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Louisiana Residents Face Power Outages, Fuel Shortages, High Temps; Biden To Travel To New York And New Jersey To Survey Damage From Ida; White House May Only Start With Pfizer Boosters On September 20th; Senator Elizabeth Warren Campaigns For Governor Newsom Ahead Of Recall Election In California; Elie Honig Answers Viewers' Legal Questions In CNN's "Cross Exam"; FAA To Investigate Richard Branson's Space Flight. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 04, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:21]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Days after Hurricane Ida, Millions of people along the Gulf Coast and all the way up to the northeast are suffering in the storm's aftermath. It's particularly grim in Louisiana where we have just learned that six nursing home residents died after being evacuated to a warehouse where they and hundreds of others were subjected to squalid conditions including bugs crawling on mattresses thrown on the ground. The state's attorney general is investigating.

Across the state, more than 700,000 people are without power and without fuel. Nearly a third of the state's gas stations are empty. Temperatures are rising and tempers are flaring. In Jefferson Parish, one person was shot and killed over a spot in line at a gas station. For so many, recovery isn't the goal right now. It's simply survival and desperate pleas for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYRA CASTRO, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: I got to sleep in the car. My kids are hot. We're hungry. We're going to die in here. Where's FEMA? Where's the Red Cross? We need help now.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Meantime in the northeast, the storm's death toll has risen to at least 50, 25 of those deaths were in New Jersey where stunning new video shows water rushing into a home after plowing through a basement wall. Just incredible. In nearby Passaic, New Jersey, the search continues after two college students were swept into a storm drain. And in New York, we now know that of the 13 people who died in the flooding, 10 were living in basement apartments.

President Biden is set to visit New York and New Jersey on Tuesday. Our Polo Sandoval is in the northeast. Nadia Romero is on the ground in Louisiana.

Let's start with Nadia. What's the scene in New Orleans? It sounds like people are just running out of patience there.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are. And a lot of people have said to me, Jim, enough is enough. The heat index today, 102. So take a look behind me, this is day one in the city of New Orleans, allowing people to get on coach buses to drive them to state- run shelters in northern Louisiana, like in the Shreveport area, and to Texas just to find some relief.

Now you're seeing a man here in a wheelchair. A lot of the folks that you're seeing that are coming here are from nursing homes and assisted living situations. You just mentioned, Jim, one of the nursing homes that we know that had just deplorable conditions where people died. They're trying to prevent that by going to nursing homes and assisted living positions and asking people if they need help, seeing people who need help, and getting them out of those situations onto these buses to go out of the city.

Now we spoke with a woman, her name is Mary Carter. She's the matriarch of her family, she's responsible for so many people who live with her or live nearby. She said that her house right now it smells of mildew, there's mold everywhere because of the floodwaters that came rushing into her home. She doesn't have power. She doesn't have any source of food. All of the food she had in her fridge and freezer has all spoiled.

Everything has turned rotten for her and she's trying to get out of New Orleans. And the worst thing of it all, she says, there are people who are taking advantage of storm victims. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY CARTER, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Late at night, they be shooting, they be breaking in people's houses. And that's danger. That's why I don't rest at night. I need food and clothes, and I need a place to stay. It needs to be safe. I need to get out of New Orleans. I won't deal with New Orleans no more.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And you just heard her, she wants to get out of New Orleans. Her beloved city where she's been her whole life. She says she's been through so many storms that this storm, Hurricane Ida, is the last straw. So she loaded up on one of these buses. She's trying to get some relief. She doesn't have any clothes, any food, all she has is the clothes on her back, and her family, and she's ready and willing to start over, but she says she needs help to do it -- Jim.

ACOSTA: They need lots of help down there. All right, Nadia Romero, thank you so much.

Let's go now to CNN's Polo Sandoval in Philadelphia tracking the damage in the northeast, which has just been devastating.

Polo, we know President Biden will be visiting New York and New Jersey next week. What kind of damage will he see? It is extensive. POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've been tracking not just

the cleanup but also what happens after the water recedes here, Jim. I can tell you the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation crews have been working around the clock just pumping water out of some of those roadways so that people can get back on them again. And all that water has got to go somewhere. Right?

So how about I show you, in this case here in Philadelphia, this is actually the raging Schuylkill River. It rose two feet above flood stage just a couple of days ago. Now in terms of what happens -- you can see obviously the currents are raging right now so folks certainly not recommending that anybody make their way close to this river here.

Now in terms of what happens after that water is pumped out, I cannot just tell you, but I can also show you.

[15:05:04]

This is just a small example. This case it happens to be an area that's usually used for recreation. You can see what's left behind after the flood is pumped out or the water recedes. Debris including trees and even a jet ski here. But this just gives you a sense of just how swift those floodwaters and some of these rivers in the northeast were actually flowing just a couple of days ago.

Obviously, the water has receded significantly here but at the same time, again, this just goes to show you the force of the water, and one of the reasons why the floods proved to be deadly throughout other parts of the northeast. I spent some time in New Jersey the last couple of days, Jim, which really got hit even harder and seen about half of the deaths that were reported in that state. People there have a long way to go in terms of recovery. Some people lost everything and in at least 25 cases they lost some loved ones.

ACOSTA: And what do we know about these basement apartment deaths in New York City? That has been very tough to watch.

SANDOVAL: It absolutely has. And some reporting from our colleague Mark Moralas in New York now paints a clearer picture of exactly what happened for so many families. In fact Mark reporting that five of six locations where 10 New Yorkers died, died in a situation where a living space was converted into illegal cellar or basement apartments.

You know, we heard a couple of days ago from the Queens Borough president who said in many situations those who may not be able to afford another living situation, there are those who are forced to actually turn to a cellar or basement that's been illegally converted by their landlord.

The New York Department of Buildings saying that this is certainly going to take a closer look. They have received reports of damage in about a thousand buildings in New York City. So what they're going to be doing is they're going to be going back to those locations and actually taking a closer look to see if they went through the right permit process because as we now saw, the deadly potential of what can happen when the water levels start to rise and when the streets start to flood. And in some locations, in some instances, the water fills living spaces, that proved to be deadly.

ACOSTA: Yes. Such a sad situation. All right, Polo Sandoval, thank you so much for that update.

And now to the coronavirus pandemic. CNN has learned that the White House may be forced to slow down its plan to offer booster shots to all vaccinated adults. President Biden announced just last month that boosters would be available beginning September 20th and that Americans should prepare to get a third shot eight months after their second dose. But top health officials are now warning that boosters may be limited to only those who received the Pfizer vaccine because the first data submission from Moderna was inadequate.

Joining me now is Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

This is confusing, Dr. Schaffner, and we don't need more confusing information in the middle of all this. Do you think that the Biden administration got ahead of itself on this issue? What do you think? How do we get out of this?

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Well, I think they did get a little bit ahead of their skis on this, Jim. We still have to have the Food and Drug Administration approve under Emergency Use Authorization the use of these individual vaccines. Pfizer is there with the data. As you've just said, we've heard that Moderna supplied data but it was not sufficient. And J&J has yet to submit their information, is my understanding.

So this will take a little time. And then after the Food and Drug Administration gives its approval, the CDC's Advisory Committee will make some precise recommendations as to who should get these boosters first. But that will be coming very quickly after the Dood and Drug Administration makes its decision.

ACOSTA: And so what does this mean, people who got Moderna should get in line for a Pfizer booster? Is that possible? Or is this only for people who got the Pfizer vaccine, that they can get a booster beginning on September 20th? And what do we do for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients in all this?

SCHAFFNER: Well, J&J will clearly have to wait a while for the submission of data. But the CDC has already said that if you don't have Pfizer available to you, if you received Pfizer before, you can get Moderna and vice-versa. So those two, you can, what we say, mix and match.

ACOSTA: OK. That's good to know because a lot of people have that question, whether or not they can go Pfizer first and Moderna second. And you're saying, Dr. Schaffner, that's OK?

SCHAFFNER: That's OK. We've been saying that all along.

ACOSTA: OK. And I do want to ask you about children because a new CDC report found that more children were hospitalized with COVID-19 in states that had lower vaccination rates. I know we keep hammering this but how crucial is it to have this community-wide vaccination when it comes to protecting our kids?

[15:10:00]

SCHAFFNER: Well, Jim, protecting children, young children, younger than 12 years of age, depends on everybody else being vaccinated. So the better vaccinated your entire community is, obviously the safer schools and the children in them will be.

We want to get everyone in the schools, obviously older than 12, vaccinated. And if you attend school, despite all the controversies, masking is -- continues to be very important.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And one of the really unfortunate trends lately has to do with fake vaccine cards. I can't believe people do this but of course they're going to do it. And I don't know if you saw this, Doctor, but FOX's Tucker Carlson, he actually depended this on his show. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Buying a fake vaccination card is an act of desperation by decent law-abiding Americans who have been forced into a corner by tyrants. You know what's a serious crime? Forcing Americans to take drugs they don't need or want. That's a very serious crime. And let's hope in the end someone is punished for it severely.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What is your reaction to that, Doctor?

SCHAFFNER: Well, obviously I couldn't disagree more, Jim. Falsifying vaccination certificates is obscene. We shouldn't ever do that. It's so much easier to just get vaccinated. We all know that the vaccines work. They're remarkably safe. They protect you and they protect the people around you.

ACOSTA: No question about it. And there is one of those fake vaccine cards right there. It's just unbelievable. Sometimes the forgeries are not so good. And finally, I'm sure you saw this boxer, Oscar De La Hoya, he revealed on Twitter that despite being fully vaccinated he is now hospitalized with COVID-19. How rare is that for somebody who is in his kind of shape to end up in the hospital even after being vaccinated?

SCHAFFNER: Well, it's pretty darn unusual, as you suggest, Jim. It's usually older people and people who have -- who are immunocompromised, who are in the hospital after they've been exposed despite their vaccination. By and large, vaccines are still keeping people out of the hospital and we need to keep focusing on that. That's what they're designed to do. And they're continuing to be successful in carrying out that mission.

ACOSTA: That's right, and the overwhelming majority of people in the hospital right now with COVID, those are the unvaccinated folks, despite what happened with Oscar De La Hoya.

All right, Dr. William Schaffner, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

And a quick programming note, join Fareed Zakaria for a glimpse of the post COVID-19 world, when it comes, we hope it comes soon. How will we work, learn, and live after the pandemic? This "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" special begins tomorrow morning at 10:00.

Coming up, California Governor Gavin Newsom staring down a recall election in just 10 days or now. Some live pictures right now coming in from Los Angeles. He's got some big names coming out to help him. We'll get reaction from someone who has been involved in political causes for decades, legendary director and activist Rob Reiner. He joins me next.

There he is. And we'll talk to him in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:23]

ACOSTA: Less than two weeks now until Californians decide if they're keeping their governor. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom just wrapped up a rally in Los Angeles where he was joined by Senator Elizabeth Warren. They're urging progressives to vote no on the recall election, as early voting already is under way. One recent poll shows 58 percent of likely voters are against recalling Newsom while only 39 percent are for the recall.

CNN's Dan Merica joins me now from Los Angeles.

Dan, what do you make of all of this? Are Newsom allies confident that his voters will be motivated enough to save his political skin?

DAN MERICA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, I can tell you there's a big difference between how they're feeling now after they've seen that poll and a number of polls that show him doing better than he was doing the last couple of weeks. And there are, you know, experts in the state who say that is because of the fact that, A, Larry elder is now rising so Newsom has someone to run against, he has someone to attack, as we saw behind me on stage.

Both Warren and Newsom attacked him pretty directly throughout the speech. It's also because people are now paying attention more. I mean, we're coming at the end of summer, people were on vacation, were doing their own thing and weren't really paying attention to this recall. It's an off-year election in a month that traditionally doesn't have elections. So that's why they think that, you know, people are paying more attention to it and now they're more focused.

And yes, there is a certain sense among Newsom's staff that this is going to go his direction if the polls are to be believed. And I've talked to a number of people here in California who like the way this is going. But they also lived through the 2016 election when they thought that Hillary Clinton was going to be the president and Donald Trump ended up winning. That is front of mind for a lot of Californians here.

What we saw behind me was actually a pretty nationalized speech. Even though Governor Newsom is running to protect his job here in California, what was remarkable is that Elizabeth Warren and Newsom both took a very national tone, spoke about defeating Trumpism, spoke about what it would mean for Republicans nationally to have a Republican leader in a state like California, the state that proudly branded itself as the opposition to Donald Trump -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, that's the thing with these recall elections. It's the GOP voters who could be highly motivated and may actually close that gap that we're seeing in these polls right now.

But, Dan, the Republican frontrunner in this election, Larry Elder, he's obviously made some eyebrow-raising remarks about all sorts of things. But he made some remarks recently about Senator Dianne Feinstein during a radio interview. What did he say and how might that play into all of this?

MERICA: Well, it's funny, as much as Newsom is national in this race, so is Elder.

[15:20:02]

Elder is speaking about what it would mean for Republicans to have him in office in California. Take a listen to what he said about the prospect of having a Senate opening and having a Republican governor in California. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY ELDER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL RECALL CANDIDATE: God forbid Governor Elder should replace Dianne Feinstein, that nobody's seen in weeks. And I'm told she's in worse mental condition than Joe Biden. They're afraid I'm going to replace her with a Republican which I'm most certainly would do and that would be an earthquake in Washington, D.C.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MERICA: I can tell you there are a number of Democrats in California who welcome that message from Elder because, remember, this is a state that voted for Joe Biden by 30 points in 2020. They do not want to see a Republican senator if something were to happen to Feinstein, if she were to resign. So that is something that Democrats are welcoming.

It's an interesting strategy from Elder. Clearly it motivates Republicans but it also could backfire on him.

ACOSTA: Yes, it certainly motivates Democrats, Dan, because it almost makes it sound like it's a referendum on whether you want your next governor to appoint a Republican senator which obviously would tip the balance in the Senate to the Republicans.

All right, Dan Merica, great analysis there. Thanks so much.

Joining me now, legendary director, actor, and political activist Rob Reiner.

Rob, thank you so much for joining us. We're 10 days away from this recall election. The polls are looking a little bit better for Governor Newsom even though it seemed for a while there that he was fighting for his political life. But as Dan Merica was just talking about a few moments ago, this is not your garden variety recall election. There are some pretty high political stakes when you have Larry Elder talking about, well, he might go ahead and put a Republican in the Senate if Dianne Feinstein retires.

ROB REINER, ACTOR, DIRECTOR AND POLITICAL ACTIVIST: Yes. No, the stakes couldn't be higher. And we know now because Republicans, they don't stand for anything except grabbing onto power. And that's what this is, it's a big, big power grab.

You're seeing it happen all over the country with voter suppression, with the law that you're seeing in Texas. I mean, they don't -- we are in the vast majority and it's very, very disturbing that we're now being tyrannized by the minority, and Larry Elder would be no exception to that.

He talks about becoming governor and replacing Dianne Feinstein which would tip the balance of the Senate. But it's also bigger on a national level not just in terms of the politics of the Senate, but look at climate change, look at choice, look at the pandemic. And, you know, Larry Elder is against mask mandates or vaccine mandates. We're facing a health crisis, we're facing a climate crisis, and we're facing a crisis of democracy.

And if people like Larry Elder are allowed to grab power, which we're seeing happen all over the country, we're going to be tyrannized by the minority. And that's what's happening. And so, you know, you say that the election is on the 14th, that's true, but people are voting right now. And the election actually ends on the 14th. And people have been mailed ballots all throughout the month. So people should be voting now.

We cannot allow somebody who could get 20 percent of the vote to control, you know, one eighth of the country and the fifth largest economy in the country. That can't happen. That's a power grab of epic proportions.

ACOSTA: Yes. It's a wacky recall system that they have out in California. There's just no way around that. But Larry Elder has also mocked sexual assault. He said women have no right to maternity leave. He said that women know less than men about politics. I want you to listen to how he defended himself to our own Joe Johns. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELDER: I have a great deal of respect for women. My mom was a woman. I had her on my show every Friday. Only you bring up these kinds of issues. When I'm on the campaign trail and I meet a lot of women, nobody says to me, you know, Larry, I'm concerned about what you're going to do about women. Just you guys. (END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: He says his mom was a woman. What a revolutionary concept there. So he's not sexist. What's your reaction to that?

REINER: Well, you know, we'll have to check to find out if she was. I mean, that's ridiculous. That's the most ridiculous argument I've ever heard. And he is a misogynist. He does talk about women like that. We're back in "Handmaid's Tale." We're going back into the dark ages. You look at that abortion law that just passed in Texas, and, you know, Larry Elder has questioned "Roe v. Wade."

He's not in favor of "Roe v. Wade." Can you imagine -- you know, everybody says there are all these red states are going to follow suit with Texas. Can you imagine if a state like California, something -- now it's not going to happen because we have a Democratically controlled legislature, but to have somebody at the head of a state of 40 million people, that talks about women the way he does, about climate change that he denies, and about the COVID epidemic, it's just -- it makes your head explode.

[15:25:22]

ACOSTA: Rob, let me ask you, I mean, because of the dire straits you're talking about here in California, if somebody like Larry Elder becomes the governor, are Democrats taking this seriously enough? Are they responding to this a little too late? Yes, they've been sending out Elizabeth Warren and you have Amy Klobuchar tomorrow. Other big names are on their way. Is this coming soon enough?

REINER: Well, I hope so. I mean, as you pointed out in your -- you know, segment before, you said that it's the summertime. It's after Labor Day, people are not paying attention. It's an off-year election. I don't think that Democrats are as motivated as they need to be. And it's not just this election. This is going to carry through all the way to 2022. We have to stay vigilant here because our democracy is now being stolen by a minority, a very virulent minority that has very fascistic ideas.

So we have to dig in and we have to make our statement here in California. Like I said, it's the fifth largest economy in the world. We have to make a stand here. And I agree with you, I don't think Democrats are paying as much attention as they should.

ACOSTA: And how much of this do you put on Governor Newsom? Did he put himself in this position to some extent with his handling of COVID? Or do you think he's handled it all right? The perception is outside of California that this is a liability for him.

REINER: Listen, he hasn't done anything. You know, every politician in the world does this, you like that, you don't like that. He hasn't committed any fraud. He hasn't stolen state funds. You know, he's done a good job. Right now California is doing better than all of the southwest and the southern part of America.

You know, here in Los Angeles, we're doing OK with COVID. So he has done well. And he's doing the things that you need to do in order to stop this pandemic, which is to talk about mandatory mask wearing, to talk about people getting vaccinated. These are the things that need to be done. So there is no basis for this recall except a power grab. That's it. And that's all.

ACOSTA: All right. Rob Reiner, we knew you'd be passionate about this subject. Thanks so much for being with us this afternoon. Love to have you on again. We appreciate it.

REINER: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Take care, Rob.

The Supreme Court's refusal to act is allowing Texas to keep its six- week abortion ban in place. So where does the legal battle go from here? Our "Cross-Exam" segment with Elie Honig is left.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:28]

ACOSTA: Abortions continue to be effectively banned in Texas, restricted to just the first six weeks of pregnancy, a time when many women don't even know they're pregnant.

The Supreme Court's refusal to intervene this week means other Republican-led states can use this as precedent to restrict abortions elsewhere in the country.

CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Elie Honig, joins me now to answer your legal questions.

Elie, great to see you.

He's also the author of the new book, "Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutors' Code and Corrupted the Justice Department." Great book.

Elie, one viewer asks: If federal law protects a women's right to an abortion, can an individual state pass a law that takes away that right?

What do you think?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It's a great question. The answer should be no, of course not. But that's exactly what happened this week.

Now, ever since "Roe v. Wade" in 1973, it's been the law of this country that states cannot pass laws that unduly restrict the right of a woman to get an abortion.

Texas went ahead and, as you said, passed a very restrictive law that essentially makes it impossible. And they used this bizarre system where private citizens can sue anyone who has anything to do with an abortion.

This week, the Supreme Court denied an emergency stay. They left that law in place, even though it directly violates "Roe v. Wade."

Now, what they said is, this is just a procedural ruling, in part, because of that strange private bounty hunter provision.

But it's impossible to ignore that there's an ideological split here. The five justices who said let's leave it in place, all conservatives. On the other side, you have the three liberal justices joined by Chief Justice Roberts.

Technically, this was just a procedural ruling. There's more ahead on this Texas case. But you have to look at the signal it sends and it's not a good signal for the future of "Roe v. Wade."

ACOSTA: No, not at all.

And another viewer wants to know: When exactly is the Supreme Court justified in overturning its own long-standing precedent like "Roe v. Wade?"

HONIG: The real answer there is, whenever they feel like it.

Throughout our history, the Supreme Court has at times reversed long standing precedent, sometimes for the good. "Brown v. Board of Education," reversed long-time segregation policy. Sometimes for the bad. Sometimes depends on what your politics are.

The one to watch, though, is the coming term that starts in October, is a different restrictive abortion law out of Mississippi. The Supreme Court will be hearing that case. They've already decided that. And it will be a direct challenge to "Roe v. Wade."

And you have to just do the cold, hard math here. It's a 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court.

[15:35:00]

So even if one of those conservatives flips over and joins with the liberals, as we just saw with Chief Justice Roberts this week, it's still not enough.

You're going to need to see two of those conservatives join the liberals if "Roe v. Wade" is going to be upheld.

So the writing really looks to be on the wall here for "Roe v. Wade" unless the justices find some narrow procedural grounds around it.

But that's the case to watch. We'll have a decision on that sometime in 2021 or 2022.

ACOSTA: Despite the fact that you had a lot of moderate Senators saying, no, it's never going to happen, it's never going to happen, it looks like it might happen.

HONIG: Yes.

ACOSTA: And, Elie, last, this week, we also learned that House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, is among GOP lawmakers whose phone records the January 6th Select Committee asked to be preserved.

One viewer wants to know: Is there any legal basis for Kevin McCarthy or others to challenge subpoenas from this committee seeking phone records and other documents?

What do you think?

HONIG: In a word, no. The law says that the phone companies have to respond to subpoenas.

There's no law that supports Kevin McCarthy's view that they would be violating some law. He's really just making that up.

Watch for a looming battle because Kevin McCarthy himself could get a subpoena at some point from Congress because he's going to have really important testimony.

That battle will grow as the time passes, Jim.

ACOSTA: Elie, we'll be watching. We know you will, too.

Thanks so much.

Coming up, why Richard Branson's trip to the edge of space is now being investigated by the FAA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:05]

ACOSTA: Just into CNN, we just learned President Biden and first lady, Jill Biden, will travel to all three 9/11 sites next Saturday to mark the anniversary of the attacks.

He will visit Ground Zero in New York City, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We'll be letting you know about others that will be making the trip to New York in the coming hours on "NEWSROOM." Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, for the 16 second graders of Emma E. Booker Elementary School, September 11, 2001, felt like a regular day, except that the president of the United States was about to visit their classroom.

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, CNN anchor and correspondent, Victor Blackwell, hosts the CNN special report, "FRONT ROW TO HISTORY," visiting that classroom.

The students are now 27 years old, and their teacher, made it all look so easy on that day their world was turned upside down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SANDRA KAY DANIELS, FORMER TEACHER, EMMA E. BOOKER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: This is my classroom.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: And you came through this door?

DANIELS: This exact door. This is the door.

I was sitting up here. Book easel. President Bush's chair.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Was there a greeting that you rehearsed with the class when the president walked in?

DANIELS: No. There was no greeting. I tried to keep it as natural as possible.

This is our former principal. He comes to the classroom all the time to observe. But when they saw him come in with her, they were a little -- is this really the president?

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning.

(CROSSTALK)

DANIELS: They were very spontaneous. They knew how to behave.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you please stand for the president of the United States.

BUSH: Good morning.

(CROSSTALK)

JANUARY TOWLES, FORMER STUDENT, EMMA E. BOOKER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: When the president walked in the classroom, like, we all kind of froze a little bit. I'm like, oh, my goodness, that's George Bush, that's the president.

BLACKWELL: Describe, from your perspective his mood, his energy, as he crosses in to meet the children.

GORDON JOHNDROE, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ASSISTANT PRESS SECRETARY: Probably a little bit more serious than he normally would going into a classroom full of young kids.

BUSH: It's great to meet everybody.

JOHNDROE: But what he tried to do was convey an air of calm and excitement to be with the children. But he definitely looked like someone with more on his mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And Victor Blackwell joins me now. Victor, this looks like such a powerful special.

What kind of impact did being so close to the president on that day have on the students? What lessons did you take away?

BLACKWELL: Their teacher, Mrs. Daniels, who is still teaching 30 years later, asked, how could this have not impacted them?

They have described a sense of humility, a sense of empathy. As they got older, they learned more, obviously, about the day that thousands of people were killed.

It has made them reluctant to tell their story, to tell their part of it, because of the respect and deference paid to those who lost loved ones, who were impacted primarily by the attacks of September 11th.

This was supposed to be an exciting day, Jim, that the president was coming to congratulate them for reading. And then they, of course, were there with him as this happened.

And some of them believed that maybe this had an impact on why they went straight to New York after finishing school in Sarasota or joined the military or joined law enforcement.

They're still working through all of those questions. You'll hear them kind of work their way through it in the special tomorrow night.

ACOSTA: And after talking to so many people who were in that classroom, what stands out for you after that experience? It must have been a powerful experience to talk to these folks.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it really was surprising for me that they didn't tell people.

They now, some of them have children who are learning about 9/11 and they see the picture of their class in the textbook, and they don't immediately tell their own children, that's me in the second row.

[15:45:05]

Because they are kind of conditioned now. They've conditioned themselves to kind of hold off from that moment.

Even Mrs. Daniels said, for years, she didn't tell her own students when teaching the curriculum about 9/11, that she was the teacher in which the president was visiting the classroom.

So that was a surprise, that they had been reluctant for so many years to tell it.

But now, as Lazaro says, one of the students, they know there's a duty to make sure that part of the story is told alongside the other elements of the history of 9/11.

ACOSTA: I can't believe it's been 20 years.

All right, Victor Blackwell, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

ACOSTA: It's going to be a powerful special. We appreciate it.

Be sure to tune in. The CNN special report: "FRONT ROW TO HISTORY: THE 9/11 CLASSROOM," airs tomorrow night at 9:00 -- should be at 10:00, Eastern.

And we'll be right back.

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[15:50:41]

ACOSTA: Flames filled the sky after a mid-air rocket explosion in California this week. The unmanned rocket starts flipping over itself before exploding in a fireball over the Pacific Ocean. You can see it there.

Officials at Firefly, a new space startup, says its rocket experienced what they called an anomaly moments after launch. No one was hurt, thankfully.

And federal investigators are working with Firefly to figure out exactly what went wrong there. Just some incredible footage there.

In the meantime, federal authorities have a new message for Richard Branson, you're grounded. The FAA has banned flights from the billionaire's company, Virgin Galactic, while it investigates its flight to the edge of space.

Officials say Branson's plane veered off course during its descent back in July.

CNN's Kristin Fisher looks at exactly what went wrong.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Jim, everything sure looked picture-perfect back in July. But we're now learning Virgin Galactic's Spaceship II went out of its designated FAA air space for about one minute and 40 seconds during that historic flight back in July.

Virgin Galactic is acknowledging that they did, indeed, do this on that flight, But they say that at no time was any crew on the ground or anyone in any other aircraft in danger.

But the problem is, think about if you're a pilot, commercial or private pilot, and you go out of your designated FAA airspace or are found to be at an altitude higher or lower than where you should be, you can get into a lot of trouble.

Essentially, that is what the FAA is accusing Virgin Galactic of doing. And Virgin Galactic says that it is cooperating with the investigation.

And here's essentially what we know. And this is stemming from the journalist who wrote the book on Virgin Galactic, Nicholas Schmidle.

He is reporting that there were two warning lights in the cockpit that went off while Spaceship II was climbing up into space, a yellow light and a red light.

That left two pilots on board with a split-second decision. They could either abort the mission, threatening Richard Branson's chances of becoming the first billionaire space baron to make it into space, or they could take over the controls manually and try to change the spaceship's trajectory that way.

That is ultimately what they ended up doing. But in doing so, it moved Spaceship II off its intended glide path back down to earth. That's when the problem happened. That's when it went out of its designated airspace.

This FAA investigation is going to continue. But until it's complete and the FAA is satisfied, Virgin Galactic is grounded.

This is especially significant because, just on Thursday, Virgin Galactic had said it was announcing its next crude flight for some time later this month or early October.

This is not the kind of news any company wants to get, but especially when you're a new space tourism company and you're right on the cusp of sending your first paying customers into space -- Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, Kristin, thanks so much for that.

As the damage from Hurricane Ida comes into focus, there are people on the ground right now starting the rebuilding process.

The 2008 "CNN Hero of the Year," Liz McCartney, came to the area as a volunteer in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and co-founded the St. Bernard Project.

The group has helped restore thousands of homes following natural disasters across the U.S. A top priority after Ida is assessing damage, like mold, that could destroy homes even after they're rebuilt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZ MCCARTNEY, CNN HERO: Because of the timing of the tides, I think Ida pushed a lot of water into places that don't normally experience flooding that are outside of New Orleans but were really taken off guard.

Typically, you can go to the communities in the outlying area to access the resources to help people recover.

With power out in Baton Rouge, it's become a much trickier situation. We have teams to assist with mucking and gutting and mold remediation.

What we've been able to do at SBP is help homeowners understand how they can buy the appropriate materials that actually kill mold spores and then learn how to dry their house out so when they do start to rebuild it, their house doesn't have any mold in it and they can live safely in it.

I just want to say thank you to everybody who is supporting people who have been impacted by Hurricane Ida.

[15:55:05]

The immediate response is really important. The long-term recovery is going to take more time. And so we ask you to stick with it.

Come on down and volunteer. Share your talents and help us make these communities even stronger in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And to learn more about the St. Bernard Project and their efforts, go to CNNheroes.com.

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