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Hurricane Ida Aftermath; President Biden Meets With Ukrainian President; Restrictive Texas Abortion Law; School Shooting in North Carolina. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired September 01, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:22]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Welcome to NEWSROOM. I'm Alisyn Camerota. Victor is off today.

And just when you think the news cycle cannot get any more extreme, we have breaking news out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Police confirm there has been a shooting in high school. And that school is now on lockdown.

Martin Savidge has been monitoring the situation.

Martin, what do we know?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn.

Yes, well, we have some positive news that's coming directly to us now in the form of information from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Department. They co-responded to this event taking place at Mount Tabor High School. That's on the northwest side of the city.

They report that one student has been wounded and that police and the sheriff's deputies are now actively searching for a suspect. They say that all the other students are safe. Now, that school continues to be in lockdown. And authorities both from the city and from the county sheriff's department are methodically going through the buildings of this campus.

It's about 1, 600 students grades nine through 12. The initial report came in around noon, according to local news reports. They say that there was a resource officer who called in the shooting. But, again, Forsyth County Sheriff's Department tweeting out now that one student has been injured, that the suspect here is still being sought, but all the other students are believed to be safe and sound, which is the best news you could hope for in this circumstance.

But, of course, it's considered a very active scene. The students were initially taken inside of the auditorium. And it's expected, from there, they're going to be moved off campus, so that parents, obviously very anxious parents, are going to be reuniting with those students. So that's what we have for you now -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thank God it wasn't worse, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And please come back to us as soon as you have more information the suspect. Thank you for the breaking news.

OK, now to the huge development in Texas today, where the nation's most restrictive abortion law is now in effect. President Biden calls the law -- quote -- "extreme" and says it blatantly violates the constitutional right established under Roe vs. Wade nearly 50 years ago.

Overnight, the Supreme Court made the decision not to intervene on several emergency requests to stop the Texas abortion ban. This ban outlaws abortion starting at six weeks. That's before most women know they're pregnant.

The law does permit an abortion under some so-called medical emergencies, but not in the cases of incest or rape. Even more unprecedented is the way it's enforced, not through state law enforcement, but by letting any private citizen anywhere in the U.S. sue anyone who aided in the abortion, meaning a counselor who talked to a pregnant woman, an Uber driver who gave a pregnant woman a ride.

The head of Planned Parenthood fears other states may follow Texas' lead, and that women of color and low-income women in particular will not be able to get the medical care they need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXIS MCGILL JOHNSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Texas has literally turned back the clock 50 years. So it's an incredibly dark day, not just for the seven million women of Texas, but also to the 80 percent of Americans who believe that there should be safe and legal abortion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins me from Austin, Texas.

So, Dianne, just give us the details. How will this law be enforced?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Alisyn, in practice, that's still kind of uncharted territory here in Texas. And abortion providers and advocates say that they're not exactly sure, because no one's ever seen anything like this.

Now, what makes us different from other laws is, as you said, this is a civil suit that is going to be brought on by private citizens who don't have to have any connection to the matter or even prove any sort of injury from it. And they don't even have to live in the state of Texas.

Now, we can talk about who they cannot sue, and it's a pretty short list. It's, well, the patient themselves. Other than that -- and I do want to read the exact language from the law here to let you know where there is a lot of confusion, because it's vague. Anyone who -- quote -- "knowingly engages in conduct that aids or

abets the performance or inducement of an abortion," that person could be liable for a $10,000 fine for each abortion, Alisyn.

And here's the thing. They also would have to pay the legal fees. Curiously, if a defendant wins that suit, they are not entitled to any legal fees, but it's that fee there that the president talked about in his statement.

[14:05:01]

I want to read a portion from it, President Joe Biden saying -- quote -- "And, outrageously, it deputizes private citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone who they believe has helped another person get an abortion, which might even include family members, health care workers, front desk staff at a health care clinic, or strangers with no connection to the individual."

And, Alisyn, some of the advocates that I spoke with today, a protest just broke up here at the Capitol, told me that they are, in some cases, more concerned about a plaintiff who may have a connection to an individual, pointing out that this does not prevent someone who may have escaped an abusive relationship and that abuser from filing suit against their family and friends, and furthering some kind of harassment.

They also tell me they are concerned about what this may mean for cases of rape and for those victims being potentially retraumatized in those situations. Some of these organizations just told me that they have been working to collect funds, essentially, to work on getting people who are pregnant who need abortions in the state of Texas out of state, so they can have the procedure done because it is just too risky for many of the organizations who provide abortions in Texas to conduct them at this point.

CAMEROTA: There are so many ripple effects that we can't even imagine at the moment.

Dianne Gallagher, thank you for the reporting.

So let's talk about that.

Joining me now, we have CNN legal analyst Areva Martin, a civil rights attorney, and CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates, a former federal prosecutor.

Laura, the dark, dystopian undertones of this just cannot be overstated. Let me get this straight. A woman in Texas now has to carry her rapist's child to term. That's the new law.

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It's unbelievable, Alisyn.

And, remember, one of the craziest things about this is how unnoticed it's gone. I mean, this was a shadow docket. The Supreme Court has been silent. They were able to essentially allow Roe v. Wade to in essence be overturned, and they didn't say a word. They haven't stepped in. They haven't issued an opinion. They haven't asked for oral argument.

This is a case that's been on the books for so many decades. They have the idea of a trimester framework totally uprooted now. The idea of a woman being able to make personal decisions, according to what the Supreme Court has said under Roe v. Wade and its progeny, including the idea of when a fetus is viable, that's all up ended now.

Why? Because they were able to do this cover of darkness approach, which essentially says, look, if you have a problem with the law being enacted in the state, you can't sue the state. They have got sovereign immunity. You normally sue the state official whose job it is to enforce that law, a police officer, chief of police, somebody who might be the board supervisor in some capacity here.

What this law does is say, they don't have a state actor whose job it is to enforce it. It can be a private citizen that just says, I have got a problem with what you have done. And I'm not going to even have to be beholden to a specific definition of what it means to aid and abet. It could be, as you said, the Uber driver.

How about the donor to a Planned Parenthood? How about somebody who suggests that the person speak with an abortion care provider in some respect? All fair game, $10,000 bounties per hit. And what will happen here?

This has already gone into effect even before midnight, because those these providers already stopped knowing what was coming to them, knowing all of the different cases that they would have to defend against.

All hope is not totally lost, in the sense that, if somebody were to be sued under this private civil action, well, they can then go to court and say, I shouldn't have to pay this bounty, this fine, because it's unconstitutional.

But Roe v. Wade was supposed to take care of all of this. An individual person or somebody who -- quote, unquote -- "aids and abets" is not supposed to have to case by case at the whim of a private citizen have to defend against what Roe v. Wade already said they could do.

CAMEROTA: Areva, before we get into what the Supreme Court may or may not do next month, just I don't even understand how it would work.

If everyone is deputized to call in a neighbor, to call in some revenge hit on an ex-girlfriend, to call in on a stranger, I don't understand how this can ever be enforced on the Uber driver, the school counselor, et cetera.

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And that's the brilliance, the wicked brilliance, Alisyn, of the law, because these lawsuits may never come to pass.

But the fact that that law is on the books now will have a significant chilling effect on abortion clinics in the state of Texas. We have already seen several of the biggest clinics say they are no longer willing to provide reproductive care to women because they don't want to put their staff, they don't want to put family members and other individuals at risk of being sued.

[14:10:00]

So we may never see this barrage of civil lawsuits where people can collect $10,000 and collect their legal fees. The fact that the law exists has effectively and immediately ended what some advocates say is 85 percent of all abortions in the state of Texas.

CAMEROTA: One of the jaw-dropping ironies of this ladies -- and, Laura, I will start with you -- is that Governor Greg Abbott has banned mask mandates and vaccine mandates in his state trying to battle COVID because he says he doesn't want the state involved in making medical decisions for your family.

Here's what he says: "Texans, not government, should decide their best health practices."

I mean, he obviously should have gone on to say, except for women.

COATES: Except for women, because, apparently -- and just think about just how odd and absurd this is.

They're saying that the government should have no part in trying to tell you to wear a mask, even though it might negatively impact unvaccinated children. That same argument about the -- whether the government has a right to control your body or your health decisions in some form or fashion, that doesn't apply at all when you're talking about abortion, apparently, even though the same logic should apply if you're speaking about concern for presumed children.

And so this notion here is so inconsistent, and why you also know that this is really not founded in logic. There is, as Areva so brilliantly said, the wicked brilliance of the litigation strategy.

But that is obviously countered by the absurdity of the hypocrisy that's involved here. And it should not go unnoticed, of course, that, remember, the Supreme Court has not -- as its current composition, has not demonstrated an overwhelming love and appreciation for Roe v. Wade.

The expectation is that they will continue to be hostile to Roe v. Wade. And just note that, without saying a word, they were able to effectuate what is presumed to happen if they do decide the next case on Roe v. Wade. This is not how it's supposed to go.

Imagine, if you will, somebody in another instance, says, you know what, I have got a problem with guns being purchased. Let's have a state law that allows any private citizen to have a $10,000 fine and can sue somebody on anyone who aids and abets gun ownership in this country.

People would be coming out of the woodwork in opposition angered by what the Supreme Court's already said, and individual rights and talking about the Second Amendment. But when it comes to women and their uteruses and reproductive health, I guess all bets are off.

CAMEROTA: Areva, I know that there are some sort of legal loophole that this falls into which puts it in kind of legal no man's land right now, which maybe is why the Supreme Court passed on taking it up.

But what does this mean for Roe vs. Wade? What does this mean for next month, when the Supreme Court reexamines all of this?

MARTIN: Yes, Alisyn, I think the Supreme Court by not saying anything has spoken volumes about the status of Roe v. Wade and the security of it.

We know that the court has three justices that were appointed by Donald Trump and we know Donald Trump made it very clear when he was campaigning that he wanted to appoint justices that were hostile to Roe v. Wade, and that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

And we have to remember, it's not just this Texas case. There is a Mississippi case that involves a 15-week ban abortion ban. And that case is also slated to be taken up by the Supreme Court. I think Roe v. Wade is in jeopardy.

I think women around this country need to understand that today is a huge wakeup call for us to talk to our senators, talk to our congresspeople, talk to the president of the United States, because, at this moment, it is not clear to me that women will be able to continue to make reproductive choices about their bodies, because men, primarily men, but legislatures like those in Texas and other states, have decided that they know better as it relates to what women should be able to do with respect to their body.

And, as Laura said, the hypocrisy is just nauseating. You can't wear a mask, but you can decide that a woman can't make choices about her body. This is a wakeup call for women and men all over this country.

CAMEROTA: Laura Coates, Areva Martin, we just don't even know the ramifications of what's happened in Texas today yet, but thank you very much for walking us through what we saw today.

All right, so, any moment, President Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House. And we have details of this long-awaited face-to-face.

And the power is still out for hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana. They're facing stifling heat, gas shortages. Even food is getting hard to find. We have the latest from the ground next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:19:13]

CAMEROTA: Right now, President Biden is meeting with Ukraine's president in the Oval Office.

You may know that Volodymyr Zelensky has tried for years to secure a White House visit. You will remember, in July of 2019, Zelensky received that congratulatory call from then President Donald Trump, who pushed him to investigate then candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. That call became central to Trump's first impeachment trial.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at the White House.

So, Jeff, what's on the agenda today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, we do know that the meeting is under way right now in the Oval Office.

And President Biden is welcoming the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, here. And, as you said, he has been at the center of so much drama in Washington, but it's his first visit here to the White House, here to the Capitol.

[14:20:01]

It's a meeting he's been seeking for really almost two years, since he was elected. And one thing that he's trying to do and the U.S. is trying to do is reset that relationship with Ukraine, such a pivotal relationship, of course, with Russia, just given its proximity and history.

They're trying to reset that relationship. So, right now, President Biden is explaining his support for Ukraine. He's going through how he has given, the U.S. has given some 2.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Ukraine, really going through a litany of how they are supporting Ukraine in its controversial and contentious relationship with Russia.

But the question here, though, is President Biden going to take questions and talk about Afghanistan? Or is he trying to turn the page entirely from the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan? So we will find that out shortly, when we see the end of this meeting here.

But that clearly is something, Alisyn, the White House is trying to do, is move beyond Afghanistan, as we head now on the first day of September here to the domestic agenda and other challenges facing this White House. But, of course, so much is still hanging over this White House. So many questions remain about how the operation in Afghanistan ended.

But for now at least, the president for the first day in almost a couple of weeks did not have a meeting with his national security team on Afghanistan. You can just feel that they are trying to turn the page from America's longest war -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Jeff Zeleny, thank you.

ZELENY: Sure.

CAMEROTA: OK, now to Louisiana still grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

New Orleans' emergency medical services says it's seeing a 185 percent increase in calls and incidents. Half the gas stations in New Orleans and Baton Rouge do not have any fuel. Power has been restored to a very small portion of New Orleans, but nearly one million homes and businesses in the state are still in the dark and still in the oppressive heat.

Officials estimate the outages could last up to a month in some areas. And rescuers are still busy searching for people who need help, where crews have not been able to access some of the hardest-hit areas yet.

So, CNN's Brian Todd is live at a gas station in Metairie, Louisiana.

So, Brian, what do you seeing?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, we're here at a gas station in Metairie, Louisiana, where we can illustrate how people are just still struggling to just to get some of the basics a little bit more than three days out from when the hurricane hit.

We're at this gas station in Metairie, this Discount Zone. Check out the line over here. These people -- we talked to some of these people in the gas line, in the car gas line. You can see how it extends down this main road here.

Some of these people have been waiting eight and nine hours for gasoline at this stop. Even before the station opened, they were in line. Some of them are just kind of at their wit's end, waiting for eight or nine hours for gas. And then look over here. Look at -- they have a separate line for people in coming in on foot just to fill up their gas cans.

And we talked to some of them. Some of them have been waiting on foot for two, three, four hours just to get their gas here. Now, there's -- the manager of the station told me a short time ago there's a $30 limit he's got to put on everybody to make sure that everybody gets the gas that they want.

I asked him, are you close to running out of gas? He said he thinks he's got enough gas to last through the rest of the day. He's got other shipments coming, but they're coming from Houston. They can't come from the refineries here off Louisiana because those refineries are not online yet. So he's trying to get his gas from Houston. He thinks he's got enough for the rest of the day, Alisyn, but he has got to ration it.

And in a nearby neighborhood in Kenner, Louisiana, we were there a short time ago, roofs ripped off houses, people isolated, running out of food and water. They're wondering kind of when the cavalry is coming to help them.

We spoke to a lady there named Patricia Carter a short time ago. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICIA CARTER, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: We need help. We got elderly people that don't even go outside. But you don't see nobody knocking on the doors trying to see if they OK or do they need medical, do they need food coming here, do they need any water, none of the -- nothing whatsoever.

You don't even see a FEMA truck come down. And me and (INAUDIBLE) we thought you all was FEMA.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So, she thought our crew was a FEMA crew coming down to help them. She's really isolated. She's got arthritis, she's got migraines, she's got high blood pressure.

People like her, she says -- she says there's a lot of elderly people on her street she's worried about. They just need someone to come and check on them, Alisyn. They haven't had anyone come down their street yet. That's playing out in neighborhoods all over this area, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: And, Brian, what about that? I mean, are FEMA trucks and the cavalry, as you said, not able to get to people or what's the delay?

TODD: You know what? In the sense that we have, Alisyn, it's not necessarily that the roads are impassable. You can get to these neighborhoods.

There are just so many neighborhoods to get to. Now, no city government, FEMA, the federal government, they can't get to every single neighborhood, when you're talking miles upon miles of neighborhoods like the one we just met Patricia Carter in that need someone to come and check on them.

So, it's just -- you're talking just vast amounts of territory that need to be covered. And they can't do it all at once. So, it's kind of understandable that they can't get to some of these neighborhoods. But these people have just -- they're kind of at their wit's end. They just need some help, maybe just someone coming and checking on them.

[14:25:10]

CAMEROTA: Brian, it's just incredible to see all those people with the gas cans behind you just trying to get some fuel, even if they don't have cars.

TODD: That's right.

CAMEROTA: Brian Todd, thank you very much with the live shot.

All right, now to this, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy now threatening companies that comply with the January 6 investigation. Why doesn't he want to see justice for the guilty?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]