Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Disconnect Within Trump Campaign Over Reproductive Rights; U.S. Army Rebukes Trump Campaign Over Arlington National Cemetery Incident; Trump, Special Counsel At Odds On How To Move Forward With Election Subversion Case; 2 Human Cases Of EEE Virus Confirmed In Massachusetts; First Of Three Humanitarian Pauses Begins September 1., Will Each Last Three Days; Surgeon General Calls Parental Stress A Public Issue; Parent Burnout Now Deemed A Public Health Issue; Novak Djokovic Stunned In Third Round Of United States Open. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired August 31, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: -- many cities that will be busy this holiday weekend with people headed to the beach at nearby Tybee Island. Welcome back, everyone. What are you all doing here in studio? We should all be on some beach somewhere for Labor Day weekend.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I love Savannah.

WALKER: I've been there once and I really enjoyed it.

BLACKWELL: Did you go for St. Patrick's Day?

WALKER: No.

BLACKWELL: Oh, you need to get there for St. Patrick's Day.

WALKER: Really?

BLACKWELL: Yes, it's a good time.

WALKER: There's no Lake River to diet green like Chicago. That's the only one I've been to.

BLACKWELL: Either way, it's a good time. Just hit up Savannah for St. Patrick's Day.

WALKER: Well, here's what we're watching for you this morning. The Trump campaign, Donald Trump himself and his running mate, J.D. Vance, can't seem to pin down exactly where Trump stands on abortion access in Florida or nationwide. The about face we're hearing from Trump and how the Harris campaign is looking to capitalize on it.

BLACKWELL: New this morning, more evidence that Trump's federal election subversion trial will not go to trial before the election. A late-night legal filing that's creating some new questions over the next steps in the case.

WALKER: Officials in parts of the Northeast are trying to stop the spread of lethal mosquito-borne illness. The steps that they are taking and why some residents are pushing back.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're watching a severe storm threat for the Northeast that will lead to a little bit of relief from the heat. We're tracking that cool down.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: And cue up the drums and the drumsticks. Crack a cold one is college football Saturday. We are going to have a preview for you, including the number one ranked Georgia Bulldogs haven't lost a season opener since 2013. That was two of Clemson Tigers who they faced today. Well, that and more in sports.

BLACKWELL: All right, we begin on the campaign trail where reproductive rights are back in focus. On Friday, Kamala Harris slammed Donald Trump for saying he will vote no on an amendment to Florida's abortion law. The amendment is on the ballot this November and if enough Florida voters vote no that would pave the way for a six-week abortion ban to stay in effect. But Trump's intended vote is at direct odds with his statement to Fox News made fewer than 24 hours earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT: I think six weeks, you need more time, six weeks, I've disagreed with that right from the early primaries. When I heard about it, I disagreed with it. At the same time, the Democrats are radical because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation, that way you can do an abortion in the ninth month. And you know some of the states like Minnesota, and other states have it where you could actually execute the baby after birth all of that stuff is unacceptable. So, I'll be voting no for that reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: OK, as I'm sure you all know, it is illegal to execute a baby, period, in any state, anywhere in the country. So, there is no basis for Trump's claim. This back and forth is nothing new for Trump's campaign as his stance on reproductive health continues to change and evolve.

And the Harris campaign is latching on to this disconnect. Joining us now with CNN's Daniel Strauss. Good morning, Daniel, I mean just in the past week, we've seen this flurry of activity from Trump's campaign trying to clarify his remarks what have they been saying?

DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean it depends on the day at moments the Trump campaign and Trump himself say that he is interested in something like a six-week ban or something even shorter. And at other points, the former president says he wants, quote, more weeks, and he is more moderate on this position. Now, this comes at a time that is pretty inconvenient for any Republican presidential nominee to be sort of vacillating on abortion and abortion rights.

It's only a few weeks or a few days -- it's only less than 100 days until the election. And Trump needs the support of both more moderate voters and the national electorate that generally is more moderate on abortion and the conservative Republican base that is interested in more restrictive bans. So, right now, it's pretty difficult for Trump and his campaign to navigate this.

BLACKWELL: Well, the Harris campaign has figured out how to navigate it. How are they now trying to benefit from these remarks from Trump?

STRAUSS: I mean, Harris and Democrats in general have been pretty eager to peg the former president on abortion as someone who is ultimately very interested in a federal ban and the most restrictive options available. But he may be, but they argue that he's misrepresenting his position to get elected.

And in the next weeks and months, this is how the Harris campaign plans to argue this case. They plan to hammer him repeatedly as someone who would sign or would possibly sign a federal abortion ban if it came to his desk. Now, that's despite the fact that Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, has said otherwise. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If such a piece of legislation landed on Donald Trump's desk, would he veto it?

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH): I think it would be very clear, he would not support it. I mean, he said that explicitly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But would you veto it?

VANCE: Yes, I mean, if you're not supporting it as the President of the United States, you fundamentally have to veto it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, he would veto a federal abortion ban?

VANCE: I think he would. He said that explicitly.

[07:05:12]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you veto a federal abortion ban?

TRUMP: I'm not going to have to think about it because it's working out so well right now. The states are doing it. It's a state's issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm only asking that because J.D. Vance said that you would veto an abortion ban if it was sent to your desk.

TRUMP: Well, what's happening is you're never going to have to do it because it's being done by the states. The states are voting and the people are now getting a chance to vote and this is the way everybody wanted it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STRAUSS: So, honestly this is kind of a nightmare for any comms operative on a campaign where one principal is saying one thing and another principal is saying the opposite. And it's going to, it's one of those issues that will break through at this point in the election cycle.

WALKER: Yes, Daniel Strauss, I appreciate your reporting. Thank you so much. Let's bring in CNN Political Commentator and Spectrum News Host, Errol Louis. Good morning, Errol. As you know, Trump has been consistently inconsistent on his abortion position. Decades ago, he said he was very pro-choice. And then, when he ran for president in 2016, he said women who had abortions should be punished. And now, you see these contradictions between him and J.D. Vance on a potential federal abortion ban and his waffling on the Florida abortion amendment. This is a major issue that voters on both sides care about, Errol, and Trump does not have a clear position. What's going on?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Amara. That's exactly right. He doesn't have a clear position because he's a politician who wants to win an election, and he knows he can read the polls, his staff can read the polls. They know that the referendum that would legalize it and sort of dial back that six-week abortion ban in Florida is actually very popular.

And that there are a number of states around the country, including swing states like Arizona, where there will be similar ballot initiatives in November. And so, Donald Trump is really just trying to kind of get with the flow of where the country is and when this election. Meanwhile, some of the extremists who supported him all along are pushing even further and helping to make the case that the Harris-Walz ticket has been making.

That if you let this guy go, if you let Republicans have their way, they are not going to stop because they are guided by the anti- abortion base in their party, and they're not going to stop until they have a national ban.

WALKER: But Trump is promising universal IVF coverage now, right? If, you know, he says that if he were president. But when you take into account the fact that access to IVF was jeopardized as a result of overturning, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which Trump likes to often take credit for, and also the fact that his running mate, J.D. Vance, as senator, voted against a bill that would have codified IVF. I mean, he lacks credibility on this issue then, doesn't he?

LOUIS: Oh, well, to say the least. Look, and look, when you actually ask and you hear more about his proposal, we don't have the details, but he also said, well, the government won't pay for it, insurance will, which sounded a lot to me like he was talking about folding it into the Affordable Care Act, which Donald Trump has tried to repeal and replace. So, no, there's no real consistency here. It is a devilishly tricky issue.

It's one that Republicans did not mention during their national convention, you may remember. And there's a reason for that. It's that it will get them into electoral trouble in the places where they need to do well, including Florida and Arizona.

WALKER: And the Harris campaign launching this 50-stop bus tour on reproductive freedoms, starting in Palm Beach, Florida. It all comes at an opportune time for the campaign. LOUIS: Oh, well, sure. In fact, what they're going to do is hit some of the big Democratic centers. So, they start out in the Miami-Dade area. They're going to go up to Jacksonville, which has its first woman mayor. It's going to be national signaling on this issue. Even if Democrats don't necessarily intend to try and win Florida, they're going to be in big, major media markets, and they're going to round up a bunch of volunteers. They're going to excite some of the suburban women, not just in Florida, but around the country. It's going to be a very smart couple of days for them.

WALKER: Trump is also struggling to fend off that criticism for the Arlington Cemetery controversy, that scuffle or whatever you want to call it, between his campaign photographer and a cemetery official. I mean, he was even rebuked in a statement by the U.S. Army. And he's still talking about it, defending it at rallies on Friday, once at the Moms, at a rally in Washington and a rally in Pennsylvania. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And I gave it a call, and I actually got a lot of media publicity. They said, Trump, President Trump spent time at Arlington National Cemetery taking pictures of that. It's just so disgusting. And I tell you, you haven't noticed, I get a lot of publicity. I don't need that publicity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:04]

WALKER: I mean, where this happened, Section 60, which is reserved for veterans, mostly of the Iraq and Afghanistan war, it's considered a sacred place. And this is where this altercation apparently took place. Should Trump even be talking about this at this point?

LOUIS: It would probably behoove him to either release the video that his campaign claims it has of the incident, which they have strenuously refused to do, or simply stop talking about it. There's a lot of pain. There's a lot of grief. veterans' organizations have sounded off against it.

If you know veterans personally, some of them are really quite offended by some of this. It would be, it's, you know, at best, he could say, look, it was a mistake and a misunderstanding, let's move on. But we know that the Donald Trump style is, you know, if there's a fire going on in one place, his move is normally to start another fire.

So, a day or two from now, there'll be some other outrage that you and I will be talking about. But right now, there's still a lot of pain and grief out there and it's terrible for the families involved.

WALKER: It sure is. Errol Louis, we'll leave it there. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: It's a new joint filing from Donald Trump's team and special counsel, Jack Smith. And it shows that the two parties cannot agree on how to move forward with Trump's election subversion case. It appears the case will not go before a judge before the November election. That part is clear.

While Smith's team is not offering firm dates for the next phase of the case, Trump's team recommends a schedule that would carry the pretrial disputes through the beginning of next year. The new filing comes just days after the special counsel reworked Trump's indictment to bring it in line with the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.

A community in Massachusetts is at high risk for an extremely rare, deadly disease spread by mosquito bites. We'll talk with a doctor about what's being done to keep people safe, and we'll talk about how some people in the town are fighting back.

WALKER: Plus, Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary pause in the ongoing fighting so children can get vaccinated against polio. We'll take you live to Jerusalem.

BLACKWELL: Plus, the stress parents are under is so debilitating that the surgeon general is calling it a significant public health issue. We're talking to an expert about what parents can do to curb stress later this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:16:58]

BLACKWELL: Massachusetts' health officials have confirmed at least two human cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, also known as EEE. Also, there have been two cases in horses. The state is taking extra precautions to stop the spread like conducting these aerial sprays you see here to kill the mosquitoes that carry the illness. Some towns are also closing parks at dusk and rescheduling school sports to earlier in the day to avoid peak mosquito hours.

Although EEE is rare, it is very rare, serious disease and about 30 percent of people infected die. Joining me now is Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner, Dr. Robert Goldstein. Dr. Goldstein, good morning to you. All right, so you hear 30 percent of the people infected die. That is enough to make people panic. Panic is not helpful, but a casual approach doesn't help either. So, how concerned should people there be?

DR. ROBERT GOLDSTEIN, MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSIONER: You know, good morning, Victor. And I'll say, people in Massachusetts are aware of EEE. We've had this disease in the state for some time. And I think people know to take personal protective measures to protect themselves from mosquito bites. But we do, every year, make sure that people across Massachusetts know about the risk of this very rare, but very serious disease if people contract it.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and it's not limited to the state lines. According to NIH, there were 19 human cases, 26 horse cases in the northeast U.S. in 2019, 11 human cases, 20 horse cases in 2005. What have you learned from those previous outbreaks about personal mitigation, what the individual can do?

GOLDSTEIN: Yes, we've learned a lot. We have a ton of experience about this in Massachusetts. I think first and foremost, we've learned that really simple measures can protect people. So, people can wear mosquito repellent, EPA approved mosquito repellent. People can wear long sleeves, especially in August and September when I know it's hot, but if they wear long sleeves, they can protect themselves from mosquito bites. And people can make the choice to not be outside at dusk and at dawn, which is when these mosquitoes tend to come out and tend to bite people.

BLACKWELL: Some of these towns where they have closed the public parks, the youth sports spaces at certain times, I shouldn't say closed, they place some restrictions on them. Their families, the parents are fighting back who say that they've learned from COVID restrictions that they don't need to fear these diseases, that this should be up to the parent. What do you tell those families who say these parks should not be closed because of what they learned in the COVID pandemic?

GOLDSTEIN: Well, first and foremost, I'd say that this is a very different disease than COVID, right? This is a disease that is carried by mosquitoes. You don't know when that mosquito is going to bite you. You don't know where that mosquito is going to bite you. Also, this is a disease that, as you mentioned, has a very high mortality rate, right? Also, this is a disease that, as you mentioned, has a very high mortality rate, right?

Up to 30 to even 50 percent of people infected with EEE can go on to death. It's a very different disease than COVID. And so, while I understand the fears, the concerns, the frustrations of those families that want to be out in the parks, who want to go to football games, want to be with their family on a holiday weekend, we do need to take this disease seriously, and we need to recognize that sometimes we have to take some personal protective measures to protect ourselves against deadly diseases.

[07:20:37]

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about symptoms here. Common EEE symptoms in humans: headaches, high fever, chills, vomiting. Those are common for a lot of illnesses, a lot of diseases. At what point should a Dr. Pete be consulted? What's the point of demarcation when you say, oh, this could be something far more serious?

GOLDSTEIN: Yes, you know, it's always challenging to do this, especially at this time of year when there are many different things that are floating around, right? We know that there are some people who are getting COVID. Clearly, we're worried about EEE. There are other diseases that are being spread as well.

You know, I think that people need to listen to their bodies, listen to their family members. If people have fevers during the summer, it is appropriate for them to reach out to a medical professional to ask for their advice and their opinion on how they're doing, what they might need to do. Certainly, if symptoms progress, if people become tired to the point where they can't get out of bed, if people have headaches that are persisting for a long period of time, those are signs that folks should really call a medical professional, get some help, make sure they're being seen, and make sure that they don't have something as serious as EEE.

BLACKWELL: All right, Dr. Robert Goldstein, thank you.

WALKER: Gaza reports its first polio case in a quarter century as the 10-month month Israel-Hamas war rages on. What we know about a temporary pause in the fighting to allow thousands of children to get vaccinated against the disease.

And nearly 50 million people are under threat of severe weather this Labor Day weekend. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking the trouble a little later. Now, to Coy Wire. Coy.

WIRE: Yes, Amara, you can knock her down, but she's not staying down. Caitlin Clark gets blasted, gets back up, and gets the last laugh, pulling off yet another WNBA first and what's becoming one of the next great rivalries in sports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:26:54]

WALKER: Breaking overnight, for the first time since Israel started attacks in Gaza last October, the IDF is sending messages to some Gaza residents that they can go back home. The IDF sent the message through phones and social media to those who live in three neighborhoods in central and southern Gaza but many of those neighborhoods have been destroyed.

BLACKWELL: And just hours from now fighting is scheduled to pause so children can get polio vaccinations in Gaza. Earlier this month, polio was reported in a child in Gaza, the first recorded case in a quarter century. CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, brings us up to date on this. What can you tell us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Victor, by this time tomorrow, the first phase of the vaccination program should have begun. It's going to happen in three phases. They'll do the center of Gaza first, then they'll do the south, then they'll do the north. And each phase lasts three days, and each of those three, each of those days, nine total, there'll be pauses for about seven or eight hours in the fighting.

And what they aim to do is to vaccinate all the children under 10 years of age, that's 640,000 children. So, if you just do the math there, that is about 10,000 children an hour need to be vaccinated. This has never been done in a war zone with temporary pauses. No one knows how it's going to go, and I was speaking with Sam Rose, one of the senior U.N. officials who's involved in this and he was describing this where the stakes are really high and the challenge is a monumental challenge. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: You're going to be tested to the max, what's at stake if you don't manage to get to all the children you need to get to?

SAM ROSE, UNRWA: I mean, what's at stake is a spread of polio, and right now we know of one case, one confirmed case, we don't know if there are more, we've not had the ability to check, but if the disease spreads it will be catastrophic.

ROBERTSON: Can it break out of the region?

ROSE: Who knows how far it can spread. There's a probability that it could spread beyond the borders of Gaza, indeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: But the stakes are even higher than just this one vaccination campaign, because what they need to do, they need to do all of this again, all these days and stages and phases and the 3,000 workers and the roving vaccination places out in the desert camps, all that sort of thing, they need to do it all again in four weeks. There needs to be a second dose.

So, when I asked him, OK what guarantees have you got that you're going to get these humanitarian pauses again for the second phase. He said, look, there are no guarantees. Really, they just hope to get this done and then hope again that they can get those pauses. And he said, if we don't get to do that second round of vaccination, all of this first one, it's in vain. It's two doses or it just doesn't work at all. Amara, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

[07:30:05]

66 days now until the election day and votes start to be counted. The question here, where do the candidates stand on the big issues? Well, on Monday, a two-hour special for the whole story with Anderson Cooper to examine five key issues from both candidates ahead of the November election.

One major issue, of course, is immigration. CNN's Audie Cornish takes a look at the unique hurdles that Vice President Harris faced dealing with immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Her first official trip abroad as vice president, Guatemala, in June of 2021. She talked about the role of women in economic development there.

But Harris also delivered a stark message.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States, Mexico border. Do not come. Do not come.

The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border.

CORNISH: Do not come. Do not come. What was her reaction to how that was received?

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, FOR VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: It wasn't real received coming from the daughter of immigrants and a black woman. So, that was a moment in which I think we realized that, OK, we have to talk about these things differently. Although it's the company line, we can't toe that line in the same way that Joe Biden can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: For more on this two-hour special, watch "FIGHT FOR THE WHITE HOUSE" Monday night, starting at 8:00 p.m. with Kamala Harris, 9:00 p.m. with Donald Trump. "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER".

WALKER: Parents are under pressure. Stark statistics revealed, nearly one in three parents say they are so stressed out and burned out. It's so bad, the U.S. surgeon general is calling it a significant public health issue.

We talked to an expert on what parents can do to get rid of some of that stress, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:36:59]

You know how people talk about how hard it is to raise kids these days, while chasing your career, supporting your family, trying to nurture your marriage. Well, now, the U.S. surgeon general is issuing a new public health advisory. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy calls parental stress a significant public health issue. He's also recommending a shift in both policy and cultural expectations.

Joining us now to discuss is Kelley Kitley, a psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker. Kelley is also the author of "Myself: An Autobiography of Survival". So glad that you can join us, Kelley, this morning,

I have to say, when I read that advisory, I was so heartened, because I felt so seen. You know, I think a lot of us, parents, who also have careers and just a lot going on, we're feeling overwhelmed.

A part of what Dr. Murthy wrote in his opinion piece in The New York Times also resonated with me, and it reads in part, "Parents are stretched for time. Compared with just a few decades ago, mothers and fathers spend more time working and more time caring for their children, leaving them less time for rest, leisure, and relationships. Stress, loneliness and exhaustion can easily affect people's mental health and well-being." This is my life and so many other people's lives. What is going on in this modern-day age that we're all -- so many of us are feeling so overwhelmed.

KELLEY KITLEY, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: So, thank you so much for addressing this. And as you mentioned earlier, one in three parents are feeling overwhelmed. And yes, it's a policy issue, but that is a macro level. And on a more micro level, in terms of our communities, you know, many parents feel like they're playing tug of war between parenting and working, and it is important to help each other out in community.

The opposite of isolation is connection. And so, no matter where you are on the parenting spectrum, you know, whether you have young kids or teenagers, being able to check in with one another, normalize the struggle. We're all just trying to keep our head above water and really offer a helping hand.

So, maybe it's going over to a neighbor's house and allowing them to shower while you hold their infant, or it's offering to pick a child up from a practice after school.

We need to help each other and lighten our loads, as well as recognizing that it's OK to say no and not compare our life to somebody else based on what we see on social media or just from our neighbors.

WALKER: Yes. Let's talk about that culture of comparison that Dr. Murthy talked about on CNN. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, UNITED STATES SURGEON GENERAL: They are not like contending with the usual stressors that come with being a parent, worrying about finances and safety, but they are also worried about how to manage social media and phones for their kids, something that my parents didn't have to worry about.

They're trying to figure out how to contend with a youth, the mental health crisis, and a loneliness epidemic that are hitting kids really hard right now.

So, you put all that together with this really pernicious culture of comparison that has been amplified by social media that makes parents often feel like they are constantly comparing themselves to other parents and falling short.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:40:11]

WALKER: And social media has been detrimental to our children's mental health and to also parents who are scrolling in, you know, seeing that other parents are doing it better.

KITLEY: Sure. And, you know, I think that there is a policy that will change things, hopefully in the school system and banning cell phones in schools. But it is really important to educate our kids. You know, I'm not only an expert in the field, but I'm a mom of four, and trying to navigate this for myself and model some of that.

You know, when we're sitting and scrolling, our kids are watching everything we're doing, and it is a ripple effect. So, not to put more pressure on parents to be perfect, but to really say, you know what, I'm going to put my phone in the drawer for an hour and give myself a mental health break and go for a walk. Would you like to come with me?

WALKER: There's just not enough time in the day, though, to get everything accomplished, right?

I mean, you have your 40 hour -- at least 40-hour work weeks, then, you're coming home, then, you're trying to take care of the children. How do you find that balance?

KITLEY: Sure. So, I think we're all striving for that, and some of us are better at it than others, depending on where we are in our career or the age of our children.

You know, I think the overwhelm can come from looking at the whole week. You know, that can feel overwhelming. How am I going to do this? Really, we want to break it down into more manageable steps, maybe an hour at a time, or a day at a time, and being able to be intentional about carving out time to decompress.

WALKER: And if you can also just highlight why it's so important for us parents to take care of ourselves, because how we are and how we deal with our stress will impact our children's mental health.

KITLEY: Absolutely. So, anxiety is contagious, and the more we project that onto our children, the more they pick that up. And really, we are trying to reverse the mental health crisis and not add to it. So, really being able to be present and mindful wherever we can, and if we mess up, that's OK too, forgive yourself, reset, and try again.

WALKER: And it really takes a village. And I think it's OK to reach out and ask friends, acquaintances, the parents in your children's class, to just help out whenever they can, because I'm sure you'll need that help. They will need that help someday as well.

Kelley Kitley, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: What is going on at the U.S. Open? Are you watching? First, it was Alcaraz. Now, another massive upset, an underdog from down under, pulls off a thrilling win against one of the all-time greats.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:47:17]

BLACKWELL: Nearly 50 million people are facing storm threats in the Ohio River Valley and mid-Atlantic region this morning with powerful winds and large hail.

WALKER: And fall, or autumn, whatever you call it, might have already arrived, but you don't call it autumn. I do.

BLACKWELL: I mean, it was so dramatic. Fall, or autumn, if you will. Go ahead.

WALKER: Have arrived in the eastern half of the U.S. for Labor Day weekend as temperatures drop. Not here, unfortunately.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking for us. Hi, Elisa.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi. We will find those temperatures, even in Atlanta, starting to get a little bit cooler as we go into the workweek. But we're starting to see that front already pop some thunder and lightning from Cleveland over towards Buffalo this morning, a little bit of a loud and noisy start with some of those storms.

As we go through the day today, we will have that threat for damaging winds and large hail, especially in that yellow area. That level two out of five slight risk, includes places like Pittsburgh. Then, you can see that marginal risk, Philly, Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia.

So, there is that front. We'll find showers and storms igniting later on this afternoon and evening and plowing through that I-95 corridor. Then, by tomorrow, the front goes to the south.

You've got some storms from Charlotte to Atlanta, and then going into Monday as well. That high pressure that comes in will bring in again, another dose of some cooler air.

This is after we've been sweltering this week. D.C. hit 101 degrees the other day. Temperatures have already dropped to 79 degrees and will continue to stay on the cooler side as this front passes.

So, you could see, by Monday, we are starting out with these temperatures, again, about five to 10 degrees cooler from St. Louis over to Syracuse. And then, by Tuesday and to Wednesday, that cooldown starts to get into the south. Temperatures, about 10 degrees below normal from Charlotte to Atlanta. Again, a little bit cooler temperature is getting, you know, under 90 degrees.

Still at 90 on Monday, but getting cooler there. Temperatures in the upper 70s in New York City. Again, D.C. at 80 after being at 101 earlier this week. Guys.

WALKER: Elisa, thank you. Well, Labor Day weekend also means college football is back in full force.

BLACKWELL: All right. Coy is with us. Some pretty great games all day. Really, all weekend. Coy Wire, what you got?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. So, unofficial end of summer time. But what a way to welcome the fall with some football, maybe.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: The autumn.

WALKER: The autumn.

WIRE: Autumn, rather.

BLACKWELL: Autumn, if you will.

WIRE: If you will.

Number one, Georgia. They are taking on 14, Clemson. Both teams have multiple titles the past 10 years. They are squaring off right here at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. You've got Florida and Miami, down at the swamp in Gainesville, renewing their rivalry for the first time in five years.

Number seven, Notre Dame going deep in the heart of Texas to play A&M.

Another top 25 battle tomorrow, Amara Walker's USC Trojans and LSU, they are playing in Vegas. What's happening at the U.S. Open? For the first time since 2017, Novak Djokovic is going to miss a year without winning a major.

[07:50:02]

Stunned in the third round by 25-year-old Australian Alexei Popyrin on and popping. He never made it past the third round at any slant when he goes off against the GOAT. Winning the first two sets.

Joker took the third, but watch this, tied at two in the fourth, fully extended. Popyrin, perfect. He starts hyping up the crowd, and everyone can feel the upset now. And here it is. Joker is going to hit this one long.

Upset complete. Popyrin taken down Goliath. He said this was the moment he'd been waiting for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXEI POPYRIN, WORLD NO. 28: It's unbelievable, because I've been in the third round about 15 times in my career, but I haven't been able to get past to the fourth round. And to be able to do it against the Greatest of All Time, to get into the fourth round is unbelievable, you know?

So, yes, it's a great feeling, and all of that paid off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Coco Gauff, also moving on, keeping her title defense alive. After dropping the first set to Elina Svitolina, Coco needed to shake things up a bit. Cool off. She didn't use the restrooms, she said, hit the reset button. And when she came back out, she was hotter than summertime in New Hampton. She breezes through the next two sets for the win. Look out.

Also looking out for Dodger, superstar Shohei Ohtani. Watch him here. Second inning against the Diamondbacks. Ohtani stealing another base, his 43rd of the season, and then in the eighth, he doesn't need to sprint here. He hits his 43rd home run of the season.

Dodgers win 10-9. Ohtani now one step closer to becoming the first ever to register a 50/50 season. No one else has ever even notched 43 homers and steals like he has.

Now, the biggest budding rivalry in sports around Caitlin Clark, Indiana, Angel Reese in Chicago, most expensive WNBA ticket of the season last night, averaging 385 bucks, but it was all Clark, dropping a career night 31 points, making more history too.

First player in W history with a 30-plus point, 12 assists, and five three pointers. Some of them from way downtown. Clark had Chicago sounded like a home game in a 100-81 to win.

Victor, Amara, they started the season one and eight. Now, they are above 500 and they are six seed currently in the playoffs, they are rolling.

WALKER: Amazing.

BLACKWELL: That's good. That ticket price is getting up a bit.

WALKER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: That's a good thing though. 385?

WIRE: (INAUDIBLE)

BLACKWELL: That's good.

WALKER: What a hard for me to take my kids one day. But, hey, my daughter.

WIRE: You're right.

WALKER: Thanks, Coy, good to see you.

WALKER: All right. Brazil's highest court blocks, Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter. Why the country's 200 million people cannot get onto that platform this morning?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:57:03]

BLACKWELL: All right, taking a look at this morning's headlines, the U.S. military says 15 ISIS operatives are dead after an early morning raid in western Iraq. U.S. Central Command confirms the operatives were armed with grenades and explosive suicide belts. Both U.S. forces and Iraqi security personnel were part of the operation on Thursday.

WALKER: Police in California have arrested a man accused in the suspected deaths of an elderly couple, who have been missing for nearly a week from their home at a nudist ranch in the Redlands. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL BAKER, SPOKESPERSON, REDLANDS POLICE: San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department brought out a cadaver dog, deployed that dog at the site of the suspect's home, where the suspect was arrested. The dog did alert, indicating the presence of a body somewhere underneath the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The suspect is the couple's neighbor Michael Royce Sparks was arrested Friday. He is being held on murder charges.

BLACKWELL: People who live in Brazil can no longer access Elon Musk's X, after Supreme Court judge there suspended the social media platform. He said the company failed to name a legal representative in the country after a deadline was imposed.

The court also rules anyone who tries to access X through a VPN will be facing a fine of nearly $10,000 a day. Musk is accusing the judge of censorship and destroying free speech.

WALKER: The FAA has cleared SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to fly again just two days after it was grounded when a part of its rocket booster exploded while attempting to land. It is now back on track for two high-profile missions.

One is taking a crew of civilians to attempt the first ever commercial spacewalk, and then, SpaceX is also planning to take a pair of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, as well as bringing Boeing's Starliner test crew back to Earth in early 2025. Both missions have been hampered by technical issues and bad weather.

All right, it's a time again of the morning. "FIRST OF ALL," Victor Blackwell. I almost mispronounced your name. Victor Blackwell is up next. What's coming up?

BLACKWELL: All right. So, there is a call for Republican members of the State election board here in the battleground state of Georgia, to resign or be removed. President Trump called them out by name in a rally in Atlanta. They recently passed new rules that even fellow GOP members that they are causing chaos, they are warning.

One of the Republican members of that election board is here in studio to respond.

Plus, a crisis that is just not getting enough attention. Tribes across the country are dealing with a food shortage, all because of distribution issues have been going on for months. What the USDA is telling us now?

And Billy Porter is here, the Grammy, Tony, Emmy award winning actor is headlining global black pride here in Atlanta. We'll talk about that. The state of LGBTQ issues ahead of the presidential race, and his new projects.

[08:00:00]

WALKER: Looking forward to that. Have a great show, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Thank you very much. Let's start it right now.

END