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32 Million People In U.S. Live Along Path Of Totality; Trump: Abortion Rights Should Be Left To The States. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired April 08, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:01:28]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. And here's the question, where will you be when the afternoon goes dark? We are just hours away from a solar eclipse that you will likely talk about years from now. Some 32 million Americans will be in the so called path of totality later this afternoon. And that means from Texas to Maine, they will be plunged into darkness when the moon blocks out the sun for about four minutes. But if you're not lucky enough to be in that narrow band, worry not, 99 percent of Americans will see at least a partial eclipse. And this reminder, of course, be sure to wear those special eclipse glasses to avoid permanently damaging your eyes. It will be another 20 years before the next total solar eclipse is visible in the contiguous United States.

We're covering all the angles of this truly rare event, CNN's Rosa Flores, Ed Lavandera, Harry Enten, they are all in the totality zone. Rosa, let's start with you. You're in Kerrville, Texas. What kind of crowds are expected there?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The crowds are Texas size, Wolf. But can you see me right now? Because I really can't see anything. I think I might be experiencing totality. Well, no totality is not happening just yet. We do have a little bit of cloud cover, but I've got to say, Wolf, a while ago, I couldn't see any blue skies. The blue skies are starting to happen here, so these clouds might be parting.

As Wolf was saying, having the proper eyewear is key for humans and also perhaps for animals. I have some guests here with me, Lana (ph) from Bandera and her littles. And I have a few other people, if you want to come right closer to me, around me, because our pets are so integral in our families. And I'm wondering if littles has glasses for the eclipse.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Littles does not have glasses, but I do have a pair. And if she pays attention at all, which I'm not sure she will, I'll cover her eyes so with my hand, or I'll just set her up in my lap and into her little carrier bag, so.

FLORES: So littles will be protected.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're protected, yes.

FLORES: Do you have glasses for your pets?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a couple extra. Yes, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do. We have a couple extra.

FLORES: Now, are they smaller glasses or larger glasses? Do they look like these?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ones with the special code on the back, the official ones. They're NASA approved.

FLORES: And are they small?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they're just those ones.

FLORES: And one of the things that makes Kerrville so special is that it's experiencing two eclipses in six months. You told me that you were here for the one prior.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

FLORES: Why is it so special to be in Kerrville for this one, too?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's just all of the people and we just get together and it's so expensive where I live in Bandera, so I can park here for free and enjoy the wonderful experience of all the Kerrville people. And she gets to walk around the river. So we're happy.

FLORES: And she is from Bandera. We were just there. That's the cowboy capital of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it is. Cowboy capital of the world. We do shootouts on Main Street, and it's a lot of fun.

FLORES: Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. And, Wolf, according to the mayor of this city, they're expecting about a hundred thousand people. That means the population of the city is going to grow about fourfold by the time totality begins. Wolf, back to you.

[11:05:00]

BLITZER: Exciting day for so much of the country indeed. Rosa Flores in Kerrville, Texas for us. I want to go to CNN's Ed Lavandera right now. He's in Dallas, Texas, the largest U.S. city in the path of totality. Ed, you're there at the Dallas Zoo. Tell us what you're expecting there.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've got a great day planned, Wolf. We're going to be monitoring the animal reaction to the total eclipse. There are a number of zoos. They're in the path of this eclipse. And so we are going to be monitoring them, asking for help from the public as well, because there's very little research that has been done to animal reaction to what happens, what animals do during total eclipse. We're here in the Dallas Zoo in the Savannah area. We've got elephants over here. We've got zebras out there. This is Tobogo (ph). The giraffe over here, who will be our co- host during this time. And there's a little bit of a prima donna because they don't really stand next to you when you're doing the live shot.

But we'll entice Tobogo (ph) over here with some lettuce at some point. And one of the things that they're going to be watching for is just the reaction. And so a couple things to expect is, you know, in 2017, during that eclipse, some animals behaved in a rather odd way at times. And even though it happens quickly, so one of the things that they're looking for is just that animal reaction. It could be anything from, they think it's nighttime, they put themselves to sleep. It could be that there's a perceived threat, so they gather around their young, flamingos did that.

So we will be trying to monitor this as best as we can here during the eclipse. And if you anywhere in the path of this eclipse, if you see anything about animals reacting to what is happening out there, it's going to be a really interesting time. And we spoke with some of the officials here at the Dallas Zoo to get their perspective on what they'll be looking for and watching very closely here throughout the day.

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TINA CLOUTIER BARBOUR, ASSOCIATE VP OF ANIMAL CARE AND WELFARE, DALLAS ZOO: We're just going to be monitoring the animal behavior, making sure that they seem comfortable, and just seeing if we see anything that seems a little bit out of the norm. We're not really expecting to see too much because my hunch is that they're probably going to assume that it's sort of like a thunderstorm rolling in where it gets really dark really quick, but we'll see.

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LAVANDERA: So, Wolf, you know, millions of people all across the Dallas Fort Worth area. As mentioned, this is one of the largest areas with the greatest population being able to watch this eclipse today. It's a little bit cloudy today, but, you know, that darkness will settle in a great deal of excitement building up for what we're expected to see here this afternoon. Wolf?

BLITZER: And are officials there at that zoo worried about the animals that will be outside who may be looking at the sun that could damage their eyes as well, right?

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, that's one of the interesting questions. We're going to get into that throughout the morning and the afternoon as well. It's actually, they're not something that they're terribly worried about, and it has to do with more that the animals kind of instinctually are more concerned with what's happening around them. In fact, the one person we talked to here from the zoo said, you know, animals a little bit smarter than humans in this regard, that we don't have this -- they don't have this inclination to want to look up to what's going on. They're more interested in what's going on around them, so they're more likely to look down to see if there's any kind of threat around them. So they're not terribly concerned about the animals looking up at the sky and staring at the sun.

BLITZER: All right. Ed Lavandera at the Dallas Zoo for us, we'll check back with you. Thank you very much.

One of the largest events during today's eclipse is in Niagara Falls, just outside my hometown of Buffalo, New York. They'll see totality at around 3:18 later this afternoon. CNN's Harry Enten is on the scene for us. Harry, I see you're ready with anything with your Buffalo Bills helmet on right now.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: You know, Wolf, I got to represent, look, we got the beautiful Niagara Falls over yonder, but yet the weather does not seem to be cooperating with us at this particular point. The clouds have settled in, unfortunately, and more than that, it just started drizzling a little bit, almost feel like it's typical western New York, right? We just can't seem to catch a break, whether it be with the weather or with football.

But yet we still do have a ton of folks who are coming out here. We have the crowds with us. And I'm going to be joined here by the Rohrabacher family, who have joined us from all the way down in, I believe, Tampa, Florida, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct. Yes, Tampa, Florida.

ENTEN: And why did you decide to come all the way up here to Niagara Falls for this eclipse?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, actually, we did the one in 2017 in South Carolina. And it was just great just watching those four minutes of just the sky going dark. And there was an opportunity to come back to upstate New York and see some Bills fans.

ENTEN: That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And see another eclipse.

ENTEN: How worried are you guys about the weather?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I think it's going to clear up. I think there's just too much excitement. It's going to go away. It's going to clear up.

ENTEN: See, I like this optimism. I like this optimism. And I should point out, Niagara Falls last had an eclipse about 99 years ago, we're not looking forward to another one for at least another century, Wolf. So the fact of the matter is, I love the optimism. Yes, things are tough and dirty, but when it's too tough for those other folks, it's just right for us, whether it be football or whether it be for this solar eclipse that's coming up. Wolf?

[11:10:17]

BLITZER: Well said. Folks in western New York are optimists, to be sure. I know that firsthand. Harry, thank you very, very much. I thank all the folks around you as well. And to our viewers, stay with CNN throughout the day today, we have reporters in the zone of totality all across the United States and Mexico. And if you didn't get a pair of those eclipsed glasses, can you still view it safely somehow? Stay with us. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.

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[11:15:29]

BLITZER: We are just a few hours from where were you kind of event, the solar eclipse 24. From Texas to Maine, more than 30 million Americans will be in the so called path of totality later this afternoon. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is over at the CNN Weather Center. Allison, will it be clear viewing for most people?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think that's the real question is whether or not mother nature is going to cooperate with all of these people that plan to go outside and look up. Now here's the thing, there are still going to be plenty of fantastic places to view this, especially, say, areas like southeastern Missouri, Cape Girardeau, for example, portions of southern Illinois and southern Indiana. That includes places like Evansville. These are all going to be spots that are expected to have very little cloud cover, if any, this afternoon.

Another good spot is going to be up into the northeast, essentially from Burlington, Vermont, all the way up through Caribou, Maine. Plenty of sunshine there. Now with that said, there are going to be a couple of spots where we are looking at pretty significant cloud cover, that's going to extend from Niagara Falls up through Rochester, New York.

And then also another area of concern is going to be Texas. Now, the main concern here is a lot of strong to severe thunderstorms. The good news is the storms themselves are expected to be after the eclipse. But we all know those clouds start to increasing well ahead of the storm. So the real question is, how much cloud cover do we have before the storms begin to set in?

Another concern is once the eclipse is over and all of these folks get back out onto the roads to head home or wherever they came from, then they may encounter some of those storms. And that includes very large hail, damaging winds and the potential for some tornadoes, especially across states like Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. But all is not lost for some areas.

Dallas, we've got some clouds but may still have some sun peeking through. A place like Indianapolis will actually start to see the clouds decrease as we head into the afternoon, making it much nicer by the time the eclipse takes place.

BLITZER: Allison Chinchar with the latest. Allison, thank you very much. The excitement over this upcoming celestial event continues to grow as the hours tick by. But before you join millions of Americans and turn your eyes to the sky, make sure your eyes are protected and protected well. CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell is joining us right now. Meg, what happens if you look directly at a solar eclipse without the special glasses?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you can actually damage your eyes in as few as a few seconds looking directly at the sun. The injury is called solar retinopathy and it can take a few hours for you to actually notice those symptoms. But if they do set in, it can include things like blurry vision, sort of a hole in your vision, altered color, just sort of wonky vision. And unfortunately, permanent vision loss can be possible. This has been documented with previous eclipses.

And sometimes it even happens when you think you have seen safe glasses. But it turns out they aren't actually the certified darkest lenses that you really need to look at the sun. So you've got to be very careful in how you enjoy the eclipse today.

BLITZER: And that includes animals as well, right. If you have a dog or a cat, let's say at home, keep that dog or cat inside. Don't let that dog or cat go outside and look at the sun.

TIRRELL: Yes, I mean, I'd be surprised if they're looking directly at the sun just sort of understanding what's going on. But what you really need to make sure, and I don't know that you could get your animals to wear these, but yourself need to wear really safe glasses. These are a thousand times darker than even the darkest pair of sunglasses. They only let in the smallest fraction of the sun's visible light. And you need to make sure they're ISO certified. And if you're still not positive that you've got really good glasses because there are unfortunately counterfeits out there, you can test them by putting them on and looking at the brightest light you can find. And that should only be faintly visible. Even then, if you're not positive they're good, only look at the sun for a couple seconds at a time through them. You can still enjoy the eclipse.

BLITZER: Yes. To all the parents out there, make sure your kids are safe outside, if they go outside at all. Meg, thank you very, very much. We're going to have much more on the total solar eclipse crossing over North America straight ahead. Stay with us. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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[11:24:14]

BLITZER: Reminder, we'll have much more coming up on the total solar eclipse crossing over North America. That's coming up soon. But there's other news we're following as well, including this new this morning, Donald Trump is now offering his clearest stance yet one of the most contentious issues in American politics. He says abortion rights should be left to the states. In a video posted earlier today on Truth Social, the former president bragged about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade while also spreading misinformation that Democrats support, quote, execution after birth. Listen.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was proudly the person responsible for the ending of something that all legal scholars, both sides, wanted and in fact, demanded be ended Roe v. Wade. They wanted it ended. It must be remembered that the Democrats are the radical ones on this position because they support abortion up to and even beyond the 9th month, the concept of having an abortion in the later months, and even execution after birth.

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[11:25:23]

BLITZER: Of course, Trump's claim that Democrats believe in execution after birth has been repeatedly disproved. And the claim that both sides demanded the end of Roe v. Wade is false. Let's discuss this and more with Republican strategist, former RNC communications director Doug Heye and former special assistant to President Biden, Meghan Hays. Meghan, President Biden is now responding to Trump's latest statement earlier today accusing him of lying about his position to win the election.

And he wrote this, let me put it up on the screen. Let there be no illusion. If Donald Trump is elected and the MAGA Republicans in Congress put a national abortion ban on the Resolute Desk, Trump will sign it into law. So will Democrats be able to successfully hit Trump on this very sensitive, politically charged issue of abortion rights for women?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Yes, I think so. I think this also is an issue that is bipartisan, overwhelmingly and very conservative states has ballot measures failed to accomplish what MAGA Republicans would like to accomplish. And this is just another example of the MAGA Republicans and Trump just trying to take away freedoms from the American people.

BLITZER: It's interesting, Doug. Trump says he wants to leave abortion rights up to the states, let the states decide. And they got different views, clearly. But a recent poll shows the vast majority of Americans support a federal right to abortion, including 43 percent of Republicans. How much of an issue is this likely, the former president coming up in the general election?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This is going to be one of the defining issues for the election. If you're a Democrat, this is where you want to be. This is terraformer for you. And what we've seen in special elections, certainly in the midterm elections, greatly benefited Democrats. Trump here is stating what has been the classical Republican position on this. We want to send it to the states. But the reality is once you do that, states are sort of legislating out loud. You'll see South Carolina do one thing, Texas do another. That can define the issue negatively for Republicans. It's why it's very risky territory for Trump to be in. And ultimately, what he's doing here is sort of, to use a bad pun, he's sort of half pregnant on this issue and he's not really going to satisfy anyone. Pro-lifers are not happy with what he's saying. And obviously Democrats see an opportunity here.

BLITZER: Yes, you see an opportunity? HAYS: Absolutely. It's going to be a fundraising opportunity as well as an opportunity in November.

BLITZER: Trump still, though, even in this latest statement, hasn't taken a position on the proposed constitutional amendment to overturn Florida six week abortion ban. That's coming up. Is this potentially an opening for Democrats in the state of Florida on this issue?

HAYS: Yes, absolutely. Not only is it a fundraising issue, but it's also a down ballot can beneficial to down ballot. It may not affect the presidential, but I do think it'll be impactful on the down ballot races.

BLITZER: Trump's announcement garnered immediate backlash from a leading anti-abortion group. Let me put it up on the screen. We are deeply disappointed in President Trump's position. Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections. Saying the issue is back to the states cedes the national debate to Democrats. Here's the question, should Trump be concerned about this position among anti- abortion elements?

HEYE: He should. And ultimately, politics is always, regardless of what the issue is, a bit of Janet Jacksons, what have you done for me lately? Donald Trump is out there saying only, I did this. And he's right. If the judges he appointed to the Supreme Court, Donald Trump should be able to claim total victory. But you have to prove it over and over again. And it's why we're seeing now pro-life groups be disappointed with Donald Trump, who did what we thought was undoable and unthinkable.

BLITZER: What's your reaction to Trump's claim that radical Democrats support executing babies after birth?

HAYS: I mean it's not surprising that he says things that are totally crazy and totally lies. That's just not true or even reasonable to think. So, I mean, there is, the reaction is, it's not surprising coming from the former president.

BLITZER: What's your reaction?

HEYE: Not surprising coming from the former president. He just says things and tries to get reactions. And Donald Trump sometimes plays the role of a matador. He waves a red cape and we all chase it because he's distracting us from what he doesn't want us to see. He's very skilled at it.

BLITZER: Doug and Meghan, guys, thank you very, very much, an important issue indeed.

Six months into Israel's war against Hamas, the two sides may repeat, may be closer to a ceasefire deal. Egyptian state media reports that, I'm quoting now, significant progress as negotiations continue today in Cairo. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the IDF says it has withdrawn forces from the southern city of Khan Younis, but says it's far from halting ground operations in the enclave.

[11:29:49]

And at Israel's northern border with Lebanon, the IDF says it killed the Hezbollah commander in an overnight strike. Let's discuss what's going on with our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. He's joining us from Jerusalem and our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman. He's in Beirut for us.