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Astounding Favorability Boost For Kamala Harris 100 Days To Election Day; Harris Raised $200 million In First Week Of Candidacy; Israel Government Authorized To Attack Hezbollah; California Battles Wildfire; Simone Biles Returns Despite Injury; CNN Reports What Chinese Says About Harris. A New Study Found Blood Test Can Catch Early Dementia. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 28, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in New York, and we begin this hour with just 100 days until the election and a presidential race that's been completely upended since President Biden exited the race just one week ago.

In these past seven days, Vice President Kamala Harris has moved to quickly consolidate support from the Democratic Party, raised historic amounts of money, and she has effectively erased former President Donald Trump's lead in the polls. CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten is here to run the numbers for us. So let's look at some of this polling, Harry. There's some new polling out today. What's it showing you?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATE REPORTER: Yeah, it's quite a shift from where we were just a week ago. These are net favorability ratings. That's favorable minus unfavorable. Why don't you look where we were a week ago? Look at this. Both Harris and Trump, not particularly well- liked, certainly better like than former President Joe Biden. But look at this, a minus 11 net point favorability rating, a minus 11-point net favorability rating.

But look at where we stand right now since Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee. Her net favorability is now actually in the positive territory at plus one point. And look at Donald Trump. His net favorability has actually dropped from minus 11 points to minus 16 points. So the last week has been one in which Kamala Harris has received a load of good press while Donald Trump, coming off of his Republican National Convention, perhaps not some necessarily good news for his vice-presidential choice, J.D. Vance.

And what we've seen is clear movement on this particular metric towards Kamala Harris. I think the question ultimately will be, as we get more of that horse race polling, does it translate to the ballot test? But certainly, I think Democrats would argue that this is one of Kamala Harris's best polls so far, showing her much more popular than a week ago, while Trump has fallen back a little bit. DEAN: Yeah, and it is wild that that's just a week in between those numbers. We know that this race is going to be so focused on these battleground states. Show us the latest data that we're getting from there, how Trump and Harris are both faring in some of those battleground states.

ENTEN: Yeah. So let's take a look at those Great Lake battleground states, because I think that this will give you an idea of how tight the race is in the Great Lake battleground states. Look at Wisconsin, a point race well within the margin of error. No clear leader. Michigan, tied. Pennsylvania, tied. And of course, these were states that post the first debate, in fact, the only debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. We saw that Trump was picking up ground in these states and holding advantage over Joe Biden. Not the case against Kamala Harris.

Why is that so important? Well, it's so important, Jessica, because if, if Kamala Harris can win up in these Great Lake battleground states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, even if she were to lose in Nevada Arizona and Georgia, of course, those Sunbelt battleground states that Joe Biden won four years ago -- look at that -- she would get to exactly 270 electoral votes. She would win the election.

So the fact that she's holding her own there definitely suggests that the Great Lake battleground states are a potential pathway for her to allow Democrats to hold on to the White House.

DEAN: And what was interesting was that was really Biden's only path to potential victory. So, very interesting to see those numbers as well. What about how the polls could change from now until the election? We have 100 days. People are starting to click in, starting to pay attention to this race. How -- what historically have we seen in the changing in polls in this amount of time?

ENTEN: You know, you mentioned that the Great Lakes was one, pretty much the only Joe Biden path. And we have seen the polls shift so much just within the last week as Biden has given way to Harris as the Democratic nominee. So I just want to note here, you know, the Sunbelt battleground states, even there, we might be seeing shifts in those polls, you know, because we know that Harris is outperforming Biden with black and Hispanic voters.

So even if Harris were to lose in those Great Lake battleground states, she could still in fact win in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina. And that could get her up to 275 electoral votes. Even within the last week, we have seen that shift in the polling nationally, which we believe may be funneling down into those swing states.

And then, of course, you're talking about a change within a week. How about the changes you were mentioning now until the election, which of course is 100 days from now, there is still so much that could potentially change because I just want to give you an idea about history, all right?

How far are the polls off at this point compared to the final margin? How much can the polls now differ from what the actual election results could be? Well, on average, look at this. We've had an average shift of six points on average from now until Election Day and those final results since 1972.

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But in this year in which things are so ridiculous, so crazy, so much has changed over the last week, over the last month when we held that CNN debate, don't be surprised if in fact we get a larger change than normal. And how large of a change could we be talking about? I'm not sure it's going to be quite up to that 1988 level, but it gives you an understanding that things really can shift.

The biggest recent shift was in 1988 when Michael Dukakis, the Democratic candidate, was so far ahead of George H.W. Bush at this point. And you know who won that election? George H.W. Bush won that election and he won it easily by eight points. So there's still a lot of time. We've seen a lot of things just shift within the last week as we spoke about those net favorability rings.

Don't be surprised as we go into the Democrats' vice-presidential selection, the DNC, and of course that final 60 to say 80-day sprint right around the DNC, the election. Things can really shift, Jessica. It's truly an exciting ride for someone like me, although I know some of our viewers at home may just want a little stability for just a little bit of a while.

DEAN: They are interesting times indeed, and I think if any of us have learned anything in the last week or two weeks, Harry, it's that we really don't know what the future holds when it comes to this race. We're going to have to watch it play out, but we're glad we'll have you here to break it all down for us. Harry Enten, thanks so much.

ENTEN: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: CNN's Jeff Zeleny is joining us now from one of those key battleground states that Harry was just talking about, Michigan. He's at a Harris campaign office in Rochester Hills. Jeff, what's it like? What's the energy like? What are people telling you?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it is the 100-day mark, as you know, until the election, and we are here at one of the hundreds of campaign offices that now the Harris for President campaign is running. And there was just an event here just a little bit ago. Several dozen volunteers were here getting their information, getting their clipboards and their walking papers to go door to door.

But quite literally, the signs on the office wall have changed. A week ago, this, of course, would have said Biden for president. Now it says Harris for president. But come on inside and take a look at -- this is just one storefront office. But if you look here on the wall, Days Until Victory 100, this will count down every single day. This is an organizing office, a local organizing office.

Oakland County, Michigan, is where we are right now, just north of Detroit. This is Democratic leaning without question. About four years ago, Joe Biden carried this by more than a dozen points. So this is where Kamala Harris is looking to have a strong showing, of course, the rest of Michigan. Much of it is blue.

So Gabby Giffords was here speaking just a short time ago. Other Democrats were rallying around this. And what this is was a volunteer stop for people to come and get their precinct papers to go door to door. And we've been talking to many of those volunteers. And they say there's excitement at the doors. There's energy. There are also some questions about the vice president's position on issues.

So Jessica, we have never seen at the 100-day mark, of course, a new candidate in the race. So everything is reset anew. And you can see just all of these campaign offices. You know these well, being on the road all these years on campaigns as well. This is where the organizing happens. There's new energy and also perhaps some new anticipation.

DEAN: Yeah, it is -- it is watching history unfold before our very eyes, which is so, so interesting. Jeff, I think a lot of people are so curious about who she's going to pick as a running mate. You've reported extensively on this that it could be happening soon. She's going to have to. It's a very truncated schedule they're operating on. What are you hearing today?

ZELENY: Right. Well, I'm going to walk over to this side. This is where Gabby Giffords was standing just a short time ago. She left just minutes ago. She was standing here to give a speech. Gabby Giffords, of course, the former Arizona member of Congress. She is married to Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. He is one of the leading contenders, we believe, in this vice-presidential campaign. Of course, he's not the only one.

She, of course, has no idea if he is going to be chosen or not. But she's been here and traveling across the country rallying voters. But we also know that several governors are on the list. You saw them on the Sunday shows. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, of course, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Those six, we believe, are in the top contenders.

We know that Democratic lawyers are spending this weekend vetting these candidates. We also know that Vice President Harris will close out this with one-on-one interviews. We don't know if she already has someone in mind. But we do know that she is going to make her decision before August 7th. So this week marks the August 1st, is later this week. So the 7th is just around the corner.

So the point is, she will have her running mate before that Chicago convention on August 19th. And then, of course, the race will be fully joined. And these Harris for President signs behind me also may have the name of her running mate as well.

DEAN: That's right. More changes to come. All right. Jeff Zeleny for us there in Michigan on the ground. Thank you so much for that reporting. We appreciate it. And joining us with more on all of this, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton and CNN political analyst Laura Barron-Lopez. She's also a White House correspondent for the PBS NewsHour. Great to have both of you here.

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It is wild. It's only been a week. And it has been almost felt like a year. So many changes and so many things shifting. But polling is suggesting that Kamala Harris has tightened this race against Donald Trump. We had that ABC-Ipsos poll that Harry was talking about on favorability. She's leading Trump 43 to 36 percent. That represents an eight-point bump for her in favorability in just a week.

Shermichael, let's talk to you first. What is the Republican Party thinking about all of this? The Trump campaign, how are they metabolizing this new data that's coming in?

SHEMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, look, Jessica, it's great to be with you. The expectation was that the vice president or someone else other than Joe Biden would always perform better in terms of their competitiveness. This has certainly caught some people off guard --$200 million in a week, 170,000 new volunteers. But what you have seen from the Trump campaign is sort of a realignment of their focus and their efforts.

One PAC just announced a couple of days ago, a $100 million ad campaign between now and November to sort of reframe the conversation around Vice President Harris's positions on the economy, on crime, on immigrations, on foreign policy. And I think as you look at some of these battleground states as a strategist, I'm looking at one particular group here, Jessica, that I don't think we've covered a lot.

That's men. And not just white men, but men across the board. Donald Trump from 2016 to 2020 improved his numbers with all men, particularly those without a college degree. And so I want to see how does the vice president perform? Does she perform as well as Biden in 2020? Or does Donald Trump maintain an 11-point lead as he did in 2016 with men over Hillary Clinton? That can make a key advantage and difference in some of those swing states.

DEAN: And Laura, the Harris campaign as Shermichael just kind of laid out, having a phenomenally strong start in just a week, that $200 million raised, two-thirds of that coming from first time donors, small dollar donors. Meantime, 170,000 new volunteers signing up. How does the Democratic Party and Harris keep up this pace for the next hundred days? Because it's -- she's come out and wowed everyone and then they're going to have to sustain that. How do they do that?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, it's not going to be easy. I will say, though, Jessica, it's been night and day for Democrats. I mean, when I've been talking to Democratic organizers in battleground states, Latino organizers that organize Latino voters, black voters in states like Arizona and Wisconsin, and they say that it's totally different for them on the ground when they're talking to voters at their doors. That voters went from asking if President Biden was going to drop out, saying that they were reluctant to vote, to voters now being more energized and asking questions about Harris and young voters in those states, the organizers said, are starting to come back to get Democrats. And that's another key demographic that Kamala Harris is going to have to try to win back because President Biden was struggling with young voters and they were a key part of his 2020 win.

I mean, it's not going to be easy for them to sustain this momentum, but there are a lot of Democrats now that tell me that, you know, they weren't necessarily going to be as involved in organizing, and now they are. They weren't necessarily going to be volunteering, and now they are. So they have a new army of folks, people that weren't necessarily even volunteering before. And that could potentially help them in this rapid sprint to Election Day.

DEAN: Yeah, it is going to be a sprint, that's for sure. And let us remember, it was just two weeks ago there was an attempt on former President Donald Trump's life, which was -- which kind of started this chaotic two weeks. But after that, the former president said he really wanted to be a unifier for the country. He wanted to promote unity. But here's what he has to say about that now. I'm going to play a clip.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They all say, I think he's changed. I think he's changed since two weeks ago. Something affected him. No, I haven't changed. Maybe I've gotten worse, actually, because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Shermichael, what do you make of the president's kind of state of mind and what and what he's saying now, two weeks after that, because we've seen him essentially return to a lot of the rhetoric, frankly, that we'd heard before that assassination attempt.

SINGLETON: Well, he's playing to his audience, giving them what they want to hear, but I would advise and I was just speaking with someone three or four days ago who is very, very close to the former president. This person actually worked with him at the White House, spends a lot of time with him to this day. And he asked if I can go to the former president and give him some advice from you, what would it be as it pertains to that assassination attempt?

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And I said that I think the former president should actually speak more about it. I wouldn't go negative. I would try to be more positive. I would be -- I would try to speak in an affirmational tone to speak about the future. The American people want to know what would the next four years potentially look like for them.

And so reminding them of what the Republican agenda would look like in terms of the economy, addressing inflation, what the Republican agenda and policies would be in terms of addressing the heightened number of individuals coming across the border illegally that's impacting cities and towns across the country. And also, there is a concern among a lot of Americans about foreign policy with Ukraine and Russia and China and Taiwan.

And so I think if you can present a case that speaks to the future versus talking about the past, less about anger, but more about positivity, I think that is going to impact some of those voters in the middle, which is only around four or five percent, Jessica, nationally who are undecided.

The president's base will stick with him. The president has to reach, former president rather, has to reach beyond. I think he can do that if he chooses. We saw for a little bit. My advice would be to get back to those things.

DEAN: Yeah. And Laura, we just heard from my colleague, Jeff Zeleny, who was reporting that Kamala Harris is aiming to have her VP pick before August 7th. We're not that far away from that date. What are you hearing in terms of that vetting process? What volunteers, what members of the Democratic Party and others may want to see in somebody that she chooses?

BARRON-LOPEZ: Well, from what I've heard from sources in and outside of the campaign is that they're vetting about 10 to 12 potential contenders, those ones that Jeff mentioned, plus a few more. They haven't said that they've necessarily narrowed it down yet, but that -- that VP pick is going to come on or before August 7th because they have to be voted on as well during that virtual nominating process.

And Democrats, a lot of the Democrats that I've talked to in Congress say that, you know, they've named Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania governor, have named Roy Cooper, North Carolina governor. And they've also named Andy Beshear, Kentucky governor. Those were the names I was hearing a lot of. But there are a number of others on the list.

And Mark Kelly from Arizona seems like he could very well be a dark horse here because of the fact that he also has a relationship with the vice president. Roy Cooper goes back with her to her attorney general days. And so when she's thinking about this, it depends on if she wants a more person -- someone that she has a more personal relationship with, someone that could -- has credibility in a battleground state. There's a lot of factors there at play that Democrats are weighing right now.

DEAN: And Shermichael, is there any one person in that mix or a couple people that Republicans don't want to run against that would maybe be, they think, tougher?

SINGLETON: I mean, look, I think from my perspective, I can see some advantages and disadvantages with many of them. If I'm looking at Pennsylvania with Shapiro, do you remove him? Will that help? Maybe it increases the possibility of the vice president winning that state by one or two points. But in terms of effectiveness, would it be better to keep him there and pull someone like a Senator Mark Kelly? But then with Kelly, then you raise the question of what happens with

that Senate seat and can Republicans potentially grab that seat? So there are a lot of dynamics from my perspective as a strategist that I'm going to be looking at. But even as you have seen, Jessica, these numbers increase with Vice President Harris, it cannot be underscored the fact that Donald Trump is performing a heck of a lot better than he did in 2020.

This race is incredibly close. When you look at where the race was at this point in 2020, it was not close. The poll numbers were pretty decisive that Joe Biden was going to win that election. We have no clue which direction this thing is going to go this this way around. And that's why I'm looking at, again, men voters. I'm looking at white suburban voters and I'm also looking at white blue-collar workers.

I looked at President Obama's two races and I was trying to do a comparative analysis from Obama to Hillary Clinton to Biden just to sort of see what Vice President Harris being a woman, but also a woman of color, where could she potentially fall? She would need to, at a minimum, have some of the Obama era-esque coalition on at least maintaining Joe Biden's 2020 numbers.

That is a heck of a lot to do going into November. And so from a Republican perspective, we're going into this hoping that we can get this across the finish line.

DEAN: It is going to be something to watch, that's for sure. Shermichael Singleton and Laura Barron-Lopez, our thanks to both of you.

SINGLETON: Good to see you, Jessica. Thank you.

BARRON-LOPEZ: Thanks.

DEAN: Still ahead, Israel warning Hezbollah will pay the price for a rocket attack that killed 12 children. How they plan to respond and what they're hearing from Lebanon as tensions could escalate to an all-out regional war.

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Plus, California's Park Fire is spreading even more, torching more than 500 square miles. Thousands of Californians have been forced to evacuate their homes. We're going to tell you how firefighters are working to get the upper hand out west.

And the GOAT is back and better than ever. Simone Biles proving why she is one of the best to grace the map. The latest from the Paris Olympics here in the "CNN Newsroom."

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DEAN: Israel's security cabinet now authorizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, to decide on the country's response to yesterday's deadly rocket attack in the Golan Heights. Already, the Israeli military say they have struck multiple Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon overnight. And now the region and the world waits to see whether this will escalate further.

With us now, Jeremy Diamond, who's on the scene in the Golan Heights, and Ben Wedeman in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Jeremy, let's start first with you. We know the international community is urging restraint on both sides. What are Israeli leaders saying right now?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, there's no question that there is a flurry of diplomatic activity right now trying to de-escalate these tensions, trying to ensure that the Israeli response to what they say was a Hezbollah strike right here behind me on this soccer field will be a limited response. Israeli officials have not indicated yet how limited that response will be, but they have made clear that there will be a response, that there will be a price to pay for this attack that killed 12 children in this community of Majdal Shams.

The Israeli security cabinet met this evening once Prime Minister Netanyahu returned to Israel from the United States, authorizing him and the Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to move forward with a strike at a time and with a scope of their choosing. So, remains to be seen how quickly that will actually come together.

But right now, this is a community that not only is anticipating the possibility of that Israeli response, waiting to see what will unfold from the events that have happened here, but it is also very much still a community in mourning. It is just after midnight here in Majdal Shams, and you can see behind me that there are, you know, several dozen teenagers who have come here to just sit together, to speak, to mourn quietly and to take in all that has happened over the course of these last two days.

Flowers have now been set up where that crater still stands. Lights have also been put up. This is a very small, tight knit Syrian Druze community, and they are definitely all feeling the tremendous impact of what has happened, an attack that has shaken this community to its core and in many ways shattered its very soul. Jessica?

DEAN: Jeremy Diamond. All right. Thanks so much for that reporting. And Ben, this has the Lebanese government in a tenuous spot. How are they responding?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENT: Yes, the Lebanese government is -- this really underscores, Jessica, just how weak the Lebanese government is in trying to determine the course of events. Hezbollah has, in terms of military strength, has far more firepower than the Lebanese army itself.

Now, we spoke today to the caretaker Lebanese foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, who made it clear that the worry of the Lebanese government is that if Israel attacks Lebanon and Hezbollah in particular, that it could easily spiral into a regional war.

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ABDALLAH BOU HABIB, LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: You know, not because of conviction, but because of any attack on our country, we support Hezbollah in this regard, but it's not going to be Hezbollah alone, as I mentioned. Iran foreign minister said it yesterday. It wouldn't be Hezbollah alone. And you have the Houthis, you have the Iraqi militias. You have militias in Syria who are not serious, Pakistani, Afghani militias.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And of course, the concern here is that if that happens, life, which at the moment is actually going on very much normally. To my right, there is a disco party. It's Sunday evening, but people are enjoying the cool evening temperatures. A little while ago, we heard some very loud bangs rushed out, wondering if this was the much- anticipated Israeli attack. No, it was actually fireworks just above our head.

Nonetheless, several airlines have either delayed or canceled flights into Beirut in fear of an imminent Israeli attack. And the U.S. embassy today reissued a statement strongly urging U.S. nationals to reconsider travel to Lebanon. Now, I was at the airport today. I arrived in Beirut. And what I saw was there was a very long line of people waiting to enter the country.

[17:29:58]

Many of those from the Lebanese diaspora, many of them with American passports. Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Ben Wedeman for us live in Beirut tonight. Thank you so much for that reporting.

Still ahead, nearly 4,000 firefighters working to contain the massive park fire in California. It is now one of the biggest wildfires in state history. We're going to take you to the front lines in "CNN Newsroom."

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DEAN: We are getting new images tonight. Take a look at these as firefighters race to contain the massive park fire in Northern California. Officials say they are making progress, that wildfire now 12% contained.

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They say the fire started after a man pushed a burning car into a gully. He has now been arrested. The fire has now exploded, though, into one of the state's largest, scorching well over 500 square miles in a matter of days. CNN's Camila Bernal is in Butte County with the latest. Camila, what are you seeing on the ground there?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jess, unfortunately, about 350,000 acres burned, look a lot like what you see here behind me. There's not a lot left, even in areas that maybe had a house or cars. What you're finding is ashes. And what I'm being told is that the center of this fire is still very active and it's still in an area that are very difficult to get to.

And what officials are saying is that there are two things that have really helped over the weekend, one, lower temperatures, and two, more resources. So, with the lower temperatures, that means higher humidity. So that has helped a ton when it comes to the efforts of these firefighters and more resources. What you're seeing is more boots on the ground. About 4,000 firefighters are now here working this fire. And one of the things they can do is come to areas like this and assess the damage. So good news in terms of structures. They said now that it's 66. So that number has gone down after you've had firefighters here assessing the damage.

The other thing that they're saying is that they're keeping the priority to be getting people safe and back into their homes. They say they're very sensitive when it comes to the people of this county because they have lived through the deadliest fire in California history.

You know, a lot of the people in Paradise, California, at least anecdotally, taking evacuation warnings and orders very seriously this time around. People who have said, I will evacuate this time around. And so, officials really trying to get them back into their homes and trying to keep these flames away from home.

So again, it's the first time that I'm hearing some sort of optimism from firefighters. We've been here for the last few days. And finally, today, you're seeing that 0% containment go up to 12. And so that really is helpful and encouraging for these firefighters that are working around the clock. But the reality is there is still a lot of work to be done because we're talking of thousands and thousands of acres that are still burning. Jess?

DEAN: Yeah, no doubt about it. But like you said, nice to hear some semblance of some sort of optimism. Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

Still ahead, a taped ankle doesn't stop Simone Biles from putting on a show, stopping performance at the Paris Games. We are live in the city of lights with highlights from day two of competition. That's next in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:40:00]

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DEAN: Superstar Simone Biles is once again proving why she is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. She put on a show in qualifying this morning, but had to fight through a painful injury early in the competition. CNN's Coy Wire is joining us now live from Paris. And Coy, you were there to watch her compete with this injury.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, let me first say it was a party at this women's gymnastics team qualifier. Celebrities Tom Cruise, John Legend, Lady Gaga was in the house and they were all there to get a glimpse of "the GOAT" in Paris.

Yes, Simone Biles, she comes out and she injures herself, and she's limping when she's warming up. The arena gets quiet, but Simone rises up, tapes up her ankle, rallies and dominates. Her coach said it's a lingering calf injury, but Biles dug deep, put on an iconic performance. The team qualified for the final and four of the five U.S. gymnasts qualified for individual events led by Biles in four of them. So "the GOAT" has a shot at five more medals to add to her resume here in Paris.

Now, there was a shocker in the pool. Team USA's world and Olympic record holder in the 100-meter butterfly, Gretchen Walsh, in her first ever games, getting caught down the stretch by her teammate, Torri Huske. So, the U.S. finishes one and two with the 21-year-old Huske, who missed the podium in Tokyo, becoming an Olympic champion.

Finally, USA fencing look out history in a first American ever to repeat as champion in fencing's women's foil competition. Lee Kiefer from Lexington, Kentucky, defending her gold from the Tokyo Games. She told me she is in medical school. If she's going to be a surgeon, we can rest assured she's going to have precision, Jessica. Part of a power couple, too. Her husband, Gerek Meinhardt, is a fencer in these Olympics as well. Kiefer defeated 21-year-old Lauren Scruggs from Queens. So, more history.

Jessica, this is the first time Team USA has won multiple medals in women's foil since 1904. And oh, by the way, Lauren Scruggs, who took the silver, is a Harvard student. She's the first Black female fencer to win an individual Olympic medal for the U.S. Inspiration abound, Jessica. These athletes are absolutely incredible at these games.

DEAN: We love to see it all. Coy Wire, live from Paris. Thanks so much.

The Chinese government has steered clear of commenting on the huge shift in America's upcoming presidential race. But as CNN's Will Ripley reports, the Chinese are suddenly learning and talking about Kamala Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who is Kamala Harris? A common question on Chinese social media.

[17:45:00]

UNKNOWN (voice-over): (SPEAKING IN CHINESE).

RIPLEY (voice-over): In a nation ruled almost entirely by men, many are shocked to learn the vice president of the United States is a woman, some calling Harris a female Obama. But online polls show most Chinese don't think she has a chance against former President Donald Trump. WESLEY JIANG, BEIJING RESIDENT: I don't know too much about her. Yes. And I think a lot of people don't know a lot about her in China. Everyone knows about Trump.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The drama surrounding Trump and U.S. President Joe Biden trending on China's internet for weeks, untouched by Beijing's usually heavy-handed government censors, a flood of comments criticizing the U.S. political system as a circus, saying whoever becomes the next president, he or she is going to target China.

Officially, Beijing has no comment on Biden dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris, calling it a U.S. domestic affair. Harris met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2022, signaling how a future President Harris would handle one of America's biggest adversaries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We do not invite conflict, but we absolutely are prepared to and engaged in what is necessary and to compete.

RIPLEY (voice-over): People in China are posting pics of the presumptive Democratic nominee alongside cartoon character Lisa Simpson from that episode when she became president.

LISA SIMPSON, CARTOON CHARACTER: As you know, we've inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Some are calling the Simpsons episode from 24 years ago a presidential prophecy. And for all the doubters in China about a woman beating a man, Alan in Beijing says all bets are off.

ALAN GUO, BEIJING RESIDENT (Through translator): I think Kamala Harris has a better chance at winning this election.

(LAUGHTER)

RIPLEY (voice-over): The most talked about thing, the way Harris laughs.

HARRIS: Do this!

(LAUGHTER)

RIPLEY (voice-over): Chinese social media users nicknamed Harris "Sister Haha." Some call her dramatic, laughter, crazy and cringe. Others say it's endearing and even a sign of good fortune.

And all those silly Kamala memes being allowed in China, partially because there seems to be an effort to dismiss Kamala Harris's presidential candidacy as weak. State media actually describing her White House performance as mediocre, pointing out that she doesn't have significant experience in dealing with China. But in the end, analysts say they expect continuity in U.S.-China trade and foreign policy, regardless of who wins in November. And that, China says, is a policy that is largely hostile to Beijing. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei. (END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Thank you, Will. Still ahead, what we're learning about how effective a new blood test is for determining whether memory loss is due to Alzheimer's and how it will help doctors battle the disease. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains next.

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DEAN: Tonight, another stride toward being able to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. A new study finding a blood test can catch 90% of early dementia cases, significantly more accurate than current methods. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on this promising new development. Sanjay?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There have been so many exciting developments when it comes to the world of Alzheimer's and this is another one. We're talking about a two-part blood test here to give you an idea of how much amyloid you likely have in your brain. It's an amyloid probability score. Now, I want to be clear, this is not an Alzheimer's test per se. You can't take the blood test and say you either have Alzheimer's or you don't. But it can provide a lot of information for people, especially those who are worried, could the memory loss they're experiencing actually be due to Alzheimer's?

So, specifically, again, we're talking about two specific blood tests here. One is called P-Tau-217, that's measuring for tau protein, and something known as Beta Amyloid 42, that's another biomarker of Alzheimer's disease.

Now again, these are blood tests. In the past, you had clinical exam where you had your doctor sort of examining you and trying to determine what your risk or your probability of Alzheimer's disease was and/or you could do a lumbar puncture, where they're actually taking fluid from your spine, from your cerebral spinal fluid, and examining that. That's a much more invasive procedure. This would be a blood test specifically.

I actually had this done recently as part of a documentary that I was working on, and you can see, it's -- I mean, it's a blood test, there's nothing more to it. They take those samples, they send them off, and you get these results back.

The real question, I think, and part of the reason there's so much enthusiasm, is how predictive is it really, and how predictive is it against what is typically out there? What you find is that the accuracy in determining if memory loss is likely due to Alzheimer's disease with this blood test, around 90%. Compare that to neurologists, memory specialists, around 73%, primary care doctors, around 61%.

So, again, I want to be clear, this is an amyloid probability score, it's not an Alzheimer's test per se, saying either you have it or you don't, but it's another tool that doctors are likely to start using as part of a more complete evaluation.

There are also these new medications out there. With these new blood tests, you might be able to follow along how well those medications are working.

[17:55:00]

Take the medication. Did the amyloid score start to improve as a result of that? You can do that in conjunction with actually looking at someone's real life functioning. So, again, these are exciting days when it comes to Alzheimer's disease, a lot of progress being made, and the idea of having a blood biomarker for the brain, that's another step towards all those advances.

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DEAN: All right, Sanjay Gupta for us, exciting news there, thanks so much. Still ahead, we are now 100 days away from Election Day. We're live in Michigan, a critical battleground state with what voters are saying. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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