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Two Months Until Two Governors Races; Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D-IL) is Interviewed about Chicago Crime; Defense Calls Witnesses in Adelson Murder Trial; Cooler Air Brings Taste of Fall; Earthquake Kills 1,400 in Afghanistan. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 02, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:19]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats are making a big push to reclaim the governor's mansions in Virginia and -- the governor's mansion in Virginia in November. They're also banking on the party keeping the governor's office in New Jersey. Why these two races in particular are being watched so closely for signals in next year's midterms? Harry Enten is running the numbers on that for you this morning.

How are things -- set the table. How -- how are things looking in Virginia and New Jersey two months out?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I would say that these two races are the biggest flashing red siren signs for Republicans. Why is that? Let's take a look right now at the prediction market odds in both New Jersey and in Virginia. And in both cases, the Democrats are favored. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey, 89 percent chance of winning according to the prediction markets. How about Abigail Spanberger in the great Commonwealth of Virginia? We're talking a 94 percent chance of winning. I was looking at the polling data as well. The Democrats in both these races hold high single-digit leads. Obviously, Glenn Youngkin, currently the Republican governor of Virginia, was able to win there. And in New Jersey, the Democrats barely squeaked by back in 2021. Right now the polling leads in both those states are larger for the Democrats, are in better position than they were back in 2021. That's why in both cases the Democrats are heavily favored. And as I said earlier on, to me this is a flashing red siren, warning sign for Republicans.

BOLDUAN: Counterpoint, there has always been a lot of debate around how much you can take from any one race and extrapolate and apply it to any future race. Why should Democrats or voters nationally care about what's happening in New Jersey and Virginia?

ENTEN: Right. OK. So, you see the Democrats leading in both of these races, right, predicted to win in both of them. Why? Why should people nationally care? Why am I saying it's a flashing red siren for Republicans? If the same party has won in New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races dating back since 1989. Guess who won that U.S. House the following year? Six out of seven times that same party wins in the -- nationally, and they win the U.S. House of Representatives if, in fact, they win in both Virginia and New Jersey.

So what happens --

BOLDUAN: That's a cool stat.

ENTEN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: That's a really interesting look, Harry.

ENTEN: This is a -- exactly right.

BOLDUAN: OK.

ENTEN: Because -- because the bottom line is this. If you're not a resident of Virginia or New Jersey and you go, why should you care? It's because nationally these races do, in fact, have predictive power if, in fact, the same party wins in both of those states. And currently Democrats are favored to win in both. And history suggests, therefore, six out of seven times they are predicted to, in fact, win the U.S. House of Representatives the following year.

BOLDUAN: The debate I'm talking about between, like, don't make too much out of this and extrapolate and take it to that is generally people say that around special elections, right, because of who turns out for a special election versus a midterm or kind of -- what are you seeing this year?

ENTEN: OK. So, right, we took a look at Virginia. We took a look in New Jersey. But those are only parts of the puzzle. I think the key thing here is when people seem to be voting, Democrats seem to be doing well.

So, you know, we mentioned those special elections. Last week there was that big special election in Iowa, right, where the Democrat won in a district that Trump won by double digits. The average 2025 special election so far, Democrats, on average, are doing, get this, 15 points better than Kamala Harris did in 2024 in those same districts.

So, what we're seeing is, again, signal after signal after signal. When people are voting, Democrats are doing well, they are outperforming the baseline, doing better than Kamala Harris did in 2024 in the special elections, and doing better than the Democrats did in 2021 in both Virginia and New Jersey. Of course, those states haven't voted yet, but the polls are indicating that Democrats are in a strong position. And I will note, this number looks a heck of a lot like the number we saw in 2017 leading into the 2018 midterms, where the Democrats were able to take back the House of Representatives.

[08:35:03]

BOLDUAN: So interesting. You know, when Donald Trump is not on the ballot, what does it mean for Republicans? This is a -- it is about to be tested. ENTEN: It's a flashing red siren, as I said, at the front.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just moments ago, President Trump issued a new statement on crime in Chicago with a new threat to have federal involvement to battle that crime. He called Chicago, quote, "the worst and most dangerous city in the world by far," and said, "I will solve the crime problem fast, just like I did in D.C. Chicago will soon be safe again."

Now, it is important to note that Chicago does not rank in the top ten of cities in the U.S. in terms of violent crime rates. It doesn't even rank in the top 20 of cities with populations of 250,000 or more. And there are a lot of cities in red states where the president is not suggesting sending the National Guard or taking over federal involvement, Memphis, Nashville. You have cities in Missouri as well.

Now, that said, it was a violent weekend in Chicago. At least 56 people were shot, seven killed, though overall violent crime is down in Chicago from this time last year.

With us now, Congressman Chuy Garcia, a Democrat from Illinois. His district includes parts of Chicago.

Congressman, nice to see you this morning.

So how about that --

REP. JESUS "CHUY" GARCIA (D-IL): Good morning. Thank you for having me, John.

BERMAN: The contrast. Talk to us about the contrast. The president is wrong that Chicago is the most dangerous city in the world, let alone the United States. It's not in the top 20. But it was a violent weekend in the city. More violent than I'm sure you would like.

GARCIA: It was a violent weekend without a doubt, but the shootings that occurred, occurred not only in the city, but in outlying suburbs as well. Nevertheless, over the past year and a half, crime, especially serious crime like homicides and shootings have been trending down as they have in cities like L.A. and, of course, Washington. D.C. It's very clear that what the president is doing is not about public safety, it's not about law and order, it's a show of force. It is to intimidate, it's to control and to instill fear in cities that oppose him.

BERMAN: But what should, in your mind, or how could the federal government help you fight crime? Because -- because surely the goal is to reduce the numbers that you saw this weekend? And couldn't the federal government be helpful there? GARCIA: Oh, absolutely. One, they could restore the funds that have

been cut for violence intervention program, which have been proven to be very effective. It's part of the reason that crime has trended down, especially the most serious categories of violent crime. He could restore funding for mental health. And, of course, he could partake in bringing back the funding for health care, for nutrition, but especially for mental health and restore and stop messing with the funding for public education, as was attempted only a month ago for schools in the region across Illinois. These are the types of investments that are needed to most effectively prevent and interrupt crime before it happens, especially violent shootings.

BERMAN: Not a greater law enforcement presence that could involve maybe the help of the National Guard?

GARCIA: No. If you wanted to help local law enforcement prevent crime, fight crime and go after bad guys, you would coordinate with our governor, with the mayor as well. None of that has happened. We're still guessing about what type of mobilization there will be of federal agents coming to Chicago, or if the National Guard will be called to Chicago or to Illinois.

Let's be clear, the Constitution and federal laws say that only when there is an insurrection, when there is rioting, when there is a civil -- mass civil unrest as the conditions for potential mobilization of the Guard. But that is with the consent of Congress. None of that has happened. What Trump is seeking to do is to create a condition where there is chaos, where there's confusion and potentially where clashes occur because the Guard is not needed here and federal agents need to respect how they enforce the law, beginning with identifying themselves and taking off their masks. That's what we require of law enforcement everywhere. That should be the norm.

BERMAN: Now, separate, though connected to this, there is expected to be some kind of an immigration crackdown in Chicago which would involve a federal presence.

[08:40:00]

But up until this point, Governor Pritzker's office, the city's office, has been no -- no communication with the federal government. So, how do you think they are preparing when they're basically flying blind?

GARCIA: We don't know. We've only heard suggestions coming out of the White House by people like Stephen Miller and Tom Homan. But it's very clear that this is simply an escalation of an attack on Chicago to distract against the Epstein files that could potentially implicate the president and maybe some of his cronies. It's also a distraction from the California redistricting, responding to the mass violation of the Voting Rights Act in Texas. And, of course, it's a sign of opposition to the mobilization that's occurred in the state that rejects Trump. And, of course, yesterday we saw, in actions on Labor Day, across the nation opposing Trump, just like on "no kings day" and the hands off rallies that have occurred across America, being amongst the largest in the nation's history. BERMAN: Yes. Very quickly -- very quickly, just, I should say, nothing

that we have seen implicates President Trump in any way with the Epstein files.

GARCIA: Yes.

BERMAN: And he hasn't been connected to any of the legal issues surrounding that.

But very, very quickly at the end here, there's an issue of a possible government shutdown here. Some Democrats would like to fight and be seen as fighting. Are you willing to shut down the government at the end of this month?

GARCIA: I am willing to fight to protect the power and authority of Article One, which states that Congress will pass -- initiate and create a budget, that the president is seeking to rescind, to take away unilaterally. That is a violation of our most important right that is guaranteed by the Constitution. And how can you negotiate a budget in good faith when the president is seeking to go around Congress and undermine our authority? That's bad faith. That's not how you create a budget. And certainly one that endangers a potential government shutdown that Republicans will have to answer for.

BERMAN: Congressman Garcia, nice to see you today. Thanks so much for being with us.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: This morning, the defense is set to begin calling witnesses in the murder trial of Donna Adelson. She's the woman in Florida accused in a murder for hire plot of her son-in-law. The state rested its case Friday after six days of testimony, 26 witnesses.

CNN's Jean Casarez is following this one for us.

The state wrapped its case with a bang last week. Set the stage for now what's going to happen.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the jury had all weekend to think about how the state rested its case. And we are moments away from the defense beginning their case.

But I've got to tell you how they ended their case. They put jail inmates on the stand, two females, that had actually been in the same pod with Donna Adelson, and she got to know them. And the first one was Patricia. And Patricia testified that she out and out asked Donna Adelson, did you do this? And Donna Adelson said, yes, I did. She said, I wanted the grandkids, but I didn't expect it to go so far.

Now, Patricia said that she was offered land, a trailer and free dental work when she got out from Donna's husband, Harvey. And all she had to say was that she -- she didn't do it. That they -- the family was extorted. They were wealthy and they were extorted.

Next, this is big. Drina took the stand. Now she has 27 convictions. Drina -- and it's all addiction oriented. Drina testified that Donna and she became close. Donna would call her "jail daughter." That's Drina right there. She said that she also called her "sunshine," and that Donna wrote out an actual script of what Drina was supposed to memorize and come into court -- there it is -- and testify for Donna. Well, what Drina did, she said that she immediately called law enforcement, and she told them about this. The district attorney's office got the actual script, made a copy of it, gave it back to Drina. She gave it back to Donna. Forensic examination, it was Donna's handwriting. And it was to say that, family was extorted, we didn't -- weren't involved at all. We were wealthy. They just wanted money.

BOLDUAN: So, how long does the defense expect to lay out its case? They've got a lot to speak to now.

CASAREZ: And Donna really needs to explain this. If we do have time, the prosecution ended their case right after Charlie was convicted. Donna was on the phone in a jailhouse call to Charlie, and all of a sudden the call dropped. She doesn't realize, but she's making plans. They're going to leave town. They're going to go on a one-way ticket to Vietnam. But she keeps talking. She doesn't know she's being recorded by the jail. Here's part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA ADELSON: I have one son that I don't speak with, I have one son whose hopes seem dead, and my daughter, whom I love, is doing this?

[08:45:07]

I don't get it. I don't get it. I said to Harvey, I swear to God our family was cursed, absolutely cursed, and I don't know how to take care of it anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: One week later, they're walking on the jetway to a Dubai plane bound for Vietnam. No extradition to this country. FBI, state law enforcement, they arrest her on the jetway.

BOLDUAN: Wow. And now the defense picks up this week.

CASAREZ: That's right. Four to six witnesses.

BOLDUAN: Wow. Thank you so much, Jean. I'm very interested to see how this unfolds. My goodness.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, it's beginning to smell like fall a little bit. And I don't just think it's my aftershave. Cooler temperatures moving in for millions.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam for the latest.

Good morning, sir.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John.

I think about half the country is happy with me. The other half of the country, not so happy with me this morning because we've really got this dichotomy of temperatures. East of the Mississippi, below average. West of the Mississippi, above average. That's how the weather works. I even thought about starting my broadcast maybe live in front of my favorite coffee shop, getting a pumpkin spice latte with my barista, favorite barista, but didn't think that was appropriate to give unnecessary promotion to certain corporations.

But look at this cool down. I mean, just incredible to see what's happening across the country. This is unusual, right? Untypical, right?

We've got nearly two dozen record low, high temperatures. Yes, that means cool temperatures in the afternoon and also in the morning as well. So, a lot of purple and a lot of blue on this map. You know what that means at home. It's going to remain below average. And today is not the coolest weather you'll experience.

I got home from vacation yesterday. The humidity levels, by the way, in Atlanta have dropped. It is so pleasant outside. Get outdoors, enjoy it. Get that morning running this morning if you can. We're talking about the minimum temperatures overnight that will be 10 to 15, even 20 degrees below where they should be this time of year. And the high temperatures are more of the same. So places like Minneapolis, Des Moines, Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City will drop considerably over the next several days. Look at the average temperature for the windy city. We will struggle to reach out of the 50s and 60s for some places across the Great Lakes. And it's because of this secondary cold front that's coming in.

I know many of us had a cool Labor Day weekend. Now we get to enjoy another secondary taste of fall. I mean this is real fall-like temperature. By the way, meteorological fall started yesterday. Now, we're not talking about calendar fall, which starts on September 23rd. The calendar date actually says September 1st. And that's when meteorological fall begins.

And guess what? There's no rest for the weary here. We're going to continue with our below average temperatures over the eastern parts of the U.S. But the west, we get this pumped up ridge and we talk about well above average. Look at Spokane, 101 degrees tomorrow. That is about 20 degrees above where we should be this time of year. Of course, that increases the fire and the heat dangers out there.

John.

BERMAN: I think one of the headlines here is that meteorologists and calendar makers need to get on the same page. We can't have this dispute. You know, you got to -- you know.

VAN DAM: They didn't go to college together, OK.

BERMAN: Figure out. Get this -- get this straight. All right, Derek Van Dam, thank you very much. All right, an extraordinary public rebuke of Secretary Kennedy from

nine former CDC directors. In a joint opinion piece in "The New York Times," they slammed the secretary's leadership as head of Health and Human Services. They called his actions, quote, "unlike anything we've ever seen at the agency and unlike anything the country has ever experienced." The former CDC heads who served under both Democratic and Republican presidents accused the secretary of gutting public health protections, promoting unscientific views and putting millions of Americans at risk. The message, they say, is it's not about politics, it's about protecting lives.

And ahead, more than a thousand people are dead after a landslide hits a village, leaving only a single survivor.

A college football player hospitalized after being shot while visiting family.

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[08:53:32]

BOLDUAN: New this morning, a landslide has apparently wiped out an entire village in western Sudan. This killed more than a thousand people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in Africa's recent history. According to the Sudan Liberation Movement Army, only one person survived.

Take a look at these videos of the aftermath. And they also say that the village was completely leveled to the ground. They're now asking for help. Very clearly asking the United Nations and international aid organizations for help in recovering victims to begin, but they will need so much more.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, the death toll from the earthquake in Afghanistan rising. It's now more than 1,400 people killed. Thousands more were injured. Search and recovery teams combing through rubble in remote mountain towns near the Pakistan border. The Taliban, which runs Afghanistan, is asking for international help.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson here with the latest.

Nic, what are you hearing?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, John, quite literally just getting information over the past couple of minutes from different seismic tracking organizations. And what they're saying is, there has been another earthquake that appears to be in the same vicinity, southwest of what's being located as Asadabad. Asadabad was very close to that quake a day and a half ago.

And this quake that's just being reported in the past few minutes is a 5.5 magnitude quake.

[08:55:04]

This is more than 36 hours now, I would say perhaps about 40 hours after the initial quake. So is it a separate quake in itself? Is it a -- is it a very heavy and intense aftershock? Whatever it is, it's of a magnitude that can cause significant additional damage in this area.

Now, we've got new stats from the government of Afghanistan out over the past few hours, 1,400 people now killed, more than 3,000 injured, more than 4,500 homes have been destroyed. And some of the areas are so hard to reach, the government is saying that it can't get to them by helicopter. So, what it's doing is, it's dropping in -- air dropping commandos onto the ground so that they can get in and help the local villagers get through the rubble, try to rescue, recover people.

The international call out for aid is being heeded by a number of different countries. The emirates have sent a rescue and recovery mission. The UAE sent a rescue and recovery mission to Afghanistan. They're following up with aid, tents, food supplies, humanitarian medical supplies. The European Union is committing just over $1 million as well. They're sending planes with shelters and water purification equipment. Those planes should arrive in the next couple of days. The U.K. has committed about $1.3 million also to support humanitarian needs. The Indian government has sent a thousand tents, 15 tons of immediate food aid.

So, the Taliban shout-out for support is being answered. Unfortunately, the planet, if you will, has answered back in its own way with another quake. And we're going to stay on top of this, John, because this is potentially very serious, almost as serious as -- as the one we've been tracking.

BERMAN: Yes, a dangerous situation. There are obviously so many people vulnerable.

Nic Robertson, thank you very much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also this morning, a player on Florida State's football team is in critical but stable condition we're told after being shot. Police say Ethan Prichard, a freshman linebacker, was found wounded inside a vehicle Sunday night. His family says that he was driving, turned a corner and suddenly there were gunshots. FSU's head coach called the situation tragic.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE NORVELL, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY: I got a chance to be there, you know, last night, you know, with him and his dad and family.

Praying for -- for all parts of -- of him and the journey that's ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The police are look -- are working right now to determine what led up to the shooting. Clearly, many questions there.

There's also new drone video coming in showing the moment a dust storm rolled through Phoenix. You see that huge cloud in the distance. It's remarkable. Another video shows just how much dust was churned up in the air. The National Weather Service was warned to expect -- had -- had warned to expect sandy wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. Showers and storms are expected the rest of this week, which could bring even more dust to the area. Scary.

Bigfoot believers, also scary, gathered in the parking lot of a convenience store in Glenburn, Maine this weekend to try their best at calling the elusive beast. The Maine Bigfoot Foundation -- it's a thing -- hosted the event, drawing young and old, believers and skeptics alike. So, what does a bigfoot sound like exactly? You may have wondered that because I clearly sit around and wonder it all the time. There was plenty of variety on display, but a seven-year-old eventually took home the $100 top prize and major bragging rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: I don't know. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do about that. The foundation -- John. The foundation has big plans for their first bigfoot festival in October. JB, would you like to offer -- because I know you have gone to Maine to find bigfoot before.

BERMAN: No, I mean I think it's --

BOLDUAN: Would you like to offer how you call him?

BERMAN: No. I think it's either a cry for bigfoot or a cry for help. That's what I heard right there. Like, emotional distress.

BOLDUAN: I -- it's a release, John, it's a release.

BERMAN: I don't know.

BOLDUAN: I will say, I'm not sure if I'm -- after watching that, if I'm, you know, a believer or a skeptic. I don't know.

BERMAN: I -- deep down in my soul, I believe even more now after hearing that, for sure. BOLDUAN: Yes, of course.

BERMAN: All right, I'm going to stay over here. Want to go over here?

BOLDUAN: I don't know. Where do you want to go?

BERMAN: I don't know. Wherever they tell me. Someone's going to tell me? OK.

BOLDUAN: You choose your own adventure. Welcome to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: Today -- today, September 2nd, marks 80 years since Japan formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay ending World War II. A ceremony will be held at the World War II memorial today in Washington, D.C.

CNN's Brian Todd is there.

Good morning. Brian.

[09:00:02]

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

This is going to be a very important and moving ceremony, obviously, in the next couple of hours. It will start at about 11:00 a.m.

I'll set the scene for you right here.