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Ohio Votes on Measure that Threatens Abortion Rights; Special Election in Ohio Becomes Proxy Battle Over Abortion Rights; Mike Pence Met Requirements in First Republican Presidential Debate; Campaign Manager for Ron DeSantis Replaced; Biden Establishes National Monument Surrounding Grand Canyon; Oakland Residents Sound Alarm Over Crime Surge. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 08, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So, this is a very unusual election, as you were saying. There's only one item on the ballot, it's called Issue 1. Abortion is not mentioned on the ballot, but this is what it is about. That's what is driving this because Ohio is a latest of the series of states that is seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution in November. But to make it more difficult to pass, Republican leaders here in Ohio, as you said, are seeking to change the rules. Change the threshold of what it will take to pass that.

So, today, Issue 1 simply is asking Ohio voters this, will a simple majority be changed to super majority of 60 percent needed to pass any amendments to the constitution? So, that is the question here. But this has been evolving in an expensive television ad campaign, as I said, and certainly a sleepy summertime election has been anything but here.

So, we will see how the day progresses here. But on both sides of issue, outside money has poured into this, the latest of battleground on the abortion rights debate across the country here. But it also is something more than that. This Issue 1 would also assume to make it more difficult to amend the state's constitution in the future, requiring signatures from all 88 counties all across Ohio.

So, it sounds a bit in the weeds. It sounds a bit academic, but this is certainly is the latest front in the abortion rights fight across the country. And this -- the polls are open here in Ohio until 7:30 tonight. Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Jeff, politically speaking, it'll be test of where voters in that state are on some of those major issues we saw on the midterms, small D in democracy, and of course abortion rights as well. I know you'll be on top of all of it. And we'll probably see you interviewing a voter at a diner sometime soon. Good to see you.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: All right. This morning, Former Vice President Mike Pence says he has met the requirements to take the stage in the first Republican presidential debate, which really is just a few weeks away. Pence says, he reached the 40,000 unique donor threshold. He's already met the polling requirement. His campaign released this statement, Mike Pence made quick and easy work of the donor threshold, and he is looking forward to a substantive debate about the issues important to the American people. Hopefully, Former President Trump has the courage to show up.

With us now, CNN Political Director David Chalian. David, you stood at this table with us one week ago, essentially as the "CNN News Central" anchor. So, I want to let you --

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes.

BERMAN: -- ask the questions here. As we approach this first Republican debate, what are the major questions outstanding that you see?

CHALIAN: Well, the single biggest question, obviously, is Donald Trump going to show up? And he has flirted with the notion of not showing up. Why would he give his opponents who he is running so far ahead of in the polls the chance to take potshots at him? But we also know how much Donald Trump totally loved the debate stage when he ran back in 2015 and 2016 as that insurgent candidate. Now, he runs more as a pseudo-incumbent, which is a different position, and he runs as much more solid frontrunner, John, than he did there.

There you see on the screen the eight Republican candidates who have qualified for the debate stage. We should note, John, that's according to them, to their campaigns. The RNC will have a final roster after each campaign submits the proof of the donor threshold and they go through all of the polling to actually publish the list of who will be on the stage.

BERMAN: David Chalian, sometimes "CNN News Central" anchor, we do have some breaking news that you can help us with. We have just confirmed that the campaign manager for Ron DeSantis is being replaced. A campaign shakeup for Ron DeSantis who was already in some instances trying to redirect or reboot his campaign. Look, you and I have both covered a lot of campaigns that have replaced campaign managers midstream, it's always a sign of something.

CHALIAN: You are right about that, John. It is always a sign of something. And this is now, I think, like a four-week rolling process of a reboot of the campaign. So, this was not a Ron DeSantis operation that said, hey, we're having problems, let's get our ducks in a row, we're going to launch a totally rebooted campaign here, and here we go. Instead, it's been, we are shedding staff, a third of our staff initially because our payroll was so high and we weren't bringing in the same level of money to cover all of that. We are changing the way that we're doing events. Now, they're going to change the person who sits atop the entire operation, no longer Generra Peck, the campaign manager. And now, someone else will be brought in to that role.

But it is all of a piece, John, as you are rightly noting. This is not unusual in presidential campaign politics, but it is a sign that things are not going according to plan. Things are not operating as they hoped they would at this point. And that has to do with probably outsized unrealistic expectation long before Ron DeSantis ever gotten this race.

[10:35:00]

But then the reality when he did get into this race, that was not performing as a candidate the way many had hoped he would. And so, from pressure from the donor class, clearly, his poll numbers have gone down, the spending situation, and now the staff leadership is entirely a new system. So, it's sort of like starting from the starting gate again for Ron DeSantis.

BERMAN: I have never covered a campaign where they replaced the campaign manager because things were going so well, right?

CHALIAN: That's true.

BERMAN: That is not how it works typically. Finally, David, to go back to the first debate question. OK. Ron DeSantis will be on that debate stage with the new campaign manager, how do you think the other candidates approach that guy?

CHALIAN: You know, that's a really good question because he's not this formidable second-place candidate that he once was. He is sort of now in the PAC. Yes, he's polling a bit better. He does have a robustly funded super PAC, which, by the way, is a whole other piece of this story, John, which is we've never seen a campaign lean so heavily on an outside group that by law they can't coordinate with. That is what Ron DeSantis is doing. He's about to have his third consecutive weekend on an Iowa bus tour, not put on by his campaign, but sponsored by his super PAC, again, that he can't legally coordinate a strategize with.

So, this is a real test of how campaigns are run. But to your point, I think the other candidates clearly are going to want to take some more out of Ron DeSantis if they can. But I don't think you're going to see the kind of focus on him and just him as a Trump substitute if Trump is not on the stage. I think you're going to see candidates wanting to carve their own path forward to build support.

BERMAN: David Chalian, CNN Political Director and sometimes "News Central" anchor, it is great to see you. Thank you so much.

CHALIAN: Yes, I am in renegotiations with the contract right now for that, yes.

BERMAN: Good luck with that.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: I mean --

BERMAN: Thanks, David.

BOLDUAN: -- for the record, the -- how that popped up is because John Berman started being extremely rude, and David Chalian is the only gentleman that was on set that would come to, maybe, someone named Kate's defense. I'm just saying.

CHALIAN: Anytime, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Love you, David.

CHALIAN: I'm here for you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. Goodbye, John.

Coming up for us, President Biden is going to designate a new national monument at the Grand Canyon today. It is all part of his western swing to highlight his economic agenda and to appeal to key constituencies like younger voters. We'll be back.

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[10:40:00]

BOLDUAN: The country is getting a new national monument. President Biden is in Arizona today to designate nearly 1 million acres of land surrounding the Grand Canyon as protected. The area is considered sacred to tribal nations and indigenous people. Along with this announcement comes new environmental protections including a permanent ban to uranium mining there.

There's a lot to this. Let's bring in CNN's Bill Weir, he's following all this for us.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Bill, you were recently Grand Canyon-ish.

WEIR: Yes, that was close. Yes. Adjacent.

BOLDUAN: Don't steal my words. What does this designation really mean?

WEIR: This is a long promise to indigenous tribes, environmental groups that wanted to, sort of, permanently protect the rim of the Grand Canyon from uranium mining. President Obama put a 20-year ban on that, that was going to expire in the next decade. And Biden's just, essentially, making that permanent.

This is a big win for the Havasupai tribe, the Hopi Tribe there who, sort of, co-managed this area. But it's interesting, there are other tribes that are fighting with this administration over similar protections. There is lithium in Thacker Pass, the northern part of Nevada that is creating great tension there. There is a copper mine in Arizona that some tribes are fighting back against as well.

And it speaks to, sort of, the new energy age that we're going into. Electric cars need batteries. Batteries need lithium and copper. And so, does it matter to a tribe that has been burned over the generations by settlers, you know, breaking promises or taking their land when you say, no, this is for clean energy. It's a challenge. BOLDUAN: But it is a really fascinating, kind of, tug and pull. Because on one, Biden is doing this in, you know, in part to make the case that he is tackling climate, tackling economic challenges of American -- Americans out west, his campaign is counting on it. But at the same time, you've got this other talk about how you square that and how do you explain that when you have a need for energy now?

WEIR: He's going to go to New Mexico and talk about a big wind turbine manufacturing effort there. Yes, that's the tension. We need all this energy. We need clean energy which means putting it in places that a lot of environmentalists or native tribes would not like to see the landscape marred in any way. We're beyond the point of not being able to ruin anything. It's tough choice time, really. And we're -- July now, the hottest month ever recorded and it's just going to get hotter. So, the faster we can transition, the better for everybody.

BOLDUAN: Fascinating. Good to see you.

WEIR: Good to see you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thanks for being here, buddy.

WEIR: You bet.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: So, in Texas, police have arrested the 17-year-old cousin of the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at Uvalde Elementary School. According to court records, the teenager's mother reported him to police after learning he was trying to buy an AR-15 and then allegedly made threats to, "Do the same thing his cousin did."

Four arrest warrants have now been issued after a brawl on an Alabama riverfront. Witnesses say, the fight started when a group of white boaters attacked a black security guard who told them to move their boat. Several bystanders then jumped into the melee.

[10:45:00]

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LAUREN SPIVEY, WITNESS: He was being real nice to them. You know, just doing his job. And for some reason, they didn't like it. They didn't want to move the boat, and he decided to get physical with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Officials are expected to give an update on the investigation in just a few hours.

So, tonight's drawing for the Mega millions jackpot is an estimate $1.55 billion. It has gone unclaimed since April. And just a friendly reminder, you almost definitely won't win. Omar.

JIMENEZ: Just a friendly reminder, John, I am built differently. So, let's see what happens.

BERMAN: Let's see what happens.

JIMENEZ: Let's see what happens if I show up tomorrow.

We got a lot coming up. First, residents in Oakland, California say that crime there has gotten so bad they're being forced to move away.

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KRISTIN COOK, MOVING OUT OF OAKLAND: The fact that I am being pushed out because I emotionally can't take it anymore is horrible.

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[10:50:00]

JIMENEZ: The city of Oakland, California is dealing with a surge in violent crimes from rapes, to robberies, to assaults. The situation has gotten so bad the local NAACP chapter has called for a state of emergency. And people are packing up and moving out. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.

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COOK: I love Oakland. It's very hard for me and my son, especially my son.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): So, Kristin Cook is leaving Oakland, California --

COOK: Be careful.

LAH (voiceover): -- after living here her entire life.

COOK: I can't take it anymore. I got to the point I was so scared to leave my own house.

LAH (voiceover): Cook blames brazen assaults and robberies in broad daylight, break-ins, and home invasions across the city. As Oakland sees a surge in reported violent crimes this year compared to last. While homicides are down, robberies, burglaries and rape are all up by double-digit percentages. Everyone we talked to says it doesn't matter your race, your income, everyone seems to be a target, including carjackings, like this one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

COOK: Now, they are carjacking people at stop sign. And my son is about to start driving. The fact that I am being pushed out because I emotionally can't take it anymore is horrible.

LAH (voiceover): But Toni Bird is staying. She lives with a locked front gate and five security cameras. Bird says, Oakland police recommended steel braces for residential doors and air horns.

TONI BIRD, OAKLAND RESIDENT: The idea is if you set it off, your neighbor would hear it, set theirs off, and more people are alert that there's danger.

LAH (voiceover): Her neighbor across the street, 60-year-old retiree Dave Schneider was shot to death in June, trimming his front tree during the day. He died as Bird and other neighbors tried to save him.

BIRD: I'm not looking for the perfect safe place. I am looking for a place where the elderly women with children aren't targeted. I think we can all agree that that needs to change. And so, I feel like it will change and that's why I'm staying.

TROY WELCH, OWNER, LAUREL ACE HARDWARE: Find everything you're looking for OK?

LAH (voiceover): But staying open gets tougher every day for Troy Welch, owner of Laurel Ace Hardware.

WELCH: There is about six of them that comes in.

LAH (voiceover): Welch's store was robbed just hours before we met him.

WELCH: They went through my cash registers. And this is my office. But you'll see they went in, they tried to take a sledgehammer to it, tried to lift it, and he's going to figure out they're not getting into that safe.

LAH (voiceover): Welch says, he loses 10 percent of his merchandise to theft. So, common this year, he leaves his registers empty and open. Tired of replacing them.

WELCH: It's more brazen. Sometimes more violent, I think, than what it used to be.

LAH: How long does it take for police to arrive?

WELCH: 45 minutes.

LAH: 45 minutes. Is that typical?

WELCH: That's probably fast.

LAH (voiceover): Frustration has spilled over in community meetings. Anger often directed at leadership, like the newly elected district attorney who has been on the job just seven months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is unreal.

DARREN WHITE, OAKLAND NAACP: I'm a black man, born and raised in Oakland. When I walk out the house every day, I want to be safe. So, if that calls for some whoever commits the crime to be prosecuted, so be it. But we want it fair and just. LAH (voiceover): Darren White is with the NAACP Oakland branch which penned an open letter to their city, blaming failed leadership, the defund the police movement, and anti-police rhetoric for creating a heyday for Oakland criminals.

WHITE: We're not trying to say, you know, mass incarceration and arrest everyone. We want the people that are out here committing these violent crimes arrested and charged.

LAH: Do we need more cops on the street.

WHITE: Yes, we do need more. Every community needs police.

LAH (voiceover): Flanked by partners in the city, Oakland's Interim Police Chief Darren Allison says, Oakland is taking a comprehensive approach to fighting crime.

LAH: They all say that the crime feels different now. Why is that?

DARREN ALLISON, INTERIM POLICE CHIEF OF OAKLAND, CA: So, I think because it is pervasive, not just localized, or we may have historically seeing, maybe, gang grew violence. I think that feeling has become that it's everywhere.

LAH (voiceover): From cops to crime prevention, funded for 712 officers, Allison says, he has 715 on staff.

ALLISON: So, what you're seeing is changes in bail, changes in sentencing.

LAH: Are you saying you need tougher punishment on the back end?

ALLISON: It's everything. It's not just enforcement and punishment. I think accountability comes in many forms.

LAH (voiceover): Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:55:00]

JIMENEZ: Kyung Lah, thank you.

John.

BERMAN: So, Omar, the first group of 15 asylum seekers has boarded a barge in the U.K. The boat will hold up to 500 single adult males for up to nine months. As the migrants go through an asylum process, critics say it's an inhumane way to deal with the surging migrant population. And the U.K. Fire Brigades Union has called the barge a death trap because of its narrow corridors and doorways. Government officials say, it is necessary to address the rising cost of housing migrants in hotels.

A typhoon headed for South Korea has forced the evacuation of more than 36,000 people who were attending the World Scout Jamboree. Participants from 156 countries are being bussed to lodging across the country. The typhoon is expected to hit Thursday. Hundreds of teenagers had already fallen ill at the event due to a sweltering heat wave. This sounds like a really fun event. The government says it will still find ways to continue the jamboree program for the remaining five days.

Thousands of people line the streets in Bray, Ireland this morning to pay their respects to singer and activist Sinead O'Connor. Many were cheering, clapping, throwing flowers as her funeral procession passed through the town where she lived for 15 years. She was later laid to rest during a private service.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, the grand jury that indicted Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, back at it today, meeting for the first time since charging him last week. So, what could this mean now? We'll be back.

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