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CNN This Morning
Trump Heads To NC After Bombshell CNN Report On Pick For Governor; New NYT/Siena College Poll Shows Trump, Harris Tied Nationally; Harris Delivers Republicans Since Biden Dropped From Race; Trump's Lies About Pet-Eating Migrants Prompt Threats In Ohio Small Town; Police: Kentucky Sheriff Killed Judge In His Chambers. Aired 8- 9a ET
Aired September 21, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. Be sure to tune in an all new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, one whole hour, one whole story tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN. Another hour of CNN this morning weekend, starts now.
Welcome back, everyone. Top of the hour here on CNN this morning, you're looking at a live picture from St Louis. Thank you so much for joining us for this special edition of CNN this morning.
Yes, I am not Victor Blackwell, none of us are. I'm Amber Walker, alongside Danny Freeman, Allison Chinchar, and, of course, Andy Scholes. Victor is off. First of All will be back on October 5.
It really feels like the holiday season is upon us, right?
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, don't say that. Don't say that.
WALKER: I mean, Allison.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People are taking off, is that what you mean?
BLACKWELL: No, just in terms of -- well, that too, one person is taking off, but like, Halloween, and you go to source and you already have, like, Christmas decor up.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's our -- and it's going to feel a lot more like fall real soon for some places.
WALKER: I hope it (inaudible) to that.
FREEMAN: Stating so, holding on to summer as long as we can.
WALKER: No, no, not here.
FREEMAN: All right. Well, we're glad to have you with us. Here's what's going on today. Former President Donald Trump takes his message to the critical
battleground state of North Carolina. The visit comes as the Republican-backed candidate for governor resists calls to drop out of the race after CNN unearthed lewd comments made on a porn site.
WALKER: Donald Trump's allies have proved a controversial new rule in the battleground state of Georgia that could -- that some say could delay election results. We're joined by one election official for his reaction to the changes.
And at least two colleges in Springfield, Ohio will return to in- person learning next week after lies about migrants eating pets led to bomb threats and other safety concerns. We're going to talk to one Springfield resident about what life is like there now.
CHINCHAR: And astronomical fall technically begins tomorrow, and for some cities that transition from summer to fall is going to be very sharp.
SCHOLES: All right. We have some great Friday night football, three big-time college matchups coming down to the wire. We'll show you those, plus what to look forward to on the schedule today.
FREEMAN: All right, but we start here. The candidates are laser- focused on battleground states as we're now six weeks out to the presidential election. Former President Donald Trump is headed to North Carolina today. This is his first event there since a bombshell CNN report revealed his pick for governor, Mark Robinson posted inflammatory comments on a porn site.
Now, Robinson denies it, but he was not invited to Trump's event today. And Vice President Kamala Harris is taking a breather today after visiting battleground states, Georgia and Wisconsin.
WALKER: These battleground visits are key, as new polling shows Trump and Harris still locked in a dead heat. A New York Times and Siena College poll released this week shows the two are tied at 47% nationally among likely voters.
The divide, though, deepens on ad spending. Today, Democrats have outspent Republicans nationally, nationally, and in swing states. Since President Joe Biden left the race, Democrats have raised More than $564 million while Republicans have raised about 380 million.
Now, Harris's focus on reproductive rights took her to Atlanta Friday, where she highlighted two recent abortion cases making headlines here in Georgia.
FREEMAN: CNNs Priscilla Alvarez explains her message to voters.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris delivering an impassioned address here in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday on an issue that has been top of mind for her campaign because it's also been top of mind for voters, and that is on reproductive rights. The Vice President taking a detour to come to the battleground state before heading to Wisconsin, a trip that sources tell me was planned immediately at the direction of the vice president after a media report that revealed that two deaths were linked to the state's abortion restrictions.
Now the remarks by the Vice President were met with a somber audience. There was an emotional heaviness to the room as she spoke about the risks of state abortion restrictions with signs behind her that called them the Trump abortion bans, a phrase that she coined back in Arizona.
Now the Vice President, going on to say that this election is a fight for, quote, "freedom". She also talked about Republicans being hypocrites. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAMALA HARRIS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One in three women in America lives in a state with a Trump abortion ban. This includes Georgia and every state in the South except Virginia. Think about that. When you compound that with what has been long-standing neglect of women in communities with a lack of the adequate resources they need for health care prenatal, during their pregnancy, postpartum. Think about that. And these hypocrites. Want to start talking about this is in the best interest of women and children. Well, where you've been? Where you've been when it comes to taking care of the women and children of America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[08:05:24]
ALVAREZ: Now, at one point during her address, she also said that they -- the audience should say the name of one of the women who was mentioned in this media report dying from a treatable infection. It was a moment to address the situation at large, and that being what the Vice President her campaign has discussed as the threat against reproductive rights. This is an issue that the vice president and her team are consistently talking about running ads in battleground states, and of course, one, that she will continue to be hammering over the course of the next few weeks, hoping that it mobilizes voters to the polls. Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Atlanta.
FREEMAN: Priscilla Alvarez, thank you. Now, Donald Trump is returning to the key battleground state of North Carolina today, and it will be his first appearance there since CNN is reporting on offensive posts made by the Trump-backed candidate for governor on a porn website. In the inflammatory post, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson referred to himself as a quote, "black Nazi" and expressed support for reinstating slavery. Robinson denies making the comments.
Nevertheless, Trump will hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Robinson is not expected to attend. Though, Robinson has spoken at Trump's rallies in North Carolina in the past. Trump, so far, has not given any indication he intends to pull his endorsement of Robinson for governor.
WALKER: Meanwhile, Kamala Harris's campaign is already tying Mark Robinson to Donald Trump in an ad just released on Friday after the CNN report came out about Robinson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK ROBINSON: Abortion in this country is about killing the child because you are responsible enough to keep your skirt down.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been with him a lot. I've gotten to know him, and he's outstanding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump and Mark Robinson, they're both wrong for North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: The new ad is part of the Harris campaign's $370 million spending on digital and television advertising reservations slated from Labor Day to Election Day. In another move to put a stamp on his legacy, President Biden is hosting foreign leaders for the quad summit this weekend, and this will be his first time hosting prime ministers from Australia, India, and Japan in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
FREEMAN: CNN, Camila DeChalus is following this. Camilla, why is this meeting with this quad so significant?
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Danny, this is a very big deal for President Biden because there is a number of things that he wants to achieve during the summit. The two biggest things that White House advisers tell us is that he wants to focus on China and how they become more aggressive when it comes to the South China Sea, and they're also going to focus on how these countries can come together to collaborate more when it comes to their response on natural disasters or providing humanitarian aid to certain regions.
Now we're also told that they are going to focus on a issue that is very personal to the President, and that is the fight against cancer. We're told that at the summit, they're going to announce a joint initiatives to really combat cancer, such as investing more into research and also increasing the amount of cervical cancer screenings and certain areas of the country and in the world. And what is really the significance Danny as the summit is going to take place this weekend is it's going to be held in Wilmington. Now that is the hometown of Biden, and this is somewhere where he resides when he steps away from the White House.
And so we are told that that was a very personal decision for the President, because he really wants to illustrate and just convey this message that foreign policy is personal, and he really wants to show these world leaders just a bit about where he comes from and how this community, in this environment as has shaped him as a public servant. And so when he's having these one-on-one meetings, this is very pivotal for the President, because he really just wants to submit what he wants to do in the months ahead, in his final months in office, and also just wants to set the tone of what his expectations are for the summit and of this environment on these world leaders when the next presidency and the next administration comes in. FREEMAN: Camila DeChalus, thank you very much for that report. The Secret Service Agency is admitting to serious failures, failures during the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
WALKER: This comes less than a week after a second assassination attempt at Trump's Florida golf club. Yesterday, Acting Director Ronald Rowe admitted a shocking breach of protocol before Trump was shot at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. One of the key failures included warnings about the would-be assassin never making it to Trump's security detail.
[08:10:05]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RONALD ROWE, ACTING SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR: The Secret Service did not give clear guidance or direction to our local law enforcement partners. There were communication deficiencies between law enforcement personnel at the site.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: CNN Holmes Lybrand has more.
HOLMES LYBRAND, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Amara and Danny. The acting director of the Secret Service said there was complacency among some agents in the lead-up to the July 13 rally where Donald Trump was shot. And announcing new findings by the agency, the head of the Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, said there were serious failures in the security planning. One of the key failures included the lack of communication between local and federal officers, both in the days before the rally and in the minutes before Trump was nearly assassinated.
Local officers believed the Secret Service was directly receiving their radio calls, which included warnings of the would-be assassin on the roof of a building. Rowe also praised agents for their quick actions this past weekend during another apparent attempt on Trump's life. Amara, Danny.
WALKER: All right, Holmes Lybrand, thank you. Georgia's election board has approved a controversial new rule that will require ballots to be hand counted. A lot of people saying this could delay the results of the presidential race that's next.
FREEMAN: Plus President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill before the government runs out of money next week. But Will Congress be able to get it done on time to prevent a shutdown?
WALKER: And today is the last day of summer. But in some parts of the country, the warm weather isn't ready to go away just yet. Go away, please. We'll have a weather forecast next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [08:16:28]
WALKER: 45 days before Election Day, and over the objections of key officials in the state, top officials, Donald Trump's allies on Georgia's election board, passed a new rule that critics say will delay the results of the presidential race. It requires a hand count of all ballots after polls close on election night.
FREEMAN: Now the rule is also receiving a lot of criticism from local election officials and poll workers, and Georgia's Republican attorney general warns the move is likely unlawful. CNN, Sara Murray has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: Three people are all pit bulls, fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory. They are fighting.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Those three Republicans on the Georgia State election board who Donald Trump praised at a campaign rally last month charging ahead with a controversial new rule about hand counting ballots.
JANELLE KING, (R) GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD MEMBER: So this leaves us in a very difficult position. Do we maintain the status quo because it's easier, or do we make a few adjustments so that we can be better.
MURRAY (voiceover): But it's not better for many bipartisan election officials across the state who begged the board to pause on new rules ahead of November.
MILTON KIDD, ELECTIONS DIRECTOR FOR DOUGLAS COUNTY, GEORGIA: The idea that you're not going to listen to the individuals that are charged with conducting elections, is absurd to me.
MURRAY (voiceover): State officials from Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to Attorney General Chris Carr issued sharp warnings saying several of the dozen rules the Board is considering may run afoul of the law.
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, (R) GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: We're too close to the election. In fact, we're really just three weeks before we start early voting, and it's just too late in the cycle.
MURRAY (voiceover): The new rule doesn't help determine a winner. Rather, it requires a hand count of the number of ballots at polling places on election day and then comparing the number of ballots cast with the number recorded by voting machines. Critics say it's a recipe for chaos.
KRISTIN NABERS, GEORGIA STATE DIRECTOR, ALL VOTING IS LOCAL: If I were to hand this stack of paper to three random people in this room, especially at the end of a long voting day, and ask them to arrive at the same total number, do we think that's feasible? People doing a hand count are going to make mistakes, which can then be exploited to spread lies. MURRAY (voiceover): Raffensperger says the change could delay reporting results on election night.
RAFFENSPERGER: You start breaking up the ballot boxes after you close the precinct, you won't be getting those Election Day votes until maybe one o'clock, two o'clock, or four o'clock in the morning, and we just don't believe that's healthy for, you know, the Republic, and we don't think it's healthy for people of Georgia.
MURRAY (voiceover): The three Trump-backed Republicans passed the rule anyway.
JOHN FERVIER, CHAIRMAN, GEORGIA STATE ELECTION BOARD: The motion passes three to two.
MURRAY (voiceover): Even steamrolling the independent chairman of the five-member board.
FERVIER: If this board votes to implement this rule, I think that we put ourselves in legal Jeopardy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY: And this new rule is almost certainly going to face legal challenges and to that end, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger put out a statement after the meeting saying Attorney General Chris Carr has stated that these rules would not withstand a legal challenge, and I have worked every day to strengthen Georgia's election law to ensure our elections remain safe, secure and free. So it's just a question at this point of where these legal challenges are going to come from. Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
WALKER: And of course, we'll watch closely for those legal challenges.
Joining us now is Travis Doss. He's the president of the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials. He's also the director of the Richmond County Georgia Board of Elections.
Travis, thank you for your time, hand counting every ballot on election night in a battleground state like Georgia, where we saw the last presidential election just how close the race was. So many things can go wrong. What's going through your mind, especially when you hear allies of Trump say this is about preventing fraud?
[08:20:03]
W. TRAVIS DOSS, PRES., GEORGIA ASSOC. OF VOTER REGISTRATION AND ELECTION OFFICIALS: You're right, and that's our concern. Is the timing of this particular rule. It is too close to the election for us to be making changes, training poll workers, and whatnot. And we've tried this before, as far as hand counting the ballots. And it has it has no outcome. It does not benefit anything by doing it. We have procedures in place to verify the number of voters that come into a polling place, the number of ballots that are actually printed, and the number of ballots that are scanned by the scanners. Hand counting those ballots after election night or at election night, there's no benefit to that.
What that will do is it will delay the election returns because poll workers are staying at the polling place for potentially hours just to hand count pieces of paper. It is definitely going to cause confusion and speculation, and voters will be concerned that their vote didn't count because they're not getting any results.
WALKER: Well, and the reason why we have machines to count the votes and tally them is because, you know, they are much more reliable than you know humans are taking out the human error component of it. But logistically, you talked a little bit about that. You know that poll workers, I mean, after long hours on election day, then they would have to stay hours after so you got to factor in the fatigue. But talk to me also about the morale of these poll workers. I feel like it's been on the downturn since the last election. I mean, a lot of them have faced discriminant, excuse me, a lot of harassment and vitriol?
DOSS: Well, exactly. I mean, not only are you have poll workers who are being threatened for doing basically a volunteer job, now you're going to ask them that after they have been working for over 14 hours to stay and count pieces of paper. I've heard from many of my colleagues that the -- their poll workers are refusing to do it and are refusing to come back to work. They're like, if we're going to have to stay for hours just to count pieces of paper. We're not doing it. We're not coming back.
We are -- this is too much. We do definitely do not get paid enough to do this kind of job.
WALKER: You know, the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, who, you know, I've sat down with many times. He's also talked about the absurdity of the timing and all this, and, of course, the negative impacts of such a rule change. Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFFENSPERGER: You start breaking up the ballot boxes after you close the precinct, you won't be getting those Election Day votes until maybe one o'clock, two o'clock, or four o'clock in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: He also says that it's going to add an awful lot of questions and consternation and ready for a chance for conspiracy theories to build. Do you agree with that part, where the people can use this to disseminate conspiracy theories?
DOSS: Yes, I completely agree. I mean, the legislators have been very specific. They have created laws. They want fast results. They put into a law in place this year that they want all ballots that were cast by absentee and early to be tabulated and posted by 8:00 p.m.
There's another law in place that said all precincts must report by 11:59 p.m. If you're having poll workers staying at a polling place to hand count the ballots just the pieces of paper, they're not -- they're not tabulating anything. Just to count the pieces of paper, there will be delay in the election returns.
There are better ways that could do this, if it's -- we -- most counties already count the ballots the day afterwards when we're doing our reconciliation and consolidation processes. So no benefit to have poll workers on election night, hand counting the pieces of paper. The problems, if there are any, can be solved after the election when we're doing our reconciliation by counting them that night only will delay the returns.
WALKER: The Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials, which you are the president of you have 500 members across the state. Have you been speaking with legal counsel? What's what the next steps might be?
DOSS: Well, as election directors, we feel that if that, if legal action is necessary, we would need to take it on a county-to-county basis. As an association, we really, as much as we want to support our members, that is really not our goal to become part of that spotlight, but each individual county would be better served if any legal challenges come up.
WALKER: Well, the Attorney General of Georgia, Chris Carr, he did say that these proposed rules are not tethered to any statute, so we can fully expect these new rule changes to be challenged. Travis Doss, thank you for your time.
FREEMAN: Ohio's Republican governors calling out Donald Trump and others who are still pushing false claims about migrants in the city of Springfield eating pets. We'll talk about how this is impacting the city coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:29:37]
WALKER: All right. Some more headlines this morning, President Biden is urging Congress to avoid a government shutdown just weeks before the election. The government will run out of money at the end of the month, and the house failed this week to pass a six month GOP funding plan that would have avoided it. The party divide is largely over the length of the stop-gap bill and a Trump-backed voting provision that will require for. Worth of citizenship to register to vote.
[08:30:03]
A U.S. soldier who ran across the border into North Korea last year is free after being sentenced to one year in confinement and a dishonorable discharge. Private, Travis King was given credit for good behavior and time served. King pleaded guilty in a court martial to charges of desertion, assault, and disobeying a superior officer as part of the plea deal, nine other charges were dismissed. He was also demoted.
Kentucky investigators confirmed they found the body of the interstate shooting suspect. Police say Joseph Couch died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A man hunted for Couch went on for days after police say he was perched on top a cliff and opened fire on random drivers along I-75 earlier this month, five people were shot, and a Kentucky couple joined the search and was live streaming when they found Couch's body deep in the wilderness not far from the shooting site.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a flu vaccine that can be self-administered at home. FluMist is a nasal spray available since 2003 and the only needle-free flu vaccine. The FDA has now lifted the requirement for it to be given by a health care provider, and the maker, AstraZeneca, also plans to provide it through an online pharmacy. The bad news is that it won't be available in time for this flu season. Danny.
FREEMAN: Lies about Haitian immigrants have fueled hate and led to death threats in a small town in Ohio. This comes after former President Donald Trump and his vice presidential running mate JD Vance, repeated unfounded claims about migrants in the city of Springfield, stealing and eating pets. Springfield's Mayor confirmed that he told a Vance campaign staffer that the claims were baseless before the debate the other week, yet, threats have prompted evacuations at two Walmart's and closed two college campuses this week, Democrats on Capitol Hill have slammed Trump's rhetoric as dangerous and divisive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. SHEILA CHERFIUS-MCCORMICK, (D) FLORIDA: What Donald Trump is doing right now is playing a dangerous game of divide and conquer. This dangerous game of divide and conquer is having several consequences. We're seeing more and more death threats. We're seeing more and more Haitian Americans who don't feel safe identifying as Haitian American. And we're even seeing schools being shut down.
I recently spoke to many people in Springfield, and they told me that they're afraid to even go to church. They're afraid to go to church, to school, and even to participate in society, which is a huge problem for Haitian Americans, because those are the three things that we believe in, school, education, church, and making sure that we're working.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREEMAN: Joining me for this conversation, is Viles Dorsainvil. He's the Executive Director of the Haitian community Help and Support Center.
Mr. Dorsainvil, thank you so much for being with us this morning. I want to start here, if it's all right, I know you've had the eyes of the country on your community for the past several weeks, threats, interviews, lies, exaggeration, some support, of course, as well. But just frankly, how is the Haitian community in Springfield feeling today?
VILES DORSAINVIL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HAITIAN COMMUNITY HELP AND SUPPORT CENTER: Thank you for having me. And the anxiety and the fear are still around, especially with the bomb threats, even though they say that they are not legitimate, but anyway, they are bomb threats. People are still concerned for their life and try to make sure that they control where they are going and still trying to know What will be for the next days.
FREEMAN: Your Governor, Mike DeWine, a Trump supporter, said he was saddened by how the former President and others continue to repeat these claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield. I'm just curious, Mr. Dorsainvil, what did you make of your governor's words, and did you ever expect the governor of your state to have to weigh in on something like this?
DORSAINVIL: I think that the governor know the situation, and he knows what Springfield is now, and all that we need is good rhetoric just to diffuse the bad rhetoric that was there. And we have to keep moving forward because we have the whole community to take care of and to make sure that the mental health of people in the community is okay. So as long as we have people rally with us on this cause. It's going to be for the profit of the community.
FREEMAN: Mr. Dorsainvil, I'm curious, just on that note, is, is the fear and anxiety from fellow neighbors in Springfield, or is it really from people's perception on the outside looking in?
DORSAINVIL: The fear is within the community here, because the threat is upon the -- the -- the bomb threats, they -- they are upon the community. I mean, you never know what can happen. So I think that the anxiety is not coming from our sides, it's within the community here in Springfield.
FREEMAN: I want you to take a listen to what Springfield's mayor told CNN yesterday, specifically when asked about candidates potentially coming to Springfield in the coming weeks. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RUB RUE, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO: If -- if a presidential candidate was going to come and bring a message of coming together, trying to work through problems, talk about the real concerns that why we're in the middle of this debate immigration concerns and immigration reform, that would be great. We would just -- we'd like to see those words from any presidential candidate that came to our town. And so my concern is what we've seen on the national stage. I -- I really wouldn't want that repeated from our community -- from -- in our community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: Mr. Dorsainvil, what's your feeling on this? Do you have faith that a politician on the presidential level in Springfield could actually stick to the issues that are impacting your community?
DORSAINVIL: Yes. I think that they -- they should stick to it and -- and look for a solution. And I see that the city officials and the mayor have been having an inclusive approach in terms of moving forward together. And I think that any politician who would come to -- to Springfield would be part of the solution, and try to make sure that the community is at peace at the end of the day, because we -- all of us, are looking to that.
FREEMAN: I just wanted to get your perspective on this, because we've been talking so much about rhetoric, and like you said, bad rhetoric versus good rhetoric. Listen, the election is going to end, right? At some point, this race will be over. And the spotlight may go away from Springfield. How does your community move forward after this election, after this tornado of attention has passed through?
DORSAINVIL: I -- I think we have the solidarity of -- of local leaders, the -- the church leaders and -- and the nonprofit leaders and the officials in Springfield, all of them have been coming together. And I think that even after the election, will still be together because I -- what I -- what I've been experiencing is that all the local leaders are trying to converge the -- the strength toward the common good of the community.
I -- and I think that if -- if it remain like this, even after the election, we will have a very good community where every citizens will -- will -- will live together moving forward.
FREEMAN: Well said, and I hope that is the case as well. Viles Dorsainvil, thank you so much for your time this morning. I really appreciate it.
[08:38:05]
WALKER: Still to come. A Kentucky sheriff has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a district judge in a courthouse. What we know about this incident, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: A California firefighter has been arrested for allegedly starting five wildfires in Sonoma County, 38-year-old Robert Hernandez was arres -- arrested by Cal Fire law enforcement at a fire station in Mendocino County. Hernandez is suspected of starting those fires while off duty over the past month. Now, Cal Fire says that fast action by residents and fire suppression teams kept damage from those fires to a minimum.
A sheriff from Eastern Kentucky accused of fatally shooting a judge is set to be arraigned next week. The judge, 54-year-old Kevin Mullins was the only one who could preside over the arraignment in Letcher County where the shooting took place, so it's now being moved.
FREEMAN: Now Sheriff Shawn Stines will have to wait until Wednesday, first -- first court appearance, which will take place in Carter County, about 100 miles away. CNN's Ryan Young has more on what we know.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Amara, Danny, this is a baffling case. Letcher County, Kentucky Sheriff Mickey Shawn Stines accused of murdering Judge Kevin Mullins in his own chambers. Now, CNN has also learned the sheriff was deposed this week in connection with an ongoing federal lawsuit involving a former deputy who coerced a woman to have sex with him on several different occasions in Mullins chambers in 2021.
Now we're not sure if that had anything to do with the argument that led to the shooting, but it was around 3:00 p.m. Thursday when the sheriff entered the courthouse. The two men were in the judge's chambers alone where the argument that apparently took place. Shots were fired. The courthouse was actually put on lockdown, and so were nearby schools.
Now we have a mug shot of Sheriff Stines, who is being housed in the Leslie County Jail. It's believed his first court appearance could be sometime next week. But for the people in this community, they say this killing of Mullins is heartbreaking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT BUTLER, LOCAL PROSECUTOR IN LETCHER COUNTY, KENTUCKY: Tried case against each other before he was the judge, and never had a disagreement outside of that courtroom. We have always got along. I always thought he was hilarious. I always thought he was very witty. He was fun to be around outside of court. And as a brother-in-law, I will never forget how kind he was to my children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:45:02]
YOUNG: Now, Stines was first elected as sheriff back in 2018. We're waiting for more information from investigators about how this played out. This is such a small community, you understand people are concerned about what's going on with their judicial system. We're hoping to get more information, of course, when the sheriff has that first court appearance, so we can learn what investigators know so far. Guys?
FREEMAN: Ryan Young, thank you very much.
All right, Shohei Ohtani has already made baseball history, but he's not slowing down, not even close. The Dodgers superstar gave the home fans plenty to cheer about, fresh off being crowned Mr. 5050.
WALKER: And tonight, catch a brand new episode of "Have I Got News For You" with host Roy Wood Jr. and team captains Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black,
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROY WOOD JR. "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" HOST: Let's hear how Sarah Huckabee Sanders kids keep her humble.
GOV. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS (R-AR): My sweet daughter reaches up, pats my shoulder and says, it's OK, mommy, one day you can be pretty too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ooh, ooh, ouch.
AMBER RUFFIN, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" TEAM CAPTAIN: Everybody close your eyes. Imagine saying that to your mother. Holy crap, I would be in the car on my way to Target like that.
MICHAEL IAN BLACK, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" TEAM CAPTAIN: I feel like I could play Sarah Huckabee Sanders in the movie version of Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Be sure to tune in. A new episode of "Have I Got News For You" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:50:51]
FREEMAN: We all know it's been an extremely hot summer, but as the fall season moves in, things may be cooling off.
WALKER: Does that make you sad?
FREEMAN: It does.
WALKER: Not me. A cold front is expected to bring relief to parts of the U.S. as early as tomorrow. CNN's Allison Chinchar is here with us now on what and when we can expect it. Hi, Allison.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right. The -- the official starts to fall tomorrow, in astrological terms, is tomorrow. Again, and it's going to feel like it for some folks. Here, you can see this cold front right through here. Now, yes, that's going to bring the chance for some showers, even some severe thunderstorms, especially on the southern side. But the biggest change we're going to get from that cold front is the drop in temperature. So all of this area Midwest, down through the Ohio Valley and back down close to the Gulf Coast, all above average for today.
But that cold air behind really starts to swoop in, beginning tomorrow for some and then a few days later, as that system begins to spread off to the east. So take a look at today, places like Chicago topping out at 91, 92 in Cincinnati, same thing in Nashville. Lots of 90s down through here in portions of Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee as well. Look at Oklahoma City. The high temperature today could top out at 98 degrees. The record for today is 97. So you can end up getting a another record breaking day, yet again today, but it's going to be the last one, because now you can see those temperatures start to drop back.
Take Oklahoma City, for example, that high today in the mid-90s, drops to the 70s tomorrow, then low 70s after that. And a lot of other cities, Kansas City, Dallas, Midland, also going to see a similar drop starting tomorrow. For other cities, it takes an extra day before we start to see that drop closer to Monday. But look at Chicago, 91 today, down to 72 tomorrow, 69 for the high on Monday. St. Louis, going from 89 today, still in the 80s Sunday, but then you see that bigger drop on Monday, and that's going to be the general trend for all of these over the next couple of days. And then other cities in the southeast, like Memphis and Little Rock, they too will get their drop. It just takes it a few more days before they really start to see that change happen.
WALKER: I can't wait. Allison Chinchar, thank you.
Shohei Ohtani's historic moment might have come on the raid on the road, but the Dodgers superstar delivered an incredible encore for the fans back in L.A. on Friday.
FREEMAN: For more on all this, we have the great Andy Scholes with us.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes.
FREEMAN: I mean, Andy, they -- they're talking about him with Babe Ruth with Hank Aaron.
SCHOLES: Oh, yes. I mean, we really should just, like, relish this moment, because we may never see something like this again, or it might take another 80, 100 years, or something like that, because, you know, a time came the first player ever to get 50/50, Thursday, in Miami. Last night, he got back to Dodger Stadium. Huge ovation from the L.A. crowd there before his first bat. Then in the fifth inning, but what does Ohtani do? He hits yet another home run, this two run shot number 52 on the season.
And then the seventh inning, after a single, Ohtani would steal second with ease. So he's now created the 52/52 club. How high will he go? We'll have to wait and see, eight days left in the season. Dodgers won that one six to four.
All right, we had a top 25 showdown last night in college football. This one was in the Big 10 22nd ranked Nebraska taking on 24th ranked Illinois, the fighting line are down seven in the fourth, but they get the touchdown here. Luke Altmyer to Brandon Henderson, the big old lineman, gets in for the score. Love seeing that. We would go to overtime tied at 24, Illinois scores first. Altmyer to Pat Bryant, so the Huskers needed to answer, but they went the wrong way. This is fourth and 26 and Dylan Raiola get sacked. Illinois wins 31 to 24. This was Nebraska's 400 straight sellout. But they now lost the last 25 games against a ranked opponent. That is a long streak.
All right, the Pac-12, meanwhile, still has two members, and one of them is undefeated. But it wasn't easy for Washington State last night against San Jose State, the Spartans, they scored here in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Emmett Brown to TreyShun Hurry. They went up three with just 26 seconds left. But Washington State quickly gets in field goal range, thanks to this 32-yard completion. And Dean Janikowski, what a kick here, 52 yarder to send the game into overtime.
Now, both teams threw an interception in the first OT. So in the second, San Jose State, they actually needed this two point conversion to tie, but the Cougars getting the big stop. Washington State now four and zero, they won that game 54 to 52.
[08:55:11] We got three top 25 matchups today, each of them with the team and a new conference, 11th ranked USC, going to make its Big 10 debut in the big house at Michigan, Utah playing its first Big 12 game on the road against Oklahoma State. And you got the Sooners starting their SEC era. They're going to take on 6th ranked Tennessee.
All right, finally, F1 in Singapore this weekend. Look at this. This guy decided he wanted a front row seat to practice. A lizard just chilling out there on the track. Look, they tried to get him off. He took off. He's like, you're not getting me. They had to pause practice for a bit to get him off the track. And, you know, good thing -- good thing they did guys, because, you know, the last thing anyone wanted to see is, you know, Lewis Hamilton coming around the corner, and that guy in the middle of the track wouldn't have been pretty.
FREEMAN: Iguana is a death wish. Get off the track.
SCHOLES: All right.
FREEMAN: It's wild there, man.
WALKER: How do they came that big?
FREEMAN: All right. Andy, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
WALKER: And thank you all for joining us this morning. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
FREEMAN: Smerconish will start after a quick break. Have a good day.
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