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Weeks Left For Supreme Court To Rule On Abortion, Guns & More; Atlanta Crews Rush To Repair Major Water Main Break; Summer Heat Will Likely Bring Higher Electric Bills; Chicago Sky Player's Foul On Caitin Clark Upgraded To Flagrant Foul; Simone Biles Wins 9th All- Around U.S. Gymnastics Championship Title. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 03, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: They we're held from October to April. Preliminary votes have been taken among the nine justices. Opinions have been assigned. The drafting process has already started.

But on June 1st, that's the traditional deadline for everyone to have finished up at least their majority opinions. And they circulate them around their colleagues.

And this is a process now that is referred to as Holding Five, because you know, everybody took an initial vote, but now they want to see how it's written, what the legal reasoning is.

And, you know, individual justices might say, I'll -- I'll still be with you if you change this. But the opinion author will say, OK, I'll change that, but I don't want to alienate this other justice just to keep the majority.

And it's June when the rubber really meets the road, when all these important cases really come -- come down to the wire here. And, you know, it's crunch time.

And I think, right now, they're aiming for to be out by June 28th. That's a Friday. They almost always finished by the end of June. But this time, with those Trump cases, especially, there's a chance it might over to Monday, July 1st.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: It is incredible just everything that's still looming and --

BISKUPIC: Right.

DEAN: -- in just a compressed amount of time.

So I just want to show everyone, we have cases involving former President Trump. Then you also have abortion cases. There's a variety.

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: So let's -- BISKUPIC: Probably the Trump ones are most on the front of mind for

our audience. And the main one is whether Donald Trump can claim absolute immunity from criminal trial.

This is -- this involves the charges that we're brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, four counts of election subversion. And Donald Trump said, I shouldn't be -- as a former president, I should not be subject to trial. I should be shielded as a former president.

Lower courts ruled against him, but the Supreme Court said, the trial can't go on until we've decided in this case. And that's the one lots of people are waiting for.

And I have to say, Jessica, as close as we already are to the November election, it's doubtful that no matter how the justices rule, we will actually see a trial on Jack Smith's charges before the election.

But the other one that could also affect Donald Trump is one that was brought by some January 6th defendants, who say that of all the charges that the government leveled at them, they should not be subject to a charge that makes it a crime to corruptly obstruct an official proceeding.

What these defendants are saying is that this doesn't -- can't cover us unless there was actual destruction of evidence.

Now, Donald Trump is in part of that case. But Jack Smith has actually charged Donald Trump under that statute also. So those are the two big Trump ones.

And then you mentioned abortion and the cases that the justices have now really bring us back to 2022 when the Supreme Court narrowly struck down all constitutional abortion rights nationwide, reversing nearly 50 years of precedent.

And two important cases that will be tested there, one involves the Food and Drug Administration's expansion of accessibility for the abortion medication, Mifepristone.

And that one involves not just abortion drugs, but all kinds of drugs and the FDAs authority to decide what kinds of drugs are safe and effective.

The other abortion-related case goes to where states have banned abortion since 2022. And whether a federal law that requires emergency treatment for women who go to emergency rooms and, maybe because of their health situation, they need an abortion, there's some complications.

Whether even in those states, the emergency rooms that -- that receive federal funding would be required to allow a woman to have an abortion just because that would be the care that would be needed in those dire situations -- Jessica?

DEAN: Yes, these are -- these are cases with really big implications.

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: All right. Joan Biskupic, thanks so much.

BISKUPIC: Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come, a state of emergency in Atlanta after multiple water main breaks there. Summer school canceled. A huge concert postponed. What the mayor is saying about it.

[13:34:00]

And Spotify, once again, set to raise its prices. Up next, how much more you might be paying for the service.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:38:31]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Just a massive water outage is still affecting major sections of Atlanta after several pipes burst over the weekend. The water main breaks virtually shut down the city's bustling downtown area, forced the mayor to declare a state of emergency.

Summer schools and other programs were canceled today. And then there were a litany of other impacts, including one of Atlanta's biggest hospitals relocating some of its patients. And Megan "Thee Stallion" postponing her concert.

CNN national correspondent, Ryan Young, is monitoring efforts to fix all this.

Ryan, what's the latest there?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT The latest is a lot of people are starting to get really angry about this, Brianna. People are wanting to know when the status updates will happen in terms of when this will be all fixed.

You have small business owners who are asking, hey, when are we going to know when we can open our doors back again? Because obviously the boil water advisory, people are concerned about health and safety concerns.

We were at a news conference today that actually got pretty heated with the mayor with some citizens trying to ask questions. Even had a citizen telling a city employee to get your head out of my face.

This has all been boiling over because of the water main breaks. But you have citizens like Trinket Lewis here, who actually runs a smoothie shop.

And you're saying you're not getting notifications as well about when this is going to be done with. How frustrating is this?

TRINKET LEWIS, CO-FOUND & OPERATOR, MORELYFE JUICE: I can't survive. That's it. So I mean, it's beyond frustrating/ I'm having to buy ice. I'm having to boil water to clean and sanitize to cook with, to clean with. And so it's frustrating because I don't know. I have no idea.

[13:40:01]

YOUNG: When you're talking about the concerns and saying you may not survive, are the margins that thin right now as a business owner that you need some expectations?

LEWIS: They're extremely thin. So I'm having the first challenge of just construction. This is happening. So I'm surrounded by construction, so the traffic is not coming by. On top of the water advisory, so now I have low traffic.

Now I'm having to do double the work to clean, you know, got to store to store to store to buy ice to make smoothies. And so I'm just impacted on both ways. So no traffic, extra work, and I'm having to send an employee home and do everything.

YOUNG: You said, and some other business owners, are coming here to ask the city for some help, some guidance, some money to come back as a form of payment.

LEWIS: Yes.

YOUNG: What are you hoping the city officials do as a look at this emergency situation?

LEWIS: I mean, a small business needs relief. So the amount, I can't speak to that. Like what would be beneficial to me? I mean, I'm a very small business. But, you know, $5,000 to $10,000 with change.

I mean, I'm looking at summer is my high season. So if I'm not able to perform in the summertime, how does that affect me in the winter when sales naturally kind of fall down?

YOUNG: What -- if someone can hear you in city hall right now, what would you like them to know about what's going on with this water situation?

LEWIS: It is affecting our day-to-day operations. Like we cannot open -- well, our doors are open. But what has it taken to open the doors?

And we -- I'm in a community where there's no healthy options. So the community needs healthy options. I'm here, but I can even serve as a community because of something that's out of my control.

And so I'm just looking for definitely a timeline to give us an idea of how long do we have to manage this so I can even look at financially how that's going to affect me. But then also, is there some relief to help us through this do this phase?

YOUNG: Exactly. Just say the name of your business one more time.

LEWIS: MoreLyfe Juice.

YOUNG: Perfect.

So if you want to help her out, if you're nearby the area, please check it out.

Thank you for that.

But at the same time, you had a hospital affected by this. We have one level trauma medical center in this area that had to bring water in. You also have other businesses that are impacted because the street closures are still impacting much of midtown.

And on top of that, they are using Atlanta police officers to ferry in special parts of equipment to make sure they have lights and sirens to get that equipment to certain areas so they can even start to work on this water main.

At one point, the water was gushing out of the ground more than four feet high. That has been stopped. But the big question from a lot of neighbors is, when can they take a shower again, when they can return to businesses?

A lot of questions flowing toward city hall. So hopefully, we'll get those answers sometime soon. More answers from the mayor, someone else a lot of people want to hear from as well.

KEILAR: Yes, a lot of frustration.

I mean, Ryan, this isn't just some run-of-the-mill water main break. Do they have an idea of what this is? Isn't just old pipes or what?

YOUNG: That's a great question. So look, you can't fault anyone here at city hall for the idea that these two water mains we're old. One was like 1909 and one was like 1930.

You understand that infrastructure is going to break down at some point. It's more so the timeline in terms of when they're going to be repaired.

They did run into some different operational issues that they were able to solve based upon some equipment they brought in from Alabama. That's OK.

But people say, OK, is there an infrastructure plan to replace all the pipes leading up to this? Are we going to be in a critical standpoint when this comes back online? What we'll, those operational procedures be once this is all put back together?

Those questions have not been answered yet. And you understand maybe that has to get answered after they get all the way into the ground with this. But all those answers are not coming up yet with a major part of the city still experiencing the shutdown.

KEILAR: Yes. What a pain there in Atlanta.

Ryan, thank you for that report.

Jessica?

DEAN: Now, let's turn to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

Firefighters in California have finally gotten the upper hand on a sizable wildfire. But dangerous heat could make that situation worse.

The Corral Fire is burning just an hour east of San Francisco. It's already consumed 14,000 acres and forced the evacuations in the town of Tracy.

We're told that fire is 75 percent contained, but officials warn it could spread again with winds and sweltering heat set to kick up later this week. Its cause is still being investigated.

Firefighters have responded to over 1,200 wildfires across that state so far this year.

South Korea says it may suspend a 2018 military agreement with North Korea after North Korea sent hundreds of trash-filled balloons over the border. Pyongyang now says, it will stop doing it and that it was responding to South Korea's practice of sending over balloons with propaganda leaflets.

Spotify is increasing its prices again. Starting next month, U.S. subscribers to the music streaming service will pay $1 more per month for its ad-free premium plan. That will take it to $11.99 a month.

Some of Spotify's other plans also getting more expensive. But Spotify says the price hikes are necessary as it continues to, quote, "invest in and innovate on our product features and bring users the best experience."

So the story this afternoon, the soaring costs of summer. We're going to tell you how much more it will cost to stay cool.

[13:44:56]

And Simone Biles once again showing the world why she's the GOAT. After battling twisty, she's now adding more hardware to her collection. That story just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:49:45]

DEAN: Wow, a lot of people out there getting squeezed by grocery bills, rising gas prices, housing. But get ready for even higher utility bills now.

CNN's Tami Luhby is here.

And, Tami, as temperatures rise this summer, so will the cost of running the A.C. What are we talking about here?

[13:50:01]

TAMI LUHBY, CNN SENIOR WRITER: Well, many Americans may be getting hot under the collar when they open their electric bills this summer. The cost of keeping cool is expected to rise nearly 8 percent, to $719 for the bills running June through September, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

In some areas of the country, like the Pacific and the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest, may see even a higher increase, a higher share of increase. And that's up from $527 in 2019. The numbers have been rising steadily year-to-year.

Utility prices skyrocketed in recent years, making it harder for people to keep up with both their cooling bills in the summer and their heating bills in the winter.

This summer, electric prices should be going down a little bit. So that's a good thing. But the bills that you end up paying are both the prices and your usage.

And the summer is expected to be above average in terms of temperatures. So people will have to run the A.C. more likely to keep cool this summer. And that means they're going to see bigger bills.

DEAN: Yes. And is there any help available for people who are going to struggle or are afraid they're going to struggle with these bills?

LUHBY: Well, right now, we have about one in six Americans who are behind on their utility bills, on their electric bills. And Congress has actually cut funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program known as LIHEAP.

They've cut it by about a third. So this year, there's only $4.1 billion to distribute to help people who are behind on their bills, down from $6.1 billion in the last fiscal year.

Which means fewer people are going to get help, especially with their cooling bills. Because most LIHEAP money actually goes to help people with their heating bills.

Experts say that the U.S. lacks a comprehensive policy to address summer cooling costs. And it's becoming a much more serious situation as summers get hotter. You know, we're having more heatwaves that are hotter temperatures lasting longer. They're more frequent.

And this has some pretty serious ramifications, including death. Heat- related deaths are actually on the rise. You've had just over 2,300 people last year who succumbed to heat. And that's up from just over 1,600 in 2021.

DEAN: All right, Tami Luhby for us, thanks so much for that reporting.

Brianna?

KEILAR: A new call by the WNBA a day after Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark got knocked down from a rough hit from Chicago Sky guard, Chennedy Carter. The league upgraded the foul called against Carter to a flagrant foul.

Let's bring in CNN's Coy Wire to talk a little bit more about this. How are the teams, how are the players responding here, Coy?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, Coach Christie Sides said, Brianna, after that hit on Saturday that she was trying not to get fined. And then eventually posted on Twitter that the league needs to step in. They're going to keep submitting the film.

Clark herself said that it's at the point where she knows she's going to get blasted a couple of times a game, but she's just going to let her play do the talking.

Now, the star rookie has been the target by opposing players all season. Body check, none more egregious then the one dealt by Chennedy Carter on Saturday though. Blind-sided. The two-time national player of the year sent tumbling to the floor.

As you mentioned, Brianna, the WNBA upgraded that common foul to a flagrant one just yesterday.

Last night, Clark was back in action with her Fever facing the Liberty. It was another rough night for Clark. The worst game of her career, just three points, one of ten shooting, just one of seven from three.

And she did get blasted again. On this screen set here, legal screen, she had to get checked out on the bench.

The Fever lost, 104 to 68, to New York. That was Indiana' 11th game in just 19 days, Brianna. There are no WNBA games tonight. But there's no doubt that Clark has seen a lot of aggression from opposing players.

The general manager, Lin Dunn, also saying that it needs to stop, the league needs to step in and do something about it.

KEILAR: Yes, that was wild.

All right. I want to talk to you about Simone Biles because we have the Olympics coming up next month. How big of a confidence boost was her winning a record ninth U.S. gymnastics championship all-around title.

WIRE: This was huge. And I was there reporting in Tokyo, Brianna, when she went through that mental torment of the twisties, withdrawing from several competitions. But this she eventually got back out there, gutted out of bronze performance on the beam. But she still felt deflated.

And now, four years later, we can say the greatest gymnast of all time is back. The four-time Olympic gold medalist turning in the top cumulative scores in beam, floor, vault, and uneven bars. She finished almost six points ahead of silver medalist, Skye Blakely.

Look at that, Brianna. That equated to a record-extending night. All- around title at the U.S. gymnastics championships.

[13:55:02] She returned to competitive gymnastics just last year after pulling out there temporarily at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. And she seems right on track to make more history in Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMONE BILES, U.S. GYMNASTICS MEDALIST: Today, it's just getting out here and getting comfortable confident in my gymnastics. And hopefully, going to Olympic trials and making that next step towards Paris.

So I couldn't be more proud of how I'm doing this time in the year and just gaining that confidence. It's over and over getting myself back in front of a crowd and just doing what I do in practice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, pretty much a done deal. But the U.S. women's Olympics gymnastics team will officially be chosen later this month at the trials in Minneapolis.

Biles looking to become the first American woman to beat Dominic Daus (ph) back in 2000, to make three Olympic teams in her career.

Cannot wait to report from there and see all this magnificence. Just 53 days away from seeing Simone Biles and crew do what they do.

3: Yes. She looks great out there. And I know Tokyo is tough, but for someone who is having a tough time, she handled it with such grace. And listen, even the GOAT has a bad day or a bad week. And I think that's important for everyone to know.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Coy, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

WIRE: You got it.

KEILAR: Still to come lawmakers questioning Dr. Anthony Fauci about the origins of Covid-19. And we are live from Capitol Hill next.

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