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Hurricane Ida's Aftermath; White House May Have To Scale Back Ambitious Vaccine Booster Plan; State Department: Majority Of Afghans Who Worked For U.S. And Applied For Visas Were Likely Left Behind; Democrats Rallying To CA Gov. Gavin Newsom's Side 10 Days Before Recall Election; CA GOP Frontrunner Larry Elder Draws Scrutiny For Past Comments On Women, Race, Sexual Assault; Afghan Women Protest In Taliban-Controlled Kabul. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired September 04, 2021 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:59:45]
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The panels work by chilling water running through pipes embedded behind them. Then that cold water flows into a building's cooling system helping to chill refrigerant liquid which eases the workload for the condenser. The less your condenser runs, the less you pay in an energy bill.
This grocery store in Stockton, California saw a notable difference after SkyCool installed panels on its roof. Despite an increase in electricity rates --
JESUS VALENZUELA, OWNER, GROCERY OUTLETS: We've saved on average about $3,000 a month.
CRANE: As SkyCool grows with additional retail installations, the company hopes its panels can someday be put on the roofs of homes.
ELI GOLSTEIN, CEO, SKYCOOL INC.: You can imagine using this on the roofs of uninsulated buildings in Asia or Africa or India where it's expected to be billions in air conditioners coming online in the next 30 years.
I think we're just excited to be able to use this new technology for good.
CRANE: Rachel Crane, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.
Desperate rescue and recovery efforts from New Orleans to New York in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
In Louisiana six nursing home residents are now confirmed dead after an evacuation gone tragically wrong. The six victims were among hundreds of people who were evacuated to a warehouse with deplorable conditions like mattresses infested with bugs. The state attorney general is launching a probe across Louisiana.
More than 700,000 people are still without power right now. And nearly one-third of gas stations are without fuel, some people waiting five hours to fill their tanks just so they can sit in their cars with air conditioning.
The desperation and frustration boiling over on Friday. One person was fatally shot in line at a gas station in Jefferson Parish.
And in the northeast, at least 50 people have died from the storm. Half of the fatalities are in New Jersey where flash flooding demolished basements and tore -- tornadoes tore through buildings. On Tuesday President Biden will visit New York and New Jersey to survey the damage.
CNN's Nadia Romero is on the scene in New Orleans. Polo Sandoval is in Philadelphia for us. Nadia, let me start with you. What are people in New Orleans telling you? They sound like they're fed up with this.
NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, everyone is tired because they though ok, we made it through Hurricane Ida, but it's the aftermath that's really taking a toll on folks here.
So you mentioned gas being a big shortage here. Some 700,000 still without power. And they tell me even if they get power back, there are still big issues in their homes like mold that's everywhere that's already growing because it's 102, the heat index.
This humidity here is inhumane. especially when you don't have air conditioning. So take a look behind me. This is one of many buses that we've seen come through right in front of the convention center here in New Orleans.
They're picking up people who want to evacuate. They want to get out of the city and go somewhere where they have power, where they have access to air conditioning, where they can get clean clothes.
And so the city has a list, a special needs registry, so they know where people are who are in need, who are at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Jim as you mentioned, that horrific scene at a nursing home here in Louisiana. They are trying to prevent that from happening again.
There is one woman we spoke with. Her name is Denise. She was here with her family. And she said she has got to get out of Louisiana altogether. She's looking for some kind of relief in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENISE JIMCOLLY, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: My mom's medicine. My uncle medicine. I'm taking care of my mom and my uncle and my grandson and my daughter. You know, it's hard.
ROMERO: What's it been like over the past week?
JIMCOLLY: Miserable. Miserable. It's (INAUDIBLE), you know. It's a wake-up call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMERO: It has been absolutely miserable, that's one way that many people have put the conditions since Hurricane Ida left the area, but they're still feeling the impact of the effects.
So this area right here at the convention center, people will be coming here for the next three days. They have the capacity for about 2,200 people to come, go through the registration process and then they get on these buses, they head to Shreveport, northern Louisiana or Texas. And then, Jim, they're going to make their way to an area that has the basic needs, basic necessities that you and I get to enjoy. They haven't been able to enjoy for at least the last week. And they've had enough. They're trying find that relief, Jim.
ACOSTA: Ok. And Polo Sandoval is in Philadelphia.
Let me go to you, Polo. When the president visits the region on Tuesday, what is he going to see?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We certainly know that he's going to focus a lot on New York and New Jersey, particularly New Jersey which has actually seen about half of those lives that were lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. So that's certainly going to be critical.
I spent the last four day in New Jersey and a lot of businesses and homeowners there told me that they do want to make sure that when the president leaves their region that he leaves with a better clear picture of just how difficult it's going to be for many of these houses and many of these businesses to get rebuilt, cleaned out. But of course, to move on.
Now, in terms of where we are here in Philadelphia. Just to show you exactly where all of that floodwater here in the particular region has actually gone, looking over the Schuylkill River here which rose about two feet above major flood stage just a couple of days ago.
[17:05:02]
SANDOVAL: I have to tell you Jim, in the last couple of hours that water level has actually dropped considerably. You can kind of make out the water line for the distance over there.
That's suggesting that we're ending one phase but perhaps ending -- rather starting the next phase which is just going to be the cleanup process. If you look at the before photo of this area here, it was actually clear.
On a beautiful Saturday like today, you typically would see people walking up and down this railing here fishing, but you could see everything that the river brought in. No telling exactly what the city of Philadelphia is going to have to do to actually clear this out so that people can get here again.
But again, this just gives you an idea of what's happened -- of what will happen next now that the floodwaters have dropped in some neighborhoods or, in some cases, even pumped out of neighborhoods and streets and ended up in these kinds of rivers (ph), Jim.
ACOSTA: That does not look good.
All right. Polo Sandoval, Nadia Romero -- thanks so much for those reports. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.
The White House may have to scale back their original plans to administer booster shots of the coronavirus vaccine to Americans. Those who got the Pfizer vaccine may still be able to get their booster shot this month. But Americans who got the Moderna shot may have to wait a little longer.
The news comes as Dr. Anthony Fauci made the case for a third shot, saying three doses of the vaccine will likely be needed for full protection from the virus.
CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us now from Wilmington, Delaware where President Biden is spending the weekend. Arlette, what's the latest in the White House on this?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Jim, the Biden administration had been working to roll out booster shots by September 20, but now it may need to be that that will only be limited to Pfizer for the initial start.
A source that I spoke with yesterday said that top federal health officials told the White House that more time is needed to review the data around Moderna's booster submission. The source told me that what they received from Moderna was inadequate and they wanted to see strengthened data which would require more time to review the process and may not be ready for September 20.
Now, this source told me that the plans are still on track for Pfizer with that approval expected to come before the September 20th rollout. But Moderna might be a few weeks longer. Now Johnson & Johnson was not considered to be a factor in that September 20 rollout for booster shots as they are still awaiting more and more information from that company.
But this comes after FDA officials had warned the White House about setting a specific timeline for rolling out these shots. That that is something that the White House went ahead and proceeded with.
Now the question is, how much longer it might take to get data and the approval process going for Moderna. Moderna said yesterday that they did complete their submission to the FDA on Friday. So we're waiting to hear if that changes any of the calculus as far as how much time is needed to review the Moderna data.
But this all comes as the administration is really working with speed and urgency to find more ways to fight that delta variant. They are hoping that that third booster shot offered to Americans will be able to help in stemming the rise of the delta variant, but for the time being, it appears that federal health officials are leaning towards only having Pfizer available by that September 20th rollout for those booster shots.
ACOSTA: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you very much. Let's bring in professor of emergency medicine and associate dean of public health at Brown University, Dr. Megan Ranney.
Dr. Ranney, thanks so much for being with us.
On this issue of boosters being scaled back or delayed. Do you think the White House added some confusion to this issue. What do you make of all this?
DR. MEGAN RANNEY, BROWN UNIVERSITY: : So Jim, the White House should never have set a specific date for when boosters were coming. We all expected that boosters would be needed at some point. That's how vaccines work.
If you remember back to your children getting immunizations or maybe back to your own getting a tetanus booster, you know that this is part of vaccines. Immunity has to be boosted occasionally.
And there's certainly growing data from Israel, the (INAUDIBLE) and elsewhere that boosters are going to be needed. But for the White House to put a date on it before the FDA had seen the data, that was just not appropriate and it put the FDA in a tough spot.
We need to wait for them to review the data to make sure it's safe and to decide which groups need boosters. We already have the immunocompromised who getting them. Probably next will be the elderly and health care workers.
For the rest of us, know that the current vaccine doses still work to protect you from hospitalization and death.
ACOSTA: And even in the ideal scenario with very clear messaging and a vast supply of boosters ready, would you expect booster rates to be below the initial vaccine rates? I suppose we have to brace ourselves for that scenario.
[17:09:49]
DR. RANNEY: It is going to be a little bit of a mess. I know lots of people are already going out and getting their third shot or a second shot if they've gotten J&J despite the fact that it hasn't been FDA- approved yet. So people will never show up on the rolls of who's gotten a booster.
Others may never show up again because they say the side effects, I didn't like them, or if it's too much trouble. It is going to be a little bit of a logistical nightmare going forward.
ACOSTA: And there was a really worrisome CDC report this week that found that kids -- more kids are hospitalized with COVID in states with lower vaccination rates. I suppose that is logical that that would occur. What does that tell you?
DR. RANNEY: So it goes back to something that I and many other public health and medical experts have been seeing since the beginning of the pandemic, which is the best way to protect our kids is to decrease the level of COVID-19 in our community.
So what's happening is in these states with low vaccination rates, the delta variant has been spreading like wildfire. And then that puts kids at risk. It's not necessarily the delta variant is worse for kids but just more of them are catching it, because this variant is more transmissible and more folks in their community were sick.
I hope that in the northeast as our kids go back to school that we can continue to mask, more of us can show up for shots, and we can prevent these same tragedies from happening across the rest of the country.
ACOSTA: Yes. Doctor, this summer we've seen hospitals running out of ICU beds from the south all the way up to California. The country is back to more than 1,000 COVID deaths per day. I never thought we would see that again.
School is back in session. Summer weather will be gone soon. Could this potentially get worse?
DR. RANNEY: Yes, I and many others are quite worried about it getting worse for two reasons. First is as you said, the weather is getting colder in much of the country. People are going back indoors and schools are starting, many without mask mandates.
And our hospitals are at the breaking point already. I will tell you, ERs across the country, my colleagues, are crying out for help. We don't have enough nurses. We don't have enough beds, not because of COVID but because of all the other stuff that wasn't taken care of for the past year and a half. Even a small COVID surge in many states is going to put hospitals into crisis mode.
ACOSTA: All right. Let's hope that that does not come to pass. I suspect we may have some problems in that area.
Dr. Megan Ranney, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
DR. RANNEY: Thank you.
ACOSTA: Thanks a lot.
Coming up, how the right is using anti-refugee rhetoric as a distraction for something more sinister going on in this country. Hold on for that, next
[17:12:27]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Leading figures on the far right have been sounding the alarm on Afghanistan evacuees all week. The refugees are coming. The refugees are coming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): Former intel that are telling, people that are being brought in here, there is a significant percentage that are future Boston marathon bombers because they're not doing adequate vetting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Over on Fox, human manure spreader Tucker Carlson has floated yet another race-baiting conspiracy theory that tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are being welcomed into this country in order to change the outcome of future elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: Many of whom will now be move into neighborhoods around the United States and stay permanently. They didn't seem to encounter any problems in doing this. Thanks to meticulous and thoughtful planning, Operation: Change America Forever came off precisely according to plan. It worked flawlessly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Did he say Operation: Change America Forever? I think change is already in the air.
We had an insurrection nearly eight months ago, an insurrection that, let's face it, hasn't really ended. In part because you have Republican members of Congress using this kind of rhetoric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MADISON CAWTHORN (R-NC): If our election systems continue to be rigged and continue to be stolen, then it's going to lead to one place and that's bloodshed.
And I will tell you, as much as I am willing to depend our liberty at all costs, there's nothing that I dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The threatening language does not end there. In response to the January 6 committee requesting the phone records of lawmakers, some of whom may have been in touch with the insurrectionists, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy released a statement warning the telecommunication companies that cooperate with the committee, quote, "a Republican majority will not forget".
That sounded an awful lot like what Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): These telecommunications companies, they better not play with these Democrats, because Republicans are coming back into the majority in 2022 and we will take this very serious. These telecommunications companies, if they go along with this, they will be shut down and that's a promise.
CARLSON: Good, I hope they're afraid of you. they should be. They should be. They're very short-sighted. They think Democrats are going to rule forever but they should be afraid to wade in to partisan politics like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Congresswoman Greene: "If they go along with this, they will be shut down". Congressman Cawthorn: "It's going to lead to one place, and it's bloodshed".
Operation: Change America Forever, indeed.
The times they are also a-changing down in Texas. That's where a bizarre new law all but prohibits abortion and creates a dystopian bounty system that empower ordinary citizens to sue reproductive health care providers and just about anybody who helps a woman obtain the procedure.
The Supreme Court's conservative majority refused to block the Texas law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY NORTHUP, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: We expect what the Supreme Court just did to embolden other states, and frankly other conservative circuit courts, to completely ignore Roe versus Wade.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:19:52]
ACOSTA: Now, if you're getting "A Handmaid's Tale" vibe from all of this, you're not alone. Apologies if you haven't seen the show, but when they say "under his eye" in Texas, do they now mean Greg Abbott?
And who is going to be doing the snitching? Watch out for Aunt Lydia down the street.
Certainly it won't be the same people saying, "my body, my choice" when it comes to mask mandates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a lot of other guys control myself, that can't control themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talk to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right they're not here right now.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have nothing else to say. Do what's right. There is a lot of bad things coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know who you are. We know who you are. You can leave freely, but we will find you. And we know who you are.
You will never be allowed in public again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know who you are.
ACOSTA: What will we tell the Afghan refugees who just fled those schools for girls back in their home country? I guess the girls here will have to fill them in.
Unfortunately, what we will tell them is that some members of the far right in this country have apparently decided they will resort to intimidation, and in some cases, even violence to get what they want. And they could sweep into power faster than the experts thought possible. Sound familiar?
Sort of like an American Taliban. It is starting to look like a combination of theocracy and thugocracy. The leaders of this MAGA band movement, people like Marjorie, Madison and Tucker, they're not counting on an intelligence failure or a lack of planning on your part.
They're counting on a lack of courage to stand up for your rights in this country. Does that ring a bell? The anti-immigration, anti- Democratic, anti-women's rights forces have all sought these kinds of changes for years, even decades in this country.
Their operation to change America forever is well underway. It's just changing in a way they don't want you to see.
Coming up, new reporting about xenophobic language used by a top Trump advisor who stood in the way of Afghan refugees coming to the U.S. and the trickle-down effect that had before the chaos in Kabul.
[17:22:17]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: A heartbreaking admission following the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. A state department official tells CNN that the majority of Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces throughout the 20-year war effort did not get out.
These are people like interpreters and translators whose service made them eligible for special immigrant visas or SIVs, we heard a lot about this in the news, that would allow them to become lawful, permanent residents of the United States.
Just prior to the U.S. withdrawal, the U.S. had a backlog of more than 20,000 SIV applications due in no small part to actions taken by the previous administration.
Sources tell CNN, Trump advisor Stephen Miller led the charge to intentionally slow-walk the entry of refugees including allies who aided American soldiers in Afghanistan.
In fact, CNN has new reporting that during a 2018 cabinet meeting, Miller was so floored by the idea of keeping the doors open to refugees, he said, quote, "What do you guys want, a bunch of Iraqis in stands across the country?"
His words stunned many in the meeting, even though Miller told CNN he denies saying those things.
Joining me now is James Miervaldis, the chairman of No One Left Behind, a non-profit dedicated to helping Afghan and Iraqi refugees who resettle in the U.S. under the SIV program.
And James, you got to speak with Secretary Blinken yesterday. Let's talk about that in just a moment.
But first, what's your reaction to some of this new reporting that CNN has about what Stephen Miller was saying about refugees?
I mean I can tell you from my own reporting, and we've had guests on this program to back some of this up, that he was one of the primary obstacles inside the administration to bringing in refugees to this country.
It's been reported on over and over again.
JAMES MIERVALDIS, CHAIRMAN, NO ONE LEFT BEHIND: Thank you, Jim. Let me begin with this. 244 years ago, Thomas Payne started off his crisis letter in the "Pennsylvania Journal" saying these are the times that try men's souls.
The U.S. veteran community, because of everything that's happened now, because of decisions made over the last 12 years through three administrations, seven Congresses, seven secretaries of defense and now five secretaries of state is hurting.
When I spoke to Secretary Blinken and Secretary McDonough, they understood that pain and that frustration.
Regarding Mr. Miller, that's -- I can't comment on that. We do know though that the Trump administration had four years to make good on their promises about legal and merit-based immigration, and SIVs, while prioritized, they didn't have -- they didn't follow through with our moral obligation to our allies.
ACOSTA: And even before the evacuations, can you give people an idea or sense of how difficult it has been for these interpreters, for these U.S. allies, people who have been putting their lives on the lines to get approved for these Special Immigration Visas.
How slow the process has it been? And help people at home understand, why is there this -- why was there this backlog? Why was this inability for people to get out?
MIERVALDIS: Bureaucracy, lack of leadership. It's a 14-step inter agency process but that no one was really in charge of until Secretary Pompeo named undersecretary of management, Brian (INAUDIBLE), the senior coordinating official. And that was by March 2020. So there wasn't anybody in charge up until then.
Even then, the undersecretary of management couldn't reach him through the DOD. Couldn't reach him through to DHS. It was a -- it was a mess.
[17:29:58]
MIERVALDIS: Like I said, it's a 14-step process. It takes three and a half years, on average, even though, by law, it's supposed to take nine months.
The Trump administration was successfully sued in U.S. district court in 2020, and the State Department just kind of shrugged.
We now know that Secretary Blinken had made significant improvements in resourcing to it, but the scale of this is too big.
We are working with the State Department. We're shoulder to shoulder with them to get our allies out. No One Left Behind is tracking up to 200 people with visas.
These are our allies who are now in hiding in Kabul. They got messages from the State Department to shelter in place and not go to the airport, and then the last plane left.
It's a very difficult situation.
ACOSTA: Let me ask you, because we were mentioning this earlier, you did meet with the secretary of state along with other folks who were involved in this effort.
What did you say to him? What was his response to a lot of these concerns? I'm sure the concerns were raised in this meeting that we just didn't get enough of these people out.
MIERVALDIS: You can see -- well, we met with him for about an hour virtually on a Zoom call yesterday. And you could see the hurt.
He's taking this very personally. He's been working on this issue ever since he was deputy national security advisor for President Obama. It's not an easy issue.
But with that, he understands the challenges and the effect that's happening on the U.S. veteran population.
He's committed and so is his chief of staff -- sorry -- Mr. Klain, Ron Klain, to do what we can do to get as many people home. There's no end date to this. They're going to keep our moral obligation. So we're with them on that.
No One Left Behind was able to fly out five families commercially on Turkish Airways. It's about $10,000 per family, so we had that operation going.
Then Kabul fell. We had another 50 families scheduled to fly out. As soon as the Kabul airport reopens, whenever the Taliban can get the airport reopened, we can go back to flying people out commercially and get everyone to the United States that should be here.
ACOSTA: That's a huge piece of the puzzle.
Let me ask you, in terms of the State Department getting these SIV applicants out, they are now moving these SIV applicants to a third country and working on that rather than just bringing them to the United States from Afghanistan.
What do you make of that idea? Is that the right way to do it, do you think?
MIERVALDIS: Secretary Blinken brought this up in June when he spoke to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, specifically to Representative McCall, who has been pushing for an evacuation, pushing for a means to get people out of the danger in Afghanistan.
So it's a good move. We know that the process does still take almost a year. It's the full screening.
It's everything that -- whatever Mr. Miller said -- I don't know, I wasn't in those meetings -- but it doesn't make sense with what is being reported, or what he may have interpreted.
So the process itself is set up that these people get fully vetted. They are amazing Americans -- or will be American citizens.
To that point, Jim, GAO studies this population back in 2015 and noted that SIVs, in particular, become more self-sufficient faster than other types of refugee groups.
So one these people come to the United States, they get jobs. They're not asking for handouts. They're not asking for welfare. We, No One Left Behind, we're just their safety net.
ACOSTA: Anybody who understands refugees knows that when they come to this country, they want to prove themselves. They want to prove themselves, that they can be law-abiding contributors to this country and people who want to make a new life here.
MIERVALDIS: Yes. And --
ACOSTA: And -- go ahead.
MIERVALDIS: Many join the military. I'm talking to one right now, an Iraqi SIV, who proudly graduated from Marine boot camp and has turned around to help other SIVs go through the process.
He went from fighting ISIS in 2018 to coming here, getting his visa, turning right around to go back into the military and serve. He is so proud to be able to do this.
We showed this to, actually, General Allen, and General Allen looked at that and was like, wow, that's the kind of story we need to tell more of. ACOSTA: Yes. That's what it's all about. That's what being an American
is all about.
And this has happened over the course of decades. You have people coming into this country, immigrants, refugees, that not only make positive contributions to American society.
But as you said, many of them go into the United States armed forces and defend this country and do it honorably.
I just want to say thank you for bringing me this coin, which represents the work that you do at your organization.
James Miervaldis, thanks so much. Appreciate your help bringing light to this subject. And good luck --
MIERVALDIS: Thank you, sir.
ACOSTA: -- on getting allies and partners of ours out of Afghanistan. We appreciate it. Thanks for what you do.
MIERVALDIS: Thank you, sir.
ACOSTA: The Navy today declaring five sailors dead after their helicopter crashed off the San Diego coast.
The U.S. 3rd Fleet said that they are shifting operations from search- and-rescue to recovery following the crash on Tuesday. One crew member was rescued on Wednesday.
The helicopter was conducting routine flight operations off of the deck of the "USS Abraham Lincoln."
Coming up, national Democrats finally rallying to Governor Gavin Newsom's side just 10 days before he faces a recall election.
[17:35:01]
Senator Elizabeth Warren was by Newsom's side today explaining why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): What Larry Elder is saying is put him in the governor's office, and if he gets any chance at all, he will take away the duly elected Democratic majority. And he will hand the United States Senate over to Mitch McConnell and the Republicans.
That's why I'm here. That cannot happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:40:03]
ACOSTA: California Governor Gavin Newsom faces a recall election just 10 days from now and the big-name national Democrats are finally coming out to drum up support their California governor.
Perhaps the main reason for the sudden surge of support is actually to oppose Republican frontrunner, Larry Elder.
CNN's Kyung Lah joins us.
Kyung, today, it was Senator Warren. And more Democrat heavy hitters are on their way to California to stand by Gavin Newsom. That suggests that the party is taking this very seriously and that potentially Gavin Newsom could be replaced in all of this.
What is the message that they're sending?
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's the big concern here is. Because of how calculated and wonky these elections are, there is true concern here.
The ballot is based here in California. But the overriding message that you're inquiring about, Jim, is that this is about national Democratic issues, that it is a Democratic issue at stake.
We heard Senator Elizabeth Warren as well as Governor Gavin Newsom talk about what's happening in Texas with the abortion law, Florida with masks and mas mandates and the health orders there.
The essential line here out of this particular rally today is that governors matter. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
WARREN: These fights, they're not just in Texas, Florida, South Dakota. These fights have come to California.
(CHEERING)
WARREN: So one more time, are you ready to fight?
(SHOUTING)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Are we going to beat Trump and Trumpism?
(CHEERING)
NEWSOM: Are we going to send a message to Devin Nunez --
(CHEERING)
NEWSOM: -- and Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani --
(CHEERING)
NEWSOM: -- and Newt Gingrich and Kevin McCarthy?
(CHEERING) NEWSOM: Hell, no, on this recall!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: This was a very receptive crowd to that message. It was a majority women crowd. Extremely receptive, especially when it came to the issue of abortion and choice.
You saw Elizabeth Warren there. Tomorrow, Senator Amy Klobuchar will be standing next to Gavin Newsom. And next week, Jim, Vice President Kamala Harris -- Jim?
ACOSTA: This has become a national election.
Larry Elder, getting back to Larry Elder, Kyung, he certainly has a history of just crazy comments. Ugly, bigoted, disturbing comments.
What exactly do we know about the talk show host who is posing a challenge to Governor Newsom, Larry Elder? What do we know about him?
KAH: There's a lot to know, because he has a decades-long radio career as a provocative and provocateur on the radio. He has a lot of controversial positions, and those positions generally have not changed.
I want you to take a listen to Larry Elder talk here in this next video clip. This is not old video. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY ELDER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to follow the science. I'm going to -- I don't believe the science suggests that young people should be vaccinated.
I don't believe the science suggests that young people should have to wear masks at school. I'm not sure the scientists have said that at all.
Young people are not likely to contract the coronavirus. And when they do, their symptoms are likely to be mild, not likely to be hospitalized and certainly not likely to die.
Studies do not show that the police are pulling black people over just because they are black. The studies do not show the police are killing black people just because they're black. It is false.
Am I opposed to the minimum wage? Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
ELDER: Am I going to do anything about it? Absolutely not. That is not even close to anything on my agenda list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: That's really just a taster, if you will, Jim. There's a lot more, especially when he talks about his controversial views about women -- Jim?
ACOSTA: Absolutely. Kyung, you and I could be here all night going through that archival footage.
(CROSSTALK)
LAH: How much time you got? Pull up a chair.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: Exactly.
All right, Kyung Lah, thanks for following that, that wacky recall election. We appreciate it very much. Thank you.
Coming up, Afghan women are risking their lives calling for equal rights in Taliban-controlled Kabul. We'll bring the latest on their fight, next.
[17:44:17]
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Afghan women are rising up against the Taliban. Female activists with microphones and posters took to the streets of Kabul this week in rare public displays.
They chanted and held signs calling for equal rights and participation in the country's government. At least one peaceful demonstration turned violent.
CNN's Sam Kiley is in the region for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, the third public protests by women demanding equal rights under the Taliban is taking place in Kabul.
This time, amidst of violence we haven't really seen before, with the women on this demonstration being hit, they said, with magazines of rifles, with electric tasers and with whips. At least one of them showing quite nasty injuries to the side of her face.
This flying very much in the face of promises made by the Taliban to respect human rights, and above all, the rights of women, particularly women in the workplace and women seeking education.
This is what this demonstration was demanding. It was the second at least we've seen in Kabul. There's been another one in Harat.
[17:50:03]
We've also been in touch with women, privately, who wanted to take part in the demonstrations but did not do so for fear of retaliation. Some of them claiming to have been threatened already by telephone and other message.
A very difficult time, indeed, for the Taliban, when they're trying to spread the idea internationally that they're a moderating force, and yet on the ground, we're seeing something very different.
They have admitted, the Taliban, in the past, that they have elements within their own ranks that need education, need training in dealing with women in particular. So there's some hope there.
And this all coming amidst a visit of the head of Pakistan's external intelligence service, the ISI. Deeply influential figure there.
Perhaps also trying to push this idea that the Taliban need to be moderate so they can get international aid and trade. And avert a humanitarian situation in Afghanistan that would have an immediate knock-on, probably destabilizing knock-on in neighboring Pakistan -- Jim?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Sam Kiley, thanks for that report.
Four Olympic golds, four World Cup championships, but now they may be facing their biggest challenge ever, the fight for equal pay.
The U.S. women's soccer team are the undisputed global super stars of the sport but, in a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Soccer Federation in 2018, the players allege they're not receiving pay 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 being paid more than the men's team. The players are now appealing.
As the legal battle enters its next chapter, the CNN film, "LFG," brings you a behind-the-scenes look at the grit and determination these women bring to their game, both on and off the field.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: The lawsuit is something that no professional athlete would ever want to have. It's so much work. It takes you away from your sport. It's very stressful.
MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: It's the same sentiment that's been happening for years and years, decades and decades, through many different negotiations.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: Something is just completely collapsed and crumbled and we need to build it up. UNIDENTIFIED U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: We're in camp a lot.
Then there's times when we're in completely different time zones, states.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: That's great, guys. Thank you very much for doing this.
UNIDENTIFIED U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: There's a lot of phone calls, text messages, emails.
RAPINOE: Strategizing and keeping everyone on the same page, and --
Carlos is the only one that has his eyes on that.
Discriminated people do not have the luxury of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) around, frankly.
So it's our players who are trying to form what the lawsuit is. You know, figuring out all of the inequalities over the years, going through our contracts, the other contracts.
It's hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of our time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Make sure to tune in to hear from the players fighting for equal pay and women's rights in the CNN film, "LFG." That's Monday night at 9:00, right here on CNN.
A member of the Biden administration sharing some big baby news this weekend. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten, just announced the arrival of their twins.
Buttigieg posted this picture of Penelope Rose and her brother, Joseph August.
The couple, who have been married since 2018, say they've been trying to adopt for a year. A big congratulations to all of them.
The 2008 "CNN Hero of the Year," Liz McCartney, co-founded the St. Bernard Project in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The group has helped restore thousands of homes following natural disasters across the U.S., a top priority after Ida.
(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.
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 this story, go to CNNheroes.com.
[17:59:59]
That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
Amara Walker takes over the CNN NEWSROOM, live, after a quick break.
Have a good night.
