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Fed to Announce Interest Rate Decision; Hamas Political Chief Killed; Fresh Data on the Presidential Race; Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) is Interviewed about a VP Pick for Harris and Biden Leaving the Race; Questions about Covid-19; R. Kelly Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Convictions. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 31, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Really big deal because it would mean borrowers would finally get a break. So, if you're in the market for a mortgage, it would mean rates would go down a bit. Or if you already own and you want to get a home equity loan, it would be cheaper to do that. If you're in the market to get a car and you need to finance it, student debt, if you're trying to pay off credit card debt right now and you've got record high rates, this would help.

Now, it's not going to be cheap to borrow, but this would be a step in the right direction and the first of more rate cuts to come. Remember, the Fed had to spike interest rates two years ago. Look at this.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ah!

EGAN: The multi-decade highs after years of really, really low rates. And now they've been on hold. They've been on hold for a year.

Now, we know - we knew that the Fed could conquer inflation, right? I mean Paul Volcker showed that in the 1980s that if you raise rates high enough, you're going to get inflation under control. The question was, could they do this without wrecking the jobs market? And the stunning thing is that it does look like they've been able to do that. The unemployment rate has gone up, but it's still relatively low.

And so if the Fed is able to finally cut rates, it would be a sign that they think that inflation has finally been defeated.

BERMAN: I like that, the rate's almost taller than us at this point.

EGAN: Right. Almost.

BERMAN: They might start to go down.

Matt Egan, thank you so much for that.

EGAN: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: All right, new polls just in show, if Vice President Harris can turn what appears to be some momentum into actual votes.

And budget airlines Spirit set to start offering business class seats, or as they are calling it, a big front seat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:32]

BERMAN: Brand new reaction just in over the killing of Ismail Haniyah, the top political leader of Hamas overnight in Iran. Both Iran and Hamas squarely blame Israel for this.

Just moments ago, Syria weighed in. The entire region teetering - feels like it's teetering on the brink.

CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh with us, watching this very closely.

This situation is so tense, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. Syria calling this a violation of international law and a despicable act on their state media. Essentially the government voice there, joining condemnation in a region I think that is deeply concerned about where this potentially leads. But to some degree not an entirely surprising move by Israel. And they'd always said they would pursue Hamas' leadership wherever they ended up being. I don't think anyone really expected something like this to occur in northern terrain. And the real questions being quite how this killing was indeed carried out.

An explosion at 2:00 in the morning. A guided projectile, according to Iranian state media behind this, but minimal damage as far as the early report suggests. So, good intelligence, good targeting, it seems, on behalf of the Israelis who have not said anything public to claim responsibility for this.

But interestingly enough, we've been hearing some Iranian government officials point the finger towards the United States as Israel's ally for essentially assisting and enabling them to do this. But clear indications from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying that the U.S. was not aware, and not involved in this particular incident.

Now, bear in mind that in itself is pretty extraordinary if indeed it proves to be the case the U.S. had no foreknowledge or warning of the Israelis taking out a key Hamas negotiator, part of the negotiating team for a deal which the U.S. had invested vast amounts of political capital. CIA Director Bill Burns flying here and there trying to get some traction to negotiation here. If indeed after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington, he unilaterally decided to take out Haniyah without even telling the United States before. That suggests a pretty significant rupture, you might say, in that relationship.

And too, the U.S. keen to focus on the need for the ceasefire here. Remember, that was a ceasefire that would have been negotiated by Haniyah and now so his replacements. I'm pretty sure to say is a few days, months, weeks in which those negotiations will be paused. They'll have to pick up knowing full well that their predecessor was assassinated by the very people they're negotiating with.

So, a lot on edge here. But important to remember Iran's options are relatively limited, so they could always use Hezbollah, but - to the north of Israel in Lebanon, but they've been reluctant to do that over the past months. And so the question ultimately now is, what do we see as an Iranian response? How do they effectively save face here? And do we see a conflagration like people have been fearing for nearly the year now.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Nick Paton Walsh for us, monitoring things very closely.

Nick, please keep us posted.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, we are getting a fresh - some fresh data in on how Vice President Kamala Harris, her entrance as the expected Democratic nominee for president is changing potentially the turnout math is elections.

CNN's Harry Enten has much more on this.

2020, Harry, saw a record turnout.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What are you looking at in terms of what this election could look like?

ENTEN: Yes, so, you know, if we were to go back - and I want to sort of create a timeline here to give you an understanding of just how much the entrance of Kamala Harris into this race, as well as the post RNC bump for Donald Trump has changed the potential turnout math.

[08:40:05]

We were looking at a much - potentially much lower turnout this go around in 2024 than 2020. So, this is almost certain to vote in the election. You look post-debate 2024. Look at that, it was just 55 percent of registered voters. That was actually the same as it was pre-debate, 55 percent. It was significantly lower than it was in 2020 during the summer when it was 60 percent.

But look at where we are now. We are now at 62 percent after the RNC, after Kamala Harris gets into this race. And that is actually a higher number than what we saw during the summer of 2020 when it was 60 percent. So, at this particular point, as we look at the math right now, if we are trusting what voters are saying, its actually possible to see higher turnout than what we saw in 2020, which is what you pointed out was record turnout. So, quite the shift here. It's not just enthusiasm, its actually people saying that they're going to go out and almost certainly vote.

BOLDUAN: If you believe what voters are saying with that (INAUDIBLE).

ENTEN: Well, I mean, if we don't, then this is all not going to work.

BOLDUAN: Well, you know, it's all funny money anyway.

ENTEN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Why?

ENTEN: Why? Why is it? Well, you know, throughout this entire cycle we've been pointing out that there were a ton of voters who disliked both Biden and Donald Trump. So, pre-RNC, right? Twenty percent in "The New York Times" polling. Twenty percent in Ipsos polling.

Look at where we are today. Look how dramatically these numbers have dropped. Look at this, "New York Times," down to 8 percent who say they disliked Harris and Trump. How about Ipsos? The same pattern, 7 percent. This is very different now than what we saw prior. It looks a lot more like 2020 when it was just 3 percent who disliked both major party - major party candidates and very much unlike what we saw in 2016 when it was 18 percent in the exit polls, which looked a lot more like what we saw earlier in the year.

So, the fact is, voters are much more appt to at least like one of the candidates. And I think that's part of the reason why voters are much more likely to turn out because if you dislike both major party candidates, why actually turn out and vote?

BOLDUAN: But that was what RFK Junior was counting on, that were - I guess on some level.

ENTEN: That was what he was counting on. In fact, that was his core group of voters, right, those who dislike both Joe Biden and Donald Trump. So, what's happened to him now? Look at this. He was at 15 percent in December. He was at 10 percent post-debate. He has dropped all the way down to 5 percent. The fact that Harris and Trump -

BOLDUAN: And he is not happening there.

ENTEN: He is not happy about it. He is not happy about it. The fact that - that the voters actually do like one of the major party candidates really is devastating his campaign. He might not even reach 5 percent. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with 2 or 3 percent. Not exactly a strong showing for someone who entered the race with some possibilities.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

It's good to see you.

ENTEN: Nice to see you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Congressman Mike Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois.

Congressman, thanks so much for being with us. You spoke in your mind quite a bit the last month or so, and at times, I think, received a lot of heat for it. But I'm going to count on you to speak your mind again this morning, because most people we ask about who Vice President Kamala Harris should pick as her running mate, they say, oh, she'll make the right choice. Whoever she picks will be great. We have such a deep bench.

You, though, I've been reading this morning have suggested you maybe think Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania would be the best pick. Why?

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): No, I -- well, let me say I violate my own rule of speculation and such things. I'm for the home court bench, J. B. Pritzker, just because he led Illinois through such difficult times, and he really knows how to campaign.

You know, I speculated that if that wasn't the case, and they were going to pick someone from a swing state, Pennsylvania is the one state you absolutely need to win in Democratic math. But I'm going to stay with my friend, J. B. Pritzker.

BERMAN: You have maintained your membership card as a Chicagoan. That aside, though, because Pritzker doesn't appear to be on the shortest of short lists here, but that aside, you say Pennsylvania is essential. Why? And what would Shapiro do for you there?

QUIGLEY: He's popular east to west, and, you know, I think that's absolutely critical. I will say it's -- it's early, and we give way too much credence to who the vice-presidential nominee is. I think they can do more harm than good.

And frankly speaking, on the Republican side, I think their choice has borne out to be a big mistake. The fact that Trump has to defend him on a regular basis means that there's a problem. He's underwater on polling.

He's got extreme values and statements on things like choice and climate change. So, you know, if -- if Trump was the smartest candidate, he would have picked someone to appeal to that middle. I just put it in context.

Let's remember it's early. Trump won by three states, the total of 78,000 votes in 2016. In 2020, President Biden won in three states by less than 50,000 votes.

[08:45:01]

These swing voters, these persuadable voters, I don't think we're going to change their minds until after November. I mean, after Labor Day.

BERMAN: Yeah, you can't -- after November is probably too late. But after Labor Day, I get what you're saying right there.

QUIGLEY: Right. BERMAN: Congressman, you were one of the first and loudest sitting members of Congress to call on President Biden to exit the race. Criticized by some senior Democrats for that. Now that it's happened, how do you feel? How surprised are you by how things have unfolded?

And I do sense, I don't know, trepidation, or a sort of a sense of being measured and cautious now from you?

QUIGLEY: No, I'll say this. Relieved. Yeah. Comprehension was a very difficult decision, politically, from even an emotional point of view, because I respect President Biden so much. And as always, he put the country first and made the right decision.

And the fact is, I was being told that this would create chaos, and we'd have absurd notions of a 1968 convention in Chicago, an open convention. That hasn't happened. Vice President had several tasks, which I think she carried out. Unite the party, ignite the base, reverse the polling, $200 million in the first week, 58,000 new volunteers in the first 24 hours.

And you're seeing the polling trends go in the opposite direction. So mission accomplished. I'm relieved. Now the work begins.

BERMAN: So obviously, foreign policy will be an issue in this campaign. And former President Trump, in an interview with "Fox," was attacking the Vice President with comments that I think there were people, he found them offensive. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They look at her and they say, we can't believe we got so lucky. They're going to walk all over her. And I don't want to say as to why, but a lot of people understand it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So he was saying that foreign leaders are going to think they can walk all over her. I don't want to say why, but people understand it. What do you think he means by that?

QUIGLEY: Yeah, the dog whistles and code words and phrases are out in full force. You know, it took -- from what's been reported, a lecture in the Republican caucus to tell people to stop talking about race and gender so much to their members. But, you know, you can't hold back Trump on such things.

The fact of the matter is foreign leaders are looking at this race and they're seeing that our voters have a clear choice and the fate of democracy, it's not hyperbole, in our country and for the rest of the world, many of them feel is hanging on this race. Where's NATO going? Keyed on what we do in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

So this is the race of our lifetime on national and foreign policy. I think Trump is right. Foreign leaders are looking at this, but I think they're looking at the opposite direction. They see a strong leader of the vice president who's reaffirmed her support for NATO and Ukraine and Israel with all the concerns that go with that. And they see him as sort of extremist and not going to be concerned with anybody outside our own country.

BERMAN: Congressman Mike Quigley, thanks so much for being with us this morning. Always appreciate talking to you.

QUIGLEY: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, singer R. Kelly asking the Supreme Court to throw out his sex crime convictions. Why he says he was wrongfully prosecuted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: No-frills Spirit Airlines will soon be offering some frills. The airline says it is going to now sell business class seats. For the upcharge you'll get what Spirit is calling a, quote, "big front seat." That means there will be only two seats where there used to be three and more leg room. The airline is also planning to start selling seats where the dreaded middle seat will stay empty. Spirit has not turned an annual profits since 2019 and hopes these moves will turn things around for them financially.

Fans of the 90s will of course know Lisa Loeb and Lisa Loeb's hit "Stay." Berman, do you want to weigh in on this? He's going to wait.

BERMAN: I wasn't there in the 90s.

BOLDUAN: He was - John's too young to remember. But the song doesn't sound the same without her acoustic guitar. The singer shared on X that her custom tailored guitar was stolen yesterday in Indianapolis. Bad look, Indiana. Come on, guys. She said the beloved instrument had gold tuners and was in a pink and red soft case. Local authorities are looking, but fans are asked to email their team with any information.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, answers to your burning questions about Covid and a summer surge. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on call and joins us now.

Sanjay, we asked for people to submit their questions. They did. The first one comes from Catherine from California who says, "when will the new Covid vaccine be available, and will it be a combination shot with the flu? Or separate? And will they roll out in September together?"

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, a couple of questions there. First of all, the new shots are expected in the fall.

[08:55:01]

We don't know exactly when yet, but sometime this fall you'll expect the new Covid shots. They're going to target what is known as the JN.1 variant, which, by the way, John, is a descendant of omicron. Remember that. Right now we know that the sort of dominant circulating virus is KP.3. Again, all these variant names. KP.3 is part of the lineage of JN.1. So, omicron, JN.1 KP.3, the new shots should be able to cover the predominantly circulating variants.

It's not a combination shot. It's interesting because there had been some trials looking at combining the flu shot and the Covid shot. Some positive results came out on that last month, but doesn't look like that's going to be available this fall. You can get both at the same time and you should this fall when they come out.

BERMAN: Yes, that's what two shoulders of for. Go in and get one in each shoulder.

The next question comes from Bob from Oklahoma City. "When I was asked to be prescribed Paxlovid, I was told because I take a statin Paxlovid is not appropriate." Why would that be, Sanjay?

GUPTA: Yes, this is really interesting. So, first of all, Paxlovid, people may remember, is an anti-viral medication. It's approved for adults. It has an emergency use authorization for people 12 and older. Typically, if you're high risk and you get Covid, Paxlovid may be a good option.

So, here's - here's what's interesting about this. The way Paxlovid works as an antiviral is it essentially blocks an enzyme that allows the virus to replicate. That's why you want to take it early. You don't want to let those viral numbers get high and then start giving the antiviral. You want to stop replication early.

That same enzyme that is blocked may also let some of these statin drugs not get broken down. So, the statin drugs essentially linger much longer if you are taking Paxlovid. That's the concern. I hope that makes sense. So, specifically what they say is, when it comes to Simvastatin and Lovastatin, that's a Zocor and Altoprev (ph). You should stop taking those medications at least 12 hours before you take the Paxlovid. Do not take those medications while you're taking the Paxlovid. And don't start taking them again until five days after the Paxlovid's done.

Again, it's just basic, because you can get really high doses of those statin drugs and you may get side effects with that. That's the real concern here.

BERMAN: And again, I mean, this is just a reminder that anytime you want to get prescribed a new drug, you make sure you tell your doctor what you're taking already -

GUPTA: Yes.

BERMAN: Because the combinations, obviously, could be such a problem.

Our last question comes from Debbie, who says, "after eight days I tested negative and was feeling much better for three days. Then I started to feel sick again with the same symptoms, took a Covid test and again I was sick for five days with Covid. Is that considered a relapse or why did I get it again?"

GUPTA: Yes, it's interesting. And, you know, people have talked about relapse versus rebound and could it be attached to Paxlovid. Sometimes your viral levels will come down and then the virus will start to replicate to the point where you test positive and you might have symptoms again.

One thing I want to just mention, when it comes to the idea of rebound overall, take a look at the graph on the left. Those are people who had no rebound, which is the vast majority of people. It was - no rebound was actually a little bit higher in the Paxlovid group, meaning the placebo group actually had less rebound - I'm sorry, had more rebound than the Paxlovid group. So, just - just to keep that in the back of the mind. It can happen whether or not you're taking the medication.

In fact, on the right side of the screen, you can see that it was slightly higher, the rebound with the Paxlovid group. A 1.2 percent versus 0.5 percent. So, it's not common what she is describing. It does happen. And in part it's because your virus levels get low and then, for whatever reason, they may start to replicate again.

BERMAN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, this is so helpful I think for people as they see a little bit of an uptick in cases. Really appreciate your time, as always.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: The disgraced singer R. Kelly is asking the Supreme Court now to overturn his federal sex crimes convictions. His attorney arguing that he was wrongfully retroactively prosecuted.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is following this one for us.

What is this all about, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So, Kate, this came as a surprise to many people when this petition was filed. But R. Kelly's attorney says that this should all be barred by the statute of limitations.

Now, let me take you through this. Right now. R. Kelly is serving a lengthy sentence in a prison in North Carolina. Now, back in 2022, he was charged and convicted for child pornography and enticing a minor. And he was sentenced to 20 years.

Now, when he was sentenced to 20 years, he had already been convicted to 30 years for other crimes in New York.

[09:00:00]

Well, now his attorney is saying that this should all be barred by the statute of limitations. And let me tell you why.