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Manhunt Underway For Kentucky Highway Shooting Suspect; Trump Calls For Modifying 25th Amendment To Impeach Vice Presidents; 90,000 Fans At Georgia Bulldogs' Game Observe Moment Of Silence. Putin Trolling U.S. Election; Ukraine and Russia Launching Deadly Air Attacks; Harris and Trump Presidential Debate. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired September 08, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:56]

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: We start with breaking news in Kentucky, where right now police are searching for an armed and dangerous man they say is behind a shooting along the interstate that left several people injured.

Good Sunday morning, everyone. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here's what we know. The shooting happened yesterday in a rural area of Laurel County, Kentucky. That's about 80 miles south of Lexington. Investigators have released this man's name, Joseph Couch. He's a person of interest. But the search has been hampered by the rugged terrain in the area.

WALKER: Deputies say nine vehicles were shot into and the crime scene covered both the north and southbound lanes of the interstate. All five victims were taken to the hospital in stable condition. One woman who was driving from New York to Tennessee described the shock of realizing someone had fired shots at her vehicle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA DINOTO, SHOOTING VICTIM: -- loud sound and it sounded like a rock went through my back window and our ears were ringing and we just looked at each other and we were like, was that a gunshot? And then we're like, that can't be a gunshot, you know, because we're driving down the highway.

And there was a white truck that was next to us in the right hand lane and all of a sudden he slowed down and he pulled off to the shoulder. And we thought maybe it was his tire had blown out or something, but it was much louder than a tire blowing out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right, joining us now is CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst and former Washington D.C. Police chief Charles Ramsey. Good to see you this morning. Let's talk about the search for this person of interest. I mean, what are law enforcement up against right now, considering that this is a rural area heavily wooded and the fact that several hours have passed now?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, the fact that it's heavily wooded and rugged terrain as it's described, you couple that with darkness because dawn is just beginning, it makes it very difficult. So they have to wait until they have sufficient daylight in order to begin a search.

But if the scene is anything like it's being described, it's going to take a lot of resources in order to thoroughly search and conduct a grid search of that area, not only with people, but also using canines, perhaps helicopters. You know, you can literally be 3 feet away from an individual in a heavily wooded area and not see him. And so it's very, very challenging.

BLACKWELL: If they believe that this person of interest was targeting the cars on the interstates and they don't know where he is and they don't know more of a motive, would you have expected they would have reopened the interstate?

RAMSEY: Well, they obviously have a lot more information than we have at this point in time. It's my understanding, at least from reports that are out there that they do have an area where they believe the suspect is located. They probably have had that locked down best they can since they learned of that location.

Now, whether that means that they found a car, if he was in a vehicle, and they found a car abandoned someplace or other information coming from a tip or whatever, I don't know. But at some point in time, you want to reopen the interstate because they don't believe that individuals in a position to be able to threaten anyone else who may be driving down I-75.

WALKER: Yes, we obviously don't know right now whether or not he was in a moving vehicle if this is indeed the suspect or the person behind the shooting, but we don't know if the shooter was static or was in a moving vehicle when this happened. But can you talk about just how dangerous he could potentially be given what we know?

RAMSEY: Well, he's very dangerous. I mean, if you're just shooting randomly at cars driving down an interstate, then obviously that shows a disregard for human life. I mean, we're very fortunate. We don't have any fatalities at this point in time.

So it would be wise to be very, very careful. And certainly not to try to if you're a civilian, not to try to approach this individual, should you see him. You should be very, very cautious because this person has displayed the fact that they again have very little regard for human life. They're very, very dangerous and you have to assume there still aren't.

[07:05:13] BLACKWELL: The mayor of the town of London, which is the town closest to where this shooting or these shootings they happened says to the people live there, quote, "If you think you hear something outside of your home, please do not go outside shooting." I don't remember hearing that in a situation like this before the gun culture there requires this. How does that play into the search, the deployment of first responders, the information with people in that area?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, it would make sense. I mean, you're talking about a part of the country where you probably have a lot of people that have firearms. People are nervous as they should be when something like this happens in your area. And if you hear a noise outside, you know, the tendency would be to go outside and be armed.

If you shoot at something and you don't have a target in sight, then it can pose a great threat either to a neighbor, to law enforcement to anyone else. So you're better off. Just stay inside, lock your doors and your windows. Just stay inside shelter in place until the -- until law enforcement gives an all clear.

WALKER: The fact that police have a person of interest so soon, what does that tell you?

RAMSEY: Well, they either got a tip or the individual is in a vehicle. Someone may have gotten the license tag. They were able to run it and come up with this individual. And after they get a background on him, felt pretty comfortable that this was probably a pretty good person of interest to be concerned about.

And so, I don't know exactly how that took place, but they got that information relatively quickly considering the fact that you're talking about, you know, shots being fired on an interstate. I don't know. It could have been road rage is part of it but so many vehicles were shot.

I just don't know if road rage was really a motive or if this was an individual just bent on causing harm to others and use the interstate. Unfortunately, it is the place to do it.

BLACKWELL: Yes. There are some details that obviously have not been released. Either officials don't know them or they're so sensitive to the investigation and the search that they're holding those. So I will continue to follow what's happening there in Laurel County.

And Chief Charles Ramsey, thank you so much for helping us kind of walk through this search.

Critical timeline in the race for the White House. We're now 58 days out from the presidential election. And in two days, former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris will face off in their first debate.

WALKER: Harris spent Saturday in Pennsylvania, where she is buckling down to prepare for the debate and Trump held rally in Wisconsin. He made some digs at the Harris campaign, accusing her of a cover up regarding Biden's fitness for office, though there is no evidence of that. But Harris took those comments in stride.

And during a surprise visit at a local store in Pittsburgh, she took a moment to bond with supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come here. What is that about? What is that about? What is that about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't understand. I'm pretty sure you know.

HARRIS: It's going to be good. We're going to be good. We're going to be fine. We're going to be fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: And this morning we're getting a better look at Harris's plans post-debate. She will waste no time getting back to campaigning with her running mate Tim Walz and their spouses. A battleground blitz they're dubbing the New Way Forward Tour.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Eva McKend joins us now. What else are we learning?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor Amara, while the Vice President remains in debate prep mode here in Pittsburgh, the campaign giving us a sense of how they're going to build out the rest of the week. The Vice President will campaign in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Governor Walz will be in Michigan and Wisconsin. And their respective spouses will be fanned out across the country as well. Think community events, think rallies, think canvas kickoffs. Ultimately, there is going to be a presence, a campaign presence, in every battleground state.

And this will coincide with a new ad that will focus on lowering costs. They are billing this as the New Way Forward Tour. That is, of course, something Republicans have taken issue with. It has faced scrutiny from Republicans because they argue that the Vice President can't credibly argue that, given that she is currently in the administration.

Well, we have seen the Vice President depart from President Biden on some key issues as it relates to economic policy, for instance, on the capital gains tax rate, for instance. We don't know if we are going to see the Vice President again emerge from those intense preparations.

We did see her yesterday at that spice shop, very much on brand for the Vice President, who likes to talk about her love for cooking.

[07:10:00]

The goal of the campaign, though, was for her to both prepare here, but also to be out and about in the community getting critical face time with battleground voters ahead of Tuesday's pivotal debate. Victor, Amara? BLACKWELL: Eva McKend in Pittsburgh, thanks so much.

Donald Trump is calling for a modification of the 25th Amendment to allow Congress to impeach a vice president for covering up a president's incapacity at a rally in Wisconsin Saturday.

WALKER: Trump and his allies have repeatedly, and without any evidence, accused Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats of covering up the state of Biden's health and mental fitness following Biden's disastrous debate performance.

CNN's Alayna Treene is in Wisconsin with more.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Amara and Victor, Donald Trump spoke for nearly two hours in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday. And look, this is a very important battleground state for the Trump campaign. They recognize that Wisconsin is key to their pathway to achieving or securing, I should say, 270 electoral votes come November.

And it's even more important now that Kamala Harris is the one at the top of the Democratic ticket. I can tell you. before Joe Biden ended their campaign, Trump's team was more confident about their chances here. However, recent polling has shown that Harris is actually doing slightly better than Donald Trump here in this state. She's been making up ground, and so you're going to see a lot more of Donald Trump in Wisconsin, I'm told, over the next two months.

Now one big thing that he talked about a lot on Saturday as well was the economy. We know that the economy is the number one issue for most Americans ahead of November, but it's also an issue where Donald Trump is polling better than Harris. And we heard this comes after, of course, his big speech last week, where he addressed the economic club of New York and walked through for the first time at the specifics of his economic policy.

He did that again on Saturday. But one thing as well that he -- I want to -- I think is very noteworthy is we actually heard something new from him on Saturday as well, where he brought up for the first time that if he was elected, he would look into changing the 25th Amendment.

I want you to take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And finally, I will support modifying the 25th Amendment to make clear that if a vice president lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incapacity of the president of the United States, if you do that with a cover up of the president of the United States, it's grounds for impeachment immediately and removal from office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So there you heard him say it is grounds for impeachment or the immediate removal from office. Of course, this is playing into his rhetoric around how Kamala Harris has been maybe covering up for Joe Biden. Of course, there is no evidence to support that, but it is something that of course plays very well with his base. It was playing well with his crowd on Saturday.

And, look, a lot of what you heard in that speech is what you're going to hear on Tuesday when he faces off with Kamala Harris on the debate stage. When I talked to Donald Trump's campaign about his preparation, they say these type of events, his rallies, the town hall, such as the Fox News town hall he did last week with Sean Hannity, that is his version of preparing.

But, of course, even though they have an aversion to the word preparation, they say he likes to do informer policy sessions. He is preparing behind the scenes. He has been meeting with advisers, meeting with outside allies, all in an effort to hone his focus on the key issues for Tuesday. And I think you're going to hear a lot of what you heard on Saturday on that debate stage next week.

Amara, Victor?

WALKER: Alayna Treene, thank you for that.

Joining us now is Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, Lynn Sweet. Good morning to you, Lynn. Good to have you.

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Good morning.

WALKER: So let's start off with this new poll from the New York Times and Siena College. And once again, we're not seeing a clear leader in this race. 47 percent for Kamala Harris and 48 percent for Donald Trump goes without saying that a lot is going to be riding on this debate Tuesday, won't it?

SWEET: Yes, it will because neither candidate got a substantial bounce out of their respective conventions that put him in a clear lead on it. The point is, as I know some of our viewers know, this is a national poll, which is a little different in terms of a barometer than the crucial polls of the battleground states.

Still, it shows a basic tie with the momentum going in Harris's favor. Usually, you'd rather have the momentum going in the favor in your -- if you're a candidate in your favor, even if you're a point or two behind or within the margin of error. So, this does this poll, does put kind of a dramatic benchmark to where the candidates will be when they meet in their first time showdown on Tuesday night.

WALKER: Even though Harris has the moment as you say, or the wind at her back, is her campaign approaching the debate as Harris as an underdog, given that this is going to be the seventh general election debate that Trump has had, I mean, the most for any candidate in history?

[07:15:05]

SWEET: Well, the underdog status is one that Harris has claimed. It's always better to lower expectations than to, you know, raise them because then all you have to do is come out of the debate with doing the first rule of political debates, which is do no harm.

So, the fact that Trump is a more seasoned debater, though, does not necessarily help him going into Tuesday because he has some crucial decisions to make. Can he use his -- the way he has done these past debates, can he bring that to the table Tuesday because that includes bullying and constant interrupting that may not work as a tactic on Tuesday.

WALKER: We heard Tim Walz last night attacking J.D. Vance regarding his comments on gun control in the wake of the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School here in Georgia. Listen to what both had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't like this. I don't like to admit this. I don't like that this is a fact of life. But if you're -- if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets and we have got to bolster security at our schools.

TIM WALZ, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's a fact of life. Some people are gay. But you know what's not a fact of life? That our children need to be shot dead in schools.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: I should mention for context, Tim Walz was at a dinner, a human rights campaign dinner, which is an LGBTQ plus advocacy group. How will gun control and the debate over gun control play given that we know that the big issues for voters have been the economy, abortion, immigration? Is this going to be something at the forefront of voters' minds?

SWEET: In some areas, it will be. And here is where there is the distinction. The-- and this goes back to even the weapon used in this latest tragic shooting in Georgia, the mental state of the shooter of course is a factor, security in schools is a factor.

The crucial differences is that when it comes down to a decision to murder people, if you have access to a AR style weapon, you could kill more people faster. So the point of what the Harris campaign is saying in my analysis is, you don't have to say you're against some of the things Vance and other people are suggesting, but you also can be for banning these military style type weapons so that when it comes out to, as Vance would say, the -- I don't want to mentally deranged person, to doing it, they don't have access to the weapon.

That, I think, is the nut of what we'll be hearing in the debate ahead. And especially when you look back to these swing states, back to the suburbs and suburban swing women voters, this is a message that may resonate in these elections where just a sliver of people can decide the major issues plus the other issues like gun issues in terms of having an end slaughters could be a factor.

WALKER: Lynne Sweet, good to have you this morning. Thank you.

SWEET: And thank you.

WALKER: And tune in to CNN for complete coverage and exclusive analysis before and after the debate. The ABC News Presidential Debate will be simulcast Tuesday night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: Still to come, Ukraine and Russia launch deadly air attacks along their borders overnight. The latest on the war in the region.

Plus the death toll from Typhoon Yagi is rising after the storm made landfall in Vietnam over the weekend. We'll have the latest on the path.

And a stadium of more than 90,000 football fans stood for a moment of silence for the Apalachee High School shooting victims. The latest next.

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[07:23:36]

WALKER: The Georgia Bulldogs showed solidarity and support with the Winder, Georgia community impacted by the mass shooting in Apalachee High School.

BLACKWELL: Right before kickoff to the game against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, the Bulldogs observed a 12-second moment of silence together. More than 90,000 fans stood in silence to remember and honor the two teachers and two students who were killed last week. The team also acknowledged the bravery of the first responders and the faculty and the students affected by the school shooting.

WALKER: We have new details this morning about the investigation into that deadly school shooting. CNN has confirmed that the mother of the 14-year-old suspect called Apalachee High School before the shooting about a, quote, "extreme emergency."

BLACKWELL: The Washington Post first reported this information. Now the paper quoted the suspect's aunt who said that the teen's mother called the school about 10 minutes before 10:00 a.m. Police got word of the shooting half an hour later.

In the meantime, members of the community are helping each other in this time of grief and CNN's Rafael Romo has more of that.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Residents, teachers, current and former students, police, people from neighboring towns and even from outside Georgia, all of these people and others have stopped here at Apalachee High School in Winder to pay their respects.

And also on Saturday, a group of bikers showed up. They brought flowers, they placed in the impromptu memorial set up around the flag flying at half-mast in honor of the deceased. Then, they all made a big circle holding hands and a minister said a prayer.

[07:25:07]

Several men had previously carried a giant wooden cross into the circle. It's all an effort to tell this community that they are not alone in this moment of crisis that they are loved and supported. Let's take a listen to what one of those people have to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a biker community, that's what we do. We rally around our neighbors. Our kids go to school in this school system. We want to be here to support, you know, all the kids, families, first responders just to show up, you know, for them in this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: When we first arrived here, there were dozens of flowers around the memorial. Now it's probably in the hundreds. Earlier, I spoke with a couple of former students who told us the reasons they felt they needed to be here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just crazy that anything like this could happen in, like, our town. Like, there's no space for gun violence, and so this happening at all is, like, it's just shocking. Our school doesn't stand for this, and we don't accept gun violence in the school. Like, there's no space for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just a loving community. We're small, man. We're all like cautious this just shouldn't have happened. And I really feel for everyone like, you know, going to the school again. Now we went to school and no worry in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: There was supposed to be a football game here Friday night, but the game was canceled. And for the time being, classes are suspended as well here at Apalachee High School, although other Barrow County schools will resume classes on Tuesday.

A community recovery center is set to open here in Barrow County on Monday to support those affected by the shooting.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Winder, Georgia.

WALKER: Rafael Romo, thank you.

Vice President Kamala Harris picked up a curious endorsement from Russian President Vladimir Putin this week. Wonder what Donald Trump had to say about that. Trump's response after the break.

Plus the NFL season is here, and so is Carolyn Manno. Carolyn?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, get ready for five months of fireworks every Sunday, ending with Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans. Football season is officially upon us. You've got what you need to know for week one today. We'll start slow coming up.

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[07:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Russian President Vladimir Putin raised some eyebrows with a recent endorsement in the U.S. election. He jokingly said he supports Vice President Kamala Harris over Former President Donald Trump. CNN's Brian Todd explains how Putin's trolling could be part of broader election interference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vladimir Putin responded to a U.S. crackdown on alleged Russian election interference with more election interference. The Russian president claims his preferred candidate was Joe Biden, but --

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): He was removed from the race, and he recommended all his supporters to endorse Ms. Harris. Well, that is what we will do, too. We will support her. And also, she laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means she's doing well.

TODD (voice-over): Putin's comment drew a sharp rebuke from the White House.

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: Mr. Putin ought to stop talking about our elections, period. We would greatly appreciate it if Mr. Putin would, A, stop talking about our election, and, B, stop interfering in it.

TODD (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump also quickly jumped in, posting on Truth Social, quote, "President Putin would much rather see comrade Kamala Harris in office, as he strongly said."

Could Putin be using reverse psychology in publicly supporting Kamala Harris?

BRET SCHAFER, ALLIANCE FOR SECURING DEMOCRACY: Do I think he prefers a candidate? Do I think he prefers Trump? Probably. But what he really prefers is for us to be more at each other's throats. So, he's playing us against each other, which is what he's done for years.

TODD (voice-over): This comes as CNN learns the identity of a Tennessee-based company that the Justice Department says was funded by Russian operatives as part of a Kremlin-backed campaign to influence this year's U.S. presidential election. A U.S. official briefed on the matter tells CNN that company is Tenet Media. Prosecutors say Tenet Media, with Russian money, hired right-wing social media personalities to fuel Russian narratives.

Among those stars, content creators Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, and Dave Rubin. Combined, those three have about six million subscribers on YouTube alone. Pool once interviewed Donald Trump on his podcast. Benny Johnson interviewed Eric Trump. Tim Pool's show, Timcast, features opinions that the Kremlin might want to see broadcast as widely as possible.

TIM POOL, HOST, TIMCAST: Ukraine is the enemy of this country. Ukraine is our enemy.

TODD (voice-over): All three of those stars say they were deceived in this scheme, that they are victims, that they created their own content without input from anyone.

BETH SANNER, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I do think that these people do have responsibility at least to understand whose paying them.

TODD (voice-over): In 2016 and 2020, officials say, the Russian election meddling campaign against the U.S. involved hacking and releasing e-mails to embarrass politicians and establishing dummy accounts to spread disinformation. How much has that campaign evolved since then?

SCHAFER: It's evolved significantly. But that's why the Tenet thing was so sophisticated and smart, is they found real Americans, Americans who are influential, who have massive audiences, and they were trying to manipulate that platform.

TODD: Analyst Brett Schafer says one of his biggest worries going forward is that whatever election meddling activity the Russians have been doing that the U.S. has caught, that they could be doing 10 times more of it that hasn't been caught. He likens it to trying to catch drug smuggling across the southern border.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right. Brian, thank you.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Here are more headlines this morning. Ukraine and Russia launched air attacks overnight, killing at least two people. The air attacks happened along the border regions early this morning. Four children are among the injured in both countries. Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down a missile and more than a dozen attack drones launched from Russia.

[07:35:00]

We're getting video from the aftermath of a typhoon in Vietnam. It made landfall yesterday about 75 miles east of Hanoi, killing at least 14 people, including four who died in a landslide. Typhoon Yagi's force was equal to a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mile per hour winds. Heavy rain has continued through the weekend as officials try to assess the damage.

In just hours, Buffalo Bill safety Damar Hamlin will step onto the NFL field for his first official game start since a frightening health scare. It was back in January of 2023 that Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a game and collapsed. Hamlin told reporters has returned today against the Arizona Cardinals is quote, "truly a blessing."

BLACKWELL: Two days now, two days until the big debate in Philadelphia. Kamala Harris, Donald Trump on the stage together. In a moment, we'll talk about the shaping of the message around the debate.

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[07:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Tens of millions of Americans will be watching live on Tuesday night for this highly anticipated presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Trump. The rules are set. The debate is now about to begin.

Now, both Harris and Trump have a lot at stake for this debate. A new CNN Poll of Polls shows a tight race, no clear leader here with Kamala Harris at 49 and Trump at 47. Joining me now is CNN Media Chief Analyst Brian Stelter.

Stelter is back on the Sunday morning show. Good to have you. Good to see you. So, let's talk now.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Great to be back.

BLACKWELL: Good to have you back. Kamala Harris, her first debate as a nominee. The seventh for Former President Trump. But this isn't Hillary Clinton, this is not Joe Biden. Is he approaching this any differently than the previous six?

STELTER: His advisers say he is not. You know, that all the report indicates that he's taking this easy. He's taking this casually. He doesn't have debate prep, so to speak. He has what they call policy time just to refresh his memory about what he might say on stage.

But, you know, that is why this contrast is so striking for the debate on Tuesday. All eyes are going to be on Harris. The attention is going to be on Harris because she's the new one. She's the new nominee. She's the new debater. This is her first debate this year. We've already seen Trump debate Biden. So, you know, Harris -- Trump's going to want to make this all about Harris. And of course, we know what she wants to do, she wants to make it all about him.

So, we're going to see a very, very interesting verbal tug of war. And it's the kind of thing I think students are going to study in school decades from now because it's such an unusual setup, because Trump has debated so many times because Harris is brand-new. There are just so many variables that make this an unusual debate.

BLACKWELL: Yes, let's put that social media post up that we had just a second ago. Two days before the debate now, Trump posted, no boxes or artificial lifts will be allowed to stand on during my upcoming debate with Kamala Harris. It would be a form of cheating and the Democrats cheat enough.

What's happening here? Is this just kind of putting down the false predicate for a claim down the road? STELTER: I think for several weeks, we have seen Trump's camp make false claims about the debate negotiations, trying to suggest that Harris was asking for things, whether she was or not, you know, we know that Harris campaign did want the mics to be live and not muted. That's real. But the idea that she needs something to stand on, you know, they're just injecting these ideas to make her sound weak, to make her look weak. And of course, it's part of a pattern we've seen from Trump in the past.

BLACKWELL: Kamala Harris' rapid response on social media, 1.3 million followers on X, 4 million on TikTok. This is what they posted this weekend from this rally in Wisconsin, Trump talking about the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

OK. We don't have that sound, but there has been this tonal shift from the Biden campaign to the Harris campaign. Is it effective?

STELTER: In some ways, this is like the podcast election as well as the TikTok election. And, you know, what those formats and what those platforms have in common is more of a personal connection, more of an emotional appeal. We know that's what Harris and Walz have been focusing on on the campaign trail.

So, I think there is a reason to believe it's affected to some degree. But in a race that's too close to call, in a race with no clear leader, hard to know what exactly is the most important variable. I do think what's notable about Harris and Walz and their campaign strategy with the media is that they're pursuing an all of the above strategy, trying to be everywhere, but they're also being incredibly disciplined, right? Giving far fewer interviews than journalists would like to see, but showing up on many, many different platforms, right? Creating videos that are intended to go viral. And frankly, they're doing a lot more of that than the Trump campaign is, at least right now.

BLACKWELL: Let's stay with social media here and talk a bit more about what Brian Todd just reported on. The Justice Department saying that some of the biggest names in social media on the right were unwittingly part of a Russian operation to influence the election that's a few months away. Close to $10 million funneled into this tenant media in Tennessee, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, they're commentators.

[07:45:00]

Tell us about their reach and in the context of 2016, and what we saw from Russia, the significance here.

STELTER: These streamers, these web bloggers, it's hard to measure exactly how many millions of people they reach, but we do know that these have -- they are widely popular on the far-right. You know, this all goes back to what we started covering in the beginning of the Trump presidency, right? That Russian campaign, one of the first times Donald Trump ever called real news, fake news was in 2017. He was responding to Russian interference. Russian propaganda wormed its way in back then. Trump claimed it wasn't real. And here we are at again, right? You can't do much about ignorance. You know, today Trump claims this is a scam again. You can't do much about ignorance, but what you can do is prosecute crimes. That's what the DOJ is doing. That's what we're seeing. We'll find out who was innocent. We'll find out who was guilty. But that is one way to pursue this problem of Russian interference.

BLACKWELL: Ryan Stelter. Enjoy the Sunday.

WALKER: All right. Still to come, a cool off is on the way after days of scorching heat out west. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is after the break.

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[07:50:00]

WALKER: We're following developments in the breaking news out of Rural Kentucky. Authorities tell CNN the person of interest in yesterday's shooting on I-75 has been cornered in a wooded area. Joseph Couch is described as armed and dangerous, but they say he poses no threat to the wider community at this time. A spokesman with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office says a special team will go into that wooded area to get him soon.

Now, deputies say nine vehicles were shot into and the crime scene covered both the north and southbound lanes of the interstate. Five victims were taken to the hospital, but they are in stable condition.

Excessive heat is fueling the wildfire threat in California. Thousands are under evacuation orders as a line fire spreads to more than 17,000 acres.

BLACKWELL: Officials say the fire is burning so intensely it's creating its own weather system that's making it explode in size. CNN's Allison Chinchar is in the Weather Center with more heat concerns. It's been hot there for a long time.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It has now there is going to be relief in sight. We've just got to get through a couple more days, but that makes it very dangerous conditions for the firefighters that are out there as well, dealing with those intense temperatures.

You've also got red flag mornings across portions of Nevada as well as California. We're talking very low humidity. Those winds up around 30 to 40 miles per hour, they can spread those flames very, very quickly. You've got the two main fires here. One right there, just south of Reno, this other one east of Los Angeles, both of them 0 percent containment as of now.

Now, we talked about reprieve from those temperatures, Sacramento, San Jose, and Los Angeles all finally seeing the temperatures drop by Tuesday of the upcoming week. Las Vegas, Palm Springs elsewhere, it's going have to hold off until Wednesday before we start to see some of those temperatures easing back. We're also keeping an eye on the tropics. They've, all of a sudden, got really busy here in the last 24 to 48 hours. This system here in the Gulf Coast, up to 90 percent. And two more systems, at least 50 percent out into Eastern and Central Atlantic.

But this is the one we're keeping an eye on. And I will say, regardless of whether or not it gets a name in the next couple of days, it is expected to spread a tremendous amount of moisture into portions of Eastern Texas and Louisiana as we get into Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. But it's going to be moving into very warm water. So, right now, a lot of the models have it kind of making potential landfall between Houston in New Orleans. That's where most of them are falling right now, and that would be towards the middle portion of the upcoming week.

So, certainly something to keep a close eye on. It could become a tropical depression at some point, maybe even later today.

BLACKWELL: All right. Allison. We'll watch it. Thanks so much. All right. It is NFL Sunday. The NFL is back. Well, it was actually back Thursday and it was another game on Friday, but it's for real this time. It's time for football.

WALKER: Carolyn Manno joining us now. What should we be looking forward to today for the rest of the season?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, guys. Listen, in 210 days since the Chiefs won Super Bowl 58. But who's counting? One of the biggest storylines of the day is going to be whether, after decades of angst, the Bears finally have their franchise quarterback. Expectations could not be higher for first overall pick Caleb Williams. He looked the part in the preseason. Now, it starts to count. He makes his debut at home against the Titans.

As for the late afternoon games, the Cowboys are trying to make it back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1996. Dallas and Cleveland facing a dominant Browns defense and the day ends in Motor City with the Lions coming off their first NFC Championship appearance since '91. They are hosting the Rams. That's another reunion between quarterbacks Jared Goff and Matt Stafford, and the teams who traded them for each other. So, a lot to look forward to.

By the way, the first seismic upset of the college football season coming yesterday. Fifth ranked Notre Dame shocked at home by Northern Illinois despite a superhuman effort from Jeremiah Love. Nobody saw this coming for Notre Dame. The sophomore leaping the defender in a single bound for the 34-yard touchdown run to give the Irish the lead. NIU would not take no for an answer in this game. Hitting a field goal with just over 30 seconds left to retake the lead. But the Irish able to get into position to win this game.

62 yards and the kick is blocked. Notre Dame stadium stunned in silence as the Huskies at NIU pull off the biggest win in program history, 16 to 14, the final. Coach Thomas Hammock, unable to fight back tears talking about his team's resilience.

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THOMAS HAMMOCK, NORTHERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH: You know, I'm so proud of our kids, the coaches, just everybody.

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They believed. They believed and we came here and got it done. I told them all week, we don't need luck. We just got to be our best. And they was their best today.

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MANNO: The first of many upsets, many moments to come. Get the crockpot out. It is football season. Let's go. It's here, guys.

BLACKWELL: The crockpot out. Yes, my time of year.

WALKER: We know what you like, Carolyn. Good to have you, Carolyn. Thank you. Before we go, apparently, it's National Grandparents Day.

CHINCHAR: It is. Yes.

WALKER: Happy National Grandparents Day.

CHINCHAR: One of the meteorologists on our team. Gene (ph), he's a grandparent. He's got another child -- a grandchild on the way, too. So, he's very excited. But to all the grandparents today, not just our meteorologists, but anybody out there who is a grandparent, Happy Grandparents Day today.

WALKER: They're so special.

BLACKWELL: I had a picture of my grandparents up in my office, Pooh and Poppy.

WALKER: Pooh?

BLACKWELL: Yes. OK.

WALKER: That's precious.

BLACKWELL: Yes. It was -- it's a long story, longer than we have for the next 15 seconds. All right. Thanks so much for spending your morning with us.

WALKER: Inside Politics Sunday is up next. Pooh?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

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