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Major Oil Spill Hits California Coastline; U.S. Deaths Due To COVID Hits 700,000; Monica Lewinsky Reclaiming Her Story; Kyrie Irving Quiet On Vaccination Status; More Republicans Pushing White Supremacist Theory; Treasury Secretary Warns Of Economic Calamity; Lin-Manuel Miranda Sends Absence Note Video. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 03, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: She is a national treasure. And now, a q quick programming note. On an all-new season of "This is Life" Lisa Ling explores historical events that changed America but are rarely found in history books. Catch the season premiere of "This is Life" with Lisa Ling next Sunday at 10:00 p.m. only on CNN.

And we're back at it. You are live in the "CNN Newsroom". I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. We're starting again with breaking news at the top of this hour. An environmental catastrophe is unfolding this hour along the coast of California. A massive oil leak is sending thousands of barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean and a stretch of the shoreline is already littered with dead fish and birds. And it's not over.

Officials saying this leak has not been completely stopped. CNN's Natasha Chen is on the scene in Huntington Beach. Natasha, how bad is this? And I'm sure there's no question about it. Californians are just outraged over the sight of any of this. They just don't stand for any of this when this happens.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, that is the case, but also now it is an actual potential public health threat. Orange County health officials said that they are going to issue an alert, a warning, imminently this afternoon advising that this -- if you come into contact with this oil as we've seen some beachgoers showing that to us on their arms, on their skin, on the bottoms of their feet, that can create some skin irritation.

Now the products from this oil spill could evaporate and spread through the air depending on the wind and that could also create irritation in the throat, in the nose, in the eyes. And so health officials are saying if people have respiratory illnesses, the elderly, children, especially those vulnerable populations should stay away from this area.

In fact, nobody should be going in the water at this time. The officials in two different press conferences in the last couple of hours emphasized that again. Really people should not be in there. The folks we did see on the water through our drone footage, these ships have been actually dropping boom and dragging it to really try and gather what oil they can up and down the shoreline right now.

This is damage control and a lot of parties are working together to together. Eventually, the city of Huntington Beach said they could ask for volunteers to help at beach cleanup. That's going to come later.

Right now, the party responsible, Amplify Energy, the CEO also spoke alongside the Coast Guard at a separate press conference where they said that they've got divers on location right now at the potential source site. Those divers can potentially investigate what happened here.

In the meantime, here is an Orange County supervisor talking about what she's already seen come up on shore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATRINA FOLEY, SECOND DISTRICT SUPERVISOR, ORANGE COUNTY: I was there for a few hours today. And even during that time, I started to feel a little bit of my throat hurt. And you can feel the vapor in the air.

I saw what I'll describe as little pancake clusters of oil along the shoreline. And I've described it as something like an egg yolk. If you push it, it kind of spreads out. And so we don't want people to disturb those little clusters so that the cleanup can be more easily maintained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And we're saying that if people find animals that have come up on shore with oil on them, please don't touch anything. Call the hotline that they're giving out. And also, Amplify Energy says that this -- they supply here a local refinery. And so because of this and that particular pipeline shutdown, that refinery will have to find a different source, Jim

ACOSTA: All right, Natasha Chen. Just a sad situation out there. Hope they get on top of this just as soon as possible. Thank you so much for that update.

Now turning to the ongoing crisis that continues to touch the entire nation, more than 701,000 Americans have lost their lives to the coronavirus. And even though cases and deaths are currently trending downward, we know how this works. Future spikes are likely unless quite a few more people decide to get vaccinated.

Seventy million people are still eligible to roll up their sleeves. And here's a great illustration of why they should. Take a look at the two most vaccinated states, Vermont and Connecticut. Compare that to the least vaccinated states, Wyoming and West Virginia. It's right there in those colors, green and red on your screen.

Here's how they fared against COVID cases since June as vaccines became widely available and sadly this speaks for itself. The lower the vaccination rate, we've said this time and time again, the higher the number of deaths. That's driving some states to ramp up vaccination mandates. We're seeing this in New York City where public school teachers have

this weekend to get at least one COVID vaccine shot or they won't be allowed in the classroom come Monday. California, going even further.

[17:04:58]

It will require students to be vaccinated as soon as their age group receives full FDA approval.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me now. Polo, are New York City official officials expecting a teacher shortage due to this mandate? I imagine they have just the vast, vast majority of these teachers, you know, cooperating with this.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that's why we're going to be watching very closely tomorrow, Jim, as students and most staff at New York City's public school system head back to class. Of course, I say most, because as of last update from New York public schools officials, which was actually on Friday, 93 percent of their teachers actually received at least one shot.

And that would mean they did comply with that mandate that is supposed to kick in tomorrow that requires all school personnel to get at least one vaccination or possibly at least one COVID shot, vaccination shot or at least face the potential of being put on unpaid leave if they don't have a confirmed medical or religious exemption here.

Now, in terms of what with we potentially saw over the weekend, school officials have not updated that number. So, it is safe to assume that there is still many other teachers that did get the vaccination over the weekend, but there is still that potential for understaffing. And that is one of the big concerns here.

But when you hear from, Meisha Porter, the chancellor of the school or the Department of Education here in New York City, she says that they have been working towards the state. They have plenty of vaccinated substitute teachers ready to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEISHA ROSS PORTER, CHANCELLOR, NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: We do not expect to have a shortage on Monday. We expect to be ready. And we've been working very closely with our union partners to ensure that we're ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So again, remember, as of Friday, only about 7 percent of those teachers did not get vaccinated. You do the math. That's roughly about 5,500. But again, they were hopeful that over the weekend some of them actually got their vaccination to be able to comply with that.

And we also heard from the chancellor who said the door is still wide open. They should still get the vaccination if they haven't, and that would allow them to head back to class. Jim. ACOSTA: All right. And our thanks to all the teachers who are doing

the right thing. You know, we focus on the teachers who are maybe not wanting to go along with this, but so many of them are and we appreciate that so much. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much.

And with me now is CNN medical analyst and professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, Dr. Jonathan Reiner. Dr. Reiner, as you know, the U.S. has now eclipsed 700,000 COVID deaths, a staggering toll. And I'm sure you've seen this down on the National Mall. When you see each white flag representing a death laid out like this. And this just powerful display, I've seen it myself. And what is so depressing about it, but important for people to see is to see how it's growing.

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYSY: Yes.

ACOSTA: The Washington Monument, the area of the National Mall around the Washington Monument is about half covered now by these white flags. And the other half is blank. And I'm wondering, are we going to get there?

REINER: You know, it's devastating. And every day, you know, we're adding 2,000 more flags to that space. And what's so maddening and so frustrating to me is that the last 200,000 people who have died have largely died for no reason.

The 200,000 people have died essentially since this vaccine has been available to everyone in this country. So, you know, what I'm hoping going forward is that the 70 million people in this country who still have not gotten the vaccine will finally get the message and understand that they don't need to die. No one wants to be the last person to die from this virus.

ACOSTA: There is no question about that. And the "New York Times" put together a map showing the concentration of the most recent 100,000 COVID deaths in the United States. I don't know if we have that available. If we put it up on screen. I mean, you can see Republicans are more likely to be vaccine hesitant. There it is right there. I mean, the dark spots on the map are in Trump country, basically. Fox News country. What are your thoughts when you look at that?

REINER: You know, when you look at the Kaiser Family Foundation polling, they poll every month of vaccine attitudes around the United States, 90 percent of Democrats have been vaccinated, 58 percent of Republicans have been vaccinated. It makes no sense. The virus doesn't care what your political affiliation is.

What we've seen, many of the GOP leaders have been strangely silent. The former president has been almost completely silent about vaccines. He could have taken his show on the road. He could have claimed victory for vaccines and gone from state to state advocating, do mask vaccine rallies, but yet he has chosen not to do that. And people have died as a result.

ACOSTA: And I want to show you something that caught my eye. Our friend over at Fox, Geraldo Rivera, you know who he is. He had this fascinating tweet and it got a lot of people's attention.

[17:10:2]

It says "Open-minded and inclusive. I'm friends with all kinds of people. But as we pass 700,000 COVID dead, I have zero tolerance for anti-vaxxers. Most of all, I detest vaccinated blank heads -- you can look at it there and find the tweet if you want to see exactly what he said -- who urge the unvaccinated to fight for their freedom, the mob urging the man on ledge to jump." I mean, he's not wrong.

REINER: He's not wrong and --

ACOSTA: I imagine he's talking about Tucker Carlson.

REINER: Right. And he's not wrong. It's not based on science and it's very, very cynical. But it's just not -- these aren't just individual decisions. Every person who decides not to get vaccinated is making a decision for the people that surround them.

You know, if they die, then they have made a terrible decision for their family. If they infect someone vulnerable in their family, they have made a horrible decision for their family and for their community, for the old man next door, for the person who had a bone marrow transplant down the street that they pass every day.

So, you know, we need to come together. We need to link arms as a community now rather than being, you know, red and blue. There are no red or blue people. There are just Americans and it's time that we start acting like Americans and pull ourselves together.

You know, we've -- this weekend we passed the total number of deaths for all Americans who have died from HIV in 40 years. So in 18 months, over 700,000 Americans have died from this virus. And I think fully, half of the deaths are probably have been avoidable.

ACOSTA: It's just -- and those flags on the mall are white, they're not red or blue. And Trump has weighed in on the booster issue. Let's listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I got the Pfizer and I would have been very happy with any of them.

ADAM SHAPIRO, AHO FINANCE ANCHOR: Mr. President, you have talked a lot about the good state of your health and I'm curious, would you get the booster shot?

TRUMP: Well, if I felt it was necessary. I guess, I have sort of a double vaccine. Because, as you know, I had it, recovered from it pretty well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What are your thoughts on that? REINER: His answer should have been, if my doctor recommends the

booster, I will absolutely get the booster. And I encourage all my supporters to ask your doctor if you need a booster and to go out and get the booster.

ACOSTA: Right. Right.

REINER: Instead, you know, he's riffing it. And if I had to guess, I would guess he's already been boosted.

ACOSTA: In secret.

REINER: Like the original vaccine, in secret.

ACOSTA: In secret; Dr. Jonathan Reiner, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Coming up, Monica Lewinsky struggles -- she's speaking out about her struggles with mental health after the Clinton affair scandal and how -- she's talking about how she's reclaiming her story. That is next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ACOSTA: It's been over 20 years since most Americans first heard the name Monica Lewinsky. And only now are we getting a fuller picture of the former White House intern and what she went through during the Clinton impeachment scandal.

As CNN's Brian Todd explains, Lewinsky is telling her story in new interviews and as a producer of a T.V. drama about the affair that changed her life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A jarring new narrative from Monica Lewinsky, who sheds new light on the struggles she endured while the Clinton impeachment scandal swirled around her.

The former White House intern is reflecting openly about the mental health problems she experienced during that period in the 1990s, telling CNN's David Axelrod in his podcast that she had suicidal ideations at the time and even asked the office of independent counsel Ken Starr, who was investigating about it. Lewinsky referring to Starr's office as the OIC.

MONICA LEWINSKY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE INTERN: I just couldn't see a way out and - and I thought that maybe - maybe that was the solution and had even asked -- you know, which is this is also an interesting point of just I had asked the OIC lawyers about what happens if I die.

TODD (voice-over): The clinical psychologist sheds light on the trauma Lewinsky likely went through, which could have led her to think about suicide. RUTH WITTERSGREEN, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Not only was it the legal

situation hanging over her head, the threats, her having no idea what might happen to her and to her life ahead, it was the public shaming. It was incredibly intense. And what it meant to be called a sexual predator. She was accused of the one, you know, causing this trouble for Clinton and being a narcissist.

TODD (voice-over): Lewinsky addressed the issues of shaming and bullying in a 2015 TED Talk.

LEWINSKY: Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop. And it's time for an intervention on the internet and in our culture.

TODD (voice-over): The latest podcast interview comes as new attention is being focused on Lewinsky, who is now 48 but was in her early 20s during the Clinton affair and the investigation. She's a producer for a new drama series on FX titled "Impeachment: American Crime Story."

UNKNOWN: Sorry. I'm so nervous. I have a huge crush on you.

UNKNOWN: That's really flattering.

TODD (voice-over): Lewinsky told the "Today" show recently that project has taken its own emotional toll.

LEWINSKY: I'm nervous for people to see some of the worst moments of my life and a lot of behavior that I regret. And if you remember your 20s not that long ago, it's pretty cringeworthy.

TODD (voice-over): Lewinsky withdrew from the public eye for years after the Clinton scandal, rarely speaking about it, building a wall around her personal life. Analysts say she now seems to be owning her story more, reclaiming the narrative as a survivor.

[17:19:55]

MARGARET TALEV, MANAGING EDITOR FOR POLITICS, AXIOS: After more than two decades largely in the wilderness, I mean, her ability to have a normal life was sidetracked. Her ability to have a career that she was in control of was sidetracked. This relationship with the president defined her life and she couldn't get away from it. And now she sees an opportunity to use that in a way that allows her to take more control. And that's what she's doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): For his part, former President Clinton said in a documentary that aired last year that he feels terrible that his affair with Lewinsky unfairly defined her life. Lewinsky, in a recent interview, said she doesn't need an apology from Bill Clinton. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

ACOSTA: And we should note if you or a loved one are struggling with thoughts of suicide, please call the suicide prevention life line at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741. That information always critically important. And joining us now is CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod who got that interview with Monica Lewinsky on his podcast, great podcast, "The Axe Files." David, you know, when I see Monica Lewinsky, I mean, I almost feel like I grew up with that being a part of all of our lives, you know, knowing about this.

And I guess there's a part of me that I still feel bad for her to this day, but I don't think she wants it that way anymore. I mean, that's the sense that I get when I watch how she is handling herself. What are your thoughts?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: There's no question about that. You're so right about that. I met her -- I only met her once before this podcast. That was five years ago in a restaurant in New York and we had a very nice conversation. And she walked away and I thought to myself, my goodness, you know, this happened when she was 22 years old.

ACOSTA: Right.

AXELROD: And now she's a grown woman. She was 43 at the time. And that's all people -- so many people know about her, and what an awful burden to bear. But, Jim, the admirable part of the story is that -- that she's turned, you know, rather than withdrawing, which she tried for a while, she's turned her pain into purpose.

And she's really become a very, very powerful crusader for, you know, against cyberbullying, against, you know, for kindness, you know, against some of the excesses (ph) of the social media companies who promote some of this bile online.

And, you know, I think this has been really transformational for her. She's got a documentary coming up this week called "15 Minutes of Shame." She was the executive producer of that on HBO Max, really delving into all of these issues. So, you know, it is such an interesting story and an inspiring one in the end.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, she was one of the first people I think to have this avalanche of social media, internet garbage to land on her. And this is how she's emerged. It is admirable. You asked Monica Lewinsky a very difficult question during the interview which was if the affair was tied to the relationship she had with her father. What did she tell you about that? Why did you ask that question?

AXELROD: Well, first of all, you know, as you know, the essence of my podcast is not to tell people what they already know but to really tell the life stories of the people I'm talking to, to share those, to probe those so that when people leave the podcast they know them better.

And I asked her questions about her childhood, not just about her dad but there was -- she had a very tumultuous home life when she was growing up. Her parents had a difficult relationship then. And you know, I wanted to know how that impacted on her.

And there were other things that she shared, quite personal things about things that happened to her. But I should say none of it was in service of saying, so I am not accountable for the things that I did even as a 22-year-old.

ACOSTA: Right.

AXELROD: She never said that and I admired her for that. But she was very open and honest about her life. And she was -- and she wanted to say, no, that wasn't why subsequent things happened. But she's impressive, Jim. And I was happy to sit down with her. And I, like you, you know, we all think back to that time in history and say, what should we have done? How should we have handled that? I know many, many people who feel that way. So, I am not one of them.

ACOSTA: Yes, society handled it so poorly. Yes. We as a society handled the whole thing so poorly. And David, I want to ask you about this because we just learned President Biden will be heading to Michigan on Tuesday to rally support for this economic agenda that is in trouble. It's difficult to see how this all gets passed. At this point, of course, it may still happen. What do you -- let's listen to what President Biden said about this yesterday and talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:24:58]

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We could bring the moderates and progressives together very easily, if we had two more votes.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

BIDEN: Two. Two people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: David, as somebody who's been on the trenches on this and I do remember back in the day when you were worried that maybe President Obama should not have gone for healthcare. It might have been too much too fast with everything going on. This is a massive undertaking that Joe Biden is trying to get to the finish line.

AXELROD: It is. And, honestly, I just want to differ with one thing you said a little bit. I actually think that the odds are more in favor of it getting done than not getting done. This is -- you know, this is the process, Jim. And there's a negotiation going on. And, you know, what the president needs to do are two things. If what he's doing by going to Michigan, which is making sure people understand what it is that's actually in these packages.

This is a case where the sum is greater than the parts. There are programs within this package that are really important to people's lives relating to child care, to pre, you know, universal pre- kindergarten and, you know, the climate is obviously addressed in here. So, a whole -- health care -- a whole range of things that are meaningful to people in their lives. If you don't talk about the individual components of it, then it just

becomes a big Washington fight over dollars and numbers and that's not helpful to him. The second thing he has to do is just continue the process of negotiating.

He needs to find out what everybody's bottom line is. And what it seemed to me at the end of the week was that people were going home to think about that. Not just the number, but what are the things that they could dispense with in this package. How could the thing be shaped in order to meet the desires of the other side?

This is kind of the process. Look, the Affordable Care Act, which, you know, as you pointed out I was involved in, that thing -- people read last rites over that legislation about 1,000 times before it passed. And it was the same process of just finding out what everybody's bottom line is.

I think every Democrat understands that to walk away from this, to walk away from these two pieces of legislation is really catastrophic. And, you know, so it's not just catastrophic for the president. It's catastrophic for Democrats running for office in 2022. And most importantly, for the country, for the missed opportunity. So, I think that they will get-together, but you know, it's -- you know, I used to have hair, Jim, before the Affordable Care Act fight.

ACOSTA: And a moustache, too, I think, if I recall correctly.

AXELROD: Yes, exactly. I have lost a lot as a result, but I think they'll get there.

ACOSTA: All right. We're all the better for it, David. All right, David Axelrod, great to talk to you as always. Thanks so much.

AXELROD: Nice to see you, Jim. Thank you.

ACOSTA: Make sure to check out David's podcast. And a quick programming note. The new CNN Original Series "Diana" introduces viewers to the person behind the princess and reveals a life more complicated and fascinating than the world knew. "Diana" premiers next Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on CNN.

Up next, NBA star Kyrie Irving keeping quiet about his COVID vaccination status even if it means missing games. We'll ask Hall-of- Famer Isaiah Thomas, there he is, the great Hall-of-Famer, Isaiah Thomas, about how he would feel about playing alongside somebody who is potentially prioritizing being a public health risk rather than being there for his teammates. We'll talk about that next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:00]

ACOSTA: Kyrie Irving, one of the best NBA athletes in the league right now, but now that the NBA has warned that vaccine mandates in New York and other cities could prevent athletes from playing, the Brooklyn Nets all-star guard is mum on whether he will be vaccinated and able to join his team on the court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRIE IRVING, BROOKLYN NETS GUARD: There's a lot of questions about what's going on in the world of Kyrie and I think I'll just -- I would love to keep that private and, you know, handle it the right way with my team and go forward together with a plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Irving is one of a small group of players who will not disclose whether they are vaccinated. The NBA says they will not be paying players who are forced to miss games because of vaccine mandates. Irving's stance has prompted outrage from Shaquille O'Neal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, NBA HALL OF FAMER: But if you're on my team and you can't play home games, I don't want you around. Like, we have a chance to win and if you ain't on the program, go somewhere else, period. Hey, whatever your reasons are, cool, I'm with that, but we ain't going to be going back and forth for 41 games whether you're going to play or not. Get your ass up out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And there you go. Let's talk about this with sports analyst and NBA Hall-of-Famer Isaiah Thomas. Isaiah, just to inform our viewers of this, you horrifically sprained your ankle in the 1988 finals game against the Los Angeles Lakers, but you kept playing leading your team essentially on none leg, scoring a total of more than 40 points in that game. A lot of NBA fans remember that very well.

But given that experience, how does it feel watching somebody like Kyrie Irving prioritizing being a potential public health threat over being allowed to play and contributing to his team's success as Shaquille O'Neal was just talking about there. It sounds selfish.

ISIAH THOMAS, TURNER SPORTS-NBA TV STUDIO ANALYST: Well, there are two different issues here. And I love Shaq. He's one of my closest friends, and I also love Kyrie. And when we put it out into perspective, this is really a safety issue.

[17:35:00]

And I would like to shift lanes. And it's more about we care about Kyrie's safety. We care about the American population's safety. We have had over 700,000 people plus and counting die from this virus. And what we're trying to do is just spread the word to our fellow Americans, our fellow teammates, in the environments that we're going to be in, playing in, communicating in, working in, that this is a safety issue.

It's not an injury issue where you just talked about me being injured in the game and continuing to play for your team. This is a pandemic that is not only affecting people here in America but is affecting people all across the world.

This isn't a community outbreak. This is something that's affecting people in other countries, and everyone is collectively coming together to try to defeat if we want to use a team analogy, to try to defeat this virus. And we as Americans, we all need to come together and try to defeat this virus for each other's safety.

ACOSTA: And if you look at the data, you look at the facts out there, there are certain demographics, certain sectors of the community bearing the brunt of deaths due to COVID misinformation. One is conservative Trump supporters. There's no way around that. You can look at the data, look at the maps out there. We've been showing that on our program.

Another is minority communities. We have seen great progress in the African-American and Latino communities, but are you upset to see prominent black athletes with millions of fans taking this public stance?

Keep in mind, obviously, we want to, you know, shout out to all of the players doing the right thing. They're all doing the right thing and sending a positive message. But what about those folks that aren't doing the right thing and the message that they're sending?

THOMAS: I would say -- here's my message to all of them. We love them, too. We want the conservative Trump supporters to be healthy and safe and live. We want, you know, our minority communities to live. We want the athletes to live. We want everybody to collectively come together. And I'll take it to a higher ground, Jim.

I'm not looking to criticize anyone. I'm looking to inform and influence and let people know that this is a safety issue and we care about you. That's why we're trying to get you vaccinated because we have a vaccination. We have something that has been proven, scientifically, medically to basically help you stay alive and not die.

This virus has killed again close to 700,000 people. That's just here in America. And when you look across the world, there's millions of people who have died from this virus. We don't want anyone else to die from this virus. We don't want anyone else to be sick from it.

So the information that we're trying to give to everyone, conservatives, you know, minorities, athletes, everyone, is that, hey, we care, we love, we have a solution for you and your families so you won't get -- so you won't die. You won't have to take the risk of --

ACOSTA: Right.

THOMAS: -- where your -- one of your family members passing away or one of your close friends passing away. And I've had both happen to me.

ACOSTA: You're so right about that. But here's the thing, 90 percent of NBA players are vaccinated. Way higher than the country as a whole. I mean, that's an accomplishment, I have to say. But take a look at this tweet from Texas Senator Ted Cruz where he says he stands with players who have been silent or private, didn't want to say whether or not they have been vaccinated or have released to get vaccinated. He ended up with the hashtag your body your choice.

Why not elevate, why not tweet the players that we are happy that they got vaccinated? What do you make of that tweet? What do you think of that decision made by the senator there to put that out there?

THOMAS: Well, the first question I would ask Senator Cruz out of respect, is he vaccinated himself? And if he is, then he should influence others to protect themselves because this is not a political issue. This is a safety issue. This is about us coming together for the greater good of Americans where we want our fellow brother, sister, to have a chance at living.

And when we look at -- okay, let's take a look at some of the hospitals in Texas where he is the senator at.

[17:39:59]

You know, there have been people there who need to get in the hospital, can't get in a hospital for some of their surgical needs, their emergency needs because the COVID wards are filled. The hospitals are filled. People can't get in to really service what they really need to take care of in their families.

ACOSTA: Right.

THOMAS: And this is what we are as Americans. We have to stop politicizing this. We have to stop looking at it in individual pockets. We need to come together as a collective country to fight this virus as Americans and get head ahead of it so we can -- so we can all live and everyone can be safe. I keep emphasizing. This is a safety issue. This is not an injury.

ACOSTA: No question about it. And thank you for that relentlessly positive focus -- you're just as relentless about that as you were on the basketball court and we appreciate that. The great Isiah Thomas. Thanks so much for spending some time with us this evening. We appreciate it.

THOMAS: Thank you for having me.

ACOSTA: All right. Good to see you. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:00]

ACOSTA: It is the latest dangerous lie to make its way from fringe message boards to the mainstream. Some Republican members of Congress are now openly pushing a very wild and racist conspiracy theory. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: You will not replace us!

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What was once a fringe white supremacist conspiracy theory, has now become mainstream.

UNKNOWN: Jews will not replace us.

REP. BRIAN BABIN (R-TX): We know what the Democrats are up to here. They want open borders. This is exactly their strategy. They want to replace the American electorate.

SERFATY (voice-over): With a growing number of Republican lawmakers now openly promoting the far-right so-called great replacement theory.

REP. SCOTT PERRY (R-PA): For many Americans, what seems to be happening, or what they believe right now is happening, is -- what appears to them is we're replacing national born American, native born Americans to permanently transform the political landscape of this very nation.

SERFATY (voice-over): The racist, anti-immigrant theory that says non- white immigrants are being brought to replace America's white population.

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): This administration wants complete open borders. And you have to ask yourself, why. Is it really they want to remake the demographics of America?

SERFATY (voice-over): The white nationalist conspiracy theory is detailed in French writer Renaud Camus' 2011 book called "The Great Replacement." And elements of replacement theory appear to have motivated some of the most heinous recent mass murders in the U.S. and around the world.

The gunman accused of killing more than 20 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 allegedly uploaded a document to the internet before the shooting saying, "This attack is in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by the invasion."

The man who allegedly killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 spout a nonsense on social media about Jewish people being somehow responsible for immigrant "invaders." And the shooter who killed 51 people at a mosque and Islamic center in Christchurch, New Zealand named his own manifesto, "The Great Replacement."

TRUMP: This is an invasion.

SERFATY (voice-over): The theory amplified again by the former president this weekend.

TRUMP: And our country is being turned into a migrant's camp. Joe Biden has thrown the border wide open and our country is being invaded by hundreds of thousands of people every single month.

SERFATY (voice-over): Voices on Fox News and openly defended by name by sitting members of Congress this week.

DAN PATRICK, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, TEXAS: Who do you think they're going to vote for? So, this is trying to take over our country without firing a shot.

SERFATY (voice-over): Republicans normalizing the theory leading some to fear that could prompt even more violence.

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): It is an insurgence. It's an invasion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Thanks to Sunlen for that report. And now here's CNN's Christine Romans with this week's "Before the Bell."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jim. Brinkmanship in Washington is adding to Wall Street worries. It's just another thing on the list concerning investors. September actually was the stock market's worst month in a year. It's looking like inflation will stick around longer.

That's causing bond yields to rise and high-flying tech stocks to fall. When the September jobs report comes out on Friday, investors want to see how quickly wages are increasing and whether that is feeding into this inflation narrative.

Overall, economists predict the U.S. economy added back 500,000 jobs. The jobless rate is expected slip to 5.1 percent. Beyond the jobs report, there is that debt ceiling clock and it is ticking here very loudly. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. government runs out of money on October 18th unless Congress raises the borrowing cap.

Reaching that limit and breaching that limit could be catastrophic for the economy and for financial markets. So, expect uncertainty in stocks to continue into October. In New York, I'm Christine Romans.

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[17:50:00]

ACOSTA: A Georgia high school student was not going to miss this shot to hang out with Lin-Manuel Miranda even if it meant missing history class. But he got the ultimate note excusing his absence delivered by the "Hamilton" star himself. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, ACTOR: Mr. Oscar (ph), this is Lin-Manuel Miranda. I am sorry he can't be in U.S. history class right now, but he's with me. We're going to go over the Bill of Rights, and anything you may be covering right now. We cover -- we cover a lot in about two-and-a-half hours of "Hamilton," but we're going to go over it in specifics now. So, this is not lost time. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:55:03]

ACOSTA: So many millions of kids are jealous right now, that is amazing. The teacher's response, this is a quote. "Oh, my god, I am freaking out during the test and I can't scream because they are concentrating." I would say so.

Sixteen-year-old Luke Stevens was at a fundraiser organized by his mother where Lin-Manuel Miranda was the guest of honor. Given that Luke's teacher is a "Hamilton" fan, we think the excuse note will be hard to say no to. And he's just a wonderful part of our arts out there. Great to see that.

Anyway, in the meantime, that's the news. That's all for me right now. That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. We'll see you back here next Saturday at 3:00 p.m. eastern. Pamela Brown takes over the "CNN Newsroom" live after a quick break. Have a good night, everybody. Take care.

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