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Largest CA Wildlfire Of The Year Scorches 305,000 Plus Acres; 0 Percent Contained; CA Gov. Declares State Of Emergency For 3 Counties Ravaged By Fires; Harris, Trump Hit Campaign Trail In 100 Plus Day Sprint To Election; Trump Booed By Some At Event When Advocating For Abortion Exceptions; U.S. Funnels Millions In Aid To Haiti As Gang Violence Surges; CNN Chats With New Olympians From Team USA Fencing; Boeing, NASA May Have Found "Root Cause" Of Starliner's Issues. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired July 27, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:24]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Frederica Whitfield.

Alright, this breaking news. California's fast moving park wildfire is forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and has destroyed more than 100 buildings with many more at risk. It has consumed an area larger than the size of Los Angeles and is 0 percent contained.

It even sparked a fire tornado, a vortex of flames, and ash spurred on by turbulent winds. And for some residents, just seeing smoke from the Park Fire is enough to bring back horrible memories of 2018's Camp Fire, which incinerated much of the nearby town of Paradise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RON LASSONDE, PARADISE, CALIFORNIA: It was very impactful. Every once in a while when we smell smoke or see smoke like that, it does trigger us, it triggers the people here in Paradise.

LAURI SCHWEIN, PARADISE RESIDENT: I'm getting evacuation alerts and, you know, be ready, and so I'm packed up, my dog, my cat. That's all I can do is wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Camila Bernal is on the ground there in Butte County, California. I mean, that is devastating behind you. Is that a home or business?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Yes, this was someone's home, and that's why it's so difficult to see what this fire has left behind here. It's just the chimney. And when you look at all this area, you realize the destruction of this fire.

I just got off the phone with a firefighter who told me this fire is aggressive. It is active. They're trying to get more resources on the ground, but at the moment it is uncontrollable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL (voice-over): California's largest wildfire of the year is on the move.

CPT. DAN COLLINS, CAL FIRE BUTTE UNIT: This year, we're kind of starting off with a bang.

BERNAL (voice-over): Scorching hillsides, decimating homes and buildings, forcing residents to flee. Firefighters battling the fast moving flames in rugged remote terrain amid wind gusts of 20 miles to 30 miles an hour in what officials call critically low humidities.

COLLINS: It is concerning that we're having these larger fires earlier in the season. If we're having big fires like this in July and August, we may have bigger fires come the fall as the fuels get drier and the wind start to pick up.

JULIA YARBOUGH, LOST HOME IN PARK FIRE: Our house gone, their house OK, house next to it, you can see it's gone.

BERNAL (voice-over): Flames flattened Julia Yarbough's home. She called the experience surreal as she walked through the rubble, surveying the destruction.

YARBOUGH: It puts a finality to it of just going, wow, this chapter over here.

TIM FURGUSON, EVACUEE: Here we go again. Yes.

BERNAL (voice-over): The park fire brings back haunting memories for residents in Butte County. It's the same county where the 2018 campfire killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes. It remains the deadliest wildfire in California history.

FURGUSON: It is painful. I lost my dad in the campfire. We've got our home and we've been working on it a lot lately, fixing it up. And it's just -- we're at the verge of maybe losing all that.

COLLINS: Talking to some of the evacuees yesterday, there's a big concern. This county has been tested time and time again. Unfortunately, you know, some of our folks that are evacuated now from these fires lost their home during the campfire.

BERNAL (voice-over): And with the state's wildfire season already underway, it's a test this community may be forced to live with for months.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL: And I'm also being told that one of the biggest challenges is the steep terrain. It is hard to get to the fire. It is in areas where you don't even have roads, so firefighters are not able to get to those flames. I was told that because it's spreading so quickly, some of the firefighters had to be waking up during their rest time because they needed more resources on the ground.

They're expecting some more throughout the day, but they do anticipate that this is going to be a long and challenging fire to battle. And they also say that this is a fire that was caused by a 42-year-old man. Authorities arresting this man for allegedly pushing a burning car down an embarkment. And so, we expect this man to appear in court on Monday, but it is just difficult to realize that this is caused by someone.

And then when you look at the massive destruction, when you look at what this has caused and what it will do to people, it sort of brings you back to reality. And you see the lives that are being affected by this fire, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's devastating.

Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

Here to talk more about this devastating fire is John Maretti. He's a retired firefighter and executive director of the North Valley Animal Disaster Group.

[13:05:09]

And I mean, John, good to see you here. You have the experience in fighting fires, and now this one has personally touched you in many ways. I understand you lost your home in this park fire. First off, is everyone -- are you OK? Is everyone, you know, in your orbit OK?

JOHN MARETTI, LOST HOME IN PARK FIRE: Yes, we were very fortunate. We did have 15 minutes, so we were able to get both dogs and the cat and, you know, some of the important papers out of the safe, so we're doing just fine. We have a lot of friends that are helping us out. So we have a place to stay. So we're just fine.

WHITFIELD: So tell me what happened because I understand that, you know, you were helping to rescue pets because of your business and this fire swept through, I mean, kind of take me back.

MARETTI: Yes, it's difficult because I'm used to as a firefighter and as a volunteer working with the North Valley Animal Disaster Group. I'm used to helping people and not used to having to ask for help. Unfortunately, on Monday, I broke my ankle. So it was very difficult.

So this was just a lot faster fire than I'd ever seen. I know for the campfire, we never even got to 150,000 acres. For the car fire that same year, it took 15 days to get 150,000 acres. The Dixie Fire took nine days, this took 36 hours, and now we're double that acreage. So this is just an angry fire and completely different than anything I've ever seen before.

WHITFIELD: And, I mean, it's an angry fire, and I know people have to feel very, you know, saddened and also angry knowing that this was sparked by a suspected arsonist. What's your feeling?

MARETTI: Yes, it's difficult. It's really frustrating to me because we've done such a good job. We got and teach people how to take care of their houses and how to be prepared for emergencies. We getting a firefighter. I felt very capable staying and I have hoses. I have all sorts of equipment.

But with a broken ankle, it was just no choice, I had to leave. And, fortunately, because I had the broken ankle, I probably saved my life because I probably would stay and try to fight it, which would have been the wrong decision.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. And, you know, right now we're learning this is 0 percent contained. And as you mentioned, I mean, it is a rapidly growing fire. What are your concerns about how this might be contained? You know, what your, you know, fellow colleagues, firefighters are up against in battling this place.

MARETTI: Yes. With the weather changing and the wind, right now, we're concerned before he's going towards areas where didn't have a lot of population, but the wind changes and things are happening. Starting to cool down a little better today. So repealing, you know, optimistic a little bit, but they're very cautious about that.

WHITFIELD: What are you learning about evacuations and whether there are enough resources available to help people?

MARETTI: Well, I've never had to evacuate before, so I've been very busy helping other people evacuate. So this was kind of a new one for me. But because of the camp fire, there's different siren systems. The Sheriff's Office has made some big differences. The Emergency Management has made differences.

We definitely had Butte County Search and Rescue. And the law enforcement going through our area helping us to evacuate. So this was -- I think there's a lot more organized than the camp fire. I think we really learned a lot from the campfire, unfortunately, so I think people took this one seriously.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And while there were a lot of lessons learned from the camp fire, you know, back in 2018, I mean, this is just evidence still of just how volatile of a region, you know, volatile situation that many people are up against. And this really did seem like something no one really could prepare for especially because this is suspected arson in the form of someone who's suspected of pushing a burning car into a ravine or a canal.

MARETTI: Yes, and we did prepare. I mean, I spent days and days with the masticated. We cleared things. I bought a bulldozer. We cleared things out. We made sure that we had a class A roof and non-flammable walls. We did a lot. We had sprinklers. We had hoses.

I mean, I'm a firefighter. I set this up for maximum opportunity for the house to make it and it did not. There's just no way that anybody could have survived with this house.

WHITFIELD: I'm so sorry. That -- so sorry for everything that so many, including yourself, are going through. John Maretti, thanks so much. All the best. And of course, continue to nurse your injury there. I see your crutches there and you're having to take it slow, but be careful.

MARETTI: Appreciate it. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. What a difference a week makes. The campaign trail, well, it's a busy place this weekend, but this time with Vice President Harris and former President Trump.

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[13:14:53]

WHITFIELD: The 2024 presidential election now just 100 days away. And today, both candidates are hitting the campaign trail in a frantic sprint to the November finish line.

[13:15:04]

Right now, Vice President Kamala Harris is headed to Massachusetts, where she will hold a campaign fundraiser in the next hour. Former President Donald Trump will speak in the next couple of hours at a Bitcoin convention in Nashville.

These dueling events come as new polling shows a tight race, according to a new Fox News poll. The presidential race is now a statistical dead heat in three swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

CNN's Steve Contorno is covering the Trump campaign. Eva McKend is covering the Harris campaign. Let's begin with you, Eva. So what can you tell us about Harris's campaign that she's calling a weekend of action?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the strategy is to capitalize on the momentum she's enjoying right now. There are 100 days until the election, but even less time in some places where voters can take advantage of voting early. So, this is a campaign really kicking into high gear, leaning on supporters to knock on doors and work the phones. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your enthusiasm and grassroots support have made history. That is why we are kicking off a weekend of action to donate, make calls, and knock on doors. And we need you, every one of you, because we are a people powered campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So they put out that video just today. Harris is in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at a big donor event featuring James Taylor and Yo-Yo Ma, Author and historian Heather Cox Richardson also there. And many of the governors she's reportedly considering to be her running mate, they're crisscrossing the campaign trail too.

Governor Walz, Governor Beshear, and Governor Shapiro are out making their case. And then she's also giving a virtual address to young voters today, too. Voters of Tomorrow, they're a Gen Z led organization with young organizers and activists from across the country. The group says they're feeling energized and resolved to restore reproductive rights, deliver climate action, and end the epidemic of gun violence in America.

And they say that she speaks to all of those issues really well. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, all fascinating. Eva McKend, thanks so much.

Let's go to Steve Contorno now in Nashville, where Trump will be speaking in the next few hours there at that Bitcoin convention. What do we expect his message to be?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Fred, this is a convention that attracts cryptocurrency investors and advocates. It has brought speakers like RFK Jr. and the whistleblower Edward Snowden. And Donald Trump would've been a very unlikely speaker at this event just a few years ago.

Take a look at what he wrote on social media back in 2019. He said that cryptocurrencies were, quote, "not money, highly volatile and based on thin air." We'll flash forward to 2024. Take a listen to what he now says about crypt coin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will end Joe Biden's war on crypto. We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in America. Otherwise, other countries are going to have it.

CONTORNO: Now we asked the Trump campaign what sparked this 180 degree flip and they didn't really provide an answer. But I will point out that it has received considerable financial investment from the cryptocurrency community. Some of its biggest investors and founders, many billionaire donors, have now been contributing to Donald Trump.

Some of them actually giving in Bitcoin. His campaign has accepted about $4 million worth of Bitcoin so far they tell us. And Donald Trump's policies on Bitcoin have shifted along with that influx of cash, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then Steve, two weeks after that attempted assassination, Trump plans to have another rally, and this one could be outdoors?

CONTORNO: Yes, tonight's rally he's holding in Minneapolis will be indoors, but he posted on Truth Social earlier today that he plans to have outdoor rallies again, saying, quote, "No one can ever be allowed to stop or impede free speech.

Now, Trump says the U.S. Secret Service has agreed to increase their security operation in the future, but we also know that the Secret Service has urged the Trump campaign to hold events indoors because it's much easier to contain any threats, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Contorno, thanks so much.

All right, for more, let's bring in Mark McKinnon. He's a former adviser to George W. Bush and John McCain. He's also the creator of the political docuseries "The Circus." Mark, great to see you.

MARK MCKINNON, FORMER ADVISER TO GEORGE W. BUSH & JOHN MCCAIN: Hey, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I would describe these last few weeks it's kind of like a roller coaster with all the changes on the campaign trail from that attempted assassination of the former president, to the RNC, to the J.D. Vance pick as Trump's running mate. Biden dropping out Democrats coalescing around Kamala Harris. So in all of your fabulous producing, could you have anticipated this kind of script?

[13:20:00]

MCKINNON: No, if I pitched this script as a fictional piece to Showtime, they would have kicked this out and said it's just unbelievable. It's like a century has happened in the last couple of weeks.

FITZGERALD: Yes.

MCKINNON: It's phenomenal. You know, I was thinking during this segment, Fred, that, you know, there -- I think when we look back on this and if Harris prevails, I think it's going to be largely because of this compressed schedule that just happened.

I think a lot of this is to her advantageous --

WHITFIELD: You think it's advantageous. Aha, go ahead.

MCKINNON: I do. I think that it has created a sense of urgency for her. It's also compressed the time schedule in which the Trump and Republicans can attack her. They wasted their whole Republican convention attacking the wrong candidate, and now there's only a hundred days left.

And so I think that that's really -- again, it's given her campaign a real sense of urgency and of course, excitement for Democrats. I think it was mentioned in an earlier segment that the enthusiasm gap, it was 25 points. The Trump voters were more excited than Biden voters, and now that number has jumped by 45 points overnight with Harris, to 81 percent now of Democrats are excited about this race.

So it's turned from a funeral procession into like a wedding march. And --

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

MCKINNON: -- if nothing else, people are just excited, you know, at least the race is competitive.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and then what does it say, really, about the political machine of both the Republican and the Democratic Party's because there was an incredible pivot, right, that the Democratic Party had to make and now look as you describe the momentum of the shift of resources and focus and now the strategy of laying out the vision for Kamala Harris versus the machine of the Republican, you know, party and Trump and their inability to pivot quickly.

I mean, while most of the resources have been on their opponent, Biden, it looks as though it's a struggle to kind of shift their focus now to Kamala Harris. Why is that?

MCKINNON: Yes, because all their planning and resources, he said, were planned on Biden. Now they've got -- it's like they're turning the Titanic. It's like an aircraft carrier instead of a speedboat, which is what the heiress campaign is. And again, I think that's part of this compressed schedule.

Democrats just said, listen, we don't have time to screw around. I mean, there were all these sort of fanciful ideas about having many conventions and vetting all these, you know, a number of different candidates. But I think, for once, which is very unusual, the Democratic Party was strategic.

Usually it's the Republican Party that says march and everybody marches. And the Democrats are usually just a mosh pit. But this time, they like got it. They said, OK, no -- we've no time to screw around. We got to get together and roll. And they're rolling.

WHITFIELD: All right. So 100 days to go. You've got a new Fox polls showing no clear winner between Harris and Trump in several key battleground states. So for either of these campaigns, how do they maximize any opportunity, all opportunities with just 100 days to go? Because it's not a matter of convincing their base, right? It's about the independence and it is particularly about those swing states. How and what do these campaigns need to do?

MCKINNON: Well, take advantage of the moment because there's not many moments left. And again, this is a real advantage, Harris, because Trump has already had his convention, attacked the wrong candidate. And now Harris has this window, and I've always preached that there are only a few opportunities in presidential campaigns where you really have an opportunity to move the dial.

Your announcement, the debates, and the convention, and your VP pick. So, she's going to have the spotlight now, arguably for the next three weeks and through her convention. And so that -- the fact that it's even close right now is it says a lot about the race and how close it is, and it says that Harris has an opportunity to add a lot in the next couple of weeks because she's going to dominate the headlines, and you know that's driving Trump crazy.

He always wants to be the center of attention, and he's not going to be the center of attention the next couple of weeks just because of the dynamics and the physics of the race and the convention. WHITFIELD: We saw President Trump speak at a conservative religious event last night, the Turning Point Summit, and his comments on abortion were greeted with boos. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Like Ronald Reagan, I strongly believe in exceptions for life of the mother, rape, and incest. I think it's very important. Don't forget, we have to -- you have to go -- you have to go with your heart, but you also have to win elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: How do you interpret the reception that he's getting there?

MCKINNON: Well, I mean, the Republicans are in a cul-de-sac on this issue, and they're just running into each other because, you know, it was always kind of a political weapon for them, but then they caught the car and then they passed, you know, then they got the Supreme Court to make a ruling that, that is hugely unpopular with the majority of Americans.

And Trump is, I mean, the thing that's obvious about Trump is he's never cared about this issue. It's not a big deal to him.

[13:25:06]

He'll do whatever, and which is obvious from that statement. It's never been an ideological thing for him. And so the purists in the party hate that about it. And it's just showing us true colors, which he said is basically, this is about winning elections. And he realizes now, and it's saying between the lines, this is a problem for us, folks.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mark McKinnon, we'll leave it there. Thanks so much. Always good to see you.

MCKINNON: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, up next, my sit down interview with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, and the dire situation going on right now in Haiti.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:03]

WHITFIELD: An amazing sight at the opening ceremonies at the Olympic Games in Paris. Despite the violence and upheaval happening at home, Haiti was able to field a small team of athletes at the games.

Their uniforms have become a viral sensation. You can see them among the umbrellas there. It's a small glimmer of light for a country that has been brutalized by gang violence ever since it's prime minister was overthrown in February.

I spoke with Linda Thomas Greenfield, the, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, about the dire situation in Haiti and how the U.S. is trying to help.

Here's some of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You're just back from Haiti --

LINDA THOMAS GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- where the U.S. committed some $60 million to assist that country that is going through so much.

GREENFIELD: Yes.

WHITFIELD: What did you see on a day-to-day? How do you know that money will be utilized, how it will be disbursed?

GREENFIELD: Well, first of all, what I saw were the needs. And the needs by themselves justified the money. And this $60 million is in addition to $100 million that we've given already this year. So about $163 million this year.

And the needs continue to get worse. People are suffering. There's -- there are a lot of needs. And we're working with organizations that we know.

And we have people on the ground who will ensure that this money is going to people who need the money. It's going to provide for clean water. It's going to provide for health care. It'll support psychosocial needs of women who are suffering the most in Haiti.

WHITFIELD: There's a lot going on there. I mean, everything from gang violence -- that's rampant -- women getting raped, families, missionaries, Haitian and foreign born, being targeted and slaughtered.

Our own reporters have harrowing stories about getting into the country and getting out. What were your observations while there?

GREENFIELD: Well, it was a bit eerie. I don't know if it was because I was there. I didn't see the gangs. We didn't encounter any issues, any security issues whatsoever.

But we were there during the day. We were in armored vehicles. We had a police escort. And everyday people, including reporters and -- and humanitarian workers, don't get that when they are there.

So I didn't feel any sense of threat while I was there. But I'm aware. I know what is going on. And I know what happens after dark when people are afraid to leave their houses.

I met with people who had experienced kidnappings of themselves and their family members. So the dangers are real. The 10 hours I was on the ground, I didn't see it. But I think it's not because it's not there.

WHITFIELD: What kind of assurances is the Haitian government, which is very porous right now, able to give the U.S. on how the money dedicated to humanitarian aid and missions, how it will actually be executed? What kind of assurances can be --

(CROSSTALK)

GREENFIELD: -- imagine, the government is just now being put together. There are no institutions in the country. So there is a transitional prime minister and there is a transitional presidential council.

And I met with both and our conversations were extraordinarily frank in terms of their -- the challenges they face but also what we want to see from them, including having them put together the Electoral Commission so that there can be elections.

What I've heard from them is, we need security, we hear you on the elections, but the Haitian people need to see some benefits. They want to see, for example, access to hospitals being made available to them.

And this is one of the actions, first actions taken by the Kenyan contingent, this getting the gangs out of the hospitals. And the government wants to reopen those hospitals and they need funding for that.

WHITFIELD: You mentioned Kenya committing to offer security. But look at the consequences that have come from that, deadly protests in Kenya. People who say they don't like this idea.

While Kenya is right now committed to offer that kind of added security, is it sustainable?

[13:34:55]

GREENFIELD: They are part of a bigger community of countries who've committed to this. So we're expecting that Jamaica will have troops coming in pretty soon. The country of Benin has offered troops as well. Other countries have offered funding as well.

And again, I understand what is happening in Kenya, separate from this, but I do see these two actions as being very, very separate.

So I have to thank Kenya, even with what is happening in Kenya for committing to continuing their efforts in Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That was the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas Greenfield.

The United States picks up its first medal of the Olympic Games in Paris. That is next.

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[13:40:25]

WHITFIELD: All right. The Olympic Games have begun, and the first metals are now in athlete's hands. Spoiler alert, Team USA won its first medal today, thanks to the dynamic duo of Cook and Bacon in women's synchronized three-meter springboard diving.

Big expectations for this delegation of approximately 600 athletes representing Team USA.

And CNN's Coy Wire, well, he just spoke with two members from our women's fencing team about their first Olympic experience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: A couple of Olympians joining me now, both very smart ones, both first-time Olympians, both Princeton students and former students, and both Maias.

Maia Weintraub and Maia Chamberlain, thank you for joining us.

You have to walk me through what it's like being an Olympian.

MAIA CHAMBERLAIN, TEAM USA FENCER: Oh, thanks for having us, first of all.

Well, it's such a new experience. We've been here for a couple of days, just experienced our first opening ceremony last night. And it just felt so unreal. I think it's still sinking in right now.

WIRE: Yes.

CHAMBERLAIN: Being in the village feels like you're just in Disneyland. Honestly, you don't know what you're going to expect, which kinds of characters you're going to see, like what booth has what. So it's just been a really great time so far.

WIRE: And you mentioned the opening ceremony, Maia. What was it like? Pouring down rain, but it still looked like you all we're having a great time.

MAIA WEINTRAUB, TEAM USA FENCER: Honestly, the rain might've been the best fire. It just kind of made it a very unique experience for sure.

And it was almost like you didn't have any other care in the world because everything was drenched. You were -- it was pouring rain but you're still with your teammates having the best time of your lives.

And everyone in the audience was there experiencing the same thing, going through the same thing just to see us.

WIRE: Wow.

And what are some of the highlights of the experience so far? What have you done? Who have you met? How did you react? CHAMBERLAIN: Oh, OK. So I ran into so many strong athletes, Coco

Gauff, other famous tennis players, like Nadal and Alcaraz.

In particular, I found Steph Curry to be incredibly sweet. He really gave us all the time of day, had a conversation with us, especially since I'm from the Bay Area, too. It was just really lovely to connect with him.

WIRE: That's awesome.

What was one of your wow moments are wow selfies, someone that you met and you just kind of starstruck.

WEINTRAUB: Well, I remember before the walk even began, we all sort of gathered together at the Team USA building in the village. And we were all just packed together in the atrium.

And then, all of a sudden people, are like -- I remember, I'm talking to one of my teammates and people are like looking behind me and everyone's like, oh, my god.

And I turned around and LeBron James is just right there. And it was just an insane moment.

WIRE: That is absolutely awesome. Wow.

(CROSSTALK)

CHAMBERLAIN: -- at the end was, like, whoa, what just happened?

WIRE: All right. As a former athlete, I can't help it. I don't have any sabers or foils.

(LAUGHTER)

WIRE: But I do have these. So we're going to go. First point wins.

(CROSSTALK)

WIRE: Go.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's a cute duo. OK. And even cuter, too, that even the stars, these athletic stars are starstruck, too.

All right, Coy Wire, thanks for bringing us all of that.

[13:43:52]

All right. Their test flight on the Boeing Starliner was supposed to last a week, but astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are about to enter their now eighth week. So when will they get to come home?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:48:44]

WHITFIELD: All right. There's new hope for the Boeing Starliner astronauts who have been stranded at the International Space Station since early June.

Engineers for NASA and Boeing say they may have found the root cause of the problem that turned a week-long planned test flight into an ordeal that has now lasted almost two months and counting.

More than 1,000 tests have been run on the ground to understand why the Starliner's thrusters stopped working. It now appears expanding Teflon seals may have choked off the flow of fuel.

Despite the new discovery, there's still no timetable for bringing home the astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

To help understand all of this, let's bring in Leroy Chiao. He's a retired NASA astronaut who flew on four space missions.

Thanks so much for being with us. Good to see you.

LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Good to see you. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: OK. So walk us through these findings from the engineers. Does it all make sense to you?

CHIAO: Yes. So obviously, they've been doing a lot of testing for the last almost eight weeks and have come up with -- they think they've come up with a reconstruction of what happened.

So it looks like, as you we're mentioning, these Teflon seals reacted with some of the propellant, may have expanded, causing some of the leaks that occurred. Fortunately, the leaks are stable and remains small.

[13:50:11]

Also, they were, I believe, able to recreate the conditions that caused fired of the thrusters to shut down during the approach to the station. It seems they we're firing more often than expected and causing those thrusters to overheat and then have some issues.

So four of them have been re-enabled and so they have almost all the thrusters available to come home. And it looks like they just need to go through having the mission management meetings, making the formal decision to bring them back down on the vehicle.

And then, you know, working with the traffic model and the priorities and the requirements to figure out when the best time would be to undock that vehicle.

You know, it's a -- it's a big deal when you have a vehicle arriving or a vehicle departing. And so it has to fit in with the tempo of operations that's going.

So I would expect them to give a date very soon after their meeting in the next week or so. And hopefully, we'll get Butch and Suni down here sooner rather than later.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, another week or so.

OK. So while they're trying to work that out, what about the astronauts? I mean, we look at the video, they look like they're having a good time, having fun. But really, how do you suppose they're, you know, getting through all this?

They went on this trip expecting -- Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, I'm talking about -- they went on this trip expecting one week. They weren't allowed to take a whole lot of personal belongings. But now it's seven weeks and counting. And they've got smiles on their faces.

But mentally, physically, how do you think they're doing?

CHIAO: Well, they're both veterans of long-duration spaceflight, so they're certainly used to life on the station for over six months or thereabouts. And so this was kind of a little bit of a mini mission, space station, mission, if you will, of a couple of months.

And so, even though it was unexpected, I'm sure they slip right into the groove and they're doing great.

You know, I'm sure it interfered with some of their personal plans. I'm sure maybe they had other plans going on the summer. But, you know, astronauts like being in space. So I'm sure they adapted very well.

But they're probably also looking forward to coming home.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right.

Well, you know, I wonder, at this point, you know, NASA says it's -- you know, it isn't making any commitment to bring them home in the same ship that they actually flew up in.

Do you see them sending up a different ship to retrieve the astronauts? How would it generally go?

CHIAO: I think that's very unlikely. I mean, NASA is prepared to do that if required. But I think it's very unlikely.

It looks like the engineers have a good handle on what happened with the Starliner, both with the leaks and the kind of overactive thrusters. And so I'm sure they have fixes in place and work-arounds to kind of prevent those situations from getting worse or from happening again on the way home.

And so I would fully expect Butch and Suni to come down on Starliner. But in the worst case, where things dramatically got worse or some new problem cropped up, of course, contingency plans are in place. We can actually -- probably we would delay them longer. But a Dragon spacecraft could be reconfigured that could also bring

them home. Dragon is designed to take up to six people coming down so -- or going up and coming down.

And so far, we've only been flying crews of three and -- but it can easily, easily carry Butch and Suni back, too.

WHITFIELD: OK. And before I let you go, you know, I wonder if we can talk about the Mars rover, the selfie that it took next to a rock that could answer the question of whether there was some micro -- microscopic life in the distant past.

How hopeful are you based on these kinds of images you're seeing? What will it help us better understand about Mars?

CHIAO: Yes, this was a very exciting discovery by Perseverance. You know, a couple of years ago, Curiosity found embedded methane in sedimentary rock that was billions of years old that could have been left there by microbial life.

Now, Perseverance has found these -- these -- these sulfates that are on the surface. And this -- on earth, those kinds of things are indicative of microbial life that exist in water.

It also detected the presence of organic chemicals, which is also consistent with current or former microbial life.

So this is very exciting because some of the same signatures that we see here of microbial life on earth and so it's a pretty strong indicator that there probably was something there billions of years ago. Not definitive proof by any means, but pretty exciting clues.

WHITFIELD: OK, we're not alone.

(LAUGHTER)

CHIAO: No.

WHITFIELD: Astronaut Leroy Chiao, great to see you. Thank you so much.

CHIAO: Thank you.

[13:54:54]

All right, back on the campaign trail to the White House, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, they're on the trail again all weekend Long. And they are not alone. Several potential Democratic vice-presidential candidates are drumming up support today as well. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:59:55]

WHITFIELD: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin this hour with the final sprint to the 2024 election. There are now just over 100 days until voters head to the polls to pick the next president.