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Father of Georgia School Shooting Suspect Appears in Court; Julie Su is Interviewed about the August Jobs Report; This Year's Presidential Campaign Compared to U.S. History; Mike Massimino is Interviewed about Starliner's Return. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 06, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Total.

I do want to get to you, Misty Marris, because I am curious about one of the charges. The eight charges of child cruelty. How does that play - play into that? Because we did have two students who were - who were shot and killed by the alleged shooter, the son of this father.

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE AND TRIAL ATTORNEY: That's right, Sara, we have two that were shot and killed, and we know that that's the basis for not only the child (INAUDIBLE) charges, but also the charges of second-degree murder. So, that's part of those charges.

The others relate to the other minors who were injured. Remember, we have four deaths, but we have other injuries and those that are being hospitalized due to their injuries who are also victims in this case. So, those child cruelty charges relate to those.

And again, all of these charges, as was pointed out, we've seen how the manslaughter charges play out, but when we're talking about these murder charges and child cruelty charges, and that conduct against the father being that of another person, his minor son, that is a new and novel legal theory. So, it's going to be interesting how this plays out, and especially if he does opt to have what's called a preliminary hearing, you have a bit of a mini trial there. And I could see the father in this case saying, yes, let's have a preliminary hearing to see if there's probable cause to support these higher level charges of second-degree murder.

We will learn a lot during that process because that's almost like a mini trial with a difference legal standard of probable cause. So, that's going to fill in the gaps that we have in what we've learned from this investigation from that May 20 (ph) meeting to the present day in this tragic event.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: John Miller, obviously, the investigation does continue. What evidence, do you think, that they may have found that we have not yet learned about, or what type of evidence?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So, what we saw today - what we actually saw Mr. Gray signing were the warrants for these charges, the warrant for his arrest. What we haven't seen is the affidavit behind that warrant which gives the probable cause for these charges. And that, because we haven't seen it, could contain things that we're not aware of.

So, what are we aware of? We're aware of the shooting. We're aware of the guns in the house. We're aware of the allegations that they weren't secured. He had access to them.

But the things that they could see - and we learned some of this from the Crumbley case is, what's contained in emails, text chats? What's contained in this boy's computer. What is contained in the communications to, in this particular set of charges, the father, from the mother, from the grandparents, from the school, from others that are going to be demonstrative possibly of his awareness of the fact that this is a child in crisis.

The first day of school, he went out to see the counselor because of anxiety. The second day of school, of course, we have the shooting. But in CNN's own interviews with various relatives, they're saying it was obvious that he was a child that was going through crisis.

So, all of that can factor into the, what did he know and when did he know it part that will be an additive to, would a reasonable person have not secured these weapons and was this negligence that could lead to serious injury or death.

SIDNER: It really - watching this just once again, seeing that child go into court, so small, seeing the families have to sit there and look at what's happened, knowing that they will never see their loved ones again. And then seeing the father come in. And this is - these are remarkable images. They tell a story of what America has been going through for a very long time. But it also tells a story of the change that law enforcement is making when it comes to school shootings. Now parents are really in the legal bramble, if you will, of all of this. And that's a huge change in our society.

Misty Marris, thank you so much, John miller, and to you, Elliot Williams, as well.

BERMAN: All right, there is other news this morning as well. This brand new jobs report released just moments ago. We will discuss what the numbers are and what it says about the next couple months.

Also in court this hour, Donald Trump, his motorcade, just arrived. He's looking to overturn a verdict that found him liable for sexual abuse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:39:09]

BERMAN: All right, breaking just moments ago, new data that shows the U.S. jobs market picked back up in August after a surprisingly weak report from July. Weaker than we even knew. Employers added 142,000 jobs last month. That was stronger than the July number, which was revised down to 89,000 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2 percent. With us now, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su.

Thank you so much for being with us.

So, the good news is, more jobs added than the month before, and the unemployment rate going down. The other news, though, is, there is pressure on this jobs market. Downward revisions in June and July. The 145,000 number from this month, lower than projections.

What headwinds does the jobs market face right now?

[09:40:00]

JULIE SU, ACTING LABOR SECRETARY: Well, thank you so much.

You know, this is another jobs report that demonstrates that our economy continues to grow, that job numbers continue to increase, and the unemployment rate still remains historically low. Remember, a few years ago, most people predicted this would not be possible to get to an unemployment rate at or near 4 percent this quickly and to have the kind of job growth that we've had, nearly 16 million created since President Biden and Vice President Harris came into office. And what we always wanted to see happen was a transition from the really rapid rate of job growth that we saw initially, to a more steady and stable rate of growth. And these current numbers reflect that.

At the same time, we continue to see strong labor force participation. And, in fact, women's labor force participation rate broke - set a new record, broke our last record, which was also sent under this administration, demonstrating, again, that, you know, that the - that the - that the growth in jobs and who's getting these jobs is really widely shared.

BERMAN: And again, adding numbers is better than subtracting them. My question was, what pressures are the jobs market - is the jobs market facing right now?

SU: I mean certainly I think, you know, we wanted the numbers to get to a place where it was more steady, right? Remember, back when the numbers were really high, people were talking about how, you know, it's going to come - come crashing down. What we've seen by all indicators is that, you know, a sort of soft landing that everyone, you know, you know, said is that - is that going to be possible? You know, we think about it as reaching our cruising altitude. These are numbers that are steady, that are stable, and we continue to look at all the markers. Again, the unemployment rate, the labor force participation rate, wages.

You know, we said from the beginning we were going to focus on building an economy that put workers first, in which workers got their fair share, in which every job was a good job. And we're counting now, not just the number of jobs - again, those numbers are really solid, but also the quality of those jobs, which is why later today I'm traveling with the president to Michigan where he's going to issue an executive order, making sure that the continued investments of the Biden-Harris administration are creating good jobs that allow families to make a decent living, spend time with their families, and retire with dignity.

BERMAN: I know the Fed does its own thing, and you do your own thing, and you don't influence Fed policy, so we'll ask this question in a specific way. What would a Fed rate cut of 0.5, 50 basis points, what would it mean for the labor market and jobs?

SU: Yes, you're right, we don't comment on that. You know, we've certainly seen, again, you know, a real commitment on our part, continued to ensure that jobs continue to grow. That's why the, you know, this last month the growth in construction was heartening for us. You know, the president has said we want to - you know, we want to fix roads and bridges. We want to make sure that families have clean drinking water. We want to expand access to high-speed internet. Those are all infrastructure investments. And in the last administration, infrastructure week became a punchline. This is part of infrastructure decade.

So, we'll continue to do the work that we are doing to ensure that the jobs that are being created are not just good jobs but also available to all communities, rural communities, as well as urban communities, big cities, as well as, you know, as well as small. And so that's the focus that we have. And we know we have more work to do. You know, we're saying that this is a good, steady state, but we need to remain vigilant.

BERMAN: Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, tonight, the Starliner returns to earth, but it will be unmanned. Why NASA says it's too risky to have the two astronauts who have been stuck in space for months on that Boeing spacecraft. We'll discuss that and much more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:48:32]

BERMAN: All right, this week, CNN released a slew of battleground polling. There was so much information inside. But one thing was missing. One big thing. CNN's senior data reporter, Harry Enten, who is with us now.

I'm not sure I've ever been happier to see you, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: I'm not sure I've ever been happier to be with you, Mr. Berman.

BERMAN: This race is close, Harry.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Historically close.

ENTEN: Historically close. You know, I just want to sort of zone out a little bit. Go to 35,000 feet and just point out how close this race has been consistently, consistently close.

All right, campaigns where any candidate led by at least five points in the polls. Look, most of the time there's at least some stretch where one of the candidates is ahead by at least five points. At least three weeks in which one candidate led by at least five points, that happened in every single campaign from 1964 to 2020. How many days have we had this campaign where one candidate was ahead by at least five points nationally? Look at this, zero, zero days, zero days. The fact is, this race has been consistently tight in a way that we have never seen before, Mr. Berman.

BERMAN: This is always versus never.

ENTEN: Correct.

BERMAN: That's the difference between this campaign and every other campaign we've seen for the last 75 years or so.

ENTEN: You got it.

BERMAN: All right, the battleground polls that we're looking at, give us some perspective on how close they are.

ENTEN: You know, sometimes we look at these seven close states and you know you see all these numbers that are up there and you go, I can't make heads or tails of it.

[09:50:04]

So, I just want to sort of combine them and look at the Democrat versus Donald Trump in those seven closest battleground states.

Look at the 2020 final margin, an average across these seven states. It was Biden plus 9 point - 0.9 points. You don't think that could get any closer. We can, in fact, get closer. Look right now. Kamala Harris up by, get this, by just 0.6 points on average. Only about half a point, six tenths of a point. My goodness, gracious. That is how tight we are talking right now across these seven battleground states.

It is a race, Mr. Berman, that is well within the margin of error when you look across these seven key battleground states that will determine this election.

BERMAN: Now, you look at this and you go, oh, 0.3 percent. Then, you know, they're basically the same. But you're talking about actual vote margins that were so small. So show us the difference that a polling margins can make.

ENTEN: All right. So, let's just say the polls match up perfectly to what the results end up being. Kamala Harris would win this election with 292 electoral votes to Donald Trump's 246. But let's just say we move the current polls and let's say the result defers by them by a single percentage point and Donald Trump is the beneficiary of it. Look at this. If Trump outperforms his current polls by just a single point, you take that Kamala Harris win and, look at this, Donald Trump gets 287 electoral votes because the bottom line is Pennsylvania would flip up here and you would also get this flip out in Nevada over here.

And that, my friend, is what we're talking about. We are talking about the closest campaign in a generation where a single point could make all the difference in the world.

John, this is a truly exciting race right now where any slight movement can make all the difference in the world.

BERMAN: And even more exciting because you are here with us.

SIDNER: Yay!

ENTEN: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Harry Enten -

ENTEN: Very kind.

BERMAN: Very nice to see you.

SIDNER: I feel like we should be holding hands singing, we are the world. I'm just saying.

ENTEN: Uncle Neil would be very excited to join in.

SIDNER: Wouldn't he be excited.

ENTEN: Yes.

SIDNER: He'd enjoy it. I'm so happy to see you back.

ENTEN: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you, Harry Enten.

All right, ahead, Boeing's troubles spacecraft, Starliner, prepares to return to earth today, but the two astronauts who have been sort of stuck up there in space will have to sit there a long while longer because they won't be in that spacecraft. We are going to talk all about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:56:50]

BERMAN: All right, today, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is supposed to undock from the International Space Station and return to earth. This was supposed to have happened like in June or July.

SIDNER: Just a bit.

BERMAN: And it's leaving behind the two astronauts that were supposed to have come home in a week. Instead, their stay is going to be like eight months long.

SIDNER: You know, I don't mind it, but I don't know how they feel about it. There are bills to be paid at home.

Joining us now, former astronaut Mike Massimino.

You know, you're still an astronaut. Like, there's no such thing as a former astronaut. You've been there. You've done it, like, right?

MIKE MASSIMINO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Oh, thank you. I appreciate it. Yes.

SIDNER: I feel like - OK.

MASSIMINO: Thank you.

SIDNER: So, what can we expect to see, because you have this Starliner that's going to undock and it's going to leave without the crew. What are some of the problems that could potentially happen here?

MASSIMINO: Well, they're going to do some testing of the thrusters. That was the issue that made them make the decision that they weren't going to put the crew on board. They weren't perfectly comfortable with the performance of the thrusters. They had failures when they docked to the Space Station with those thrusters. And that's what their concern was about putting the crew inside.

So, I think what we're going to be looking for when they undock is how those thrusters perform. And they're going to do some testing of them, make sure they're OK? And then how do they perform on the way down to get the spacecraft in the right orientation and get the deorbit burn off well so they can get the spacecraft back.

I think it's all going to go well, but that's what people will be looking at.

BERMAN: Again, well is all relative here. And in my career, I mean, you know, complaining about this in the break.

SIDNER: (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: This was supposed to be a weeklong trip.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

BERMAN: And that's been stuck up there for months now. The astronauts can't come home now.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

BERMAN: How big of a mess up is this?

MASSIMINO: Well, you know, stuck is an interesting word, right? It means like you can't leave.

SIDNER: Yes. MASSIMINO: But they could leave. They were cleared to come back on Starliner in case of an emergency. There's a SpaceX vehicle still on board. They've configured that now because once this thing leaves you're going to have six people that would return, if there's an emergency only, to return on that spacecraft, the SpaceX spacecraft. So, they have a way to get back regardless.

I, you know, I -- it's not great, but I do think the Starliner will come back safely and they're going to do some testing on the way down. They're going to do some testing on the ground as well. And I think it's going to fly again. Thats what I'm - that's what I'm hoping for. That would be the good news.

SIDNER: So optimistic.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

SIDNER: You're so optimistic. John and I are less so.

BERMAN: I know. I - look, you know, obviously it's important for the space program and everyone that this works out.

SIDNER: Yes. Yes.

MASSIMINO: Yes. Got to be hopeful.

BERMAN: It's just been rocky.

SIDNER: Yes, it's been rocky.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

SIDNER: There had been some clinking or clanking or some noises going on there.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

SIDNER: What could that possibly be and what kind of concern is that (INAUDIBLE)?

MASSIMINO: Yes, that's not much. You hear all kinds of things when you're in space sometimes and you report them to ground.

SIDNER: Maybe aliens.

MASSIMINO: No. You know what, that might go - who's here, you know? But it's only your crewmates usually.

I think they're still looking at that.

SIDNER: OK.

MASSIMINO: I think what they did is they reported a sound and send it to the ground. And I haven't heard too much about it since. So, I think it's probably just some background noise.

SIDNER: Not a huge (INAUDIBLE).

MASSIMINO: Yes.

BERMAN: All right, Butch and Suni, the ones who were stuck up there.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

BERMAN: But not stuck. I understand they could go in an emergency.

MASSIMINO: Yes.

BERMAN: What's the mental preparation for a trip that you think is going to be days and ends up being months?

MASSIMINO: Yes. Well, you're always ready for that. And they've been on expeditions before. Long - long six months stays on the space station, both of them. And part of their preparation was, in cases did happen, something like this did happen, they were fully trained to be an expedition crew member.

[10:00:00]

They've been doing that for the last couple months, Participating in that expedition. They're going to join these two other astronauts. They're going to join them now that they're going to conduct another expedition. So, they are fully