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U.S. House to Vote Today on $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill; Progressive Democrats Demanding Action on $3.5 Trillion Legislation; Top U.S. General Resume Testimony on What Went Wrong in Afghanistan; Kim Jong-un Slams Biden Administration for Hostile Policies; Jamie Spears Suspended As Conservator of Estate; Attorney: Laundrie Bought a New Phone After Returning Home; Wayne Couzen's Sentencing Hearing Resumes. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired September 30, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London. Just ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not some wish list. This is the president's agenda.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want it to pass.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the time to make our decision and do our job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Time is running out on Capitol Hill, as U.S. lawmakers face two key votes to avert a government shutdown and a vote on President Biden's key economic bills.
North Korea's leader calls the hostile policies efforts by the U.S. a deception while easing tensions with its data in the south.
And after more than 30 years, Britney Spears is one step closer to being free of her conservatorship.
Hello, everyone. It is Thursday, September 30th. And in just a few hours' time Congress will tackle the first of four critical pieces of legislation worth trillions of dollars. And once again, it's coming down to the wire. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to call a vote on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package even though many progressive Democrats are threatening to vote against it. The White House says the president was leaving it up to Pelosi on how best to proceed. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president trusts the Speaker and her assessment of water caucus needs to win this vote. Our objective here is winning two votes, getting these two pieces of important legislation across the finish line. Because we know the impact they'll have on the American people. We know they'll lower costs for people. We know the will make a huge -- be a huge down payment towards addressing our climate crisis. It'll lower taxes for 50 million Americans. And he wants to get will signed. And we certainly trust Speaker Pelosi. We're working in lockstep and around the clock to get both of these pieces of legislation done.
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SOARES: Well, progressives are growing frustrated because of their ambitious agenda to spanned social programs have been stalled by modern Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. Yet neither has been forthcoming about what they might agree to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, progressives feel though you're not dealing in good faith. They felt that there was a deal made.
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I never knew that that. Never heard of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you were never part of a deal that linked the two bills together?
MANCHIN: Never heard of that. Two of them are going to be together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MANCHIN: Why do you think we worked so hard to separate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you say that progressives -- progressives that are frustrated that they don't know where you are?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm the Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, President Biden has met repeatedly with (INAUDIBLE) in recent days but nothing concrete has been announced. Some House Democrats are beginning to lose their patience really by the colleagues.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): Have Kyrsten Sinema come to my district and meet with my folks in St. Louis. Come and talk to those people who are spending all of that money on their prescription medication that they need, that's life saving but also can't afford their rent at the same time. Have her come and talk to those who are sleeping in their cars. She has her own story that I feel like she's forgotten.
REP. DAN KILDEE (D-MI): Our two Senate Democrats who have done a good job of articulating what they're against have so far kept a secret as to what they're for. REP. MARK POCAN (D-WI): If someone won't show you their cards, you
don't know what you're doing. And that's the real problem. We need Manchin and Sinema to do their jobs.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Literally one Senator, one Senator Kyrsten Sinema is holding up the will of the entire Democratic Party. The president keeps begging her, tell us what you want.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: You see the tensions there while keeping the government running is a top priority today in the U.S. Senate. With the possible shutdown looming in less than 24 hours, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he has reached a deal with the Republicans to fund the government into December. The vote on that stopgap measure is expected in the Senate first thing.
And then also looming over Congress, there's a deadline to increase the amount of money the government is allowed to borrow. Unless the debt ceiling is raised in the next couple of weeks, there is a risk of the government defaulting on its bills and possibly triggering of a global financial meltdown. But with Republicans in solid opposition, the path forward on that is extremely narrow, take a listen.
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PSAKI: President's view and our view has been the debt ceiling has been raised 80 times in a bipartisan fashion over the course of history. Including three times during the prior administration, even right after the passing of $2 trillion in tax cuts that were not paid for. So, in his view, this is something that has been done in a bipartisan manor. It should be something that is not political. Because everybody should believe that we need to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.
[04:05:00]
And we're disappointed that's not the view shared by Republicans right now.
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SOARES: While Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal is chair of the congressional progressive caucus in pushing the legislative aggressive agenda to the forefront, she said there had been an agreement months ago to keep everything in a single bill and then it fell apart, take a listen to this.
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REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): We wanted one package because we didn't want roads and bridges to be pitted against child care or paid leave and climate change, right. But when we didn't get that, we said OK, well we'll make you a deal -- and we were very clear about this 3 1/2 months ago -- we will vote for the bipartisan package if you make sure that you pass the reconciliation package first. That was the deal that 11 Senators put out a statement and said was a deal.
Now Senator Manchin appears to be saying that those Senators were not telling the truth. I don't know what, I mean -- they put out a statement. So obviously, there's something wrong. If we do have a vote, then we'll vote it down and we'll continue the negotiations so that we can actually deliver the entirety of the president's agenda.
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SOARES: We'll keep on top of this story. Of course, it's going to be a very busy day in Washington.
Now the U.S. Defense Secretary and top generals are shining more light on the collapse of Afghanistan government that caught so many off guard. They spoke to a U.S. House committee on Wednesday. With the Joint Chiefs Chairman stating he knew up to six years ago that the war was stalemated. CNN's Alex Marquardt has all the details for you.
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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A blunt assessment from the nation's top general opening the second day of congressional hearings on the end of the war in Afghanistan.
GEN. MARK MILLEY, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: It was a tactical operation and logistical success, evacuating 124,000 people. The war was a strategic failure.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): General Mark Milley making clear that after former President Donald Trump lost the election, he ordered an accelerated withdrawal of all U.S. troops before President Joe Biden took office, having already agreed with the Taliban to fully withdraw. It was a decision Milley says he was cut out of.
MILLEY: That's why I went over to the White House with acting Secretary Miller and White House Chief of Staff Kash Patel to discuss that order. So, I wasn't consulted on it.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Republican lawmakers went after the apparent contradiction between the general's wanting 2,500 U.S. troops to stay and President Biden telling ABC News, he didn't get that advice.
REP. MARK ROGERS (R-AL): In January of this year, were you of the opinion in your professional military judgment that we should have maintained 2,500 troops, U.S. troops?
MILLEY: Yes, my assessment that I read in the opening statement remained consistent and --
ROGERS: Did that professional military opinion change over the course of the next few months?
MILLEY: Not until the presidential decision, and I rendered my opinions, and it was a fulsome debate on all of that. And once decisions are made, then I'm expected to execute lawful orders. MARQUARDT (voice-over): Milley was again attacked by Republicans for calls he made to his Chinese counterpart in October and January. Milley said intelligence showed that the Chinese were worried about an American attack, so worried that the intelligence appeared in the president's daily brief and was shared with top national security officials.
MILLEY: That was significant, and there was a lot of it. There wasn't just a singular report. There's a lot. I'd be happy to share it with you and go over with you line by line.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): According to the new book, "Peril," Milley told the Chinese that the U.S. would not attack China. Today, he said those calls were meant to convey President Trump's intent.
MILLEY: I said (INAUDIBLE) we're not going to attack you. Trust me. We're not going to attack you. These are two great powers and I'm doing my best to transmit the president's intent, President Trump's intent.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Milley said he had no regrets about speaking with "Peril" co-Author Bob Woodward, insisting that it's important to speak with the press.
MILLEY: I have done my best to remain personally apolitical and have tried to keep the military out of actual domestic politics.
MARQUARDT: After repeated GOP calls for Milley to resign, Congresswoman Liz Cheney apologized to the general for her Republican colleagues.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): For any American to question your loyalty to our nation, to question your understanding of our Constitution, your loyalty to our Constitution, your recognition and understanding of the civilian chain of command is despicable.
MARQUARDT: General Milley was asked when he knew the war was lost. He wouldn't use that word himself, but he said that it was five or six years ago that he knew that there was no military solution, that it was unwinnable and, in his words, stalemated. The answer, he said, was a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. Now since the Taliban signed the deal with the Trump administration last year, Milley said that the Taliban has stood by the condition not to attack U.S. troops but haven't honored any of the other conditions.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
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SOARES: Well, military officials from China in the U.S. help frank and in-depth discussions the past couple of days during annual talks between the two nations.
[04:10:00]
The Pentagon stressed the meetings are a crucial part of the Biden administration's efforts to maintain open lines of communication with China and avoid competition between two nuclear powers.
Well, North Korea's leader says he's willing to reopen communication lines with South Korea during his speech at the nation's legislative assembly on Wednesday. Kim Jong-un condemned Seoul's recent military buildup and joint drills with the United States. He also slammed the quote, hostile policies of the U.S. Claiming the Biden administration's proposal of dialogue without precondition is nothing but, quote, a mere illusion.
CNN's Will Ripley is following the story for us from Taipei. And Will, you know, and we've seen North Korea test three missiles this month alone. And now we have Kim Jong-un dismissing the U.S. and the Biden administration. How do you interpret these development? Because we've seen a kind of flurry in the last couple of weeks.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Feels like a bit of mixed messaging. Doesn't it? On one hand on Tuesday, you launched what you claim is a hypersonic missile which could be extraordinarily deadly and dangerous to, you know, South Korea and Japan, the United States military assets in the region. If North Korea's claims are true -- and there are still some's dispute about how far along they've come developing this weapon.
But then Kim Jong-un says, but let's talk. Let's reopen the communication line between the North and South. That North Korea pulled the plug on last year around the time that they also blew up the inter-Korean liaison office.
And what is South Korea doing? They're scrambling to get the line set up, they're welcoming the resumption of dialogue. So, you know, now, North Korea is saying, OK, we'd like to talk to the South, but you know, but it needs to be based on mutual respect. Yes, we assaulted your president. Yes, we called you all sorts of names and basically said that you kowtowed to the United States. But now we want to talk.
So, there's this repeated pattern that we've seen over the years where North Korea attempts to kind of almost drive a bit of a wedge in between South Korea and the United States. Putting South Korea in a tough position because they have a military alliance with the United States. They have to get engaged in joint military exercises with United States. North Korea gets furious when they have set exercises -- even though they're doing their own exercises in the north -- and then they cut things off and tensions ratchet up again in the North tests a new weapon. You see how it goes.
So, right now, they're playing nice with South Korea, while blasting the United States, blasting what they call is the hostility of the Biden administration. Which they say is unchanged from the Trump years. They just say it's more sly now. And they say that they believe it's a trick. That this offer that the U.S. has made for talks without preconditions is simply an act of deception. Because they don't trust the U.S. They really don't trust the U.S.
And if you look at the diplomatic history over the years, frankly, you can see why they don't really trust the United States. Given what happened with the Iran deal and other agreements. And of course, they walked into the Hanoi Summit thinking they were going to have a deal with their buddy, the former U.S. President Donald Trump, that fell apart and Kim came home humiliated.
So, you can understand the lack of trust that's there. There's clearly a big divide between the two. But by opening the door, Isa, for a dialogue with South Korea, what the North is doing is eventually paving the way possibly for talks with the U.S.
And by the way I do need to mention Kim also promoted his younger sister Kim Yo Jong to the State Affairs Commission. She is now without a doubt probably the second most powerful person in North Korea. We believe she's around 32 years old. One woman on a very elite group of 10 men, the top decision-making body in North Korea right there next to her brother as his closest confident.
SOARES: Yes, loyalty --
RIPLEY: I got it all in there in two minutes.
SOARES: Yes, you did, you did fantastic, Will. So good. I mean, it's the kind of story that you need to read between the lines. Don't you? Will Ripley for us in Taipei, good to see you, Will.
Now, Britney Spears is celebrating a huge win in the battle to regain control of her life. As fans cheered a Los Angeles judge's decision to suspend her father Jamie Spears as the conservator her $60 million estate effective immediately. It is the first time since 2008 that Britney Spears is free from her father's oversight. Her attorney said the decisions were celebrated. But he underscored how long it took to get to this point. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATHEW ROSENGART, BRITNEY SPEARS' LAWYER: It's a great day for Britney Spears. And it's a great day for justice. And there's definitely something to celebrate. But it's also a solemn day. Britney spears has been faced by a decade-long nightmare, a Kafkaesque nightmare, orchestrated by her father and others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: What did this mean for Britney Spears. Chloe Melas has the details for you from Los Angeles.
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CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: A major legal victory for Britney Spears on Wednesday with Judge Penny moving to spend Jamie Spears as his role as conservator of Britney $60 million estate. He has served as his daughter's conservator since 2008, for over a decade. Now Jamie Spears did not want this to happen. He actually wanted the conservatorship to be completely terminated. He filed a petition earlier this month saying so.
[04:15:00] Now Mathew Rosengart -- Britney Spears attorney -- saying in court that he believed that he actually filed that motion in an effort to not have to now hand over accounting and paperwork and basically all of those checks and balances over the last 13 years which now he has to do so. But Matthew Rosengart spoken Britney's behalf. Saying that although she's not here today, I am her voice. Calling Jamie Spears, a cruel and toxic and an abusive man. Saying that Britney should not have to wake up one more day with her father as conservator.
The judge actually called this a toxic environment and has now appointed a certified public accountant by the name of John Zabel. Who's going to be temporarily stepping into this role, overseeing the estate.
Now there is another court hearing scheduled for November 12 where Judge Brenda Penny is expected to terminate this once and for all. But in the meantime, lots of twists and turns. But Britney took to Instagram to say that she is on cloud nine with this news.
Chloe Melas, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Jamie Spears's attorney says everything Jamie did was with Britney's interest in mind and that he loved her very much.
Now celebrities and those closest to Britney are also reacting to the news. Let me show you a couple. Britney's fiancee Sam Ashghari took to Instagram to thank her fans. Saying her fan base is called an army for reason.
Singer Dionne Warwick said, this is wonderful news. She can now breathe. Britney, enjoy your life, she tweeted.
And Cher says she has talked and prayed about this for years and more than thrilled, bless our superstar.
Now the head of global safety for Facebook, will face some tough questions from Senators about harm to children from social media. A U.S. Senate committee is armed with confidential information from Facebook. Who says the company knows its product causes psychological issues for kids. The whistle-blower is expected to testify next week. We'll stay on top of that story for you.
And still to come right here on CNN NEWSROOM, new details are merging about what Gabby Petito's fiancee did when he returned home from this trip without her.
Plus, the sentencing hearing of Sarah Everard's murder case gets underway again in less than an hour. We'll go live to the courthouse in London where the confessed killer will learn his fate. Do stay right here with CNN.
[04:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOARES: Now Gabby Petito's memorial patch in Northport Florida is growing. As you can see there, people across the United States are coming to honor her life. The 22-year-old's remains were found just over a week ago at a campground in Wyoming.
And we are now learning new details about what Gabby Petito's fiancee did when he returned home from their cross-country trip without her. Brian Laundrie's lawyer said he bought a new phone on September 4, three days after he got back. The phone is now in the FBI's hands after Laundrie left it at his parent's house just before disappearing. CNN's Leyla Santiago picks up the story for you.
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LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the search for Brian Laundrie intensifies, new details are surfacing, creating a better timeline about how Laundrie was spending his days after he returned home September 1st without his fiancee, Gabby Petito.
The Laundrie's attorney tells CNN that Brian and his family went camping from September 6th to the 7th at the Fort De Soto campground 75 miles away from their home. He says they all left the campground together.
Today, Pinellas County Sheriff's office says surveillance footage from De Soto Park from when the Laundrie family has been camping has been given to the FBI and that video is part of their active investigation.
Gabby's parents reported her missing September 11th, just days after Brian and his parents returned from their camping trip. A neighbor of the Laundrie's says she last saw Brian at his home the weekend of September 10th.
KARYN ABERTS, LAUNDRIE FAMILY'S NEIGHBOR: Saw him and the family in the neighborhood out in the front yard.
SANTIAGO: How would you describe them?
ABERTS: I thought it was just, again, a normal, you know, they were going for a walk. So, never thought anything about it.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): On September 17th, Laundrie's parents reported him missing, telling police they last saw him three days earlier. The FBI executed a search warrant at the Laundrie home on September 20th, a day after authorities found Petito's body at a campground in Wyoming.
Finally, September 23rd, the FBI announced a federal-arrest warrant for Brian for using a debit card that wasn't his between the dates of August 30th and September 1st.
This Monday, the Laundrie's attorney issuing a statement saying, Chris and Roberta Laundrie do not know where Brian is. They are concerned about Brian and hope the FBI can locate him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The letters were GBZ. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gabs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gabs.
SANTIAGO: The Petito family and their attorney asking for Brian to do the right thing.
RICHARD STAFFORD, PETITO FAMILY LAWYER: Brian, we're asking you to turn yourself in to the FBI or the nearest law enforcement agency.
SANTIAGO (voice-over): Leyla Santiago, CNN, Northpoint, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Well, here in the U.K., the final chapter in the horrific murder of Sarah Everard will play out in a London courtroom in roughly about 30 minutes or so, when the sentencing hearing for Wayne Couzens resumes. The former police officer is expected to receive a life sentence after confessing that he kidnapped, raped and killed Everard back in March. The brutal murder rocked the U.K. and renewed a debate about violence against women.
Nada Bashir standing by outside the Old Bailey courtroom in London and joins me now. And Nada, you know, I was reading Sarah mum's emotional witness statement that she gave at the Old Bailey this morning and it was just so gut-wrenching. I mean, give our viewers a sense of what we have heard so far, about the length this police officer went to trick Sarah here.
NADA BASHIR, CNN PRODUCER: Well, that's right, Isa. Sarah's mother gave that emotional statement yesterday in this courtroom behind me, saying that she is still tormented by thoughts of what her daughter was forced to endure by former police officer Wayne Couzens. And we were able to learn new details about Sarah's last few moments from the prosecution yesterday.
Some of the more disturbing details being that Wayne Couzens used his police authority to abduct, rape and kill Everard. We now understand that Couzens presented his police I.D. to Everard when he stopped her on the street as she was making her way home from her friend's house in Clapham, south London.
[04:25:00]
He then hand cuffed her and potentially under the guise of enforcing coronavirus lockdown restrictions, arrested her -- false arrest that is -- and kidnapped her. And we also know some of the more harrowing last moments, we told previously that they had found that Sarah Everard died as a result of compression to the neck. We now know that Couzens used his police belt to strangle Everard.
So, this is really harrowing details that were revealed yesterday by the prosecution. Today in the courtroom, Couzens will appear again for the second and final day of his sentencing hearing. He is expected to receive that life sentence. But we are aware that prosecution is seeking to remove the opportunity for parole, only because of the severity of the crime he committed. But of course, for the family and Sarah Everard's loved ones and indeed for many women across the country who are outraged by this act of violence, questions still remain as to whether police authorities and indeed the government are doing enough to prevent violence against women in the U.K. -- Isa.
SOARES: Yes, our thoughts of course are with the family. Nada Bashir do stay on top of the story for us. Great to see you, Nada, thank you.
Now, it is morning in the Canary Islands where lava is still flowing to the ocean from the volcano that's been erupting now for 11 straight days. A lava delta is now forming as it gathers at the shoreline, as you can see there. Officials warn that chemical reaction when the lava hits the sea could cause toxic gases or even explosions. But so far, the air is safe to breathe. A team of international volcano experts have descended on La Palma to work with local and scientists as the volcano continues to erupt.
Well, another volcano is erupting over in Hawaii spewing lava since for the first time since May. The Kilauea volcano is part of estate of the states Volcano National Park. So far, the eruption is contained to a crater at the summit. Gas emissions are expected to lower air quality downwind according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The last time it erupted it spewed lava continuously for five months.
Now, nearly two dozen wildlife species could soon be declared extinct. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the ivory billed woodpecker along with some other birds, fish, bats and plants will soon be removed from the endangered list. That's because the agency said it has exhausted their efforts to find them. They warn climate change, dwindling habitats and now they're pressure to have much more of such disappearance common. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIDGET FAHEY, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: Really our day for those of us in official wildlife service, we dedicate our lives to preventing extinction. And we're acknowledging that we might have lost that fight and it's hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: The proposal will be open to public until the end of the year.
Now rain, warm temperatures and a tropical storm brewing. It's all in store for the U.S. week. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has the latest forecast Pedram.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Isa, final day of September upon us here and still feeling like summer across portions of the Midwest here as warmth is in place. But still long portions of the Gulf Coast, we do expect rounds of heavy rainfall. It has been a very soggy go the last couple of days here. Coastal Louisiana points back to the West into areas of Texas, tremendous amount of rainfall, 2 to 4 inches have already come down. And we know it has been of course soggy for the tropical season there in recent months. But up towards to north, this is where temperatures running 5 to about
10 degrees above average. Indianapolis climbing up to 82 degrees -- the lower 70s is what you would expect this time of year. Chicago, same story, low 80s, where the lower 70s where you expect to be into the last day of September. And not too bad in portions of West Virginia as well, 76 degrees. And that warmth is expected to migrate a little farther towards the east. As it does, our friends around the Northeast usher in the month of October on a splendid note. An incredible trend of warmth here taking those temps up to 74, eventually 75 in New York City, even 76, come Monday. But some thunderstorms possible early next week. But you'll notice, the run of weather as nice as it gets this time of year around the Northeastern United States.
All right, how about what's happening across the Atlantic. We've got a newly formed tropical storm, that's Victor to tell you about. Generally speaking, beyond this conditions are quiet. And of course, there is hurricane Sam. There is a major hurricane has maintained its category 4 status. And the great news for really much of the life cycle of this storm, is the models have generally hinted at no direct impact to land and that looks like the case as it migrates well east of Bermuda as a major hurricane. But again, Victor is still on board and watching this carefully, because forecast models do expect a similar track here over open waters. So. good news at least to usher in the month of October -- Isa.
SOARES: Thanks very much, Pedram. I can tell you that summer has officially ended here.
Now the very public roles members of Congress play in U.S. politics is putting them at increasing risks. What police are saying about the threat ahead.