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Tight Race Between Harris And Trump 100 Days Before Election; Interview With Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) About U.S. Elections And Golan Heights Attack; Rocket Strike Kills 12 In Israeli- Controlled Golan Heights; Trump: "No, I Haven't Changed, Maybe I've Gotten Worse Actually"; Park Fire Scorches 357K plus Acres; Evacuations In Four California Counties, Simone Biles Soars After Apparent Injury. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired July 28, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: And a presidential race that's been completely upended since President Biden exited the race just one week ago. In just the past week, Vice President Kamala Harris cemented her support in the Democratic Party, raised millions of dollars and signed up army of volunteers in key swing states. She's also effectively erased former president Donald Trump's polling lead.

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten is joining us now to run the numbers.

And, Harry, it does come down to the numbers in all of this, so where do we stand nationally with 100 days to go?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA CORRESPONDENT: Tight, tight, tight. You know, 100 days to go. I can't believe we've finally gotten here.

All right. This is Trump versus Harris nationally. Look, I think the thing that I want to sort of get down in here and sort of point out is the Harris-Trump race has actually been fairly steady. You can see this pre-Biden drop, you had Trump plus two. Look at where we are this week. Trump plus one. Again, a race with no clear leader being the key thing here. But the big change, the big change, Jessica, is the fact that Democrats made that change from Biden to Harris.

Why do I say it's a big change? It's because this little asterisk at the bottom which points out that Biden trailed Trump by six points, by six points among the same pollsters that in fact had Harris down only two. So Democrats by making that change were able to turn what was looking like a runaway race for Donald Trump into one that at this point is just way too close to call with no clear leader. Trump up by just one and that could definitely change over time.

DEAN: And tell us about some of the latest data that we're seeing in the battleground states, how Trump and Harris are faring against each other there.

ENTEN: Yes. So, you know, it all comes down to the electoral college. So why don't we look at these key battleground states, Harris versus Trump margin once again. Look, these are the Great Lake battleground states, the ones that we've been talking about this entire campaign. Look at this, Wisconsin is the one that had the biggest separation between the two of them. FOX News polling this week, and it's just plus one Trump. Well, within the margin of error.

Michigan a tie, Pennsylvania, of course, a key state that is tied right now. And of course, what does that mean? That means that the pathway to 270 electoral votes, this was the path that of course Joe Biden wanted to sort of ride along is wide open for Kamala Harris. This is the Great Lakes path. So even if she lost in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia, all three states that Joe Biden won last time around in 2020, if she was able to sweep those Great Lake battleground states, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and we know that those states are close right now, that would get her to exactly 270 electoral votes. So this Great Lakes path is wide open for the vice president.

DEAN: And then what about another potential path? Because Biden, when he was in, that was it. That was what they were looking at. Is there another potential electoral path for her?

ENTEN: Yes. So this is the Great Lakes path. This was the path that Joe Biden basically said I don't think I can do it, but for Kamala Harris, this is a potential path and one that may be wide open. This is the sunbelt path.

All right. Let's say that she lost in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, the Kamala Harris campaign believes that they can play in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and the key state down here, North Carolina, that Joe Biden lost last time around. Why did they think they can play there? They think they can play there because what we know in the national polling, for example, is that Harris outperforms Biden with Hispanics and black voters.

Hispanic voters, of course, being key in Nevada and Arizona and African-American voters, of course, being key down here in Georgia and North Carolina. If she's able to sweep those, she could lose in the Great Lake battleground states, and she would still get to 275 electoral votes. So one of the key differences between Harris and Biden is there a lot more electoral path as illustrated by the fact that the sunbelt path is still open for the vice president.

DEAN: And so here we are 100 days from election day. When you look back at polling, how much does it normally change between now and in election day?

ENTEN: We have so much time to go, all right, so this is looking historically, all right? How far are the polls off at this point compared to the final margin? Look at this, on average, since '72, the shift six points. Of course this year is such an odd year with so many things happening, so many things shifting. I think it's important to point out that the biggest recent shift in history was in 1988 when we saw a 26-point shift in the polls.

Michael Dukakis was well ahead at this point back in 1988. And of course, George H.W. Bush easily won that election. I'm not saying we're going to see a 26-point shift this time around, but I do think it's important to point out that we could in fact see bigger shifts, bigger shifts than normal in a year in which the unexpected I honestly think should be expected.

DEAN: I think that is good advice for everyone out there.

Harry Enten, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

ENTEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Joining us now with more on all of this, Illinois Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Congressman, thanks so much for being here with us. It is wild. What a difference a week makes. And just seven days ago is when President Biden dropped out of this race. Why do you think the Harris campaign or how do you think the Harris campaign has been able to have such a strong start, a historically strong start, in this really historic moment, jumping in in the middle of this race?

[19:05:03]

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): You're absolutely right, the burst of enthusiasm, energy, and vitality in this campaign are staggering. I was up in Wisconsin yesterday, I led volunteers from Illinois and from my district up to Wisconsin to canvass for her. And we had carloads of people who made the track. I think it's because of two things. One, because of who Kamala Harris is, and two, because of the message that she has, very consistently delivered namely that this is an election about the future, not about the past, and not about re-litigating old grievances or even past election results.

And also that, you know, Kamala Harris, has really focused on people's priorities. You know, how do you educate your children? How do you make sure we can access high-quality, affordable health care? And how do we equip people with the skills necessary to take jobs of the future so those all resonates very much with the American public and certainly my constituents.

DEAN: And she said herself, she considers herself the underdog in this race, and she talked about that to supporters over the weekend that they're going to have to fight really hard even with all of this momentum, even with all this money, she still considers herself to be the underdog. How do you think the best move the needle in these battleground states?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I think consistently hammering home the choice between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump with regard to a number of issues. Let's just take health care for example. You know, Trump keeps talking about rolling back the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides $35 a month insulin to seniors. This is like a staple, you know, issue for a lot of people not only seniors, but the families of those seniors.

And this is just a choice that people have to make. Do you want $35 a month or do you not? I think it's clear that people want that and so Kamala Harris continuing to talk about that to people is important. A second choice is, you know, what kind of country do we want? Do we want one where it doesn't matter the color of your skin or are where you're from, or how you pray or whom you love, or the number of letters in your name.

There are 29 in mine, Jessica, I think people want a country that is inclusive. One that welcomes people from all across the planet over here to contribute to the American dream. Of course I think Kamala Harris is groundbreaking in so many ways, but I think people want a country that doesn't hate people because of their diversity but welcomes diversity.

DEAN: And listen, the Republicans and the former president Donald Trump are racing to really try to define her both to their base, but their base is already really with them, mostly to these independent voters, right?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Right.

DEAN: That could maybe swing either way in these swing states. They're trying to paint her as ultra-liberal. They're really leaning on her record and some of the things she said, and then also, too, specifically, immigration, the border.

How does she combat this? How does she address this?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think that, you know, some of their some of their attacks are just not landing, Jessica. I think, you know, Donald Trump calling her evil and, you know, using rhetoric which is quite dangerous in my opinion, doesn't really resonate with independent voters.

I was with a group of Gen Z folks this morning. And that type of language really kind of not only turns them off, but it doesn't really address their legitimate concerns about the future and so I think that Kamala Harris obviously should address the legitimate concerns such as the border. And I think she is. We need to address the border. We need to also address the legal immigration system. And Donald Trump has been obstructing a legitimate legislative deal in Congress to do that.

And then secondly she should continue to hammer home her policies, her thoughts, her approach to dealing with the legitimate everyday concerns of Americans, the kitchen table topics that they are most concerned about.

DEAN: And I know you also serve on the House Intelligence Committee. I do want to talk to you a little bit about the developments that we're getting out of Israel and the Middle East. The Israeli military now saying it struck multiple Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon. Of course, that's a response to yesterday's rocket attack likely the U.S. says by Hezbollah into the Golan Heights, which killed 12 children.

How should the U.S. react and what role do they play in all of this and a potential escalation?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: First of all, this attack was heinous, Jessica. It was definitely launched by Hezbollah on Israel and it killed basically 12 children on the soccer field. And they happened to be Druze Muslims, by the way. Druze Muslim Israelis.

[19:10:09]

I think the United States has to do a couple of things. One, we have to prevent what I believe most people on both sides want, which is they don't want an all-out war. That is extremely important. It would wreak tremendous havoc, especially given the fact that Hezbollah has over 100,000 missiles, many of them precision guided, and really would take out a lot of infrastructure in Israel.

Secondly, we have to go back to those talks in Rome, which CIA director William Burns is conducting on behalf of the United States along with others to bring a sustained ceasefire in return for hostages and massive humanitarian aid into Gaza. That is kind of at the heart of what's going on even on the northern frontier and the more that we can calm that down, the more that we can calm down tensions on the northern border as well.

DEAN: Yes, there's been a lot of concern just in talking with a lot of experts over the last several months as we've covered this story, that that particular, that that northern border and the conflict with Hezbollah could escalate and in fact draw in the U.S. in some way. Are you concerned about that?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I am. You know, there's hundreds of thousands of people who are displaced on both sides of that border right now. You may already know this. Maybe like 60 to 100,000 Israelis, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are displaced from their homes. There's tremendous turbulence in that area, and I think that whatever our envoys can do to bring some resolution with regard to that border is really important.

But in addition to that, the American government, and I know Joe Biden is already doing this, has to make it very clear to Iran who is backing Hezbollah that, you know, we are going to stand by our Israeli allies. And previously we brought two carrier strike groups into the Mediterranean on the coast to make sure that Hezbollah knew that we would be standing with Israeli government.

I think we have to continue to show that we are going to be in strong support. Finally, and I've mentioned this before, but, you know, the Chinese have tremendous leverage with regard to the Iranians. And the Iranians, of course, control Hezbollah. The Chinese can be a positive force for good here in exerting some of that leverage and reining in Iran and their nefarious activities in the region, along with Hezbollah's.

DEAN: Right. Yes, and they also support Hamas as well.

Democratic Congressman, is it is a through line. Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, thanks so much. We appreciate your time.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you.

DEAN: And we're going to have much more on that rocket attack on the Golan Heights that left 12 dead, many of them children. We're going to hear from one father whose daughter was killed as that small community mourns what officials are calling the deadliest attack on Israelis since October 7th.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:17:52]

DEAN: The Israeli military says it struck multiple Hezbollah targets deep inside Lebanon. That is their response so far to yesterday's deadly rocket attack in the Golan Heights, which killed 12, many of them children. And while it's not clear hear what will follow next, the concern throughout the Middle East and well beyond is that Israel could soon be engaged in a second full-on war on a second front.

Jeremy Diamond reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sirens pierced the serenity of this town in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. And in an instant this explosion will shatter the very soul of the Druze community that lives here.

As residents and first responders rushed to the scene, the horror of this strike becomes clear. Soccer field, children's bikes, pools of blood between them. 12 children, the youngest just 10 years old, torn from this life.

It is the deadliest attack on civilians in Israel or Israeli- controlled territory since October 7th, according to Israeli officials. Israel says Hezbollah, which has frequently targeted the Golan Heights before, is behind the attack. Hezbollah denies responsibility.

It was 6:00 p.m. on a hot summer evening dozens of children were playing on this soccer field right behind me when suddenly sirens rang out. Seconds later, a rocket made impact just right here were in its place now stands this black flag of mourning. But one of the most devastating parts of all of this, as you see this scene frozen in time, is the fact that right behind us was safety, a bomb shelter. But there simply was not enough time for these children to get inside.

(Voice-over): Taymor Wili was looking out his window when the rocket struck and rushed to the scene. We found him that night hours later, still trying to make sense of it all.

TAYMOR WILI, WITNESSED ROCKET STRIKE: Well, at first, I saw the injured children running around. I saw blood. They didn't respond to us. They were panicking. I saw a lot of guys gathering here, most of them didn't go down.

[19:20:02] I went down here and I saw a lot of things that are way too gruesome to mention out of respect for the families. And we tried to help, but it was beyond our help. There's nothing we can do.

DIAMOND: In Majdal Shams, morning is all that remains. Thousands gathered here to pay their final respects. The sight of each casket brings with it another wave of cries and wails, as nightmares turn into crushing reality, where photos of smiling children like 11-year- old Alma can only mean one thing.

AYMAN FAKHR EL-DIN, DAUGHTER KILLED IN ATTACK (through translator): I reached the stadium and in the corner I saw dead bodies and body parts. When I got closer to one of them, I saw a bracelet. I knew it was Alma.

DIAMOND: Ayman Fakhr El-Din is only just beginning to process the loss of his only daughter.

She liked soccer, huh? Yes?

EL-DIN: Yes. I like sport, all sport, and basketball game.

DIAMOND: And she played. She was good?

EL-DIN: Yes, good.

DIAMOND: Yes?

EL-DIN: Yes.

(Through translator): Alma is a child filled with energy. She loved life. She was special in school and in athletics.

DIAMOND: He now calls on his son Rayan for comfort.

This is her big brother. Still hard on Rayan.

(Voice-over): But Rayan's grief is all too fresh.

Rayan, what do you remember about your sister? What do you want people to know about your sister?

RAYAN, SISTER KILLED IN ATTACK (through translator): Everything about her was lovely. She liked to play just like any other kid. In the end, we have a room without Alma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on-camera): And Jessica, it's not just the Israeli government that believes that Hezbollah carried out this attack. Ayman, Alma's father, he told me that he also has absolutely no doubt that Hezbollah was responsible for this. He said, of course, who killed my daughter, it is Hezbollah. He said my enemy is Hezbollah. I say it openly -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you for that reporting. Joining us now, CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Army commanding

General Mark Hertling.

General, good to have you here. Thanks so much. First, where would you put your level of concern in terms of this conflict today than this specific one escalating into an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Jessica, it's good to be with you, too, always. And what I'd say is from the very start of this war, I've had concerns about a two front war with Israel. Not only in Gaza, but also in southern Lebanon with Hamas. This only exacerbates that. The fact that it was a strike on the Golan Heights, it was another strike. And for those of us who monitor the daily back-and- forth, fire versus counterfire, between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces.

This has been something that's been occurring every single day. In a morning update I get from the Israeli Defense Forces, I see that they have had more missiles and rockets launched from Lebanon into Israeli territory. They've often described their strikes back at those locations. But what we're talking about now is multiple civilian casualties. Young children as Jeremy Diamond just reported.

So what I'd have to say and this is a long way to answer your question, Jessica, I think it's only raising the temperatures and the potential of attacks by Israel into Lebanon is only growing.

DEAN: And you give a lot of good context there in the history of the last several months of what's been going on on that northern border. We know that a Western official told CNN today that this Hezbollah strike was likely unintentional. That Israel did not want to -- and that Israel doesn't want to trigger an all-out war in response, unintentional in where it landed and who it was targeting, and kind of getting at this idea that no side wants full out war.

Is that your read on these things as well?

HERTLING: It's not, Jessica. And interestingly, when I saw the reports of an unintentional strike, I don't know what that means. It's a pretty apparent that the rockets came out of Lebanese territory, that they bear the markings of Iranian rockets and missiles, that this has been a repeated strike and it's been a taunting by Hezbollah toward Israel.

What I've said from the very beginning is Israel would be foolish to open a second front from a military perspective. I'm not talking about the politics of this, but from a military perspective, a military commander never wants to open a second front with his enemy.

[19:25:05]

But when you have continuous attacks on the territory of Israel by Hezbollah, another terrorist organization, another organization that supported Iran, you have to provide a proportional response. I think the biggest fear right now is what will be Israel's proportional response? Will it be continue attacks on those points of origin where the rocket came from, or will it be something much greater?

And we've all known those who study the history the Israeli wars into Lebanon in 1982 and 2004, those have been somewhat disastrous for the Israeli Defense Forces because they get caught up in a quagmire inside of Lebanon. You're talking about dealing not only with terrorists, but with a nation state. So it's very difficult for Israel to counter this kind of thing from a terrorist organization that receives the blessing from the Lebanese government to be in their territory.

DEAN: So that I want to get at because last night we talked to -- I talked with the former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett and he told us the following with respect to Lebanon, the Lebanese government's responsibility for Hezbollah. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAFTALI BENNETT, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We are not going to twist our way through and look for Hezbollah amid Lebanon. Hezbollah is part of the government. Hezbollah is part of Lebanon. And what Lebanon needs to do tonight is move all of Hezbollah away from the border all the way up to the River of Litani and stop everything they're doing. That is the only way they can prevent an all-out war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: I'm curious what your response is to that and what your take is on that.

HERTLING: Well, unfortunately, I agree with -- not unfortunate that I agree with him, but when the prime minister, former prime minister, talks about the Litani River, that was the key objective in 1982 in an operation that Israel conducted. That was primarily based on shorter range rockets. What Hezbollah has gained from Iran is longer range rockets. They can strike from a further distance than the Litani River, which is about 40 kilometers from the Israeli border.

So, yes, what you have is a Lebanese government that is allowing a terrorist organization to operate from within their territory. There are a lot of nation states that allow terrorists to operate from within their borders. And I agree with the Israeli government, the Lebanese government has to gain control of these terrorists and put a stop to these kind of activities which are truthfully not military operations. They are terrorist events.

They fire rockets haphazardly. These do not have a point of aim, if you will, and if it's a mistake that it hit a playground, then that would be interesting to say. But most of these rockets are area fire weapons. They're unguided. So you never know where they're going to hit, and what kind of civilian casualties they're going to have. So just truthfully, the destruction of a terrorist organization inside of a nation state is critical to establish peace between these two countries.

DEAN: All right. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

HERTLING: Pleasure, Jessica. Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, after nearly being assassinated, is the former president Donald Trump more measured now? The former president addressed that question last night. Why he says in fact maybe he's gotten, quote, "worse."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:33:01]

DEAN: Former President Donald Trump is trying out new attack lines against Vice President Kamala Harris since she entered the race about a week ago.

At a Minnesota campaign rally, Trump moved away from the narrative that he is a changed man since the assassination attempt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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 have gotten worse actually because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day, the way millions of people are pouring into our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now is former Republican Congressman from Illinois and director of the Social Contract, Joe Walsh.

Joe, good to see you. Thanks for being here with us.

We just heard that clip from the former president who after that horrific assassination attempt did pledge unity. He said he wanted to talk more about bringing people together and now, we're frankly hearing more of the same rhetoric. He says, he has "gotten worse," what do you think?

JOE WALSH, FORMER US REPRESENTATIVE: Jessica, good to be with you. This may sound crazy to say on TV, but I think it's utterly useless and meaningless to analyze anything Donald Trump says. I know that's kind of odd because he's the Republican nominee for president. So we have to talk about him. We have to talk about things he says.

But Jessica, he's humanly incapable of telling the truth. I mean, I mean that and think about that for a moment. Donald Trump is humanly incapable of telling the truth. So, knowing that, why do we even analyze what he says. Unlike you and I, Jessica, when we do something wrong, we feel bad.

Trump is humanly incapable of feeling shame. He's humanly incapable of thinking about anyone but himself. So, I think when we go down a rabbit hole of trying to figure out what does it mean when he said this, I just -- he's not a normal person and I think it's dangerous for us for anyone to treat him normal. [19:35:20]

DEAN: And we also have heard from him that if he does not win, it could only be through cheating. This is something we've heard before. Of course, this is the man that tried to convince millions of Americans that an election was stolen from him when there's no evidence that that is the case. Yet, many Americans do believe that to be true despite it not being true. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If they don't cheat, we win this state easily. Okay. They cheat. They have no shame. They cheat. Do you understand that? You, crooked people. They are the most crooked. They cheat, they cheated in the last election and they're going to cheat in this election, but we're going to get them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Again, Joe -- it's just -- it's really getting at the foundational tenants of a democracy, which is, it as a fair and free election that people can believe in the results, so they can feel good about no matter who wins, that they were counted correctly, that it was a fair and free election. And he just keeps chipping away at it.

WALSH: And Jessica, we can't gloss over this. And I'm so glad you brought this up. That's an attack on our democracy. I mean, we have to call that for what it is. That's an attack on our democracy. Donald trump is attacking our election system. He's attacking are very system,, our democratic institutions. That's an act of a traitor. Either, I win or it will be stolen from me.

To say that before an election, Jessica, anyone who says that, any candidate -- and I've been a candidate. Any candidate who says to voters, either, I'm going to win or the other side's going to cheat, those are the words of a traitor, a traitor to this country.

And Jessica, what makes me so sad having come from Trump world and I voted for Trump in 2016, and I still talk to Trump supporters every day as you said, Jessica, they've internalized this. They've lost faith in our election system. And even worse, like they now think that they've been cheated in life.

Trump tells them every day that they are victims and everything's rigged against them. This is so dangerous and it's so un-American.

DEAN: All right, Joe Walsh, we have to leave it there, but we thank you so much for your time.

WALSH: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, nearly 4,000 firefighters are working to contain the massive Park Fire in California. It's now one of the biggest wildfires in state history. We're going to take you to the front lines. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:42]

DEAN: The fast-moving Park Fire is now the largest in California so far this year, scorching more than 357,000 acres. The flames leaving a trail of destruction and devastation across entire communities.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in a hard hit area of Butte County, that's north of Sacramento. Camila, what's the latest?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRRESPONDENT: Hey Jess, it's sad to say that thousands and thousands of acres look like what you see here behind me, just so much destruction. And firefighters telling me that the center of the fire is still very active, it's still in very steep terrain, so it's difficult to access, but they have made some progress and in part, because of two things that have been beneficial, this weekend.

One, the weather, they've had cloud coverage, they've had lower temperatures and higher humidity. And the other aspect is resources. They've been able to get more resources on the ground, already about 4,000 firefighters are working this fire. And so, when you have boots on the ground, they're able to do a number of things including assessments here and coming to areas like this one to exactly how many structures have been damaged. And what they're saying is that that number went down to now 66. So, good news there.

The other thing that firefighters told me is that they were able to have direct attacks on that fire -- aggressive attacks, and that as increased, the percentage of containment from zero to 12. So, it really is the first time that we're seeing some sort of optimism from firefighters. Take a listen to what one of them told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My family, and a lot of my friends have been affected by wildfires, some of the recent ones and they just -- they just want to know what's going on. I definitely feel optimistic. We have a lot of people out here now. The problem is, it takes a while to get the resources that are requested. And now, I believe we have those.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And he mentioned his friends and family, a lot of people here in Butte County have experienced a number of fires, including the deadliest in California history back in 2018. And so, the priority for these firefighters is to get these people back into their homes safely. I was told that they're trying to do everything they can.

And one of the things that I've heard from people here is that they are taking these warnings and evacuation orders seriously because of what they've already experienced. And so, you're seeing a lot of community just coming together and the reality is, that they understand that there's still a lot of work to be done here --Jessica.

[19:45:11]

DEAN: All right, sending them our best wishes, that is a long road to go there. Camila Bernal, thanks so much.

And still ahead, a taped ankle, not stopping Simone Biles from putting on a show stopping performance the Paris Games. We are in the city of lights with highlights from day two of competition. That's next in The CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:09]

DEAN: US star power was in full effect on day two of the Paris Games. Simone Biles battling through an apparent injury to make a triumphant Olympic return. Plus team USA basketball playing its first game with Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Leading the way, here is CNN's Coy Wire in Paris with the latest.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It was a Sunday fun day at the women's gymnastics team qualifier. Celebrities, from Tom Cruise, to John Legend, to Lady Gaga in the house all to witness the GOAT in Paris, Simone Biles, in her third Olympic Games. But during her warm-ups, she injured herself. She was limping. The arena, got quiet but Simone rises up, tapes up her ankle rallies and dominates.

Her coach, told media that it's a lingering calf injury, but Biles dug deep for an iconic performance. The team qualified for the final four of the five US gymnast qualified for individual events led by Biles in four of them. So she will have a shot at five more medals here in Paris.

France's Leon Marchand has broken Michael Phelps' Olympic record, crushing the field in the 400 meter individual medley. The host nation speedboat left his competition in the whitewater finishing a mile ahead of the pack. Marchand had already beaten Phelps' world record. The host nation's fans made the atmosphere in the arena absolutely electric.

And, 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 teammate Torri Huske, the US finishing one-two with 21-year-old Huske, who missed the podium in Tokyo, becoming an Olympic champion.

LeBron James and Team USA pulling away in the fourth quarter and their opener to dominate Nikola Jokic in Serbia for their first win of this Olympics. LeBron, finishing with 21 points but US all-time leading scorer Kevin Durant came off the bench for his first game with a team and lit it up to the tune of 23 points. Final score, 110-84. And the US will play South Sudan next on Wednesday.

Finally, these are not high school yearbook photos. These teenage trio has swept the women's skateboarding street medals at these Games, Japan's 14-year-old phenom, Coco Yoshizawa, taking the gold. And 15- year-old teammate Liz Akama, winning silver as 16-year-old Rayssa Leal from Brazil, takes the bronze, an Olympic medal, and they can't even drive yet. The IOC said they wanted younger fans to watch the games, the youthh said, oh, we're not just watching we're competing and we're winning all he medals, thank you very much.

What an awesome Sunday fun day for the Olympics here in Paris.

DEAN: All right, Coy Wire. Thanks so much. And a quick look at the medal tally, as it stands now, the US n the lead with 12 overall medals, including three golds, Japan and Australia have four golds each. We'll be right back.

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[19:57:45]

DEAN: In tonight's, "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, we will look at the consequential CNN debate and the fallout that led to President Joe Biden stepping aside. CNN's Pamela Brown, sat down with Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina to talk about what happened after Biden's poor performance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Before the debate, when did you sense like he's not going to be able to do this?

REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): I don't know. I don't know when it was. I just sensed something, it is something I got from my mother. I have no idea what it is, but it's something my mother had. She always knew when I was about to get in trouble.

BROWN: Did you cry?

CLYBURN: Yes.

BROWN: Watching the debate?

CLYBURN: Yes.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Before the debate had even concluded, the White House puts out information that the president is suffering from a cold.

ZELENY on camera: I remember getting a text messages on my phone from very high-ranking Democrats saying that he's going to have to be replaced. This is a crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Pamela Brown has more now on our reporting -- Pamela.

BROWN: Well, Jessica, it is so hard to believe that just a month ago there really was no question whether Joe Biden would be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. And then the CNN debate happened and everything changed. So we really peel back the layers in this documentary and look at what has transpired over this last month and how it's really changed the course of history.

You heard there in that clip, Representative Jim Clyburn telling me that he cried when he watched Joe Biden on that debate stage. And, many other Democrats that we have spoken to, they had the same reaction, but it wasn't until over three weeks as you know that Joe Biden decided to step aside and announced that -- and now Kamala Harris is the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

So, we take a look at that time period and we also look at the motivations for Biden's first run against Trump. As you know, he didn't do so well early on in the primaries in that first run and then, of course, South Carolina changed everything and the party really coalesced around him.

So, we look at all of that. This really is a true inside look at Joe Biden, the person and the politician. We speak to lawmakers. We speak to those in his inner circle and close friends to get that inner look. I hope you'll enjoy it.

DEAN: All right, Pamela. Thank you.

We will be watching coming up next, two new hours of "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, "Kamala Harris Making History" followed by "Joe Biden Passes the Torch."

Thanks so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean, we are going to see you again next weekend.

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