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Trump Gets Second Chance as "Consoler-in-Chief"; North Korea Claims Having ICBM-Mountable Hydrogen Bomb; DOJ: No Evidence Obama Wiretapped Trump Tower; Hidden Dangers Lurking in Harvey's Waters; Family Devastated After Flood Claims Six Relatives; Astros Raises Money for Harvey Victims; Police Apologize for Utah Nurse's Arrest; Takedown of a Chinese Hacker Selling U.S. Secrets. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired September 02, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00] STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- those tiny babies who were once so close to death are now thriving.
LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE (RET.), UNITED STATES ARMY: Boy, you guys grew up in 12 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for saving our lives.
HONORE: Well, God bless you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for saving our lives and our mom's life.
HONORE: God bless you. God bless you.
ELAM: A bond forged in devastation, unbroken by the passing of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Great to have you with us tonight.
A side of President Trump the public rarely sees. More personal, more compassionate, and embracing his role as consoler-in-chief. He was on the ground in storm-ravaged parts of Texas and Louisiana today giving hugs and kissing children and taking selfies with the victims and the first responders. Images like these of the President giving out food and loading up supplies, all the more striking because it was just days ago that he was criticized for a lack of empathy.
The White House is now seeking nearly $8 billion in relief funds as the death toll from this storm reaches at least 50. Today, the President told the crowd he thinks the cleanup can happen quickly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the water is disappearing. And we do -- we have a long way to go, but the water is disappearing. And you look at the neighborhoods and you see it's -- we just rode through this.
And two days ago, even yesterday, they had water. And today, it's all swept up and cleaned up.
They say two years, three years. I think that, you know, because this is Texas, you'll probably do it in six months. I have a feeling, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Here's the reality, though. Floodwaters are receding but the damage is staggering. Families returning to clear out their flooded homes, their possessions are now trash on the side of the street.
I want to go to Ryan Nobles. He's joining us from Lake Charles, Louisiana where the President and first lady ended the day, thanking some first responders there.
Ryan, tell us about who the President met on this trip.
RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, the President spent the day meeting with a variety of different people from all walks of this tragedy, including evacuees in Houston who had weathered the storm and now are waiting to go back into their homes. He also met with military members who were on the front lines of the rescue and recovery effort.
And here in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he met with Louisianans who once went through Hurricane Katrina who were actually spared the brunt of the damage from Hurricane Harvey, and instead were here to help their fellow Texans. This National Guard armory behind me was one of the staging areas for the troops that went in to help the recovery effort, particularly in east Texas which was very hard hit.
He also met with members of the Cajun Navy, that volunteer group of folks who got in their trucks and their boats and came to the aid of so many of those people who were in need of help me.
The big message from the President today, Ana, was that the federal government will be there to help, and not just after the floodwaters recede, but for the months and perhaps years that it takes before this recovery is complete. One of the things he promised today is that he is beginning the process of requesting billions of dollars in aid from Congress.
They've sent that over to Congress. That work will begin next week. The President wanting to make sure the people of Texas know that he is going to be there to help them for the long haul -- Ana.
CABRERA: Ryan Nobles in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Thank you.
Meanwhile, we have some other breaking we're following, this time out of North Korea. The regime now claims it's able to attach a hydrogen bomb to an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Now the country's state-run news agency sent out these pictures today. This is apparently of Kim Jong-un a short time ago and purportedly show the leader inspecting the new weapon at the country's nuclear weapon institute.
It's important to note, though, that U.S. officials have not confirmed that North Korea has this new capability or that these pictures are authentic. I want to bring in CNN's Ian Lee in South Korea. He is joining us from Seoul.
Ian, this is the latest provocative move from the regime.
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and a significant development, Ana, if it -- is -- turns out to be true that they are able to put a hydrogen bomb on top of an intercontinental ballistic missile, an ICBM. For -- experts, for a while now, have wondering when they would reach this stage. This comes a lot sooner than most experts had predicted that they would be -- or have this capability.
But what they also say, KCNA, North Korean state media, is that they have the capability of making many more. So we're waiting to hear any response from the Americans, from the South Koreans, to this latest development.
And as you said, experts on both sides, the Japanese, the Americans, the South Koreans, are going to be studying these pictures very carefully to see if they are authentic, what they can glean from them.
[20:04:59] But also, Ana, this comes as President Moon of South Korea and President Trump have a phone call. They said that they want to put more economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea so that they abandon their nuclear program. But from these pictures, it doesn't look like that's working.
CABRERA: All right. Ian Lee in Seoul, South Korea. Thank you.
I want to bring in here in New York, Jonathan Cristol. He's a fellow at the World Policy Institute.
Jonathan, how much credence should we give this new claim?
JONATHAN CRISTOL, FELLOW, WORLD POLICY INSTITUTE: I mean, I think that there are a lot of ifs here. I think, without question, North Korea would like to develop such a weapon, but we don't know if they have the capability to put any sort of nuclear device onto an intercontinental ballistic missile.
We don't know if they are able to fire that missile with a degree of accuracy. We don't know if it would be able to survive reentry. And we don't know if they have a hydrogen bomb.
Now, I, personally, don't think that the hydrogen bomb versus nuclear bomb aspect really changes the political situation around it. It doesn't really change the policy around it because their capabilities to destroy a significant part of an American city wouldn't really change based on the science behind the weapon itself. There's a psychological element there, but it doesn't really change the political aspect of it.
CABRERA: Do those pictures surprise you? CRISTOL: It does surprise me a little bit that they are making the
claim, particularly so soon after the missile flyover of Japan.
CABRERA: Which happened on Tuesday.
CRISTOL: Right. It seems that they are ramping up. They're escalating much more quickly than I or a lot of people would have thought. It does come -- I don't think it was timed to, but it also comes on the heel of President Trump's statement about the South Korean/U.S. trade agreement, that he's thinking about withdrawing from that.
And so while it may not have been timed for that, it is part, I think, of the North Korean strategy of trying to create tension between the U.S. and South Korea and show the divisions in policies on a wide range of issues.
CABRERA: Let me read you a statement -- I was just handed this, a new statement from North Korea KCNA, their state-run media. And it says, if the U.S. acts rashly despite our repeated warnings that the U.S. should ponder over the disastrous consequences to be entailed by its reckless military provocation, we will take a more powerful counteraction.
What are we to make of that?
CRISTOL: Well, I think that they are, once again, trying to show that they -- if the U.S. launches a military strike of some kind against them, that they will retaliate with some sort of devastating force. Now, the reality of this is that it doesn't take this particular weapon to mount a credible deterrent capability on the part of North Korea.
Their artillery, which can produce tens of thousands, at minimum, casualties in South Korea, their ability to target U.S. forces in South Korea and in Japan, as well as that country, really makes it very difficult for the U.S. to have any sort of serious military option against them.
They know that. And they're kind of sticking it to us a little bit and saying, look, you might be talking the talk about this, but we're going to keep needling you and showing you what really we're capable of and what are you really going to do about it.
CABRERA: And the President this week saying maybe the time for talk -- talking is not the answer, actually, is his direct quote.
Jonathan Cristol, thank you, as always, for giving us your expertise and helping us to assess the situation. We do appreciate you coming in.
CRISTOL: My pleasure.
CABRERA: Coming up, the Justice Department has just announced they have found no evidence to back up President Trump's claims that Trump Tower was wiretapped by President Obama. Details on that coming up. Also, look at some shocking video out of Utah tonight. Police have
now launched a criminal investigation after a nurse was arrested and forcibly removed from this hospital for refusing to let officers draw blood from her patient.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:13:07] CABRERA: Welcome back. The Justice Department revealing it has found zero evidence that former President Obama ever wiretapped Trump Tower as President Trump once claimed.
In a filing released in the last 24 hours, the DOJ writes this -- both FBI and National Security Division confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets.
Let me remind you what those tweets were. This one -- terrible. Just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism.
And in another, President Trump called Obama a, quote, bad or sick guy.
The White House has never said what President Trump was basing these unfounded claims on, only that the President was confident an investigation would vindicate him.
Let's discuss this. Joining us, CNN Presidential Historian Tim Naftali and "TIME" magazine contributor, Jay Newton-Small. .
Jay, how significant is this development?
JAY NEWTON-SMALL, CONTRIBUTOR, TIME: Well, Ana, I don't think it surprises anyone. In fact, James Comey, the former director of the FBI, testified before the House Intelligence Committee that he had no knowledge whatsoever of any wiretapping at the direction of the Obama administration of the Trump transition team. So it really just sort of confirms what we already know.
It should be noted, though, that the report did say, by the FBI, that they would not confirm or deny anything that was top secret and that involved national security. So there is a sort of little mini loophole to say that if there is any existing wire tapes that have to do with national security, that are top secret, they -- those would not be disclosed in this case.
But, really, I mean, it just sort of confirms what everybody in Washington has been saying for a while, that this never really happened. And it's not that surprising, frankly. You know, a lot of Trump's claims don't end up actually turning out to be true.
His crowd sizes weren't bigger than Obama's in 2012. Melania did actually plagiarize that speech. You know, there's lots of different things that come up. He did actually fire James Comey because of the Russia investigation. And so this isn't that surprising.
[20:15:08] CABRERA: Tim, you're a historian. When you think back, can you compare this sort of situation where the DOJ is pretty directly contradicting the President?
TIMOTHY NAFTALI, FORMER DIRECTOR, RICHARD NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM: I can't, but I -- the historical precedent I want to talk about has to do with the President's ability to find out if someone has wire tapped someone else.
CABRERA: Yes.
NAFTALI: The reason why President Trump's tweet was never credible was that, as President of the United States, he has every right to ask the FBI to give him a list of the requests for FISA national security wiretaps. He could have asked for that.
CABRERA: You're saying it didn't take an investigation.
NAFTALI: He didn't have to have -- he could have requested it. We don't know why he thought this happened, but let's say somebody whispered in his ear what turned out to be bad information. He could have immediately requested from the FBI a list and could have determined it. He didn't have to tweet to the world and accuse his predecessor of engaging in a McCarthiate attack.
Maybe we can understand this better by looking at what had happened just before the tweet. March 1st -- I believe it was March 1st -- "The Washington Post" reported that there had been two undisclosed meetings, or at least one, between Jeff Sessions and a representative of the Russian government. This led to Jeff Sessions' recusal on March 2nd or 3rd.
Donald Trump was angry. Donald Trump was worried. Donald Trump sends out a tweet that deflects from the bad news he's getting on the Russia front. That tweet resulted in a lot of spent time and a lot of words with people talking about how this would be horrible if the President had done it, the former president.
CABRERA: Well, it wouldn't be a federal crime, right?
NAFTALI: But it's not -- it wasn't credible. It wasn't credible at the time. I'm not saying that presidents haven't done this. I know they have. But the world has changed since the 1970s.
In order to get a wiretap for national security purposes, you have to work through the FISA court, which didn't exist when Richard Nixon engaged in his abuse of power. So President Obama would have had to go to the FBI and request for the FBI to go to the FISA court, which means all kinds of people would have heard about it. You would have all kinds of documents.
It's -- we don't have the kind of system -- well, unless it's changed under President Trump -- where a president can order a wiretap on someone. It's just not the way it was in the '70s. So it's not credible in terms of the structure of wiretapping, and it didn't make any sense --
CABRERA: Yes. NAFTALI: -- because President Trump could have requested the actual
information. He can -- he's allowed to see that, as President of the United States.
CABRERA: A lot of people have said this is not surprising information. It really doesn't move the ball forward in terms of the conclusion.
But, Jay, what Tim just brought up was the timing and the Attorney General Jeff Sessions' involvement in sparking this emotion, this rage, inside the President. He has made it very clear he's not happy with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and we know he doesn't like that Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation.
And "The Washington Post" reported just last week that President Trump had asked Sessions about dropping the federal case into former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and Sessions advised against that, which eventually led to the pardoning of Arpaio. And now, the DOJ, led by Sessions still, says President Trump's claims of wiretapping are completely false.
Do you think the President will fire the Attorney General?
NEWTON-SMALL: Well, certainly, Jeff Sessions has been on thin ice for months now, and the President has expressed his repeated displeasure at Jeff Sessions at the same time. You know, you can -- I mean, he can -- he's been clearing out enormous amounts of his staff, and there's been a huge amount of turnover and turmoil in this White House.
At some point, you have to think, you know, you've got to have some continuity in this team. And Jeff Sessions has managed to cling to his job thus far, so we'll see if he actually makes it and continues to do -- continues to live on.
I do agree with Tim, by the way, that a lot of this is just Donald Trump. And he's got this amazing ability to kind of wag the dog.
And, you know, instead of talking about healthcare reform or Hurricane -- you know, one weekend, we spent the whole -- we spent the whole week talking about Mika Brzezinski's face lift or CNN being body slammed in a WWE commercial.
You know, instead of talking about Hurricane Harvey last weekend, a lot of people spent time talking about the pardoning of Sheriff Joe Arpaio or the transgender ban at the Pentagon.
So he's very, very good at using these tweets to kind of really draw the public attention away from policy and from serious issues of what's going on and focus them on completely, you know, sideshow things.
CABRERA: Jay Newton-Small and Tim Naftali, thank you both for joining us. Nice to see you.
[20:19:55] Coming up, the hidden dangerous lurking in Harvey's floodwaters, from snakes to sewage, chemicals, and debris. Our CNN crew is on the ground with a public health care warning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: As many in Houston return to see what's left of their flooded homes, they could be exposed to a growing health risk lurking in the waters. Homes, businesses, and streets remain filled with toxic stew of chemicals, sewage, and debris, potentially so hazardous, the EPA and Texas officials are now warning the water could be the biggest threat to public health at this time.
I want to bring in CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
[20:24:59] And, Elizabeth, you had a chance to test the water. You were collecting water samples. What did you learn?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, we went out on these waters with folks from a professional testing lab, A&B Labs, here in Houston. We did sampling in three different parts of this little area, and here's what we found.
When they looked at E. coli -- that's an indicator of fecal contamination -- the first sample had 8,600 CFUs. Those are colony- forming units. The second sample, 3,700, and the third sample, 6,300. And the folks at A&B Labs, the experts there, they tell us that this is way above the EPA standards for recreational water, for water the people are swimming in.
And let's take a look at total coliform. That also includes an indication of fecal bacteria. The first sample, 57,000 CFUs. The second, 43,000, and the third, 45,000.
The concern that the folks at this lab had was not just for fecal bacteria, but also when you get numbers like that, it increases the likelihood that there's something called Vibrio vulnificus. That's what's commonly known as the flesh-eating bacteria.
It doesn't mean that it's in here, but they're concerned that it could be. And they're concerned about what that means for people who spent hours wading in these waters -- Ana.
CABRERA: Elizabeth, it's not just the bacteria. As we discussed, there could be chemicals. There are all kinds of things that are potential hazards.
When you look at some of those test results and you think about what else might be in those floodwaters, what is the message? What does it mean for people? What do they need to do?
COHEN: You know, it's interesting. Our test results showed this. It did not show anything of concern for either chemicals or for heavy metals like arsenic or lead.
CABRERA: OK.
COHEN: But the bacteria is worrisome enough. So the worry is mostly for people who are immunocompromised, who are older, who are in more fragile health. If they were in this water and in -- and by accident, ingested it, which is relatively easy to do when you're splashing around in water, that could be a serious health concern.
But even for very healthy people, if they have a cut in their skin and it's large enough and the bacteria gets into it and it doesn't get cleaned out quickly enough, it could be a life threatening infection. And that's something that concerns the doctors that we spoke with.
CABRERA: Meantime, I saw from some of your video and the crews out there, I mean, it's just not what you can't see in the water. But here we have video of -- are those fire ants?
COHEN: I know. It's pretty horrifying. There have been -- fire ants have been found in this water. Alligators. We saw snakes. I mean, those are obviously something that you would want to avoid, and so that's why officials keep saying stay out of the water.
I mean, I've seen families walking through this water. They say it's the only way to get to their homes. When I told an official about this, he said, well, they shouldn't be going to their homes if they have to wade through the water.
It is just too dangerous. You just can't see anything. It is so dark, it is so murky, you just don't know what's lurking underneath, whether it's E. coli bacteria or an alligator.
CABRERA: Yes, the alligators. That gets me, no doubt. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much for that important information.
Hurricane Harvey took a devastating toll on many families, but I want to tell you the story of one Houston family. Six members of the Saldivar family drowned when their van was swept off the road as they tried to escape the rising floodwaters.
Two great-grandparents and four great-grandchildren, ages 16, 14, 8, and 6, all perished. One of the elder sons of that family was able to get out of the van as it disappeared under the water.
Once the water receded and the van was found with the family inside, another son, Ric, talked with CNN's Alisyn Camerota about their unimaginable loss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I see your hall of photos. Tell me about some of them.
RIC SALDIVAR, LOST SIX FAMILY MEMBERS IN HURRICANE HARVEY: Well, of course, this is mom when she was younger. She sent this picture to her mother, actually. That's what's written there.
CAMEROTA: Beautiful.
SALDIVAR: And Dad. He was in Air Force. And --
CAMEROTA: This is during the Korean War? SALDIVAR: Yes.
CAMEROTA: When you knew that Hurricane Harvey was heading here, your family came up with a plan. So what was that plan?
SALDIVAR: The day before I told Sammy, I said, all right, what are you planning on doing, you know? And he said that, well, I'm going to stay up. And if it's -- the water starts coming up, I'll put them in my truck and I'll take them to your house. That's OK. That will work.
CAMEROTA: But then something went wrong --
SALDIVAR: Yes.
CAMEROTA: -- with that plan. What happened?
SALDIVAR: Fell asleep. You know, my wife was texting with him. He said, I'm awake. You know, I'm going to stay up and then he sent us a voicemail, which we didn't hear because we fell asleep. And he said that, I fell asleep. You know, the water is in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): Hey, it's just me. I guess we got to get out of here. I fell asleep and the neighbors just woke us up. The water started coming in the house.
[20:30:07] All right. I don't know where we're going or who to call. We'll see you, OK. Bye.
CAMEROTA: So then when he realized that he had fallen asleep, it was starting to get too late.
SALDIVAR: Yes.
CAMEROTA: The water was encroaching on their house?
SALDIVAR: Yes.
CAMEROTA: But then he figured out that he could still get out because your brother had left the van.
SALDIVAR: Yes. He -- we called Danny and Danny said, go to my house. I got my van there. Just get the keys. You can get in the house and, you know, clean up and whatever, and then you can take them to Ric's house. You know, that was the plan.
So Sammy actually got in the house and dried -- you know, dried up mom and dad's clothes, put them in the dryer, made them some breakfast. And then, you know, he got everybody in the van.
Now, at the same time, Danny said, could you go across the street because his grandkids were across the street. Can you go across the street and get my grandkids and take them to Ric's house? And Sammy said, yes, I can do that.
CAMEROTA: And what did you recommend that he do? SALDIVAR: Well, I told him, I said, if you're going to leave, you
better leave now because that neighborhood in Allison flooded. And I said it's going to get bad and you better get over here now.
So he put them in the van, everything. He was coming this way. And then after that, I don't know -- I have to guess, it was about 9:00, 10:00 in the morning -- we lost contact with him for about two hours. We -- nobody knew where Sammy was.
CAMEROTA: How did you find out what had happened across that bridge?
SALDIVAR: Well, my sister-in-law called me and said that -- she was hysterical and said Sammy lost control of the van and mom and dad are gone and my kids are gone and you know, my grandkids are gone, you know. And I said, what are you talking about? What happened? Sammy lost control of the van and it went in the bayou and everybody's gone.
And I finally got a hold of Sammy. He said that, you know -- of course, he was, you know, barely be able to talk, and he was saying that he was going down Ley Road and -- or Green River, Ley Road, I'm not sure. And they came up to a bridge where Ley Road and Green River come together.
And the bridge was overflowing but dad said, you know, go. I mean, you know, you can make it. I can see the guardrail, go, you know. And Sammy -- so, you know, we were taught -- I mean, you listen to your dad, you know. I mean, Dad was real demanding even at 84 years old and he said -- so he went, you know.
And like I told Sammy, I said, I can't see myself doing anything different, you know. I would -- Dad told me to go, I would have tried to make it. Of course, like anybody else, they -- he panicked, you know.
He said him, mom, and dad were under water. They were under water and he got out of the van. He didn't even take off his seat belt. The window was halfway open. He just --
CAMEROTA: Slid out?
SALDIVAR: Slid -- got out, you know. And he came -- he grabbed a branch or a twig, what he called it. He called it a twig. I don't know if it's a branch or a tree or what, but -- and the kids were screaming.
He can hear them screaming and crying. You know, they -- of course, they wanted out of the van. And he kept yelling at them, climb out the back. You know, get out the backdoors.
CAMEROTA: That's one of the most heartbreaking parts of this incredibly heartbreaking story, is that your brother witnessed --
SALDIVAR: Yes.
CAMEROTA: -- it all happen, I think. SALDIVAR: Yes, the van go down knowing his -- you know, his parents
are in it, his great-nieces and nephews are in it. And it's his brothers which -- our brother, Danny, his grandkids.
CAMEROTA: How did you get the word today that they had actually found the van?
SALDIVAR: Danny called me and said his son, Andrew, found the van. He was --
CAMEROTA: By himself?
SALDIVAR: By himself. He went over there by himself and -- to find it. I don't know if he had anybody else. He just told me Andrew was there, and he could see the van under the water.
CAMEROTA: And he told you that they had found the bodies?
SALDIVAR: Yes. Well, I -- basically, you know, I knew then. You know, they said a diver went down and they could see two adults in the front seat and they couldn't see in the back of the van.
CAMEROTA: And so you were very close with your parents.
SALDIVAR: Yes. Oh, yes, yes. All of us were, you know.
CAMEROTA: And to lose them so suddenly is --
SALDIVAR: Yes, it's --
CAMEROTA: -- a bigger challenge?
SALDIVAR: Yes, but, you know, at their age, you start getting ready for it. You start keeping little messages that dad puts on your phone and --
CAMEROTA: But you wanted a memento of your parents, even before this?
SALDIVAR: Yes. I wanted to hear like he was calling me on the phone. Sorry. Yes, I just want to hear dad.
CAMEROTA: So many people around the country and around the world have heard your story.
SALDIVAR: Right.
CAMEROTA: It's really just gripped the whole country.
SALDIVAR: Yes. My neighbors came over and gave me a hug and said they were sorry. Whatever you need, you know. Everybody in this. Whatever you need, you know.
I guess, they can't imagine going through something else, you know. And like I told them sheriffs, I said, I'm just so glad you saved my brother. I just -- I didn't want to lose my brother.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[20:35:14] CABRERA: It's heart wrenching to hear that story. Our thanks to Alisyn for sharing that. Our thoughts and prayers with that family for healing. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: Welcome back. These are live pictures right now. The President and the first lady just touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as they return from their trip to the storm ravaged area in Texas and Louisiana where they spent much of the day visiting with first responders, with elected officials, and most importantly perhaps with victims of the hurricane and the flooding that happened in particular in Houston, a city that was just ravaged.
[20:40:08] Again, live pictures here at Joint Base Andrews as the President and first lady return to the White House.
Well, Texans have stepped up in a big way to help victims of Hurricane Harvey. But today, they got a chance to do it all while enjoying America's past time, baseball.
The Houston Astros have donated $4 million so far to Harvey relief efforts in the Houston area. And then they partnered with Major League Baseball to donate all the parking, concessions, and the ticket revenue from this weekend's three-game series against the Texas Rangers.
And our Nick Valencia joins us now from Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Nick, I know the Astros had to have been excited to give back to their city. That's obvious there that they're so, so much, but what are the players saying about today's game?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for a lot of people here, Ana, this is the first normal thing that they've done since the hurricane. And the players understand that this is a lot -- in a lot of ways, a distraction for the people of this city who have been through so much.
We were in the clubhouse earlier before the first game of today's double-header, and we spoke to a couple of stars, one of which is wearing cleats today that are signed by some of the youngest victims of Hurricane Harvey in honor of what they went through and to show solidarity with the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE MUSGROVE, PITCHER, HOUSTON ASTROS: You know, after getting to go out yesterday and see some of the people and see the shape that they're in, you know, it's definitely heartbreaking. But at the same time, it's really cool to see how the whole city has come together, even the people from Louisiana.
And, you know, people are flying from the West Coast and East Coast to kind of -- everyone's contributing to do their part. I bought a pair --
VALENCIA: Please.
MUSGROVE: I bought a pair of white Adidas cleats yesterday and I kind of let the kids design them and draw them how they wanted to. I told them I was going to be wearing them this weekend. And I said you guys are going to design them for me, and if you guys want to sign your name or draw a little picture on there or put whatever you want.
GEORGE SPRINGER, OUTFIELDER, HOUSTON ASTROS: I feel for these people. You know, I'm going to go out and, you know, hope for, what's it's worth, I'm going to run through a wall for this city if I have to. You know, I'll do anything I can, you know, to hopefully make these people feel better for a few hours before they go back to their situations and lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: Our crew has been here all week, and I think it's safe to say that this is the most that we've seen this many people smile. They've gone through really just so much.
The Astros won the first game of the double-header. They put on a show, 12 to eight. We caught up with some of the fans to talk about their predictions for this game that's going on right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIAN DELARIVA, HOUSTON ASTROS FAN: We're excited to get back with the community and have a little fun and spirited. Get behind the boys a little bit.
VALENCIA: Yes, yes.
DELARIVA: As we round around (ph) for the full season.
CELESTE FISHER, HOUSTON ASTROS FAN: I wanted to bring some joy today.
VALENCIA: Do you think it's like a --
FISHER: So that's why we're here.
VALENCIA: -- a return to something normal, a little bit?
FISHER: Something normal to, you know, bring it back to the fundamentals of what life is about. Just joy or hope. Hope.
MICHAEL STEWART, HOUSTON ASTROS FAN: You know, just let's us get back to a little bit of normalcy, you know, after everything that happened.
VALENCIA: I think this is the most we've seen people smile in Houston in, like, the last week, you know.
MARLENE STEWART, HOUSTON ASTROS FAN: Yes.
MICHAEL STEWART: Yes. MARLENE STEWART: Yes.
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VALENCIA: And I mentioned that first game was a win for the Astros. Something that was striking to us, the pitcher for the New York Mets in today's game, his name, Matt Harvey.
CABRERA: Wow.
VALENCIA: The Astros chased him out of the game. It was the shortest start of his career. Right now, the score is tied zero, zero, but a lot of fans are very optimistic that they'll pull another win out today, Ana.
CABRERA: Real quick, any update on how much money they've raised today?
VALENCIA: So far, we haven't had a chance to talk to the Astros about that, but we know all those proceeds from the parking are going here. We've seen a lot of people stream into the game. There was a lot of empty seats, though, as well. There are people here that are still suffering through it.
CABRERA: Yes.
VALENCIA: I mentioned that a lot of people are getting back to normal here, but a lot of people are still going through it, Ana.
CABRERA: I'm sure going to a baseball game was the last thing on a lot of people's minds who are just trying to get their lives back together. Nick Valencia, thank you. Nice to see that silver lining --
VALENCIA: You got it.
CABRERA: -- to what's happening in Houston. We'll be right back.
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[20:48:20] CABRERA: The Salt Lake City Police Department is apologizing after an officer arrested a nurse who was just following hospital protocol. It was all caught on bodycam video, and our Dan Simon has this crazy story.
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ALEX WUBBELS, NURSE, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HOSPITAL: No. Oh my God.
(SCREAMING)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The disturbing video comes from the inside of an emergency room. And the woman screaming? A burn unit nurse who is being arrested by a Salt Lake City police officer.
WUBBELS: Please! Please, sir! You're hurting me!
DET. JEFF PAYNE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Then walk!
WUBBELS: No.
SIMON (voice-over): The incident, captured by police and hospital cameras, happened in July. But now, the District Attorney says he wants a criminal investigation.
PANE: If she doesn't --
WUBBELS: What department are you in?
PANE: Salt Lake City Police.
SIMON (voice-over): University of Utah Nurse Alex Wubbels says she was just doing her job, following hospital protocol by refusing to let police take a blood sample from an unconscious patient.
WUBBELS: Is this patient under arrest?
PANE: Nope.
SIMON (voice-over): Wubbels said Detective Jeff Pane demanded a blood sample from a car crash victim who is in a coma and severely burned. His truck smashed by a car racing from police, according to local media.
Wubbels calmly explains the policy for obtaining blood.
WUBBELS: The three things that allow us to do that are if you have an electronic warrant, patient consent, or patient under arrest. And neither of those things, the patient can't consent.
SIMON (voice-over): She even gets her supervisor on the phone who backs her up. The tension only escalates.
PANE: She is the one that has told me no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): Yes. But, sir, you're making a huge mistake right now.
PANE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): You're making a huge mistake because you're threatening a nurse.
PANE: OK. No, we're done. We're done. You're under arrest. We're going.
WUBBELS: You can't put me under arrest.
[20:40:01] PANE: We're done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I have to --
WUBBELS: No. Please!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir!
WUBBELS: No!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, sir. Stop! Stop!
(SCREAMING)
SIMON (voice-over): Salt Lake City's police chief apologized and said what happened was unacceptable.
MIKE BROWN, CHIEF OF POLICE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: I was alarmed by what I saw in the video. I want to be very clear, we take this very seriously.
SIMON (voice-over): For now, Wubbels isn't filing a lawsuit.
WUBBELS: I feel very strongly in giving people the benefit of the doubt, and I truly believe that he was honest in his apology and sincere in his willingness to try and make change and make things better.
SIMON (voice-over): Police released Wubbels without charges that day after she sat in the police car for 20 minutes. Detective Pane said in a written report that his watch commander advised him to arrest the nurse for interfering with a police investigation. He and another officer now on administrative as internal investigators look into this startling incident.
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CABRERA: Our thanks to Dan Simon for that reporting.
Coming up, the untold story of how agents brought down a Chinese hacker selling U.S. secrets on the black market. A preview of tonight's brand new episode of "DECLASSIFIED" is next.
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[20:55:18] CABRERA: When they discovered what was going on, U.S. authorities were shocked. A hacker in China selling U.S. defense software to rival nations and even terrorist groups. Here is a preview of tonight's brand-new episode of "DECLASSIFIED."
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DAVID LOCKE HALL, FORMER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, U.S. NAVY RESERVE: Xiang Li was highly responsive. He was extremely attentive to customer relations. He would do whatever we needed him to do so long as we first paid him the money. That's the thing we noticed about him, is that he was all about the money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he downloaded the programs on to our lop top. We flew out to San Jose, met with the company. They looked at it and they figured out that this was a working copy of their program. Again, Xiang Li he had cracked the license file to make it work. This
software tested the structural integrity of airplanes, of spacecraft. Crack99 is selling it as if it was, you know, a Microsoft Office Suite.
HALL: I was becoming increasingly concerned about the implications of the Crack99 operation.
MICHAEL RONAYNE, SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, ICE HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS: The biggest question for all of us where did this come from? How did he get it?
HALL: We didn't know if Crack99 was a large number of people hacking into U.S. servers. We didn't know if he had in-house crackers, meaning people who crack the licensing file to enable access to the software.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had no idea who I was communicating with, the originator, or if it was one of hundreds of sales reps.
HALL: It's an overseas target who is particularly difficult to identify because he's operating on the internet and is anonymous.
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CABRERA: Joining us now, former federal prosecutor David Locke Hall. He helped lead the investigation into this cyber pirate.
And, David, I can't even believe that one of the clients of this hacker's black market was a defense contractor who was working on software used on the presidential Marine One helicopter?
HALL: That's true, Ana. He was an engineer and a chief scientist for a defense contractor, and he acquired software from Crack99, and he was, in fact, working on radar software for Marine One.
CABRERA: How did you figure this out?
HALL: Well, we figured out who the customers were -- who the customers of Crack99 were through a search warrant on the e-mail accounts used by the operator of Crack99.
CABRERA: Now, you say Li was the only software pirate ever lured from China to the U.S. for prosecution. How did you lure him to the U.S.?
HALL: Well, we had an 18-month undercover investigation involving HSI agents and DCIS agents. And through that investigation, we became -- we acquired software from Crack99.
We became pretty good customers of Xiang Li. And ultimately, we told him that we thought that he could do better in the United States, that his pricing was too low. We could help him with that. And then we proposed a meeting on the western Pacific island of Saipan to discuss that, and he met us there.
CABRERA: Tell me about what has been described as the riskiest moment in this undercover operation, a hotel north of Guam.
HALL: We did meet with Xiang Li in a hotel on Saipan. And contact with the target is always the riskiest element of an undercover investigation because even though we had an 18-month relationship, we didn't really know exactly what he was thinking. And there's always, you know, the threat of a violent reaction from a target during a contact like that.
CABRERA: Well, we look forward to the episode. It sounds fascinating. David Locke Hall, thank you very much for your time.
And, of course, everybody should tune in for this new episode. It is "DECLASSIFIED." It's coming up next right here on CNN.
That's going to do it for me tonight. I really appreciate you being with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. I'll be back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Have a great night.
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HALL: We are living in a cyber age, and it's the new theater of operations for the military and really for all of us. The future is now. I mean, what's happened is, over the course of time, hardware has given over --
