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Rural Town to Welcome Hundreds of Afghan Evacuees; Crews Battle Caldor Fire as Blaze Threats Lake Tahoe Resorts; Climate Change is Real: Here's the Proof; GOP-Led States Rush to Tighten Abortion Laws after Texas Decision; CNN Film, "LFG," Airs Monday Night at 9:00 Eastern; Ex-Georgia Prosecutor Indicted in Ahmaud Arbery Case. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 03, 2021 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:30:00]

MARCOS ANDRES HERNANDEZ CALDERON, FORMER CUBAN REFUGEE: It's very hard, you know. People think it's easy being separated from your country and seeing the other people going through the same thing that I went through. Yes, it's memories there that you cannot erase it.

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OMAR JIMINEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, looking at the picture overall right now, more than 40,000 evacuees have been admitted into the United States at this point.

And 13 percent of them are U.S. citizens, 8 percent are lawful permanent residents, and 79 percent are special immigrant visa holders.

Now, the Pentagon says currently there are a little more than 25,000 evacuees at eight military installations across the country, including nearby Ft. McCoy here.

And there are hopes of boosting that total capacity on the early end of what is going to likely be a long journey for a lot of these evacuees and refugees -- Ana?

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Powerful report.

Thank you, Omar Jimenez, joining us from Wisconsin tonight.

A Lake Tahoe ski resort is using snow-making machines to fight off the massive Caldor Fire. CNN's Stephanie Elam is there.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The smoke, as you can see, one of the big issues on air quality here. But they're making grounds. I'll have an update on the fire coming up.

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[13:36:00]

CABRERA: A popular California resort town is empty ahead of the holiday weekend as flames from the massive Caldor Fire inch dangerously close.

This is the Lake Tahoe area. This fire has already burned nearly 213,000 acres. At last check, it was just 29 percent contained.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is on scene in south Lake Tahoe, the now empty resort town.

Stephanie, crews have gotten a break with the cooler weather and lower winds. Has it helped?

ELAM: It definitely helps, Ana, when you're talking about that.

When we talk about containment, sometimes it's hard to get an idea what that means but they have made ground here. We've seen containment go up the last couple of days.

I'm standing here over a ridge looking at Christmas Valley, part of south Lake Tahoe. I know we talk about it being a resort town but there are a lot of people who enjoy the mountains who live here year- round.

I can tell you, down here in the valley, it is dotted with homes down there. I can see fire trucks driving around on the streets.

There's also a massive mountain ridge over here behind us. When we got here, you could see the flames from that.

All of that creating the smoke, which is leading to this really difficult air quality. And that is part of the reason they are saying people need to stay away right now.

But think about what these firefighters are up against as they're battling these blazes. It has crossed over the border and into Nevada on one of the sides.

The way I'm pointing right now is east. So it has crossed over the border but is going into less populated terrain.

They really do work to protect lives first and also to protect property after that.

They said people really did heed those warnings to get out of dodge right now so that they could focus on trying to save their property. They have been doing that.

I can tell you, so far, the update we got today, is that other residents that they have lost in the Caldor Fire, they now say that's about 660 residences that have been lost. And they are now estimating that they'll be able to get their arms around this fire and contain it at the end of September.

But, again, Ana, and I know this is something you know, fires can change direction. Conditions can change. So that is why they're keeping people away from here right now.

CABRERA: Look at all that smoke behind you.

Thank you, Stephanie Elam, in south Lake Tahoe.

These fires are not just bad, they are breaking records. Three of California's top-20 largest fires happened just this year. In fact, nearly half of those top-20 fires happened in just the last two years.

In all, there have been already more than 7,000 fires in California in 2021, and they have incinerated more than two million acres.

While these fires burn out west, you have catastrophic flooding all the way from the Gulf of Mexico to New York and New Jersey, from a single, but massive storm, Hurricane Ida.

Record-breaking fires, historic flooding, just monster storms, all the result of one thing -- a warming planet. There's no debate. We are witnessing the effects of climate change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): Because of climate change, unfortunately, this is something we're going to have to deal with, with great regularity.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Global warming is upon us and it's going to get worse and worse and worse unless we do something about it.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NEW YORK CITY): We are in a whole new world now. Let's be blunt about it.

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NY) (voice-over): These storms are coming more frequently and with more intensity, so there's no denying it.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These extreme storms and the climate crisis are here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Ida, alone, checked all the climate-change boxes.

Stronger. This was the first time ever, back-to-back years of cat 4 hurricanes hitting Louisiana.

Slower. Communities suffering tornado-strength winds, lasting hours.

Wetter. New York seeing its two highest rainfalls ever in just the past two weeks.

And higher seas causing a lot more damage because water levels on the coast have risen so these storm surges are just that much worse.

[13:40:01]

But why the disconnect? A recent poll finds two-thirds of Americans say reducing the effects of climate change should be a top priority.

One in three, however, say it should be a lower priority with so many other important problems facing Americans today, even if it means more climate problems for future generations.

So when's that wake-up call going to happen, and when's it going to result in action, if not from the record-breaking fires, the floods, the hurricanes?

What about the roads physically buckling in the Pacific Northwest due to extreme heat there?

How about Portland's street cars left unable to function because their power cables melted?

Both of these things happened this summer.

Climate change is no longer something that is going to happen. It is happening right now.

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[13:45:50]

CABRERA: Several right-leaning states are now rushing to tighten their abortion laws after one of the strictest bans in the nation went into effect this week in Texas.

The Supreme Court formally denied a request to block a Texas law banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

I want to bring in Bill Kristol. He served in the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations. He is now editor-at-large for "The Bulwark" and director of Defending Democracy Together.

Bill, you are among those against abortion but you say this law even hurts the anti-abortion effort. You call it a step back or a setback. Explain.

BILL KRISTOL, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "THE BULWARK" & DIRECTOR, DEFENDING DEMOCRACY TOGETHER: We'll, it's so extreme. The six-week limit, which is actually less than six weeks, if you look at the details of the law, six weeks from the inception of pregnancy, and this kind of snitch -- you know, snitch on your neighbors aspect, which seems pretty un-American.

So I think it's a foolish law from the pro-life point of view. It's not going to advance the cause. I don't think it's going to save a lot of unborn babies in Texas. And it's going to cause a big backlash in Texas and elsewhere.

Here in Virginia, we have a gubernatorial race going on right now. So we have a little test.

Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat, who's ahead, is hammering his opponent, Glenn Youngkin, on this issue, saying he's going to preserve abortion rights here in Virginia.

And he's beating up Youngkin, who -- because Youngkin is on tape, from a month or two ago, ducking questions about this and saying, I can't talk about abortion much now, but when I'm in office and control the assembly, Republicans, then we'll go on the offense.

Youngkin ducked questions about abortion yesterday.

So you just assume that McAuliffe is a smart politician, Youngkin is running a reasonable campaign. They know where the politics of this are, at least here in Virginia, which isn't exactly like the rest of the country, obviously.

But still, here in Virginia, the Democrats think the Texas developments are helping them. And Republicans are hiding from the questions.

CABRERA: To your point, all the recent polling shows this law is not popular on the national or the local level.

Recent polls show the majority of Americans believe abortion should always be legal or be legal most of the time.

And in Texas, specifically, more people disapprove than approve of this new law.

One poll shows there only 42 percent of voters support this new law. Another poll finds only 32 percent of registered Texas voters approve of the way lawmakers have handled abortion policy in that state.

So, Bill, Texas has been reliably conservative for decades. If this isn't even popular in that state, why do you think lawmakers pushed it through?

KRISTOL: I think they kind of thought they'd never have to actually live with the consequences of it. It was a sop to parts of their base.

There's been a kind of war for being more and more extreme in the last three or four, five years in the Republican Party obviously. So I think they did it without thinking it through.

One thing I would add, Ana, to your point is, what's it going to look like two weeks, four weeks, six weeks from now? Aren't there going to be stories of people harassed by troublemakers just looking to pick up $10,000, being dragged into court?

Maybe they didn't do anything wrong. Or maybe it's going to be hard to prove they did anything wrong even under this law. This law will be thrown out by the Texas courts or the U.S. courts.

So I think if you think about this dynamically over the next few months, it makes the pro-life movement, which, on the whole, has tried to behave pretty responsibly and go incrementally in its efforts.

People might not like it, might not like the results, might not like the Supreme Court justices, but it's been -- according to the rule of law, it's going to make the pro-life movement look desperate and willing to resort to things that most Americans don't believe in, especially this bounty hunter kind of aspect of it.

And we're going to see it in real life. It's not just going to be me and you talking about what it could be like.

There are going to be reporters in Texas talking to people who are being hounded presumably by these bounty hunters. And for what end? It's not going to reduce the number of abortions either, I don't believe.

CABRERA: Bill Kristol, I appreciate your perspective on this. Thank you so much for being with us.

KRISTOL: Thanks.

CABRERA: Women's rights is the focus of a new CNN film that dives into the fight for equal pay.

[13:50:03]

The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation in 2019. The players allege they are not receiving pay that's equal to what the men's team makes.

A federal court disagreed last year, throwing out the players' equal pay claim.

The judge found that the women's team negotiated a different pay structure than the men's team and that the women's players were already paid more than the men's team. The players are now appealing.

The all-new CNN film, "LFG," brings you a behind-the-scenes look at the grit and determination that these women bring to their game both on and off the field.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYER: It took true blood, sweat, and tears to, obviously, get to where I am today. There were times I wanted to give up. I mean, here I am three-time pro champion, two-time NCAA champion. I have achieved my dream.

I wanted to make the USA team, and I did. But even though all these accolades sound absolutely incredible, we don't get paid very much.

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CABRERA: The film airs Monday night at 9:00 Eastern here on CNN.

Let me take you live to New Orleans now. President Biden just arriving in Louisiana as he gets ready to survey all the storm damage from Hurricane Ida. He's also there to meet with local and state officials about their storm recovery efforts.

All this, as still more than 800,000 people remain without power five days after Hurricane Ida struck.

We'll continue to monitor the events there as the president is greeted by people in New Orleans.

Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[13:56:45]

CABRERA: A former prosecutor in Georgia is now facing misconduct charges for her actions after the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.

Jackie Johnson is accused of using her office to protect the two men charged with murdering Arbery, a black man who was chased down and shot while jogging back in February of last year.

And CNN's Nick Valencia is joining us. He's all over this story.

Nick, what are we hearing from Arbery's family today?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, it was clear that there was a sense of relief among Arbery's family, but also a noticeable amount of pain as they continue to mourn his death, despite these charges being brought forward.

This indictment being brought forward against the former district attorney in Brunswick, Jackie Johnson, who is accused of getting in the way of this investigation, ordering two Glynn County police officers to not place under arrest one of the suspects in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery.

Jackie Johnson is accused of showing affection and favor to Gregory McMichael, who coincidentally worked for Johnson as a chief investigator in her office. This is something that she failed to disclose to investigators.

She also recommended a district attorney in a neighboring county to oversee the county whom she had previously sought the assistance of.

In fact, the attorney general says that Johnson called that district attorney on the day of the fatal shooting and failed to disclose that fact as well to investigators.

Now in a virtual press conference earlier today, Arbery's family, as I mentioned, was clearly emotional.

The mother going so far as to say that Johnson did not pull the trigger but should be held just as much accountable as the three guys who were involved in her son's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARCUS ARBERY, FATHER OF AHMAUD ARBERY: We're so grateful, because everybody that had their hand in his death needs to be brought to justice because, the way he died, it just really devastated my family.

I'm still struggling with it every day as a father. Because you know, it's my job to protect my children, and god knows I do that.

You know, I'm still hurt because all I got is pictures to look at him. Every morning I get up and I look at his picture, I'm saddened by it.

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VALENCIA: The violation of oath of office carries a sentence up to five years. Another 12 months on that second charge.

Johnson has given an interview, May 2020, to a small-town radio station in Georgia denying any wrongdoing -- Ana?

CABRERA: Nick Valencia, thank you.

VALENCIA: You bet.

CABRERA: A Southwest Airlines passenger accused of brutally attacking a flight attendant is now facing felony charges.

According to court documents, Vyvianna Quinonez got upset after being asked to prepare for landing. This is back in May.

When she was asked to stow her tray table, to buckle her seat belt, and to put on a mask for a second time, she allegedly attacked the flight attendant, who ended up with bruises, cuts, and three broken teeth. Quinonez claims she was acting in self-defense.

This is one of thousands of reports of bad behavior on planes this year.

That does it for us today. Thanks so much for spending part of your Friday with us. I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend. We'll see you back here next week.

In the meantime, chat with me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.

Have a great day.

[14:00:03]

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: And I'm Victor Blackwell.

President Biden just touched down in Louisiana.