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Erin Burnett Outfront
Government Barrels Toward Shutdown After McCarthy Bill Fails; First Trump Co-Defendant Pleads Guilty In Georgia Election Case; "Life-Threatening Rainfall" Flooding NYC Roads & Subways; Ukrainian Soldier Return To Battlefield After Losing Limb; Suspect Arrested For 1996 Murder Of Rapper Tupac Shakur; Senator Dianne Feinstein Dies At 90. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired September 29, 2023 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:41]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, McCarthy's meltdown. The House speaker's bill to avoid the government shutdown goes down in flames. The country hours away now from shutting down.
Plus, the first one flips. One of Trump's 18 codefendants in Georgia's sprawling 2020 election case strikes a deal with prosecutors. The big question is who is next?
And the state of emergency. New York City, the biggest in the country, underwater. Highways, subways, even the airport, LaGuardia, flooded, a major river now in flood stage. And the threat tonight is far from over.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, McCarthy's mess, and it is an utter mess. The nation tonight hours away from a shut down. And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appears unable to get his party to stop it. Late today, behind closed doors, sources say McCarthy told Republicans there aren't many options left to avoid a shutdown. This after his last vote failed.
But he was so confident that he had more ideas at the time he was making jokes. Just listen to this exchange with Manu Raju.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you going to tell them what your plans are?
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: No, I am going to keep it all a secret. Yes, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: But that was a few hours ago, joking. But now, it's not many options left. And it's no laughing matter. A whole lot of Americans living paycheck
to paycheck won't get paid if the government shuts down, which includes members of the military. And this deadline did not just sneak up on McCarthy. In fact, this happens, and of the fiscal year, at the exact same time at the exact same day every single year.
But McCarthy is dealing with a schism in his party. He's on one side, and the current ring leader on the far-right of the Republican Party is on the other.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Kevin McCarthy lying like a dead dog.
He's been reckless and unhinged and rattled and misogynist. We will have a government shutdown and it is absolutely speaker McCarthy's fault.
I'm concerned for the speaker, he seems to be a little rattled and unhinged. We are now trying to do work to correct the failures of Kevin McCarthy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. Well, right now, Matt Gaetz has McCarthy where he wants him, now saying he'll seek Democratic help to remove McCarthy as speaker. And this is more than theater. It is a window into the total chaos in the Republican Party right now.
And other Republicans are making it clear that Matt Gaetz is to blame if the government shuts down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Unfortunately, a handful of people, and in particular a party of one, Matt Gaetz, have chosen to put his own agenda, his own personal agenda, above all else. There is only one person to blame for any potential government shut down, and that's Matt Gaetz. He's not a conservative Republican, he's a charlatan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That is his own party, speaking about Congressman Gaetz. He's a Republican. Just think about that. He does not represent the majority of Republicans in Congress. That is fair. And Congressman Gaetz certainly doesn't represent a majority of Americans, right?
Just to give you a bit of context, Gaetz as a Congress person was elected by just about 0.7 6 percent of the U.S. voting age population, and yet, he is right there holding -- holding the wall for the showdown of the party and being blamed by those in his own party for doing that.
Manu Raju is OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill where -- Manu, I've just showed you there with Speaker McCarthy. Obviously, you have been in the middle of this all day and you've got some breaking news now. MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right.
I just spoke to Speaker McCarthy after a closed-door meeting, after his plan failed this afternoon. He made a new warning to the Senate, which is moving along bipartisan lines to keep the government open until mid-November, when it includes in the plan $6 billion in aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
McCarthy just said, the Senate must drop to Ukraine aid. He says if the Senate does not, then the government would shut down. He said that, otherwise, there could potentially be a deal. He's suggesting he may move off spending cuts included in his plan, and the border security demands, that he is making as well.
Now, this all comes as there is growing tension within the ranks, finger-pointing among members, particularly some of the more moderate members, who are concerned about those 21 Republicans who just scuttled the speaker's plan earlier this afternoon, and warning about the blowback they could face politically if there is a shutdown.
[19:05:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. STEVE WOMACK (R-AR): We're the governor majority. This is what we're supposed to do as a governing majority. We're supposed to lead. And it's kind of hard to lead when you've got a significant number of people that are on the wrong snap count when you call the play. So, that's where we are.
REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): They killed the most conservative position we could take, and then called themselves the real conservatives, which is like, make that make sense.
REP. ANDY OGLES (R-TN): In January, we promised 12 appropriations bills. We should have stayed here in August. I didn't set the calendar. Someone else did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: So, that last congressman, Congressman Ogles, who is one of the ones who voted against this plan, criticizing the leadership for not being in session during the August work -- period recess, about six weeks, they were not in session. So, they could have dealt with all these issues then.
Now, the speaker needs to assess whether these members, like Congressman Ogles will vote to keep government open for a couple more weeks. Uncertain if he can win their support, Erin.
BURNETT: Well, it's pretty incredible, right? I mean, just take a pause, you're saying, if they succeed until November, 12 appropriations bills at the beginning of the year, they haven't possessing a single one. And five billion dollars or so of debt being run up today by the government, that's the reality of it.
I was discussing how Congressman Gaetz has become so central to this. And one way, Manu, one thing he's doing is he's got the Democrats to try to get rid of Speaker McCarthy. Some sort of unholy alliance that he would be trying to put together.
What's going on there?
RAJU: Yeah, Gaetz has been threatening for weeks, Erin, that he could push for a vote, seeking Kevin McCarthy's ouster over his handling of the spending talks. Gaetz has not said when he would pull the trigger on that, but that continues to hover over the speaker, as threats emerge about whether the speaker cuts a deal with Democrats to keep the government open, then have to get the vote to push him out?
Democrats are in the middle of all this, Erin. They're wearing whether or not to work with Gaetz, or worked with the speaker? Try to help him stay in power. But they are saying they need concessions if there is going to provide any sort of support to help the Republicans in the middle of a civil war -- Erin.
BURNETT: And it is a civil war in the party.
All right. Manu, thank you very much.
OUTFRONT now, Basil Smikle, he is Democratic strategist. Gloria Borger, our chief political analyst, and the former Republican congressman, Joe Walsh.
So, Congressman Walsh, in essence, it is -- it is whistling past the graveyard, as I said, $5 million or so in debt racked up a day. He can't pass a single bill. And success is to kick this can't on the road for another six weeks. I mean, it's an embarrassment.
But when you listen to Congressman Gaetz, it seems like his issues with Speaker McCarthy are almost personal. What is going on there?
JOE WALSH, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: He hates McCarthy, Erin. To put it bluntly, this Friday evening, Matt Gaetz can't stand Kevin McCarthy. And you combine that with the fact that Matt Gaetz is putting his own personal agenda ahead here.
Matt Gaetz is already trying to run for governor of Florida. This is all about promoting the Gaetz brand. Look, very few House Republicans really respect McCarthy. They always have had a hard time believing that you can trust his word. They know he wants to be speaker more than anything.
Gaetz just verbalizes that better than anybody else. And they have been making life miserable for him ever since.
BURNETT: Now, when it comes to the shutdown itself, Basil, a new poll from Monmouth shows more Americans would blame Republicans in Congress than anybody else. You notice I phrase that quite specifically, more than anybody else, but on the most.
In fact, if you add up people who blame President Biden and Democrats together, that is the majority. BASIL SMIKLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Partly because it's a chaotic
time, and a chaotic time, it's difficult to draw lines of causality. So they just blame everybody. And there is a sort of reason to. The UAW is on strike.
Student loans are coming to. There's a tremendous amount of economic anxiety out there and, by the way, we might have a government shutdown where, in New York itself, 330,000 children, infants, may lose SNAP benefits and lose access to programs like Head Start.
Tremendous amount of anxiety, and somebody has to be the sort of focus of the blame. But, what I would say is that Republicans are doing a really good job at blaming themselves.
BURNETT: I mean, as you heard Lawler, right, he says Matt Gaetz is to blame. The American people, though, are out blaming a lot, you know, the whole other House --
SMIKLE: And I think what Democrats can do is sort of lean on that. Michael Lawler also that the Republicans are stuck in stupid. The American Enterprise Institute, center-right, said this is a shutdown about nothing, a Seinfeld shutdown. So Democrats can actually use words against Republicans to kind of lay out the point.
BURNETT: And yet, Gloria, when I say whistling past the graveyard, if you look at the big picture here, anybody who says they care about spending, maybe there might be some individuals, but either party is a liar. All they all do is spend. And that's the underlying issue here, right? But, yeah, we're going to keep this count on the road and the shutdown for six weeks, if they're able to avert one in the next few hours.
[19:10:03]
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right, and, look --
BURNET: That's -- that's considered success.
BORGER: Well, it's kind of insanity. And they keep doing it over and over and over again. And what they have been arguing about in the House, for example, today, wouldn't go anywhere in the Senate and they know that.
And so, what you see here is, on the Republican side, the proverbial circle of firing squad, and if you ask me, I think the Democrats in the House are kind of in the driver seat right now, because they're the ones who are going to have to provide the votes, if you do pass a continuing resolution, or if Matt Gaetz gets his wish and they try and vacate the chair and get rid of McCarthy -- well, what do Democrats do? They're not going to be going along for nothing.
They're going to ask for all kinds of things and concessions and power sharing. So, right now, they're -- they're holding back. And Hakeem Jeffries is looking at what's going on and saying, all right, this isn't our flight right now. It's just crazy. And so you can't blame the public for blaming everyone. BURNETT: Yeah, I mean, it is amazing, that unholy alliance referred
to, right, that you could have Democrats bailing of McCarthy. And they would do so at great cost.
SMIKLE: On the other hand, don't ever get in the way of boulder as you see it running down the hill.
(LAUGHTER)
BURNETT: We let run its way.
SMIKLE: Let it run its course.
BURNETT: Let run its way.
So, Congressman, I want to ask you about another development here tonight, and that is presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. teasing a major announcement on Philadelphia -- in Philadelphia, on October 9th. Okay?
Now, where he plans to speak on his path to the White House, there's speculation, Congressman, that he is going to be announcing a third party bid. That would be possibly very significant, because if he goes to the primary process as a Democrat, the law is, you can't fail and launch a third party. But if you get that early in the third party, you can challenge.
So, this makes him a real challenge or perhaps in a way he would not have been able to be. Who does he hurt the most? We see him polling very well about Republicans. John King talking to voters in Iowa, Republicans, they like him. MAGA Republicans like him. Who does he hurt more, Congressman?
WALSH: Erin, that's great point. First off, what a narcissistic, self-centered ass for even thinking about doing this. I mean, he's a Democrat and just running as an independent, generally would help Donald Trump.
But what makes this complicated, Erin, is he's a conspiracist. Democrats don't like him. The people who like him are a lot of Trump supporters, conspiracy theorists and the like.
So I think that on this that I've seen shows that he'd hurt both candidates pretty equally.
BURNETT: All right. Pretty equally, except, Basil, except the latest polling. At one point, he was pulled 19 percent among Democrats. That has not held -- 9 percent. But that's in the Democratic primary among likely Democratic voters.
So if that's true, and you peel away any fraction of that 9 percent, that would give it to Trump.
SMIKLE: Yeah. Well, look. I think any third party candidate, no matter who it is, is a problem for both candidates. I do think, in this very specific issue, the specific case, it does actually hurt Trump more than it hurts Joe Biden.
There are other third-party candidates out there, I would say, that are able to do more damage to Democrats. But the conspiracy theorist part is actually --
BURNETT: So, West --
SMIKLE: Yeah, brother West, yes.
But the conspiracy theory part is actually pretty important here. Because it does tie into so much of what we're seeing, in other parts of the country, that Democrats and I think a lot of suburban disaffected Republicans and independents want nothing to do with. They want to stay as far away from it is possible.
BURNETT: All right. What do you think, Gloria, about him doing this now?
BORGER: Look, I think -- I think, first of all, it's never hard to do. So he's got to overcome a lot of hurdles in order to run as an independent. I think Joe Biden doesn't want him in the race is an independent, just like he didn't want to Cornel West in the race. And that doesn't help Joe Biden at all.
And I do think there is some truth in the fact that he has some appeal and a former DeSantis fund-raiser, he's had a fund-raiser for him in the Republican Party. So I have to disagree a little bit. I think it probably would hurt Joe Biden more, even if it's just because of the Kennedy name.
BURNETT: Yeah.
BORGER: And I know there are the conspiracy theories and all that that he -- that he talks about, but, you know, you've got people -- some Democrats don't like Joe Biden, maybe they see Kennedy on the ballot and go oh, okay. You know, you just -- you just can't predict that. But as I said before, it's a long way to go from here up to the air to actually get on the ballot as an independent candidate at this point.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you all very much. I appreciate it.
[19:15:01]
And next, the first of Trump's 18 codefendants in Georgia flips, tonight, pleading guilty after striking a deal with prosecutors. Are Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, the alleged mastermind of the fake electors scheme, possibly next?
Plus, incredible scenes out of New York. Entire neighborhoods underwater, a month's worth of rain in one day. Now, major river has reached flood stage and is flooding.
And breakthrough, an arrest in the murder of the rapper Tupac Shakur, 27 years after he was killed in Las Vegas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: New tonight, the first Trump codefendant in the Fulton County election interference makes a deal. Scott Hall, a bail bondsman in Georgia pleading guilty to five counts. Now, Hall was accused of conspiring to commit election fraud in connection with the bridge of voting systems at the Coffee County election office. He was captured on surveillance video at the office the same day of the breach.
As part of the deal, Hall has agreed to testify in future proceedings and trial in the Fulton County case. So, this is very significant. It's the first. The question is, is that the first of many? We're learning that plea deals could also soon be offered to two other key codefendants, the former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, the alleged architect of the fake elector plot to overturn the election. If either one of them did that, that is extremely significant, obviously with their knowledge of Trump himself and what he did and knew.
Katelyn Polantz is OUTFRONT.
And so, Katelyn, you've been doing a lot of reporting on this.
[19:20:02]
What could these plea offers mean for Trump?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, it's never a good thing whenever your codefendants in a case decided to plead guilty and pledged to testify if called, just like Scott Hall did today in Fulton County, Georgia. And what it means really when you step back and look at a case like this it means prosecutors get more evidence. They get more witnesses.
They get the additional witness of Scott Hall to testify and if others take plea deals that are offered to them, they also may be willing to testify, and they may be people inside understanding what was happening in the Trump campaign, in other circles, around Donald Trump in the Republican Party in Georgia after the election.
And you know, this would be substantial, not just for the trial of Donald Trump and the others that is going to be a later date in Fulton County, Georgia. It's also very likely that Scott Hall could be called or would be lined up as a witness in the trial in October against Sidney Powell and Ken Chesebro.
And so, they're going to have to make decisions, too. Do they want to go to trial? Of course, there are going to be lots of plea offers, it's likely others will take place, and all these people are very likely to have connective tissue, not just with what they are heading to publicly, that they can provide investigators as a trial witness -- Erin.
BURNETT: Kaitlan, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, the former New Jersey governor and Republican presidential candidate for 2024, Chris Christie. And, Governor, I appreciate your time.
So, you were a former prosecutor, obviously. The first codefendant makes a deal with prosecutors in Fulton County. Do you think this is just the beginning? I mean, we've got Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro, the alleged architect of the fake elector plot, supposedly, about to -- those trials about to begin.
What happens here?
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah. Look, I think it is just the beginning, Erin. I think one of the things -- one of the decisions you make as a prosecutor and we have such a big case, 19 different individuals being charged in the same matter, is you are convinced going into that that a majority of those are going to plead, because if you weren't, you're going to bring it up into smaller cases.
And so, I think what the D.A. probably was convinced of was that she would get a number of pleas out of this, and that also, the volume of the number of people indicted puts pressure on this as well. And the legal feud pressure will be enormous in addition to that.
So when you add to what the facts of the case, the number of codefendants, and the amount of legal fees, and the pressure that the D.A. will be putting on them, you're going to see -- I think it's just the first of probably at least half, is my guess, of those people will plead.
BURNETT: At least half. So how significant would that be? I mean, how damning could it potentially be for Trump if you have that many? I mean, it obviously depends sort of who they are, but how damning could be?
CHRISTIE: Yeah, it depends on who they are, but look, if he gets some folks who are providing legal representation and advice to him to become cooperating -- a plea deal against him, that's going to be a big problem for him. Because those folks will have admitted to committing a crime themselves and now there will be talking about the elements of that crime and Donald Trump's involvement in it, in court room under oath.
So, you know, Erin, I think it could be a real problem for the president, former president, but that is going to be based on exactly who it is.
So you're right, this guy today, I doubt he had any direct or any involvement at all with Donald Trump. But as we move to different codefendants here, Mark Meadows, you mentioned Sidney Powell and Ken Chesebro, and there are others, that have -- should have intimate knowledge of what went on and very intimate knowledge of what the president's involvement was.
BURNETT: So, you're obviously in New Hampshire tonight, coming from California, where you were for the last debate. And Donald Trump is now calling on the RNC to do away with all future debates, and he writes in part, governor, I'm up 56 points. So the debates would seem to be a complete waste of time. The debates should be and it, bad for the Republican Party.
Now, obviously, Governor, I know you don't agree with, that debates matter to you and everyone else on the stage. But the math, of course, the reality, of course, all of you on the stage, collectively in California, are polling at less nationally than Donald Trump's alone. Does he have a point?
CHRISTIE: No, he has no point because, first of, Erin, look, I know that everybody out, they're all the media organizations pay for these national polls. They are a monumental waste of time and money. We don't have a national primary.
So if you look at what those numbers are in New Hampshire and you look at what his numbers are in Iowa, in New Hampshire, he's consistently under 40 percent, he's been in the low 30s to the high 30s.
[19:25:01]
And in -- and in Iowa, he has been the high 30s to the low 40s, which means that in both of those two early important states, more Republican voters want another choice than they want Donald Trump. He wants to end these things for purely selfish reasons because doesn't want to give exposure to the candidates who are challenging him out there.
Now, look, on the stage Wednesday night, you know, I was one of the only people who did challenge him directly. Ron DeSantis just kind of sideswiped him once. Nobody else goes near him and that's kind of typical of the campaign. I don't understand what they're doing because you want to beat them, you've got to go beat them.
But no, he has no validity to the point he's making. He's docking these debates. And it's wrong. It's disrespectful to Republican voters and that's why I'm going to continue to push for these debates to go forward and if we're talking to the folks at the RNC after the last debate, we were talking about the next one in Miami, and I think they will just ignore what is obviously self serving bad advice from Donald Trump.
BURNETT: So, it's interesting, okay, you make a fair point about national polls, we don't have a national primary, it is state by state. But let's take New Hampshire where you are right now because you brought that one up specifically. State's Governor Chris Sununu wants Trump to lose. He's been very clear about that.
But he says that Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley are the ones who the best chance to beat Trump. Here is the Governor Sununu.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: Right now, it would be DeSantis or Nikki Haley, without a doubt. I mean, they're really driving forward. Chris Christie is doing very well. I think one of the issues with Chris's campaign is there's not a lot of ground game in some of these other states. So he has to figure out, okay, even if he does well in New Hampshire, how does he get from here to there with the victory?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So what do you say to him? I guess there's points about DeSantis and Nikki Haley, but also the crucial questions he raised at the end, how do you get from here to there, Governor?
CHRISTIE: Well, we do have an operation in South Carolina and Chris isn't aware of that but he's the governor of New Hampshire. So I don't expect him to.
What I think is -- what I heard him say was, I'm doing very well in New Hampshire also. And all the polls basically have me, DeSantis and Haley within margin of error of each other. I've been in second, I've been in third, I've been in fourth in polls that have just come out in the last couple of weeks.
So it's a battle up there. And I believe that we're going to be able to pull that together and we're going to be able to really go against Donald Trump in New Hampshire and beat him. That's what I intend to do, Erin.
So, you know, I have regular conversations with Governor Sununu. He's been very encouraging, as he was in that clip. He said exactly what's accurate which is, me, Haley, and DeSantis are the only people who are polling anywhere near competitive level and I can intend to do even better as we go forward.
I'm in Keene, New Hampshire, as we speak and I'm going to go out and to a town hall out here tonight.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Governor, thank you very much. I appreciate your time tonight.
CHRISTIE: Erin, thanks for having me on. Have a good weekend.
BURNETT: All right. And next, New York City underwater, the largest city in America, torrential downpours, dumping month's worth of rain in a day. Rescuers scrambling to save families trapped in ground floor apartments. Highways, subways, even an airport flooded.
Plus, after 27 years, police tonight announcing an arrest in connection with the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The filmmaker who helped crack the case is OUTFRONT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:31:50]
BURNETT: Tonight, the nation's largest city underwater. A state of emergency in New York and New Jersey as life-threatening torrential rain flooding subways, roads, and basements. Twenty-three million people under a flood watch right now. Residents urged to stay indoors as roads, public transportation, airports have all been effective. Hundreds of seats just like this one across the city today, just due to rushing water. Streets turned into rivers. Subways, subways, trains completely shut down.
Nobody expected this. I mean, they were told there would be some rain, but the reality is that the system wasn't prepared for this at. All and watch as water floods into the terminal at New York's LaGuardia Airport. I mean, it's an airport. People just went and functioning as normal and say, that's what it turned into? It is unbelievable.
And the Bronx River now reaching major flood stage. Just look at this, cars in that area completely submerged and there is no end in sight right now.
Polo Sandoval has been following all of this. He's OUTFRONT in Brooklyn underwater. Look at the rushing water behind you are, Polo. The most rain ever in a single day in New York, incredible scenes.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Truly incredible, Erin. There was a small break in the crowds -- clouds for just a few moments. But again, the rain is falling. That's what really speaks to what we've heard from New York City officials, warning people that it is still not over.
What's remarkable here, Erin, is that all of this water has been rushing out of Brooklyn's Prospect Park here as some folks go out and see some of the situation here firsthand. This water has not stopped. It paralyzed so many aspects of America's largest city today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Chaos in New York City, as heavy rain pounded the five boroughs in the surrounding areas and more is yet to come.
Brooklyn saw month's worth, some four and a half inches in only three hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is unbelievable. I've never seen this situation happen, this is crazy. I don't know how they're going to get this water out.
SANDOVAL: Knee-deep water flooded streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I n about ten minutes, it was waist high.
SANDOVAL: Forcing some citizens to abandon their cars and others to create makeshift failures to protect their homes and businesses. Flooded subway stations in Brooklyn, had at least ten lines suspended, and even buses taking on water while still in service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my goodness.
SANDOVAL: As they tried to wade through the floods. New York's airport wasn't spared either. LaGuardia's historic air terminal flooded. In the Bronx, the National Weather Service warning that the Bronx River reached major flood stage with the levels hovering close to five feet. Mayor Eric Adams declaring a state of emergency for the city.
MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: This is time for heightened alertness and extreme caution. As your home, stay home. If you are at work or school, shelter in place for now.
SANDOVAL: The mayor facing criticism for taking so long to clear the state of emergency and to address the public.
ADAMS: This administration operates as a team.
[19:35:01]
And I want my commissioners, my deputy commissioners, the leaders of this team who are closest to the ground of the situation to communicate throughout this administration, we have good team leaders that are confident, that understand the subject matter, and they know how to lead.
Leadership is not only the mayor, it is all those who are placed in those positions. That's what you saw.
SANDOVAL: According to "The New York Times", Adams attended a campaign fund-raiser Thursday to celebrate the 63rd birthday earlier this month. He did not declare a state of emergency until shortly before noon on Friday just before the press conference, hours after the deluge of rain that begun.
Officials said Friday he wettest day on record in the city since Hurricane Ida two years ago. They weren't, it's not over yet.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: Our priority once the immediate and -- the immediate aftermath of the first wave of this storm, it could come back again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL (on camera): And tonight, New York city officials say they have no reports of any injuries or deaths, Erin, although they had to carry out many rescues during the early stages of the storm early today -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Polo, thank you very much. As the states of emergency, flood watches continue in the large city.
Meteorologist Chad Myers is tracking the storm and joins me now.
And, Chad, you know it's incredible, the amount of rain, and also though, as a New Yorker, people knew rain was coming, a lot of rain has come. Nobody expected anything like what we got, right? The system was not ready for it.
Schools weren't ready, the subways -- no one was ready for it. It's continuing to impact the region this evening. We have a whole river flooding. Tell us where we are going to see all of this additional flooding? CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Really, now, we're out in Suffolk
County, eastern Long Island, the rain for New York City is over. But, boy, those pictures that we were showing, what we were looking at all day long, were just unbelievable. It was the rate of rain, Erin, that didn't.
You put down seven inches of rain over 12 hours. New York City can handle it. The sewers are okay, the subways are okay. But if you put that down in three hours, all of a sudden that doesn't go well. Hour after hour of rainfall still coming down here and now that red boxes well on to Long Island. And that's where the rain is now.
Yes, there are some showers around New York City, but it's more like drizzle. The big stuff is out here, still into the parks of Massachusetts as well, everywhere that you see orange, four inches of rain fell or more. And then there's some red spots there near JFK.
And as just mentioned, JFK broke its all-time record: 7.92 inches since midnight -- 7.97 now, it's just updated, 7.97 since midnight. So, in no place in America, notice in the world can handle that kind of rain that quickly. An d Brooklyn checking in at over seven inches just since midnight last night -- Erin.
BURNETT: Unbelievable, and unbelievable to just watch it happen and again, the unexpected nature of it in terms of just the magnitude I think has struck anyone in the tri-state area. Thank you so much, Chad.
And, next, a shocking arrest tonight in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The filmmaker who knows this case inside and out, who was instrumental in helping police tracked down the prime suspect is my guest tonight.
Plus, he stepped on the Russian land mine. His injuries were catastrophic. That hasn't stopped him from returning to the battlefield. One Ukrainian soldiers' remarkable story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:42:13]
BURNETT: Tonight, Vladimir Putin meeting at the Kremlin with the former top Wagner commander that Putin pick to lead the mercenary army after Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed coup. State media reporting Wagner is, quote, already working with the defense minister which, of course, Prigozhin himself was loathe to do and led to his demise.
Fred Pleitgen is OUTFRONT with a Ukrainian soldier returning to the frontline after having his leg amputated. I do warn our viewers that some of what you are about to see in his powerful report may be disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It was a race against time after Danelo (ph) stepped on a land mine while on mission behind enemy lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The mine blew me up and my brothers carried me for seven and a half kilometers. They gave me's first date and carried me.
PLEITGEN: They saved his life, but his injuries were catastrophic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): One leg was gone, it was blown away, and the other was hanging, all broken.
PLEITGEN: But that isn't holding him back. He's hiding his face for safety reasons, but his story is remarkable. After the incident, he recovered, traveled all the way to Mexico to get an artificial limb, learn to walk again, and is now back on the battlefield.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I can't just it at home and watch what's happening. In a country under attack, every man has to stand up from the couch and defend his home. I have to do it, and I'm good at it.
PLEITGEN: He's contributing to Ukraine's massive counteroffensive in the south where Kyiv says its forces have been making increasing progress. Danelo right on the front lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm in charge of murder, grenade launcher, and anti tank squads. The commander and I choose the positions, targets, and planned the operations.
PLEITGEN: Russian minefields and artillery are still causing a lot of casualties on the Ukrainian side, and while Kyiv won't disclose exact numbers, they acknowledge that the going is tough.
Combat medics gave us this video showing the trauma they deal with every day. Medic Vlad tells me sometimes they simply can't save their comrades limbs or even their lives because the wounds are too severe.
[UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We had around ten cases where the limb was dramatically amputated, and there was no chance to save it. Compared to people in the brigade, it's not much, but it's a terrible sacrifice.
PLEITGEN: A sacrifice that changed Danelo's lives but he's adapted, learning to move and fight effectively even though his artificial limbs limits his mobility.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We don't have a choice, we can't lose this war. This counteroffensive can't fail.
[19:45:02]
We don't have this right. We are defending our home. It is victory or death for us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (on camera): It's either victory or death for us, Danelo says there, Erin.
You know, one of the things have to point out is we're seeing an increasing number of Ukrainian troops with missing limbs returning to the battlefield. Many of them say, look, whether or not the U.S. and its allies continue to give Ukraine weapons, they feel they have to keep on fighting because they simply have no other choice, Erin.
BURNETT: Fred, thank you very much, in eastern Ukraine tonight.
And next, the arrest tonight in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The filmmaker who helped crack the case is next.
Plus, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has died and tonight, her colleagues are honoring the longest serving woman to serve in the Senate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, a breakthrough. Las Vegas police arresting a suspect in connection with the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996. Duane Keefe D Davis charged by a grand jury for murder with use of a deadly weapon. It is the first arrest in this case 27 years ago this happened. Davis, though, has been hiding in plain sight. His own words led police to his door step.
Josh Campbell is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The murder of Tupac Shakur, a mystery leading to and the speculation and conspiracy theories for decades since the rapper was gunned down in Las Vegas in 1996. He was in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996 for the Mike Tyson- Brush Sheldon boxing match and was shot four times while riding in the passenger seat of a black BMW alongside Death Row Record CEO Suge Knight.
Just 25 years old, Shakur died six days later. His killer or killers were never apprehended. But tonight, a breakthrough in the investigation.
POLICE OFFICER: We are here today to announce the arrest of 60-year- old Duane Keith Davis, aka Keefe D, for the murder of Tupac Shakur.
CAMPBELL: The Las Vegas police say Davis was the leader and, quote, shot caller of the South Side Compton Crips, a gang that had an ongoing feud with the street gang closely affiliated, police say, with Suge Knight.
According to police, it was this fight captured on surveillance video from a Las Vegas hotel between Orlando Anderson, another member of the South Side Compton Crips, and members of Death Row Records that police say ultimately led to Shakur's death.
[19:50:12]
POLICE OFFICER: That's when Duane Davis began to devise a plan to obtain a firearm and retaliate against Suge Knight and Mr. Shakur.
CAMPBELL: The plan, police say, was Davis, Anderson and two others to ride tighter in a white Cadillac and hunt down Knight and Shakur as they made their way to a Las Vegas nightclub.
POLICE OFFICER: As they were driving west on Flamenco Road, near Koval, they located the black BMW which was driven by Suge Knight and in passenger seat was Tupac Shakur. They pulled up near the passenger side of the video and immediately began shooting at Mr. Knight and Mr. Shakur.
Following the shooting, the white Cadillac fled the area.
CAMPBELL: Davis is the only surviving suspect, police say, and ultimately it was his own words that reignited the investigation. Davis describing the moment he says he had with Anderson whom he calls Lane a gun while riding in the white Cadillac.
In audio featured in the documentary, "Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders".
DUANE DAVIS, SUSPECT: I gave it to Dre, and Dre was like, no, no, no. And Lane was like dude, popped the dudes.
CAMPBELL: Davis told a similar story during a BET interview in 2018.
POLICE OFFICER: It wasn't until 2018 that this course was reinvigorated as additional information came to light, related to this homicide. Specifically, Duane Davis's own admissions to his involvement in the homicide investigation that he provided to numerous different media outlets.
CAMPBELL: For family and fans of Shakur, Davis' arrest is bittersweet after waiting an agonizing 27 years for answers to the murder of an artist who impacted the lives of so many in the music industry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I miss my brother. So, you know, I'm glad that something is happening. I'm glad something's happening.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL (on camera): Now, Erin, CNN's attempting to look at attorney information for both Davis as well as Suge Knight. Finally, it's important to know, we learned a fascinating new detail today, a former Los Angeles officer who worked this case told our colleague Jake Tapper that back in 2009, the suspect confessed to authorities, but he was under this type of agreement where he can provide information, but it could not be used against. Authorities and say it wasn't until much later that he started speaking to you that they had what they needed -- Erin.
BURNETT: Wow. That is incredible, too.
All right. Thank you very much, Josh.
And I want to go down to Mike Dorsey because he studied Tupac Shakur's murder extensively and help the Las Vegas Police restart their investigation.
In fact, Mike, you directed the documentary that Josh had used there in his piece, "Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders" --
MIKE DORSEY, DOCUMENTARY FEATURED TUPAC SHAKUR MURDER SUSPECT: That's right.
BURNETT: -- that Josh said helped solve the case.
So you do know this inside out. And you've been instrumental in advising Las Vegas police.
So, now, after 27 years, there is an arrest. Do they have the right guy?
DORSEY: They definitely have the right guy. He's been going all over national television, and YouTube, for the past five years, telling people that he was the guy in addition to the province statement that he made in 2008 that can be used against him. So by his own admission, he is the correct guy.
BURNETT: All right. So, explain to me exactly how because there is a piece of evidence that police say was key in closing in on Davis. As you pointed out, it's his own words, specifically from an interview that he did with BET five years. That's I believe what you're referencing.
DORSEY: That's correct.
BURNETT: So when you heard this interview, you heard something specific and you tipped police off. I want to play it for everyone.
DORSEY: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORSEY: So, the shots came from the back? Big Dre, Orlando. Who shot one Tupac?
DAVIS: He says we're going to keep it to the code of the streets. It just came from the back seat, bro.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: He said, we're going to keep it so the code of the streets, it just came from the back seat, bro. You say that's a smoking gun. Tell me why.
DORSEY: Well, he admits to handing the murder weapon to the shooter in moments before the murder happens. And according to Las Vegas law, that makes him culpable for that murder. It's the same as essentially as if he pulled the trigger.
So in his proffer statement, he said specifically was his nephew Orlando Anderson who had beat up that night by Tupac who pulled the trigger. When he went on BET, I don't thin he wanted to repeat it again that it was his own family member that did it. But that is allegedly who pulled the trigger, was his nephew.
BURNETT: So, you know, even after this, he kept talking, right? So he had done that statement, as you point out, right, that they spoke about it earlier on Jake's show, that he admitted it but it can be used against him, right. But I guess they knew he knew, I guess, right? You got to say that.
Then he starts years later, I don't know what accounts for the gap, talking about it more in settings like this where some like you sees knows what's being said, tips off police, surely he would have known that.
[19:55:02]
He then writes a memoir. What do you think this was about? I mean, did he -- did he want to get caught or did he think he could have the fame without getting caught?
DORSEY: I think the second thing is correct. I think he wanted the credit, and I think he wanted to word it carefully enough so that he could maybe avoid being arrested. I think "Murder Rap" came out in 2015. That's telling his story. He's not
going to get to tell the story. Then "Unsolved" comes out, which is on Netflix, which is a scripted version of that. Again, people are telling his story, he's not telling it.
I think he decided, I wanted to tell my story, everybody else is telling it. And then nothing happened after the BET series in 2018, I think maybe he felt a false sense of security like, I guess they don't care, I guess I was careful enough with the way they worded that they don't come after me.
So he started doing more and more interviews on YouTube. And eventually, you see -- he tells people that you committed a murder enough times, and eventually you get arrested for it I think is what happened.
BURNETT: Yeah, it's incredible how many times it took, though, on the certain level. If you kind of flip it and say, why does it took this long? Oh my gosh, 27 years and they have actually known for 10 of them, or 15 of them.
DORSEY: Right.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it, Mike.
DORSEY: Absolutely. Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. And next, Senator Dianne Feinstein dead at the age 90. The longest serving female senator in American history, remember tonight, bipartisan, by Republicans and Democrats.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, Democrats and Republicans, together, paying tribute to Senator Dianne Feinstein.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We lost a giant in the Senate. Senator Dianne Feinstein was one of the most amazing people who ever graced the Senate, who ever graced the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And Republican Senator Susan Collins, you see her there, showing off this watercolor painting for her by Feinstein.
Feinstein's desk on the Senate floor was draped in black with a vase of white flowers. That's a Senate tradition.
She was the longest serving woman in Senate history. Senator Feinstein was 90 years old.
Thanks for joining us.
"AC360" begins now.
