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Hezbollah Vows Retaliation for Explosion; GOP Senators Block IVF Bill; Federal Reserve Expected to Announce Rate Change. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired September 18, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:34]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of nearly simultaneous blasts across Lebanon yesterday as pagers, remember those, used by Hezbollah militants exploded in an attack, deepening fears of a wider regional war.

We do want to warn you, some of the footage you're about to see might be disturbing.

(VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: At least 12 people were killed, including an eight-year-old child, thousands more were injured.

CNN learning that the explosions were part of a joint operation between Israel's intelligence service and the IDF. Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a foreign terrorist organization, vowing to retaliate, while the Israeli military says it's not commenting on the incident. The U.S. is denying any involvement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MILLER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: So, we are gathering information on this incident. I can tell you that the U.S. was not involved in it. The U.S. was not aware of this incident in advance. And at this point, we are gathering information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Joining me now, CNN law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore. He's also a retired supervisory special agent for the FBI.

Steve, good morning to you. Thank you for being here.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

HUNT: I - this is quite a remarkable series of events. What do we know about how the Israeli intelligence and their military were able to pull this off?

MOORE: Well, obviously, the details of it have not come out yet. But there are - there were some pagers, I guess, that were not - that did not go off. And they were able to determine that small - very small pieces of explosive, probably plastic explosives, were set into these devices and set to go off when a certain set of buttons were pushed, which ensured that the user was - was present with the pager when it went off. And the - the buttons were triggered by an error code that was sent out.

HUNT: So, for something like this, I mean it must have taken months of planning to figure out how to actually do something like this, no?

MOORE: This was huge. This was huge. It was a - a massive endeavor to get this done. Highly covert. And, you know, the difficulty here is you have to do this without the pager company being aware of it. You don't want them to be that targets of retaliation.

The other thing is that you have to know in advance, you have to have enough intelligence in advance to know that Hezbollah is making a purchase of hundreds or thousands of pagers. And you have to be able to target it. So, it indicates just a massive intelligence breach of Hezbollah's operation.

HUNT: And, Steve, this does also, of course, raise fears about a broader conflict here because the reality is while there are a lot of, you know, James Bond-style qualities to what happened, the impact is that the communications network that Hezbollah relies on has now been damaged. That's a strategic objective.

MOORE: Yes. Yes. There were several strategic objectives, and I think all of them were achieved here. Number one, now they don't have their pager network. And they use the pager network because cell phones are too easily traceable. I mean look at our society. Who uses pagers anymore? It - the same way in Lebanon, whoever uses pagers instead of cell phones likely was a member of Hezbollah. And so, what you're finding now is two things. Yes, they're communications have been disrupted terribly. And almost as important, the morale and the fear that this has caused people are now wondering if any of their devices, if any of their equipment is safe and whether they're safe in their own homes.

HUNT: Yes. Start taking it all apart.

Steve Moore, thanks very much for being with us this morning. I really appreciate your time.

MOORE: Thank you.

HUNT: All right, let's turn now to this. A bill to guarantee access to in vitro fertilization nationwide once again fell short in the Senate yesterday. They failed to get the 60 votes needed to pass the Democratic-sponsored measure with all but two Republican senators voting against it.

[06:35:06]

Shortly after the vote, President Biden called out the bill's opponents. He said in a statement, quote, "yet again, Senate Republicans refused to safeguard access to fertility treatments for women trying to get pregnant. Republican officials have had every opportunity to protect reproductive freedom - from IVF to contraception - but they refuse to do so." And of course, IVF has become a mobilizing issue on the campaign trail after that Alabama supreme court decision put fertility treatments there in legal jeopardy. Alabama lawmakers letter - later clarified protections for IVF after the ruling. Senate Republicans argue this legislation was merely an election year show vote from Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we have to be careful here because the Senate did not block an IVF bill, the Senate blocked a ridiculous show vote bill that had no chance of passing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: OK. Our panel is back.

This, Annie, is obviously an incredibly personal issue for people. And while J.D. Vance is saying this is a show vote, it's worth noting that the person at the top of his ticket says that IVF should be covered by insurance.

ANNIE LINSKEY, REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Absolutely. You know, and in many ways it was a show vote and it did show that the Democrat - or the Republican tent and the Republican coalition has two sections that oppose, you know, some amount of protections for IVF. There's - you know, this vote got at the - the small government hawks, the small-government folks within the Republican Party who did not like the idea of a mandate for IVF, for insurance companies to have to cover it.

But also it revealed that, you know, the - there is, you know, influence from the (INAUDIBLE) conservatives within the party who have a - a more visceral dislike for IVF. So, there are - there are two segments of the party who were opposed to this legislation, and I think that was, you know, very clearly revealed by the vote.

HUNT: Yes, I mean, Brad, it's worth noting the two Republicans who voted for this, two female Republicans, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. This is also, again, I mean, the presidential nominee at the top of the ticket has said he wants this policy in place, right? He's trying to campaign on it. Why not do it?

BRAD TODD, PARTNER, ONMESSAGE INC.: Well, there was a chance to do it. Katie Britt had a bill -- Senate Republican, senator from Alabama, had a bill yesterday that would force any state to basically - to allow IVF to be legal. If they didn't, they'd lose all Medicaid funding. So, every state's going to do that. Democrats wouldn't go along with it. That was a surefire way to protect IVF in every state.

Rick Scott had a bill yesterday to decouple HSA's from - that people use to save for IVF from their high deductible plans. Democrats wouldn't do it. Chuck Schumer wants this vote to use in this campaign. He's not

willing to work with Republicans to try to come up with a way to actually protect IVF in every state.

HUNT: Yes, I mean, it's worth noting, I think there are some provisions in both of those bills that gave Democrats separate concerns.

But, Meghan, what - how do you see this?

TODD: Well - well, there's something in this bill that gave concerns. I mean the - the -- the bill that Democrats tried to pass would legalize designer babies. It would also allow three parent embryos. Like they're - they would have to legalized human cloning. There are a lot of poison pills that Democrats put in that bill to get Republicans to vote no.

HUNT: There - there was a lot in there that I'm - I'm not sure I can - I - I certainly can't back up, especially the three parent question.

But, Meghan, go ahead, please.

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: I was just going to go off of what Annie was saying, that this is a show vote. It showed Republicans and these independent women that are out there that you need to win the election exactly where the Republican Party stands on reproductive freedom. It just show -

TODD: Every - every - every Republican senator is on a - on a letter that says we support IVF. Every one of them.

HAYS: But - but when they have the opportunity to vote for it, they did not vote for it again. And again -

TODD: IT's not a clean bill.

HAYS: It doesn't matter. That's not the way - that's not the way our legislator work and you can't - but our legislation doesn't work that way and the no bill is clean. So, the - they had an opportunity to do it. They did not do it. This is - this is a - I agree that this is a show vote, is a political move on the part of Democrats, but it is showing women exactly where the Republican Party stands.

TODD: If Democrats wanted to make sure IVF is legal in every state, they'd have passed Katie Britts' bill. It's as clean a bill as you're going to get.

HAYS: She - I - I mean, I don't know enough about her bill, but there - there's a process that - how this goes through legislation. It did not make it through to get a vote on the floor. This bill did. They voted against it. That is all the people need to know.

TODD: It got to vote because Chuck Schumer only let that - that - that (INAUDIBLE).

HAYS: There is a process. It works through committee. They did not do it. And this shows women, and these independent voters, that you need to win the election exactly where the Republican Party stands.

HUNT: Well, and, Elliot Williams, I mean the big picture here is that the reason we're having this conversation is because Roe fell.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right.

HUNT: And every state now has its own rules around reproductive rights and freedoms. And there are places where - I mean if you follow the letter of the law, the way many conservatives, evangelicals in particular, like Annie pointed out, you end up with this being illegal.

WILLIAMS: Yes. Yes, it's - well, it's two things. It's Roe fell, and it is a winning issue for Democrats. Both Roe and all of its progeny, and when you talk about reproductive freedom, but also IVF specifically. You say the letters and Democrats have taken the issue - taken sort of the issue over.

And this idea - and so for folks that don't live in the beltway - this idea of the show bill or the messaging bill is very common in this town where the party in power knows they have a winning issue, pulls a vote up that's very hard for other people to say that they oppose, gets them to vote against it and then they can say, well, look, our opponents don't support this basic fundamental (INAUDIBLE).

[06:40:09]

TODD: But you know what, Elliot, when Republicans do it, the press calls it a political stunt. When Democrats to do, it says, well, this just shows where everyone is.

WILLIAMS: Yes - yes, no, but the -

HAYS: I literally didn't -

HUNT: Well, I was just going to say, Elliot explained the concept of show vote very neatly right there.

HAYS: I also said it was a -

WILLIAMS: But the polls -

HAYS: But it is showing Republicans where - or showing these independent women where Republicans are.

WILLIAMS: But you see what I'm saying. You know, heavy is the head that wears the crown, right? And when you have the power in the United States Senate, you bring - you bring up these bills to force the other side to - to cast a difficult vote on it. And -

TODD: If Chuck Schumer wanted to bring the Senate together to protect IVF, he could.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

TODD: Republicans are all willing to do it. He doesn't want to. LINSKEY: Well, the House could do it, I mean, you know? The facts

(INAUDIBLE) -

HAYS: We could say the same thing on immigration and the border bill. I mean this is the exact same thing that happened with immigration. Republicans turned down a bipartisan bill. This is just showing the American people where Congress is and where your party is. And this is - this is the problem. It - this election's going to be in five or six states with independent women and this - these types of bills show people, because there's not enough - the nuance isn't heard in commercials and in these - in these states.

HUNT: All right, still to come here after the break, all eyes on the Fed today. The central bank is expected to cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years.

Plus, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders criticizing Kamala Harris, not for the policies, but about her not having biological children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS (R-AR): My kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn't have anything keeping her humble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:45:55]

HUNT: All right, 45 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.

Sean "Diddy" Combs indicted in New York and charged with racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking. He is accused of running a criminal enterprise and forcing victims into drug-induced and coerced sex performances or so-called freak offs. He will be back in court today to appeal a decision to hold him without bail. He has pleaded not guilty.

Students in Springfield, Ohio, are heading back to class with increased security. Classes were canceled there this week amid bomb threats to schools. The town has been put into the national spotlight after Donald Trump and J.D. Vance baselessly claimed that Haitian migrants in the town are eating people's pets. Those claims have been debunked by local officials.

And Instagram taking what they're calling their biggest step yet for protecting younger users. The social media platform announcing it will put in place new teen settings which will automatically make millions of accounts private and restrict certain content for those users.

I have to - my - I have a question here. I mean, is this actually going to make a difference because, I mean, this is, again, anecdata for my Instagram feed, the parents that I am hearing from are just saying, this is not enough.

I mean, what do you think, Elliot?

WILLIAMS: It's never enough given how pervasive social media is and kids access to it and so on.

Now, look, it's a step. It's a valuable step. But - but I think that's absolutely correct. It's - I don't - you know, you're trying to plug, I don't know what the - what the metaphor is, but -

HUNT: And I think they're also trying to get credit ahead of, there's this bill in Congress, right, around this that would basically force them to do some of these things.

TODD: You know, there's not much agreement on Republicans and Democrats in Washington on much, but on social media regulation for teens, you can pretty much get unanimity.

WILLIAMS: Right.

TODD: It's coming. And Silicon Valley knows it.

HUNT: Yes, and that's why. Again, we're seeing this.

All right, let's turn now to this anticipated news today, and announcement from the Federal Reserve. This afternoon, the central bank expected to cut U.S. interest rates for the first time in four years. A move that's meant to lower borrowing costs for American consumers and businesses. That could mean cheaper mortgages, credit card rates, and auto loans. It signals that the Fed does think inflation is under control and it's shifting attention to the job market, which has shown some signs of weakness. The expected decision comes less than seven weeks from Election Day. That breaks a norm to leave interest rates alone in the months leading up to a presidential election. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both trying to get out ahead of the Fed's announcement on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The economy is now not good. And interest rates - you'll see, they'll do the rate cut and all the political stuff tomorrow I think. And, you know, will he do a half a point? Will he do a quarter of a point? But the reason is because the economy's not good, otherwise you wouldn't be able to do it.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As of today, we have created over 16 million new jobs, over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs.

Is the price of groceries still too high? Yes. Do we have more work to do? Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, Annie Linskey, this is clearly something where there is pressure on the Fed to do - the question is, are they going to do a quarter point, are they going to do a half point. Elizabeth Warren and some others want them to do three quarters of a point. The point is that there is concern that they have let these rate hikes stand for too long and that it may be damaging the economy to the point where it's endangering a recession. It is unusual for them to do something like this, this close to an election. What do you make of it?

LINSKEY: Yes, to do it so close, you're absolutely right, is unusual. And I think there were some people who had - had very much hoped that the Fed would have done this a little bit earlier in the summer.

That being said, you know, one of the amazing parts about - about Jerome Powell and the Fed is, he has been very clear about signaling what he is going to do. And so I think that - it helps kind of reduce sort of swings in markets that we saw with previous Fed chairs. But he has been very clear that he sees an opportunity for a rate cut. And it is really just balancing whether or not he believes that, you know, has he gotten - has inflation gotten under control to where he could really do - they could really do a full, you know, half a point, or will they just ease it just a smaller amount.

[06:50:05]

HUNT: Yes. Brad Todd, what - what are the politics of this here? Because, obviously, I mean, as much as we talk about all of these various developments, right, the fundamentals of the economy are still likely to be the driver of the outcome in November.

TODD: If you got a mortgage in Donald Trump's presidency it was probably for 3.5 percent. If you'd gotten one in Joe Biden's, it's probably seven. Americans understand that housing costs a lot more to buy during this Biden-Harris administration.

And I think what's more important is that early in the Harris-Biden administration, they said inflation was transitory. They said it wouldn't last. And that's why it was OK to keep doing stimulus. That's why it was OK to keep raising up the price of energy. That got us more inflation. I think that is driving the election more than anything else that happens in the daily news cycle is Americans know the economy was a lot better off before Biden and Harris were in office.

HUNT: I see what you did there, by the way, the Harris-Biden administration. It is still the Biden-Harris administration.

WILLIAMS: He's good. He's good.

HUNT: Meghan.

HAYS: Yes, I just - I mean, I think that the rate cut will help - you know, inflation is lowering. Unemployment is at a low. I mean I - the economy the they inherited, I think that they were doing what they could do. And they - they - they say full well that we inherited an economy and we had to make decisions. And inflation, it was high. It is now lower than it was in January - or January 21. I think it's like right around there. So, I think you know, this will help that. And I think that this is an important issue. It is interesting. That's going to be - it makes it very political, this - this rate cut.

So, I think it will be interesting right before the election to see how it plays out.

HUNT: Yes, Elliot Williams, there does seem to be this sense - and, obviously, the Fed is independent, right? They do not - they do not take their marching orders from whoever is the president -

WILLIAMS: Yes.

HUNT: Or people who are running for president.

However, there is this sense, when you read kind of banking reports on political environments that come out of the major banks. They look at Congress. They look at things like this. There is this sense from - that some of them seem to be bringing to the table that if Donald Trump is elected, rates, there will be more aggressive rate cuts because he will be basically putting pressure on the Fed.

WILLIAMS: Right.

HUNT: How do you see that playing out, especially now?

WILLIAMS: Right. I - the reality - I'm just picking up on Brad's point. The reality is that the -- well, it's pushing back on Brad a little bit, but you're making an important point, by using the term Harris-Biden administration, in reality presidents don't have full control over monetary policy. But to your point, did you have a mortgage a few years ago versus do you have a mortgage today? It doesn't matter that Jerome Powell might be more - the chair of the Fed - for what your mortgages is than the president the United States. The simple fact is, today, it's the president, and people associate that with the president of the United States.

And so, to some of these points about Donald Trump, there's the optics and the association that's made there. And, you know, you can't change it.

LINSKEY: Yes. I mean, I think inflation is something - you know, it's a - it has - it's a once-in-a-generation thing. This generation, we are not used to inflation. And I think that Brad is right, that in terms of what - what voters are thinking about, it's the cost that has gone up so much since the pandemic - since the pandemic. And even though the - the rate of inflation has lowered, these costs are still going up. And I - it's just, you know, the country's never going to get back to where it was. I mean, you know, you'd have disinflation, which would create other problems. But there's still that expectation when you go into the grocery store that you're not going to be paying, you know, $150 for groceries, yet you are. So -

HAYS: But this is exactly to the point why both of these candidates should be talking about the economy and what they're going to do for the economy and not all these other issues and flinging things back- and-forth at each other.

LINSKEY: Yes.

HAYS: They should stick to the economy. TODD: Let me tell you what, Republicans would be glad if Donald Trump would talk about the economy every day. Most Republicans would be very happy about that.

HUNT: I seem to recall you -

HAYS: Yes.

HUNT: You basically coming on here and saying, can we just please. Can we just please.

WILLIAMS: No, more - more - more dogs and cats in Ohio. That - that seems to be (INAUDIBLE).

HAYS: Yes.

HUNT: Well, so, speaking of dogs and cats, although not the ones in Ohio, let's turn now to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-WA): If you only talk about childless people when you need a political punching bag on right-wing podcasts, stop talking.

CANDICE BERGEN, ACTRESS: A Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So, as they say, my work here is done. Meow.

SELENA GOMEZ, ACTRESS: And let me say what an honor it is to work with two guys who are this far away for being childless cat ladies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: From the halls of Congress to, of course, the Emmy's stage, J.D. Vance's childless cat lady remarks continue to stir up anger. Despite that, others in Trump's orbit seem to be piling on. During a townhall with Donald Trump yesterday, Arkansas Governor, and former Trump White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders said this about Kamala Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS (R-AR): You can walk into a room like this where people cheer when you step onto the stage and you might think for a second that you're kind of special. Then you go home and your kids remind you very quickly you're actually not that big of a deal. And ours are pretty good at it.

My kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn't have anything keeping her humble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:55:07]

HUNT: Brad Todd, that's not a very nice thing to say.

TODD: Well, I mean, I can tell you, my teenagers keep me humble. In facts, they're going to critique this performance today, I'm pretty sure, to - and tell me that.

HUNT: I mean, I have no issue with her saying her kids keep her humble. That is not the issue.

TODD: If you listened to the whole Sarah Huckabee Sanders speech, I actually think that was taken a little bit out of context. I think that the - the broader context was - was more about her own experience.

But let's get back to this. This campaign needs to be very focused on, are you better off today than you were four years ago? Is the border more secure than it was four years ago? And the Trump campaign and the president, former president himself, have to laser-focus in on that. And if they don't, they're going to be in trouble.

WILLIAMS: Oh, listen -

HAYS: OK, first -

WILLIAMS: No, no, we were like - here's the thing. Here's the thing. She is one of the most skilled communicators certainly in the - in the party today, if not within the last generation. She knew precisely what she was saying and doing right there. It is an old, tired saw about women that don't have kids.

Look, Barbara Boxer, the Democrat - Democratic senator, did it about Condoleezza Rice in a hearing when she had her in front of her, you know, she made a point about, I know you don't have, I guess, a husband and children or something like that. She knew exactly what she was doing, playing into it. And I don't think the audience was booing the comment. I think they were booing Kamala Harris. They were in on it too.

HAYS: Also, one, why can't she get her name right? I just fundamentally don't understand why these Republicans, who are elected officials, cannot get the vice president's name right. So, that's the first.

Second, why are we making it that women who do not have children are less than in this country. That is a horrible way to view women in general, and then to also then make them less than. And also, let's not forget, she has stepchildren. So, it's not like she doesn't have a family at all. And - not that that matters, but I mean it's just gross (ph).

HUNT: Let me - let me jump in on the stepchildren, because Kerstin Emhoff, who is Doug Emhoff's ex-wife, weighed in on this, this morning in a tweet. And she wrote, "Cole and Ella" -these are the stepchildren - Kamala Harris' stepchildren, Doug Emhoff's children with Kerstin - "Cole and Ella keep us inspired to make the world a better place. I do it through storytelling. Kamala Harris has spent her entire career working for the people, all families. That keeps you pretty humble." HAYS: Yes.

TODD: Vice President Harris' family shouldn't be an issue in the campaign. How your family is doing in this economy has to be the thrust of the campaign. That - that - that's the - that's the message (INAUDIBLE).

HAYS: If only your party would hire you to work on their messaging, we would not be sitting here talking about it because it is disgusting that an elected official, who's a governor of an entire state, would like to continue to make women feel less than that do not have children and, again, cannot pronounce her name correctly as a sitting vice president.

HUNT: Well, and, Brad, you're trying to win a Senate race in Pennsylvania where women in Chester County and Bucks County are going to hear these kinds of things. It's going to be part of it. It make your job tougher, no?

TODD: Again, a campaign about the economy is going to be pretty good for Republicans. A campaign about border security is going to be good for Republicans. Personal shots are not going to work out.

HUNT: Yes. I mean, Annie Linskey, this - part of - part of why I think this has become so - so much a part of the - I mean the J.D. Vance comments around childless cat ladies and the various iterations in the whole of this conversation has penetrated the culture in a way that a lot of the back-and-forth that we talk about here at this table doesn't punch through, right?

LINSKEY: Yes.

HUNT: Like this is something -

LINSKEY: Absolutely.

HUNT: That a lot more people to talk about. Like normal people are aware of.

LINSKEY: Yes.

HUNT: And that makes it a little different.

LINSKEY: Well, Taylor Swift, you know, when she endorsed Kamala Harris, she had a, you know, her cat with her.

Yes, I mean, it - I -

HUNT: (INAUDIBLE).

LINSKEY: Exactly. Exactly.

So, I mean, look, I think Democrats have done a very good job of embracing it. And - but I - I've been perplexed as a political reporter as to why, you know, Republicans continue to use this as an issue because it does - it's not - HUNT: And there are plenty of women without children who want to have children.

LINSKEY: There are a lot of women who want to have children and, you know, access to things like IVF would help with that. And I think that, yes, no, I - it's been surprising that this conversation has continued to come up because there are a lot of, you know, there are a lot of Republican women who are delegates.

HUNT: Yes. And Nikki Haley has been out there herself -

LINSKEY: Right. Yes.

HUNT: Saying, look, when you do this, you are sending the wrong message to all women.

LINSKEY: So, it is perplexing.

HUNT: Yes.

All right, I'll leave you with this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON CARTER, JIMMY CARTER'S GRANDSON: My grandfather wishes he could be here. Not, of course, everyone gets 100 years. But when someone does and uses that time to do good, it is worth celebrating.

As -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: An array of celebrities paying tribute to America's 39th president, Jimmy Carter. Last night, two weeks ahead of his 100th birthday, 4,000 people filling Atlanta's Fox Theater to highlight Carter's work on human rights and his love of music.

(VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: That was Chuck Lavelle of the Almond Brothers. The band campaigned for Carter in 1976.

[07:00:02]

And here was Jimmy Carter himself at the Democratic National Convention in Madison Square Garden that summer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (July 15, 1976): Our country's lived through a time of torment. It's now a time for healing. We want to have faith again. We want to be proud again. We just want the truth again. It's time for the people to run the government and not the other way around.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: All right, Jimmy Carter is currently receiving hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia. He turns 100 on October 1st, which is when we will all get to see the entirety of that event.

Thanks to our panel. Thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.