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Indonesia Quake And Tsunami Death Toll Now More Than 800; "Saturday Night Live" Supreme Court Battle; Trump: FBI Has "Free Rein" To Investigate Kavanaugh; 13-Year-Old Attacked By Shark Aired 6-7a ET

Aired September 30, 2018 - 06:00   ET

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


[06:00:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There has never been anybody that has been looked at like Judge Kavanaugh.

The FBI, I believe, is doing a really great job. They have been all over it. They have free rein.

They're going to do whatever they have to do, whatever it is they do. Having them do a thorough investigation I actually think will be a blessing in disguise.

He wrote me beautiful letters and they are great letters. We fell in love.

MATT DAMON AS BRETT KAVANAUGH: What?

ALEX MOFFAT AS CHUCK GRASSLEY: Judge Kavanaugh, are you ready to begin?

DAMON: Oh, hell yes. This is my speech. There are others like it but this is mine.

I wrote it myself last night while screaming into an empty bag of Doritos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: this is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. We will get to the Supreme Court battle in a moment.

But firs the very latest on the escalating situation in Indonesia.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: You're looking at some of the first aerial footage of just the devastation this earthquake and tsunami have brought. We now know more than 800 people have died. This hour, rescue workers are digging through that rubble and the debris.

Take a look at these pictures that are coming in to us overnight. These are from a hotel where dozens of people are trapped. We're going to take you like to Asia later this morning for more.

But we do want to begin with the latest on the battle over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. And a sexual assault allegations against him.

BLACKWELL: So there is the new FBI background investigations happening right now. And President Trump says nothing will be off limits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There has never been anybody that has been looked at like Judge Kavanaugh.

I think that it's going to work out very well. But the FBI, I believe, is doing a really great job.

They have been all over it. They have free rein. They're going to do whatever they have to do, whatever it is they do.

They will be doing things that we never even thought of. And hopefully at the conclusion, everything will be fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, of course this week's heated hearings provided plenty of material for the return of "Saturday Night Live" guest staring as Brett Kavanaugh, an angry Matt Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: Now, I am usually an optimist. I'm a keg-is-half-full kind of guy.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

DAMON: But what I've seen from the monsters on this committee makes me want to puke and not from beer. Dr. Ford has no evidence. None.

Meanwhile, I've got these. I've got these calendars. These beautiful creepy calendars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. We will show you more from the show later. But jokes aside, we are learning more about who could be interviewed by the FBI in their investigation of Kavanaugh.

PAUL: Joining us live from the White House now, CNN correspondent Ryan Nobles.

Ryan, good to see you this morning. What are you learning really about the scope of this?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christi and Victor, good morning from the north lawn of the White House where President Trump was busy talking about this investigation yesterday on his way to West Virginia, he basically said that the FBI can talk to whomever they need to to learn as much information as they can about Brett Kavanaugh and what is now a condensed FBI investigation that can only go until Friday of next week, with the hopes that Republicans will have will clear Kavanaugh of another additional background check and that will be enough for him to win confirmation to the United States Supreme Court.

Listen to what the president told supporters last night in West Virginia about this next round of FBI investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: For 10 years they have been talking about him. Longer than that.

I didn't know him. But I've heard about him a lot, because they were all saying he should be on the United States Supreme Court. That's why I put him up.

And I will tell you, I will tell you, I will tell you he has suffered the meanness, the anger, but a vote for Judge Kavanaugh is also a vote to reject the ruthless and outrageous tactics of the Democrat Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: You can see there what the president believes is that Kavanaugh has been thoroughly vetted by the FBI on numerous occasions and that is one of the reasons that he believes this additional background check is not going to deliver any new information but we know the FBI are busy at work.

There are a number of people they plan to talk to. Among them is Mark Judge, he of course the friend of Brett Kavanaugh who Dr. Ford believes was in the room at the time of the assault. Also they may talk to Deborah Ramirez. She is the person who has also additionally accused Judge Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her while they were classmates at Yale.

[06:05:01]

Patrick Smyth known as PJ could also been at that party that Dr. Ford claimed she was assaulted at. And Leland Keyser she will also be an important person for the FBI to talk to. She was the friend of Dr. Ford who was at the party with her that day.

It's important to point out that all of these people have put out statements on one level or another talking about their experience as it relates to the Ford case, none of these people have been able to specifically corroborate her story. But, at the same time, none of them have been able to say definitive that will did not happen.

So this next week will be crucial. Of course, the big question, Victor and Christi, is will any new information that could come forward that could change the minds of these senators that will ultimately have the final decision about brett Kavanaugh's future -- Victor and Christi.

PAUL: All right. Ryan Nobles, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Joining me now to discuss CNN political analyst, Julian Zelizer, historian and professor at Princeton University, and Kelly Jane Torrance, deputy managing editor at "The Weekly Standard." Welcome to both of you. Good morning.

And let's start, first, just the president and this 180 on the FBI and their ability to be useful in this investigation. Do we have the sound bite?

All right. Let's play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't think the FBI really should be involved because they don't want to be involved. If they wanted to be, I would certainly do that, but as you know, they say this is not really their thing.

Actually, this could be a blessing in disguise because having the FBI go out and do a thorough investigation, whether it's three days or seven days, I think it's going to be less than a week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So it's not what they do, it's not their thing to, they are going to do things that we never thought of. It's going to be a blessing in disguise.

Julian, was his hand forced here? What do you make of this new confidence from the president of the FBI?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look. It's the power of one vote in the Senate and Senator Flake was able to essentially pressure him into this position.

It's not an open investigation. It's really a background check. So I think the president, in some ways, is having it both ways.

Now he can say I'm going to have a full investigation unlimited, but, in reality, it is limited. And it's not clear it will produce anything which would still allow for the confirmation to go through. Today is best of both worlds in some ways.

BLACKWELL: That's an important point.

Let me bring thaw to you, Kelly Jane. The president says free rein but there is a limited time period. There is a limited scope and without sharing those details, maybe even publicly or even with Senate judiciary Democrats, are we going to be at the end of this week where we were at the end of last week fighting over as Julian said this full fair investigation?

KELLY JANE TORRANCE, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: Yes, it's a great question, Victor. And I've seen people, you know, especially a few Democrats and people aligned with them that are already casting doubt on the, you know, what is going to happen with this investigation before it's even practically begun.

And, yes, I think that we are going to be about at the same place. I mean, let's face it. I think they are unlikely to find any new information and I think that hardly anybody is going to have their mind changed.

Now, of course, they are focusing on those three or four senators who seem to be undecided and I guess those are the people whose minds might be changed but, on the whole, everybody has the evidence or lack thereof that we have seen and no one is going to change their mind.

And, yes, it is -- you know, it is disturbing to hear conflicting reports about what the president and what the White House has said to the FBI, what direction it's given them. So far, I've only seen one outlet publishing anonymous sources saying that the White House has given them a specific list of names they are supposed to talk to and nobody else is reporting that. And I know that the FBI, once they talk to someone, if that person leads them to someone else, they are supposed to go and talk to that new person.

And I expect the FBI being the professionals they are and I'm glad to see President Trump no longer talking about the FBI being a partisan deep state organization. I think they are going to do their job.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And you point out who they will and will not talk to.

Let's put up Michael Avenatti's tweet. He represents Julie Swetnick who is the third accuser who says that she witnessed several times Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh engaging in as she said excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women during the 1980s.

Avenatti tweeted this. "We have yet to hear from the FBI. When and if we do, we will promptly disclose to them all information and witnesses in our possession. We continue to request this opportunity as we have been doing for days. My client is telling the truth and deserves to be heard and not shammed," he write.

Julian, is it plausible to think that that they will conduct this investigation and not speak with Julie Swetnick? And let's remember Michael Avenatti is not someone who will just sit quietly by if this gets to Wednesday, Thursday and not make his position known.

[06:10:02]

ZELIZER: Well, first, yes, it is possible that they ultimately limit the scope of who they talk to and which issues they investigate. And that would be problematic for many people after what they saw at those hearings and the inconsistencies they have heard from Judge Kavanaugh, because they will ask why not look at a full range of credible allegations that have been made.

But, at the same time, there will be almost the second tier of investigation going on, whether it's Avenatti and whatever he tweets out about his own client, or whether it's journalists who are going to be asking questions of all the same people who the FBI is going after and reporting on it. And we don't know what impact that might have over the coming weeks.

So there is multiple tracks of investigations that I think might have some kind of effect on the final vote, although I still predict the Republicans are going to fall in line by the end of the week and vote to confirm.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's switch up topics here, Kelly Jane.

The president hosted another rally this was in West Virginia last night, a re-election rally. And he talked about the midterms. Do we have that sound bite from the president? If not, I can read it. OK.

All right. So here is what the president said. "A lot of what we have done is at stake in November with just five weeks away, this is one of the big, big, in other words, that is true, I'm not running but I'm really running, fighting for great candidates."

Saying that he is not on the ballot, but he is. Kelly, we know that historically this is set up to potentially be a rough time for Republicans in November. The latest generic ballot has Republicans about 12 points behind Democrats here.

Is this a danger for the president?

TORRANCE: Yes, it is, Victor. You know, in some races, you know, the president getting out there, making his face known, talking about how much he supports the candidate, that might help him but there are an awful lot of races in which it's going to be the complete opposite. And I hope that, you know, people in the White House are figuring out which races are which and getting the president -- I mean, if they want to win that is what they have got to do.

But, you know, I wonder if it's a wise move for our president with such a low approval rating to make this race, to make the midterms about him. Republicans do seem to support the president. They haven't really moved a lot, his support.

But independents really have moved and they are moving against the president. And so I'm not sure this is the best strategy but I don't know what other strategy Donald Trump would choose because, of course, everything has to be about him.

BLACKWELL: Well, we have seen the president give a full throat endorsement to a candidate and after they lose, create as much distance as possible. Luther Strange, Roy Moore, Rick Saccone in Pennsylvania, the list goes on.

All right. Julian Zelizer, Kelly Jane Torrance, thank you both.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

TORRANCE: Thanks. Have a great day. BLACKWELL: You too.

PAUL: Well, actress Alyssa Milano was inside the hearing last week to support Christine Blasey Ford. And she said that she too was sexually assaulted but she never reported it because she just thought -- quote -- "justice was never an option."

She spoke to CNN's Ana Cabrera and she says there was a double standard in that hearing room.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ALYSSA MILANO, ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST (on the phone): And there was a sense of hope. There was a since of hope in that room beforehand. There was a sense of hope in that room, as she spoke, for so many of us that have gone through that in such a powerful intimidating way and I can't imagine how difficult that was, and my stomach was in knots for her.

And then he got up there and it was -- it was enraging, you know? I felt like if a woman acted like that during a line of questioning, she would have been considered totally unhinged or like she was having a meltdown, which I think proved that he doesn't have the temperament to be on the Supreme Court. I feel like with this investigation, this he said/she said will get more due process and I think that that is the most important thing.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PAUL: Now one of the senators noted for her questioning of Judge Kavanaugh on Thursday's hearing, joins Jake Tapper live this morning. Here's Senator Amy Klobuchar live on "STATE OF THE UNION" that's at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

BLACKWELL: Well, crews right now are searching for survivors in Indonesia. The death toll is skyrocketing after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit the area. We will have a live report.

PAUL: Also a diver thought a young boy was just excited that he caught a lobster. He was actually screaming for help. The latest on a shark attack. This time off the California coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:40]

PAUL: We've got some breaking news out of Indonesia we want to talk to you about. Rescue crews are still looking for survivors after that deadly earthquake and tsunami hit overnight. The death toll has skyrocketed.

More than 800 people have died they can confirm now. And authorities say they believe more bodies are going to be recovered.

BLACKWELL: Rescue workers right now are working to get at least 50 people who are trapped under all of this at a hotel. CNN's Will Ripley is live from Hong Kong.

Will, what are you learning about specifically the hotel rescue?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that a number of tourists were caught not only in the earthquake but in the tsunami that followed. And as a result, people are trapped under debris and with each passing hour the chances of finding people alive are dimming.

I mean, really it was the worst possibly development in the overnight hours to see the death toll go from 405 to 832 with rescue workers saying that they believe the numbers will be worse in the coming hours and days. Because a lot of the areas believed to be the hardest hit are completely cut off right now. No communications, no power and the roads are destroyed to get in.

You know, the earthquake, itself, 7.5 a devastating event certainly in Indonesia where a lot of buildings collapsed. We're talking about thousands of homes destroyed, upwards of 17,000 people homeless and more expected. You know, people sleeping outside because the structures are so unsafe.

[06:20:01]

But the even more devastating and deadly event was the tsunami that followed. A 10-foot wave that came crashing onto shore and there were some videos posted on social media that I want to play for you because it really does take you to that moment, the terrifying moment as this huge wave approached the shore. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language).

Tsunami. Tsunami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tsunami. (Speaking in foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language). Tsunami. Tsunami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tsunami. Tsunami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language). Tsunami. Tsunami.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: And it's just so hard to watch because you don't know if those people on the street, in their cars, you know, even knew what was coming. And then moments later the waves arrive and that man who was screaming had that panic in his voice the tone almost changed to a sound of sadness as he watched the devastation around him.

I mean, of the 832 killed, 821 were in that coastal city of Palu. It just goes to show how deadly those tsunami waves are, Victor and Christi. It reminds of me when I was living and working in Japan and, you know, touring those areas that were hit by the tsunami back in 2011. The waves come through and they just destroy everything which is why they expect to find more bodies, sadly, just through all of the debris that is scattered throughout the area.

PAUL: I think I heard you earlier say that both the current and former mayors of Palu were killed as well. What do we know about the rescue operations? Have they interrupted them overnight or are they working through the night?

RIPLEY: So the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, was on the ground there in Palu and he has ordered rescue personnel to work around the clock day and night. The problem though is that getting people into this area is proving exceptionally difficult.

The airport in Palu was shut down. In fact there was an air traffic controller who died after helping a passenger plane take off during the earthquake and then he was in the control tower. He was killed.

So the airport now partially reopened only for bringing in humanitarian supplies and some military personnel. But for the actual aid workers themselves who need to come in from other areas they are not able to get on commercial flights because those are suspended so they are having to drive from airports that are seven, 10, 12 hours away. So getting actually the people in there to distribute things like food and water and supplies, hygiene, toiletries, you know, obviously medications, tents for people to sleep in, that is taking a very long time which means that the much-needed help is kind of trickling in.

And keep in mind Indonesia was just hit by an earthquake back in August that killed 405 people. So they are already stretched thin in terms of their -- in terms of the resources and now have yet another disaster they are having to deal with.

PAUL: Will Ripley, thank you so much for bringing us the latest from there. It is so hard to believe with these poor people.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The numbers, unfortunately, are going to get worse.

A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition. He was attacked by a shark. The boy was diving for lobsters off the coast of -- and see this this is near San Diego. Witnesses say they heard the boy shouting but they thought he was just excited. Then they realized he was yelling, I got bit.

PAUL: Well, obviously you can see some people there who are diving nearby. They helped get him into a kayak, got him back to shore. One witness said he was conscious but he did sustain serious injuries to his chest, to his back. The beaches in that area are closed for at least another 24 hours now.

PAUL: All right. Still to come, "Saturday Night Live" returning for its 44th season. And you know they took on the Supreme Court battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LESLIE JONES AS HARRIS FAULKNER: Judge Kavanaugh himself is about to appear so let's go live to the Senate hearing room where two of the oldest white people I've ever seen are about to run a circus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:28:19]

BLACKWELL: So it was pretty safe to expect that this was going to happen.

PAUL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All that happened on Capitol Hill this week so much of it is showing up in the writer's room there at "Saturday Night Live."

PAUL: And the season premiere opened with Matt Damon as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: Let me tell you this I'm going to start at an 11. I'm going to take it to about a 15 real quick. First of all I showed this speech to almost no one, not my family, not my friends, not even PJ or Tobin or Squi (ph). This is my speech. There are other like it, but this is mine. I wrote it myself last night while screaming into an empty bag of Doritos.

KATE MCKINNON AS LINDSEY GRAHAM: Is this hel to you, Judge Kavanaugh?

DAMON: Well, it's pretty bad.

MCKINNON: It is horrific (ph). And for what? You don't just be Bill Cosby and then suddenly you're not Bill Cosby anymore.

DAMON: OK. Well, you don't -- you don't have to compare me to Bill Cosby.

MCKINNON: No, no, no. You are him. You are him. Imagine this man in handcuffs like Bill Cosby.

DAMON: Just please stop saying Bill Cosby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining us now Brian Stelter, CNN senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES." So, Brian, what do you think?

(LAUGHTER)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: You know, SNL always has high expectations, high anticipation for its season premiere. So to roll out Matt Damon was impressive. He -- you know, people wondered how they were going to react to the Kavanaugh hearing and they certainly had some fun both at Kavanaugh's expense and at Rachel Mitchell's expense.

[06:30:01]

Aidy Bryant played Rachel Mitchell. At one point, you know, the woman who was doing some of the questioning on behalf of the Republican senators. But it was Damon that stole the show.

STELTER: I think the message from SNL was pretty clear. This is a show that has embraced its progressive beliefs especially in the Trump era and so in the weekend update portion which I can show you a clip of, we heard from Michael Che and Colin Jost talking about the stakes of the Kavanaugh hearing and what might happen next. Here is what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL CHE, ACTOR: I just want to remind everybody that all this yelling and crying happened at this dude's job interview. I mean, typically when you ask about a sexual assault and you're drinking problem at a job interview you don't get the damn job.

(LAUGHTER)

CHE: I don't know if Mr. Kavanaugh actually has a history of assault or if he actually has a drinking problem but I know that he might. And you shouldn't be on the Supreme Court if you might. You shouldn't be on the people's court if you might.

(LAUGHTER)

CHE: Sometimes "might" is enough. I mean, I don't want to pet your dog if he "might" bite me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: That's the view (INAUDIBLE) update there. I think if there was a conservative version of SNL which there is not, if there was a conservative iteration of SNL they would be saying the opposite. They would be saying that "might" is not enough and that people are innocent until proven guilty.

I think what is so unique about this current debate about the Supreme Court is that there is energy on a lot of different sides of this argument about supporting Kavanaugh, opposing Kavanaugh, and it's hard to measure what side has more energy and more intensity right now.

Certainly on SNL you're hearing a progressive point of view, there's a lot of concern about Kavanaugh. But there are lots of folks fired up who are represented by voices on FOX News as well.

We know what the polling says. We know most Americans oppose Kavanaugh on the polling but the energy levels, the intensity, the motivation to vote in the midterms, a lot of that is, I think, hard to measure at this point in time. PAUL: Well, you know, I'm waiting to see who is going to come up with a conservative version now, now that you've said it. I mean, it's out there.

And, two, the timing really at the end of the day could not have been better and it shows how quickly, how expeditiously SNL reacts to what's happening in the news cycle.

STELTER: Yes, that's a great point.

PAUL: I mean, it happened Thursday, this is Saturday. They got Damon.

STELTER: Right they have to turn it around. And what they keep doing is they keep doing hyper exaggerated versions of real life. They're just really looking at what happens and trying to do humorous versions as opposed to coming up with an entirely different version of reality or something.

I think some folks think it's kind of cheap on SNL's part just to do an exaggerated version of real life but I then again I think its loyal hard-core fans love it.

And you're right. Everybody in television now they have to react to the news cycle and they have to be, you know, re-writing in real-time. Even "60 Minutes" tonight they have got a last minute interview with Jeff Flake that they're going to air tonight. You know, it's that kind of re-writing and re-doing that happens both in the news and in entertainment these days.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Got to keep up. Brian Stelter, thanks so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

PAUL: Thanks, Brian.

BLACKWELL: And do not miss Brian on "RELIABLE SOURCES" that's at 11:00 a.m. right here on CNN.

Elon Musk got away with smoking marijuana live on the radio but now a single tweet could cost him his job as chair of Tesla.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:40]

BLACKWELL: Thirty-seven minutes after the hour now.

Tweets have cost Elon Musk $20 million and his seat as chairman of Tesla. It's part of a settlement agreements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

You see back in August Musk tweeted that he was taking the electric car company private and had the funding to do it and sent Tesla's stocks soaring but turns out he didn't. And the SEC says that misled investors. Now the court still has to approve this deal. If it goes through Musk will be able to stay on as CEO by he will have to pay the $20 million fine. The company will have to pay another $20 million for not policing Musk's tweet.

Musk said -- and this is part of a statement. "I have always taken action in the best interest of truth, transparency and investors. Integrity is the most important value in my life and the facts will show I never compromised this in any way."

PAUL: Of course, this week, the Senate is waiting for the FBI investigation before they vote on Judge Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination. At the Senate judiciary committee hearing, Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh each defended the veracity of decades old memory. Although Dr. Ford was not able to remember some key things such as date and exact location of the assault, she did remember other moments very clearly. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA), RANKING MEMBER, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: How are you so sure that it was he?

DR. CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD, KAVANAUGH ACCUSER: The same way that I'm sure that I'm talking to you right now. Just basic memory functions and also just the level of norepinephrine and epinephrine in the brain that sort of as you know encodes that neurotransmitter that codes memories into the hippocampus and so the trauma-related experience then is kind of locked there, whereas other details kind of drift.

FEINSTEIN: So what you are telling us is this could not be a case of mistaken identity?

FORD: Absolutely not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Jim Hopper is with us now, a psychology teaching associate at Harvard Medical School and expert on sexual assault and the brain. Thank you so much, Professor Hopper, for being with us.

I want to ask you, first of all, how reliable are memories of someone who has experienced a sexual assault? Why would they be fragmented as we saw there with Dr. Ford?

JIM HOPPER, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, HARVARD: So a key issue is that, you know, memories have different components and some aspects of memory are more reliable than others.

[06:40:06]

And so a really important distinction we make is between what we call the central details and the peripheral details. And the central details are those things that while the person is having the experience that their attention is focused on and they have emotional significance to them. And those are things that we tend to take in very strongly and the things that we are not paying attention to or that don't have much emotional significance those are not getting in our brain. They're not being encoded as we say.

And then in the same way the next stage is storage. Are things getting retained in the brain and what gets attention, what got emotional significance. That is what gets retained.

And then, finally -- oh, God.

PAUL: That's all right. I know. I know. There is so much --

HOPPER: That is so funny.

PAUL: -- there is so much to this particular topic that we don't understand.

So let me ask you this. How can you determine what fragmented memories are reality and what might be -- what might not be?

HOPPER: Here is what I wanted to add when I got a little nervous there.

PAUL: Sure. That's OK.

HOPPER: Is that after things -- the other thing is what is your emotional state when you're having the experience and this is what Dr. Ford was talking about. So if you're really activated and you're nervous or you're stressed out or you're afraid, then that can really burn in those central details. And that is what she was talking about the norepinephrine and the hippocampus. It's that level of stress that people just saw in me frankly that data will burn in that memory for the rest of my life, right?

So that's how it works. What we're focusing on, what we're attending to, and giving significance to that gets in and when we are really stressed that gets super burned in. And that may not be what other people would expect us to have.

That may not be what an investigator would think. Well, here is what would be central to the person. It's what for the person as they are having the experience moment-by-moment, what central is to them. That is really the key issue here. And that what tends to be burned into people's brains for the rest of their lives.

PAUL: OK. So -- so I just wanted to ask you about what you mentioned in terms of investigators. Because you recently wrote for an article. You said, "Ignorance of how memory works is a major reason why sexual assault is the easiest violent crime to get away with."

Ignorance where? Is this with us we don't understand it if we haven't been through it? Is it with investigators?

HOPPER: Well, I think the ignorance is partly just -- a lot of these things are intuitive. Probably the things I just said will make sense to people but, on the other hand, we can have these expectations about what would the person have focused on, what would be the central part. And one of the things that I always talk about, and I write about, too, is how if we look to the experiences of soldiers and police, these are the same kinds of things, these are the realities that soldiers and police deal with. In a combat situation, there are certain things that grab their attention and they really get burned in. And there's other things they weren't noticing and that tunnel vision that don't get in there.

If we don't have realistic expectations we have these expectations we put on people who have been sexually assaulted that we might not put on a police officer if they were involved in a shooting. Or we might not put on a soldier if he just came back from a firefight in an alley in Ramadi. And so it's the expectations we have about what should they have notices, what should they have remembered, and those could be totally at odds with what the person's brain was actually focused on and taking in.

PAUL: Wow. That is -- that is really informative. Professor Hopper, forget whatever happened in that little moment because we learned a lot from you today. It was great. Thank you so much for being with us.

HOPPER: Thank you. Bye-bye.

PAUL: Sure.

BLACKWELL: Two games, four football heavyweights. Vince Cellini is here -- Vince.

VINCE CELLINI, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Victor, top 10 matchups and dramatic comebacks all under the lights Saturday night, including an early candidate for play of the year. But was this going to be enough for the Penn State Nittany Lions hosting Ohio State?

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[06:48:12]

PAUL: Huge college football games. Two top matchups and number three team nearly upset.

BLACKWELL: Vince Cellini is here. We're starting with the biggest game in the big 10, maybe from what I hear, I don't know, all year.

CELLINI: No. It's a tone setter that's for sure and what an opening month for college football and what a September send-off with Ohio State visiting Penn State.

A key early matchup of unbeatens and early pathway to the college football playoff. It was an electric atmosphere. This "Bleacher Report" brought to you by Ford, going further so you can.

Few scenes in college football like the whiteout night game in happy valley. A 100,000 plus make for the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history and it gave us perhaps the play of the year -- early on. Penn State's Juwan Johnson -- look at this -- goes up with an acrobatic stumbling one-handed grab over a defender. Just pulled that out of the air. And that would lead to a field goal for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Now with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Ohio State is down by five after scoring a touchdown. Dwayne Haskins coming of age game put the Buckeyes on his back, rising (ph) 96 yards, a big 47-yard touchdown striking K.J. Hill, passed his two touchdowns passes in the final seven minutes gives his team the lead and the win 27-26.

Another top 10 clash two more unbeatens number seven Notre Dame hosting number 8 Stanford. The Irish bottled up Heisman candidate running back Bryce Love on the ground and torched the Cardinal through the air. A little defense, a little offense.

Ian Book tossed four touchdown passes in a 38-17 rout. So the legends trophy will reside in Notre Dame for the first time since 2014. The Irish are 5-0.

Frightening moment during the Clemson and Syracuse game. Fresh off being named the starter true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence he's going to lower his shoulder and take a nasty hit in the second quarter diving for a first down, shaken up eventually left the game.

[06:50:06]

He was clearly woozy and he didn't return. So Clemson rallies behind another freshman Chase Brice who was most recently third team. They outscored Syracuse 27 in the second half. Tiger fans love it at Memorial Stadium field they stormed. Number three Clemson holding off the orange 27-23.

To baseball. An all 10 playoff teams are set. The Dodgers scored four in the ninth to hold off the giants for a 10-6 win. And after that, out comes the champagne. The champagne.

And we know which teams are getting in but still it's a matter who plays where and when. At least on the National League side. Entering the final day of the regular season today, both the N.L. Central, N.L. West are up for grabs. The Cubs and Brewers and the Dodgers and Rockies all have a chance to win their divisions and that is big. The two teams that don't face off in a winner take all wildcard game.

Final day at the Ryder Cup started just within the last hour. Tiger Woods 0-3 so far. Just took the course at Le National in Paris for his match. And the Americans need to win eight of the 12 singles matches today against their European counterparts if they want to retain the cup. It was just a blood bath for the European team the first two days against the Americans.

The Euros winning eight matches in a row at one point between Friday and Saturday so they are 4 1/2 points from taking the Ryder Cup and the United States has not won on foreign soil since 1993 so unless they get a big rally going, it's going to be 25 years.

BLACKWELL: A bit of a tradition.

CELLINI: Yes. Absolutely. It's great competition.

PAUL: All right. Vince, thank you.

CELLINI: I have one more thing -- but -- no, I can't remember it.

BLACKWELL: Vince, I can't believe. Oh, man.

CELLINI: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That's a shot.

PAUL: Listen, we've all got it.

BLACKWELL: They are coming after you, Vince.

CELLINI: I've been there too.

PAUL: Yes. We have all done it. We have all done it.

BLACKWELL: I have got a teleprompter and I've been there. This has happened.

PAUL: Yes. Well, yes. Sometimes --

BLACKWELL: Right. He was just speaking off of his own expertise.

PAUL: Sometimes the teleprompter is not our friend.

BLACKWELL: That's the truth.

PAUL: All right. We're taking a --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Now they're taking everybody in the control room.

PAUL: No. I was not. Listen.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it was.

PAUL: Listen. Everybody -- OK, you know what? This will make our producer happy. Taking a look behind the palace Gates. A sneak peek at the new HBO documentary "Queen of the World."

He can't wait for it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:56:48]

PAUL: So she is the head of state for 53 countries but a new documentary looks to show the human side of Queen Elizabeth II.

BLACKWELL: "Queen of the World" looks at how the 92-year-old queen is preparing the younger royals for their role representing the British Commonwealth. Nations that were once part of the British empire that includes the Duchess Sussex Meghan Markle. It will include traveling the world but they're reinforcing the commonwealth bond in more subtle ways like the flowers on her dress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: It was important for me, especially now being a part of the royal family, to have all the 53 of the commonwealth countries incorporated and I knew that it would be a fun surprise as well for my now husband who didn't know and he was really over the moon to find out that I would make this choice for our day together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So joining us now CNN royal commentator Victoria Arbiter.

Victoria, good to see you. So Queen Elizabeth, queen of 53 countries worldwide. I mean, 2.4 billion people, what is this documentary show us about her relationship with these countries?

VICTORIA ARBITER, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Well, as really what comes across is the commonwealth is something that the queen is passionate about. It has arguably been the great success of her reign.

She's the most well travelled monarch in British history. She has been to 117 countries, the miles she has traveled over the course of her reign over a million could navigate the planet 42 times. So we had some charming commentary from Harry, from Princess Anne, from William and really this is just a lovely insight into the queen's role as head of the commonwealth which is something that she's very proud of.

BLACKWELL: So Kate Middleton, I don't k now if I should continue to call her Middleton but the Duchess of Cambridge.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: The Duchess of Cambridge -- teach me, Victoria. Teach me -- has not been in the public eye much since giving birth and we now are talking a lot more about the Duchess of Sussex. Is there a chance her that she could be upstaged?

ARBITER: No. I don't think so. I mean, Kate is married to the future king. So they have very different roles.

The Duchess of Sussex is certainly front and center at the moment because the wedding was a tremendous success. She is very exciting to watch. She brings lots of newness I supposed to the royal family.

But Kate's maternity leave finishes on Tuesday so Cambridge fans are celebrating. She's going to be back on the royal beat and I think we'll certainly be seeing lots of her between now and Christmas.

PAUL: So while we have you I want to ask you about Samantha Markle. She's Meghan's half sister. She's in London right now. She says that she wants to confront the Duchess of Sussex.

This is a really tenuous -- I mean, this relationship, the familial relationship to the Markle family. How much of this do you think we're going to see?

ARBITER: I don't think we -- I don't think we are going to see anything. It's a lovely idea that Samantha Markle thinks she can just arrive in England and go and knock on Harry and Meghan's door. It doesn't work like that particularly when she has made so many threatening comments in the past.

So I think police are probably keeping a close eye. Yes, her public relations reps are saying she is there, she wants to confront Meghan but she'll be very lucky if she gets within arm's length of Meghan.

PAUL: All right. Victoria Arbiter, thank you so much. Good to have you here.

ARBITER: Thank you.

PAUL: Sure. "Queen of the World" airs on HBO tomorrow, Monday, October first, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

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[07:00:02]

TRUMP: There has never been anybody that has been looked at like Judge Kavanaugh.

The FBI, I believe, is doing a really great job. They have been all over it. They have free rein.