could upend progress in the talks. A potential setback as the death toll in Gaza rises. Emergency crews recovered the bodies of at least 50 Palestinians in Gaza City on Friday. Israeli forces pulled back from several areas in central and northern Gaza, while carrying out operations in other parts of the enclave.
Humanitarian aid for Gaza is being rerouted as the U.S. ends operation of its floating pier. The Pentagon says aid can now be inspected in Cyprus and delivered directly into Gaza through Israel's Ashdod port and crossings in the north.
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SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY, U.S. PENTAGON: The short answer is, I think there will be continued cooperation and coordination with the Israeli government to making sure that humanitarian aid is getting in.
What that looks like without the pier being -- when it eventually ends -- and that will be soon but I, again, don't have an exact date. I don't know how coordination will shift in those cells. But again, we are still going to continue to talk and work with the
Israelis on making sure that aid is getting in. And if aid is getting in through our ships, through Ashdod, of course, that cell of coordination link is going to have to exist in some way. And so it very might well be through that cell.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine wants the International Criminal Court to go after Russia for the recent strike on a children's hospital in Kyiv.
The top Ukrainian prosecutor made the call on Friday, saying the court could potentially show Russia is committing crimes against humanity. The hospital took a direct hit on Monday, leaving at least three people dead and 16 wounded.
More than 600 children were there at the time, many receiving treatment for cancer or kidney disease. Russia claims a Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire struck the building. But U.N. investigators and multiple experts who spoke to CNN say a Russian cruise missile is the likely culprit.
Russia state media are happily mocking embattled U.S. President Joe Biden over another verbal misstep. But along with the sneering insults is fear of what a Biden reelection could mean for Moscow's war in Ukraine. CNN's Matthew Chance reports.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Kremlin controlled television, as elsewhere, Biden's latest gaffe is headline news.
But in Russia, the U.S. president's failings reported with particular glee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Russian).
"You should have seen the faces of everyone, horror and terror, all around," says the news anchor.
"Everyone pretended Biden didn't say anything unusual. But at the end of his term, he gave Putin all of Ukraine and NATO fully agreed," the anchor jokes.
BIDEN: We're building a bridge to NATO for Ukraine.
CHANCE (voice-over): This is of course, the blunder the Russians have been ridiculing, his botched introduction at the recent NATO summit, Ukraine's wartime President Zelenskyy.
BIDEN: Now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.
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CHANCE (voice-over): The Kremlin played down the gaffe.
But on state TV, there were insults galore.
"We know what dementia is in old age, the confusion and forgetfulness are visible," says this Russian lawmaker.
"Biden is truly a man who embodies modern America. Currently America itself is in a state of degradation," he adds.
But behind the scorn, there are real concerns in Russia that a second Biden term would mean more military support for Ukraine. And hopes former president Trump, if he's elected again in November, would pressure Ukraine to compromise in the conflict.
All these blunders Russians see Biden as the bigger threat.
BIDEN: President Putin.
No, he beat President Putin.
President Zelenskyy. I'm so focused on beating Putin, we got to worry about it. Anyway, Mr. President.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I'm better.
BIDEN: You are a hell of a lot better.
CHANCE: Well, officially Russia has no position on who it would like to see as the next U.S. president.
But watch state television, which is, of course, controlled by the Kremlin. And there's very little doubt about which candidate is preferred. Every misstep, every Biden blunder has the Kremlin virtually wringing its hands that a new Trump presidency, another one, may be just around the corner -- Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.K.'s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, reinforced NATO support for Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, he was asked about former president Trump possibly making a deal with Putin and threatening to leave NATO if he's reelected. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: It's always tempting to get ahead of ourselves and to do all the what if questions we're waiting to see who is elected in wait and see what decisions are event taken after that.
But my position as prime minister of the United Kingdom could not be clearer, which is an unshakable support for NATO so we we're proudly one of the countries that was there at the founding of NATO. If you look at the treaty which is in Brussels, the NATO founding treaty, it's a -- it's a labor secretary of state that signed it.
So we're proud of that history. It's an unshakable support. And NATO now bigger than it's ever been with extra countries stronger today, I think than it's been. And with a real resolve that came through the council over the last two days, on a number of issues, but particularly on this question of Ukraine and standing up to Russian aggression.
So, I think there's a real clarity of purpose in NATO, and certainly a real clarity of purpose from me.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: NATO countries pledged to spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense. Your party has made a pledge to eventually spend 2.5 percent of GDP on defense. That's up from 2.3 percent right now.
The United States is worried that you'd have trouble finding enough battle-ready troops if called upon by NATO right now. You're starting a big defense review, I know.
STARMER: Yes.
TAPPER: But you haven't said when you think you'll be able to get to 2.5 percent.
Why not commit to a timeline?
And what do you think about concerns that British troops, there aren't enough battle-ready ones?
STARMER: Well, let me take that in stages because we in Europe make a unique contribution to NATO in terms of not just the deterrence, of course, but also the deployment of our capabilities. We pretty well, put all of our capability of the disposal of Ukraine working with our NATO allies.
So it's a huge contribution. We already meet and exceed the 2 percent. That's a floor of course. So going above it is a good thing. We're urging allies to get to that 2 percent and go beyond it.
We will carry out a strategic review, referencing your point about the number of troops, because it'll be a strategic review looking at the capabilities we have, looking at the risks that we're facing and assessing strategically what we need to do on defense.
The reason were doing that now is because there's, as you will appreciate, quite a lot of information not available to the opposition, only available to the government of the day. That's quite right. I don't grumble about that.
So we're currently on our strategic review. We're absolutely committed to the 2.5 percent within our fiscal rules and we'll set our roadmap for getting there. What I'm not going to do is set arbitrary targets because I think that's unserious. And we're very serious about that 2.5 percent.
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BRUNHUBER: Russian state media say a passenger plane crashed near Moscow on Friday. All three people on board the Russian superjet were killed when it crashed into a forest during a test flight. Emergency services say engine failure is a possible cause. Aviation officials say birds flying into the engines could also be behind the incident.
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The jet belonged to Kremlin own gas giant Gazprom and had undergone scheduled maintenance. It went down just over an hour after takeoff. A distress signal was sent before the crash. The plane's black boxes have been recovered
Nigerian officials say a school collapsed in the country's plateau state on Friday, killing at least 21 people. Students were taking exams when the building fell, trapping more than 100 under rubble. At least 30 people are still being treated at local hospitals.
The state government blames the school's weak structure and unsafe location near a river bank, calling the collapse an avoidable tragedy. Officials are urging schools with similar safety issues to close down.
A crowd of Joe Biden supporters in Detroit had a message for him on Friday.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Next, a closer look at Biden's chances of winning in Michigan.
Plus we will hear from senator John Fetterman from the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Why he says the president has his full support. That's after the break. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM,
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I'm the nominee for this party because 14 million Democrats like you voted for me in the primaries. You made me the nominee, no one else, not the press, not the pundits, not the insiders, not donors. You, the voters. You decided. No one else.
And I'm not going anywhere.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): U.S. President Joe Biden there making it clear that he plans to stay in the race for the White House.
[05:30:00]
Biden addressed supporters in Detroit on Friday. Michigan is a key battleground state, one of a handful that could decide the 2024 presidential race.
In the coming hours, Biden has some tough meetings scheduled with members of his own party. But on the campaign trail Friday, he had no problem convincing supporters that he should be the Democratic nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Rick Pluta is a political correspondent for Michigan Public Radio and he joins us live from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Thank you so much for being up with us here early in the morning.
To start off, what is your sense of how Biden did in Detroit?
And what's been the reaction?
RICK PLUTA, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, MICHIGAN PUBLIC RADIO NETWORK: Obviously, he showed up with his A game and he was energetic. He stuck it out and he was very appealing.
The small number of voters I got to talk to after the fact were a little, where was this guy?
And they were they happy -- I'm obviously talking about Democratic voters -- and they were happy to see it.
The question is, can this candidate show up again and again and again and again?
I'll point out that there were two separate strands of criticism about the president.
One is the -- is this person the Biden that we saw at the debate, is this someone who is in a position to govern and be president?
The bigger concern with the Democrats that I've spoken to isn't that so much, that they trust Biden as a governing president. Their concern is whether or not the campaign president can keep showing up and show the energy and the attachment to win.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, certainly in a set campaign setting, he seems to be able to do that.
The question is, in these sort of more unscripted situations, can he do it? Now we all know how important Michigan will be as a swing state in this election.
But for the president, why go to Detroit where he got some 94 percent of votes in 2020?
PLUTA: And, well, because this is something that, going across the state, across the country, as you pointed out, southeast Michigan and Detroit is where the lion's share of voters are. And also, it's a lot of union households.
That was 20 percent of the vote for Biden in Michigan. So it's a -- it's a pretty -- it's a pretty big chunk and it's got a lot of African American voters, who have been squishy for Biden. And so he's hoping to seal the deal with that sector of the electorate as well.
BRUNHUBER: All right, you brought up the unions here, so union support, of course, in Michigan.
So crucial. But yesterday, the head of the United Auto Workers made some comments that seemed to indicate Democrats it might be on a losing path with Biden. Here's a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAWN FAIN, PRESIDENT, UNITED AUTO WORKERS: You know, in this election we can't put our hands and our heads in the sand and hide from reality. We tried that in 2016 and it didn't work.
People just wanted to buckle down and hope for the best, knowing that we weren't meeting the moment. And we see it happening again, though, very few people are willing to speak up about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: So what do you make of his comments?
PLUTA: Well, I mean, look, expressing the same concerns that a lot of other Democrats have, especially about the pride in the president's ability to attract and appeal to swing voters.
And this was yesterday, was one dot on the graph. I mean, the question is because no one's forgetting what happened in the debate. And people still aren't sure which Biden is going to show up from day to day at events like this.
Yesterday was very successful. What's going to happen today, tomorrow and the day after, that's what the Democrats that I've spoken to are going to be watching for.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
Exactly right. And so one sort of story that's been percolating, I guess, your governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is standing by President Biden but she is also on a shortlist of possible candidates to replace him should he step down. What's been the sense there around this story?
And how viable do you think she would be as an alternative to Biden?
PLUTA: I mean, a lot of -- I mean, I'm in Michigan, which is the state that she handily won reelection in the last time around. But she's obviously an attractive candidate that a lot of people are talking about her, not just in Michigan. She just published a book. She's on a national tour for that.
[05:35:00]
She's making appearances where she's performing well and charming the hosts and the audience. So there's that. And she presents kind of a conundrum for the Biden campaign as well because, as long as she's out there talking, even in support of the president, Whitmer fans, at least, are looking and seeing someone that they wish was maybe at the top of the ticket.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. it'll be fascinating to see how this all plays out in your crucial state. Rick Pluta in Ann Arbor, Michigan, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.
PLUTA: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman has been one of President Biden's biggest supporters. Earlier this week, he told CNN it would be a, quote, "disgrace" if the party tried to push Biden from the top of the ticket. He pointed out that Biden has already beaten Trump once.
On Friday, he told CNN, the focus should not be on Biden but on Trump and Republicans, here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): On the ground, regular kinds of people in Pennsylvania are excited for Joe Biden. And I witnessed that when I was in Philadelphia last week. I would rather focus on the vulnerabilities of Donald Trump. He seems to have a pro porn star part of his platform.
And then also he's all about Project 2025 and he's a convicted felon. And he said a lot of crazy kinds of thing and he seems to have a strange love affair with Putin as well. I think I'm more concerned about those kinds of vulnerabilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: It's been days since Hurricane Beryl tore through southeast Texas but nearly 1 million homes and businesses are still without power amid a sweltering heat wave. We will have the latest on the dangerous situation in Texas ahead, please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: People in Texas are facing a brutal heat wave, many of them without power. More than 700,000 homes and businesses in the state are still coping with outages after Hurricane Beryl made landfall earlier this week as a category 1 storm.
On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency for the state, warning that the combination of power outages and temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit leaves thousands in dangerous conditions.
Right now, Houston's main utility company, CenterPoint Energy, says some customers could be without power until next week. More than a dozen Houston area hospitals say they're in a state of internal disaster, as city officials work to distribute generators to in-need facilities.
Well, joining me now is Dr. Owais Durrani. He is an emergency medicine physician in Houston, Texas.
Good to see you again, Doctor.
So just to start, how dire is the situation you're seeing right now in your hospital?
DR. OWAIS DURRANI, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Yes, I appreciate you having me. Look. I worked through COVID and I'll be honest, the last few days have been some of the worst and kind of up there with as bad as COVID was.
I'll tell you a common story that circulated around Houston a few days ago. A police officer got shot, was taken to a local hospital and had to be treated in the hallway and that kind of tells you everything you need to know.
Currently, I worked a shift yesterday, every room in the ER is filled, every hallway has stretcher from end-to-end that is filled. When an ambulance comes, normally, they unload a patient. It takes about 10 or 15 minutes.
It's taking hours because there's simply no room for the patients to be unloaded to and, day before yesterday, only 4 percent of the ambulances in the entire city were available for a call.
So that means if I call 9-1-1 and had an emergency, that ambulance would be delayed because of how tied up they were at the hospitals. When I want to admit a patient, they stay in the ER. There's no room upstairs in the hospital.
We transfer lot of patients, right. So if I had surgery last week for something and they show up to my hospital, best care would be for me to transfer him back to the hospital. They've got surgeries, that that's impossible. And so everything is essentially stuck and not moving. And we continue to get lots and lots of patients.
BRUNHUBER: So what are the main medical problems then you're seeing?
What is causing this, this huge overflow?
DURRANI: Yes, so it's a combination of things.
One is people are running out of their medications, so they may have been on the last few days of their high blood pressure medication or their diabetes medication, their insulin for that. And so they miss a few days of that. They get decompensated conditions of those chronic illnesses and those turn into emergencies.
And they need to be admitted to the ICU. We also are seeing a lot of dialysis patients. So normally, dialysis patients have kidney failure. They go three times a week to dialysis to get the toxins and fluid removed from their body.
Because dialysis centers don't have power, they can't do that. And so we're seeing a lot of those patients that are in very, very sick states. Also, lots of patients use oxygen. So if you have lung diseases or certain heart diseases, you're on constant oxygen.
You concentrator needs energy. And so when that power runs out, you have to go to a hospital to get that power for oxygen. And so that's a lot of the common things we're seeing.
And then, of course, the heat. We're seeing a lot of heat related illnesses as well.
BRUNHUBER: I want to broaden this out because many states, not just Texas but even as far north as New York, they're dealing with extreme heat, which is getting worse obviously with global warming.
Cities need to really start taking this seriously, finding ways to have more robust responses to extreme heat.
DURRANI: Absolutely, 100 percent. I've lived in Texas my entire life. I've been a Houstonian and I'm proud of that. But today not so much. You and I had a conversation a few years ago, when it was a winter power outage.
In May, this past May, just two months ago, there was a wind storm that knocked out power in Houston for two to three days for most people. And now we're sitting here again.
And so we really need to take a look at obviously the bigger picture when it comes to climate change. And then the Texas power grid in particular, which, to be honest, I'm ashamed of currently.
And then we need to prepare. And so if you are someone who has chronic medical conditions, making sure you have at least two weeks of supplies of all your medications, making sure that you have a list of all of your medications, the doses, how many times you take them.
So if you do run out and you show up to an ER, I can get you your medications as quickly as possible and there's less guesswork. And then making sure that those of us that have families, that are elderly or more vulnerable, making sure that were checking in on them and that they have the resources that they need and help that they need.
BRUNHUBER: And some cities, I mean, Texas, they're talking now about burying the power lines to try and protect some of the energy infrastructure.
But in terms of what they should be doing to prepare more to help citizens who are experiencing this extreme heat, what more can, can they be doing right now?
DURRANI: Yes, so unfortunately, this is probably going to happen numerous times before we get a final solution.
[05:45:03]
And so having, for example, cooling centers prepared, we had cooling centers and centers where hospitals could discharge patients to that needed oxygen setup about 1.5-2 days into this disaster. These are things that need to be there much, much far in advance.
Also having action plans for folks who are on oxygen, who are on dialysis so they know exactly what they need to do when a natural disaster hits. And then the government needs to help them as well. Some of those folks are elderly. They may depend on a public bus or a ride-sharing service to get them there.
Those are not going to be there in a disaster. And so ensuring that there's a list and a repository of those individuals and they have a way of getting the resources when the disaster hits. And so that's going to require a lot of preplanning, a lot of resources.
It's going to take the government, health care and everyone in between to make sure that, when this happens the next time, people aren't dying.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, a lot more needs to be done because obviously there will be a next time. Dr. Owais Durrani. Thank you so much for being here with us. Appreciate it.
DURRANI: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Well, most of the U.S. is experiencing above average temperatures this summer. The sweltering heat is posing a risk in the South and West as we've seen. And now it's expected to move east over the weekend.
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BRUNHUBER: It promises to be a great weekend on the sports calendar. Champions will be crowned at the Euros and Copa America as well as on the grass courts of Wimbledon. CNN sports correspondent Carolyn Manno is here.
So Carolyn it all starts in about three hours time with the women's final.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It does, yes. And this is one of the more unlikely grand slam finals in recent memory, Kim. On one side, you have Italian Jasmine Paolini, who before this year had never won a main draw match on grass ever.
And now she's the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the final of both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season.
And then on the other side of the net, you have Barbara Krejcikova from the Czech Republic, who has eight grand slam titles to her name. It's just that seven have come in doubles, so her only single slam came at Roland-Garros back in 2021. She, too, will we making her Wimbledon final debut.
So it should be very exciting for them both. Sunday's men's final is going to be a rematch for the first time since the summers of 2014 and 2015. Last year Carlos Alcaraz edged Novak Djokovic in an epic five- setter, which ultimately prevented Joker from winning the calendar slam.
Keeping with that theme, it was also the second straight year that Alcaraz beat Daniil Medvedev in the semis to get there. So Carlito dropping the first set before taking the next three, making quick work of Medvedev after struggling; a little bit of nerves early on.
Djokovic, meanwhile, sweeping his way past Lorenzo Musetti into the final. He beat the 22-year-old newcomer from Italy in three straight albeit grueling sets. So the win set the stage for Novak to pass Margaret Court with a record-breaking 25th grand slam win. But he is not getting ahead of himself just yet.
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NOVAK DJOKOVIC, 24 X MAJOR CHAMPION: He's going to win many more grand slams.
But maybe hopefully in two days, maybe not this one but you know, in the future, you know, when I retire in about 15 years.
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MANNO: In the W, Las Vegas Aces superstar Asia Wilson with one of the greatest games in league history. The two time MVP dominant last night against the Atlanta Dream, scoring 33 points, grabbing 18 boards and blocking five shots. She is just the fourth player ever to put up that sat line as the Aces
win it 84-70, the final. Fever phenom Caitlin Clark making some history of her own Friday night, becoming the first rookie in WNBA history and just the third player overall with back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 10 assists.
Indiana was truly dominant. Maybe the best they've looked all season long as they led the Mercury by as many as 31 on the way to a 9 point win.
And elsewhere, Monday's MLB All-Star break cannot come soon enough for the Yankees and the Orioles. Look at this, New York leading in the ninth last night. Closer Clay Holmes facing Heston Kjerstad at the plate. The 0-2 pitch giving away, drilling him in the back of the head. He left the game. He was OK. No ejections. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, though, did take exception. He is livid, coming out of the dugout, seeming to make a comment to Holmes.
And that's when everything breaks loose. Hyde starts charging the Yankees dugout, both benches clearing. A little bit of context here, Kim. Six players were beaned over three games the last these two teams played. So Hyde may be thinking it's just more bad blood. He was looking for an ejection.
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He got one, sent to the showers. Wild scene at Camden Yards.
And lastly, this morning, NFL hall of famer Tim Brown showing he is a true two sport athlete. The legendary wide receiver making quite a splash on the shores of Lake Tahoe, just the sixth ace ever at the American Century Pro-Am Championship.
And on top of that, he went home with a boat. So on Thursday, you had LPGA golfer Jody Ewart Shadoff making an ace at the Evian championship in France. She won a Porsche.
Which one are you taking, Kim, would you go with the car?
Would you go with the boat?
BRUNHUBER: Well, they say the happiest day is when you get rid of your boat or something like that. There's a very good saying about that. So I'm just going to stick with Porsche then. Look, Carolyn Manno, appreciate that. Thanks so much.
Well, it took seven months of preparation but now the son of India's richest man and his pharmaceutical heiress girlfriend are husband and wife. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant tied the knot before thousands of guests on Friday.
It's being described as India's wedding of the year. While Indian weddings are status symbols, this one takes the cake. The Ambanis own India's largest private corporation, Reliance Industries.
Now it's not clear how much the celebration cost but estimates are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The opulence wouldn't be complete without a star studded guest list. Kim and Khloe Kardashian traveled to Mumbai for the wedding.
Singer Nick Jonas and his wife, actress Priyanka Chopra, were spotted at the wedding's red carpet style event, as was actor and wrestler John Cena.
All right. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
