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Criminal Investigation Underway After Eight Killed At Astroworld Festival; Appeals Court Temporarily Blocks Biden's Vax Mandate For Big Companies; Biden Gets Infrastructure Win, Focus Shifts To Safety Net Bill; Iraqi Prime Minister Survives Exploding Drone Assassination Attempt; Trump Fuels Georgia Probe While Pushing Baseless Election Claims. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired November 07, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:33]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

We begin with new developments in that horrifying crush at a Houston concert that left eight people dead. Houston's police chief says a criminal investigation into this tragedy is now under way.

The Astroworld Music Festival was limited to 50,000 people when the chaos up unfolded on Friday. Investigators want to determine if proper crowd control measures were in place.

As rapper Travis Scott started to perform, fans surged to get closer to the stage, compressed in this massive crowd with no way to escape. Many people began to panic, and witnesses say several started passing out. One concert goer called it a death trap.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY NASSER, ATTENDED CONCERT: There was a kid in the crowd. People were getting trampled. They were losing their balance and then tripping over the people on the floor and people were just dying left and right.

It heated up about 15 minutes after Travis came on stage and it progressively got worse. They were shoving. The barricades couldn't accommodate all the people that were there. It was too small. It was a death trap basically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Harris County medical examiner now says they need help identifying one of the eight people who was killed. In addition to the deaths, more than 300 others were hurt. 25 of them taken to hospitals.

Homicide and narcotics investigators are now joining the investigation to figure out what happened. In fact, one security officer says he was pricked by someone at the show and then needed to be revived with Narcan, an emergency treatment for opioid overdoses.

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Houston for us.

So this is an incredibly complex investigation, Rosa. Even the music artist now, Travis Scott, is speaking out even more about this tragedy. What is he saying?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, he's speaking out on video for the first time. He says that he is devastated. That he didn't know exactly what was going on and that he stopped the show once he realized the severity of it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS SCOTT, RAPPER: Any time I can make out, you know, anything that's going on. You know, I stopped the show and helped them get the help they need, you know. I could just never imagine the severity of the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: If you look closely behind me, you'll see that a memorial has been set up, and it's been growing. We've seen people stop by to drop off flowers and candles. Eight people died here between the ages 14 and 27.

We have now learned the identity of the individual. His name Franco Petino (ph), 21 years old. He was identified by his university, the University of Dayton. The university says that he was a senior from Naperville, Illinois, and that he was a mechanical engineering major.

We're also learning from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, that's the name of the medical examiner here in Harris County. They are asking for the public's help in identifying the eighth individual. This was the unknown individual that we learned about yesterday from authorities.

Now we have a description according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. This is a man in his early 20s, over 6 feet tall, weighing 498 pounds. Short black or dark brown hair wearing Nike brand sneakers size 11. Anyone with information is urged to call the Houston County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

And Fred, as you mentioned, this is now a criminal investigation that involves both the Narcotics and Homicide divisions here of the Houston Police Department. There's so many questions that are still unanswered and the officials here have vowed for a thorough investigation, Fred.

WHITFIELD: It's incredible and terribly sad.

Rosa Flores, thank you so much.

All right. A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the Biden administration's new vaccine mandate. Those new vaccine rules apply to private businesses with 100 or more employees, certain health care workers and federal contractors. They are set to take effect January 4th.

The appeals court says there is cause to believe there are great statutory and constitutional issues with the mandate.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is covering these developments for us from the White House. Arlette, tell us what this ruling means and how the White House is responding?

[14:04:54]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House is confident, Fred, that ultimately this vaccine rule for those larger employers will hold up in court. But they are certainly preparing for a possibly long legal battle ahead.

Now this ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals does not appear to have any immediate impact. This rule is not set to go into effect until January 4th, though there are some other elements of the rule that will go into effect earlier. December 5th is when these larger companies will be required to provide paid time off in order for their employees to receive vaccinations and also require masks in the workplace for unvaccinated workers.

Now, Seema Nanda, the top legal officer at the Department of Labor, she said yesterday that they believe they have the emergency authority to institute such a vaccine requirement for these businesses. And White House chief of staff Ron Klain this morning expressed confidence that it will hold up in court. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON KLAIN, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I'm quite confident that when this finally gets fully adjudicated, not just a temporary order, the validity of this requirement will be upheld. It's common sense, Chuck. If OSHA can tell people to wear a hard hat on the job, to be careful around chemicals, it can put in place these measures to keep our workers safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, this ruling has really been swift. The administration had announced the vaccine rule on Thursday, and it was just yesterday that that court issued that order, and also at least 27 states so far have sued the Biden administration to try to put a stop to this. It's certainly just the first legal step in what's expected to be a long legal road ahead, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz from the White House, thank you so much for that.

All right. Let's bring in Dr. Anand Swaminathan, he is an emergency medicine physician. Good to see you again, Doctor.

So this mandate covers 17 million health care workers at facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid. So what are the implications in your view of further delaying this kind of mandate? DR. ANAND SWAMINATHAN, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: I think further

delays are really going to be a huge problem for our workforce in keeping them healthy but also in keeping the patients healthy.

So from a health care worker's standpoint this is an easy one where every health care worker should be getting vaccinated. And what I see in this lawsuit, is first of all, it's many of the hardest hit states that are pushing back which is really a nonsensical thing. And the two things that come up over and over again is that we're going to have huge employment losses, but we don't see that.

We've had mandates in place for a while now and most people will get vaccinated when there's a mandate there. People will do the right thing when they are given a little nudge in that direction.

And the other thing that we see is people saying that well, it's individual rights. We have an individual right to make that decision or not but our individual rights are predicated on protecting others.

And when our individual rights impinge on other's health then we lose those rights and we have to be ok with that. We have a duty to protect each other and we really have to embrace that.

WHITFIELD: So the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb said this morning the key worries, opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates could bleed into other kinds of vaccine mandates and that businesses granting exemptions, I'm quoting him now, "creates problems for the future as well".

Are hospitals and other health care facilities putting themselves at risk down the road in your view?

DR. SWAMINATHAN: I think this could be a huge risk but what we've seen with the exemptions is that the vast majority of them are not upheld. People may apply for exemptions but most of those exemptions are denied and most of the people whose exemptions are denied ultimately get vaccinated.

The list of exemptions must be extremely narrow. It has to be under specific medical circumstances for them to really be legitimate and we see that most of them fall by the wayside and disappear and most people do get vaccinated, we look at big health care systems, the vast majority of people. I mean we're taking over 95 percent or more end up getting vaccinated.

WHITFIELD: CDC data shows that 70 percent of U.S. adults now are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, so what does this mean in your view for herd immunity? We haven't heard much discussion about herd immunity as of recent so what's the correlation here?

DR. SWAMINATHAN: I think what we have learned over the last eight or nine months is we've been humbled by this virus in what we thought herd immunity would need to get to that and what is actually true. And with that 70 percent we also have to remember that there are places where the rate is much higher and that means that there are places where it's much lower. And so there are places where, you know, while as a country we're at 70 percent, there are regions where we're going to continue to see surge after surge until they get their vaccination rates higher.

I don't know that anybody has a really good idea of what herd immunity is going to take or whether that's even achievable. I think there was a time where we thought 70 percent was the right number and we're learning that we just don't know.

DR. SWAMINATHAN: We don't know and it's a moving target and instead of looking for a specific percentage to get to, we should be saying that everybody needs to get vaccinated. That should be our goal. Let's get it as high as we possibly can.

[14:09:58]

WHITFIELD: This week Pfizer's pediatric vaccine against COVID was approved for use in kids ages 5 to 11. You say families should not wait.

So what might happen if a family is to delay because there's a lot. There's still that wait-and-see attitude in many households.

DR. SWAMINATHAN: Well, you know, we have a couple of friends where we live were they have 11-year-olds who just became eligible and, unfortunately, in spite of being very safe throughout the pandemic they just contracted COVID, within the last week they contracted COVID.

And what this tells me, there's really two big messages here. One is don't wait. Don't wait until your kid gets COVID to say, oh man, I wish I got that vaccine. Get it as soon as you can, get your kids protected.

The other big message that has come out is both of these families have older kids who were already vaccinated. They are living in the same house, close quarters and they have not contracted COVID.

These vaccines are extremely good in protecting ourselves as well as everybody else. So my message to parents is get vaccinated as soon as you can.

Fred, I have an appointment this evening for my 10-year-old. I have an appointment tomorrow for my 6-year-old. Get your kids vaccinated as soon as they can. Don't be on the other side where you'll regret having missed that window.

WHITFIELD: That's fantastic. And my kids, my youngest kids, their appointment is for next week so we look forward to that in our household with our kids. We've been talking about it, what it is going to be like. They know it's going to be a little painful like any shot would be, but actually they have come around quite a bit.

So in your view now, young people in these age groups we're talking now, as young as 5, how much of a game-changer is it potentially for what all of us have been experiencing in the last nearly two years now?

DR. SWAMINATHAN: It's 28 million kids in that age group, that 5 to 11 that are now eligible for vaccines that we can get vaccinated. And you know, this is keeping them in school, it's keeping them healthy, it's keeping them away from long COVID.

It's also getting back to some of the things that we have been wanting to do. My 10-year-old is already talking about in five weeks her and her friends are going to be fully vaccinated. We can have sleep overs again. We can do things again.

And this is our opportunity to get those things back for our kids. The more of our kids that get vaccinated the more of them are protected, the more we can start doing those things that we want to. And Fred, the holidays are right around the corner, I can't wait to be secure knowing that my family is protected and the families of my loved ones are also protected.

WHITFIELD: I'm looking forward to that feeling, too.

All right. Dr. Anand Swaminathan, good to see you. Thank you so much and stay well.

DR. SWAMINATHAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, Howard University students are camping out in protest over campus living conditions complaining about mold, flooding and rodents. I'll speak with a student leading the charge straight ahead. Plus, the university president.

[14:12:41]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now that President Biden has finally passed his trillion- dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill, the focus now turns to the other half of his economic agenda, the $1.75 trillion social spending and climate bill. The administration had hoped to pass the legislation together, but the timeline for the larger bill slipped last week after moderates in the House demanded more information on the bill's costs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): We received a slew of data this past week from the Treasury Department and from the White House and some early Congressional Budget Office analysis. We were going to receive -- we're expecting to receive more in the next seven to ten days. We expect it all to match up with what was presented and we'll move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: John Podesta, is the co-founder of Climate Power and is a former White House chief of staff of President Clinton. So good to see you, Mr. Podesta. So after several --

JOHN PODESTA, CO-FOUNDER, CLIMATE POWER: Great to be with you.

WHITFIELD: -- great. After so many missteps by the Biden administration over the past few months, the Afghanistan withdrawal, growing crisis at the border, and some would say a pretty bad election day for Democrats on Tuesday, how big of a win do you see this passing of the infrastructure bill?

PODESTA: Look, it was a great day for the president. He's been working hard to bring this bipartisan bill on infrastructure home to get it passed in both the House and the Senate. It will create literally millions of jobs. It's a very significant investment, the biggest investment in infrastructure since President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system.

But there's still more work to do as you noted in your intro. This bill has spent some money, particularly some money on climate resilience, but the big investments that the president has promised to reduce emissions, what he talked about when he went to Glasgow earlier in the week, really remain in that other bill, which is the Build Back Better bill.

So he's got more work to do. It looks like there's an open path now in the House with the moderate members saying they will vote for the bill once they are satisfied that the scoring adds up. But there's still -- it still needs to pass the senate.

WHITFIELD: Do you feel like the White House has been a little tepid about, you know, exuding a real victory lap because this only meets them halfway with the goal, with the president's agenda? They have yet to pass that second and larger part of Biden's agenda, but you say, you know, there's some real optimism among moderates finally getting on board. But what is the strategy that you're seeing here from the White House?

PODESTA: Well, you know, they clearly tried -- they had some holdouts. This has always been a -- both pieces of legislation garnered the support of 259 Democrats in the House (INAUDIBLE) but there are 11 hold outs and they've been spending months trying to get them back under the tent.

I think in the House that's finally been successful. They have signed a pledge that they would vote for this bill and I, you know, believe they did that knowingly and they will go forward with that.

[14:20:01]

PODESTA: But again, these are huge investments on the climate side and also to try to make everyday life a little bit better for Americans through the provision of child care, of reducing child poverty through the child tax credit, lowering the cost of prescription drugs so there's a lot in that second bill.

And you know, we've been advocating for it because of the climate provisions. There's strong investments in clean energy and clean buildings and electric vehicles. It really is what is needed to meet President Biden's pledge to reduce U.S. emissions by 50 percent to 52 percent by 2030.

If the United States is not in the lead on that, if this fails, I think our credibility is low and the whole world will begin to kind of roll back. So there's a lot riding on this. Like I said, the House seems clear. The Senate still has got some work to do.

WHITFIELD: Yes. A lot riding on this as you say particularly about the climate provisions that is in this second -- you know, this big spending bill.

In fact, you know, former President Obama is helping to promote the U.S. commitment to addressing what is a global problem of climate change. How important is it that the former president is perhaps, you know, kind of a secret weapon so to speak, you know, among the arsenal for this White House. Particularly as you say, credibility is on the line.

PODESTA: You know, he's headed to Glasgow I think really with a global message. I think it will be very important to the United States, but I think he speaks to people across the globe and particularly young people. You saw the protesters out in Glasgow yesterday.

And President Obama has enormous credibility across the globe. People saw him act when he was president. I, you know, was his counsellor working on climate change during that period of time, but I think that he's going with another message which is even with Donald Trump who tried to reverse everything Obama did on climate, the people in America hung in there.

States, cities, the private sector, individual Americans kept at trying to tackle the climate change challenge and indeed the United States kept on track, kept lowering its emissions even with an extremely hostile person in the form of Donald Trump in the White House.

So I think he'll have a lot to say to the world. He'll meet with young people and with business leaders. And I think that, again, in a time when politicians don't have a lot of credibility, he's one politician who I think people count on to bring hope, to bring change in an American environment but also in the global environment.

WHITFIELD: Former President Obama very passionate about it as are you and clearly so is the sitting President Biden right now.

And through those protests that you made reference to, obviously a lot of young people are pretty fired up about it from Glasgow to London to Paris, you know, and Sydney, Amsterdam, even Seoul.

But, you know, while you see people around the world jumping up and down and screaming and saying something more needs to be done. Do you feel like that passion isn't being demonstrated in the U.S. like it is on other shores and lands?

PODESTA: Well, clearly in the U.S. It's sort of become a partisan issue. This is the reason -- the reason that this is hard is because we've got to get the votes of every Democrat in the Congress, but I think that the -- that these provisions, the investments that President Biden has proposed are enormously popular across the board politically.

It's really the politicians that are a lagging indicator on the Republican side. 80 percent support the provisions on clean buildings and clean energy. They want to see a better, you know, healthy environment. This will lower the cost of energy which is also important at this time when people are worried about inflation.

So I think it's a winner with the American public, and I think that, you know, the -- political system needs to react to that and act now. It's really critical as even now while we're seeing what's going on in Glasgow across the globe. We've got to just step it up or we're going to be in a world of hurt come, you know, a decade or two from now.

WHITFIELD: John Podesta, pleasure to have you. Thank you so much.

PODESTA: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead. More fallout for Green Bay Packer Aaron Rodgers who just lost a major sponsorship deal over his controversial vaccine comments. Details on that straight ahead.

[14:24:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Following a positive COVID test, quarterback Aaron Rodgers will not be suiting up as his Green Bay Packers take on the Kansas City Chiefs later on today.

And now Rodgers is also getting benched by Wisconsin-based health care organization Previa Health. This after his controversial comments about COVID vaccines during a radio show last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON RODGERS, GREEN BAY PACKERS: Listen, Actually if you've gotten COVID and recovered from it, that that's the best boosted immunity you can have.

[14:29:53]

RODGERS: I consulted with a now good friend of mine Joe Rogen after he got COVID and I've been doing a lot of the stuff that he recommended in his podcasts and, you know, on the phone to me, and I'm going to have the best immunity possible now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:30:13]

WHITFIELD: CNN's Nick Watt is following this for us.

Nick, what happens now? NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we sit and watch Aaron

Rodgers take some more hits for what he did, and if you don't remember back in August, he said I've been immunized. He then caught COVID and tested positive this week and then after that he said, well, I didn't take a vaccine, I took a homeopathic defense.

Well, Prevea, this health company that he's been a spokesman for them since 2012, they really had no choice. As a health care provider, they are in the business of vaccines, not so-called homeopathic defense against COVID. So, they have parted company with the star.

So, this is the statement that they put out. Prevea Health remains deeply committed to protecting its patient, staff, providers and communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated. That company has a vaccine mandate for its employees so you can't really have a spokesperson who is then not vaccinated.

Now, "Saturday Night Live" also took a swipe at Rodgers last night. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our first guest is an American brave enough to stand up and say sky you, science. I know Joe Rogan. Please welcome NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. Did you ever lie about being vaccinated?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never lied. I took all my teammates into a huddle, got all their faces three inches away from my wet mouth and told them, trust me. I'm more or less immunized, go team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: There probably was no huddle, by the way. That's comic effect obviously.

Now, his team kicks off in less than two hours from now. Rodgers, they have won seven in a row with him on the field. He is not on the field. They have Jordan Love, the backup making his first NFL start. How will they do? Well, we'll see.

We know they are a great team with Rodgers there. Without him who knows. They have got the Seahawks next weekend. By NFL protocol, he can be back with the team next Saturday. Will that be enough time for him to then start against the Seahawks? Who knows? Love may play really well and bump him.

WHITFIELD: The team, I'm sure, they will be rising to the occasion because that's what a team does, right?

WATT: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Watt, thank you so much.

All right. Don't miss a brand-new episode of the CNN original series "Diana." Here's a preview. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a very flamboyant figure, and this relationship exposed that Diana is very different from the royal family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Diana had stepped out of the comfort of royal family life and now she was being welcomed and ushered into the Al Fayad life which was sort of a celebrity version of royalty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was showering her with lavish gifts and filling her apartment with roses, so she was bedazzled by him and he was taking her everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dodi whisked Diana away for two more luxury holidays and his, you know, uber yacht.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember Sardinia, Corsica, even at one point pulling into Mallorca. It was just a crazy time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was a relationship going at rocket speed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, this looks like another great episode. This new episode of "Diana" airing tonight at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

All right. Come up an assassination attempt today against Iraq's prime minister. We'll bring you the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:40]

WHITFIELD: In Iraq, an assassination attempt today against the country's prime minister. Iraqi military saying an explosive-laden drone targeted his residence in Baghdad.

And moments ago, President Biden condemned the attack saying those who carried out the attack once identified need to be held responsible.

Here's CNN Jomana Karadsheh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was one of the most brazen attacks to ever target Iraq's leadership, a drone-laden with explosives striking the residence of Prime Minister Mustafa al- Kadhimi in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone according to Iraq's military.

Al-Kadhimi escaped what officials have described as a failed assassination attempt that injured members of his security detail. Shortly after that, the prime minister appeared calm and composed in a televised address, reassuring the nation and calling for restraint. MUSTAFA AL-KADHIMI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through narrator): The

cowardly missiles and drones do not build our country nor our future and we're looking to rebuild our homeland by respecting the states and its institutions and establishing a better future for all Iraqis. I invite everyone to a calm and constructive dialogue for the sake of Iraq and the future of Iraq. Long live Iraq. Long live Iraq.

KARADSHEH: No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Iraq says it's investigating. The government vowing to bring those responsible to justice and blaming, quote, criminal armed groups, a term it's used in the past to describe Iranian-backed militias.

[14:40:08]

The powerful Iranian-backed groups have threatened Al-Kadhimi, a close ally in the past, but on Sunday, various groups were fast to deny their involvement, accusing foreign powers of an attempt the say to implicate them.

The attack comes after weeks of rising tensions following the October 10th elections. Parties representing Iranian-backed militias emerged as the biggest losers of that vote lose many of the seats they once held in parliament. They have refused to accept the results of an election they have described for fraudulent, and for weeks their supporters have staged a protest in Baghdad that turned violent on Friday when protesters clashed with security forces as they tried to storm the Green Zone.

Militia leaders accused the government of targeting peaceful protesters and vowed revenge following the death of a demonstrator.

The Iraqi government for the most part has failed to hold these heavily armed Iranian-backed groups accountable for crimes they committed in the past. The government tried to avoid an escalation and confrontation with these groups, but that may no longer be an option with Iraq's democracy and its constitutional process now at stake.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Jomana, thanks so much for that report.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:52]

WHITFIELD: Across the country companies have about hit hard by the labor shortage and with the holidays right around the corner some businesses are trying to sweeten the deal for staff willing to work. American Airlines announced in an internal memo it plans to offer one time pay boost to flight attendants who worked certain holiday flights. The airline says it will offer a 150 percent premium for qualifying trips. Crew members with no absences between mid-November and early January will be eligible for twice that amount.

The announcement comes after an operational meltdown during Halloween weekend forcing thousand of flights to be cancelled because of staffing shortages. The latest numbers from the Commerce Department put annual inflation at its highest in 30 years, and that means bigger numbers at the cash register for all kinds of shoppers throughout the country. That's especially hard on families with lots of mouth to feed.

CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro sat down with one such family in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTA STOTLER, PARENT: All right, let's go tackle this.

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What does inflation mean for American families? This is the story of the Stotlers' weekly shop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you guys.

K. STOTLER: Good to see you.

LARRY STOTLER, PARENT: We have two biological kids and then my wife and I have a big heart for adoption, so we a sibling group of two, then three, then one and then we have a kid living with us right now who's kind of a foster situation.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: It feels like money isn't going as far as it used to.

K. STOTLER: OK, let's see what we can do.

I think probably in June, it was about a dollar's worth a dollar, so now that dollar is worth about 70 cents.

All right, now we're moving on to dairy, which is right there.

We started seeing everything going up. Grocery prices went up. Gallon of milk was $1.99, now it's $2.79, well, when you buy 12 gallons a week, times four weeks, you know, that's a lot of money.

That's what I'm talking about. Thanks, bro.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Again, this is what they buy every week.

K. STOTLER: If you want to get any of these that are a $1.79, you can pick five boxes' worth.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Grocery shopping means tough choices right now.

L. STOTLER: We're not buying the most healthy stuff because prices have gone way up. But I feel kind of guilty sometimes we can't afford the really good things that would be healthier also. K. STOTLER: OK, so P.F. Chang's is like the elite. So, let's --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean elite price? Or elite quality?

K. STOTLER: Like both.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, said both.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what we're saying.

K. STOTLER: So, where the family-size meals?

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: The Stotlers keep a close eye on their budget and they shop deals.

K. STOTLER: This is 20 ounces. How many ounces is that? 24, so get that one.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Krista loves a coupon.

K. STOTLER: Buy this and get Rotel and chips free. That's what it's supposed to be.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: But these days the family grocery list and the money they carefully plan to spend sometimes don't match.

K. STOTLER: We're at $90 already and we've got a basket and a half left. But God is good and always provides, so let's see where we'll go.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: The math at the grocery store worked out.

K. STOTLER: OK, so I don't need this, we're going to take that off, and then we'll add these items. Awesome, guys, you all did great.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Then they had to add in the rest of the week's shopping, that gets delivered.

K. STOTLER: Oh look, the Walmart stuff came.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: The grand total? $310.

How much would you have spent maybe back in March so you could do the same thing?

K. STOTLER: So probably we would have only spent probably about $150, $200 something like that in March because it was quite a bit less.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: The Stotlers are feeling the inflation squeeze to the tune of an extra $100 a week they say. That's just for groceries. This family may be larger than many.

K. STOTLER: Let's go through the line by birthdays. Whoever has October birthdays gets to go first.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: But they live the same middle-class life as their neighbors. The squeeze is getting tighter and that means that middle class life could be changing.

If the prices keep rising the way they've been rising through the next six months, what's going to, you know, happen to life in this house?

K. STOTLER: If it continues, we're just going to have to get more creative and maybe pick up an extra job if we have to, you know, doing food delivery or something like that to help make up the difference.

[14:50:08]

L. STOTLER: You can go down to beans and rice and still sustain pretty economically. We don't want to have to do that. You want to enjoy what you're purchasing, but there is another level you can get to just to make sure you make it through.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, Cannondale, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Evan, thanks so much for bringing that perspective.

So in San Diego this weekend the U.S. Navy christens a ship named for gay rights activist Harvey Milk. The USNS Harvey Milk is a replenishment oiler which refuels aircraft carriers at sea. The ship is one in a class named after Georgia congressman and civil rights icon representative John Lewis. Milk served in the Navy as a diving officer during the Korean war when gay service members were not allowed to openly acknowledge their sexuality. He was later forced to resign from service.

All right. Still ahead, new details on that deadly crowd surge at a Houston Music Festival that left eight people dead. We're live in Houston straight ahead. Stay with us.

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[14:55:52]

WHITFIELD: More than a year after the 2020 election and Donald Trump is still proudly talking about his efforts to upend Georgia's election results, and all the while investigators looking into whether he committed a crime are quietly taking notes.

Here's CNN's Sara Murray.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Donald Trump fired off a September letter demanding Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger decertify the election.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Most corrupt election in the history our country.

MURRAY: Fani Willis took notice. FANI WILLIS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: What I told

you that the Trump investigation is ongoing.

MURRAY: The Fulton County district attorney told staffers she want that had letter, the original copy, according to a person familiar. While Trump continues to battle about 2020 and inserts himself into peach state politics, his public rants are providing new fodder to investigators as they examine whether Trump's election meddling efforts were criminal. At a recent campaign stop with Georgia candidate, Trump took the stage before an adoring crowd.

TRUMP: Literally wanted to call a special election, and I think the governor is the only one that can call it, right?

MURRAY: And he offered more insight on his interactions with another potentially relevant witness around the 2020 election, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

TRUMP: These guys would come back, young guys, sir, we spoke to Governor Kemp. Sir, he will not do anything on election integrity. I said, let me handle it, this is easy.

MURRAY: Investigators took note of the lengths Trump and his aides went to pressure Kemp, all in Trump's own words.

TRUMP: I said, Brian, listen, you know, you have a big election integrity problem in Georgia. I hope you can help us out and call a special election.

MURRAY: Kemp, in a call last December with Trump, refused.

TRUMP: Let me tell you, this guy is a disaster.

MURRAY: Newly public evidence like Trump's letter, a book by Raffensperger and newly released testimony from a panel investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the election are helping to provide a road map for what a sprawling investigation. Raffensperger making clear in his book that he felt Trump was threatening him in moments like this, where Trump baselessly accused Raffensperger's office of covering up corrupt ballots.

TRUMP: You know, that's a criminal offense. You can't let that happen. That's a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. That's a big risk.

MURRAY: Now, President Trump is using what he believes is the power of his position to threaten Ryan and me with prosecution if we don't do what he wants us to do, Raffensperger writes.

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGE SECRETARY OF STATE: I could hear that he thought that he could have some kind of pressure to bear from outside forces to make our lives miserable.

MURRAY: So, like, what is it to them if they choose to ruin Brad Raffensperger's life.

RAFFENSPEGER: They didn't care about one person, that person is in their life.

MURRAY: Raffensperger says he's willing to appear before a grand jury if Willis summons him.

RAFFENSPERGER: I respect the law.

MURRAY: But she hasn't yet.

RAFFENSPERGER: I'll be there to give my vision of my opinion or my comments of what I saw.

MURRAY: The 2020 midterms could offer new headaches for investigators and witnesses alike.

MICHAEL J. MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: I think that a prosecutor's job is to not be political, but I don't think you can divorce yourself from political reality. And we all know what the calendar is.

MURRAY: Raffensperger is facing a primary challenge from Congressman Jodi Hice, who believes Trump rightfully won the state of Georgia.

REP. JODY HICE (R-GA): Nobody understands the disaster of the lack of election integrity like the people of Georgia.

MURRAY: And Kemp has been largely silent by Trump's efforts to upend the election and sign a strict voting law as he tries to shore up his standing with the GOP base.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Murray, thank you so much for that report.

(MUSIC)

WHITFIELD: All right. Hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me this is up. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

Happening right now. Authorities are launching a criminal investigation after eight people were killed at a Houston concert. The chaos unfolded at the Astroworld music festival on Friday. Fans rushed the stand as rapper Travis Scott started to perform. Compressed in the massive crowd with no way to escape. Many people began to panic and witnesses say several started passing out.

In addition to the eight deaths more than 300 others were hurt and 25 taken to hospitals. Homicide and narcotics investigators are joining the investigation to figure out what happened.