hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from the united states and all over the world. you're watching cnn newsroom. i'm kristie lu stout. it is now 2 am on the u.s. east coast. almost the entire state of florida is bracing for the impact of hurricane ian, a monster storm stretching 700 miles across and getting stronger. causing a nationwide blackout in cuba, ian is turning in the gulf of mexico as a category three hurricane with sustained winds just shy of a category four. and along with life-threatening storm surge, florida is facing catastrophic flooding and powerful winds. now, conditions will deteriorate throughout the night ahead of the expected landfall in the coming hours. more than two and a half million people are under some form of evacuation warning. state authorities say the time to leave is quickly running

out. >> people in southwest florida, this is going to likely make landfall as a category 4 hurricane. there will be catastrophic flooding, and life-threatening storm surge on the gulf coast region. and of course, the highest risk will be in that southwest florida region from naples up to sarasota. there is also potential for flash flooding and river flooding, with 10 to 20 inches across central and northeast florida. >> our meteorologist pedram javaheri is tracking the storm for us. he joins us now. pedram, hurricane ian is intensifying at an unprecedented rate. how strong is it? how is a tracking? >> you know, 120 miles per hour, this is a strong category three, christiane, are expecting it further strengthening. landfall possible as early as the next 12 hours. that track of the system has gradually shifted further and further towards the east, and the, south and based on the way

the lay of the land is across florida, that simply means the system is coming in a bit sooner. it is not going to slow down as. much and certainly, the impacts are gonna be a little more extensive when it comes to areas south of the tampa bay. area you'll notice 95 miles south of naples florida at this. our at 2 am advisory from the national hurricane center. and the hurricane guidance will keep this as a category. for landfall, somewhere in areas near port charlotte, just as you get south of tampa bay, into the early afternoon hours of wednesday. with that win point sustain, 130 miles per hour, pushes inland, drops down to a tropical storm, reemerges over the eastern side there on thursday into friday. and possibly makes another landfall there across eastern georgia, come friday into saturday. but the model guidance that was initially pushing it well offshore, then gradually closer to tampa bay has now entirely moved it, about 75 miles or so so the tampa bay but port showers, at port -- siesta key, these are the reasons we are watching. and again, notice the variability and the track. we often talk about this. you do not just fall in love

with one model, one line, and one track. you look at guidance within every single model run. and in every single round, we want to bring this little bit further to the south. it shifted it, by the order about 75 miles before it's all said and done. and as we stand, here with a pretty good handle on where we think this system will end up. and the likelihood scenario right now, around port charlotte, broke her on day, could be about nine foot storm surge. that's a catastrophic storm surge that is forecast across this region. and the grasp and the width of the storm system is an incredible one. because the cloud field spanned 700 miles from the northern into the southern. and the tropical storm force winds extend about 140 miles away from the center. so, no matter where you are across the state of florida, just about everyone's gonna feel some inclement weather and tropical storm force winds. certainly, power outages will be felt as a result of this as. well and the incredible amount of rainfall associated with the storm system is really what stands out to me. because, look at our banners, look at the top of the charts there, the white color contours that's indicative of 20 plus inches. mind you, places like seattle get about 40 inches in an

entire year. these folks could see about half of that in the next couple of days. and notice where it highlights the white contours, from tampa, points eastward and all the way north word, to orlando, and the east side, where the system tracks. that is an incredible amount of rainfall, and will lead to catastrophic flooding. certainly, coastal committees will see a storm surge. the localized flooding inland is going to be the big story for this storm system. and again, it is far from over because we do believe it is going to strengthen before it makes landfall in the coming hours. >> wow, this is a huge storm, a strengthening storm, and a imposes multiple threats. pedram java harry, we thank you for your reporting. we'll check in with you soon. joining us now is retired general jeffrey buchanan. he led the u.s. response efforts for five major hurricanes. and joins us now live. sarah, thank you for joining us here at cnn. hurricane ian is set to make landfall in a matter of hours. at this moment, what is your greatest concern?

>> well, kristie, the greatest concern is that i have, is that people who maybe not listening or ignoring the leadership's advice to evacuate -- [inaudible] everybody can do to get out of the way of this very deadly. storm so, i urge them to listen to their leaders, the mayor, the governor [inaudible] -- >> okay, unfortunately, it seems we lost our connection there. lieutenant general jeffrey buchanan, giving us, giving especially residents of florida the warning to heed evacuation orders given by the government there to get out while they can't. we will try to reestablish that connection with u.s. soon as we can. our apologies for that. meanwhile, in many parts of florida, please and fire departments as well as other emergency responders will soon decide conditions are just too dangerous to respond to calls

from a health. and in tampa, they're warning residents not to take risks as hurricane ian approaches. cnn's ryan young has. more >> good, hey, we're coming by and letting everyone know we're in a mandatory evacuation situation. >> the tampa bay area, in its final hours of hurricane preparations. tampa bay police making last-ditch efforts to warn residents to leave flood zones now. >> we're reinforcing the idea that you're in an area that you need to evacuate. >> this is not a drill. >> this is not the time to stay. >> serious warnings to residents here. this vulnerable area expected to be in the crosshairs of hurricane ian as it barrels towards the west coast of florida. >> we have over 120 miles of coastline just in the city of tampa. >> at least 2. 5 million floridians under various evacuation orders. it's a storm that's predicted to cause water damage like none before it. >> we're talking about 10 or 15

inches of rain on top of the surge. that is unprecedented. no infrastructure is built for that. >> with this hurricane, a direct hit is not necessarily going to cause flooding. the slow-moving storm's predicted to stall just off the coast of tampa bay starting wednesday evening. >> going to be in our rivers, going to be in our streams, it's gonna be in our canals. it's going to be in our storm water drains and ditches. >> sandbag locations around tampa closed today at 2:00. residents doing what they can before heading out. >> i would say were late. but we are -- we think that if it is a storm surge issue, we will try to seal the openings of the house. >> former florida congressman jim davis and his wife are not taking chances. they're prepping their house and getting out. >> i'm not a very good gambler. and it's a bit of a gamble if you do not take it seriously. >> the word storm surge is something we heard over and over. steady officials are concerned that people will try to drive through water as it starts to rise throughout the city. if you look at hospitals and how they're preparing, you can see those barricades have been put up. that's to stop the water from affecting hospital operations. but again, they are concerned

about people who decided not to evacuate and they try to ride this out. ryan young, cnn, tampa, florida. >> okay we have retired lieutenant general jeffrey buchanan on the line again he'd, . , lead the u.s. army response efforts for five major hurricanes. sir, thank you again for joining us. let's continue on that point that you are raising before you got cut off. florida has issued an evacuation order to millions of people. and for those who still refused to evacuate, in a storm like this, what is your message to them? >> please, my message to them, kristie, is please listen to the leadership. the local leadership. florida has a great emergency management system. and a very experienced set of first responders, they know what they are talking about. and when they are asking you to evacuate -- [inaudible] message. storm surge and flooding can be

very very deadly. when we think of hurricanes, we think of winds. but it's actually the water that can kill many more victims. >> it's the storm surge, the flooding, the winds that can threaten lives. and for those who did the right thing and evacuated, what should they be bracing for? you know, what kind of damage, what kind of property loss could they be going through? >> well, obviously, if there is a lot of -- damage, just the abilities to get back to one's home is going to be a challenge. because there is likely going to be trees and power lines down everywhere. the damage to any sort of structures through winds could be high. but also, the damage caused by flooding. the good news is the governor of florida has asked for help from the federal administration. and president biden did declare a national disaster, which actually opens up resources for fema to be able to respond and

-- [inaudible] hit people and save their lives. so, the first 72 or 96 hours, we focused on saving lives. and after that, the focus of the state, local, and federal officials will be on what we call life sustaining activities, getting people, you know, shelter, food, water, and those sorts of things. >> and very quickly, how fast can fema and other federal agencies step in to provide help? >> well they're actually already -- [inaudible] . unlike the military efforts that i've, lead we typically respond when asked by the federal government to support -- [inaudible] fema. we respond right away. but we -- are [inaudible] usually -- [inaudible] . somemetimes that can last up toa couple of months. but fema should be there f for years. >> wow, this, this c could rerequire years of federal assiststance. the storm is that. big lieutenant general jeffrey buchanan, we'll have to wrap it

up there. thank you sir, indeed, for joining us on this program. yore watching cnn. and next, typho noru makes landfall in vietnam and the threat of major flooding extends well beyond the coasl areas. plus, the link between climate change and severe ather. we'll be talking to a climate expert about why storms are becoming stronger and faster than ever. these folks don't have time to go to the post office they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

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a quick check on our top story this, our hurricane ian is charging towards florida after causing a nationwide blackout in cuba. major flooding is occurring in key west, as the storm is about 100 miles southwest of naples, florida. and u.s. officials say that ian is expected to make landfall as

an extremely dangerous hurricane, currently a high-end category 3. and across florida, people are bracing for a life-threatening storm surge and catastrophic flooding. and even before the hurricane makes landfall, authorities are warning residents to be on alert for tornadoes overnight. >> tropical tornadoes will occur very quickly. they will happen overnight tonight. they will occur during heavy rain. you will not be able to see them coming. if you get a weather alert, stay in an interior room of a secure structure, away from windows and doors, and protect your head and body from any debris. >> we want to show you these images. they showcase the impact earlier after a tornado hit the north perry airport, causing significant damage to several aircraft and hangers. right now, vietnam is being pummeled by typhoon noru. the storm made landfall earlier

in the coastal city da nang of, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. it's expected to weaken as it moves inland. but parts of central vietnam, laos, and thailand could face flooding over the next 48 hours. the storm killed at least eight people as it passed through the philippines. cnn's paula hancocks is tracking typhoon noru from seoul. . the >> we know that least 100,000 were evacuated from the coastal areas of da nang, quang nam. just before landfall, the vulnerable in particular were taken to shelters. we also know that it is a heavy fishing area. so there's more than 11,000 fishermen in the area. officials banned all them from going out to sea. and there's concern about whether livelihoods will have been destroyed along there as. well, now we are awaiting for official results as to whether there has been significant damage. at this point, what we're seeing on social media is the

trees, power lines are down. we are seeing some flooding, roads blocked. but we'll have to wait for a better assessment. it is expected to further weaken as it crosses vietnam and further into southeast asia as well. but this is, as you mentioned, the same typhoon, a super typhoon at that point, that hit the philippines. now, we saw a rapid intensification of that particular typhoon saturday into sunday when it made landfall. and we just heard this wednesday morning as well an update from officials there, saying that they believe eight deaths so far, five are still missing. but we're waiting to see what kind of impact this is had on vietnam. >> and joining us now from geneva, is mark how'd-ing. a director of the australian national universities institute for climate, energy, and disaster solutions. mark, welcome to cnn. according -- question a lot of us, a lot of our viewers are having right now, especially as we look at these two monster storms raging into different corners of the world, why are hurricanes

hitting harder and faster? and what role is climate change playing in all of this. >> hi, kristie. so, there are two big things happening at this moment. first of, all we've got quite a strong landing, yeah, which piles up warm watering around the western pacific, around the philippines, up to vietnam. and that's generating these sort of conditions that power cyclones. cyclones of feet of warm water. and similar in around the u.s. over florida, we've got a lot of warm water. so, we've got that happening. but we've also got the underlying climate change, which is driving up temperatures. and of course, that driving up the ocean temperatures increases the strength of cyclones. so, what we've seen are cyclones of category three, four, and five, are actually a much higher proportion of cyclones we've seen's. so, the more damning cyclones or typhoons are actually much more frequent these days. >> got it, so what we're seeing

right now is a result of climate change amplified by these warm waters it's making storms more intense. it's also causing storms to move more slowly, which means they can generate and dump more rain in one place. >> that's actually a tendency we've noticed. so, as the water warms, it means the cyclone can move more slowly because it doesn't have to move to more warm water to keep going. so, it can just move more slowly. and when it crosses the coast, it dumps rain for several hours instead of just a short period of intense rainfall. and so, that generates the increased flooding that we've seen. and it's slowing a cyclones is particularly notable above cities. so, cities, because they're sort of rough, they actually slow down cyclones. so, we get increased intensification of cyclones over cities. so, it's actually not a great picture from the point of view of risk. >> yeah, and also, what about

location? is climate change affecting where major storms hit, perhaps an areas not used to seeing or dealing with regular hurricanes are typhoons? >> indeed, so we're seeing tropical storms, cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes move further and further north in the northern hemisphere, for the south in the southern hemisphere. and that has historically experience. and places that used to not get affected by these are now getting affected. and that trend is likely to continue in the future. so, one example of this was storm fiona, which hit newfoundland just last week. so, if you actually look at what's happening, it's a massive amount of very hot water just off newfoundland. and that is why that storm is particularly intense there. >> yeah, that's very worrying, because we could be talking about areas, you know, not used to having the infrastructure to be prepared for these type of events. is climate change also affecting when storms hit?

is hurricane season, typhoon season, changing? >> yeah, just we're seeing a slight increase in that season for typhoons and hurricanes, just as we are with fires. so, climate change is making the bad periods more extended. so, they start earlier unfinished later. so, that's a trend we expect to continue as well. >> yeah, but then there's a debate, and ongoing research about the number of hurricanes and typhoons. does climate change affect the overall tally of storms? >> yeah, there's definitely a debate in scientific circles as to whether absolute number of cyclones or typhoons is going to increase with climate change or stay the same or maybe even decrease. but t there's very consisistent messages about the proportion of very serious cyclones and hurricaneses increasing overtime due to climate change. so, even if the number does not increase, we are going to see more of the really bad ones and the increased dama that they bring. >> yeah, they're getting harr,

they're getting faster because of climate change. mark how to, and we thank you very much for joining us indeed on the program. you are watching c. and keep it here. up next, we've got the very latest on hurricane ian. we will return to cnn weather center for a live report when we come back.

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welcome back, and let's get back to our top story. parts of florida are already beginning to feel the impact of hurricane ian. storm surge warnings have been issued for the lower florida keys. and in a news conference late

on tuesday, governor ron desantis warned that impacts of the storm has started with rain, wind, and a severe weather threat from the outer bands. the storm is set to make landfall in the states gulf coast in the coming hours near port charlotte. state officials are telling residents in the hurricane's path that the time to get to safety is now. >> this storm will only continue to intensify. if you want to leave, as the governor has said, now is your last chance. we cannot send first responders into harm's way because you decided not to leave. you must leave now. >> back to meteorologist pedram jaffa hari in atlanta for more on the storms path. and pedram, this is a big dangerous storm. and when it makes landfall, it is going to pose multiple threats. what can you tell? us >> yeah, multiple threats is really the best way to put it. here because we're talking about 20 plus inches of rainfall, storm surge is up to

ten feet, and a category four hurricane pushing ashore here within the next 12 or so hours. hurricane warnings have been prompted across parts of the western part of the state of florida. you look at the system, the cloud field is expansive, 500 plus miles from its northern entered southern periphery, very symmetrical and organize, and becoming better organized as it approaches land here in the coming hours. landfall possible as early as one, 2 pm wednesday. notice, it goes from category 3 two category 4 at landfall across portions of the port charlotte area. which is 70, five 80 miles south of the tampa bay region. that's the biggest concern here. the shift of the track has migrated a little farther to the south, that means it comes at a little bit stronger, it certainly comes in quicker as well, as opposed to taking that northern track and making landfall later thursday night, wednesday. morning and notice, the impacts will be felt across the entirety of the state of florida, especially the northern and eastern side where tropical storm conditions are going to be felt it certainly when you look at the rap allow flow with a storm like, this you're going to get coastal regions of the carolina as

well. this is kind of a setup of the model guidance. see this gradually really tighten up here. and portions of tampa or italy in the forecast so, now it's shifted a little further south from them. and brings the storm system across this region into the early afternoon hours. i want to bring in the storm surge potential. because when you take a look at the threat here for portions of florida, we know that when the largest most prone regions to storm surges right here around western florida. the florida shelf expands about 150 miles. it's about 300 feet across this entire region. so, when you see a system of this magnitude that's parked over this continental shelf, it allows the shallow waters to really allow that water to funnel and pile right into these waterways, these influx, and that's the concern here, with significant threat for storm surge as high as nine feet for areas of port charlotte, gorda, and the siesta key region as well, kristie. >> the threats, armenia threats imminent, pedram javaheri, thank you very much? you are watching cnn newsroom.

russia has stage referendums in four occied parts of ukraine. wh could come next as moscow continues to lay claim to s neighbor's territory. and nord stream gas pipeline suffer unprecedented damage. and european leaders say they suspect sabotage. we've got the details, next. these folks don't have time to go to the post office they use stamps.com all the services of the post office only cheaper get a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again.

in referendums that the west is

calling a sham, a farce, and a blatant violation of international law, pro moscow authorities say four partially occupied regions of ukraine voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining russia. the hastily arranged referendums took place over five days in the regions of donetsk, luhansk, zaporizhzhia, and kherson, which make up about 18% of ukrainian territory. russia state media say partial results show about 97% of voters are in favor of joining russia. although there are reports of officials going house to house collecting votes, sometimes accompanied by soldiers. the u.s. is blasting the vote, and as introduced a resolution that the un security council, calling on member states not to recognize any change to ukraine's borders. european leaders say that they suspect sabotage is to blame for seven mysterious leaks into

nord stream gas pipelines. methane bubbles were seen rising to the surface of the baltics sea near the pipelines. seismologists say that there were explosions in the area on monday. it's not clear if that caused the leaks or who is behind it. russia cut off the flow of natural gas of one pipeline to europe -- over the warren ukraine, and the other was not operating commercial yet. clare sebastian joins me from. europe clare, europe is investigating ghastly's and suspicion is falling on russia? >> yeah, kristie, i think when you have three leaks into neighboring gas pipelines that really appear in the space of a day, and themselves very rare events. and two -- seismologist from two different countries registering events on the rector sale consistent with explosions. and then you do have european leaders really not shying away from the topic. that this could've been sabotage. the swedish prime minister this is probably a delivered act.

the foreign minister for sweden, saying we need to be prepared for putin to act irrationally. the polish prime minister said this was an act of sabotage, that likely means a further escalation in the war of ukraine. and the european commission ursula van drew line, said any disruption of active european infrastructure will lead to the possible strongest response. even russia not shying away from the topic. refusing to rule out any possibility when asked about the possibility that this was sabotage. but the key thing for europe, christy, is that this now means that nord stream 1, which up until the late spring this year, was really the biggest artery pumping gas to europe, that is now very likely not coming back online this winter. the operator of this pipeline, nord stream ag, said it's not currently possible to estimate a timeline for restoring the gas transport infrastructure. that means for europe, the urgency of diversifying supply is much greater. which it has already been doing, continues to do successfully, the urgency of saving energy,

which is already doing, all of that now becomes more -- more urgent. because they're now not facing a situation where russia could turn off the taps at any, point but there is a possibility of actual physical kinetic attacks, potentially, no one saying attacks yet, but that is now a potential they have to look at on energy infrastructure. so, this is a critical moment for europe ahead of winter, which is just around the corner. >> yeah, the status of these pipelines part of the wider confrontation between russia and europe right. now and clare, four days of the stage referendums wrapped up yesterday's. these votes have been widely condemned. but is it in unravel that putin will go ahead and annex these territories? >> you know, you pretty much said he would. he said in his big speech last wednesday, announcing that the partial mobilization russia that he would be willing to support the decision that these territories made. as for what the next steps will be, well, we expect that he will m make a speech to join the national parliament in russia

on friday. the uk defense ministry said there is a realistic possibility that he will formally announce the annexation of ththese territories. they will call the accession of these territories into russia in that speech. the speaker of the upper house of parliament in russia, the federation council, said they will look at this next week, but kristie. >> clare sebastian in london. and thank you for joining us. i'm kristie lu stout, for international we're viewers world sport is up. next and for everyone else, i'll be back with more ns after the break. i know there's conflicting information about dupuytren's contracture. i thought i couldn't get treatment yet?

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calls for evacuation are

growing louder and more urgent as hurricane ian barrels down on florida. the category three storm has already slammed into cuba, leaving a path of destruction on the western side of the island. it has caused a nationwide blackout, with more than 11 million people left in the dark. ian is expected to make landfall in florida in the coming hours between sarasota and port charlotte as a -- category 3 three or four hurricane. and storm warnings have already been issued for the lower florida keys. a government forecaster earlier explain why the storm is so dangerous. >> if you are along and north that projected path, heavy rain and damaging winds, and if those soils are saturated, those winds are going to break down trees, break down power lines, and possibly block roads. so, think about, you need to be where you're going to be to ride this one out and basically stay there. and then if you are long and south of the track, storm surge at the coastline, significant

storm surge at the coastline, especially down here around fort myers area. and then, damaging winds and rain as well. so, three hazards, damaging rain -- damaging winds, rain, storm surge, and then south, and then damaging winds and rain to the north. >> eons outer bounds are already lashing the florida keys and along the gulf coast. residents are being warned to take the storm very seriously. randi kaye has more. >> this is a type of storm surge that is life-threatening. >> with hurricane ian barreling towards florida, many here are not taking any chances. guadeloupe gomez has been boarding up his home for days. >> they say to prepare for it. >> he says at least 12 of his family members will take shelter here. the concern with hurricane ian is not just the wind, it's also the rain and storm surge. nearly 7 million people along florida's west coast between

fort myers and clearwater, including all of the tampa bay area, are under a storm surge warning. >> storm surge is always one of our largest concerns here in southwest florida. you know, 90% of fatalities occurr due to water. >> charlotte harbour and the cities of port charlotte of punta gorda are expecting the highest storm surge, with 8 to 12 feet possible. around tampa, a record storm surges expected. >> a storm that slows down for 24 to 48 hours, and just continuously dumps rain into the tampa bay area is devastating. >> hurricane ian is expected to dump at least 2 to 3 months worth of rainfall by friday. possibly as much as 24 inches of rain in tampa and west central florida. >> it only takes 18 inches of water to be a life-threatening situation. >> tampa's airport taking no chances. >> at 5 pm today, no more commercial flights. >> evacuation orders expanding since monday, with shelters open for those without other

options to wait out the storm. >> i've never been in a hurricane. this is my first time. my first time at a shelter. but i feel better here than if i would be alone at home. >> those riding out the storm racing to get sandbags, facing lines for gas. >> out of water folks, no water. >> and the familiar scramble to stock up on food and water. then, hurry up and wait. randi kaye, cnn, bucha gorda, florida. >> now 30,000 power workers are on standby to restore power after hurricane ian moves into florida. the crews come from 23 states are across the u.s.. florida's largest you captivity county, florida power and light, says it has thousands of personnel and equipment ready across the state to respond to outages once it is safe to do so. the house select committee

investigating the january 6th insurrection has postponed wednesday's hearing because of hurricane ian. a new date for the hearing, which is likely to be the last, should be announced soon. and is expected to focus on how allies of former president donald trump sought to declare victory in the 2020 election, regardless of the outcome. meanwhile, a -- jury selection is underway in a federal trial that could pose a major test to the justice department's prosecution of january 6th rioters. five leaders of the oath keepers, a far-right militia group, are charged with seditious conspiracy in the capitol attack. it is the first time in over a decade that the justice department will argue a group of americans applaud it to violate and oppose the u.s. government. all five defendants have pleaded not guilty. now, in the swiftly approaching u.s. midterms, republicans in a number of top ranges across the country are trying to tie democrats to a surge in crime

in major cities. democrat john fetterman, in the closely watched pennsylvania senate race released a new ad fighting back against his opponent doctor mehmet oz, who is calling him quote, dangerously liberal on crime. >> i'm a county sheriff, veteran, and pennsylvania. i'm sick of all us talk about john fetterman and crime. here is the truth. john gave a second chance to those who deserve, non violent offenders, marijuana users. >> now, this comes as our david culver talks to first gun owners. they lean left, and they say they do not feel safe. well brandy joseph readies her classroom, and safety waivers get signed, we will set the scene for you. these women, now in their early 50s, our childhood friends from los angeles. >> and your caliber is right here. it is a 22 caliber. >> there saturday social? firearms 101. it's surprising, considering most of these women politically

lean left. >> do you have so friends will be totally turned off by? this >> absolutely. >> they will be happy? >> not at all. >> how do you deal with that? >> not my problem. that's their choice. i'm exercising my choice. >> you push down, not. in >> after a thorough intro, they are off to the firing line. >> phones, i do not want to see them out. i want you paying attention to what we are about to. do >> we notice jeanne beverley paying attention, but seemingly uneasy. >> seeing all the guns of the table, i was like i. >> do you think it's going to make you feel safer? >> yeah, you know when you have knowledge of stuff, it makes you safer. >> would you ever want to carry? >> i do not think so. >> wacky or side one time to get your cartridge back. but perfect. any questions? no, guns down. >> this woman organized the guns outing, with a personal purpose. >> our society, our climate is

changing. it's better to be prepared for your own safety in protection. >> they are not alone. but [sound of gunfire] at borough county shooting part, just east of l.a., we met jessica mendes. >> i'm a mexican woman in a same-sex relationship. i need to feel safe. i need to feel protected. >> her wife, chrystia regalado, didn't want anything to do with guns. your first experience hearing what you're hearing right now, gunshots, you are taking it very well. [sound of gunfire] >> just the sound, the vibrations of each impact. it made me feel very scared. >> feel the counter force the gun has. >> tom newman began training the couple last year, with a focus on self protection. >> the more people are anti, gun the more they actually realize that there is more nuance to it. >> you see an opening here that perhaps on a national level, dialogue can happen? >> i hope so. and i think the tide is turning. it's absolutely turning. because the last two years, it's been unprecedented, the types of folks who are buying

guns. >> while white men have the highest rates of gun ownership in the u.s., one survey show that in the first half of 2021, roughly 90% of retailers saw a surge in gun sales to african americans. and about 80% of retailers reported an increase in firearm purchases by hispanic and asian americans. living in california, a state with some of the toughest gun laws, jessica tells me she is more comfortable talking about her relationship nine about her guns. >> i definitely am more closeted in being a gun owner -- >> really? >> for fear of retaliation. >> you worry you're glamorizing or -- gun ownership? >> it's something i really try not to do. even wearing orange shirts that have guns on them, i do not do that. because i do not want people to think that it's just like an accessory. >> back on the fortune firearms ranch --

>> and i love what i do. >> firearms instructor and dealer brandi noticing the changing clientele. >> there's a huge uptick and female owners. women are getting trained. women are carrying. >> liberal and conservative? >> liberal and conservative. >> data from harvard fattah more than half of new gun owners are likely to be women. >> you're gonna go up, pull a trigger, boom, back to your frame. >> nearly two hours into their training, these women ready to pull the trigger. >> slowly pull your trigger. [sound of gunfire] perfect. [applause] >> after class, the group seemingly more comfortable. >> is it strange to think for some of you that you know how to load and handle those weapons? >> yes. >> jamie beverley -- >> yeah i'm very -- like, i. what >> the others are ready to be armed. >> i just feel liberated. >> if you think you feel safer

when you are carrying? >> oh, definitely. with all the things you see e on the news, like things that happppened -- in so many public areaeas. walmart, grocery, stores it't's like there's no limit now. >> and that was cnn's david culver reporting. thank you so much for joining us. i'm kristie stout. and my colleagueaula newton picks up coverage of hurricane ian after the break. keep wating cnn.

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closed captioning brought to you by mesobook.com . hello, welcome to viewers joining us in the united states and around the world that you are watching cnn newsroom. i am paula newton. now, it is 3:00 a.m. on the u.s. east coast, and