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U.S. Tops 100,000 Daily Cases For The First Time Since February; Florida Breaks Pandemic Record; Texas Governor Calls New Special Session For Voting Rights Bill; Thousands Flock To Sturgis For Motorcycle Rally As Pandemic Rages; Former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman Joins Jan 6 Committee; Spirit Airlines Cancels 164 Flights, Down From Earlier In The Week; Video Captures Deputy's Collapse After Fentanyl Exposure; Kindness Outshines Adversity At Tokyo Games. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 07, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:06]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: Good Saturday afternoon in the East. I'm Phil Mattingly in Washington in this weekend for Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for joining me. Right now, it is impossible to ignore the sobering new numbers and the coronavirus surge that's happening across the U.S. U.S. is now averaging more than 100,000 new cases per day. That is the worst that it's been since February.

And with that surge also comes more hospitalizations, more deaths. Those hospitalizations now occurring in younger and younger people. The surge fueled by the Delta variant, and the unvaccinated in the hospitals, inundated, doctors are pleading with people to take precautions now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. AILEEN MARTY, DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, FIU: The numbers of cases in our hospitals in children and our children's hospitals are completely overwhelmed. The local hospital here the Nicklaus Hospital has 116 percent occupancy for COVID. That is mind boggling. Our pediatricians, the nursing, the staff are exhausted and they the children are suffering and it is absolutely devastating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: CNN's Natasha Chen is live right now in Orlando, Florida. Kind of the epicenter in that state. The surge of new numbers in cases. Natasha, what's the situation right now that you're seeing on the ground?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Phil, it is very serious. With Florida hospitalizations now exceeding 12,000 people in hospitals right now for COVID-19. The beds are being used up, the hospitals are overwhelmed, including children's hospitals. The good news is we're hearing from health staff here at this mobile vaccination clinic that support this anecdote. When people see a rise in case numbers, there is also a corresponding rise in vaccination rate. People are rolling up their sleeves because they see that the spread is very serious. But back behind me, they've actually done 60 shots in arms today. And just a couple of hours, there is a line right now for people getting shots. So this is very busy relatively to what they've seen in the recent past. But let's take a look at what's going on nationwide, as you mentioned, that U.S. is now averaging more than 100,000 cases daily.

This is the highest daily case count since February 11. The average doubled in less than a week increased nine fold since early July. And unfortunately, this is happening in many hotspots, including here in Florida. And people are noticing. I talked to one family, a mom who brought her three children here to this mobile vaccination site. She said that she recently lost two friends to COVID-19 that really woke her up and made her really want to come here today. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUTH FLYNN, RECEIVED THE COVID-19 VACCINE TODAY: There was scary because one of them was the same age as me has two children, healthy, no side effects and anything. And then when she passed and was like the last person you thought that would go. So that scared me, shook me. And I was like, no, we have to get vaccinated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And she brought her children because a couple of them are starting high school in person on Tuesday. And she wanted them to be as protected as possible. Some of these folks told me that they were waiting to see how the vaccine was going for the majority of people who had gotten the shots since January, since December. That particular family had some underlying health conditions.

So they were waiting and watching. And she said now is the time. Now is the time because they're seeing this dangerous surge happening. And she advises everyone else to do so also. Phil?

MATTINGLY: Yes, fear is the motivating factor. Natasha Chen, great reporting. Thank you. I want to talk about that and so much more. Joining me now. Dr. Matthew Heinz who works as a hospital physician and internist in Arizona. He's also district supervisor in Pima County. Doctor, thanks so much for joining me. I guess it's start kind of top line. The U.S. back over 100,000 cases, despite reaching 50 percent of the population fully vaccinated.

I guess the biggest question right now, how much worse is this going to get before it gets better if you look at kind of the baseline dynamics the country is dealing with?

DR. MATTHEW HEINZ, HOSPITALIST AND INTERNIST IN TUCSON, ARIZONA: Yes, this is something that I certainly have been hearing. The 50 percent is a great number in terms of vaccine uptake, but we need it to be 70, 75 percent or higher. And we're not there. And unfortunately, we're not going to get there in time to really address the spike that's happening right now throughout the nation and throughout my own county here in southern Arizona.

MATTINGLY: So one of the things we're hearing a lot is from hospital workers about, you know, just how devastating this new surge has become. Obviously, they've already been through so much over the last 17 months. It's especially true in a state like Louisiana, where cases hospitalization is nearing record levels. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're stressed because we thought that this was getting better, and now we're working as hard -- even harder than we did a few months ago.

[13:05:07]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been a nurse for 30 years. And I just -- this -- I've never seen anything quite like what we're dealing with right now. You go home and cry on the way home. Many, many nights I've done that. People need to know this is serious. You come in the hospital and people are sick in a way that we've never seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: It feels like Groundhog Day watching those again. But I think the question that no one seems to be able to figure out, how do you get that message to penetrate for people who haven't taken it up up to this point, despite everything they've seen over the course of the last year and a half?

HEINZ: Yes, it's a great question. It's something that I have been dealing with my own personal life. And of course, with my patients in the hospital and look, you have to approach people from a place of kindness and compassion and, you know, goodwill, and you want to inform them, how we can protect everyone. How can we keep the community open? How can we safeguard the lives of our school-aged children now back in school here in Southern Arizona.

And their unvaccinated parents who unfortunately, I have seen multiple unvaccinated 40, 30 and folks in their 20s come through my hospital and require intubation due to COVID. They're healthy people. So, this is a very different variant. This Delta variant is absolutely, unfortunately, just tearing through unvaccinated populations. And it's so important that people understand what they can do to stop it.

And compared to last year, at this time, we didn't have that -- we didn't have a vaccine, not a single one. Now we have the resources and the tools in our toolbox to make it better and everyone needs to get this vaccine as soon as possible.

MATTINGLY: There's a solution. There's an answer. Dr. Matthew Heinz, thanks so much for what you do and for coming on. We appreciate it.

HEINZ: My pleasure.

MATTINGLY: All right. Just moments ago, a critical vote on Capitol Hill, the Senate is officially moving forward on a massive $1 trillion infrastructure bill but with a procedural vote, still some steps to come with the very latest. Let's go to Joe John's on Capitol Hill. And Joe, where are we? Where is this thing going?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been watching this and they've held the vote open a long time, but they are past that barrier of 60 votes. Right now the vote stands at 65 to 27. So it appears that the Senate is going to move forward on the infrastructure bill. The question is, though, what happens next? Senator Chuck Schumer was out on the floor earlier today.

He said there's an easy way and a hard way to do this. The easy way, he says is for all senators to get an agreement to limit the amount of talk on this issue of this bill before they get to final passage. The hard way, of course, would be to slog through hours and hours of amendments that could go either to Monday or Tuesday. Also, the Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was out on the floor as well, over the last hour or two.

Now he said essentially, there's good news and bad news. His good news is that he sees an infrastructure bill as bad news, as good news. But as far as the bad news, he thinks it's imperfect. So listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The American people need roads, bridges, ports, and airports to build our businesses, build our families, and build our lives. Republicans and Democrats have radically different divisions these days. But both those versions include physical infrastructure that works for all our citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So, what is in this bill? $500 billion worth of news spending for things like road repairs, and the rest. And obviously very important to the Biden administration. The President essentially has said he sees this also as a jobs bill, but he also hopes it will be a marker to prove bipartisanship in Washington works and that government can do things that are important to people. Back to you, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Huge moment for the Biden administration. Joe Jones when it's the Senate, always bet slog over any type of quickness whatsoever. I appreciate it, Joe.

JOHNS: You bet.

MATTINGLY: All right. Meantime, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called a new special session that getting underway. State Democrats are fighting to block or restrictive voting law. They left the state to keep Republicans from passing the bill during a special session less than 24 hours ago. National Correspondent Dianne Gallagher joins me now from Austin. And Diane, are Democrats going to be returning for this newest special session?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From the looks of the Texas House floor right now, Phil, there's not going to be enough of them. They should be gaveling in any moment now. Any two-thirds of the members present for a quorum to be reached by the -- that means 51 members cannot be absent essentially.

[13:10:02]

GALLAGHER: And the Democrats have used that to their advantage not once but twice this year, killing a -- an election bill that had voting restrictions and it -- during the regular session in the final hours of that regular session, and then again for almost the full duration of the first special session by going to Washington, D.C. and meeting with lawmakers there in an attempt to have them push those federal voting rights protections over the finish line.

Texas lawmakers have said look, the Democrats are in the minority in Texas, they can only keep this up for so long before it is inevitable. Some kind of legislation that includes voting restrictions will pass. Now at this point, it doesn't appear they're going to be enough to have quorum today. But I can tell you that I've spoken with Texas Republicans here in Austin, and they think that at some point during this second special session, they will achieve quorum.

They say that's from conversations with Democrats. Last check this morning, there were still 27 Texas Democrats still in Washington, D.C. Others have left the city but didn't necessarily come to Austin, Phil. That sets up a potentially a showdown between the Republican Speaker of the House and those members. They can vote for the authority. It's one of the few things they can do without quorum to authorize warrants to go and essentially compel those lawmakers to come back to the floor using state troopers if they have to.

Again, that is something that the Speaker has been reticent it appears to do thus far. But as of today, right now, when they gavel in from the looks of it now it does not appear they're going to have enough members to reach for them on the first day of the second special session.

MATTINGLY: No shortage of twists and turns. And Dianne, you've been there for every one of them. I'm sure we'll be there for many more ahead. Dianne Gallagher in Austin. Thanks so much for your reporting.

All right. Coming up new information on a criminal complaint filed against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with the Alberni County Sheriff revealed just a short time ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:06]

MATTINGLY: Just a short time ago, the Albany Sheriff gave us the first public details of the first criminal complaint filed against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. His accuser is one of the 11 women cited in a damning report from the State's Attorney General alleging sexual harassment by the Governor. Polo Sandoval is with us now from Albany. And Polo, we watched it live last hour. What did you take away from that press conference?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So in short here, Phil, what we saw was Craig Apple, the Albany County Sheriff, bring us up to speed on one of their latest investigations in which the subject of the investigation is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo here, providing a window and a timeline on what we can potentially expect here in the days and weeks or possibly months to come here as they continue to investigate these particular allegations here.

Telling us a little bit more about that meeting that took place on Thursday between a woman that so far has only been identified in the recent Attorney General's sex -- sexual harassment report against Governor Cuomo as executive assistant number one. Wouldn't go into great details about actually what was actually discussed between this woman and investigators citing the ongoing investigation.

But at the same time also mentioned that by now many people have read that report in which this woman describes this encounter with the governor at least one of several encounters, one of them as recent as November in which she claimed that she was fondled by the governor. So what we heard from the sheriff right now just a short while ago is basically describe what will happen next, they will now bring her back for a formal interview.

And then team up with Albany County District Attorney to try to determine whether or not this may actually lead to potential criminal charges for the governor. I want you to hear directly from Sheriff Apple himself as far as how they plan to actually treat this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG APPLE ALBANY COUNTY SHERIFF: We have a lot of fact finding to do we have a lot of interviews to do. And you know what, I'm not going to rush it because of who he is. And I'm not going to delay it because of who he is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Now, in terms of what can potentially happen when and if this investigation leads into possible charges, the sheriff telling me that it would be his agency that would be responsible for actually making arrest. Obviously, we're getting ahead of ourselves here. So the -- what we heard from investigators here saying right now the focus is to actually sit down once again with this -- we described as a victim.

And then really get more from her as they continue to explore their options here. Meanwhile, as for Governor Cuomo, he has obviously repeatedly denied these allegations. And as recently as just yesterday, his legal team, not only denying these allegations, but specifically attacking the Attorney General's report saying that it purposely omitted information that would have been favorable to the Governor.

MATTINGLY: Polo, can I ask you? So many have been curious about down here in Washington, what are New Yorkers saying about what should happen next with their current governor?

SANDOVAL: Well, Phil, I would point you to a -- some polling that -- some Quinnipiac polling that was actually just recently in the last couple of days here showing that a vast majority of New Yorkers believe that he in fact, should actually step down about 70 percent of it. Now, what's really notable here is that polling was done in the days following the release of that controversial Attorney General report just earlier this week.

So that's certainly telling, and also went as far to sit -- to indicate that about 55 percent of those New Yorkers who participated in the poll would actually like to see criminal charges filed against the Governor. So that also speaks to what the last 48 hours have meant that now he faces the possibility of criminal charges, as in addition to the political fallout and an impeachment vote that we could see among lawmakers here in Albany in the next couple of weeks.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Still making clear he's going to fight at least for now. Polo Sandoval on the scene for us in Albany. Thank you very much, my friend. And a quick programming note later today, Rita Glavin, Governor Cuomo's personal attorney will join Pamela Brown for a one on one interview. You can watch that tonight at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

Just ahead, bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. It's a real thing. President Biden's infrastructure plan, start to move forward.

[13:20:00]

MATTINGLY: We'll talk about the President's successes and challenges coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:24:31]

MATTINGLY: I want to take you now back to our breaking news from Capitol Hill. A trillion-dollar infrastructure bill has passed a key hurdle in the United States Senate. Procedural hurdle but it's still a key move forward. Today's vote moving forward, this bill, it's a critical step in what the administration sees as a critical component and potential major victory. The bipartisan group that has been working for months to try and lock in this deal.

I want to talk about all of this and much more with me now. Jackie Alemany, Congressional Correspondent with the Washington Post and the author of the newspaper's must read every morning, Power Up. Also with me is Jeff Mason, White House Correspondent for Reuters. He sits next to me in the briefing room.

[13:25:09]

MATTINGLY: He asked smarter questions than me, and I'm generally jealous of him. Guys, thanks so much for joining us. Jackie, I know you're spreading all over the place right now. So appreciate the time. Jeff, I want to start with you. You know, I -- look, this is a procedural vote. But anytime you're getting over 60, you're moving the ball down the field. That's a positive thing. How does the administration when you talk to officials over their view, what's happening this weekend in the Senate with this bill? JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Well, number one, I think they think it's going to happen. And that's a huge victory for Biden, once it does. I think they've been cautious because it's taken a while. And we know that President Biden's been watching from Delaware and his make will probably come back early from what was to be a vacation and is turned into just a long weekend in order to be around as negotiations or as the talks about the bill go forward.

But number one, the fact that this has passed this procedural hurdle is a great sign for them. And it's a great sign for bipartisanship, which was just really important to this president. That may change or is certainly going to change with the reconciliation bill. But this piece, this piece of actual infrastructure, is something that he will be able to claim was done with support from both sides.

MATTINGLY: Yes, with a lot of people who question whether that was possible for months on end. Jackie, you know, one of the interesting elements here, and it's tough to -- I don't want to go down like the procedural rabbit hole. But like, there's a tricky path forward. You know, Jeff mentioned, there's a second piece of this. And there are progressives who are not super thrilled despite the $1.2 trillion price tag about this bill.

I want you to listen to what one progressive in particular how to kind of frame this proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): It's an extraordinary achievement for President Biden to get this bipartisan deal. It's going to deliver rural broadband, roads, bridges, airports, it's bipartisan, and many House Democrats will support it. But we will support it after we also have a reconciliation bill that has climate goals, that has renewable energy, that has actually fiber to rural, that has energy efficiency standards. That's equally important. And we want to get both done. And we will get both done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: So, what I like there about what Ro Khanna is doing is he's not attacking the bill, publicly. But he's making clear this isn't going anywhere until progressives get what we want in the second bill. How's this all going to play out?

JACQUELINE ALEMANY, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes, Phil. And apologies for the mask. I'm sitting outside the senate floor stalking senators right now who are behind closed doors crafting this last-minute language and figuring out how they're going to -- they're going to -- if and how they're going to vote on these amendments. But you raise a very valid point that this weekend is only the beginning of the path ahead for this bill to actually become legislation.

And that is because Nancy Pelosi repeated yesterday who promised to make sure that this will be done in tandem with the reconciliation bill. So -- and I think that we've been so focused on this bipartisan infrastructure bill that we've sort of forgotten about the fact that Senate leadership and lawmakers are also behind closed doors, figuring out the contours and hashing out the reconciliation bill right now which is already raising eyebrows for progressives.

We reported this week that Tom Harper's committee at EPW, for example, is receiving a fraction of the money that they intended to and hoped to have that would implement some of Biden's loftiest climate ambitions. I imagine and they're anticipating some of these progressive senators for there to be uproar in the House, if these aren't included in the reconciliation bill. But Nancy Pelosi has a tricky job ahead of her as she's going to have to placate more moderate Democrats who are likely to apply more and more pressure on her.

To go through with this bipartisan infrastructure bill without the reconciliation package because they wanted to strike while the iron is hot.

MATTINGLY: Yes. It's such a high-wire act. It's so kind of fascinating to watch it play out. I think the Biden administration would be thrilled if you asked them six months ago, and told them they'd be in this place. They'd be thrilled by it. But acknowledge there's a lot of hard work ahead. Jeff, I want to get to, you know, the thing that dominated our week at the White House was the Delta variant. Right?

This huge piece of the President's agenda is moving. But the White House has clearly had to make a 180-degree turn back to COVID. I'm interested, when the President says more is coming in terms of new restrictions, new guidelines, what's your sense of what that might mean over the course of the next couple of weeks?

MASON: Well, that's a great question. And he did say that it's -- what seemed like sort of a summary of what he considered his big accomplishments over the last six months yesterday before taking off for Delaware. I think in terms of what might be coming next, one, they're clearly discussing other ways to maybe not just incentivize but to hold sort of a stick over nursing home, states, et cetera to encourage vaccination by perhaps withholding funding for Medicare and Medicaid.

[13:30:03]

MASON: Those types of discussions are at the very early stage.

But I think we are seeing the White House shift from the carrots to the stick aspect of the strategy. And we saw that in the last week, Phil, when the president announced all federal workers need to be vaccinated or be tested.

That's a reflection of the fact that this White House probably -- and I know that officials said this -- did not anticipate how many people in this country would not take advantage of the vaccine.

Now they're moving on to what else can we do to make sure that happens because of the brutal and fast spreading Delta variant. MATTINGLY: Yes. If you want to see how things are changing real time,

look at Jackie, wearing a mask in the U.S. Senate, something I didn't think we would see again.

Guys, thanks for your time.

Jackie, especially, I know you're hard at work, sprinting all over the place. I appreciate it.

Two reporters that you have to read.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTINGLY: But if you're a reporter, you're terrified to read because they have something you don't.

Guys, I appreciate the time.

MASON: Back at you.

MATTINGLY: Up next, she nearly lost her baby because of coronavirus. This new mother has an important message after waiting 10 days to hold her child.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:51]

MATTINGLY: A massive motorcycle rally in South Dakota this weekend is revving up concerns about coronavirus. Organizers expect more than 700,000 people to visit Sturgis over the next week.

Last year's rally was labeled a super-spreader event. The CDC says hundreds of cases were linked back to people who attended.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in Sturgis.

Adrienne, what are you hearing? Are people worried about spread of the Delta variant?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Phil, the majority of riders we talked to in Sturgis say they're not concerned.

For example, the rider behind us is from Colorado. The cluster of bikes on the other side are from Utah.

People come from all corners of the country. For many of them, this is an escape from cities and towns where they don't have to deal with COVID restrictions.

Last year, the rally was blamed on a spike in COVID cases. There were about 649 cases, including one death linked to the rally.

This year, more people are expected to show up. An estimated 700,000. Sturgis is a small town of about 7,000.

I talked to one rider from Minneapolis and asked him, are you worried at all about COVID or rise of the Delta variant?

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I got my shot, I am vaccinated.

BROADDUS: Did you get the vaccine?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hell no. Ain't getting it until they tell you it isn't making you sterile and kill your (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

I don't trust it. It is not approved yet, but.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What everybody else does, that's up to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: It is that attitude that troubles Sturgis residents, Carol and Mike Felner. They packed their bags, getting out of town. They said when they return, they'll avoid downtown Sturgis and the city for about two weeks.

That's because health officials say about 10 days from rally start, you'll see a spike, likely see a spike in cases not only in Sturgis but across the country.

Here's the problem. Phil, some people are watching at home and say what's the big deal, the rally is taking place outside.

Increased risk happens when people step inside, for example, when they flood bars, or are shoulder to shoulder in tattoo parlors.

Right now, that defiant roar from the riders is silencing any fears of a pandemic or COVID.

Back to you, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Sounds that way.

Great reporting as always. Addrienne Broaddus, thank you.

An unvaccinated woman, who became infected with COVID-19 when she was 28 weeks pregnant and nearly died, is urging others to get the vaccine.

Our affiliate in Hawaii shares this new mom's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER, CNN AFFILIATE: All smiles and fist pumps when Dais (ph) Colene Bonds, from Oahu's north shore, was finally released from the hospital.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

DAIS (ph) COLENE BONDS, INFECTED WITH COVID WHILE PREGNANT: I had no idea I would be so sick from COVID. I had no idea. I am 36. I am healthy, I'm young.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Colleen was in the Queens ICU nearly two weeks, intubated, hooked up to a ventilator. She was 28 weeks pregnant, unvaccinated, and got COVID from her husband.

COLLEEN BONDS: I think I intended being vaccinated beforehand, a little worried about being vaccinated while pregnant, since I lost a pregnancy before.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: To save her baby, doctors performed an emergency c-section.

COLLEEN BONDS: They said they had a hard time keeping me sedated enough after they told me that they had taken my daughter. I wanted to see her I guess.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Her baby girl weighed just three pounds. She tested negative for COVID and is in the NICU at the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.

COLLEEN BONDS: I am going to meet my daughter for the first time today. She was born 10 days ago and I haven't met her. I get to go see her today.

[13:40:09]

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She named her Luna Rose.

Colleen and her husband are thankful to frontline workers at Queens for saving her and her baby's life.

But she knows she is not the only one. Doctors in Hawaii say about 3 percent to 5 percent of hospitalized COVID patients are pregnant women and none are vaccinated.

COLLEEN BONDS: I am a success story in this ICU. I've heard there's a lot of really sick people all around me right now who are in really bad situations and are going to be here a long time, and really uncomfortable situations.

I encourage people to do research and talk to medical professionals about how they feel about being vaccinated and take it seriously. Take it seriously.

Me and my husband both got really sick. It is no joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Such an important report.

Thanks to our affiliate in Hawaii for that.

Two leading organizations representing obstetricians and gynecologists recommend pregnant women be vaccinated against COVID-19. Keep that in mind. Remember that.

Up next, a dramatic rescue caught on camera. A police officer comes in close contact with an invisible killer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:53]

MATTINGLY: Former Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman is joining the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

He's a former member of the House Freedom Caucus, but an outspoken critic of former President Trump.

He makes the third Republican on the committee, in addition to Congresswoman Liz Cheney and Congressman Adam Kinzinger.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is my in-House legal expert on all things, joins me from Washington.

I think the question, what does he bring to the table for this committee?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE REPORTER: Phil, he does bring a little more bipartisan credential. There are two Republican members on the committee. He is going to be serving as senior technical adviser.

But more so than having bipartisanship that he is bringing to this, he is also a former Air Force intelligence officer. He is going to have that particular knowledge that he is going to bring as a staffer as they're reviewing January 6th.

He released a video last night. Here he is speaking about his role.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM VIRGINIA: I can't worry about color of jerseys, whether you have "R" or "D" next to your name.

It's time to look in a fact-based way to what happened January 6th and see if we can prevent this ever happening again in the future.

I'm happy to be a part of this. And I want to give me word to everybody, I'm going to do this in a way that's professional, that's transparent, and ethical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: At this time, this committee is still being set up. It's in the infant phase. They're bringing him on board. Speaker Pelosi is doing different things with the committee. One of

the things they're doing, they're preparing to issue subpoenas. They could call in witnesses, gathering documents.

One of the colleagues, Zack Cohen, warned there was consideration of whether they get the Trump White House call logs from January 6th, that could lead to big debate, a big fight in court even.

One of the other things to remember about the committee, as it is being set up, is that it is not just looking at January 6th itself. It is also looking at the lead up to January 6th. That's a big task for this type of committee.

There are two other committees on the Hill that had a foray into investigating that.

The House Oversight Committee had started to interview witnesses, specifically from the Justice Department, former officials who had been pressured by the White House and by Trump to carry forward or give him cover to state election fraud claims that the Justice Department didn't believe in. They pushed back on that.

Those people were going into speak to the House Oversight Committee but they didn't. Instead, they went to the House Judiciary Committee.

We heard from two Justice Department officials that may be hearing from the House Oversight Committee.

MATTINGLY: Amazing thing, Katelyn, is you can keep track of this, mostly off the top of your head. While the rest of us look at this maze and think, how, what, everything --

Katelyn Polantz, as always, letting us know exactly what is going on. I think you have a lot of work ahead of you, my friend.

Thank you very much.

POLANTZ: Thanks, Phil.

MATTINGLY: Long lines, cancelled flights, stranded travelers. It has been a nightmare for Spirit Airline passengers the past week.

The airline blames disruptions on, quote, "operational issues," like weather and flight crew problems.

Today, the airline cancelled 164 flights. They're down from earlier in the week.

Details from CNN aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION & TRANSPORTATION CORRESPONDENT: Spirit Airlines hopes this is the beginning of the end of serious issues that dogged its operation for days. Spirit cancelled more than 250 flights on Friday, a third of the total

flight schedule for the day. More than 450 flights on Thursday, more than half the total schedule that day.

Spirit says there have been overlapping operational issues, and attributes problems to weather issues, crew shortage issues, and crash of the computer system that deals with scheduling.

Now Spirit says they're getting crews back in position and that cancelations should subside in the coming days.

Even still, there are a lot of angry passengers stranded at airports across the country.

[13:50:04]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very angry. I'm pissed. This is the worst airline that I ever saw in my life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to get to my destination and never have to deal with Spirit Airlines again.

MUNTEAN (on camera): Have you ever had an airline experience this bad before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. This is actually the first time in all of my years that I've encountered something like this.

MATTINGLY: This could hurt Spirit's reputation in the short-term. But in the long-term, it really will not have much of a business impact.

He says eventually people will forget all of this if the ticket price is right.

Pete Muntean, CNN, BWI Airport.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:19]

MATTINGLY: A deputy in San Diego collapsed and nearly died after being exposed to Fentanyl while searching in a car during an arrest.

Those dramatic frightening moments caught by a deputy's body camera last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED SAN DIEGO SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: I ran over to him and I grabbed him and he was O.D.'ing.

You're OK. Don't be sorry. Please. I've got you, OK? I'm not going to let you die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: That was deputy David Faiivae who collapsed. Fortunately, his field training officer acted quickly and administered Narcan.

They describe the terrifying moments after falling to the ground.

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DAVID FAIIVAE, DEPUTY, SAN DIEGO SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: I remember not feeling right on that fall back and I don't remember anything.

UNIDENTIFIED SAN DIEGO DEPUTY: Try to get him to focus on just breathing and because that Fentanyl, you can't breathe.

FAIIVAE: It was in an instant. My lungs locked. I couldn't breathe. I was trying to gasp for breath but I couldn't breathe at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Remarkable. Faiivae rushed to the hospital and, thankfully, recovered.

Allyson Felix, GOAT status. She became the most decorated track and field athlete in Olympic history today. Eleven medals in all, passing the legendary Carl Lewis after the American women won gold in the 4X4 relay.

And while it was far from clear whether the games would even happen, given the global pandemic, memorable for reasons beyond the COVID hurdles.

CNN's Will Ripley explains from Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The legacy of Tokyo 2020 may not be measured in medals or COVID cases, but acts of kindness, moments of grace. Olympians choosing humility over hubris.

American gymnast, Simone Biles, cheering on her teammates even as she was struggling to compete.

American swimmer, Annie Lazor, hugging her South African competitor, Tatyana Schumaker, who broke a world record to win gold.

ANNIE LAZOR, U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMER: To have someone right next to me break a world record, just as a fan of the sport in general, that's something that's pretty amazing to happen to you.

RIPLEY (on camera): Given there were no spectators and you were in this bubble in the middle of a pandemic, do you think that brought the athletes closer, this experience?

LAZOR: Definitely more of a sense of, we're just really happy that this is happening, really happy to be here.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Happiness written on the faces of the first ever Olympic skateboarders. SKY BROWN, GREAT BRITAIN BRONZE MEDALIST, SKATEBOARDING: Skateboard

winning is one big family. Getting on the podium with two of my favorite people is, like, awesome.

ROB KOEHLER, DIRECTOR GENERAL, GLOBAL ATHLETE: I think that we're seeing the camaraderie between athletes now.

There's always something good that comes from something bad. And I think this is part of what the pandemic has done is created a better community of athletes that are supporting each other under very difficult conditions in Tokyo.

To be supporting each other is huge.

RIPLEY: Support spanning across continents and badminton courts. When Denmark dethroned China to win gold in the men's singles, the players traded shirts as a symbol of respect.

These Qatari and Italian high jumpers, friends and competitors for years, opted out of a jump-off, deciding to share the gold.

GIANMARCO TAMBERI, ITALIAN GOLD MEDALIST, HIGH JUMP: It was just amazing. And sharing with a friend is even more beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED QATARI HIGH JUMPER: Thank you.

RIPLEY: There were high fives and helping hands. After falling during the 800 meter, these runners from the U.S. and Botswana finished the race arm in arm.

A legacy of kindness and camaraderie outshining even the Olympic flame.

Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: A great piece from Will.

And shoutout from U.S. baseball team. Silver medal, my guys. I love watching it.

Tonight, we'll take you to a community in South Dakota where people live in converted military bunkers because of their fears about the outside world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:59:40]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who knows what's really going to happen?

Wake up the next morning and it's going to be chaos, a gradual slow thing and say, you know what this world is doing.

And I'm out here in the middle trying to avoid it. If worse comes to worse, I lock us in this bunker.

There's four feet of four feet of dirt.