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Beryl Expected To Become A " Dangerous Major Hurricane"; Biden Acknowledges Weak Debate Performance As Questions Swirl Over Whether He'll Stay In The Presidential Race; Court Limits Obstruction Charges Against January 6 Rioters; Iran's Presidential Election Goes To Runoff; Undecided Georgia Voters React To CNN's Presidential Debate; Boeing Starliner's Return To Earth Delayed Again. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired June 29, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: No need to rush to San Diego right now, though. They will be on view to the public for a few weeks until they acclimatized, if only diplomacy was always so black and white.

That is all we have time for this week. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at cnn.com/podcast and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you again next week.

[12:00:41]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin with this breaking news.

The National Hurricane Center, alerting, moments ago, that Tropical Storm Beryl is forecast to become a dangerous major hurricane. And Beryl would be the first hurricane of the 2024 season.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. So, you've been watching this storm? What's it going to do?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. I mean, I think the key thing here is how early in the season we are seeing this storm develop and the location too. So, here is a look at where Beryl is located right now, kind of that central tropical Atlantic, just east of the Windward Islands.

Sustained winds are 65 miles per hour, gusting up to 75. For those that don't may not remember, 75 miles per hour is that threshold in which it becomes a hurricane. So, we're only about 10 miles per hour off of that. Forward movement to the west at 23 miles per hour. But what makes this storm interesting, we talked about how early in the season, normally, you don't get your second named storm until July 17th. The average first hurricane doesn't occur until August 11.

And this one is actually forecast to get to major hurricane strength. We wouldn't normally have that until September 1st. So, just to put it in perspective, how early we're seeing this. And one of the major contributing factors to that is just how warm the sea surface temperatures are.

The area where Beryl is located, you are looking at on average about three to five degrees above normal from where it would normally be this time of year. And I know three to five may not sound like that much, but it's enough for the storms to really flourish in that area.

Also, to noting the location is important too. Storms early in the season, meaning in June, don't typically form east of the Windward Islands. But that's exactly where this particular storm formed.

Now, when we look at the forecast for this, it is expected to become a hurricane at some point today. So, just the next few hours. Then, it's going to cross over the Windward Islands likely as a major hurricane, which is a category three or stronger before continuing into the Caribbean Sea.

We do have some of those watches and warnings already in effect for several of the Windward Islands. But Fred, not out of the question for more of those to talk to take up over the next 24 to 48 hours.

WHITFIELD: OK. I know you'll be watching very closely. Thank you so much for that. We'll check back with you soon. Thank you, Allison.

All right. Now, back to the campaign trail. President Biden looking to reenergize his bid for reelection, following what he even acknowledges was a week debate performance.

Right now, the president and first lady are preparing to depart for the first of several campaign stops in New York and New Jersey this afternoon. But these stops this weekend, come as there are growing calls for Biden to end his run.

New today, billionaire Mark Cuban told CNN that it's time for Democrats to explore replacing the president on the ticket. And the New York Times editorial board released a scathing op ed calling on the president to leave the race.

Biden's campaign insists that he is not stepping down, with one adviser telling CNN, the president still plans to attend the second debate which is scheduled for September.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in New York, where President Biden is about to depart for a busy day on the campaign trail. So, Arlette, what's on the president's agenda today?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, fried President Biden is engaging in a fundraising swing today, as he's looking to try to bring more money into his campaign, amid some concerns within the Democratic donor class over his performance at that debate, and the path forward for the party, heading into November's election.

Now, the president and first lady just departed their hotel here in New York City. They are about to head to the Hamptons, where there will be two fundraisers this afternoon, before traveling down to Red Bank, New Jersey where they will attend a fundraiser hosted by the state's governor Phil Murphy.

The Biden campaign this morning is touting the fact that they brought in $27 million between debate day on Thursday, and Friday. Really trying to highlight one of those bright spots when it comes to the debate.

But at the same time, we are hearing from anxious democratic donors about the path forward for Biden, in this race. We know that Biden's advisers have spent really the past 36 hours fielding the phones not just from Democratic lawmakers, but also those democratic donors who have concerns about whether the president plans to stay in the race and how exactly they plan to continue this campaign.

[12:05:03]

And we're also learning this afternoon that, at least, one fundraiser that was scheduled to be held in Northern California in the coming weeks has been canceled after the President's debates. That's according to a source familiar with the matter.

The concern here for the Biden campaign is. yes, they are bringing in that $27 million during those two days. They have these high dollar fundraisers planned for this weekend, but what comes after that? So, that is something that Biden's team will be grappling with in the days and weeks, and potentially months to come.

But for now, the Biden team is really resisting those call, suggestions that President Biden potentially step aside in this race. You heard, as you mentioned, Mark Cuban, a prominent billionaire who recently backed Biden, told our colleague, M.J. Lee, that he thinks it's time for Democrats to start exploring the possibility of adding someone else to the ticket. But so far, the Biden campaign really has resisted those calls. Saying that the president intends to stay in this race, intends to fight it out.

And of course, he acknowledged his own poor debate performance yesterday, saying --telling voters that he is going to work for their votes.

WHITFIELD: And then, Arlette, the president reaffirmed yesterday to audiences everywhere that he is planning for that September debate. So, then, how does -- how do he and his camp kind of reflect on the preparations leading up to this debate, make any kind of adjustments or tweaks? Because the next debate is what? Two to three months away. The pressure is on that he has to perform differently?

Is there any more insight into the technique of the preparation while at Camp David? What they are willing to say out loud that they need to revise, revisit?

SAENZ: I think that what you're hearing from Biden's advisors is this acknowledgement that the president had a bad debate. About -- so far, we haven't seen them outlining any plans for how they would change the way that the president debates.

Biden has been on the political stage for decades, he has participated in debates over and over, often having these policy binders and sessions where he gets briefed on very minutiae details of issues that could arise in the debate.

Typically, he has those 90-minute mock debates. It's unclear how exactly they might shift the strategy as they are looking at towards the September debate, but I think they probably would acknowledge that something needs to change after the president's performance on Thursday.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much in New York.

All right, let's talk more about what could be a pretty pivotal moment on the campaign trail, really for both candidates, but we're going to zero in onto Biden as well for now.

Let's bring in CNN political analyst and presidential historian Julian Zelizer. Julian, great to see you.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Nice to be with you.

WHITFIELD: So, Biden, you know, and his camp want to turn the page. A day after what even Democrats say, was an abysmal debate performance by the president. This was President Biden in North Carolina trying to resuscitate his mojo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know I'm not a young man. I state the obvious. I don't walk as easy as I used to, I don't speak as smoothly as I used to. I don't debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know, I know how to tell the truth. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That's the energy that a lot of, you know, what became his critics, even within the Democratic Party said they want to see more of. So, Julian, does this -- does that display in North Carolina help voters unsee what they saw on Thursday night?

ZELIZER: Well, it helps a little bit every appearance that successful is good, but it will not overcome the high-profile debate, which had many more viewers, both at the time and subsequently than any appearance like this will have.

And it's not simply is there another good appearance. I think what Democrats who are worried worry about is that it's sporadic. That one day, he can be very strong, but another day, and it might be another high-profile moment, he can be as he was in the debate. So, I think, there is a lot more work to be done on the campaign side.

WHITFIELD: Biden is in New York. He'll be heading out to Long Island momentarily. He is in New Jersey as well this weekend, trying to fundraise and stuff. How critical will these kinds of appearances be?

ZELIZER: Well, very -- I mean, money is essential to the campaign. We are hearing nerves and concern within the donor class. And that's just not something that he can afford to lose. So, I think shoring up some of that support in private meetings, demonstrating to donors that he is capable, not only of handling the job, which I don't think there is as many doubts about. But about campaigning, is going to be really important in these next few weeks. The more people who give money, the more in the press who kind of are not calling for him to step down, the more likely he can endure this very fraught moment for the campaign.

[12:10:02]

WHITFIELD: You know, while the criticism of Biden in the debate was, you know, swift and immediate, more optimism from, you know, some of his most valued supporters from former President Barack Obama, saying in a tweet, you know, "Bad debate nights happen. Trust me. I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself."

And then, there were Senator John Fetterman, saying, you know, to critics, "Chill"

You know, and Vice President Harris and Congressman Clyburn, you know, putting it this way. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was a slow start, but it was a strong finish. And what became very clear through the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people on substance, on policy, on performance. Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong, and that cannot be debated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you say to the Democrats who are saying Biden should quit after that?

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Stay the course. Chill out. Chill out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Julian, how great is the divide between optimism and panic?

ZELIZER: I think there's a lot of panic. I don't think it's about Biden. I don't think it's about President Biden. I think the fear that is running through many Democratic circles is about losing to former President Trump, and the implications of a second term.

So, what they are looking for is evidence, again, not that he has not been a successful president, but that between now in November, at every key moment, he will be able to step up and make sure that Democrats win the White House. That's what I think the panicked or worried Democrats are looking for right now.

WHITFIELD: You wrote an op-ed for cnn.com, where you call Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden's key to political survival. What do you mean by that?

ZELIZER: Well, I think the stronger the vice presidency is in the minds of voters, the more comfortable voters will be. Not only in terms of performance in the next few months, she can be a real asset in terms of attacking the Republican ticket, but it will also give assurance to those moderate voters in swing states that whatever happens in a term two, she will be by his side, and she will be ready even to take over, God forbid if that is necessary. And I think she is really pivotal.

The more confidence people have in Vice President Harris, the more confidence some undecided voters would have in a Biden-Harris second term.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julian Zelizer, we'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And tomorrow, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressman James Clyburn, and Senator Lindsey Graham will all join Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" to discuss the fallout from the presidential debate and what comes next for Donald Trump and President Biden.

Make sure to watch "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow 9:00 a.m. Eastern, and again, noon time.

All right. Still to come. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling is forcing prosecutors to re-evaluate the cases of January 6 defendants. We have more on that legal fallout.

Plus, delayed indefinitely. It could be months before Boeing's Starliner craft returns to Earth. What it could mean for the two astronauts still on the International Space Station.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:18:00]

WHITFIELD: As we wait for the final opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, one potential decision that's front of mine, Donald Trump's claim of absolute immunity. That case stems from charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Legal experts say it's unlikely or it's likely rather that Trump's efforts to get blanket immunity from all prosecutions will be unsuccessful. It's expected after Friday's new ruling that the justice department overstepped its authority forcing prosecutors to reopen cases against dozens of rioters at the Capitol.

CNN's. Katelyn Polantz has details.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday decided that the way that the justice department charges January 6 rioters has to be limited. That there has to be specific intent and language that the justice department uses when it brings cases against these rioters for felony obstruction.

Many rioters, hundreds even, were charged with obstruction of the congressional proceeding on January 6th of 2021. And they were taken to trial, some of them pled guilty, and many have been sentenced.

There is only a couple remaining cases in the system where those people continue to serve those sentences. And so, now, with this Supreme Court ruling, there is going to be a lot more work for the justice department to do. These cases are very likely to go back to the trial judges now, and be revisited in different ways.

Within two hours after the Supreme Court ruled on Friday about these January 6 rioter cases, a federal judge in D.C., who sits at the trial level told the defendants under her, rioters, that they would need to be re sentenced. So, she is going to put those on the calendar, resentencing dates for some of these people who are serving prison time.

And then. in another case, a very well-known case against Jacob Chansley, the so-called QAnon shaman, the man with the horns and the spear with the Americans lag and the bull horn, urging rioters to come inside the building.

[12:20:05]

He, Jacob Chansley may have to be retried. He is one of the only rioters to only face that obstruction felony count. And so, the justice department may need to revisit how it deals with that charge against this man, who's already completed his prison time.

So, a lot -- a long way ahead on that. There is also the Trump case, Donald Trump faces this same charge that the Supreme Court is ruling on. But the justice department has tried to get ahead of things here, and say that Donald Trump's case is much different than the rioters that he was trying to obstruct the proceedings of Congress in a lot of ways, including with that fake electoral scheme, and with a lot of actions that didn't just occur on January 6th.

Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Washington.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, where does Friday's ruling leave the hundreds of defendants charged with obstructing an official proceeding, nearly 250 cases are currently pending, that include the obstruction charge in addition to others. More than 50 people have been convicted and sentenced on the obstruction charge alone. And of those cases, prosecutors say 27 are currently incarcerated.

Here to help us understand all of this Jessica Levinson, professor of law at Loyola Law School. Professor, great to see you.

So, all of these cases, what does the justice department do now?

JESSICA LEVINSON, LAW PROFESSOR, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL, LOS ANGELES: Well, for a lot of these cases, as the graphic showed, this was not the only charge. So, a lot of people have already pled guilty, have already served time. And so, for a lot of the plea deals, it probably doesn't make sense to go back and say to the department of justice, well, now part of this charge might not stick. So, we're really looking at the small percentage of cases where this was the only felony or this was the only charge, and those cases where frankly, it's worth it to try and unwind the clock.

But you can absolutely bet for that sliver of cases, those attorneys will go back to the Justice Department, those defense attorneys, and say, OK, the Supreme Court has spoken, you overstepped. And so, let's talk about dropping that charge and what that means for my client.

WHITFIELD: And for those who were already convicted and have already served time, might it mean, as a result of this decision, their attorneys will help be able to expunge those charges from their -- from their records.

LEVINSON: Great question. And again, I think, not with respect to the other charges, which the vast majority of people also did face, as we've been saying other charges.

But with respect to this charge, yes, the attorneys will go back and say let's wipe out the fact that my client decided to plead guilty to a felony. Let's take that off the particular record, then, of course, everybody is asking what this means for the former president, as you just heard from Katelyn, I think this ruling is not the end of these charges for the former president, because part of what the Supreme Court said is that this section of the statute that Donald Trump is charged under, it refers back to the other part of the statute, which basically just means there has to be a document that's at issue.

When you're charging somebody with corruptly obstructing an official proceeding what the Court said is, read that in relationship to the rest of the statute, and that requires something like document destruction.

Jack Smith will say we've got that. We've got the slates of fake electors; we've got our document.

WHITFIELD: So, Special Counsel Jack Smith might feel confident. And when you talk about documents, as it pertains to the obstruction, you are not talking about the Florida case, you are talking separately about the case that he's got to deal with in D.C.

LEVINSON: That's exactly right. And that's an important clarification. We are talking about the D.C election interference case. And when we talk about the Florida case, again, really important clarification.

We're talking about different statutes, different obstruction. And we are talking about the department of justice asking, over and over again, can we have those classified documents back? The former president allegedly saying no, that's a different type of obstruction.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. So, the U.S. Supreme Court also made another key decision yesterday, including one that curbs federal agencies and their ability to approve regulations. Overturning the chevron precedent from 1984, you know, could have sweeping implications for the environment and public health. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, you know, called the outcome, another deeply troubling decision that takes our country backwards, I'm quoting her. So, what stands out to you about that decision to overturn another long-standing precedent?

LEVINSON: So, this is something that has been in the crosshairs of conservative jurists for a long time.

[12:24:59]

And there is been no secret of the fact that when it comes to certain decisions, and this is one of the big ones called Chevron deference, that this is something that conservative jurists have said, it's inappropriate that we defer this much to executive agencies.

So, basically, what we're talking about here is there's a federal law, a congressional statute, and there's some ambiguity, or there's some very broad directive to the agencies. And the agencies then have to interpret the law and make regulations.

And what we have said since 1984, is essentially, agencies we defer to you. People can challenge what you do in Court. But the presumption will be, that if you gave a rational interpretation, that's the interpretation we stick with.

It is important to note that while this does have sweeping implications for so many of the different agencies that help our government function. The Supreme Court has really backed off of Chevron deference since, at least, 2016.

So, we can also read this as the Supreme Court saying, lower courts, we've met what we're doing, which is backing away from this deference. And there's also executive agencies, like Health and Human Services reporting indicates that they saw the writing on the wall, they have already adapted to a post Chevron world.

So, does it make a huge difference? Yes. How much of a difference? We have to see how active federal judges are in overturning agencies and their understanding of these regulations.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Professor Jessica Levinson, thank you so much.

LEVINSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Iran's presidential election is headed for a runoff between a reformed candidate and a hardliner. Why the outcome could have major consequences for the U.S. and the West? We'll go live to Tehran next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:31:12] WHITFIELD: All right, new today, Iran's presidential election is headed to a runoff vote, pitting a reform candidate against a hardliner. That's after none of the four candidates in the race received at least 50 percent of the vote. The snap election was called after President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash last month. CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen has been following developments. What should we know about these two candidates?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there Fredricka? Well, first of all, Massoud Pezeshkian, I think it was a really good showing for him. One of the things that the moderates had said before the election even started, they said that they believed that they needed a strong voter turnout for him to actually even have a chance to get to the next round. Well, the voter turnout was actually really low. It was only about 40 percent of those who were eligible to vote. And, yet, he got by far the most votes, more than 10.4 million votes. And around a million votes, more than a man who's in second place, Saeed Jalili who is a conservative.

Now Massoud Pezeshkian is someone who wants better relations with countries here in the region, and also wants better relations with the West and actually the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He kind of warned voters beforehand not to trust politicians who want better relations with the U.S. too much, he didn't name Pezeshkian by name, but there are people who believe that he meant Pezeshkian.

The conservative challenger, Saeed Jalili, he is someone who said that he wants to continue as he put it down the path of that president who was killed in a helicopter crash, Ebrahim Raisi, that would mean a continuing tough line towards the United States and certainly also a tough line towards Israel as well. Of course, one of the things that we always have to point out, Fredricka, is that right now, these elections took place, and will take place in a very volatile environment here in the Middle East with Israel and Iran on the brink of full on war just a couple of weeks ago, that could also have had massive repercussions for the U.S. and its assets here in the region.

The next vote is going to take place, the Friday of this coming week, and then we'll see which side is going to be able to mobilize more voters going forward, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Fred, you're there in Tehran, you just mentioned, you know, voter turnout has been pretty low. So is that being seen as a form of protest by some voters?

PLEITGEN: I think, to a certain degree might be seen as a form of voter apathy, if you will. One of the things that the forces who are in power, especially the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said before the vote took place, he said it was absolutely essential to get high voter turnout. He said that the Islamic Republic is strong when there is high voter turnout, and that the enemies of the Islamic Republic are strengthened and denounced the Islamic Republic when voter turnout is low.

And if we look at the voter turnout, here it is as far as we could tell one of the lowest in presidential elections here in this country. We had 48 percent turnout when Ebrahim Raisi was elected. Now it's around 40 percent. Certainly the authorities can't be happy with that. However, we're going to wait and see what the next round of this election is going to bring whether more can be mobilized in each camp, the moderate camp and the conservative camp as well, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Fred Pleitgen, in Tehran. Thank you so much.

All right, let's get even more analysis on the importance of this vote. Robin Wright is a contributing writer at The New Yorker and a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Robin, pleasure seeing you. So from this vote, you heard Fred say low turnout, low of voter turnout is representative of perhaps voter apathy. Is there also any fear that comes with this low voter turnout?

ROBIN WRIGHT, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, THE NEW YORKER: The voter turnout was a stunning rejection by the vast majority of Iranians, 60 percent opted not to go to the polls despite the fact that there was a reformist to vote for. So this sends an incredible signal to the theocracy. This is the -- this has been a trend since 2020 in two parliamentary elections and two presidential elections that the majority of people have decided not to vote, not to participate in their own political system. They're rejecting the revolution that took place in 1979.

[12:35:22]

And so this is a really interesting moment. What does the regime do to prove its legitimacy? Because turnout was always the way it could say that people believe in the system. And it's clear now that the vast majority of people don't believe in the system.

WHITFIELD: And this with, you know, the voting hours even being extended. So what is Iran's endgame at this point? I mean, you know, is it a primarily becoming a bigger regional power?

WRIGHT: Well, Iran claims legitimacy as an Islamic political system. It obviously has cultivated proxies, and allies in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iraq, and in Yemen. And it has, in effect, an alliance that is the most powerful and best connected of any alliances in the Middle East, one of the most important non-state alliances in the world. And its allies in Yemen, for example, have disrupted international shipping. Its allies in Lebanon in Hezbollah look like they're on the verge of some kind of confrontation with Lebanon. The United States is frantically engaging in diplomacy to prevent that from happening. But the tensions have escalated steadily, particularly in recent days.

BLITZER: Iran's proxies in the region, you know, particularly the Houthi rebels, and Hezbollah have been very active in targeting Iran and its Western allies. Do you expect them to continue to be this aggressive? Or is there a point where it will settle down?

WRIGHT: Well, I think you meant they're targeting Israel. And, yes, I think that will continue there that Iran's allies in many ways also have their own domestic agendas, their own regional agendas. And, yes, they are armed, trained, supported financially by Iran, but they also have their own agendas. And ideologically the Houthis are in fact, the most radical in rejecting Israel's right to exist. Both Hezbollah in Lebanon comes close. But it also doesn't want a war because it knows that Israel could destroy a great deal of its arsenal. Yemen being further away, that's a kind of different strategic calculation.

But this is an important moment, and it plays out in the context of Iran's escalating nuclear program and the dangers that it becomes the 10th nuclear power in the not too distant future.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there. Robin Wright, great to see you. Thank you so much.

WRIGHT: Thank you.

[12:37:56]

WHITFIELD: All right. Back on the campaign trail in this country, the Biden campaign is doing damage control after this week's debate while the Trump team is taking a victory lap. Coming up, how swing state voters are responding to what they saw and heard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Hours after the presidential debate, President Biden delivered an energetic speech in North Carolina on Friday, quite the contrast from his debate performance on Thursday. CNN's Gary Tuchman spoke with swing state voters watching the debate from Georgia about how much the first presidential debate will impact their vote in November.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We talked with Georgia voters at a sports pub in Atlanta immediately after the debate was over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm only 25. And I see, well, they're both old and they're both either avoiding questions or they're both like don't know what the hell they're answering.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): And we talked to Georgia voters on the recreational beltline that surrounds Atlanta, after everyone had the night to think about the debate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't necessarily feel competent in either candidate's ability to run a country.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): We had conversations with dozens of Georgians, many of them very uninspired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, that is between these two guys because I don't like one candidate more than the other.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like a younger candidate on both parties.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The headline, old man versus con man really resonated with me.

TUCHMAN: Before the debate, were you leaning towards Biden, Trump are undecided?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By leaning towards Biden.

TUCHMAN: After this debate, how do you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without a home.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Many who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and support him currently are frankly depressed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My genuine hope is that perhaps somebody else will step up for that nomination.

TUCHMAN: On the Democratic side?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): These two women say they are strong Biden supporters but watching the debate was difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was concerned, very, very concerned about Biden's real ability to carry this nation forward. Just from a physical perspective.

TUCHMAN: You feel the same way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I care about where our country is going to be, rather than who delivered the most stellar debate on stage. And I care about who tells the truth, it's going to keep me safe, who's actually going to do things for the country. I don't feel like that's Trump.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Speaking of former President Donald Trump, many Georgians leaning towards voting for him them tell us that President Biden's debate performance was not at all surprising to them.

[12:45:04]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought he sounded unsure rather confused and not well prepared. Sorry to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that the Biden, you know, look sad. Trump was Trump.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Here in the BeltLine, and back at the Wicked Wolf Sports Pub, voters we talked to who had already decided to vote for President Biden still plan to, and voters who support Donald Trump aren't planning to abandon him at the ballot box either. But we did find a few undecideds, who may be on the verge of a decision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought that Trump in this debate, and overall, I think he's more reasonable and more cogent and more, yes, thoughtful than what he was four years ago. I'm undecided. But I think I voted for Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was pretty undecided.

TUCHMAN: What are you thinking now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm leaning more towards Biden.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): And we also found some people who feel like this woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that we could all benefit as a country from someone other than the two options that we have today. One is convicted felon and the other was unable to coherently explain his stance yesterday.

TUCHMAN: So who do you vote for?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure if I will vote because of it.

TUCHMAN (on camera): We did talk with three voters who say they will definitely vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. One of them voted for Donald Trump four years ago, one for Joe Biden. One didn't say who we voted for. But what they all have in common, none of them say they were inspired by what they heard at the debate.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Delayed indefinitely. NASA says it could be months before Boeing's Starliner returns to Earth. What it could mean for its two person crew?

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[12:51:2]

WHITFIELD: All right, no target date for the return of the Starliner crew. That's what NASA is saying after another delay. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will stay on board the International Space Station plagued with issues from the start. CNN Kristin Fisher explains how ground teams for the maiden flight of Boeing's Starliner are now troubleshooting the spacecraft's thrusters.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, during a press conference Friday afternoon, NASA officials say they want to make it very clear that NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are not stranded in space. Those are the two NASA astronauts that are part of the crew of Boeing's made in test flight of its Starliner spacecraft. And they've been docked to the International Space Station since the beginning of June. But even though NASA says they're not stranded in space, those two astronauts are still going to be up there at the space station far longer than expected.

There have been several delays of this returned to Earth. And now just Friday afternoon, NASA says there is now no target date for when those astronauts and that spacecraft will return home. The holdup has been some issues with the spacecraft's thrusters, and also a few helium leaks. And so now, NASA and Boeing are going to shift the testing and the troubleshooting of those thrusters from the actual spacecraft in space to some ground testing on some replica thrusters in White Sands, New Mexico that is expected to start next week.

So and those tests are expected to take a couple of weeks to complete. So we're looking likely at mid to late July at the absolute earliest, before Butch and Suni can return to Earth. NASA, really stressing though, that those astronauts are safe. The spacecraft is safe. They've seen no new issues to report, but they really want to figure out what's going on with those thrusters.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kristin Fisher, thank you so much for that.

[12:53:52]

All right, still to come. Alec Baldwin's trial will go forward after a judge again denied a request to dismiss his charges. The key piece of evidence his attorney says has been destroyed.

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WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Sharks have been on our planet since before dinosaurs walked the earth. But these apex predators are now under attack by humans. According to scientists, about 100 million sharks are being killed every year around the world. CNN anchor Boris Sanchez takes a deeper look at the conflict between fishermen and conservationists and he travels to the Bahamas to meet a shark behavioralist, who removes hooks from shark's mouths in the next episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Cristina Zenato aims to heal those wounded by fishing hooks.

CRISTINA ZENATO, SHARK BEHAVIORIST: So, when a shark shows up with a hook, I tried to see where the hook is lodged. If the sharp is willing, I may be stopped the shark, tried to grab the hook.

SANCHEZ: Do you think the shark knows you're trying to help it?

ZENATO: Yes, I do. Otherwise, why was she keep coming back when it hurts? Because trying to remove a hook hurts, but she'll do a tight circle and come back in.

SANCHEZ (voice-over): In 30 years of removing more than 350 hooks, Zenato says, she's never been bitten by a shark.

ZENATO: They can be sometimes demanding, but the satisfaction of being able to relieve a shark of that presence is enormous.

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[13:00:09] WHITFIELD: OK. That's amazing isn't it? Don't miss Deep Dive: The Shark Wars on the whole story with Anderson Cooper. That's tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m., Eastern and Pacific.