Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Deadly Storms Batter Northeast, Flash Floods Turning Roads Into Fast-Moving Rivers; Tonight: Hillary Clinton Set To Speak At DNC; Chicago Police Hope To Avoid Standoffs With DNC Protesters. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 19, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:34:27]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We'll have more coverage of the Democratic National Convention in just moments.

But first, the northeastern U.S. is dealing with what's being described as a once-in-200-years storm. It's causing flash flooding along with emergency rescues and evacuations and has already killed at least two people.

CNN's Elisa Raffa is tracking the storm.

Elisa, take us through the forecast.

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So we are tracking Ernesto. Actually, we've got this front that is draped, the front that caused all of that flooding is draped along the east coast.

[14:35:00]

And that's what's actually steering Ernesto out to sea. It's still a category one hurricane sitting about 300 miles away from Nova Scotia. And it's really moving pretty quickly. It is moving 28 miles per hour to the north and east.

Now it's able to keep its hurricane strength this far north because these water temperatures are five to 10 degrees above average. So just incredible.

Typically, you don't really see something, keep it's organization like this and it actually restraint than over the last 24 hours. But these ocean temperatures are just very warm relative to where they usually are.

As we get into relatively cooler waters, and that's where it's going to start to weaken and become extra tropical. But we can still see some of these islands here of Canada getting sideswiped by some intense winds from tropical-storm-force or hurricane-force winds possible.

And this will kick up some mixing significant wave heights. And that will cause some coastal flooding and some erosion possible.

Also, the Canadian National Hurricane Center is warning that there could even be some minor damage to some docks and coastal structures from how significant these wave heights will be.

We're looking at some five to eight feet of surf possible along the coast of Maine, some surf advisories there. And we're still looking at a rip current risk from Maine down to Miami, up and down the east coast, as Ernesto just sits and just churns in the Atlantic.

So something to keep in mind for people who might be wanting to get in the last little bits of summer, but this rip current risk is just way too dangerous.

So remember that a rip current is a current that takes you out to sea. You have to swim faster than an Olympic swimmer to get back to the coast, which most of us can't do that.

So to get out, you have to swim parallel to the shore to get out of the rip current. And then you can work your way back to the shore more safely.

And that is what people will need to do if they decide to not heed those warnings. And a lot of beaches have been closed all weekend -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Good advice on those rip tides and great animation, too.

Elisa Raffa, thank you so much.

Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

In the latest Gaza peace talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken now says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a "bridging proposal" for a potential ceasefire in Gaza.

The proposal is meant to bridge gaps still separating Israel and Hamas. This progress, however small, comes after Blinken wrapped up a critical meeting earlier today with the prime minister. A source calling that meeting constructive.

Also, a new development in Donald Trump's sentencing for his criminal hush money conviction. Manhattan prosecutors are leaving the decision of when Trump's sentencing should happen to a judge.

The D.A.'s office is declining to either endorse or oppose the former president's request to postpone until after November's election. The current sentencing date is September 18th. That's seven weeks before Election Day.

Also, next hour, disgraced former Congressman George Santos will be in court and he's expected to plead guilty to federal campaign fraud charges against him. He's facing 23 charges overall, including wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft and embezzlement.

Still to come on NEWS CENTRAL, Hillary Clinton famously said that she wanted to shatter, quote, "the highest and hardest glass ceiling." What does it mean for her as Kamala Harris aims to smash through it?

We're going to talk about what this means for Clinton with her 2016 campaign manager, when we come back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:43:08]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Tonight. President Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will kick off yet another historic Democratic National Convention.

It was eight years ago, in 2016. that Clinton became the first woman to ever receive a major party's nomination for U.S. president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATES: Tonight, we've reached a milestone in our nation's march toward a more perfect union.

(CHEERING)

CLINTON: The first time that a major party has nominated a woman for president.

(CHEERING)

CLINTON: After all, when there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And Robby Mook was there. He is the former campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.

We're going to be seeing her with a big role tonight. What is her job this evening?

ROBBY MOOK, FORMER HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Yes. I think some people might be surprised. This is going to be a really upbeat speech. I think she sees her role as helping to continue this incredible momentum we've seen for Kamala Harris.

But what we're also going to hear from her is, what does it mean to elect that first woman president? So not just celebrating the fact that that might happen, but what opportunities is that going to provide, opportunities and freedoms to make health care decisions, to tell your kids that they can be anything they want.

So I'll let her -- I'll let her do it. I don't want to ruin it. But, yes, I think you're going to hear an upbeat future-oriented endorsement of Kamala Harris.

KEILAR: She obviously was hoping to be -- and you can hear, of course, the sound checks behind us. They can hear us better than you think they can -- (CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: -- on the TV. Don't worry. But they're checking out some of the music behind us here in Chicago.

Hillary Clinton was obviously hoping to be the first female president. She was expecting to be until sort of a surprise outcome on election night. Is she going to talk about her experience, her loss? Is she going to talk about that?

[14:45:09]

MOOK: Yes. Look, the whole theme of this campaign and an imperative of this campaign is to look at the future and drive into the future. I don't think, first of all, she's going to dwell on the past.

And the other important thing is this isn't about her. This is about Kamala Harris and what she can do for families. So I don't think you're going to hear her dwelling on it a lot.

I think you're going to hear her push this forward and talk about how we have to keep this momentum going for her.

KEILAR: How much is about Trump and -- because it's interesting, when you look at the DNC platform, it mentions Trump well over 100 times, between 100 and 200 times. It mentions Kamala Harris 30 something times.

How much of it is about Trump? How much of this convention needs to be about Trump versus Harris?

MOOK: Yes. Well, I think it's a really important part of this convention. Because this election needs to be a choice between the future and the past. And we have to talk about, when we say don't go back to Trump, we need to talk about what that is and defined that.

I think, for Hillary today -- and again, I haven't read the exact speech. I've just been briefed on it. But I think you're going to hear her focus on that positive vision and not dwelling a bunch on Trump.

I'm sure a lot of other speakers you're going to hear tonight are going to spend some time on that. I'm sure the president is going to spend some time on that in his remarks.

But I think Hillary is going to be more focused on the future.

KEILAR: This is a very conscious choice to look for an optimistic vibe. And obviously, that he fused to what we have seen coming from Kamala Harris. This sort of focus on trying to bring the joy back into things.

MOOK: Yes.

KEILAR: You heard Governor Walz thank her for that. They're really trying for that. What is the thought process behind that and how that appeals to voters as a contrast to Trump? MOOK: Yes, look, this does need to be a choice. And you do need to

disqualify Trump. But that's not enough, right? We can't just run against Trump.

Particularly because, look, we have a Democrat in the White House, so we need to more clearly define what does Kamala Harris' vision really mean? What is she going to deliver uniquely?

This isn't just re-elect the status quo. This is a new chapter, a new page. And it is imperative we define that.

We started to hear the vice president roll some of that out next week. But these next four days, if people forget, a convention is four days of television. You get to say whatever you want. It is unfiltered, right?

So we've got to seize that opportunity and lay down that story for voters. So you'll hear both.

KEILAR: All right?

MOOK: I know.

KEILAR: There you go.

MOOK: I want to dance.

KEILAR: The band is going don't believe me, just why. I guess we'll see, if that's --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: -- what's at the convention.

Robby Mook, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

MOOK: Thanks.

KEILAR: Now protesters are out on the streets of Chicago. You see them there. There are many as the Democratic convention is shifting into high gear. Ahead, well look at how police are planning to prevent any mayhem despite the crowds.

We'll be back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:34]

KEILAR: Back now to our special coverage of the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago. Police say violence will not be tolerated as the city is bracing for tens of thousands of protesters to converge on the city this week.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is outside the convention hall.

And, Shimon, there is certainly a heavy police presence outside. We have seen it. What's being done to ensure safety?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, so we're actually several blocks away from the convention center. We're at Union Park, which is where the protests are gathering.

This is the area where they we're told to gather. This is where the protesters have been gathering. At some point, we do expect them to start marching from here.

There are thousands in this, so far, probably a little less than what the organizers were expecting. And then at some point, as I said, they have a route. It's about a mile route where they're going to go from here in the park and they're going to head out and they're going to go into the streets.

They're going to march towards the convention center. The police have only given them -- the city has only given them a mile. They want more. They want a mile and a half. They're not getting that right now.

So that's where we could see some confrontation as they get closer to the convention center, to the United Center, what will happen there if they tried to go any further than where police are allowing them to go. And that's sort of the big question right now.

He said, the organizer yesterday told us that it's going to depend on how many people show up and what the protesters want to do. That's going to dictate where they go and how far they go.

But as you know, because you're there, at the United Center, there are gates surrounding that entire complex for about a mile. And it's going to be really difficult for them to get anywhere near the center.

So it's going to be interesting. But they're supposed to start marching here once the speeches are done. They're wrapping up here. Once they take to the streets, we're going to see how that goes -- Brianna?

KEILAR: And, Shimon, Chicago police said they're committed to letting people express themselves. How are they preparing if there is unrest, if there are benny clashes between groups of protesters or counter- protesters?

PROKUPECZ: So, Brianna, we see some of the counter-protests. And I want to -- I want to walk and show you some of the police out here.

We've seen some counter-protesters. It's been very peaceful, both sides. We've seen pro-Trump supporters. We've seen supporters of Israel out here on the other side. They have come out here. And it's been relatively peaceful.

[14:55:10]

But I want to show you here on this side.

Come this way, Jerry (ph). The police are on the outside. They're on bikes, just waiting here in the distance.

I don't know if you can see. They're out here. They're surrounding the area. But they're allowing the protesters as they remain in the park to stay in the park. They're not interfering.

Once they leave, that's when we could start to see some of the conflict at some of the issues.

KEILAR: All right, Shimon, thank you so much for keeping an eye on things here in Chicago. We do appreciate your report.

And tonight is really the culmination of a bittersweet month for President Joe Biden as he passes the torch to his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the Democratic nominee. We'll discuss what the moment means for him and for the party. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)