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Trump, Harris Campaigns Wrap Up weeklong Campaign Blitz; Harris To Protesters: "Now Is The Time" For Israel-Hamas Ceasefire; Vance Attacks Walz's Military Services. Harris And Walz Campaign In Las Vegas Today; League Of Latin American Citizens Endorses Harris-Walz Ticket; Nevada Court Denies Motion From Republicans To Limit Mail-In Ballots; Trump's Federal Election Subversion Case Delayed; No Return Home In Sight For Starliner Crew Onboard The ISS; Boeing's Starliner Astronauts May Be In Space Another Six Months; Richardson, Team USA Grab Gold In Women's 4x100-Meter Relay; USA Women To Play France For 8th Straight Hoops Crown; USA Men Face France In Drive For 5th Straight Gold Today; U.S. Women's Soccer Chase Elusive Gold Versus Brazil Today. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired August 10, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:53]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to oh so very special edition of CNN Newsroom. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for being with us. Smerconish will be back next week.

We begin with a new snapshot of where the 2024 race stands, and a new poll from the "New York Times" and Siena College show Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump among likely voters in three key battleground states. The latest sign of an improved polling trend for the Democratic ticket since President Biden dropped his bid for re- election, Harris is leading Trump by four percentage points in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. And among likely voters trying to build on those numbers. Vice President Kamala Harris and her newly minted running mate Tim Walz doubled down on border security in Arizona, while Donald Trump and JD Vance stubbed for Senate races in Montana.

BLACKWELL: Trump's rally was his first since Harris officially secured the Democratic ticket and picked her new running mate, and he quickly slammed their campaign values.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Tim Walz is the man who is very freakish. He is very freakish. If comrade Walz and comrade Harris win this November, the people cheering will be the pink haired Marxist, the looters, the perverts, the flag burners, Hamas supporters, drug dealers, gun grabbers and human traffickers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN. Alayna Treene has more.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Victor and Amara, Donald Trump traveled to Bozeman, Montana on Friday. And it's interesting, it was actually his first rally since the weekend, and the first since Vice President Kamala Harris had finalized the Democratic ticket. And Montana, of course, is a reliably red state. When I talk to Donald Trump senior advisers, they tell me there are no concerns about his chances of winning it come November, but he instead chose to come here instead of a battleground because he was stomping for Tim Sheehy, the Republican Senate candidate. Now he is locked in a tight Senate race with the longtime Democrat, Jon Tester, and it's really considered one of the hardest fought battles for control of the Senate majority come the fall.

Now, Senator Steve Daines of Montana, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was also at that rally on Friday. And I caught up with him beforehand, off stage, and he told me that he was the one who privately encouraged Trump to come and support Sheehy so publicly. He said really that he reminded Donald Trump of the importance of having Republicans control the Senate, particularly when it would come to potentially confirming his nominees.

Now, Donald Trump did give Sheehy and other Montana lawmakers a shout out while on stage, but really his speech is very similar to what we heard at that press conference he held in Florida on Thursday. He ran through a laundry list of familiar attacks against Harris. He attacked her intelligence. He attacked her positions on the border, on the economy. He also described her running mate, Tim Walz, as someone who is radically liberal.

But one thing that was new that we saw on Friday was that he actually stopped at two separate points to show videos going after Harris. I want you to take a look at what he did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So don't take my word for it. Listen, Kamala Harris's agenda straight from her own mouth. Would anybody like to see here? Let's do it for a couple of second. Go ahead.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I am radical. We need to get radical about what we are doing and take it seriously.

TRUMP: So, you know, we have this great system. I want to show you just one other thing, please. Do you mind putting it up, please? Thank you.

HARRIS: We've been to the border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You haven't in the border?

HARRIS: And I haven't been to Europe.

I just understand the point that you're making. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Victor and Amara, I think it's very clear that we have entered a new phase of this election campaign. The attacks from Donald Trump, but also from the Harris campaign, have become increasingly nasty and ugly, and we saw that on display in Bozeman. Donald Trump repeatedly trying to undermine both Harris and her running mate's credibility, mock her intelligence, call her dumber then Joe Biden, that is where the campaign is right now.

[09:05:11]

And I think part of it, I can tell you from my conversations with Trump's team, is that he has been increasingly frustrated with the Democratic enthusiasm surrounding Harris, and that she's been able to sustain it for some of us coming from. Victor and Amara.

BLACKWELL: Alayna Treene, thanks so much.

Joining me now, Republican Strategist Shermichael Singleton, and Democratic Strategist Howard Franklin. Good morning to both of you.

Shermichael, let me start with you --

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: -- and let's put the numbers back up, this new "New York Times" Siena a college poll showing Harris up four in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and I'm looking kind of read down the side of the screen here, the margins of error here are about between 4.2 percent and 4.8 percent I feel everybody at home kind of leaning off to their right trying to read with me. What's your take on these numbers showing some surging and some strength in the Harris campaign?

SINGLETON: I mean, look, Victor, I'm not surprised based on the fundraising numbers and based on the number of volunteers the campaign, the Harris-Walz campaign have signed up over the past week and a half now I'll say. What's interesting about that "Time" Siena a poll is that the Vice President does well with likely voters. These are individuals who have said, hey, I voted in the previous election. But when you look at all voters, meaning individuals who are just registered to vote in those states, the former president has a lead by about a point or two. So that's really fascinating to me, because then it comes down to the question of, can the Trump-Vance campaign figure out a way to get those folks who are registered to turn out in November or by September, when is -- when many will start to vote early? If they can figure out a way to do that, then the dynamics of this race become almost unpredictable. We have you would have no clue of knowing which way it's going to go.

BLACKWELL: Howard, let's focus in on Michigan and the Arab American Muslim community there. Many of them in the primary voted uncommitted. I spoke to some uncommitted voters in the last hour. Earlier in the week, I think it was Wednesday, when there was a pro-Palestinian protester who heckled the vice president during a rally. She kind of gave them the I'm speaking and that squinted stare. There was a different approach last night in Arizona. Let's watch and listen this time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So let me say I have been clear. Now is the time to get a cease fire deal and get the hostage deal done. Now is the time, and the President and I are working around the clock every day to get that cease fire deal done and bring the hostages home.

So I respect your voices, but we are here to now talk about this race in 2024.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Right tone, Howard?

HOWARD FRANKLIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST. Exactly right tone. I'm a native Michigander. I know how important this issue is to a lot of my friends and family back home. I think striking a different tone for the second rally really shows that they're getting their policy shops in order, and really also underscores the benefit of having President Biden still working in the White House, able to move the ball on some really critical issues that then the Harris-Walz campaign can claim victory on.

BLACKWELL: I'm not sure yet if they're actually making any moves or progress toward that ceasefire deal, especially what we saw this morning in Gaza. But it sounds like they've changed the tone, at least, on the stump, and according to the guest I had earlier, that's something.

Shermichael, let me come back to you. And Tara Palmeri at Puck, she reports that former President Trump is longing for the days of Kellyanne Conway and the 2016 shakeup. Maybe need to shake up now. Do you think it's time for a shakeup, considering they're still trying to define the Democratic ticket and the numbers we just saw?

SINGLETON: Yes. I mean, look, Victor, it's been two weeks of almost nonstop coverage for the vice president. And if you're the Trump-Vance campaign, you're trying to figure out one, how do we disrupt the cycle? Where and how do we attack the vice president? We know the issues are going to be on the economy and immigration. But what's an effective message to make that case to those persuadable voters and those battleground states.

And I think they're still trying to figure that out. As you mentioned, Kellyanne Conway came in in 2016 and sort of saved the day, if you will. I've talked with some folks. I think that Puck news reporting is actually accurate. At some point, Kellyanne may be rejoining the 2024, campaign cycle.

[09:10:06]

And I think that's going to breathe into the campaign, fresh strategy, new direction, new messaging, and ultimately, new targeting, and how Trump and Vance should paint and draw the contrast between Vice President Harris and Governor Walz. It is going to be very, very pivotal, a victory for them to figure that out now, it's less than 90 days before November.

BLACKWELL: Howard, let's talk about Governor Walz and this criticism of how he has characterized his military service. And let's start actually with Chris LaCivita lace video, who is co-manager of the Trump campaign, but was also critical and at the center of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth against John Kerry in 2004. And he is now obviously leading this campaign. JD Vance, making accusations of stolen valor related to claims that he carried a, as he called it, weapon of war in war, although he was in Italy and not in a war zone. What's your assessment of how the Harris-Walz campaign is addressing this claim from Vance? Are they aggressive enough going after this?

FRANKLIN: Yes. I don't know that they need to be more aggressive. I would say that if Trump-Vance campaign is spending all of its fire focused on this newly introduced national figure and the VP nominee and Governor Walz, I think that they're already missing the market. They don't find a way to disqualify Vice President Harris. This is game set match.

There won't be much you could say about the vice presidential nominee that would stop folks from pulling the lever for Vice President Harris. So, I don't know that I would spend a whole lot more time on it, because every moment you spend on it is probably benefiting the actual Trump-Vance campaign.

BLACKWELL: All right. Howard Franklin, Shermichael --

SINGLETON: Well, Victor, if I could --

BLACKWELL: Go ahead. Fifteen seconds.

SINGLETON: I just want to throw out one possible idea here. If you remember, Victor, Senator Kerry waited to respond to some of those attack ads, if you recall, and it really decimated his candidacy. And so, if I were advising the Vice President and Governor Walz, I would figure out a way to craft and draft a statement, find a place for him to address this issue now versus later. I think if they wait until later, it will have an impact. She chose Governor Walz to help her in those battleground states which have majority white populations, with some of those non college educated white voters.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SINGLETON: Something like this could matter to many of them.

BLACKWELL: All right. Howard, Shermichael, thank you.

WALKER: We have breaking news we have been following closely this morning. At least 90 people are dead in Gaza following an Israeli air strike on a school and mosque compound overnight. That is, according to Gaza's civil defense. We want to caution you that some of the images you're about to see are disturbing. CNN is not able to independently confirm the number of deaths because we do not have access to Gaza. Israel's military intelligence says it struck the compound because Hamas used the site as a command center with 20 Hamas and Islamic jihadist militants operating inside the facility. That is what Israel is saying. But at this point, Israel has not provided us with any proof to back up that claim. Let's turn now to CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward.

Clarissa, what more are you learning about this and also this compound?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Amara, this is a horrific massacre, even by the standards of what we have seen in Gaza over the last 10 months. Save the Children, saying that it is the deadliest single attack on a school compound since October. Obviously, school is not in session in Gaza, but this was acting as a de facto shelter for displaced people. According to the Gaza civil defense, about 6,000 people were sheltering there, 200 of them had gathered before dawn for the fajr prayer. It's the first prayer of the day in Islam when that strike landed.

And as you said, we can't confirm the death toll. Gaza, Civil Defense saying at least 93 people killed, including 11 children and six women. I can say, Amara, that I have been scrolling through horrifying images and video from the site, and it is very clear that there are scores of dead, that there are women and children, and clearly civilians among the dead. The IDF, Israel Defense Forces, as you mentioned, is questioning the death toll. Is saying that they believe far fewer people were killed, potentially as low as 20, and they say it was a Hamas command and control center where Hamas commanders and also Islamic Jihad militants had been gathering.

But you can understand from these images that you're seeing now that this really calls into question for people in Gaza, the notion that there could be any real, meaningful steps towards cease fire agreement that the civilians there are so desperate for. And that, of course, the hostages and their families are so desperate for as well. So a very grim day in Gaza, indeed, Amara.

[09:15:21]

WALKER: All right. Clarissa Ward, thank you very much.

We are also getting new details on the deadly plane crash in Brazil. The airline has confirmed all 62 people on board were killed after earlier reports there were 61 people. And another warning to our viewers that the upcoming video may be disturbing.

BLACKWELL: Videos posted on social media show the plane's final moments. Look at this, spiraling out of the air, crashing to the ground. Investigators say the fight did not report an emergency before that 17,000 foot plunge in one minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONIA, WITNESS (through translator): I heard a very strange noise from a plane. Then I went outside and saw the plane crash into an apartment very close to my home. Black smoke appeared soon after the crash. I was scared because the crash site was so close to my home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Stefano Pozzebon joins us now from Brazil.

Stefano, give us an update of what's happening there.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Well, as you can see, Victor, this Saturday morning, we have seen a number of vehicles coming in and out of this residential complex in Vinhedo. We're about 100 kilometers west of Sao Paulo, and the plane crashed in the garden of a house in that residential complex just behind my back. We're talking about 200 feet from where we're standing.

And since we came here very early today on Saturday, we've seen several vehicles coming in and out. The firefighters have been telling us that about 200 people and 15 different agencies are at work in the crash sites because they're trying to recover as many bodies as possible and bringing them to Sao Paulo, to the capital, where forensic medics are working hard at the identification. I've asked one of the firefighters, how long does he think that identification war could last. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN MAYCON CRISTO, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SAO PAULO FIRE BRIGADE (through translator): Because of how the plane crashed, there is less damage in the front, so it was not as difficult to remove those first mileage. But as we move along to the back of the plane, there is more destruction, because the fire caused more damage in the back half. So I can't say if this work will finish in 12, 24, or 36 hours. It's impossible to say for now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: The latest is that 21 bodies have been recovered from the plane. Two of them have been already identified this morning in Sao Paulo. We'll bring you the latest, Victor, as soon as we learn more from Brazilian authorities and from the relatives of the victims who are gathering in Sao Paulo to help with the identification, but also to hear the news. Victor, Amara.

BLACKWELL: Stefano, thank you.

The judge in Trump's election subversion case is delaying her next hearing by three weeks. How the Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling is up ending this case.

WALKER: And two astronauts have now spent nearly two months longer than scheduled on the International Space Station. The plans to bring them back are still up in the air.

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[09:23:17]

BLACKWELL: The U.S. has released $3.5 billion in military aid to Israel this past week. Congress approved the funding almost four months ago.

WALKER: The funding package does not provide Israel with weapons immediately. Instead, the aid package grants Israel the right to order advanced weapons systems and other military equipment from the U.S. for delivery in the future.

New this morning, Iran says any retaliatory action against Israel will have nothing to do with the ongoing ceasefire talks.

BLACKWELL: Tensions are still high in the region after the assassination of the political leader of Hamas. CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman joins us now from Beirut.

So how is the U.S. -- how does it view Iran seeming commitments to continue with ceasefire negotiations?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, it's important to remember that Iran is not an actual participant in those negotiations, but clearly it has influence upon them. Now, the United States is hoping to convene a meeting of negotiators from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and remotely Hamas and to get some sort of agreement. They're holding out sort of the possibility of an agreement for a cease fire and a release of hostages as a way to dissuade Iran, where, of course, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Politburo, Hamas, was assassinated, as well as Hezbollah from retaliating for attacks. And this certainly, many people are seeing this as a last ditch effort to finally try to bring the violence, the bloodshed, in Gaza to an end. But the U.S. efforts to do this are at least optically undermined by the fact that, as you mentioned, they've announced less than 24 hours before that school in Gaza was hit, killing more than 30 people, announced the release of $3.5 billion in military funding.

[09:25:20]

And also the optics are very bad, because CNN, through a weapons expert has determined that the weapons used to strike the school where so many displaced people were being held in Gaza were provided by the United States. So increasingly, there's real skepticism in the region about how serious United States is. This conflict is now entering its 11th month. The death toll is very close to 40,000 at this point. And the United States just doesn't seem to be able to bring it to an end.

You know, President Theodore Roosevelt used to say that the U.S. should carry, speak softly and carry a big stick. But the impression in the region is that the United States, yes, it's speaking softly and it's carrying a tiny twig.

WALKER: Ben Wedeman, I appreciate your reporting. Thank you so much.

Both presidential campaigns have eyes on western voters this weekend. Coming up, we'll also take a look at how the road to the White House is running will depend on those battleground states.

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[09:30:54]

WALKER: Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz will make the final stop of their battleground rally tour in Las Vegas today. Harris hopes to build greater support among Latino voters and has already earned the endorsement of the League of United Latin American Citizens, also known as LULAC. The league is set to join Harris and Walz during their rally later today.

Joining me now is political reporter for the "Las Vegas Review- Journal" Jessica Hill. Hello, Jessica. Good morning to you.

Let's start with just the overall big picture on the state of the race there in Nevada, a very important swing states, six electoral votes. Have you seen renewed interest or boosted enthusiasm there since Biden withdrew and Harris got to the top of the ticket?

JESSICA HILL, POLITICAL REPORTER, LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL: Yes. Thanks so much for having me. We definitely have seen a lot more enthusiasm from Democratic voters just talking with people who are obviously very willing to vote for President Biden in the fall. But once he dropped out and Harris took over, we've been seeing just so much renewed enthusiasm, excited to get to the polls. And we're seeing that a lot with younger voters and also with Latino voters as well.

WALKER: You know, when you look at the statistics, the voter registration statistics in Nevada, as of July 2024 there are 685,000 registered non-partisan voters. So, they outnumber registered Democrats and Republicans. Clearly, they are the vote to get by these campaigns, right?

Who are they? And what do these campaigns need to do to reel them in?

HILL: Right. And some part -- a lot of these non-partisan voters are those who have registered at the DMV. They get automatically registered to vote, and they get automatically registered as a non- partisan. So, one of the reasons why we have so many non-partisan voters is because of that.

However, we also have, as I'm sure you know, a very libertarian streak in Nevada. And I think you see that in some of these non-partisans who don't particularly identify with both sides. They rather lean toward a libertarian streak. You know, get the government out of my business so -- so to say.

So, that will definitely be a key factor for both campaigns is to try to win over these voters. I think they'll have to do that with some key Nevada issues. You'll see a lot of people here who might be conservative but also are pro-abortion and just basically don't want, you know, the government telling us what to do. So, I think both sides will have to really play to that kind of streak.

WALKER: What about this endorsement from the League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC? I mean, it's the first time that the civil rights organization which, you know, works to advance Hispanic Americans, that they've ever endorsed a presidential candidate. I mean, how significant will this be?

HILL: I think it's hugely significant here in Nevada where we have a huge Latin population, especially with the hospitality workers. The Culinary Union also endorsed Harris and Walz yesterday leading up to her rally. They are the biggest or one of the biggest unions here in Nevada and represent most of the casino workers and chefs and waiters in Nevada. And that's also hugely important. They also make up a huge percentage of Latin voters as well.

WALKER: So, I know you've been writing about this, Jessica. There has been a number of election law challenges and lawsuits mostly by Republican groups, even in the Trump campaign involved in some of these. And there have been some setbacks recently. Tell us what that was.

HILL: Sure. Yes. So, there have been several attempts to -- this is one of their main core missions, the RNC this year, is to be more proactive with this litigation.

A one of their lawsuits was challenging Nevada's mail ballot laws. One was about getting it postmark. Here in Nevada, there's a rule where as long as you postmark or send your mail ballot in on Election Day, that is countable basically. Your ballot will be counted.

And the RNC and the Trump campaign, as well as the Nevada Republican Party, has challenged that, and saying that it needs to be clearly postmarked or else it shouldn't be counted at all. And then they had originally also challenged it being accepted four days after the election.

[09:35:01]

As long as it's postmarked on Election Day, it could be counted up to four days after. They were unsuccessful with both of those. They also had another litigation to clean up the state's voter rolls, which as you know, it's a little tricky with federal law that prohibits the cleaner voter rolls. I believe it's like 90 days before an election which really does limit the window that Clark County and local clerks have to really clean up those voter

rolls.

WALKER: Yes. It just underscores how pivotal the state of Nevada will be in the election. Jessica Hill, good to have you. Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Hurry up and wait. A sudden change in urgency from the special counsel Jack Smith on the federal election subversion case against Donald Trump. We'll explain why.

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[09:40:21]

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump's federal election subversion case has been delayed. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan agrees to a request by special counsel Jack Smith to push it back three weeks.

WALKER: Smith has been stressing urgency, but now he needs more time to determine how to move forward with the case after the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity. We have more now from CNN's Paula Reid.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Amara and Victor. Well Friday, that was the deadline for both sides of this case, prosecutors and Trump defense attorneys, to present Judge Tanya Chutkan with a plan for how they want to proceed with this case after the Supreme Court's historic ruling granting former President Trump some immunity from prosecution.

Now, we learned from our sources, there were a series of calls between defense attorneys and prosecutors over the past week. Now, I will tell you there is no love lost between these two teams. So, it's not surprising that they weren't able to find really any areas of common ground to present the judge.

But what was surprising, even shocking, is that prosecutors informed the defense attorneys they were going to ask for an extension. They needed more time to figure out how to proceed in this case. And that's really surprising because prosecutors have been the ones who've been pushing to try to get this case to trial before the election. Of course, now that's impossible after the Supreme Court took many months to contemplate and decide this case.

But now the judge has granted that extension. She has given them until the end of the month to present their plan and then said they'll all be back in court on September 5th to talk about the status of this case.

So, they are expected to use those few weeks to consult with other experts inside the Justice Department, the Office of Legal Counsel, others who might be able to help them interpret the Supreme Court decision and figure out exactly how this will apply to the case that they've brought and what will remain after they take out any official acts. The Supreme Court said Trump cannot be charged for official acts. But they also said you can't charge him for unofficial activity and use any official acts as evidence.

So, this is really going to require some sophisticated analysis and this will ultimately really determine what will remain of this case. Now, if Trump is reelected, he will likely have this case and the other federal case dismissed. But if he is not reelected, we'll wait and see what they do with this case. But it's going to take a few more weeks, it appears, before they figure that out. Amara, Victor.

WALKER: All right. Paula, thank you for that. Delay after delay. That's what's happening for the two astronauts now on the International Space Station for an extra seven weeks. And it looks like they'll be staying a little bit longer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:47:40] BLACKWELL: Two veteran astronauts at the International Space Station, they're not coming home yet, and they maybe won't be home until next year. Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, they took off aboard Boeing's Starliner for an eight-day mission to the International Space Station. It was supposed to last eight days but that was in June.

WALKER: How long has it been now? Several, several weeks, obviously. Right? And they've been stuck there since due to problems with the capsule's thrusters. And this week, NASA announced they may not return to Earth until February, as in like February of next year.

NASA is considering a different spacecraft to get them home but not even that would happen until 2025. Officials say the agency has until mid-August to make a final decision.

Joining us now is CNN aerospace analyst Miles O'Brien. Stuck in space. I don't know. I'm sure for astronauts, you know, they are -- are they prepared for something like this, this kind of a delay?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I suppose for an astronaut, Amara, being stuck in space is probably one place you don't mind being stuck. Having said all that, adding about six months to what should have been about a six-day mission is something that might have some pause over. Having said that as well, though, they're test pilots and they knew this could have been part of the drill if things didn't go right with this Boeing Starliner.

And boy, things have not gone right with this spaceship. It has been a real problem for NASA and for Boeing.

BLACKWELL: So, is this anything more than an annoyance mean supplies will obviously be enough? Is there any other challenge beyond just wanting to come back home if they have to stay until February?

O'BRIEN: You know, it's funny you mentioned supplies, Victor. Right before they launched -- that is to say Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who are up there and stuck, so to speak, the water circulation system on the International Space Station failed. And so, NASA asked the astronauts, hey, would you mind not bringing any extra clothing so we can pack this piece of equipment in that space. And so, they said, fine. And so, they went up there without a change of clothes.

[09:50:00]

Now, of course, there's a lot of stuff on board the International Space Station but, you know, there are no showers either.

WALKER: OK. Wow.

BLACKWELL: Wait. What?

WALKER: There are no showers. He just said there are no showers. And they don't have extra change of clothes.

BLACKWELL: I guess, it makes sense when you think about it, Miles. WALKER: Can you imagine?

BLACKWELL: I hadn't really thought about it.

WALKER: That's awful. So, what about the logistics of it? Why do they need this much time potentially until 2025 if SpaceX might be an option? And then on the other side of this, then does the Starliner come back to Earth on its own? It will be unmanned?

O'BRIEN: Yes. I'll answer the last one first. That is what NASA and Boeing are preparing for now, a possible unpiloted entry for the Starliner. It has done that twice before. That shouldn't be too much of problem. The reason it's taking so long is what they're -- they don't want to disrupt the flow of crew in and out of the space station too much.

So, there's a four-person crew that was ready to launch as early as next week and stay up there for a six-month increment. If they take two of those crew members out of that mission and for all intents and purposes, Butch and Suni become a part of that mission, freeing up two seats. But instead of just turning right back around, they will keep them all up there until that SpaceX capsule was due to leave in February. So, they've sort of been drafted into a crew position that they didn't fully expect.

BLACKWELL: What are the concerns, if any, about impacts on the physical body?

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, we've had astronauts stay up there for an excess of a year. As a matter of fact, we had an astronaut who was supposed to be up there for six months and his Russian spacecraft wasn't operating correctly. He had to stay an additional six months setting a record of over a year.

And when you stay in space for a long period of time, Victor, your bones become more brittle. Your cardiovascular system suffers a bit. And believe it or not, astronauts have difficulty with their vision frequently when they returned from space.

So, there's a series of biological consequences to this which NASA has been studying for years on the space station. And one of the big things they do is they make them work out a lot. They spend a couple of hours every day on the treadmill which kind of takes me back to that idea that they don't have a change of clothes, but we'll leave it at that.

WALKER: Well, no. No. I got to ask you one last thing. We're not going to leave it at that. No. I mean, if there is -- obviously, it makes sense, no showers, but the astronauts are able to clean themselves, right? I mean, that's --

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

WALKER: OK.

O'BRIEN: They have kind of wipes. They wipe -- WALKER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: -- themselves down.

WALKER: OK. All right. Good enough for some people.

BLACKWELL: Eight months just hitting the hotspots. Miles O'Brien, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

WALKER: Thanks, Miles.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, she says she's not back. She's better. Sha'Carri Richardson carries the Team USA and gets her first Olympic gold.

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[09:57:40]

BLACKWELL: Team USA track star Sha'Carri Richardson finally got her Olympic gold.

WALKER: Yes, she did. CNN international sports anchor Amanda Davies is live from Paris. And, Amanda, she needed to come from way behind to do it and she did.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR: She did because she really did want it. It has been such a long wait. But Sha'Carri finally got what she came here to the Olympics for and that, of course, is a gold medal.

It might not have been the hundred as she had been hoping. She took the silver in that one, you might remember. But with her USA teammates, 200-meter champion Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson, and Twanisha Terry, she put in a stunning anchor leg, as you can see, blazing past Germany, France, and team GB, to take the win. You saw exactly what it meant to her on the top step of the podium. The tears were flowing.

The script writers have got the basketball finals they were hoping for in both the men's and women's competitions, host France against the might of the USA. The women beat Australia, 85 points to 64 in the semifinal. Breanna Stewart scoring 16 points to help her side to their 60th straight Olympic victory, yes, 60th, and to their 8th straight Olympic gold medal game which takes place on Sunday.

But ahead of that, the U.S. men getting ready to feel the heat of the home crowd this evening as LeBron and co square up against a couple of familiar faces in Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, and France.

And just ahead of that, kicking off and not very long from now at all, the U.S. women's football coach Emma Hayes has said leading her team into Saturday's gold medal final against Brazil just three months after taking charge of the team, is the stuff that dreams are made of. I caught up with a her ahead of her team's final training session.

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EMMA HAYES, U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER HEAD COACH: It has been unbelievable. I mean, other than the fact they've got to travel around France. It was an incredible team. Being here in Paris, being to the Olympic village yesterday, it's honestly much better than I thought it would ever be. And I just -- I still can't quite believe that we're in a gold medal final, but one that I'm very excited for.

DAVIES: Have you allowed yourself to -- I know you pictured yourself kind of walking out at --

HAYES: Yes.

DAVIES: -- an opening the ceremony. Have you allowed yourself to picture standing on the top of an Olympic podium with a medal around your neck --

[10:00:01]

HAYES: I mean --

DAVIES: -- a gold medal around your neck?

HAYES: Yes. I mean, we can dream. Of course, you dream about those things. Of course, there is something to aspire to. And the fact --