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Cornell University President Breaks Silence On Alleged Gang Rape; Trump Campaigns In Ohio, Touts Golden Age Of America; Flydubai Pilot Shares New Details Of Cockpit Attack; Terrorist Images Found On Flydubai Suspect's Social Media; Japan Demands Answers After U.S. Marine Arrested On Suspicion Of Murder In Okinawa; Trump Announces $90 Medicare Payments For Some Seniors; Investigation Underway After 12- Year-Old Killed In Baltimore; Tennessee Prison Chief Resigns After Failed Execution Of Christa Pike; Trump Calls For Mail, Early Voting Despite Years Of Opposition; Dems Say Sanders Needs To Spend More On Midterm Fight. Democrats Face Huge Ad Spending Gap In Tight Georgia Race; New Veteran Health Centers Struggling To Hire & Keep Staff; Heavy Rain Bringing Gulf Coast Flood Threat; High Profile Cases Lined Up As Supreme Court Starts New Term; Inside A Small-Town Hospital Struggling To Survive. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired October 04, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:28]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. Here's what you need to know today. There are new developments in the case of a Cornell University student who was allegedly raped at campus at a frat house in 2024. The school's president is now weighing in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL KOTLIKOFF, PRESIDENT, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: This message is the beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing, constructive, and dynamic conversation with our community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: How Jane Doe's attorney responded to that statement and where we expect the case to go this week.

There are also new details in the botched execution of Christa Pike. The head of the Tennessee prison system has resigned.

That hero pilot in that Flydubai incident is sharing more about his ordeal. We'll hear from him about what was happening in the cockpit as he fought for control of the plane.

Plus the new court -- Supreme Court term kicks off tomorrow from banning automatic weapons to lawsuits over climate change. We'll walk you through the key cases we're watching. It's all coming up this hour on CNN THIS MORNING.

Sunday, October 4th. Brand new week. Good to be with you. I'm Victor Blackwell. Cornell's president is speaking now for the first time as outrage is building over the alleged gang rape at a fraternity house in October 2024. In a statement posted Saturday, Cornell's president promised answers and he called the details heartbreaking.

He announced an independent review into how the university handled the initial case, but students at the university are not satisfied. A banner seen hanging from one of the university's residence halls yesterday called for the administration to resign. Here's what students had to say about the president's message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVA FARKASH, SENIOR AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY: I don't feel like anything new was said that we didn't already feel or expect them to say.

MAX TROIANO, JUNIOR AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY: It was a start when it comes to acknowledging the mistakes that the administration has made in the past, but I don't think that I would describe it as any more than a start. There was very little mention of what concrete steps are going to be taken.

LIAM, FRESHMAN AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY: But at the end of the day, it is still just words. I think the university actually has to show like a certain amount of action instead of just emails and videos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Mark Morales has more on the president's message and where the investigation stands.

MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: The message from the Cornell University president comes as pressure continues to mount. Students at the university have largely been upset with how the university and the local district attorney has handled the investigation. There's a protest scheduled for Monday.

This all comes as new reporting from The New York Times shows that there was evidence that campus police wanted to give the local district attorney, but that the office refused to review the evidence because they had already made up their mind. They based it largely on the six-page document that Jane Doe had signed and decided, based off of that, they weren't going to pursue charges. Now, this new evidence was said to have more interviews and even a deeper dive on some of those chat messages.

Now, ABC News is also reporting that two of the alleged attackers had actually messaged Jane Doe in the days after the incident and actually apologized for what happened to her that night. And all of this is adding to the growing sense of anger that's coming not just from the university, but also from New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James to be the special prosecutor.

Now, in this message, we also hear from the university president, who seems to be threading the needle between both accountability and support for the investigations that are coming. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOTLIKOFF: I believe we as an administration and we as a community must do better. We must do everything we can to prevent what happened to Jane Doe and everyone before her, and anyone after her from ever happening again.

I welcome the independent review by an outside law firm into all aspects of Cornell's handling of the 2024 matter which the board will announce next week. We also support the governor's decision to turn the criminal investigation over to the New York attorney general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: The university president also wants to look at fraternities on campus and address accountability amongst the students themselves so that if they see something happening that shouldn't be happening they can step in amongst themselves, but also address the culture that would actually encourage some of these incidents where a sexual assault or sexual violence from one of these parties actually starts happening to address that culture from the beginning, so that those don't happen.

[06:05:10]

Mark Morales, CNN, New York.

BLACKWELL: Jane Doe's attorney issued a statement in response to Cornell University president's video. Here's part of it.

We are hopeful that his statement is backed up by meaningful reforms that leads to real change for the sake of the students at Cornell. We are hopeful but we are also wary. Accountability and transparency are wonderful aspirations but ultimately meaningless if they are not backed up by real action and real change. Cornell has an opportunity to be at the forefront of much needed change. We will be watching to see what it does with that opportunity.

Now, be sure to watch STATE OF THE UNION later this morning. Thomas Giuffra will be one of Jake's guests. That's at 9:00 a.m. eastern, right here on CNN.

President Trump is predicting the midterms will bring what he called a big surprise. He's in the middle of a campaign swing through at least 17 states between now and November 3rd. The president headlined a rally in Ohio on Saturday to support Republican Senator Jon Husted, who faces a tough battle with Democrat Sherrod Brown.

Trump urged everyone to vote like he's on the ballot and once again offered cash to every American adult for the outcome he wants to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, I am going to give all adult citizens in the United States, because we're making so much money with the tariffs and other things, $5,000 to every adult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The president also touted economic policies and defended the firing of thousands of federal workers. He claimed America is experiencing what he said before the golden age, despite inflation is raging and the job market is softening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've let go of millions of government workers. Those people hated me, but now they love me because they got another job for twice the salary, three times the salaries they got with working for the government.

If we didn't do it, we'd have a 100 percent employment. So, we have great numbers despite the fact that we're letting go of vast numbers of federal workers, which you have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: We'll discuss the uphill climb the Republicans are facing and what to look for over the next almost month now when we're joined by Republican strategist Jeanette Hoffman and Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright. That's coming up in just a few minutes.

We're learning new details also about the captain of that Flydubai flight at the center of last week's suspected hijacking attempt. Pilot Smit Machchhar spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday. He described the moments that he says his copilot attacked him in the cockpit. And he said his focus was keeping control of the aircraft and protecting the passengers on board. He also recounted the struggle inside the cockpit and the split second decisions he faced during the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMIT MACHCHHAR, FLYDUBAI CAPTAIN (on the phone): I felt the aircraft and the whooshing sound and people screaming. And as I was telling the ambassador here that I had that one last fight left in me. That, you know, call it personal, or call it for people, but let's say I believe (ph) that if I don't do it, I'm going to die. And that's when I pushed against everything. I gave everything that I had, and just went for the door and opened the door. And thankfully, people were waiting to pounce back, took over the control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, now investigators are working to determine what led up to the attack and try to find out more about this copilot involved. CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now with the latest. Oren, talk us through what they're learning so far.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Victor, there are effectively two different tracks to this story right now. First is the praise and rightfully so, going to the hero pilot who was able to open the door to allow passengers in to subdue the suspect pilot who tried to carry out this terrorist attack. He not only spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he has also spoken with Indian leader Narendra Modi.

And in video we got a little earlier today, he got a visit from the crown prince of Dubai who went to see him at the hospital where he is recovering. That is the pilot, Smit Machchhar, who is being hailed as a hero.

The second part of this story are all the questions about the red flags that likely should have been seen for Hamam al-Hammami, the suspect pilot in this case, and that includes not only his own career path, but also his social media history.

CNN has spoken with a number of people and sources familiar with this matter to put together a timeline here. For a number of years, both according to his LinkedIn and according to the sources we spoke with, Hamam al-Hammami worked for Oman Air.

[06:10:06]

But one of those sources says he was let go because of concerns over his extremist views. According to his LinkedIn, he left Oman Air in February 2025. Then he went to Morocco's carrier, Royal Air Maroc, where, in a statement to the Associated Press, the airline says he was there for several months but didn't get out of the pre-employment screening to become a pilot and fly for the airline. Although, it's unclear why he didn't get through that screening. And that, it seems, is then when he ends up at Flydubai.

Now, keep in mind he is an Omani national. Oman and Israel don't have diplomatic relations, so it's unclear how he was allowed to fly into the country anyway and whether this has happened not only with this pilot but also in other instances.

Then we come to Hamam al-Hammami's social media history, and this is where CNN was able to do some digging. First, on his LinkedIn, several hours after the entire event on the Flydubai flight took place, he posted videos, one of which ended by showing Al Qaeda's former leader, so suggesting that might have been an inspiration for this attempted attack.

But in what is now a deleted Twitter account, CNN analyzed thousands of deeply religious and misogynistic posts. And that leads to the question that Israel is facing now. Israel's airport security at Ben Gurion International Airport is, or at least was, vaunted around the world. So, how did this get through?

And, Victor, the key answer there right now is that no one is taking responsibility for what is a failure, not just at one level, it seems, but at multiple levels that ever allowed this to happen to begin with.

BLACKWELL: Still a lot of work to do to get some answers. Oren Liebermann, thank you so much.

Next, a U.S. Marine has been arrested in Japan accused of murdering a woman in Okinawa. The allegations have now sparked outrage from Japan's prime minister this morning. We'll get into that.

Plus, more on the fallout after that botched execution in Tennessee. We have an update on Christa Pike's condition.

And President Trump is promising relief for millions on Medicare who could be getting a $90.00 check from the government.

And as we go to break a live look at the sun rising at Thompson Lake Marina. This is Casco, Maine. Good morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:59]

BLACKWELL: Japan is demanding answers this morning after a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of murder and robbery in Okinawa. Police say that a 39-year-old woman was found in a hotel room yesterday and pronounced dead at the scene. A 20-year-old marine stationed on the island was taken into custody.

Now, this case is drawing attention in Okinawa because there's a large U.S. military presence there, and past crimes involving members of the military have really created some concern. Japanese officials want full cooperation from the U.S. with the investigation.

President Trump says about 20 million Medicare recipients will receive a one time, $90.00 check to help pay for Medicare premiums. Not everyone on Medicare will qualify, though. Some lower income seniors and higher income beneficiaries are excluded from the program.

The White House says the money will come from a federal Medicare fund that has never been used. Payments are expected to start going out this month.

Police in Baltimore investigating after a 12-year-old girl was killed in crossfire. This happened during a youth football game.

Officers say when they arrived yesterday, they found the girl and a woman with gunshot wounds. Both were taken to the hospital. The 12 year old later died. Investigators have not released information about a suspect and they're working to determine, of course, what led up to that shooting.

We're seeing the fallout in Tennessee now after the botched execution of condemned inmate Christa Pike -- convicted inmate, I should say. The head of the state's prison system, Commissioner Frank Strada, is resigning. The state's governor also announced an independent review into what went wrong inside the death chamber. CNN's Jenn Sullivan has the latest on Pike's condition.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The woman who survived a failed execution in Tennessee is now fighting for her life. Lawyers for 50-year-old Christa Pike say she's currently on a ventilator and unconscious. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's in critical condition, receiving lifesaving care.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Pike was 18 years old when she killed 19-year- old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1995. She was sentenced to death. Her execution was scheduled for Wednesday. Pike's attorney says she was injected with two fatal doses of pentobarbital, but something went horribly wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm listening to Christa breathing, snoring, breathing, snoring. And it goes on and on and on.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Pike was still alive and rushed to an area hospital in Nashville. Saturday, the governor of Tennessee announcing the head of the Tennessee Department of Correction commissioner, Frank Strada, was resigning following Pike's failed execution. He also has suspended all scheduled executions for the rest of the year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tennesseans deserve a justice system that's fair. That is faithfully administered.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Ahead of Pike's execution, many anti-death penalty advocates wanted the state to reconsider the death penalty sentence based on Pike's mental illness and her allegations of childhood sexual abuse.

[06:20:10]

The gruesome details of the 1995 case rocked the city of Knoxville. Prosecutors said Pike feared Slemmer was trying to steal her boyfriend and lured her into a wooded area where she cut her with a box cutter and beat her with a large chunk of asphalt. Slemmer's family says they just want justice after all these years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's not remorseful. You see the pictures now? She still has that smile.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And Christa Pike's attorney will be a guest on STATE OF THE UNION. You can watch that interview starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern right here on CNN or stream on the CNN app.

Next on CNN THIS MORNING, a state of the art V.A. clinic is having some major staffing shortages. Veterans say they are paying the price.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the fact that they can't keep staff, that they can't hire staff, that it's taking too long, that's making wait times too long, it's making it impossible for veterans to actually get in the door.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:31]

BLACKWELL: Well, candidates are sprinting toward midterm Election Day, and President Trump hit the trail last night with a campaign rally in Ohio. He urged supporters to vote like he's on the ballot. And he claimed the U.S. economy is in a golden age, despite the fact that nearly 1,400 workers were just laid off at an Ohio truck factory this week.

Republicans are facing an uphill climb. They're being outpolled by Democrats. Some of them are being -- beginning to distance themselves from the president on issues like immigration.

Let's talk about all this with Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright and Republican strategist Jeanette Hoffman. Welcome to you both. Good Sunday morning. Jeanette, let me start with you.

JEANETTE HOFFMAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: Few weeks out now --

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: -- from Election Day and the president is contradicting himself on an issue he's talked a lot about. First, let me play what he said. This is in a prime time address about voting vulnerabilities. And now I'm going to play after that right what he said just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Congress must pass the SAVE America Act, and hopefully there will be no corrupt mail in ballots which if you watched California and so many other places mail in ballots are inherently corrupt.

If your state has early voting, do not wait. Go out and vote. Vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person on Election Day, November 3rd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, is mail-in voting inherently corrupt, or is it crucial for this midterm election? Sort it out for me, Jeanette.

HOFFMAN: Well, it's tough to sort out a lot of things, Victor. The president says a lot of things, and sometimes they don't square up what he says later. But this is a tactic that the Republican Party is using to get people out to vote, right?

Mail-in ballots, as we know, are legal and they're important to get people to the polls. Democrats traditionally do much better with getting their people to the polls with mail in ballots.

So, this is a tactic that the party is using in these prerecorded messages as part of their get out the vote strategy. They have said that when Trump is not on the ballot Republicans stay home.

Midterm elections have a much lower turnout. And that's why you're seeing these recorded messages. All the rallies in states where Trump is getting these MAGA voters, or trying to, to come and turn out, because if they don't, you're going to see low turnout election. And Democrats have, frankly, much more energy in these midterm elections.

BLACKWELL: Energy. But some Democrats, Antjuan, say that they don't have enough money. Our D.C. team is reporting that there are some Democratic strategist who think that Senator Bernie Sanders should be spending more of his $23 million war chest to support the candidates he's endorsed.

He's announced hundreds of thousands of dollars for candidates, including candidates in Minnesota, but none for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. What do you think? One Democratic operative says that it's absurd to spend in Minnesota and not in Michigan.

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, Victor, I would argue traditionally, no political romance without finance, but we're not living in traditional times. What we have on our side is something you cannot measure with money and that's momentum.

We also have the policy and the politics on the side. Those two things have become very contagious in this political environment. The fact of the matter is when you look at the failures of Donald Trump, MAGA Mike and Senator Thune, the leader of the Senate Republican Party, that is going to drive a subset of turnout that you cannot measure in polls. And quite frankly, that money cannot turn out.

What I've learned from doing elections for 20 plus years in this country is that sometimes people vote against something then they do vote for something. And I think you're starting to see independent thinkers, independent voters, and the politically unhoused or the politically homeless come home to Democrats for that exact reason.

BLACKWELL: Still going to take some money to get out the vote. And no romance without finance is going to be in my head all day because of that reference you just made.

Jeanette, let me ask you about this. This daylight saving time fight that the president is on it's expected to -- well, expected. It's going to end in a couple of weeks. The president doesn't want it to.

He posted Senator Tom Cotton's phone number to urge Arkansans to call him to vote for this legislation. Is this what Republicans want him to focus on? Congress isn't even in session again until after the election.

[06:30:02]

HOFFMAN: Yes, I don't know about that. I mean, I guess he feels passionately about it. I really hate turning my clocks back and forward twice a year.

But I mean to (INAUDIBLE) Tom Cotton right and put his like personal cell phone out. There was really bizarre. You've seen people, you know, post a legislative office or call your congressional office, but to put his personal cell phone out when there's so many other issues right now cost of living Iran things like that. It seems a little bizarre that that's where his focus is right now.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Anjuan, there's the gubernatorial town hall debate in Georgia. It's coming up Tuesday. Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms going against billionaire businessman, Rick Jackson, and she is being vastly outspent here on the airwaves. Rick Jackson is up on television, on radio, on digital ads. You go on YouTube in the state of Georgia and you watch two ads before you watch your video.

How much is on the line for each of them in this new media climate? How much can a debate change the structure of this race?

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: What normally I would say to you Victor is that black folks are casting a survival vote in this election because the stakes are so high because whoever wins in November are going to have a large say-so and whether or not communities look like mine live or die.

But I've edited that statement over the past several weeks in particular to say Americans including Georgians are casting a survival vote. When you look at the fact that a record number of foreclosures, record number of repossessions, consumer confidence as low as it's ever been and in quite some time when you look at the fact that you have millions of Americans paying more for their premiums copays and deductibles.

You think about Georgia and you add into the largest cut to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in American history. And then you think about the diesel prices and the gas prices are going up because of Donald Trump and this war of choice and the policy decisions been made by those in charge and you apply that to Georgia. It does not matter where the money will be. It matters where the momentum and the people will be.

I think the people are on Keisha side. I think the policies on her side. I think now more than ever she has to coalesce that energy and make certain that voters understand this election literally is about life and death in the state of Georgia and around this country.

BLACKWELL: Jeanette, weigh in on this race.

HOFFMAN: Yes, I'm not sure. I mean, listen, Georgia has been traditionally a red state, but it's trended blue over time. I mean, I at one point I thought we were going to knock off Jon Ossoff in the Senate, but I think this is going to be a state where Republicans are going to have to not use all their resources and look to other states where they need to defend some -- some important races and some important seats.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jeanette Hoffman, Antjuan Seawright, thank you both. Enjoy the week.

CNN has new reporting on another challenge for military veterans trying to get the care they need. The Department of Veterans Affairs has built or updated dozens of health facilities after benefits were expanded under the Biden administration. But a lot of them are now struggling to staff those sex facilities, that's leaving some veterans with trouble getting appointments, even when they need urgent help.

CNN's Brian Todd has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have new reporting on staffing problems at VA clinics, including a brand new VA clinic in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which was supposed to be a real crown jewel. It cost more than $350 million to build.

The VA touted it as the largest VA health care clinic in the U.S., spanning more than 470,000 square feet completely state-of-the-art. But now 19 months after the ribbon-cutting the VA is struggling to staff the facility according to our sources and some veterans are telling us their care has suffered as a result.

Now, according to VA data obtained by CNN, the Fredericksburg clinic has a staffing vacancy rate of nearly 40 percent which means more than 350 positions there have not been filled. The VA says it's opened 41 new clinics across the U.S. That same data that we obtained shows that roughly half of those new facilities had double-digit vacancy rates as of July.

At Fredericksburg, that's translated into hardship for some veterans. I spoke with one Marine veteran who sought treatment there, Michael Dunlap, who told me he's gone through four primary care doctors in the span of a year and a half at the Fredericksburg clinic. They've all quit, he says, just sending him a form letter saying they wouldn't be there anymore.

MICHAEL DUNLAP, RET. U.S. MARINE CORPS: You have to start over every time, you know, they can look at your records, but until they talk to you and know you it slows everything down, you know. And you build up a rapport with a doctor and now you lose a little bit of confidence because now you've got to explain everything all over again.

TODD: Other veterans told us they had problems getting in for initial appointments at Fredericksburg and one was turned down for urgent care visits. All they say because of staffing shortages.

Now those veterans described going to a gleaming clean facility without many people in it and with a huge parking lot. Much of it very empty as these recent pictures that I took show.

[06:35:02]

One health care provider at Fredericksburg who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution told us doctors and other providers at Fredericksburg are burned out, exhausted, and that's why they're leaving. This provider likened the work atmosphere there to, quote, a car production line. That was reiterated to us by Democratic Congressman Eugene Vindman, a veteran himself who represents that district where the Fredericksburg VA clinic is located. REP. EUGENE VINDMAN (D-VA): It is the fact that they can't keep staff, that they can't hire staff, that it's taking too long, that's making wait times too long, that's making it impossible for veterans to actually get in the door, and that's what needs to get fixed.

TODD: The VA is staunchly defending its operations at Fredericksburg. VA Press Secretary Quinn Slaven in a statement to CNN said, quote, the Fredericksburg VA clinic is opening in phases. It met its hiring goals in the first three phases and is now in phase four. In less than two years since opening, the clinic has already completed more than 245,000 appointments and is ahead of schedule for enrolling new patients.

Outside analysts tell us some of this is not the VA's fault. They say the VA opened these clinics as the entire country is experiencing a shortage of doctors, nurses, and other providers with even greater shortages projected in the next decade. And they say the VA has to deal with an unwieldy bureaucracy and often cannot pay doctors the same salaries that they would make in the private sector.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Weather now. We're tracking rounds of heavy rain that will bring the chance of flooding across parts of the south.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me now. Wet Sunday.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and it's wet half of the weekend. Many of these places already got rain yesterday. Now we're going to be adding it on top of it.

So that's part of the inherent problem with the flooding is the ground is already saturated from any rain that you would have perceived yesterday. Now we're just going to be adding more compounding the impacts there.

You can see the heaviest rain right now is right down here along the Gulf Coast, although we do have a few isolated showers across areas of the Carolinas this morning. But like we mentioned, this is where we can see the lightning right down here, down just south of Houston, east of New Orleans, and over near the Pensacola Panama City area, also looking at some very heavy showers.

This is likely going to continue off and on throughout not only the morning, but through the rest of the day today. The best potential in terms of flooding is actually going to be in extreme south Texas. You're talking Corpus Christi down near Brownsville area. But really, any of these areas you see highlighted in the green and yellow areas have the potential for that flooding today, mainly because, as we mentioned, it's the compounding effect.

Most of these areas may get an extra one, two, or three inches at most on top of what they've already had. But some of these areas had two, three, four inches the last few days. So your total in some of these areas is roughly four to six inches.

Here's a look again at the forecast. Again, as we go through the rest of the day, you've got a lot of those heavy showers across areas of the southeast with the heaviest focused on the Gulf Coast. But this continues into early Monday as well.

BLACKWELL: All right, we're in for it. Thank you so much, Allison Chinchar.

The Supreme Court is back in session tomorrow. Some of the country's biggest legal battles are waiting.

The controversial cases that could impact you, next.

And if you're heading out, I am always down to go. You just need to stream our show from anywhere in the U.S. right now from the CNN app. You can also go to CNN.com/Watch.

You can even watch in P-town, Provincetown. Live look here at Cape Cod Bay. Good morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:10]

BLACKWELL: All right, big week ahead for the legal scholars and political pundits. The Supreme Court kicks off its new term tomorrow, but some of the most consequential cases may not even be on the docket. Maybe not yet.

With me now to discuss, Stanford University law professor Fred Smith Jr. Professor, thanks for coming in.

FRED SMITH JR., LAW PROFESSOR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: (INAUDIBLE).

BLACKWELL: All right, so some of the issues, immigration, climate change, ban on air 15s, fight between religious schools and the rights of LGBTQ students and parents. Which is the case that you're watching most closely?

SMITH: You know, I think most people are watching the climate change case simply because it's the case that's going to kick off the entire term on Monday.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SMITH: So in that case you have Boulder Colorado suing two oil and gas companies, Suncor and Exxon. On the theory that they were aware that what they were doing in the way of pollutants that it was causing climate change that their scientists knew that it was causing climate change and that they suppressed it. So, it's a consumer protection theory.

The reason why that case is at the Supreme Court is the theory that, look oil and gas companies, they have to comply with federal law, they can't comply they argue with the law of 50 different states, you know, if it's just kind of not the nature of pollution they argue. And so that, that's certainly an interesting case to watch.

BLACKWELL: And so, you think that's the most interesting case because over the last term it was all this push and pull from the administration over birthright, citizenship, mail-in voting and the rest.

SMITH: Well, I'd say it's the one to watch because it's the first.

BLACKWELL: OK. OK.

SMITH: So, it's the one (INAUDIBLE) --

BLACKWELL: First (INAUDIBLE).

SMITH: Right. I'm not saying it's necessarily the most important, right. The immigration at third country removal case is certainly a really important case, because there the question is under what circumstances can the federal government send individuals to a country where they have absolutely no relationship whatsoever.

[06:45:07]

Under what circumstance can you send someone who has no relationship to South Sudan to South Sudan, for example?

BLACKWELL: Or Liberia, where people are being sent.

SMITH: Exactly, exactly.

BLACKWELL: So let me ask you also about the pacing of what's happening. One expert told NPR that the number of emergency appeals really eliminates the break, that these justices are working through that as well. That during that Trump administration, they've served twice as many fully briefed and argued cases.

How does that influence the work of the Supreme Court and what we're going to see?

SMITH: Yes, well, the reality is that they've been working all summer. So in that sense, right, where it used to be that during the summer, perhaps there was a death penalty case or two that they got during the summer. Whereas now, right, they have continued to issue orders throughout the entire summer.

All of that said, when I'm looking at the pace of the Supreme Court right now, what I'm watching is that once upon a time, the court used to enter into a case only when lower courts disagreed. And even then they would wait for what they called percolation. Right.

So they wanted to see a number of lower court decisions. And they thought that that's the best way to reach a judgment. Whereas now more and more of the court is reaching for the biggest cultural issues of the day, even when there is no split.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And they're on fast tracks to the court as well.

SMITH: Right.

BLACKWELL: So let's speak specifically about one justice, and that's Justice Samuel Alito. So I believe he's the second oldest on the court. And they recently sat down with CBS News. The full interview, I believe, is going to air on Monday. And he was discussing how he approaches thoughts about retirement. He thinks about it before every term. And he was asked about how retirement influences or the decision is influenced by the work that he's done on the court already.

Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO, SUPREME COURT: It's too hard to predict how for anybody and particularly when you reach a certain age. What's your situation will be. And it's too hard to predict what the political situation will be and what any president might do with respect to a replacement.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Yes, I mean, how strong do you think that pressure is going to be if the Democrats take control of the Senate to try to confirm another justice in a lame duck session?

SMITH: I think there might be some pressure. At the same time, it would be extraordinarily risky. And you never really know what surprises might come out about someone after they've been nominated.

So if he were to leave in November and they were to nominate someone else, I don't doubt that the Senate could move quickly. They've shown they can move quickly.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.

SMITH: Right. But at the same time, historically, there have been surprises in the late 1980s. President Reagan first attempted to appoint Robert Bork, it didn't work out. Attempted to appoint Douglas Ginsburg, information came out. It didn't work out. Harriet Miers more recently. (INAUDIBLE) so you were doing it right.

And so, you know, sometimes things don't go the way as planned. And so that would be a very risky move.

BLACKWELL: All right, Professor. We'll watch it. Thanks so much.

SMITH: Absolutely. My pleasure.

BLACKWELL: Next, CNN goes inside a rural hospital trying to keep its doors open. What does it take to keep a hospital running when you cannot find enough people to work there?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:53:02]

BLACKWELL: Here's what to watch this week ahead.

Caleb Flynn, the former American Idol contestant convicted of murdering his wife, is scheduled to be, excuse me, sentenced tomorrow.

Flynn was found guilty of all nine charges against him last week. He faces life in prison without parole.

The merger of CNN's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery, and Paramount is expected to happen on Tuesday. The new combined company will be called Skydance.

The merger was allowed to move forward after a federal judge approved a settlement of an antitrust lawsuit filed by state attorneys general.

Soccer's, excuse me, soccer superstar Lionel Messi will play in his final farewell game with Argentina national team. That's happening Tuesday. It will be a friendly match against Benin.

The Argentine Football Association said the goal of the match is to ensure the best player in the world gets the home sendoff he truly deserves.

Tonight on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," CNN spends 30 days inside a small town hospital struggling to survive.

Here's CNN senior national correspondent Ed Lavandera with the look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We spent 30 days inside the West River Health Services Hospital in the tiny town of Hettinger, North Dakota. This hospital serves parts of North Dakota, South Dakota and even parts of Montana as well. It's a massive area.

And what we heard over and over again from community members there during our month long stay is that if it wasn't for this hospital, this town would die. But this hospital in this place sits at a fascinating crossroads in America in 2026. Rural health care is struggling to be able to continue functioning. It also sits at the crossroads of the intense immigration debate here in the United States.

And I want you to listen to one of the doctors there that we got to meet who talked about how difficult it is to get health care workers to come to a place like Hettinger, North Dakota.

[06:55:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody wears multiple hats. The CEO drove the ambulance. It's hard to recruit people because there's a lot of education required to be an EMT.

ALYSON KORNELE, HOSPITAL CEO: High pulse. And (INAUDIBLE) what happened today? Did you get lightheaded? Did you have chest pain, shortness of breath?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was --

KORNELE: What happened?

I've been doing ambulance runs for about three years now, just as a driver.

He has emphysema and asthma too.

Help get people from here to there.

DR. CATHY HOULE, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: Did you happen to get a 12-lead?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have over 40 positions open right now.

This is my office.

With around 200 current employees.

This used to be the full lobby.

This job has probably been open for about 10 years, 2016.

LAVANDERA: This is a fascinating hour. And I'm incredibly grateful to the CNN documentary team and our photographers and producers who spent so much time getting to know members of this community. Embedded there in the hospital. We're also grateful to the hospital opening its doors to us, to be able to get you to be able to see up close what they are challenged with every day.

So I hope you'll tune in this Sunday night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Remarkable reporting there. "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN. And tomorrow on the CNN app.

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