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72 Percent Of Economists Expect A U.S. Recession By Mid-2023; Advanced-Stage Cervical Cancer Rising In White And Black Women; GOP Rep: FBI Search Reflects DOJ's Loss Of Credibility Under Dems; NYC Receives Largest Single-Day Arrival Of Migrants From Texas. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 22, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: The Fed is trying to land the plane here safely, trying to get inflation under control without crashing the economy. I think investors and economists are skeptical that the Fed can do this.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: One thing I thought was interesting was the languages. How confident are you that we will be in a recession or we can avoid a recession and you know, to Matt Egan's point, you know, they were not -- but I don't think that Chairman Powell is very confident that he can do it either.

I mean, I think he has said in the past, they'll try their best, which, you know, at home, I don't know how great that makes you feel.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Doesn't feel confident.

SOLOMON: Exactly, but I think to illustrate how difficult this will be, when asked in this survey among these economists, what do you think would be the top factor in lowering inflation? It wasn't actually the Fed. It was supply chain realignments.

That's a huge part of the story that we don't always talk about. But part of this inflation story is the supply chain issue which the Fed doesn't have control over. So, it's an extremely difficult job for them, and I don't know that they're confident they'll be able to get it right either.

BLACKWELL: All right, Rahel, Matt, thank you.

EGAN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: One of the deadliest levels of cervical cancer, stage IV, appears to be rising among white and black women here in the U.S. The five-year survival rate at this stage is only 17 percent and treatment options are limited. CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard joins me now. So, why are more women developing this cancer?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, Victor, the researchers behind this study say this really points to how we're diagnosing cancer at a late stage, which suggests that women -- some young women might not be keeping up with cervical cancer screenings, which are recommended for most women every three years.

And researchers also pointed to low HPV vaccination rates. And we know HPV is a virus associated with cervical cancer. So, let's take a look at what the researchers did here.

They looked at cervical cancer rates from the year 2001 to 2018. They specifically looked at stage IV cervical cancer, and they found that during that time span there was an annual increase of stage IV cervical cancer by 1.3 percent.

So that's how much the rate of stage IV cervical cancer rose each year. And the researchers found that the demographic among women that saw the highest increase was white women in the south, the increase around 4.5 percent each year when it came to stage IV cervical cancer.

But the researchers still emphasized that overall, black women are still more likely to be diagnosed with stage IV cervical cancer. You should see the difference here in the rate. The numbers found 1.55 cases per 100,000 women among black women, in than among white women the rate was lower overall.

But again, Victor, the take away here is that seeing that annual increase of an advanced stage cancer really suggests that for physicians to emphasize getting screening done among their patients and for us, for the patients to maintain our screening as much as possible -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much.

A flash flood emergency in Dallas that began last night is still happening right now. A summer's worth of rain pommeled the city in less than 24 hours. These fast rising waters submerged vehicles. Look at this. People had to just break through the windows of the car to get out. Dallas fire and rescue responded to more than 180 high water emergencies. This is being called a once in a century event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I've been doing this probably on the Swift Water Team for eleven, twelve years. So, this is probably one of the second or third worst that I've seen. I know at nighttime one time it started late at night, kind of the same thing, caught people off guard, but I think everybody wasn't anticipating this much rain this fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A woman in Dallas woke up to the water flooding her apartment. Britney Taylor had just moved into that apartment two days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRITNEY TAYLOR, DALLAS RESIDENT: OK, hi internet. I'm freaking out. My apartment is literally flooding. I just woke up, should I call 911, what do I do? (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Yes, this is what was happening outside that door. She's OK. But most of her belongings were destroyed.

Republican allies are rallying behind former president Donald Trump following the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago. Their latest attempt to justify why he had highly classified documents there, next.

[15:35:00]

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BLACKWELL: An important week for those involved in the FBI's search of Mar-a-Lago. The Department of Justice will lay out which parts of the affidavit should remain sealed and why. The DOJ says that it is concerns that the details could compromise its ongoing investigation and reveal sensitive national security information.

Judge Bruce Reinhart will then determine what if anything can be released to the public. And today he wrote he has reviewed the FBI sworn evidence and finds that affidavit to be quote reliable.

Joining me now, two CNN political commentators, S.E. Cupp and Scott Jennings. Jennings is a former special assistant to President George W. Bush.

[15:40:02]

Welcome to you both. S.E. let me start with you, and what is maybe the 7th or 8th potential explanation for why there was this information at Mar-a-Lago. This one comes from Republican Congressman Mike Turner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why bring it home with him to Florida.

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Well, I don't know. I mean, you have to ask him, but certainly, we all know that every former president has access to their documents. It's how they write their memoirs. They don't have, you know, great recall of everything that's occurred in their administration, and we don't know that they were -- that they're classified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Maybe he was going to write a book. Your thoughts?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Maybe. You know, listen, it's irrelevant. I mean, all of these explanations are completely irrelevant. He could have been taking the documents home to make paper-mache hats. It doesn't matter.

There is a process for declassifying and removing documents from the White House and the concern here is that he didn't follow that process. The deeper concern is that he actually took home some quite sensitive documents, and we don't know what he had planned to do with them.

So, I mean, they can keep throwing spaghetti on the wall to try to defend or minimize what Trump is accused of doing but it's venturing into the absurd at this point.

BLACKWELL: Scott, on that point, venturing into the absurd, listen, this Congressman, Mike Turner, he's the ranking member on House intel. This is a serious person to say that, oh, maybe he was going to write a book.

And we've already interviewed the ghost writers for Donald Trump that he was taking these home potentially for his memoir. Why offer that? I don't know that it serves the former president or the people who offer it.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, it's folly to try to offer up explanations when you don't actually have any idea what happened. I mean, Congressman Turner, who I'd agree with you, is a serious person and a good member of the House, he doesn't know why those documents are there. He doesn't know how they got there or why Donald Trump took that. So, there's no reason to construct that.

What they're is something you can do if you're Mike Turner or any other Republican, is to say that multiple things can be true. Number one it's OK to have a high bar of skepticism of the investigation. That's perfectly fine.

It's OK to want transparency, and if you're on the intelligence committee, I would be demanding some transparency myself. And it's OK to also say that investigation should go forward if the FBI and a judge and these law enforcement officials say that it was necessary. It's OK for that to unfold.

You can have multiple things can be true, but to try to construct a reason for why something happened when you have no idea why it happened and you may ultimately be proven to be wrong or way off base, you know, that's not your job, candidly.

BLACKWELL: I want to stick with you, Scott, for this, and I want you to listen to what Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw said about why Republicans are coalescing around this issue, this search and this former president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): I still haven't seen any evidence that he was even asked -- that Trump was even asked to give these documents back. He's been cooperating with them on these issues for a while now, for months. And so, why take it to this extreme extent?

I think that's why you're seeing so much backlash from Republicans. You're seeing everyone coalesce, doesn't matter what side of the issue they're on with Trump, you're seeing a lot coalesce around this one. Because it does seem unjust, and there does seem to be a long history of loss of credibility at the Department of Justice at the hands of Democrats, and I think people are rightfully frustrated about that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well first the facts, the DOJ asked, and then there was a subpoena, there was a confirmation from a Trump attorney that there were no more classified documents there, but then there were classified documents found during the search. But on his line that there is this loss of credibility under Democrats, listen, Chris Wray is a lifelong Republican, appointed by Donald Trump, what do you make of what Congressman Crenshaw said?

JENNINGS: Yes, some of what he said I agree with, some I don't. There is a view among Republicans -- and he's right about this -- whether you're still for Trump or whether you want to move on.

There's a view among most Republicans that during Trump's presidency -- especially the early days, during the Russia investigation -- that there were people at the FBI, inside the bureaucratic that were desperate to try to get Trump at all costs and that did things that were ultimately ruled to be inappropriate. So, that is a view that's held by Republicans.

So, what he's trying to articulate there I think is the high degree of skepticism or the high bar that Republicans have for just accepting something like this, sight unseen. We don't know what's in the documents.

We don't know what's in the affidavit. We don't know enough about this to make the judgment whether a raid like this or a search, however, you want to describe it, was necessary.

So, I think what Congressman Crenshaw is articulating is Republicans are going to want to and need to see more before they just say, OK, this was fine. Because of the view of what has been done to Donald Trump in the past. That would be the Republican perspective?

BLACKWELL: S.E.

[15:45:00]

CUPP: Well, I mean, I would agree with both Congressman Crenshaw and Scott that a majority of Republicans do believe that there's some corruption or some, you know, a deep state influence inside the FBI. But they believe that because Donald Trump told them to believe that.

Donald Trump, many years ago, when he was campaigning, and then when he became president conditioned the environment to believe that, probably for moments like this. So, that his supporters, both in Congress and on television and among voters would say, well, we always knew that they were out to get him.

You know, five minutes before Trump was elected, the national security apparatus was beloved by Republicans and supported and celebrated against complaints from Democrats. So, I agree that that perception is there among Republican voters, but it's there intentionally because Donald Trump wants it to be there.

BLACKWELL: Scott, let's look ahead to November --

JENNINGS: I may, Victor. Can I just say one thing to that. Yes, S.E. raises I think half the issue here. Donald Trump has told them that. That's absolutely true, but also the Department of Justice inspector general has told them that as well.

I mean, there were investigations into what happened to Trump and what went on with the cross fire hurricane that did reveal some, you know, whatever you want to -- I don't want to call it corruption, but certainly some missteps were made inside the department as it related to something that dealt directly with Trump.

So, it's not just Trump's conditioning -- although I concur with S.E. that's happening -- you know, there were some proven allegations there that some things were done incorrectly.

That's why, ultimately, I think, Victor, that the level of transparency that's required from DOJ here is a little higher than usual, because it's Trump, because of who he is and his potential candidacy, and because of the previous things that were uncovered by the DOJ.

BLACKWELL: All right, we'll wrap it there. Scott Jennings, S.E. Cupp, thank you.

New York City saw the largest amount of single day asylum seekers ever arriving on buses from Texas. How the city is handling the influx, next.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: New York City officials say at least 140 asylum seekers arrived early Sunday morning. This is the largest single day arrival of migrants who are being bussed to the city at the direction of Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott. CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me now. So, record numbers and playing politics obviously.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And tomorrow we'll probably see another bus. These are staggering numbers. At the same time, the city is certainly struggling to keep up here. And you're looking at about 140 additional asylum seekers that were bussed here to New York City just yesterday.

Those 140 are adding to close to 1,000 that Republican Governor in Texas Greg Abbott says have already been sent here to New York City. Those thousands are then added to over 6,000 asylum seekers that have already been sheltered in New York City.

But look, Victor, it's easy to get lost in these numbers. We have to remind viewers, these are people. These are asylum seekers who presented themselves to immigration authorities along the southern border.

They were processed and released by officials of Department of Homeland Security and are approved to travel throughout the United States subject to the ultimate outcome of their immigration proceedings. Proceedings that can take years to resolve. I spoke to one Venezuelan migrant who is waiting seven years for her case to eventually be heard in court here. So, that's important to also remember.

And amid this re-election bid by Governor Abbott, he maintains that he's simply trying to bring relief to border communities. But amid that criticism that this is simply political theater, he is still getting support from fellow Republicans including Dan Crenshaw in Texas. We heard from him earlier today. These were some of his comments about this ongoing busing effort by Governor Abbott.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRENSHAW: We're talking about the New York and D.C. busing, we're talking about a few thousand immigrants. That's what we deal with on a daily basis in south Texas. So, look, what he's doing I think is out of desperation and it's highly necessary because somebody has to solve this problem. This is an infringement on our sovereignty. It's an infringement on our rule of law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So, this is a situation that is growing increasingly difficult for New York City officials to manage. But when you hear from Mayor Eric Adams, he says that they will manage in terms of not only finding places for these asylum seekers to shelter but also getting their children enrolled in classes.

We heard from the head of department of education here in New York City on Friday who says they basically launched this so-called Project Open Arms, Victor, and the whole goal is to enroll what they expect to be about 1,000 children of these asylum seekers ready for the first day of school.

But that's going to come with unique challenges, especially finding bilingual teachers. So that's sort of a micro out of the macro issue, which is the teacher shortage in New York, they're trying to find Spanish speaking teachers.

BLACKWELL: A lot of variables to consider as this continues. Polo Sandoval, thank you.

Russia says a Ukrainian agent is behind the car bomb explosion that killed the daughter of a major Putin ally. Ukraine, meantime, is vehemently denying it had any involvement. We're live in Moscow just ahead.

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BLACKWELL: The injured Little League player Easton Oliverson's father says that doctors are stunned by his son's recovery. The 12-year-old severely was injured -- he injured his head during a fall from his dormitory bunk bed at the Little League World Series last Monday. Easton suffered another fall in the hospital this weekend while he was

trying to get to the bathroom without help. Doctors say a CAT scan performed after the second fall came back normal. His father says there is a chance that Easton will make a full recovery but says that it could take some time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACE OLIVERSON, EASTON OLIVERSON'S FATHER: The doctors are just stunned by his progression in this short amount of time, with where he was. It's going to be hard times and you just have to overcome those hard times and just keep pushing forward.

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[16:00:00]

BLACKWELL: As for Easton's team, they lost their elimination game yesterday, 10-2.

All right, two engagements, two weddings. Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez they got married again. The two eloped in Las Vegas last month but held a ceremony Affleck's sprawling estate in Southeast Georgia. Ben Affleck's brother Casey apparently was not at the celebration this weekend. But he did posted on Instagram, it looks like a throwback photo showing Ben, Casey, and J. Lo.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.