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Election Officials Warn They Can't Meet Trump's Mail Ballot Demands; Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) Fends Off Primary Challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA); Soon, Deadlocked Jury Resumes Deliberations in Clancy Murder Trial. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 02, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, not enough money, people, or paper. Election officials say they cannot comply with president's mail-in voting rules. This is after a stark warning from a whistleblower saying the Trump administration's risky plan for the Postal Service could lead to mass voter disenfranchisement.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A big win for progressive Democrat in Massachusetts, and an election result that's defying all of those calls for generational change. How an 80-year-old incumbent fended off a much younger challenger, and what it means for Democrats now.

And a wild motorcycle crash, disturbing video that's gone viral and the luck of an open bus door. What happened here?

John is out today. I'm Kate Bolduan with Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: This morning, new CNN reporting, not enough money, people, or paper. President Trump is pushing hard to change the rules for mail-in ballots, but with just 62 days until the midterms, state election officials are warning it is simply too late for them to comply with all this, and that could mean tens of thousands of Americans may not receive their ballots by Election Day.

The president signed an executive order in March aimed at imposing new limits on voting by mail. Those rules are on hold for now. A judge froze the mandates last week, and the administration, though, is appealing.

But several state election officials say that even if the block is lifted, there is no way to comply in time. One Colorado clerk telling CNN, we're weeks away from ballots going out, and USPS still can't answer basic questions about how this is going to work. Washington State's election director put it even more bluntly, it's just not possible for us to meet the USPS requirements.

It comes on the heels of a whistleblower reporting warning the Postal Service ballot verification system was, quote, rushed and untested.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House for us this morning. What are you learning this morning from there?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, this whistleblower report, I should say, it was put together by the whistleblowers, the lawyers, and then released by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. And there are many people in this report who describe the process, to be blunt, Sarah, as a shit show.

That is the word that kept coming up when you look through this report. They say that the effort to try and do this is one, le- leaving many of them concerned about the timing of this. They said that the system would be untested would not really be able to have enough time to work out all the kinks of this in order for this to work before Election Day, which I should note is only 62 days away.

I want to get into some of the details, though, described in this report. One, one of the unnamed whistleblowers alleges that some of the procedures that the U.S. Postal Service is planning, again, these are all under mandates that were put forth by President Donald Trump from an order he issued back in the spring, have been hidden from the public, and they say those procedures will make an already complicated and risky plan even more vulnerable to potential mass disenfranchisement of voters across the country.

Now, the report comes, of course, as you mentioned, Sara, there are a lot of legal issues already that have been brought up with this new plan to try and have USPS make a list of these eligible voters and then determine who to send out these mail-in ballots to. The agency will not deliver ballots for states if there are any discrepancies between the voter information in the USPS system and what's picked up by agency scanners on the envelopes for the ballots. That is if this order goes through, I should note.

Now, I want to read for you what this key quote from the report. They say that, USPS leadership, it appears, has discarded all best practices as they speed the project to be ready for a September 1 implementation, raising questions about whether catastrophic failure would be a feature rather than a bug.

Internally, according to this whistleblower, it says that the U.S. Postal Service's I.T. teams were going to be given less than a week to test the system once it was finished due to the time crunch of the electoral calendar.

And I would note, a lot of states are putting ballots out very quickly. North Carolina began sending out ballots this week, and other states are joining soon. So, a lot of questions about the timing of this. All to say this could be a major issue, of course, especially if they try to do this ahead of the midterm elections.

But even if they don't, even if the courts get involved and this does not end up going through by the November elections, this could be something that they have to deal with ahead of the 2028 election.

[07:05:06]

So, still, the stakes are very high. Sara? SIDNER: Very high. Alayna Treene, thank you so much for your reporting there.

In just a few minutes, we should note that our Kate Bolduan will be speaking with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. He will join us here on CNN News Central. He just wrote the U.S. Postmaster to get answers and documents about this new process, trying to understand it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes, and what that means from this whistleblower report that he received and put out.

Also breaking overnight, it was one race that brought together the big themes of the midterms, old versus young, progressive versus moderate, and now we have one result, an easy win for 80-year-old Democratic Senator Ed Markey, the incumbent, fending off his much younger challenger, Congressman Seth Moulton, to win the Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary.

Take a look at the vote board. Markey won by nearly 30 points. That is despite the push by Moulton throughout that campaign that Markey was too old to serve out another term, and that it was time to pass the baton to a new generation of Democrats. Last night in Massachusetts, voters did not agree.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Massachusetts for us. She's been covering this race very closely. Arlette, so what happened?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, Massachusetts Democrats chose progressive ideology over concerns about age as they lifted Senator Ed Markey to victory in this Democratic primary. The 80-year- old senator was able to fend off a primary challenge from Congressman Seth Moulton, a 47-year-old who had really put generational change at the center of his arguments.

But the way that Markey won was by really leaning into his support of progressive policies. That is something he believed would hold sway here with voters in Massachusetts. He also made transgender rights a key issue in this campaign after past remarks from Moulton in 2024 that were critical of the participation of transgender children in girls and boys sports.

But take a listen to Markey as he spoke to supporters last night, describing his victory as a testament to the power of the progressive movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): Generational change isn't about compromising to do the small things better. It's about fighting to do the big things best. We will not sit by as you demonize our LGBT-plus and trans communities. We must pass my trans bill of rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, there were also some notable wins in other House races here in Massachusetts. There was Congressman Stephen Lynch and Richard Neal. They were both congressmen in their 70s who were able to defend off challenges from younger candidates. Those younger candidates were progressive, so it was a bit of an inverse in the situation that Markey faced against Moulton.

And then in the contest to replace Seth Moulton, Dan Koh, a former, a White House official under President Joe Biden, he won that Democratic primary in that Congressional district. Koh is one of the few candidates to feature President Biden in his ads this midterm cycle.

But the real big takeaway here in Massachusetts is Markey has once again survived these political challenges as voters decided that concerns about age did not trounce their insistence on having progressive policies in Washington. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. When it comes to Democratic politics, what's happening in Massachusetts is there's a lot of interesting storylines going on there.

Arlette, thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

Coming up for us soon, jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial, they're going to be back in court after telling the judge yesterday that they could not reach a verdict. So, big questions around what could happen today and what happens to Lindsay Clancy if there is a hung jury.

And some unbelievable video, a woman pulls two young children to safety literally seconds before that deadly wall of debris comes crashing through. We have the latest from Nepal and the rush to rescue hundreds who could still be trapped.

And then there's Tiger Woods. He's going to be back inside a Florida courtroom this morning, facing a judge over charges for driving under the influence. We're going to bring it to you live.

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[07:10:00]

SIDNER: Very soon, jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial are set to return for a fifth day of deliberations after telling the judge they'd reached a standstill. Clancy is accused of killing her three young children.

Yesterday morning, the judge told the jury to keep working after they said they were simply deadlocked and couldn't come to a decision. Then mid-afternoon, jurors asked to go home. The judge excused them and told them to return today at 9:00.

Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. The jury has now spent about 23 hours weighing the evidence without reaching a unanimous verdict.

CNN's Ivan Rodriguez is outside court today. What do you expect to hear from the judge in court this morning? What are you expecting to see? IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, typically we hear the judge bring the jury in around 9:00. Those deliberations will usually begin around 9:15. So, we're a couple hours out from that. The judge will ask the jury if they've consumed any sort of media that might taint their deliberations. At that point, those deliberations will begin. And, look, we can't pretend to know what the jury is thinking. I sure would love to know where the jury maybe is not in agreement.

Now, yesterday, when the judge did bring the jury back into the courtroom, when they said they could not reach that unanimous verdict, the judge acknowledged that, look, this has been a very long trial.

[07:15:08]

There have been more 80 witnesses, 300 exhibits, but again, pushed them to continue their deliberations.

Hear what Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, had to say about all of these developments yesterday as he exited the courthouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Kevin, if you have to retry this, do you think that your client is emotionally prepared to do it again?

KEVIN REDDINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No.

REPORTER: You don't think she is? Would you do anything different in the second trial if you have a second trial?

REDDINGTON: I don't know.

REPORTER: Do you think that there's still a chance that the jury comes back with a verdict of some sort?

REDDINGTON: I hope so.

REPORTER: And do you take it as a good sign that they were at an impasse, that it's a good sign for the defense?

REDDINGTON: I don't know that it's a good sign or a bad sign or any sign. It's that they're working hard to try to come to a decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGUEZ: And the big question on everyone's mind today is what happens if a jury still can't agree? Well, at that point, and if we were to see that today, the judge could continue asking the jury to go on with their deliberations multiple times.

Now, if they're still deadlocked, the judge could then declare what is called a dynamite charge, giving the jury a final chance to reach a verdict. If they still cannot do so, then the judge will typically declare a mistrial, ending these legal proceedings, and also opening a door in the future for another trial. Now, let's remember, jurors have several verdict options for each of Lindsay Clancy's three children, where the options include not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter. And now we're a couple hours away, Sara, for jurors entering their fifth day of deliberations.

SIDNER: We will just have to wait and see what happens, like everyone else.

Ivan Rodriguez, thank you so much for your reporting there from Massachusetts.

All right, ahead, the threat is not over. Heavy rain, winds up to 70 miles per hour, and tens of thousands of people under flood watches in Texas and Louisiana. What we're expecting today and when.

And this video is, whoa, mind-blowing, shocking, a motorcyclist crash going viral this morning. A rider catapults into an open bus door. New details on how this all happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Parts of Texas on flood watch this morning after Edouard made landfall yesterday with lots of heavy rain and winds gusting up to 70 miles an hour. Some areas saw more than six inches of rain in just a few hours. More than 70,000 people lost power.

The storm, thankfully, has weakened into what's called a tropical depression, but it is still a threat as it's moving on and moving inland. The heavy rain is expected to c- to continue through Thursday. And with that, another threat of flash flooding.

CNN's Derek Van Dam, tracking the storm as he has been for us. Derek, what are you seeing now?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, so we are getting radar estimates of over 20 inches of rain that have fallen in some of these feeder bands. I'll show you the radar in just one moment. This is near the landfall location, what was a Tropical Storm Edouard, now a depression moving inland, but, hey, it still looks very formidable on this radar and satellite to me.

I mean, look at that spin. It's well away from the coast, where the landfall point was right there. They're basically like, what tropical storm, right? It's inland, and it's north and east of Houston. But it's not moving very fast.

There's not a lot of wind associated with this, so that's not the threat. It's just gusty out there from Jasper to Liberty Airport, for instance. It is the heavy rainfall.

And I'm highlighting this area right here. We're talking about Polk County into Hardin and Tyler Counties. These areas north and east of Houston are getting repetitive what is called back-building and training rain showers. They're heavy. They're upwards of two to three inches per hour.

And this is why the National Weather Service has just issued this flashflood emergency with a catastrophic threat associated with this. This is the highest level of flashflood emergency they have. They use it very rarely. And this is important, because you can see why.

Look at the rain just moving over the same locations for several hours at a time. This is dumping copious amounts of precipitation. The rates right now, just what we're picking up on the radar, three inches per hour, but there could be cells in there that are four, even upwards of five inches per hour near Hardin and Tyler County.

So, this is a dangerous situation. Look at the radar estimates. I mean, this is incredible. That dark pink there and into the white coloring, that's upwards of 20 inches plus of rain. And it's not just Tyler and Hardin Counties. It's to the south and east, or south and west towards Polk County as well.

So, again, this is away from Houston, away from the large population density of Houston. But nonetheless, we're talking about roughly 100,000 people who call this home. So, flash flooding, low-lying areas, not a good recipe. That leads to very rapid rises in rivers and the bayous here. So, we got to be very careful of that. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right, lots to track. Thank you so much, Derek. Wild weather, man.

Breaking overnight, election officials say if President Trump's plan for changing how mail-in balloting works across the country, if it goes into effect, that tens of thousands of people may not be able to vote, at least by mail, this midterm.

And you have to see this video. A woman goes toe-to-toe, face-to-face, and everything else with a charging moose to save her dogs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just have a little dog. No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[07:25:00]

SIDNER: Breaking this morning, oil prices down just a tiny bit this morning there, but up significantly from a week ago after the U.S. and Iran traded another round of strikes overnight. The global energy market being watched very closely as tensions continue to escalate, and consumers are getting hit with higher gas prices. The national average now $4.12 a gallon.

CNN's Matt Egan is joining me now with more on this.

[07:30:00]

I mean, it's to be expected when you see the market watching strikes being traded that you're going to see an impact on oil prices, period.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, absolutely, Sara. I mean, the war continues to make.