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Florida Breaks Hospitalization Record As Governor Remains Defiant; Trump's Loyalty Card; Pace Of Vaccine Messaging Slows With Half The U.S. Still Unvaccinated; Concerns About Fake Vaccine Cards As Mandates Are Enacted; GOP Official Who Mocked Masks And Vaccines Dies Of COVID; Gov. Cuomo's Lawyers Push Back On Sexual Harassment Allegations As Staff Files First Criminal Complaint; History Still Being Made At The Olympics. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 07, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. We're only halfway there, about seven months after the vaccine rollout exactly 50 percent of the US population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

But it's not enough, the Delta variant is outpacing us. US is now averaging more than 107,000 new cases of COVID-19 reported each day, the highest in nearly six months. And if there's one place that needs extra attention right now, it's Florida. Over the last week, more than 134,000 people there tested positive for COVID.

To put this into perspective, the US was seeing seven-day averages close to this in late May and early June. So a single state is now seeing as many cases per week as the entire country was just two short months ago. And yet, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is facing a country-sized case count.

He is playing politics despite the fact that Florida leads the country in the number of children hospitalized for COVID-19, he is banning mask mandates in schools and refusing to put in place mitigation measures really anywhere in the state.

And let's go to Orlando, Florida now and CNN National Correspondent Natasha Chen. Natasha, give us the latest here on Florida's COVID situation. It is just going downhill quickly.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Jim, the health officials are doing everything they can. We're at the Mexican consulate in downtown Orlando where they vaccinated about 20 people today. Earlier, we were at a mobile vaccination unit at a mall where there's a tax free weekend for back to school trying to get more of the younger demographic. They did very well with about 70-80 people today.

What we're seeing is that, people are getting the message that the Delta variant is highly contagious, and that people are getting very sick and hospitalized from it. It largely when they're unvaccinated. So in talking to some of the people who got their shots today, I heard from someone who said she lost a couple of close friends recently. And then after a few months of having said she wanted to wait and see what the effects of the vaccine were on other people, she thought now is the time to do it, especially since her children are about to go to school.

Speaking of school, as you mentioned, there is quite a battle going on between Governor Ron DeSantis and some of the school districts over mask requirements, so that is causing further tension in the community. As far as what health staffs are seeing when they are administering vaccines, here's one nurse, the lead of today's mobile unit, telling us about what she's hearing from people when they tell her how they've decided to finally get the vaccine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER STONE, MOBILE UNIT NURSE: They're afraid of the Delta variant. A lot of them also are saying that now they know that like it's not a lot of people were afraid of the vaccine at first. So now that there's more people getting the vaccine and they're more comfortable getting it, and then also some of it is their employers are telling them that they need to get it because they want to take off their masks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And the White House has supported decisions by businesses to require vaccines of employees. But the White House, specifically President Biden, has of course sparred with Governor DeSantis when it comes to some of the strategy is here. DeSantis doubling down on defending parent choice in schools about masks and keeping everything open, Jim.

ACOSTA: He is certainly doubling down, right? Natasha Chen, thanks so much. Amid the dangerous COVID surge in Florida, Governor DeSantis and President Joe Biden have been engaging in a war of words. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON DESANTIS, FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Joe Biden suggests that if you don't do lockdown policies, then you should "get out of the way." But let me tell you this, if you're coming after the rights of parents in Florida, I'm standing in your way. I'm not going to let you get away with it. So why don't you do your job? Why don't you get this border secure? And until you do that, I don't want to hear a blip about COVID from you.

REPORTER: DeSantis who was using your words about "don't be in the way" and he said I am in the way to block too much interference from the federal government. Your response, Mr. President?

ACOSTA: Governor who?

REPORTER: DeSantis. DESANTIS: I guess I'm not surprised that Biden doesn't remember me. I guess the question is, is what else has he forgotten?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:05:00]

ACOSTA: And with me now is Congressman and former Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who is running for governor of that state again. Congressman, what's your reaction to what you've been seeing from Governor DeSantis over the past week?

REP. CHARLIE CRIST (D-FL): Well, it's embarrassing, it's awful and it's tragic. You know, really a head in the sand approach, if you will, Jim, to this horrific pandemic, and the soaring incidence of it here in the Sunshine State, saying that you can't wear a mask if you go to school, and if a school district dares to defy him, that he will take away funding from that school district. That kind of approach, that kind of attitude is hard to believe.

And then he saw a fundraising around the country. He's been to Pennsylvania. He's been to Texas to Aspen, Colorado and most recently to Michigan, it reminds me of a line out of history, really. You've heard the expression, "Nero fiddles while Rome is burning." Well, DeSantis is fiddling while Florida is burning and it's horrible.

People are dying here, we have more incidents of the pandemic than any other state. We're number one, which is incredibly dubious distinction to say the least and we need a governor who understands that his job is important. And he needs to lead and lead well, and listen to scientists and physicians, and pediatricians on this issue. And encourage people to get vaccines and not dissuade them from doing a simple thing like wearing a mask to help people not get this pandemic.

I mean, dear God, our kids are going back to school next week in almost all 67 counties. That's almost 3 million children that will be set into that setting. They're going to be going in together. According to the governor, they will not be allowed to wear masks, and they're the most unvaccinated segment of our society. I mean, that's a recipe for disaster. Pardon?

ACOSTA: I was going to say, let me ask you about that because I wonder what you would do differently as governor of Florida when it comes to the kids wearing masks in schools.

CRIST: I'd absolutely say we need to have a mask requirement, without a doubt. I mean, every scientist I have talked to and I had a meeting with Dr. Gwynn of University of Miami this week, a pediatrician herself. And she said that need to wear masks. It's just the right thing to do. You know, we learned as kids, Jim, growing up safety first, safety first. Well, we're not getting safety first from our governor. And it's amazing and intolerable and almost criminal. To send children in like that is -- it's unimaginable.

ACOSTA: Let's listen to what Governor DeSantis had to say yesterday. Let's listen to that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESANTIS: You have some politicians that say I am going to eliminate the virus, I will defeat it. Unfortunately, government can't just end it, you know, we still have 1918 flu floating around. So it's something that, you know, if government could just end it, then people wouldn't even need to get the treatment of it because you could just end it, right? You can't. So we knew this is something that's going to -- that you're going to have to live with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Something we're going to live with. What do you think of that, Congressman?

CRIST: Well, he's not living with it well on behalf of the people of Florida. Obviously, this is something we're living with for the time being, but some Floridians are not living with it. They're dying from it. And he should be responsible, he should take the bully pulpit that he has, that I am running for, frankly, because I'm so frustrated about what he's doing, not doing. And advocate on a continuous basis, wearing masks, doing what's right, getting vaccinated. Having the vaccine is the best way to defend against this deadly virus.

And he won't even go around the state and promote that. Instead, he's out of state raising money for his reelection campaign, or running for president in 2024, which I think is really what he's doing.

ACOSTA: And some cities are mandating that city workers get vaccinated. New York City went farther and announced it will require vaccinations for indoor activities like dining and entertainment. Do you support mandating vaccines like New York City for everyone to participate in indoor activities? Would that work for Florida?

CRIST: Well, I think what we need to do is make sure it's at least being encouraged. We don't even have that in Florida. And so what do, you know, first things first, let's get it encouraged. And I understand some people have qualms about it, and I think it's important to be respectful of that. But I also understand that my fellow Floridians are dying.

So at least we could have a governor who would encourage people to get the vaccines, Jim. That's step one, and also not issue edicts that say that you can't, you cannot wear a mask in schools in Florida. That's insane. I mean, it's just unbelievable.

Every medical and healthcare professional tells you it's the right thing to do. And as governor and a lawyer, you decide that's not what you're going because you're pursuing an ideology instead of the safety of our people. It is unconscionable it is irresponsible leadership. It is wrong and it needs to be gone, Ron should be gone.

ACOSTA: Do you think that the school district should defy Governor DeSantis in your state, just do what they need to do.

[16:10:05] CRIST: Yes, absolutely. And some are doing it. Thank God that they are. They have the courage to do so. They're doing what's right to protect children. A poll came out recently, Jim, last week in Florida, and it said that almost 63 percent of Florida parents want a mask requirement for children in school. They love their children, you know, that is not shocking. That's common sense and that's love, and that's what we need. We need a governor who's got a heart and right now it looks like we don't.

ACOSTA: And CNN has learned that the Biden administration is weighing the possibility of withholding federal funding to spur vaccinations. You are a member of Congress, do you think that's a good idea for the administration to be thinking about that? Well, they got to have, you know, everything should be on the table.

Every way humanly possible, we can encourage people. Whether it's given them $100 check or whatever the consequences might be. People need to get vaccinated to save their lives and not just theirs. But lives of family members and neighbors, and people they work with, and maybe see at a restaurant. It's important to have, you know, every tool in our arsenal in order to fight this. We're at war with this pandemic. We need to treat it like we are. The Biden administration is doing just that, in my view.

ACOSTA: All right, Congressman, Charlie Crist, thanks so much for joining us. He's running to replace Governor Ron DeSantis, thanks for coming on this afternoon, sir. We appreciate it.

CRIST: Thank you, Jim, my pleasure.

ACOSTA: All right. And coming up, Trumps diehard supporters may soon have a new way to show their devotion to the former president. A loyalty card, do you have yours?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:40]

ACOSTA: We're learning explosive new details about former President Trump's attempted coup. The latest revelation involves Jeffrey Clark, who until recently was an unassuming Trump appointed environmental lawyer at the Department of Justice. We now know through sources and emails that Clark was convinced, get this, that Chinese intelligence had used special thermometers to change results and vote counting machines.

When intelligence officials told him point blank, this didn't happen. He refused to believe them. Instead, email show he drafted a letter he wanted the Justice Department to send to Georgia and other "relevant states." In it, these states would be falsely told the DOJ had found voting irregularities and instructed to call a special session.

And joining me now to talk about this, former Republican Congresswoman from Virginia, Barbara Comstock and former Clinton White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart. Congressman, this just gets more and more absurd as the months go on, as we learn new details about this, what was happening around the insurrection. If the DOJ had gone through with this and actually sent these letters to states like Georgia, what do you think would have happened? What's your response to this reporting from CNN?

BARBARA COMSTOCK (R), FORMER US REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I'm so proud of people like Jeff Rosen and his staff, and others at the Justice Department, who threatened to quit and who fought this ridiculous action. And of course, before Jeff Rosen, Bill Barr had also very openly said that these claims were false. And we've now read in books how Bill Barr explained that. And I think it's also going to be coming out in the January 6 Committee, that his own White House Counsel's Office, Pat Cipollone, and others in the Counsel's Office also told him that these allegations were ridiculous.

And at the middle of all of this is Mark Meadows, who is facilitating this all along, who I think needs to be somebody who has subpoenaed all of its documents, his records, his phone records, and his role in this with Georgia, as well as the Justice Department.

It was highly inappropriate, because the people who should have been talking to the Justice Department, and I was a senior official at the Justice Department back in the Bush administration, the people who should have been talking to the Justice Department about anything would have been the White House Counsel's Office. So it's very telling that other people were involved because the White House Counsel had to have understood that this was inappropriate.

But I think this will all come out in the hearings, and it is going to be even more damning for Donald Trump and his team. And it's going to be Trump officials, who were there, many of them till the end, who are going to give voice to that corruption.

ACOSTA: And, Joe, what did you think when you heard about this? It's just stunning.

JOE LOCKHART, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Yes. I mean, listen, these are things we thought we knew, and now we're finding out are true. And I think what the January 6 Commission has to get at is who is involved, who tried to overturn our legitimate election and do something which you know, there's no other word for it but coup, and how close did they get to doing it. And we're seeing little tidbits coming out from various committees on Capitol Hill and CNN reporting about steps that were taken to overturn this election.

We have to understand exactly who was involved, exactly what they did. And then, I think the people who did this need to be held responsible. We can't just say, OK, you didn't do it. Let's go on because we have to worry more about the next time someone does this.

ACOSTA: Right. It's not enough that they're out of power. I mean, they should not be let off the hook just because of that. Congressman, let me ask you this. We learned this week that Trump's political action committee wants his supporters, we can put this up on screen, to carry Trump cards, to signal their loyalty to him, I guess. What's in your wallet might be the catchphrase here. They can choose from four designs. The one with the American flag has the word "official" spelled wrong. There's also some symbols being used here that people have said, you know, it looks like you know, some ultra nationalist type of propaganda. What do you make of all this?

[16:19:56]

COMSTOCK: Well, they've been selling this kind of nonsense for a while but it's vaccine card that is going to keep, you know, everybody alive including Trump supporters longer. Ironically, this -- you see that the people who aren't getting vaccinated, apparently about 67 percent, two-thirds of them are Republicans, many of them might be living in swing states.

So the best thing that Donald Trump or others could be or other Republicans could be doing is getting people vaccinated and keeping people alive. It's the right thing to do regardless of anybody's partisan position on things. But it's sad to me that he -- I mean, these are the usual kind of political things that people promote. I'm sure every other candidate for president promotes this type of thing.

But at the same time, when you're opposing vaccines, whether they're mandated -- and I'll point out, like teachers should be getting vaccines and it's upsetting to me, my husband is a teacher, he's been vaccinated, was vaccinated early, it's upsetting to me that the teachers unions aren't supporting vaccine mandates for their teachers, so we can get our kids back in school.

And I'm fine if they have to wear masks, but get them back into school and get those teachers vaccinated, and get the kids vaccinated as soon as they're eligible.

ACOSTA: Yes, that's a good point. And, Joe, let's talk about what Barbara was just saying there. I mean, this is the same wing of the Republican Party that's been railing against carrying vaccine cards. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): I'm not going to go up there and show my vaccine passport. I'm not going to give in to this tyrannical regime,

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): They want you to be required to have something called a COVID passport. And this would mandate your ability to be able to travel, your ability to be able to go to events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I mean, what do you -- how do you square that, Joe?

LOCKHART: Well, I mean, this is really a tragedy and it's nothing to laugh about, although it is absurd. The Trump Republicans have been treating COVID as a political issue from the very day. Jim, you sat there and watched it from the White House. From the very first day they only saw the politics. They only -- they tried to minimize it at every turn. They tried to push, you know, quack theories about how it could be treated.

This is a public health crisis, people are dying. And this Trump-led Republican Party, it's not all Republicans, but it's the vast majority of them have sunk to a place where getting reelected is more important than keeping your constituents alive. I -- it's -- you just have to --

COMSTOCK: And I would point out there a good Republican governors like Governor Hogan and Governor DeWine, who have been great in leading on getting vaccines. So you're right, it is the Trump wing that is doing this damage. Marjorie Greene certainly is a big offender.

But I do, you know, speaking on behalf of those Republicans who are very pro-vaccine. I am proud of some of these very serious governors, Governor Baker of Massachusetts and you have others across the country, I'm proud of them. And more Republicans need to be listening to them.

ACOSTA: Al right. We'll have to leave it there. Former Congressman Barbara Comstock Joe Lockhart, thanks so much. Appreciate that conversation. And we'll see you next time.

Forget fake IDs, the lengths some college students are going to just to avoid getting a COVID vaccine. That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: This spring as COVID vaccine rollout kicked into high gear was matched by huge messaging push with ads and PSAs from the White House, celebrities, local hospitals and major corporations right now as the US suffers yet another devastating surge of COVID cases and hospitalizations, you might think the vaccine PR campaign would go into full court press again. But the opposite is happening, here's CNN's Elizabeth Cohen.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, a third of eligible people in the United States still have not gotten a single COVID-19 vaccine shot. And so you would think that advertising would be on the rise, advertising to educate and inform people about this life saving vaccine. But an analysis done for CNN shows that that's not the case. Let's take a look at these numbers.

The number of COVID-19 vaccine ads viewed on TV started rising quite steadily in March. And then you can see they hit a peak in May, and they've come down, down, down to really a relatively low number. That's according to the analysis done for CNN by a company called Eyespot. Now, of course, different groups of Americans have different feelings about vaccination. Let's take a look at a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In this poll, 58 percent of Republicans said they definitely won't get the vaccine, and 15 percent of Democrats said they won't get the vaccine. So it's pretty clear who these ads need to be aimed at. They need to be aimed at Republicans. So, Eyespot, they showed ads to people of different political affiliations, and they found something interesting. Take a look at this ad. This is an ad the Republicans did not find particularly persuasive. In this ad, former US presidents, notably not President Trump, talked about why they and their wives got vaccinated. On the other hand, Republicans said that this ad did resonate with them. This is a FedEx ad.

[16:30:00]

Initially, you see people moving backwards. And then you see them developing the COVID-19 vaccine and then everything is moving forward.

The idea that it can help us move forward and live our lives like we did before 2019.

So different ads resonate differently with different groups. But in any case, they need to actually air to resonate -- Jim?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And some great reporting there from Elizabeth Cohen.

Let's bring in Dr. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Hotez, great to see you at always.

At this point, do you think more PSAs would help? Do we need to get that ramped up again?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR & DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, I think some PSAs, but properly tailored PSAs given the reality of what's happening now, Jim.

Something very scary is happening in the southern United States. We are seeing this massive surge of hospitalizations of young people that we've never seen before in hospitals across the south.

You know, there's a forest fire raging from Louisiana all the way east into Florida, along the gulf coast. And now it's hitting east Texas.

And our Texas Medical Center now is getting hit very hard here in Houston with lots and lots of COVID admissions. It's like nothing we've seen before.

It's many, many young people, including, I'm sorry to say, many children's hospital admissions.

And for the first time that I can remember, we're starting to see pediatric intensive care units get overwhelmed, which we never really saw before.

And, Jim, this is happening before school starts. So school starts in New Orleans -- sorry, school starts in many parishes in Louisiana next week.

Here in Houston, Houston Independent School District in a couple of weeks, august 23rd.

This is the warmup act, Jim. As bad as this is, this is the warmup act. That's the message.

We have to make it clear that we're not screwing around. The president needs to be out there saying this is a full-blown crisis like nothing we've seen before.

And it's first and foremost, hitting our young people and hitting our kids. That's got to be the message.

ACOSTA: Dr. Hotez, you're in Houston. This week, we heard the frightening story of an 11-month-old COVID patient who had to be flown 150 miles away due to lack of hospital space in Houston.

I think that illustrates the point very clearly right now.

What is the situation in these hospitals where you are right now?

HOTEZ: Well, the Texas Medical Center, as head of the Texas Children's Hospital, always says to me, the Texas Medical Center has a lot of heft. We have the beds.

It's a matter of all of the nursing staff across the different hospitals in the state of Texas.

A lot of nurses and hospital staff are exhausted, too, and have left their post over the last year and a half. So this is another thing to keep in mind.

It's not just the beds, it's the trained people that know how to work the respirators and very sophisticated equipment as patients get sicker and sicker.

ACOSTA: Right. If you overwhelm the hospitals, not only do you run out of space potentially but you also run out of workers to take care of those patients.

HOTEZ: And, Jim, by the way, that's -- remember, that's what we saw in south Texas last summer. That's where the mortality -- that's when mortality shoots up is when our ICUs get overwhelmed.

Imagine if this starts happening with pediatric ICUs.

ACOSTA: I can't even think about that.

Let me switch gears to college kids, because a lot of college kids are going back to school or entering college for their first year.

We're used to hearing stories about college kids buying fake I.D.s to buy beer and stuff like that. But my colleague, Pamela Brown, reported that some college students are buying fake vaccine cards.

Have you heard about this?

HOTEZ: Yes. Yes. No, I have. It's so self-defeating because you know who's going into our hospitals right now are kids of college age.

And hospitalizations are really ratcheting up among people of that age.

And even once we get them through the hospitalizations, we now have data that says about 26 percent of young adults who get COVID have long haul COVID for months and months.

We don't really have a right-hand bracket on that, how long that lasts. So this is going to affect career aspirations.

Maybe if they want to plan to graduate school, their first job out of college or start a family or their first mortgage, all of this is going to be affected by what's happening right now.

ACOSTA: Yes, it is so tragic. And important for parents to talk to their kids before they go off to college. Do not do that. Make sure they get vaccinated before they go off to school.

Dr. Hotez, thanks as always. We appreciate it.

HOTEZ: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Good talking to you.

A Texas GOP official mocks masks and vaccines, and less than a week after that, he died from COVID. Sadly, he's not the first public figure to downplay the virus, only to lose his life to it.

[16:34:59]

Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. H. SCOTT APLEY (R-TX): The number one thing that we can do to support our local businesses is get out of their way.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was Texas Republican H. Scott Apley in 2019 before the pandemic came along and he became a raging critic.

(APPLAUSE)

APLEY: That's right.

FOREMAN: Praising mask burnings, calling a health official promoting vaccine an absolute enemy of a free people.

And last Friday, echoing a claim that vaccines don't really work anyway.

But just after posting that, according to a GoFundMe page set up for his family, Apley was admitted to a hospital, diagnosed with COVID.

By Tuesday, he was dead. DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The virus,

they're working hard. It looks like, by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. I hope that's true.

FOREMAN: Plenty of Republicans joined Donald Trump's early dismissal of the COVID threat, even as he wound in the hospital from the virus.

Among them, one-time presidential hopeful Herman Cain, who downplayed masking before he went to a crowded Trump rally unmasked last summer, developed COVID symptoms and died.

But GOP downplaying of the danger did not stop then, not even close.

(SINGING)

FOREMAN: In Tennessee, conservative radio host, Phil Valentine, joked about the virus this summer. Then it nearly killed him and left his brother pleading with the public.

PHIL VALENTINE, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: We want as many people as can hear my voice this morning to put the politics aside and go get the vaccine.

FOREMAN: In Louisiana, Republican Luke Letlow died in December weeks before he was to be sworn into Congress. He wanted the vaccine. It wasn't available.

Now his wife, elected to fill his seat, can't believe others still won't take it.

REP. JULIA LETLOW, (R-LA): I would have given anything. I would have given everything for that shot to be available for us. I mean, looking back now and for someone to turn it away, I just -- it's heartbreaking to me.

FOREMAN: Still, a recent poll found nearly a third of Republicans insist they will never take the vaccine.

Even as other people, like Travis Campbell, who just didn't get around to getting the shot, is also begging from his hospital bed for everyone to get onboard.

TRAVIS CAMPELL, CONTRACTS COVID, BEGS OTHER TO GET VACCINE: Please, if you really want to have a chance, don't follow all the TV personalities and social media. Just protect yourself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Very troubling report.

Coming up, the new criminal complaint filed against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and how his legal team is responding, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:42:29]

ACOSTA: New images just into CNN show the devastating toll climate crisis is taking on our planet.

On your screen there, that's Lake Oroville in California. On the left is June of last year. On the right, that was taken this month. And a lot of that water has dried up.

Right now, Lake Oroville is facing exceptional drought right now, the most extreme drought there is.

While the entire state of California is in a drought right now, that is something we'll be keeping an eye on as things go on there in California.

In the meantime, attorneys for embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are hitting back against allegations of sexual harassment calling a New York State attorney general report out this week one- sided.

The report found the governor sexually harassed 11 women. One of those women, a current staffer, filed a criminal complaint with the Albany Sheriff's Office, claiming the governor groped her.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is following all the latest developments for us.

Polo, today the county sheriff gave us an update. What did we learn?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, that's the significance of today. It was the first time that we heard from Albany County law enforcement regarding that particular complaint that was filed on Thursday, as you noted, just a short while ago by one of those women who are coming forward with these allegations against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The local sheriff stopping short of going into detail only saying that it was sexual in nature.

At the same time, CNN in speaking to the attorney representing the complainant does confirm it's the same woman listed in that very scathing attorney general report that was released just a few days ago on Tuesday.

Which many women come forward with these kind of sexual harassment allegations against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

We do know at this point that the next step of this investigation will be -- is now assigned to a team of investigators here in Albany County, who will now essentially team up with the district attorney's office and conduct a series of interviews, including a formal interview with the victim.

And certainly not ruling out the possibility of even speaking to the governor down the road. At this point, it's too early to say.

But in terms of a timeline and how investigators plan to treat this case, when you hear from the sheriff, who says that, simply because the subject of this investigation is the state's chief executive, that does not mean that they'll be either delaying this or rushing this case at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG APPLE, SHERIFF, ALBANY COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: I had a female victim come forward, which had to be the hardest thing she's ever done in her life, and make an allegation of criminal conduct against the governor.

I have a young lady who came in who's alleging that she was victimized. We're going to do everything in our powers to help her.

[16:45:09]

SANDOVAL: So the big question, where will this investigation lead authorities here, and does it lead to that possibility of actual criminal charges?

Today, the sheriff said, if they do, at some point, reach that particular point, then there could be potentially misdemeanor charges that the governor may face.

At this point, again, it's still in its early infant stages.

Governor Cuomo does continue to deny these allegations.

Attorneys going so far as to attack that attorney general report and the latest troubles the governor is facing in addition to a potential impeachment vote in the coming weeks.

ACOSTA: Polo Sandoval, thanks for that report.

A quick programming note. Later today, Rita Glavin, one of Governor Cuomo's attorneys, will join Pamela Brown for a one-on-one interview at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

The summer Olympics are almost over, but history is still being made. We're live in Tokyo with the stories behind some of today's biggest wins, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:50]

ACOSTA: Greatness at the Olympic games. Allyson Felix is now the most decorated U.S. Olympic track and field athlete of all time.

She cemented her place with a gold medal win for Team USA in the women's 4x400 relay Saturday. It's her seventh gold and 11th medal.

CNN's Will Ripley joins us from Tokyo.

Will, what an amazing accomplishment for Felix. Tell us more about her Olympic journey. A fascinating story. WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Allyson Felix, yes. She started winning medals in Athens back in 2004. Do you remember when the Olympics were held back in Athens?

And every subsequent summer games, she's either taken home gold or silver or bronze. I mean she has, as you said, 11 Olympic medals.

This particular Olympics was going to be her last. She knew that.

Preparing for it was quite a challenge. Obviously, staying fit to help in the 400-meter sprint relay for an extra year because the Olympics were postponed.

But she had an emergency C-section in the lead-up to these games and yet still she showed up. She soaked it in and made history. It's really extraordinary.

You know, Jessica Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen's daughter, had a pretty good Olympics as well. She helped nabbed silver in the team jumping final at Equestrian Park.

So some star power for sure. She's actually ranked 14th in the world. I didn't know that.

ACOSTA: That's amazing and a great day for her as well. Will, you got to speak to Britain's Tom Daley, who has become an Internet sensation due to his knitting at the games. That is something that everybody had some fun with.

What did you learn? What a great athlete he is.

RIPLEY: Well, I learned he's going to make maybe a sock for his bronze medal that he just won instead of the pouch that he made for the gold.

And he said that the knitting is part of this mindfulness that a lot of athletes have been talking about, how to stay sane, how to stay focused. He says knitting and crocheting is the way to go for him.

He actually had a lot to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM DALEY, BRITAIN OLYMPIC SWIMMER: It was great for me to be able to find something where I could sit back, relax, knit, have something to stay focused, calm and mindful. I crochet and basically do it everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: We also talked about the fact that he is also a high-profile out Olympians.

If you look all of the out Olympians and put them together as a country, they would rank about tenth in the medal count for all LGBTQ athletes -- Jim? ACOSTA: Incredible story. Maybe Tom could have helped us with an

umbrella. Maybe he could have knit you an umbrella for this live report.

(LAUGHTER)

RIPLEY: I think so. Or glasses holder because this is not a functional wardrobe choice with the rain coming in.

ACOSTA: There you go. You could wrap up the Olympics in no other way.

Will Ripley, thank you for braving the Olympics, and everything else covering these Olympic games. Great report. Thanks as always. We appreciate it.

RIPLEY: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Off the coast of New England, you'll find a group of islands that are stuck in time. We head to the Isles of Shoals in this week's "OFF THE BEATEN PATH."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Isles of Shoals are a group of nine islands off southern Maine and New Hampshire. They're very rugged remote islands, only six miles offshore.

One is home to New Hampshire's only offshore lighthouse. Very picturesque.

Duck Island is a fun island to visit mainly because there are so many seals there. Star Island is the easiest island to get to by public ferry.

The main island here at the Isles of Shoals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at the oceanic hotel, one of the very few examples of a remaining grand hotel from the grand hotel era.

We have buildings and facilities dating back to before the United States was formed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it's just very amazing experience.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I just love that it's so untouched. It's really just beautiful and peaceful and a wonderful place to explore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are plenty of activities, whether it be for the day or a week-long experience. You can take a workshop. You can take out a rowboat.

[16:55:02]

It really is a summer camp for people of all ages.

(SINGING) (LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thing is to relax and one way is to take it all in.

It's a breath of fresh air. You're unplugged, unwinding from the mainland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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