Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Hurricane Erin Creates Life-Threatening Conditions Along East Coast; NYT: Mayor Eric Adams Adviser Hands Reporter Bag Of Cash; Camp Mystic Parents Push For Improved Safety Laws. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 21, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:45]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news we are tracking this morning, a state of emergency in North Carolina as Hurricane Erin sweeps up along the East Coast. We are tracking what is a huge storm, now a category 2. But its sheer size is noteworthy. It stretches over 550 miles wide and right now maximum sustained winds are 105 miles per hour.

Up and down the East Coast, because of what this is doing as it skirts along, beaches are closed, and authorities are pleading with people to stay out of the water.

CNN's Mike Yoshida is on North Carolina's coast in Wrightsville Beach for us this morning -- Mike.

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, here in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina the sun up and the waves continuing to crash. And even though we have that no swimming advisory we have officials reiterating the point over and over again not to be in the water.

Already this morning you can see we have plenty of surfers out there. Actually, we're starting to see some going out into the water even before the sun was fully up. You can see they're out there surfing this morning. And that's the last thing local officials want to see, especially after just a few days ago, on Monday, here in Wrightsville Beach we had 60-some water rescues. Tuesday it was around 18. Yesterday, thankfully, just four as more and more people started to heed the warnings.

But as we're seeing those continued high waves, that high surf, and those dangerous rip currents, this morning we're also started to get a feel for some of the impacts from Hurricane Erin.

As we walk along the beach you can see right here the scenario where we've seen some of that beach erosion from that high tide -- that surf pushing up into the dune area. So this impacting obviously the beach area. But also in talking with Ocean Rescue this morning they say some of this erosion actually impacted some of their rescue lanes that they use when trying to get up and down the beach. So a lot to obviously be aware of and keep an eye on. But again, the main point here in Wrightsville Beach and really up and down the coast is officials -- they don't want you out in the water, saying these rip currents -- they're at unprecedented levels in some spots. It's dangerous. And when you're out there not only are you putting yourselves at risk, you're putting their lifeguards and their rescue divers at risk as well.

Officials saying these dangerous conditions likely to continue for several days -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Mike Yoshida, thank you so much.

Joining us right now are the owners of the Atlantic Inn on Hatteras Island -- one of the oldest inns on the island -- Holly and Jason Andrzejewski. Thank you both. It's wonderful to meet you, and thanks for joining me this morning.

You're on the southern end of Hatteras Island. The Inn is about 15 miles from you is my understanding. What -- but what are you guys seeing this morning?

JASON ANDRZEJEWSKI, OWNER, THE ATLANTIC INN, HATTERAS, NORTH CAROLINA (via Webex by Cisco): So we are seeing a lot of winds. A lot of ocean overwash in the weak points in Pea Island -- on that north side of Buxton that you guys have all seen the videos of -- has taken a brunt of the devastation. And then water has completely washed out the dunes north of Hatteras, which is just north of The Atlantic Inn.

So we hope and pray that the roads are still there, and we'll just have overwash that the crews can eventually come in and clean out.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

Holly, we're showing some video. The Atlantic Inn looks just absolutely gorgeous. Your daughter and son-in-law are the innkeepers and they're there right now.

What are you hearing from them?

HOLLY ANDRZEJEWSKI, OWNER, THE ATLANTIC INN, HATTERAS, NORTH CAROLINA (via Webex by Cisco): So they actually just sent us a picture this morning and they are getting some soundside flooding now. It's really windy. I know that there's other spots in Hatteras that are seeing the soundside flooding, too. So they're just buckling down for the moment and kind of riding it out.

BOLDUAN: And just for some perspective, as I was -- as I was preparing for an interview, I mean, this is -- the inn looks gorgeous. But you only took ownership -- you just -- you literally just bought this historic inn. It's like the oldest inn on the island. And then this starts happening.

I mean, what are you doing about guests and bookings? I mean, this is kind of an unimaginable situation you're inn. J. ANDRZEJEWSKI: Yeah, it definitely threw us for a curveball. We didn't expect that when we closed last Thursday. But Holly has done a great job contacting all of our guests and moving all their reservations and accommodating everybody. So everybody's been in contact, and we've let them all know that until Dare County deems it safe for everybody to return and all visitors to return that we'll have to keep the reservations pushed out. But as soon as everything opens up we told them that we want to have them back and we can't wait to meet everybody and share the inn and the experience that they'll have with us.

[07:35:20]

BOLDUAN: Holly, the -- we've been reminded over and over again from all of the -- from local and state officials an evacuation order of Hatteras Island was put in place on Tuesday.

Why did you guys decide not to -- not to evacuate?

H. ANDRZEJEWSKI: So a lot of locals around here don't evacuate. You know, it's just kind of to protect your own property and to watch over it. We knew this wasn't -- it was going to be a bad storm, and we were hopeful that it wasn't going to be the worst. So it's just a chance that you take, I guess, when you live down here whether or not to evacuate, and we just decided to stay.

BOLDUAN: And Jason -- I mean, the inn being nearly 100 years old -- I had read that it had only been hit actually by one hurricane -- Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

I mean, what is, I guess, your biggest hope here as you've got some hours now where you're going to really be buckling down and your biggest fears and we really head into what's predicted to be a busy hurricane season?

J. ANDRZEJEWSKI: So, you know, our biggest hope is that we are fortunate enough to have limited damage here today as Erin passes through. And then any other hurricanes that come through, just hopefully we're blessed and hopefully the island is blessed, and all the locals are -- you know, we're all safe. But if there is any storms that come through, we'll do our best to mitigate the damage and hopefully we'll be able to come out the other side and continue to share what's coming up on 100 years in the inn.

And unfortunately, today is also Katie's birthday.

H. ANDRZEJEWSKI: Yeah.

J. ANDRZEJEWSKI: So happy birthday, Katie. We weren't able to be there to celebrate but we will get there hopefully in the next couple of days.

BOLDUAN: Only it's one of those things -- you know, like rain on your wedding day -- that's good luck. Hurricane -- right after you buy an inn and a hurricane on your birthday. That's got to be something, guys.

J. ANDRZEJEWSKI: You're right.

H. ANDRZEJEWSKI: I know. I think it's a good omen.

BOLDUAN: We'll take it.

Thank you both so much. It's wonderful to meet you. Please be safe and thank you for your time -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: If you live to be a million -- that kind of good luck.

All right. The Texas State Senate expected to vote as soon as today on the new congressional map that favors Republicans. The State House approved the plan yesterday.

Overnight the president wrote, "A big win for the great state of Texas. On our way to five more congressional seats. Florida, Indiana, and others are looking to do the same thing."

So with control of the U.S. Congress at stake in the next election, Texas Republicans were just blunt and straightforward about their goal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD HUNTER, (R) TEXAS STATE HOUSE: What's wrong with the Republicans standing up, and Republicans stepping up, and Republicans being honest, which you don't like -- which is the Supreme Court says we can use political and partisanship to do congressional redistricting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CNN'S Arlette Saenz in Austin with the latest step -- the next step -- almost the final step there in Texas.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, John. Texas Republicans are one step closer to make these congressional maps backed by President Trump into a reality. The Texas House voted last night along party lines to pass this measure.

It really capped off a tense two weeks' standoff that the Republicans had with Democrats. Democrats had fled the state to try to stop this from happening. When they returned, they were placed under 24/7 police escort. But really, Democrats had no other legislative tools available to them. Now they will try to fight this plan in court.

And they've also argued that this is a success because it has sparked a national conversation and also spurred the Democratic Party to act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE WU, (D) TEXAS STATE HOUSE: What you have just watched are Democrats who are willing to go to any lengths to suffer threats to ourselves, to our families, to our friends. We are standing up and fighting against those who seek to take the American dream from us.

NICOLE COLLIER, (D) TEXAS STATE HOUSE: Today is not the end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.

COLLIER: It is the start of a new beginning of the new Democratic Party --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!

COLLIER: -- where we won't back down.

(Cheers)

We won't put up with their (bleep).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now today we will see an all-out redistricting battle underway between Texas and California. The Texas Senate is expected to vote on this measure tonight and then send it to Governor Greg Abbott for his signature.

[07:40:05]

While in California, Democratic legislators are trying to hold their own vote on their congressional maps that would potentially net the Democratic Party up to five congressional seats in the mid -- next midterm elections. Of course, California still has an additional step once it gets through the legislature. They still have to put this on the ballot in November as voters will have to decide whether they can do this.

But really, what we've seen on full display over the course of the past few weeks is this willingness to rush to try to find ways to redistrict -- to redraw these congressional maps after Texas has kickstarted this process. And it could be a potential battle that continues in the months ahead as other GOP and Democratic states are weighing their options.

BERMAN: Yeah, and that's the thing.

All right. Arlette Saenz for us in Austin this morning. Thank you very much.

With us now CNN political commentators David Urban and Kate Bedingfield. I am so happy to see both of you. You're two of my favorites and one of the reasons is -- look, we weren't born yesterday. All of us know gerrymandering has been going on forever. It's something that happens.

What feels different this morning, David, is how it is being celebrated out loud by President Trump, saying we're going to go pick up partisan seats. The legislators in Texas saying we're grabbing Republican seats here. Just sort of the naked admission for what this is.

Is this a good thing, David?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Yeah, John. As you acknowledged, it's been on for decades -- for decades and decades and decades -- and now, you know, the bad part is being said out loud.

Maps are redrawn every decade to make seats safer and safer for partisan Democrats and partisan Republicans. And that's why the American public think it's -- think it's not so -- it's not so savory. But listen, it's not anything new. And what the Republicans are doing is simply what they've been allowed to do for decades.

Listen, John, you know this. It's the dirty little secret that, you know, the Republicans, Democrats, and Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus -- they draw seats to make it safer and safer for their incumbents. And so any year -- any given election cycle, of the 435 House members there may be a handful that are really up for grabs because the seats are redrawn to be so safe.

BERMAN: But again, it's more out in the open. It's more naked than it's ever been.

And Kate, what incentive would Democrats ever have not to try to do this everywhere they can, to the full extent they can?

We heard former President Obama come out -- you know, who has been sort of more in favor of these nonpartisan commissions -- saying you know what? California has to do this. '

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah. Well, in the short term there's no incentive for them not to do it. I mean, if you are going to have Republicans blatantly in the middle of a campaign cycle saying we're going to redraw the lines -- we're going to essentially change the rules, then no. I mean, Democratic-led states have very little incentive not to try to counteract some of that effort to swipe, essentially, additional seats.

But long term, this is an incredibly corrosive thing for our politics. I mean, you and David are absolutely right. Gerrymandering has been an unfortunate part of our politics for a very long time. It continues to feed a system where the most extreme voices on both sides are rewarded and a genuine debate about ideas in the middle is not rewarded. And that is -- that's not a good thing for our politics.

And so over the long term this arms race -- this race to the bottom that we're seeing right now as result of what the Republicans have done in Texas is incredibly dangerous for us, I think, in our politics.

BERMAN: Yeah. And again, I should have noted while this has been going on forever, what hasn't been going on forever is doing it mid-decade like this just a few years after the last time you redistricted. That is new and that's different. What's also different -- and I've covered a lot of campaigns in my life and I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like this. This happened in New York City at a campaign event for Eric Adams, who is running for re-election, OK? A campaign volunteer who actually used to work for him but now she's just a volunteer handed a reporter a potato chip bag full of cash, OK? Full of cash to the reporter at a campaign event.

Why? You know -- I mean, interpret as you will. But let me -- let me just first give the disclosures out there. The Adams campaign put out a statement and they said, "We're shocked by these reports. Winnie Greco holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all volunteer campaign-related activities."

And then a lawyer for Winnie Greco -- the person who did this -- this is a quote in The New York Times. "Ms. Greco's lawyer Steven Brill says that it's common in Chinese culture to give cash to reporters 'in a gesture of friendship and gratitude.' I grant you this looks odd," Mr. Brill said, "But I assure you that Winnie's intent was purely innocent."

[07:45:00]

Um, Kate, have you ever handed cash to a reporter at a campaign?

BEDINGFIELD: I cannot say in my decades of work on political campaigns that I have ever handed a bag of cash to a reporter, and I also can't think of an instance in American politics where somebody handing a bag of cash to a reporter or to any other influential person around the campaign has turned out to be -- to be pure. I don't want to prejudice the situation. Obviously, I only know what's in the reporting. But it doesn't smell great.

BERMAN: Again, I just -- it was just one of these stories, David, that just jumped off the page for me. Like, really? Really? And one wonder --

URBAN: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- if Eric Adams --

URBAN: John --

BERMAN: Go ahead.

URBAN: -- it's crazy. I was going to say it's crazy but it's no crazier than Mr. Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee's positions on basically everything. On government owned grocery stores, free bus rides, taxing the white and wealthy, driving New York further into the abyss. I mean, the guy is absolutely bonkers and he's going to be the Democratic nominee for -- and perhaps the next mayor of the Big Apple.

So yeah, this story is crazy, but it pales in comparison to the craziness that is the Mamdani campaign. BERMAN: Well, you're talking -- you're talking about campaign positions and policy here, which is different than trying, maybe, to buy off a reporter. I think those two things are very different there.

David, I applaud you trying to get a campaign (INAUDIBLE) into it.

URBAN: Yeah. I think --

BERMAN: You know --

URBAN: -- it's crazy.

BERMAN: All right.

And finally then I want to end on something even more serious, which is "SOUTH PARK" -- which continues to play in this political atmosphere. And this is what they aired last night -- watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOWELIE, SOUTH PARK: Wow, it's the Supreme Court. Wow, Washington Memorial. Oh, the Capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. First of all, Towelie is one of the greatest characters in American culture. Secondly, Kate, I do want wonder about what is beginning to seep into popular culture, particularly with younger people, similar to the way that President Biden's age was part of all young people's discussion or many for a long time before I think people caught on here.

One wonders if people are beginning to talk about what's happening in the country in ways that -- you know, that "SOUTH PARK" is picking up on, but others might not.

BEDINGFIELD: Well, yeah. I mean, look, I think the Trump administration is exploring the far edges of what they think they can get away with, and I think that the conversation around some of these efforts has started to permeate.

Now you can see it even in some of the polling. There was Pew polling last week that showed that some of the cohort of voters who voted for Trump in 2024 who were new Trump voters, particularly in the Hispanic community and the Black community, have started to sour on him.

So, yes, I do think that there has been -- outside of the discussion in the halls of policy in Washington, I think there has been more discussion about what is so troubling about some of the Trump administration's actions. And I think you can see that taking -- you can see his numbers taking a hit as a result of it.

BERMAN: All right, Kate Bedinfield. Great to see you. David Urban, you're a towel, as Towelie might say. Thank you both for being with us this morning. I appreciate it.

URBAN: John, (INAUDIBLE). OK, thanks.

BEDINGFIELD: Thank you.

BERMAN: But thank you. We'll take it offline -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: No, thank you. No, thank you.

BERMAN: No. Thank you. You're a towel.

BOLDUAN: No, thank you. Your time has expired.

Back-to-school shopping in full swing and as we have all been warned, this new school year is coming with higher prices. Parents are paying more for everything from sneakers and clothes to school supplies. And yes, it is thanks to tariffs.

CNN's Matt Egan joining me now. He's tracking it all for you. What are you seeing?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well look, Kate, sticker shock is a real thing this holiday -- shopping season for parents.

BOLDUAN: It sure will be at the holidays.

EGAN: Holiday season will be too -- but back-to-school season. And look, prices were already elevated and now you've got tariffs that are making matters even worse.

So online prices for apparel and accessories, like bags and belts and footwear, surging nine percent in July year-over-year. That's according to Klaviyo and Affirm that examines billions of dollars of transactions each year.

And not only are prices going up, they also found that discounts are going down.

BOLDUAN: Oh.

EGAN: Now, Klaviyo says that this is an obvious example of how tariffs are making matters more expensive of consumers, right? They say that brands -- they don't want to raise prices, but they feel like they can't avoid it right now because we've got the --

BOLDUAN: The one thing they do is they cut discounts.

EGAN: Right.

BOLDUAN: So --

EGAN: Because they've got the highest level of tariffs right now in nearly a century.

Now, I should note that this nine percent figure -- it's a lot higher than what we've seen in the official government statistics. That could be because the Bureau of Labor Statistics is mostly examining in-store purchases -- BOLDUAN: Right.

EGAN: -- whereas this is mostly about online shopping. But still --

[07:50:00]

BOLDUAN: Oh, that's huge. I didn't know that -- OK.

EGAN: Yes, yes. And -- but I mean a lot of people are obviously shopping online.

BOLDUAN: No. I'm saying that's where so many people do their shopping for the -- OK.

EGAN: Exactly. Exactly.

But look, Harvard Business School has some research out where they did find significant price increases relative to the pre-tariff trend.

For example, for furniture, right, which is something that a lot of parents who have kids in college have to buy, five percent higher than the pre-tariff trend. Household appliances for everyone buying refrigerators and microwaves, six percent higher. And clothing and accessories, 10 percent higher.

Now, I talked to Lisa Ward. She's a Georgia mom of twin boys. She told me that they went shopping for sneakers and she could not believe how much more expensive everything was. But she said her kids are growing and she had no choice.

She said, "I just wish the prices would come down and make it easier for parents. You want to do right by the kids, but there is only so much you can do."

BOLDUAN: Yeah. I mean, my daughter jumped two shoe sizes from the time she was at camp. So I was, like, I bought shoes that were never even warn.

EGAN: Right.

BOLDUAN: It's like oh gosh, here we go.

Thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. We've got a lot coming up, including this. Parents who are facing unspeakable tragedy are on a mission now to make sure other families do not face the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARRIE HANNA, MOTHER OF HADLEY HANNA: I promised her she would be safe and OK. I told her camp was the safest place she could be, and she would make new friends and learn new things. I lied to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: How families who lost their daughters in the devastating floods at Camp Mystic are fighting now to make camps safer.

And scary moments as a front loader -- just look at this -- barrels through a busy intersection. Why it was so out of control and how this ended.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:55:55]

BOLDUAN: So parents of the young campers who died in the tragic July 4th Texas floods -- they are now speaking out and saying common sense safety measures were not in place at the time and are now pleading with Texas lawmakers to put in place stronger safety standards at youth camps throughout the state.

Cece Williams Steward told lawmakers three generations of women in her family attended Camp Mystic and this was her 8-year-old daughter's first year going -- watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECE WILLIAMS STEWARD, MOTHER OF CILE STEWARD: Obvious common-sense safety measures were absent. Protocols that should have been in place were ignored. As a result my daughter was stolen from us.

MATTHEW CHILDRESS, FATHER OF CAMP COUNSELOR: I taught her to obey orders and authority. She did what I told her. She followed directions of the authorities and that is what killed her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That was Matthew Childress, the father of 18-year-old camp counselor Chloe. And he told lawmakers that Chloe was planning to attend the University of Texas to study pre-med.

At least 26 Camp Mystic campers and counselors were killed in that tragic flooding.

Now, a person in California has tested positive for the plague -- yes, the plague. Authorities say that they were bit by an infected flea -- that is what it is expected -- what they believe where it came from while camping in the south Lake Tahoe area.

The CDC says that about seven cases of human plague infections are reported every year, but the last positive case in that area was back in 2020. Officials say the infected person is now recovering at home.

And a runaway piece of heavy construction equipment seen barreling into traffic and through a busy intersection in Massachusetts. This happened on Friday. The traffic camera footage though was just released, and it shows the moment that this -- what is a 60,000-ton machine -- it lost control. And you see then how it ended. It like shook the ground and shook the camera.

We're told the front loader suffered engine failure. It hit a vehicle and several road signs before crashing into that utility pole and finally coming to a stop. Police say it is a miracle that no one was killed or seriously injured in this. I give credit to that construction worker for how he handled it.

BERMAN: I mean, the witnesses in Massachusetts apparently said that front loader was going wicked fast.

BOLDUAN: I knew -- I was waiting for it. I was waiting for it.

BERMAN: It's going -- it's going wicked fast. It's passing the cars. All right.

BOLDUAN: I'm not saying it, people. It's John Berman who is doing it.

BERMAN: Thank you very much.

All right, a new rejection for the Justice Department, the third in their bid to unseal the Epstein grand jury documents. A federal judge citing concerns over threats to victim safety and privacy, but also maybe more importantly, said that the information in those sealed documents is a pittance compared to what the DOJ already has in its possession.

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig joins me now. And it's that last point I want to focus on here.

I want to read you part of what Judge Richard Berman -- no relation -- wrote. He said, "The government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files. By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a 'diversion' from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the government's possession."

Kind of a slap down from the judge there, Elie.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Yeah, John. It turns out this was all mostly a show, according to this judge and other judges who have looked at this.

You know, the administration, including the president himself, made a big deal about well, we're going to go the courts and we're going to ask them to show you the grand jury transcript. Sounds good, right?

Well, according to Judge Richard Berman yesterday, and other judges, it turns out the grand jury materials were a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the files -- under one percent, according to yesterday's ruling. The information contained in the grand jury transcripts was already essentially entirely known to the public. And the request to unseal was not even within the law in the first place, which is why DOJ just went 0-3. All three of their motions were rejected.

BERMAN: What does it make you wonder then about the disclosure to Congress, right? Tomorrow is the day that oversight chair James Comer says that the DOJ will begin handing over some documents.