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CNN This Morning

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Allow Restrictions On Mail-in Voting; North Carolina Starts Sending Out Mail-in Ballots. Markets Expect Fed To Raise Interest Rates This Month; NOAA Releases Video Of View From Inside Hurricane Lowell; At Least 50 Million Americans Under Heat Alerts Heading Into Labor Day; Gulf Coast Bracing For Rain Showers, Scattered Thunderstorms; "9/11" And "9/11: Inside The Film" Airs Sunday at 8:00 P.M. Eastern; Deadly Explosion Rocks Military Base In Bolivia; Death Toll In Nepal-China Flood Disaster Reaches 1,375; Wall Street Journal: Senator Skips Meetings, Shows Little Interest In Doing Job; Williams Sisters Fall In Thrilling U.S. Open Return; Ben Shelton Advances After Hard-Fought Victory; Pegula Rallies To Beat Fernandez In Round Three; LSU Omits Former NFL Players From Opening Game Roster; Malachi Toney Fuels Miami's Rout Of Stanford; College Football Kicks Off Amid Dangerous Heat. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired September 05, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:45]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back for a special hour of CNN This Morning on this Labor Day weekend. Here's what you need to know today. New this morning, U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are in Moscow. We're going to tell you what we know about why they're there and the significance of where they're reportedly headed next.

Plus, remarkable scenes in Nepal as rescue crews pull out survivors more than a week after devastating flooding there. And the first votes of the November elections are about to be cast. North Carolina is already sending out ballots by mail for the midterms. We're going to talk with a state elections official about the impact fights over mail-in voting rules are having.

And later, allegedly refusing to meet constituents increasingly estranged from his fellow Democrats. I'm going to talk to the journalist behind a new report that Pennsylvania's John Fetterman is showing little interest in his work as a senator.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREEMAN: And welcome on in. It is Saturday, September 5th. Thank you so much for sticking with us for a new special hour of CNN This Morning. Victor Blackwell is off. I'm Danny Freeman in New York.

This morning we have breaking news out of Russia. The envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed U.S. Special envoys Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son in law Jared Kushner to Moscow. Trump's envoys are in Russia's capital working on securing a diplomatic end to the war that has raged on for four and a half years. A U.S. official said Trump's envoys will then head to Kyiv for their first visit there. CNN Stefano Pozzebon joins us now.

Stefano, these meetings are coming just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports new Russian strikes this morning. What can you tell us?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN ROME CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, the latest we're learning, Danny, from the Russian capital is that Russian media is reporting that Vladimir Putin has just ordered a three-day pause on strikes against Kyiv, another Ukrainian position. This, of course, marks the significance of this visit as the U.S. delegation has just arrived in Moscow. We could see in photos published on social media, they were welcomed by Kirill Dmitriev at Moscow Vnukovo Airport earlier today. Rainy day in Moscow, by the way, as the tarmac was just washed by the rain.

However, as I was saying, the significance of this visit, of course, because it would be the first time when they will get to Kyiv that Witkoff in particular and Jared Kushner will visit the Ukrainian capital personally. They will be able to see firsthand that the damage inflicted on the Ukrainian capital by more than four years of relentless Russian barrage of ballistic missiles and drone strikes. And earlier today, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, was blaming the Russians for targeting airports in the Ukrainian capital region just to prevent the image of the U.S. delegation landing in Kyiv. That image will add even further significance to this visit because normally, especially since the beginning of the war foreign leaders travelling into Ukraine did so by travelling by rail. They would take a train from Poland exactly to avoid their travels to be interrupted or impacted by the continuous barrage of Russian attacks against Kyiv.

It seems that Kushner and Witkoff will not be impacted after the Russian president ordered his three-day pause in the attacks. However, it's hard to see exactly what this visit could achieve with neither Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also Zelenskyy scaling down or scaling back from their demands. In particular, Russia is demanding that in order to impose to obtain a truce, Ukraine would have to seize large swaths of territory. And of course, Kyiv is having none of it. Danny?

FREEMAN: Yes, certainly not. But again, fascinating developments already out of Moscow. Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much for that report.

To this now, we have brand new video coming into CNN on our other breaking story this morning. The Iranian state media report about several blasts in the Persian Gulf. Iranian news agencies say the U.S. struck a small tanker near Kharg Island. Four projectiles hit the vessel named Stark 1. At this hour, no casualties have been reported and the U.S. Military has not commented.

[09:05:12]

We're going to keep an eye on this story throughout the day.

And we're also following breaking news out of Nepal where rescuers have pulled a woman alive from a flood damaged building 10 days after devastating flooding swept through the region. Take a look.

Video shows rescuers lifting the 60-year-old woman from the upper floor of a four story building and carrying her away. She was then airlifted to a hospital. Local officials say her family believed she had died and even begun preparing for her funeral. Her husband at this time is still missing.

Now there was another rescue this morning. The Nepali army says a joint team of Nepali international rescuers pulled a Chinese national alive from a tunnel. Officials say he was found about 245 yards inside of the tunnel and is being evaluated by medical teams. Search and rescue operations still underway at this time.

To this now, a Massachusetts judge has declared a mistrial in the case of Lindsay Clancy, the former nurse accused of murdering her three young children. After seven days of deliberations, the jury deadlocked. Clancy's attorneys revealed a single holdout juror prevented a unanimous verdict. The prosecution have not said though whether they will retry the case.

Now, I spoke with a former Massachusetts judge last hour who explained why a retrial might be a difficult decision for the prosecution. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL ERSKINE, RETIRED MASSACHUSETTS JUDGE: They are very well aware of the fact that 11 people on that jury completely rejected their position and their theory in the case of premeditated murder. So I think knowing that it will be difficult for them to determine whether or not they can reach 12 people who aren't divided over this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: CNN's Jean Cazares has been in Plymouth, Massachusetts following the trial for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDGE WILLIAM SULLIVAN, MASSACHUSETTS SUPERIOR COURT: At this point, I'm going to declare that the jury is deadlocked and I'm going to declare a mistrial.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lindsay Clancy's triple murder trial coming to a dramatic ending on Friday, a mistrial.

KEVIN REDDINGTON, LINDSAY CLANCY'S ATTORNEY: This is not a time for gloating, bragging, expressing victory. It's a very sad case.

CASAREZ (voice-over): But not before a few last ditch efforts by the defense, including filing an emergency appeal to the Massachusetts highest court. But that appeal was denied after six and a half days of deliberation and several notes to the judge from the jurors saying they were uneducated to come to a unanimous verdict. The last note from the jury read simply, quote, "It is with a heavy heart that we report we are unable to come to a unanimous decision and will not be able to."

Earlier in the day, when the court reconvened, the defense asked the judge to question the lone holdout juror.

REDDINGTON: It clearly and unequivocally indicates that they are basically 11 to one and this person will not apply reasonable doubt to the evidence to return a not guilty verdict.

CASAREZ (voice-over): The judge denied the request. The defense then pushed for a forceful reminder to jurors to follow the law, drawing visible exasperation from the judge.

SULLIVAN: What do you want me to do?

REDDINGTON: I want --

SULLIVAN: Get a brass band?

CASAREZ (voice-over): Later on outside court, in an unusual moment, the defense spoke out about that one juror who was a holdout.

REDDINGTON: They know that they were robbed by one man for whatever his agenda was, who stole seven weeks of the life of these other jurors that were so attentive, so beautiful, so wonderful and listen to this evidence and you could see how defeated they were sitting there.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Clancy is accused of strangling her young children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month- old Callan, in January of 2023. She does not deny that she killed her three children, but pleaded not guilty. The 36-year-old's defense team argued she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

REDDINGTON: She loved her children. They were her life. This young lady is not guilty of the killing of her children because she was suffering from a disease and defect.

CASAREZ (voice-over): The prosecution acknowledged Clancy had a mental disease or defect, but claimed the former labor and delivery nurse deliberately killed her children with premeditation and extreme cruelty and that she was not in a state of psychosis at the time of the murders.

[09:10:09]

TIM CRUZ, PLYMOUTH COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This case is not about a health care system or about how women are treated in it. Those are all important issues. This case, however, was about Lindsay Clancy and what she did on January 24, 2023, and the cruel and calculated killing of three innocents.

CASAREZ (voice-over): The focus now turns to what happens next, prosecutors saying they will decide whether to retry the case against Clancy at a future court hearing.

CRUZ: I do know that one of the questions that are out here right now regarding retrials, I will let you know that there'll be no decisions made today regarding that. I'm going to be meeting with our team and we will address this case further at the appropriate time in the context of an official court proceeding.

CASAREZ: There is a status hearing set in this case for September 29th in the courthouse right behind me. The defense is going to have a motion for consideration and we may learn from the prosecution if they actually are going to try this case again.

In Plymouth, Massachusetts for CNN, I'm Jean Casarez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Thank you, Jean.

Some other headlines now, President Trump plans to use the Qatari jet that's been serving as Air Force One when he travels to Ireland later this month. The trip comes two months after president flew on the aircraft to Turkey, but then left the country on a different plane because of security concerns. The jet, a gift from Qatar, has faced questions about whether it has all the capabilities of the traditional Air Force One. Trump says the aircraft will be upgraded this fall, a process he says will take about 60 days. Trump's plan to use the plane on his trip to Ireland was first reported by the Washington Post.

And the fight over Missouri's congressional map is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. State officials asked the justices yesterday to restore new district lines that could help Republicans win another U.S. House seat. Missouri's highest court blocked that map on Thursday. It ruled state officials wrongly rejected a petition signed by more than 300,000 people demanding a public vote on the changes. Missouri wants the case settled by September 14th so ballots can be mailed on time to military members and Americans overseas.

The Supreme Court has ordered the groups fighting the map to respond by midday on Monday.

And an ICE agent accused of lying about a shooting during an immigration operation in Minneapolis has pleaded not guilty. He was released on bond yesterday with a GPS ankle monitor. And federal prosecutors say Christian Castro lied six times to investigators after shooting a Venezuelan immigrant earlier this year. According to the indictment, Castro told agents he had been attacked and feared for his life. Prosecutors say surveillance video and other evidence contradicted that account.

Coming up in a moment, North Carolina is mailing ballots out today and we're going to explain a legal fight headed to the Supreme Court that could change who gets one and whose vote counts. Plus, there's new reporting raising questions about Senator John Fetterman's engagement on Capitol Hill. We're going to talk to the Wall Street Journal reporter behind this stunning story. And the biggest story of college football's opening weekend isn't actually on the field. We're going to tell you why LSU hit the brakes on adding players with NFL ties after a major court ruling.

And as we go to break, let's take a live look now at Los Angeles as the sun is coming up out west. Good morning.

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[09:18:10]

FREEMAN: North Carolina is the first state in the nation to start sending out mail-in ballots for the midterm elections. Just hours before the state's ballots were mailed out on Friday, the state Board of Elections approved new ways for them to be rejected in a three to two Republican vote. And the Trump administration is taking its fight to the Supreme Court to impose sweeping restrictions on those ballots. They want to give the post office the authority to withhold ballots from voters who are deemed ineligible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY COOPER (D), NORTH CAROLINA SENATE CANDIDATE: It affects rural people, it affects veterans, it affects people who are disabled, people who rely on the absentee mail system in order to be able to let their voices heard through the vote. And if they're going to get the post office picking and choosing which of these ballots go through and which don't, that's crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Jeff Carmon joins us now. He's a Democratic member of the North Carolina Board of Elections.

Jeff, thank you so much for jumping on to talk about such an important topic on a holiday weekend. Let's start with this legal fight happening nationally right now. Tell us what is at stake if the Supreme Court sides with the Trump administration on these USPS rules.

JEFF CARMON (D), NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS MEMBER: Thank you for having me, Danny. If the Supreme Court does side with the president's lawsuit, it would create a significant amount of chaos as we've already sent our ballots out. If they do support his lawsuit, we would have to then revisit how to best address those issues and how to make sure everyone's votes will be counted.

FREEMAN: Yes, I think that's the clear message, at least from North Carolina right now, is that the election is underway essentially now that these mail-in ballots have --

[09:20:01]

CARMON: Yes. FREEMAN: -- started to go out. So let's talk more about your state, specifically the North Carolina State Board of Elections, as I understand it, approved new guidance Friday that changes how some absentee ballots will be handled. Can you explain how you voted and why?

CARMON: Yes. We previously had guidance in place and I voted against these new rules as we're already under -- the elections already underway. And these new rules will require people who return ballots. They will have to be returned by a close relative. The -- we outline who those relatives are.

For example, a first cousin or second cousin could not return a ballot for a relative. Another one of the rules that was approved was if you return it by mail and you seal the inner envelope but not the outer envelope, or if you seal the outer envelope and not the inner envelope, those ballots would have to be spoiled and you'd have to -- the new ballots would be reissued.

FREEMAN: Got you. So it's interesting, especially with those, I guess as they call them, naked ballots, that there's still so much debate happening about them to this day. But I'm curious, Jeff, what should North Carolina voters do right now as some of these mail-in ballots are heading out the door? What should they do right now to make sure their ballot is counted?

CARMON: Danny, thank you for that question. They should make sure when they receive the envelope to carefully read the instructions. There are significant -- there are significant things that they have to do correctly. They have to make sure they include a copy of their ID.

I advise everyone to have a plan in place with people very knowledgeable in their community about this voting process to make sure that they cross their -- cross their T's and dot their I's.

FREEMAN: Yes. And especially with mail-in ballots, you don't want any reason for anyone to ultimately disqualify your ballot or have any problems. It's easier just to follow the instructions.

Jeff Carmon, thank you so much for getting up early on a Saturday morning to talk through the beginning of your election. Oh, sorry, what?

CARMON: Thank you, Danny.

FREEMAN: Thank you. Appreciate it.

CARMON: Thank you. And so all the advocates were in North Carolina to please get out in our communities and make sure that these individuals are able to get their votes and correctly (ph).

FREEMAN: Well said. Thank you, Jeff. Apologies for cutting you off there for a moment. Appreciate your time this morning.

CARMON: Thank you. FREEMAN: All right, coming up, gas prices, we got to talk about it, they're skyrocketing. And overnight the average price for diesel hit an all-time high. We're going to break down the impact, of course, on Labor Day holiday travelers. Stay with us.

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[09:27:21]

FREEMAN: Tens of millions of Americans are expected to hit the road this Labor Day weekend. And gas has never been more expensive for this time of year. It's now $4.15 for a gallon of unleaded according to AAA. That means a large SUV or truck could cost around $100 to fill up. About $20 more than the same time last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I look for the cheaper one. Yes, I have to. You have to try to save a little here, save a little there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh God have mercy. OK. Too expensive as of right now, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: And by the way, diesel is even worse now $5.88 a gallon. That's an all-time high.

Now there are some encouraging signs for the economy. Unemployment held steady in August while employers added 162,000 jobs, more than doubling expectations. Also encouraging is where those jobs are. CNN'S Matt Egan explains.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, this jobs report, it didn't just beat expectations, it crushed expectations. And yes, this is good news for job seekers. So coming into this report, the forecast was for a gain of just 65,000 jobs. But look at this, 162,000. This was even ahead of the most optimistic forecasters.

The unemployment rate was expected to tick up to 4.2. It didn't. It went -- it stayed at 4.1 percent. And when you look at the trend for job growth over the last year or so, it's been a bumpy ride. There's been a few months of job loss.

However, what's encouraging is not only did was there this significant rebound in office August, but June and July were both revised higher. July was initially reported as a small job loss. Now it's been revised to a small job gain. Now when we look where the jobs are, that was another encouraging part of this report is this wasn't one of those instances where all the job growth was being driven by one part of the economy. This was a lot more widespread. Leisure and Hospitality adding 62,000 jobs.

That was mostly bars and restaurants. And that comes after a surprise prize job loss in July for this industry that economists blamed mostly on a hangover after the World Cup. Now government adding 35,000. That was mostly public schools. This is a reversal from July as well when public schools reported a significant decline in jobs that economists have mostly blamed on some quirks to school calendars.

Health care only added 13,000 jobs. That's kind of a soft number for that part of the economy. Got to wonder whether or not that reflects some immigration changes that could be shrinking the pool of available workers. So we should keep an eye on that one.

[09:30:10]

Then look at this leisure -- I'm sorry, information and finance losing a combined 34,000 jobs. That's notable because these two industries, not only do they have relatively high paying jobs, but they've been early and aggressive adopters of artificial intelligence.

Now, the one downside to this report was the wages. Wages came in at 3.1 percent. That's a fresh five-year low. And the problem is that that is well shy of the projected August inflation rate of 3.4 percent.

So that means if you adjust your paycheck for inflation, it's actually getting smaller. And that does get at how people are experiencing this economy and why we hear from people often saying they feel like they can't keep up with higher prices. The data suggests it's because they literally can't.

Now, after this report came out, the market increased its bets on an interest rate hike from the fed. Later this month before the report came out market saw about a 50/50 chance of a rate hike. Gone up to 60 percent.

So, the bottom line here is this report does suggest that the job market is doing better than feared. And it also suggests that the fed should be able to focus on the much bigger problem right now, which is inflation. Back to you.

FREEMAN: Matt Egan, thank you very much for breaking that all down. To this now, stunning new video this morning from inside Hurricane Lowell. NOAA Hurricane Hunters near Hawaii flew into the category four storm, look at that, to get more accurate forecasting data. Hawaii is under a state of emergency as it braces for Lowell.

Meanwhile, other parts of the country are facing either heat alerts or the threat of severe weather. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me now with more. I mean, intense weather for Labor Day weekend for your neck of the woods down there in the south.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Indeed. And some of those folks could be dealing with both the heat and the severe thunderstorms, not necessarily just one of them.

So, we take a look at the country right now. You've got over 50 million people under some type of heat alert, either heat advisories, that's the orange color or extreme heat warnings, which is the pink color here on the map. Again, it's a lot of the central portion of the country, but also even into the southeast. The one nice place for this holiday weekend is actually going to be in the northeast. Temperatures in most places in the 70s, very nice, Boston, New York, Providence, Hartford. The heat is really focused over here.

So, you've got places like Oklahoma City, Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta, Nashville. And it's not just for today. Even as we push into Sunday and even going into Monday, a lot of these temperatures are expected to be very high.

The only exception some of these may experience, take Atlanta, for example, dropping back down to 84 is because the rain chances start to go back up as we head into the weekend and then early next week.

Here's a look at the strong storms that we have. Now, it made its way through Ohio, now down into West Virginia and Kentucky. More are expected later on this afternoon. You'll start to see a lot more of them firing up across the Carolinas, stretching down through the southeast, especially along the Gulf Coast region.

Again, these are going to be the pop up types of storms. So if you have plans to maybe, say, beat the heat by going to the beach, just be aware that you may have to pick everything up in a moment's notice because of some showers and thunderstorms. And then as we go through the evening, those will spread out.

Tomorrow, we have the concern not only in the Midwest, but also out to the West. Areas like Las Vegas and Southern California could also get some showers and thunderstorms.

FREEMAN: It's cruel that it might get cooler for you guys in Atlanta, only because it might rain. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much for that forecast. Appreciate you.

All right. So, this now CNN remembers the anniversary of the September 11th attacks with a screening of the acclaimed film "9/11," which shows the only footage from inside the Twin Towers, 9/11. The film will be accompanied by a new interview from the filmmakers. And here's a preview and a warning it could be disturbing to some.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULES NAUDET, FILMMAKER: If you would have put it in the movie, people will say, come on, you're exaggerating. It's too big to be true.

My camera became almost a shield against the horror, physical and mental. It was a way to concentrate more and more, not on what was happening on the outside, but what was happening just through that small screen.

When the south tower collapsed, we hear this loud rumbling coming from somewhere above us that transform into a roar. Everyone stops and runs out. And as we're running, the ground is shaking. The difference between life and death was inches and seconds for all of us. And I was lucky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody all right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I'm OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: You can watch the CNN film "9/11" tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on CNN and next day on the CNN app. Coming up after a quick break, a new report claims one senator is checking out of Washington.

[09:35:03]

We're going to talk with the "Wall Street Journal" reporter about the allegations surrounding John Fetterman. You're not going to want to miss it.

And if you're heading out, remember you can always stream our show from anywhere in the U.S., right from the CNN app. You can also go to CNN.com/watch. And here's a lovely live look at the Space Needle in Seattle. A beautiful morning out in the pacific northwest.

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[09:40:10]

FREEMAN: Stunning video there. A deadly explosion rocks a military base in Bolivia. At least two people were killed and dozens more were injured. The blast occurred at an artillery and maintenance base where pyrotechnic material was being stored. Dozens of homes in the area were also damaged.

And the death toll from the catastrophic floods in Nepal and China has now climbed to more than 1,300. Authorities say more than 5,400 people are still missing. The United Nations is appealing for nearly $50 million in emergency aid, as crews race to reach survivors and displaced families before winter arrives.

New this morning, a report from the "Wall Street Journal" is raising serious questions about Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman's commitment to his job. Internal records reviewed by "The Journal" show the Pennsylvania Democrat routinely skips hearings and cancels on constituents, but keeps up with appearances on conservative outlets like Fox News.

In leaked texts, Fetterman even dismissed meeting with a local children's hospital, claiming they, quote, "just want free trips to D.C." "The Journal" says Fetterman's office ignored multiple requests for comment.

Joining me now is Will Hobson, one of the "Wall Street Journal's" reporters who broke this story. Will, thank you so much for getting up early. And congratulations on the story, because it really struck a nerve with so many in D.C., so many in Pennsylvania. Can you explain why these staffers, advisors, even politicians wanted to speak out and sound this alarm about Senator Fetterman? WILL HOBSON, ENTERPRISE REPORTER, WALL STREET JOURNAL: I mean, I think it boils down to basically, they feel like Pennsylvania is not being represented in the Senate. You know, I think there's been a lot of dismay and concern about Senator Fetterman's shifting politics and public commentary over the last few months and, you know, two years.

But the core point, I think, came through in a lot of our interviews was these people just felt he wasn't doing the job. Regardless of how you feel, he stands on Israel, that he just wasn't doing the core job of senator.

FREEMAN: Right. It's interesting because we've heard a lot of conversation about Fetterman bucking some trends when it comes to his party and Israel, but this seemed actually almost laser focused on the day to day duties of being a senator.

I'm curious, though, Will, the message from a lot of Pennsylvania Democrats was loud and clear, we've had enough. You had a current -- rather, you had multiple current and former congressman, some possible 2028 rivals calling Fetterman a disgrace, lazy, saying he should resign. My question to you is did you get any indication throughout your reporting that Fetterman would step down or resign?

HOBSON: No, no. And I think there's a large degree of skepticism that he would consider doing that. He -- you know, this is -- it's his full time job. It's his, I think, only main source of income.

He -- you know, before, he was elected to Pennsylvania lieutenant governor, he was largely supported by his father, who was an insurance executive in York, P.A. So I think for core financial reasons, I think there's a large degree of skepticism he'd actually consider stepping down.

FREEMAN: Were you surprised at the reaction from certainly some of the active Democratic congressmen in Pennsylvania really going after Fetterman in the wake of this reporting?

HOBSON: I was surprised at the degree of the -- of the nerve it struck. You know, I think in looking back at the reaction yesterday, I think, that there's just been a lot of pent up frustration with how he's doing the job and how he's not doing the job in their perception. And that story sort of opened the door for them to finally speak openly and freely about it.

FREEMAN: Will, almost exactly a year ago, three police officers with the Northern York County Regional Police Department were ambushed and killed by a gunman. And you wrote in your article that Fetterman backed out of the funerals for those officers because it was too long. A text from Fetterman to an aide saying this may be a nonstarter.

Of all the anecdotes that you reported on, do you think this one will perhaps resonate most with his actual constituents on the ground in parts of Pennsylvania?

HOBSON: You know, I think it may because I think, you know, the way that he tries to portray himself publicly is that, you know, he is this normal Democrat, straight shooter, tough talking guy who's just, you know, he's in D.C. trying to fight for working class people from forgotten places like Braddock, P.A. And who is more working class from a forgotten place than, you know, than police officers from York where he grew up, you know, who put their lives on the line. And the fact that he wouldn't take the time out to go that -- to go to that funeral and show his face, I think -- I think it's a lasting image for a lot of people in P.A.

FREEMAN: I'm really curious about this. After reading your article in particular, Pennsylvania's Republican senator, Dave McCormick, who you note is actually, interestingly enough, less popular currently than Fetterman among Republicans in the commonwealth, that's according to some recent polling, McCormick has really been a big ally of Fetterman's. Did you get any sense that his support might fade for Fetterman? Because I think it's been a big help to Fetterman in the state having McCormick's backing on a lot of issues.

[09:45:07]

HOBSON: No, I think, I mean, that's one of the few I think real close relationships Senator Fetterman has in D.C. is with Senator McCormick. You know, politically, I think there's utility for Senator McCormick to keep that relationship, and potentially have some degree of influence in a line of communication to Senator Fetterman. And yes, no, I see no signs of that wavering.

I think, you know, we -- I went to an event in Erie, Pennsylvania, last week where both senators attended. And you can kind of tell for Senator McCormick, I think, Senator Fetterman is helpful in sort of burnishing his working class bona fides. You know, Senator McCormick's a billionaire and John -- you know, John, even to this day is better connecting with working class people than I think he is.

FREEMAN: All right. I only have about 20 seconds left. Last thing here, in the wake of your reporting, an X account popped up, supposedly composed of former Fetterman staffers who promised to release more damaging information about the senator. "The New York Times" said the account was authentic. I guess, Will, it doesn't seem like this story is going to go away anytime soon, does it?

HOBSON: Yes, I mean, it's my understanding that is authentic. We'll see what those staffers have. I don't know if it's the same ones that that, you know, that my colleague Siobhan and I spoke to for our story. But yes, the present tense of the feelings around John Fetterman in Pennsylvania, I think, are not changing anytime soon.

FREEMAN: Well, Will Hobson, again, a wonderful story that really had an impact in Pennsylvania and D.C. Appreciate your time this morning, breaking it all down for us.

HOBSON: It's my pleasure. Thanks.

FREEMAN: All right. It is the first official Saturday of the college football season. Kickoff just hours away. But many games will see temperatures close to the triple digits at kickoff. We'll have a game day forecast coming up next. And as we go to break, let's take a look at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. We know it's hot and steamy there, but hopefully flights are taking off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:51:17]

FREEMAN: Sports now. The U.S. Open is in full swing here in New York, and we got to see some familiar faces back on the court last night. Carolyn Manno has more. Hey, Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning. This was so fun. I stayed up late watching this with everybody else. Venus and Serena Williams making this nostalgic electric return to the U.S. Open doubles. Packed crowd hanging on every point for three hours last night.

And after dropping the first set, they rallied to win a really tight second set tiebreaker against the 14th seeded team of Maya Joint and Hao-Ching Chan. The crowd was firmly behind them. As you might expect, Venus and Serena fighting back from a four-one deficit in the third. They even jumped out to a dominant five-nothing lead in the decisive 10-point match tie break before they ultimately gave that away and fell just short of winning this thing.

Still, the match marking Venus and Serena's first time playing a Grand Slam doubles tournament together since 2022. And we saw flashes of their vintage dominance throughout this really entertaining night in Queens. The crowd was loving it.

After the Williams sisters left the court, Ben Shelton took to the court in a match that didn't end until after 2:00 a.m.. Shelton surviving a late night thriller against Denis Shapovalov. The two lefties battling in the first two sets, heavy hitting servers, and they dueled it out. Shelton finding another gear. In the third, he managed a crucial break in the fourth to pull away, but fired 14 aces to advance to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.

On the women's side, a fellow American, Jessica Pegula, fought back from being a set down to beat 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in the third round. She had a bit of a rocky start, but Pegula really found her rhythm from the baseline. After that, she was able to clean up some unforced errors to control the final two sets, and the win keeps the third seeded Pegula in the hunt for her first Grand Slam singles title, and also the world number one ranking as well.

Meantime, college football features a full slate this weekend. LSU made the decision to leave former NFL players Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris off of its final 103 man roster for tonight's season opener against Clemson. That is despite a court injunction that legally cleared them to play.

Both former undrafted NFL signees who played under Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss last season, they're looking to return to college football under a legal challenge regarding the NCAA's new five-year eligibility rules. A state judge issued a temporary injunction allowing them to play that overrides the NCAA and SEC blocks that were there. But whether they should be able to play at the college level has drawn a lot of debate.

It's worth noting that LSU left two spots open on their 105 man player limit, signaling that they could be added later in the season as that controversy continues to brew. We'll continue to follow it.

Last night, Miami receiver Malachi Toney started his sophomore campaign in stunning fashion with the most prolific receiving game in program history. The Hurricanes opened the season with a 45-6 win over Stanford.

Toney finishing with 12 receptions, breaking a school record with 234 receiving yards in the process, also tied the single game mark for touchdown catches at three. So a trifecta for him and plenty more where that came from, as today marks the first full Saturday of week one of this year's college football season, Danny.

Full lineup of games across the holiday weekend for you. So, a lot to look forward to.

FREEMAN: Certainly, a lot to look forward to indeed. And for more on it, let's bring back in meteorologist Allison Chinchar and talk about the full set of games for the first Saturday of the college football season. Because, Allison, a lot of those games are going to be played under heat alerts, I understand.

CHINCHAR: Yes. I believe there will be a lot of beverages that will be drunk over the next few hours, just in an effort to stay cool.

Take a look at this. So this is the -- this is Iowa city where northern Illinois is playing at Iowa. The temperatures themselves around game time in the low 90s, but it is expected to be very humid. So, that heat index or the feels like temperature will be into the triple digits.

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Now we move a little bit farther south down to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where North Alabama is playing Arkansas. Look at this temperature right around 100 degrees. That's the actual temperature. Now you factor in the humidity on top of it. It's going to feel more like 105 to even 106 at the time the game starts.

Again, these are just a few games though because take a look at the map. Any game that is occurring within the orange and pink areas you see on the map is expected to have extreme temperatures. In some cases, it's not even just the actual temperature, but you also have to factor in the humidity as well.

So a lot of these places are looking at temperatures that are 10 to even 15 degrees above average. And some of them looking at that heat index, maybe up around 110. So again, very hot for a lot of folks that are headed out to these games. FREEMAN: Yes. Allison, I think you, Carolyn, and I will all enjoy

watching this first slate of college football games from the comfort of air conditioning --

CHINCHAR: Indoors.

FREEMAN: -- in our homes.

CHINCHAR: Yes.

FREEMAN: Thanks so much, Allison. I really appreciate it. And thank you all for joining us this morning. We're going to be back tomorrow morning starting at 6:00 a.m. eastern. "TABLE FOR FIVE," until then is coming up after a quick break.

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