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Hurricane Idalia on Track to Make Landfall as Cat 3 in Florida; Judge Weighs Meadows' Request to Move Case to Federal Court; Trump's Federal Election Subversion Trial Set for March 4. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired August 29, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): -- in jeopardy when it gets to be that high.

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[10:00:03]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: At least 22 Florida counties have issued evacuations. Ten of those counties have made evacuations mandatory.

We've got the CNN team tracking every angle of this storm. We begin with Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who's live for us in Clearwater, Florida. So, Derek, what is the biggest risk for people right now?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It without a doubt storm surge, Boris. That's the main concern with this storm. But there are so many other threats to Idalia, from inland flooding to destructive winds that will bring down trees, power lines, you name it. There's a lot.

But let's talk about the storm, the details first, then we'll get to the threats. Hurricane Idalia is strengthening, 80-mile-per-hour winds with this particular storm. And you know what, just looking briefly at the satellite composure, and this thing is becoming more organized as the minutes wear on. So, that's a concern. It's really tapping into the warm ocean waters.

There's the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center. You can see explicitly strengthening to a Category 2 by 2:00 P.M. this afternoon, and perhaps to a category three major hurricane before landfall. That has been a pretty consistent message, the idea of rapid strengthening, rapid intensification.

So, I want to show you this because we've been talking about how warm the waters have been in the Gulf of Mexico. They're currently running about two to upwards of four degrees Fahrenheit above where they should be this time of year. And this is way beyond bath water. We're talking hot tub water here. It's just incredibly warm.

So, that's like jet fuel for strengthening hurricanes. And, unfortunately, that's what we anticipate with this particular storm. You can see it potentially making major impacts across the Florida Big Bend region. And also you can't rule out Apalachicola as well. Tallahassee, you are in the game here. We've seen a little bit of a westward nudge with this.

Now, let's talk about the storm surge threat. And we've got a really unique way here at CNN to show you why this coastline is so susceptible. We're going to take you to the air and show you the Clearwater Beach and the beaches that line this particular barrier island that we happen to find ourselves on. That beach literally stretches for miles behind me.

This water that you see over my right shoulder, well, that is just a few feet deep even if you traveled out, let's say 50 feet from here. So, that shallow nature coupled with the warm ocean waters means we've got a strengthening hurricane that's going to build up all of that water into this location.

And if we get into the really specifics about it, Tampa Bay, we're forecasting anywhere between four to seven feet for some of those low lining susceptible areas. Also, as we get a little closer into the Clearwater Beach area where we're located that barrier island, you see the yellows and the oranges there, that is a concern we're really worried about four to seven feet, where we're located now.

But if we go a little further north, the Big Bend is highly susceptible, one of the most susceptible areas in the nation for storm surge. Look at the reds, look at the oranges. That is because simply the shallow nature of the water but also the topography of the land. It's like a catcher's net. It's going to take all of that water being pushed up by a strengthening tropical system and it's going to push it onshore Cedar Key.

We talk about Hurricane Hermine that happened in 2016, that was a Category 1. That brought six feet of storm surge to Cedar Key. We're forecasting 8 to 12. So, the potential there for inundation exists.

This is an interesting map as well. Look at the potential of the wind gusts here in and around Cedar Key all the way to Tallahassee and Gainesville. We're talking over 80 miles per hour. And that includes inland communities as well. That swath of extremely heavy wind will move inland all the way to the Florida-Georgia border through the day on Wednesday and into Thursday.

And this is also important. Remember, that this storm is not just a Florida storm. We're talking Georgia and into the Carolinas for Thursday and Friday. So, so many states at play here across the southeast. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Really stunning to see, Derek, just how this storm has rapidly intensified with those warm waters, warmer waters than they have been in years past, we should point out.

Derek Van Dam from Clearwater, Florida, thank you so much. 5 million people under hurricane warnings right now, Rahel.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Dozens of counties under evacuation orders, just so much to watch, Boris. Thank you.

And people across Florida are now racing to prepare as Hurricane Idalia approaches. Officials also getting ready. This morning the Coast Guard began positioning rescue boats ahead of any possible emergency. They are also getting aircraft in place.

I want to go back to seeing an anchor, Sara Sidner. And, Sara, you have been there all morning long. I mean, from what you can tell, does it appear hear that people are taking these warnings seriously?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Most people are, yes. I have talked to the head of FEMA, the FEMA administrator, I've talked to the St. Petersburg Police Chief.

[10:05:00]

I have talked to the mayor here of Clearwater. Every single one of them saying the same thing, speaking with the same voice. If you are in an evacuation area, you need to get out now.

I know the weather is lovely, it is beautiful, it looks like paradise, it feels like nothing is going to happen, but this storm is coming, and it is coming quickly, and you need to be able to get out so you don't get stuck in traffic, you don't get stuck in that very dangerous storm surge that we're expecting, which you just heard from Derek Van Dam could be anywhere from 6 to 12 feet, that is twice my height.

Imagine the water and the power of that water. You cannot fight that. Your car cannot fight that. So, they're telling people, look, get all of the things that you need, like your medicines, like your animals, make sure that you gather your animals who are obviously a part of the family. There are shelters that do take animals, so you can check that out as well at Floridadisaster.org, get a plan.

There are lots of things that people can do. Yes, it is attractive, yes, it is beautiful, but that is going to change somewhere this afternoon. We will start seeing those bands of rain and wind as hurricanes do coming onto shore.

There are now at least 20 counties that are in some form evacuation mode. Some of them are mandatory orders, which is you need to listen to authorities and get out. You are in danger. There are others that are voluntary, where you could be in a dangerous spot. And in order to make sure that you are safe, better safe than sorry, you should also think about leaving.

And what all of the authorities are saying is, look, you don't have to go hundreds of miles. You don't have to go to another state. You just need to get away from the low lying areas because it is the water -- the wind is going to be ferocious, but it is the water that is the most deadly and the most damaging and the most dangerous to human life. And that is why they are telling people, take all of this seriously.

I do want to let you hear to someone who is very human, who has the same feelings as a lot of people, when you start being told, hey, you need to leave your home, the place that you love. I want to let you listen to one of the residents who is grappling with this right now.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sunday, it was like, it's coming, and now it's like, get out. It's mandatory. I don't know if I want to leave or not, though. I don't know where to go.

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SIDNER: And that is the difficulty, right? You love your home. That is where you're most comfortable. And you think that perhaps it will be fine. But if this storage surge comes up, up to 6 to 12 feet, you won't be fine. The water will get into your home. If you're in one of those evacuation areas, you are in danger.

And so we can all understand that feeling of like, I don't really know where to go and I don't really want to go, and there will be people that stay, but emergency services have been very clear. If those winds get to the 50 and 60 and 70-mile-per-hour winds, upwards of 80 and 100-mile-an-hour winds, they're not going to be capable to come and help rescue you until the danger for them has passed. You will be on your own.

So, listen to what authorities are saying, get where you need to go. There is information online. And you can ask your local police officer. They know where to go. That is one way that people can keep themselves safe. Rahel?

SOLOMON: So, make those decisions while you still have the chance to make the decisions.

Sara Sidner, live for us there in Clearwater, we'll check back with you throughout the show. Thank you, Sara. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Let's hear from an official directly in the path of the storm now. David DeCarlo is the Director of Emergency Management in Hernando County. That's in the north part of the Tampa Bay Metro Area. David, thanks so much for sharing part of your morning with us.

Something that Governor DeSantis pointed out earlier today is that the Big Bend region, an area that is largely in the cone of uncertainty, doesn't often get storms of this magnitude. I'm wondering what you're anticipating where you are.

DAVID DECARLO, DIRECTOR, HERNANDO COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, good morning, thank you, Boris, for having us. Joining me today is our County Administrator, Jeff Rogers, and our Director of Public Safety, Fire Chief, Paul Hasenmeier.

We are very concerned about the hurricane, Adalia, that the potential impacts for Hernando County. The National Weather Service has forecasted Hernando County to expect to do it from six to nine feet above ground level. That is life-threatening catastrophic storm surge. We're also worried about the strong winds, the tropical storm-force winds, that will begin later this evening, and it could last a very long duration. So, even after the storm makes landfall, there's a potential for storm surge to continue in to the Hernando County and really all the West Coast, from Pasco County, northwards. SANCHEZ: Yes, we just heard from a resident in the path of the storm and she was a bit older and she was talking about the difficulty that she might have in trying to get out. I imagine there are a lot of residents in that position right now going back and forth as to whether they should evacuate or hunker down.

[10:10:01]

What would be your advice?

DECARLO: My advice is to please heed the evacuation notice, the warnings. We have a mandatory evacuation notice in place. It started at 7:00 A.M. I would recommend that they contact our local emergency management officials wherever county that they live in.

We have four shelters that are open now. We have a citizen's information line that is open that they can call our Emergency Management Office to get information on shelters. But also we provide transportation. So, if they need help getting to a shelter, we can provide that. That's what we do in Emergency Management.

So, call if you need help evacuating, please call for transportation. But I would heed those warnings. This is going to be life-threatening catastrophic storm surge. There's going to be cars, they're going to be boats. They're going to be displaced throughout Hernando Beach, Aripeka and Pine Island for Hernando County, and I would imagine many other counties on the West Coast of Florida.

SANCHEZ: So, talk to us about preparations for folks that are maybe not in evacuation areas and are deciding to hunker down. What should they prepare with? How much time do they have?

DECARLO: Well, tropical storm force winds are forecast to be later this evening. Obviously, I can't pinpoint an exact time, but we have evacuation orders for the whole entire county. You know, we're going to have hurricane force winds coming in later this evening as it makes landfall. If you don't have -- if you live in a structure that you don't think you can withstand tropical storm force winds or hurricane force winds, you live in a mobile home, manufactured home, R.V. park, please seek shelter. If you don't want to go to a shelter, you can go find a family and friend or at least evacuate 10, 30 miles out of the storm's path so you'd be safe.

SANCHEZ: And, David, we know that in Hernando County there was a gas station that had contaminated gas and it could potentially become an issue for some folks. What can you tell us about what's being done to prevent that?

DECARLO: We've been in contact with our fuel, our emergency support functions for fuels. We've been in contact with the state of Florida about that issue. We've identified that location. We have warned the public. We have issued that notice about that contamination. So, we're doing everything we can to work with our fuels and the ports to make sure we have enough fuel for everybody.

There are a few gas stations that have run out and within Hernando County. We're awaiting delivery. Obviously, delivery is going to depend on when those tropical storm force winds start becoming in. Because when they start the commodities, are not going to be able to be delivered. So, we have identified that particular gas station and that has been messaged out.

SANCHEZ: On the question of commodities, are you concerned at all that residents might face shortages as they go to different locations and different stores to pick up things, like water and batteries?

DECARLO: That is always a concern. So, our messaging before hurricane season is to be prepared. Have a kit. Make a plan, share that plan with your family and friends if you do evacuate. Let them know where you're going. Have the necessary functions like you're going out of town for a few days. We have shelters opened.

But please heed the evacuation notices. This is a very deadly storm. We haven't seen anything like this in a very long time. 2016, we experienced Hurricane Hermine. We had flooding in those areas of the West Coast of Hernando. They're predicting three feet above that. So, I'm very concerned. There's life-threatening storm surge and I can't stress enough for people to evacuate. If you need a place to stay, we have shelters open and we can help with transportation.

SANCHEZ: Well, David, we look forward to connecting during and after the storm as well. We hope that things go relatively smoothly. Thanks to you and to the team behind you as well.

DECARLO: Thank you, Boris. I appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Rahel?

SOLOMON: All right, Boris. Well, just into CNN, Jacksonville, Florida, investigators releasing a 911 call made by the father of the gunman who carried out that racist and deadly attack at a dollar store general or Dollar General store, what we're learning, just ahead.

Also, for the first time in years, we are seeing and hearing from Paul Whelan, the American being wrongfully detained inside a Russian prison.

We'll be right back.

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SANCHEZ: We're awaiting a key decision this morning in Georgia, one that could potentially change everything for Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the state's election subversion case. A judge is set to rule on whether Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, can move his case from state court to federal court.

Now, Meadows took the stand for hours yesterday. So, will his gamble pay off?

CNN's Zach Cohen joins us now. So, Zach, what happens next? ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Hey. Good morning, Boris. You're right. Everybody is watching and waiting on a decision from the judge in this case to see if they will allow Mark Meadows to move his case to federal court. And now the judge alluded to the fact that this could impact all 19 defendants, including Trump himself, saying that this decision will likely set a precedent for other cases involved.

And, look, we know four other defendants in addition to Meadows have already filed motions to try to also move their cases to federal court. And the former president himself is also expected to do the same thing. We saw one of his lawyers in the courtroom yesterday, as Meadows was testifying.

So, that gives you an idea of how impactful and what's at stake here as the judge weighs his decision as to whether he's going to let Mark Meadows move case to federal court or not.

SANCHEZ: Zach, the other big decision that came yesterday was about a trial start date for Donald Trump and the federal case over election subversion, March 4th, 2024, coming down from Judge Chutkan.

[10:20:04]

That, of course, comes amid not only three other criminal cases, but also a very loaded primary calendar. It comes one day before Super Tuesday.

COHEN: Yes, Boris. It's going to be a busy spring 2024 for Donald Trump. And if you look at what he has on tap just in March, you can get a glimpse into what the rest of his year might look like. As you said, March 4th, 2024, that's when the trial in this federal election subversion case is supposed to start. The next day is arguably one of the biggest days in the Republican primary campaign, when most states are going to vote and vote for who they want to represent their party in the presidential election. And then also at the end of the month, you have the start of his hush money trial.

So, a lot of different factors at play here, Trump going to have to weigh both the political calendar and his criminal cases as he tries to become the next president of the United States, and he's going to have to spend his days of the week in a courtroom. And then while he's running for president, that's just kind of the remarkable, uncharted territory that we're in right now.

SANCHEZ: Uncharted territory is right. Zach Cohen, thanks so much for the reporting. Rahel?

SOLOMON: All right, Boris. So, what do these new dates mean for Candidate Trump? Let's discuss this more with Bill Nigut, co-host of Politically Georgia, and Margaret Talev, senior contributor at Axios. Welcome to you both. Great to have you.

Margaret, I want to start with you. That trial date of Monday, March 4th, as we said, the day before Super Tuesday, how do you see this changing things? I mean, have the early voting states just gotten that much more important?

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS: I think you can argue, Rahel, that they have. I mean, obviously, Iowa becomes even more important for Donald Trump to try to lock down, to seal his own momentum. New Hampshire ends up holding a bigger opportunity, a bigger importance for his rivals, and trying to slow that momentum.

And if he were to win both, it could, in theory, be pretty much sealed by Super Tuesday. Look at some of those other states in the lead-up to Super Tuesday. You've got Nevada. You've got South Carolina. You've got Michigan. These are big states. If Trump can rack up those numbers, it really matters.

On the other hand, it ironically may give Donald Trump a reason to promote early voting, mail-in voting any kind of way you can get your primary vote cast earlier, which, as you'll remember, in 2020, he was so opposed to, claiming that that was part of the supposed fraud against all evidence. This was all during the sort of primetime COVID time. But the more support he can lock down before that March 4th date, before the March 5th Super Tuesday date, the less risk that trial might actually pose.

It also, that March 4th date, allows him, in theory, and I'm sure he'll try, to argue that this prosecution is political. So, he'll try to use it to his advantage.

SOLOMON: Bill, I want to bring you into the conversation and turn back to Georgia. Trump has encouraged Republicans there to oust the Fulton County D.A., Fani. Willis. And there is a law, Senate Bill 92, in the state that could do just that. At least one Republican in the state has taken steps to try to start this process. How do you see this playing out?

BILL NIGUT, CO-HOST, POLITICALLY GEORGIA FOR AJC AND WABE 90.1: Well, during the last session of the General Assembly, you're right about the bill, which Governor Kemp backed all the way was passed. It does set up a commission, which can investigate and potentially remove from office district attorneys that the commission feels are not performing their responsibilities and dealing with crime.

At the time that this bill was going through, there were many people who said it would end up being directed at Fani Willis. And, yes, there are now members of the Republican Party and the legislature who say that when that commission is finally seated in October, they're going to bring Fani Willis before them to try to have her removed from office.

How will that play out? It's anyone's guess at this point.

SOLOMON: Really quickly, what's the reaction been in Georgia from other prosecutors about this idea of ousting Fani Willis?

NIGUT: Well, I mean, there are other prosecutors under the gun as well. In some cases, they're African-Americans, which has led some of them to say that they believe this is a racist effort to disenfranchise, to get rid of prosecutors who are African-American. But this commission is moving forward. And in October, we'll find out who the members are and what they want to do, in a partisan way, to remove Willis or other district attorneys who they're unhappy to be with.

SOLOMON: Margaret, let's stay in Georgia. Trump's arraignment next week in this trial in Georgia could be televised, which we know federal proceedings are not. I mean, how big of a game changer could that be, politically?

[10:25:00]

TALEV: It's sort of untested. But if you look at what's happened, the criminal legal proceedings haven't been televised. But everything that's happened since the 2020 election, including January 6th and all of the congressional hearings have been televised, and so far in the Republican primary, all of those news cycles have actually helped to entrench the former president's lead.This is a different matter. It is the setting in a court of law. It is harder to spin or politicize coverage.

But also, ultimately, I think a lot of these questions about how is it going to impact the vote? You have to look at in two baskets. How is it going to impact the primary vote is a different question, I think, than how is it going to impact the general election?

SOLOMON: Yes, it's a fair point. Bill, let me give you the last word here, because you are based in Georgia. Based on your own reporting and conversations, where do Georgia GOP voters -- let's stick with the primary -- primary voters stand on all of this?

NIGUT: Well, let's point out that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution just this morning dropped a brand new poll of Republican voters in the state. It's important to note that this poll was conducted after Fani Willis indicted Trump and 18 others on charges of criminal enterprise attempting to overturn the election. And yet, 57 percent in the poll following the indictment said they are strongly behind Donald Trump for the nomination. Only 15 percent gave their nod to Ron DeSantis. All of the rest were in very small, single digits.

So at this point, before there's any action in court, before Trump actually stands in a courtroom and faces a trial, Georgia voters on the Republican side are very much in his corner.

SOLOMON: Bill Nigut, Margaret Talev, we appreciate both of you being on today. Thank you. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Still to come this morning, new 911 calls made by the father of the gunmen who carried out a racist and deadly attack at a Jacksonville Dollar General store. What he told dispatchers just moments away.

Plus, we're tracking Hurricane Idalia as it strengthens in the gulf. After the break, we have a live look from Cuba, where the storm has already hit.

Now, I actually get to walk away. Stay tuned. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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