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WH Not Ruling Out Zelenskyy Being In Alaska For Trump-Putin Summit; Zelenskyy Stresses Immediate Ceasefire In Nightly Address; Trump Suggests Territory Swap To End Russia's War On Ukraine; Storms Kill 1 And Displace Hundreds Of Inmates In Nebraska; Battle Over Congressional Maps Ahead Of 2026 Midterms; Families Of Hostages Still Held In Gaza Plead For Ceasefire Deal; Family Of Transgender Alabama Teen Sues School District. Jen Pawol Makes History as MLB's First Female Umpire; Gunman in CDC Shooting Identified; Three 9/11 Victims Identified. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired August 10, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:11]

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN HOST: Happy Sunday and welcome to CNN This Morning. It is August 10th. I'm Isabel Rosales in for Victor Blackwell.

Here's what's new this morning. After initially cutting him out of that high-stakes summit on a ceasefire deal in his own country, we're learning the White House is now weighing inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Alaska. The new reporting about how this could play out, that's coming up.

Texas lawmakers will try again tomorrow to reach a quorum as that public standoff over GOP-led efforts to redraw congressional districts just drags on. How Republican leaders are trying to force Democrats to return to the state.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And after flooding hit several states overnight last night in the Midwest, more rain is on the way. We'll take a look at the timeline coming up.

ROSALES: Plus, a history-making moment on the baseball diamond.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dream actually came true today, and I'm still living in it, and I'm just so grateful.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: Jen Powell living the dream and blazing a trail as the first female umpire at a Major League Baseball game. Highlights of that just ahead.

All new this morning, sources tell CNN the White House isn't ruling out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy being in Alaska as President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet next week. But one U.S. official stressed that anything involving Zelenskyy would likely happen after that Trump-Putin meeting.

European leaders met with Vice President JD Vance Saturday to support Trump's diplomatic efforts. But stressing that, there must be a ceasefire first, and Ukraine must actively be involved in any peace talks. That is something Zelenskyy himself echoed in his nightly address.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translation): What is needed is not a pause in the killings, but real, lasting peace. Not a ceasefire sometime in the future, months from now, but immediately. President Trump told me this, and I fully support it.

The President of the United States has the leverage and the determination. Ukraine has supported all of President Trump's proposals since February. All parties supported the ceasefire.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: And that leads to question just what sort of a deal is actually likely to unfold here. The plan Putin has put forward is very different from those of his European counterparts. He wants a territory swap, which the U.S., by the way, hasn't ruled out either.

Joining me now from Kyiv is CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. Nick, good morning. How is that meeting in Alaska shaping up?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, I mean, Putin doesn't on the surface appear to want a territory swap. The plan that appears to have emerged from his meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is basically asking Ukraine to cede parts of Donetsk and Luhansk that it has yet to take -- have taken from it by Russian military force.

Now, that's pretty much unacceptable to nearly every Ukrainian you ask unless they are asked, well, how long do you want this war to infinitely go on for? The swap idea emerged from President Trump, who'd suggested without providing details that maybe Ukraine gets something back. We don't really know what that territory might indeed be.

And so we have two separate ideas shaping up here about Alaska. We have the Russian take, which is increasingly in state media about Moscow-Washington summit, them talking about their relationship and Ukraine, the war, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in the context of the U.S.-Russian relationship in a bilateral meeting that involves Putin's first visit to the U.S. in a decade.

Since we've now seen significant European pressure and criticism of that basic idea alongside Ukraine, the idea has been floated by the White House that Zelenskyy could potentially attend. A reminder, a trilateral meeting between the three, Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy, was proposed by Zelenskyy, backed by Trump for May in Istanbul. Putin rejected it.

And so it is a stretch, frankly, for him to imagine being in a trilateral meeting in Alaska. Indeed, the Kremlin's position is Zelenskyy meeting Putin requires lots of technical work beforehand, i.e. we don't want it at this particular point. Yes, you might have Trump-Putin meet, come up with a plan, and then Zelenskyy later be presented by that plan in Alaska by Trump.

But that is not the three-way meeting, which European allies stress. They have had significant meetings with the Ukrainians and the U.S. Vice President, JD Vance, just outside London over this weekend. And from that, we've had a joint statement from key European nations, essentially, like you said, Isabel, pointing out how the starting point for negotiations needs to be the current place that the front lines are in.

So not suggesting that first thing on the table is territory being ceded to Russia. The front lines potentially freeze where they are. But most importantly, the very first thing they want to see is a ceasefire, fighting, stopping before meaningful negotiations can take place.

[07:05:15]

A reminder again, that's not a new thing. That's something the United States, Europe and Ukraine originally suggested months ago, reiterated during a visit by European leaders in May here and wholesale rejected by Russia. And the sanctions that Trump had promised European leaders, they say, if Trump -- if Putin rejected that ceasefire, simply didn't follow through.

Fast forward a few months later, we're here all over again, very similar positions all round, but much higher stakes with secondary sanctions looming in the background. Look, just to capitalize on this for everybody, this is really about Russia finding as much time as it can to hold off secondary sanctions against its main energy customers, China and India, and get as far as it can on the front lines here with its summer offensive.

It's doing well in the latter there, a few more weeks, a month, maybe all it really needs to see real strategic gains. That's going to change what it negotiates about period and put Ukraine in a weaker position. So all stakes really now riding high on exactly the kind of format we see on Friday in Alaska. So much has changed in the last five days, you can pretty much bet a lot's going to change in the next five. Isabel?

ROSALES: Another important week ahead.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you.

Breaking news out of the Midwest this morning, a round of strong storms killed one person and critically injured another at a state park in Nebraska Saturday. Rescue crews were called to Two Rivers State Park. That's where they found this car crushed under a large tree. A woman was declared dead at the scene and firefighters then spent 90 minutes to free an injured man that was trapped inside of that car.

The intense storms also damaged two prison housing units in Nebraska State Penitentiary, displacing nearly 400 prisoners. State authorities say all staff and prisoners are safe and accounted for. The storm carried winds up to 80 miles per hour, that's according to the National Weather Service. Despite the heavy damage to the community, neighbors did not hesitate to begin cleaning up and offering a hand.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last year, we had part of this tree come down on the house in one of those storms. And so I thought it was going to be this tree, if anything. And then when we looked outside and it was that one, I was pretty shocked. So, and our other vehicle got -- it's underneath there somewhere.

We've always all helped each other, especially on this block, all the storms that we've had.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: And parts of Wisconsin also saw some flash flooding from the storms, forcing the Wisconsin State Fair to close early.

And more storms are firing up this morning. CNN's Allison Chinchar is here tracking all of this for us. What can we expect?

CHINCHAR: Yes, so it's still raining now. It's still likely going to rain this afternoon and we have another round that's going to come in on Monday. So that's just going to exacerbate a lot of the flooding conditions in a lot of these areas.

So take a look. All of this area you see here in green is where we have the flood watches. Those little red boxes kind of intermittently dispersed or interspersed there. Those are flash flood warnings, meaning imminent flooding is taking place. Some of these areas have already had 3 to 5 inches of rain come down already. And now we're adding more on top of it.

And you can see from some of these, it is very heavy rain that is coming down. A lot of lightning, too. So you've got some stronger thunderstorms mixed in, not just with the heavy rainfall. And it stretches from Michigan all the way back into Kansas.

Now, we also have some areas of concern down along the southeast here, along the Atlantic coast, pushing all of those showers in around Charleston and Savannah. Not so much from the strong to severe standpoint, but more the flooding, because this area has seen a tremendous amount of rain. So you've got flooding potential down there.

But the big concern really is going to be across portions of the Midwest and into the plains, especially in this red colored area here from Kansas City, stretching back towards Wichita. That's a level three out of four risk for excessive rainfall. And it's really just taking into account not only all of the rain that has already fallen, but now all of the new rain that we're going to be adding on top of it.

And you can see here, as we push this out through the rest of the day, that rain is going to continue to spread east to states like Wisconsin, going to get more rain. Same thing for Iowa and Illinois. Then it finally begins to spread out and push off towards the east by the time we get to this evening.

But then you have another round that starts to form in eastern Colorado, and that will continue to slide and spread eastward as we head into Monday. So again, we had rain yesterday. We're having more rain today, and we will have yet again even more rain tomorrow, which is likely just going to, as I said earlier, exacerbate the flooding conditions.

ROSALES: Between the heat, the rain and hurricane season, you're going to stay busy.

Allison Chinchar, thank you.

Well, the public standoff between Texas state lawmakers that's heating up after Democrats left Texas in order to block a Republican bid to redraw the state's congressional map. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the state Supreme Court now to remove 13 Democratic lawmakers from office. Texas is also suspending direct deposit for those absent lawmakers, so meaning that they would have to show up to actually pick up their paychecks. The position is part time with pay starting at $600 a month.

[07:10:08]

Now, in response to the fight in Texas, Democratic lawmakers in California are planning a special election in November to redraw their state's congressional districts.

CNN's Arlette Saenz has more on the battle for control of Congress.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Republican push for redistricting in Texas remains at a standstill as the Texas House Democrats are sticking to their strategy to remain out of the state in order to block a vote from happening. Republican leaders in the state are trying to exert a pressure campaign on these lawmakers to get them back into Texas.

On Saturday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton actually filed a legal complaint in the state of California, asking them to enforce civil arrest warrants for these Texas Democrats. The complaint lists six Texas House Democrats who were in California with California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday. But the catch here is, is that those Texas Democrats are no longer in the state, that's according to a source familiar with their whereabouts that I spoke with.

The California governor seemed to tease that in a post on social media, writing, quote, "You should definitely use all resources looking for them here, Ken. You will totally find them." Now, the Texas Attorney General has also asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove 13 absent House Democrats from their seats. But so far, Democrats in that Texas House delegation have said that they remain undeterred.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

GENE WU (D), TEXAS STATE HOUSE: We will not be broken by these antics. We are not here to play games. We are not here to make waves to go viral or do any of that stuff.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SAENZ: Now, the Texas House Speaker says they plan to reconvene on Monday to try again on redistricting. But so far, Democrats have not shown any indication that they are budging from their strategy. There is a very real time crunch here as the Texas special session is set to end on August 19th. And several of those Texas House Democrats have said that they are prepared to stay out of the state until that session ends.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.

ROSALES: Arlette, thank you.

And be sure to tune in to Inside Politics Sunday. Manu Raju welcomes California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren to discuss California's own efforts to redraw their congressional districts. That's in response to Texas's plan. That's at 8:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Over to Israel, where thousands of people are protesting the government's plan to expand the war in Gaza and reoccupy Gaza City. There are growing concerns that that could endanger hostages, 20 of whom are still believed to be alive. Their families are urging the government to prioritize their release.

Sebastian Shukla joins us now. Sebastian, good morning. What is the latest on the protests?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN FIELD PRODUCER: Yes. Well, those pictures that you saw from Tel Aviv last night saw hundreds of thousands of protesters led by the families of those remaining hostages still inside the Gaza Strip taken by Hamas on October 7th, trying to pressurize Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to row back on their plans announced this week, just gone about the expanded IDF operations back inside the Gaza Strip.

Those people who took to the streets are obviously furious about these proposed plans. And the families of those hostages also spoke this morning in Tel Aviv about what they would like to see, a general strike, as they called it, which seems unrealistic, but is, again, an effort by the hostage families to put pressure back on Netanyahu to listen to their demands.

I'd like you to take a listen to what one of the families of one of the hostages had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP) LISHAY LAVI, WIFE OF HOSTAGE STILL HELD IN GAZA: I again want to ask President Trump and Mr. Witkoff, we don't need more war, more dead, more dead hostage, more just dead soldiers. We need a deal, a deal to end this war and save them. Please, you are the ones who can make it happen.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SHUKLA: And you can hear there the anguish of the families, that family there, the wife of Omri Miran, who is believed to be one of the 20 remaining live hostages. There are 50 in total inside Gaza, still held by Hamas, who are calling for their release and the pressure that they are trying to apply on Netanyahu, Isabel.

ROSALES: And how has the Israeli government responded to the protests, as well as all of this growing international pressure?

SHUKLA: Well, they haven't really responded at all. It is all a systems go, as far as the Israeli government are concerned.

[07:15:04]

There has been a clarification, at least, or it seemed to be, by Benjamin Netanyahu, whether it would be occupation of the Gaza Strip or not. That, though, tends to focus around the semantics of occupying an occupation and what that would mean for military assistance and provisions and humanitarian safeguarding that would have to be provided under an occupation. That appears to be where Netanyahu seems to be rowing back.

But what we do know for certain is that whatever this operation is, these expanded IDF actions will be -- need to be commenced or finished, the evacuation of Gaza City in particular, by the 7th of October, that incredibly symbolic two-year anniversary to the day that Hamas launched that brutal assault, claiming the lives of some 1,200 peaceful Israelis. Isabel?

ROSALES: Sebastian Shukla, thank you.

Well, next, a new lawsuit involving a transgender teen who took their own life. We'll talk live with the family's attorneys about their claims against the school district.

Plus, CDC employees say they were, quote, "sitting ducks" when a gunman opened fire at their headquarters right here in Atlanta. We'll have the latest, including the identity of the shooter.

And history on the diamond. The first woman to umpire a regular season game returns to the field today, that's next.

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[07:21:13]

ROSALES: Welcome back. The parents of a transgender Alabama teen who died by suicide back in 2023 are now suing the Elba City School District where they were enrolled. In a lawsuit filed in District Court Wednesday, Carmeisha and Cory Williams argue the district ignored claims by their teen known as S.W. in the suit that they were being bullied.

The lawsuit states this, "The death of S.W., a 14-year-old mixed-race student at Elba High School died by suicide on August the 9th, 2023, after enduring persistent bullying, harassment, and discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation, race, and mental health status." It goes on to say that the "defendants demonstrated deliberate indifference to S.W.'s suffering and failed to take appropriate action to protect them from harassment."

Now, CNN reached out to all parties named in the lawsuit for comment on those allegations. We have not yet heard back.

Joining me now are the attorneys for S.W.'s family, Artur Davis and Constant Cooper -- Constance Cooper. Thank you so much to the both of you for making time and for discussing this important topic. Let me start with this lawsuit that it paints a picture of years of harassment and neglect by the school district. What do the both of you see as the single most critical failure in protecting S.W.?

CONSTANCE COOPER, FAMILY ATTORNEY: The hiring of the principal, Warren Weeks. Warren Weeks was known to be a bully. The former guidance counselor had worked with him at a previous school and knew that there were issues with parents, with teachers, and with students of physical violence, in fact, by this principal. And they hired him anyway.

And because of that, there was a confrontation with Shanaiya and her family has, I'm going to say her sometimes, I'm going to say they sometimes, so does Shanaiya's family. They say both. She asked, they asked to be called Shane. And the family really wants Shanaiya's name lifted up because they feel that she wasn't listened to in life. And they want her to be listened to in death so that she can finally rest.

But on that last day of school, when she was there, first of all, Shanaiya had warned the principal that, hey, I'm being bullied. This is a new principal. This is his first day of school. He says, fine, I understand.

She comes in the next day, is wearing a very large hoodie to cover up her self-harm scars from mutilation. At that point, Shanaiya is confronted by the principal, Warren Weeks, in front of about 50 students all the way to lunch. And Dr. Weeks forcibly removes the hoodie from her body.

That shows the self-harm scars and that shows the outline of their breasts, which made them very self-conscious. Dr. Weeks forced Shanaiya to go through the rest of the day without that hoodie with only a very small tank top underneath. The next day, Shanaiya got her little sister ready for school, put her little sister on the school bus and killed herself.

ROSALES: Yes. And I want to be clear because there are some deeply serious accusations in this lawsuit against former administrators, a principal that you mentioned here by name. Those are your allegations. But I want to be clear to our audience that they have not been proven in court. The school and these individuals, they're going to have their chance to defend themselves and follow their response.

Now, I do want to get to this. Last year, I spoke with the mother of a 15-year-old gay student, Nigel Shelby, who in 2019 died by suicide. She was fighting a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, including what was labeled as a Don't Say Gay bill that would have banned any teacher-led discussions in public schools on sexual orientation and gender identity. Now, that ultimately died in the state Senate.

Here's what Camika Shelby told me. I want you both to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

[07:25:00]

CAMIKA SHELBY, SON DIED BY SUICIDE IN 2019: It's dangerous. You're basically making it official that they don't have a safe space. School is not supposed to be a place that would make a child want to end their life. He's no longer here. But there's still a million of him that is here. And it does affect them.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: Now, this mother, she successfully sued the Huntsville City Board of Education, alleging that school officials ignored repeated reports of harassment, much of what we're hearing with this lawsuit. Her case was settled and policy reforms were promised, although the district denied any wrongdoing.

What kind of changes, Artur, are you hoping will come from this lawsuit?

ARTUR DAVIS, FAMILY ATTORNEY: At minimum, school districts around this country need to realize, first and foremost, these situations are not about politics. They're not about the hot-button issues that people are debating in campaigns. They're not about issues that are being weaponized in campaign commercials. These matters are about children.

And you ask at the beginning what the heart of this lawsuit is about. The heart of this lawsuit is about hearing the cries of a child. It is about hearing the cries of a child who's being bullied, who is harassed, and was made to feel less than human. There is no world, whatever your politics, whatever your worldview, no matter who you vote for, there is no world where the cries and the screams of a child ought to go unanswered.

The unspeakable cruelty that happened in this case, the incredible attacks on this child, this human being, it's a reminder to schools, you can't stay silent when your children are being wounded. The very laws that we're relying on in this case, the federal anti- discrimination laws, the Equal Protection Clause, those laws are now being weaponized in our society to attack DEI programs. They're being weaponized to say to black entrepreneurs, you can't get grants, to minority children, you can't get scholarships. We're showing in this case that those laws are still powerful and can still serve the cause of civil rights and justice. That's an important lesson in this lawsuit.

ROSALES: And you mentioned DEI, I do want to get to this, that last year Alabama governor, excuse me, Kay Ivey, she signed a sweeping law, Senate Bill 129, that banned diversity, inclusion, and equity programs in schools and universities joining states like Texas and Florida. It came in the midst of this nationwide push from conservative lawmakers to limit the rights of transgender and LGBTQ individuals and ban DEI programs.

Now that law went into effect last October and prohibits DEI offices, mandatory DEI training and teaching, or endorsing certain, quote, "divisive concepts" that's related to race, gender, systemic bias. Now your lawsuit claims that marginalized students like S.W., that they were left unprotected even when others were shielded from bullying.

Do -- either of you, do you worry about Alabama's anti-DEI ban, that that could further deepen these sorts of disparities seeing on the ground in schools in Alabama?

COOPER: The important thing is there already is another law on the books in Alabama that was passed in 2018 in response to the suicide of a 10-year-old in Montgomery, Alabama. And under that law, schools have to put in place a systemic bullying addressing and protection plan. Part of this plan is very simple. It's a bullying reporting form.

That bullying reporting form is supposed to be with a student handbook. It's supposed to be posted on the website. In this case, Elba City schools failed to post that and kept the reporting forms under lock and key.

Now under the program, there should be an anti-bullying -- under the law, there should be an anti-bullying program that's adopted by each school. And that program should be effective. It should stop things like this from happening.

There should be a report. There should be a full investigation and a way to stop this. Yes, Shanaiya was different. Shanaiya was gay. Shanaiya was trans. Shanaiya was half black, half white.

But every student has something that they're self-conscious about, something that makes them feel excluded. And the important thing is scientific studies have shown that shunning feels just like pain in the body. So you can imagine what a 14-year-old feels when the highest symbol of authority, the principal, is disrobing them.

This isn't just about Shanaiya. And it's not just about Shanaiya being gay or trans. And it's not about a small Alabama town because it's so easy to make these small towns scapegoats, right? This happens everywhere. This happens all across the country. This isn't about Alabama. This is about every single child and making sure every single child is protected and listened to.

DAVIS: And laws are no stronger than the people who are in charge of enforcing them. Virtually every school district in America has anti- bullying laws, and Alabama has an anti-bullying law. But if the people who are running the schools, if the teachers who are on the frontlines aren't standing up to enforce those laws, they mean nothing whatsoever.

One of the things that we believe we're going to prove in this lawsuit is that the Elba School District enforce these laws for some kids, but not for others. You don't get to pick and choose whose cries you hear. You don't get to pick and choose who deserves protection. You don't get to pick and choose who deserves to have their right safeguarded.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: And we'll have to leave it there. There's -- we could keep going on and on and on. And as you both mentioned, this suit goes beyond what's happening in this one school, beyond this one district. Thank you both for coming on and discussing this important issue. Constance and Artus.

DAVIS: Thank you for having us.

COOPER: Thank you.

ROSALES: Now, if you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of self-harm, there is help available. You can text or call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 to get help. We'll be right back.

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[07:35:00]

ROSALES: Welcome back. The gender barrier is officially broken among Major League Baseball umpires. And Coy is here. Good morning to you.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning.

ROSALES: With more on the first woman ever to umpire a regular season game. That's big.

WIRE: Incredible stuff. Jen Pawol, she worked the first base of the first game of a Marlins-Braves doubleheader, right up the road here in Atlanta.

ROSALES: Wow.

WIRE: Check out the moment. Here it is. History or her story in the making. The former Division 1 catcher at Hofstra was blown away by fans holding signs that says, welcome to the show, Jen. Another said, thank you from girls and women everywhere. The 48-year-old says she'll be donating the cap she wore to the MLB Hall of Fame. She was down the third base line for the second game after more than a decade of grinding it out in the minors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PAWOL, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE: Just incredible. Like dream came true. Like the dream actually came true today. And I'm still living in it. And I'm just so grateful to my family, to Major League Baseball for just creating such amazing work environment. To all the umpires that I work with who we have just amazing camaraderie. And we're having fun out there. We're working hard, but we're having fun. And I'm just so thankful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: All right. Pawol said -- it was amazing when she took the field, people shouting her name. She has gotten very emotional. She said, next up, Isabel, she will be behind the plate, calling the balls and strikes in a series finale today. Can't wait to hear her say, strike three, you're out of there.

ROSALES: Times are changing. This is amazing.

WIRE: It's pretty awesome.

ROSALES: Amazing to witness. Coy Wire, thank you. More than two decades after 9/11, more victims have been identified. The technology used to bring closure to those families, that is coming up.

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[07:40:00]

ROSALES: Investigators have identified the gunman in Friday's deadly shooting outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention right here in Atlanta. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says that 30- year-old Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw, Georgia opened fire near CDC headquarters before dying of a gunshot wound inside a nearby CVS. We're also learning new details on how CDC employees are dealing with the aftermath of this traumatic incident.

Sources tell CNN that in hastily arranged zoom call, some CDC employees told leadership they felt like, quote, "sitting ducks." A motive has not been officially confirmed, but police say the gunman's family claims he believed a COVID-19 vaccine made him sick.

24 years after the worst terror attack on U.S. soil, three more victims remains from September 11th have been identified. This brings the total number of Rural Trade Center victims positively identified to 1,653 people. Joining me now is Paul Keaton, he is the son of one of the three victims that has been identified. We're also joined by New York City Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Jason Graham, whose office has been conducting that testing. Thank you both so much for your time.

Paul, let me start with you. It's been nearly 24 years since you lost your mother in 9/11. First of all, can you tell us about your mom? What was she like?

PAUL KEATING, MOTHER DIED IN 9/11ATTACKS: Thank you, Isabel, for having me on. My mother, Barbara Keating, was an overachiever, fun, loving. She was a fantastic grandmother, mother, executive director, a big brother, a big sister. She ran a church full-time in retirement and she was enjoying her recent retirement by being a snowbird between Palm Springs and Massachusetts. And she was just fabulous in every way. Made all the right decisions for decades and decades.

ROSALES: And what went through your mind, Paul, when the medical examiner's office contacted you for the first time about a possible DNA match?

KEATING: Stunned, I guess if you had to do it in one word. We were not expecting. For decades, we weren't expecting a DNA match based on the actual event itself, the way it happened. We do know that -- we expected multiple people's remains, but we were not expecting it from most of the people on the plane, which she was a passenger on flight 11. So, we were stunned, absolutely stunned.

[07:45:00]

ROSALES: Dr. Graham, let me go to you. There's three new identifications. These are the latest identifications since 2024, that's according to a city press release. How challenging, if you could help our viewers understand, is this identification process? Because I think one of their first questions would be, why does it take so long?

DR. JASON GRAHAM, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER OF NEW YORK CITY: Well, good morning and thank you for the opportunity to join you. I want to just start by saying that I think you've just heard in Mr. Keating's comments why we do this work. This office made a very solemn promise to the families of the victims who were lost on September 11, 2001, to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to identify their loved ones and return them to their families.

And if you can imagine every force that was -- that could -- is comprehensible with respect to damaging DNA, those forces were present on the morning of 9/11. And the work has continued to this day in this office to advance forensic DNA science and continue to do everything possible to ultimately deliver on that promise that we've made to the families.

The course of the past 20 years has brought advancements in DNA science that's allowed us to work with smaller amounts of DNA and to obtain DNA from very degraded samples that we historically were unable to produce DNA profiles from that were usable to compare, to reference samples provided by the families. And so, this is work that's ongoing and it's a commitment to that solemn promise we've made to the families.

ROSALES: Yes. And I see that 90 percent of identifications have been made using DNA testing, and as you mentioned, the technology has evolved very deeply since 2001. Paul, let me go to you now. How has your family navigated this long wait for answers and what would you say this closure means for you and so many other families like yours?

KEATING: I can only really speak for my family, obviously. I'm sure it's quite different for everybody. It is a long process that literally, I'm sure the doctor will tell you just does not stop, it doesn't go away. So, the medical examiner's office has contacted us numerous times over the years. They have identified belongings. We had a previous DNA match a few years ago with my mom's hairbrush. And so, this is not a new topic for us. But the final piece, the actual remains is stunning, but yet, it does bring it somewhat full circle. It'll never go away. Not as long as any of us are alive, but it does bring us closure. And most importantly, I really just wanted to say from my family to you, Doctor, and to all the staff, the feet that you have achieved is -- it's unbelievable on every level.

So, to move six 10 city blocks of lower Manhattan of rubble to Staten Island, to go through it milligram by milligram for 24 years with nonstop passion, effort, I think three times we were contacted was after hours. It's been so long you've probably lost people to retirement and turnover and possibly even death, it's been that long. No one's ever done anything like this for our family, and I just wanted to give you a heartfelt thank you.

ROSALES: And unfortunately, we have to leave it there. Never enough time. Paul Keaton and Dr. James Graham, thank you so much. I know the work continues. Still over 1,100 people that need to be identified. We'll be right back.

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[07:50:00]

ROSALES: Welcome back. Tennessee Titans fans got their first look at the new face of their franchise. Our Coy Wire is here with more on the debut of the new NFL top draft.

WIRE: Yes. I mean, preseason football, it brings hope, it brings promise. And number one overall pick. Cam Ward is bringing all that for Titans fans after a superb preseason debut. He may be one of the least talked about number one overall QB picks of any draft ever. Cam completed five of eight passes, 67 yards, leading his team on a 65- yard touchdown, drive bucks, 129 to 7. Ward just showed up every day and he works. He's in the building at 5:00 a.m. He recently said, I grew up watching my dad wake up at 4:30 for a job he didn't like. So, if I wake -- can't wake up and work harder at a job I do like I shouldn't be playing football.

How about some plays of the day for us? Braves hosting Marlins here in Atlanta. Bottom of the fourth, and there is a robbery in broad daylight in left field. Jurickson Profar with an incredible home run robbery going up and over the wall. Where's that man's cape? Oh, fans and teammates, they could not believe what they just seen.

And Jacksonville kicker Cam Little has a big leg. The 21-year-old sends teammates into a frenzy, nailing a jaw dropping 70-yard field goal. Would have broken Justin Tucker's NFL record of '66.

[07:55:00]

It doesn't count being a preseason game. But holy moly, the second year player out of Arkansas showing he has clearly found is footing.

ROSALES: Coy wire, I've got a surprise for you. Most people, they have a pet dog or a cat. That's pretty normal, right? WIRE: Yes.

ROSALES: Well, not this man in Germany. He's got a pet alligator he loves to cuddle with. Meet Frau Meyer. Her owner, Christian, is a former circus performer who grew up with the alligator and did acts with her for decades. He says she is like a big sister to him, even if there is always the element of danger whenever they hang out. OK. I do not recommend this having lived in Florida. Your face says it all.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I feel like there's just so many other animals you could snuggle with.

ROSALES: Until they turn on you.

CHINCHAR: Yes.

WIRE: There are two creatures I would not want to wrestle with, an alligator and Isabel Rosales. Have you seen this woman do Brazilian jiujitsu? Isabel Rosales TV on Instagram. You need to see it.

ROSALES: And I've eaten a gator before. Bring a gator. All right. Thank you for joining us this morning. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju. That's next.

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