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Trump's Team Informed by National Archives in Advance; Loan Forgiveness Not Forgivable by Critics; Uvalde Board Get Rid of Pete Arredondo; U.S. Sent $3 Billion Aid to Ukraine; Russia Did Not Spare Ukraine's Independence Day; Heavy Rain Flooded Mississippi; Southern U.S. Saw Record-Breaking Rain; Stock Markets All in Positive Territory; California to Ban Gasoline-operated Cars. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 25, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, too much or not enough? Republicans and some Democrats push back on President Biden's new student loan debt announcement. We will look at what's upsetting both parties.

Plus, hundreds of people from Mississippi being rescued as flood waters rise across the state. We are live at the CNN weather center with the latest.

And a deadly strike on a train station in eastern Ukraine. We'll have a report on the escalation and fighting as Ukraine marked its Independence Day.

UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: And we will have more on those stories in just a moment, but we begin this hour with more evidence of just how long the U.S. National Archives fought and pleaded with Donald Trump's legal team to get documents from the former president. About 100 days after Trump left office, the archives realized documents were missing and asked for them to be returned. Even White House counsel Pat Cipollone agreed.

CNN has confirmed reporting by the Washington Post on this story. It comes as the Department of Justice is finalizing its redactions to the highly sensitive affidavit that was used to justify this month's search at Mar-a-Lago. Those redactions are due today.

CNNs Jessica Schneider has more.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden forcefully declaring he had no knowledge of the Mar-a-Lago search before it happened.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I didn't have any advanced notice, none, zero, not one single bit.

SCHNEIDER: Trump's allies have been insisting that Biden was somehow behind the unprecedented search on August 8th, arguing it was part of a political takedown.

UNKNOWN: If he was a registered Democrat this wouldn't have happened.

SCHNEIDER: This spin from Trump's team coming as two legal deadlines are looming. Tomorrow at noon, the Justice Department will lay out what prosecutors are willing to reveal from the Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit. The suggestions though will be under seal and not made available to the public.

Then Judge Bruce Reinhart will ultimately decide whether to release portions of the warrant, which Trump says he wants out there but that may include damning details. And Friday, Trump's lawyers must clarify their request for a special master to review the evidence seized from his home.

RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT SPECIAL COUNSEL: What is this? It's really not what a legal complaint looks like. It's a lot of political arguments, but it's also unclear as this, why is this in her court?

SCHNEIDER: The judge assigned to the case Aileen Cannon expressed similar confusion. The Trump nominee was highly critical of his legal team's filing. First imploring them to use the court's web site to see an example of the way they should have filed the motion and then demanding they answer basic questions. Like what is the precise relief sought, whether Trump is seeking an immediate injunction, what legal standards apply, and if Trump has served his motion to the DOJ?

GOODMAN: It really is a kind of a very significant kind of rejection in a certain sense of what they did, but giving them a second opportunity.

SCHNEIDER: Meanwhile, the questions from Congress continue about whether Trump compromised national security by keeping hundreds of highly classified documents at his Florida home.

REP. JACKIE SPEIER (D-CA): It puts people at risk. Who are serving our country? He doesn't own them. He's stolen them. He needs to give them back. He's dragged his heels and prevented that from happening for a year and a half. He needs to have more than a slap on the hand.

SCHNEIDER: And all of this is unfolding as the Georgia election interference probe plows forward. Prosecutors from the Fulton County D.A.'s office are right now fighting efforts from two Republicans to avoid appearing before the grand jury.

Senator Lindsay Graham is saying he shouldn't be questioned because of his position as a U.S. senator. And Governor Brian Kemp is asking a judge to completely throw out the subpoena he received. Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: The U.S. Justice Department has released an unredacted memo on the Trump Russia investigation from the former attorney general. In it, William Barr concludes that Trump couldn't be charged with obstruction because there wasn't an underlying conspiracy between his campaign and Russia.

[03:04:59]

That's a break with special counsel Robert Mueller who found several incidents with strong evidence of obstruction by Trump. The memo says Trump didn't break the law when he fired FBI director James Comey, or when he asked Comey to go easy on his former adviser, Michael Flynn.

Political analyst Michael Genovese joins me now from Los Angeles. He is the author of "The Modern Presidency: Six Debates That Define the Institution," and president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University.

Always great to have you with us.

MICHAEL GENOVESE, PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So today is the deadline for the Department of Justice to recommend to a judge what redactions need to be made to that affidavit that authorize the FBI search of classified documents at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. Then that affidavit can be made public. What do you expect will happen here?

GENOVESE: Well, in a few hours, the Department of Justice is going to give to Judge Bruce Reinhart material that they think ought to be redacted for a variety of reasons, national security reasons perhaps, it might interfere with the investigation. There could be all kinds of reasons. And so, they will recommend certain things be redacted.

The judge will take a few days to consider that. So, we won't see really anything probably until maybe early next week. The normal thing that a judge would do in a case like this is try to have what's called the balancing act. Much public need to know with the need to protect the integrity of the investigation.

And so, I'm sure the judge will allow certain things to be put in the public eye, but there may be a good deal that's blacked out.

CHURCH: Right. And Michael, we are now learning that the National Archives asked for two dozen boxes of presidential records from former President Trump back in 2021 after his lawyer agreed they should be returned. So Trump's refusal to hand back these classified documents, dates back even further than we originally thought. What do you make of this new revelation?

GENOVESE: When Donald Trump left the White House, he just took boxes and boxes of things. He was told the first week of his presidency that it's not his material. It must be protected and left there. He brought it to Mar-a-Lago, stored it in storage rooms in a resort. And these are national security documents, some of them.

And so, he took, he was -- he was scuffle about this. He was told not to do this. He was told almost as soon as he left the White House, you need to return this. He fought it and fought it. He fought subpoena. And finally, the NARA, the National Archives was forced to go further than that and asked to literally go in and take them.

There's still materials that President Trump has there. So, it it's a function of Donald Trump not really caring about what the rules are. He's a norm buster and he just felt this is another norm I could break. These papers are mine, and I'm going to take them.

CHURCH: So, if this timeline goes back to the end of Trump's term in office, why has it taken this long for the Department of Justice to get involved?

GENOVESE: ell, because if past is prelude, what the National Archives will do is they will go to a former president and say, sir, you took these things. I'm probably by mistake. Or maybe you thought you were going to use them to write your memoirs. You need to give them back.

And then there'll be a process of negotiation. And they'll reach an agreement and an accommodation. That's what happens with a normal former president. This is Donald Trump and Donald Trump just dug his heels and it said, no, the spoiled little child said, no, these are mine. I'm going to take it. And I'm going to keep them. You can't make me give them back.

And so, in that regard, Donald Trump is unusual. It's the first time we've really seen a president refuse to comply with the law openly.

CHURCH: Meantime, President Biden is saying he had no advanced notice of the FBI's plan to search Mar-a-Lago. Some people are questioning that. Is it possible that he didn't know?

GENOVESE: It's not only possible, it's highly likely he did not know, in part, because you build a firewall between the president and the more aggressive forms of investigations that are going on. There are some that are very political, some that are very important, some very sensitive. It's best that president doesn't know that.

And Joe Biden, when he was running for president said, I'm not going to get involved in these things. Donald Trump may have gotten involved. I'm not going to -- I'm going to make sure I stay out of it. And so, it would be surprising if he did know about it.

CHURCH: Michael Genovese, thank you so much for talking with us and sharing your analysis.

GENOVESE: Thank you.

CHURCH: I appreciate it.

GENOVESE: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: U.S. President Joe Biden is facing bipartisan criticism over his ambitious plan to write off millions of dollars in federal student loans.

[03:09:54]

The administration wants to erase $10,000 in debt for individuals earning less than $125,000 a year or $20,000 of debt relief if they went to college on a Pell grant, which are rewarded for financial need.

CNN's Phil Mattingly has details.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For President Biden the idea of canceling a significant amount of student loan debt was not something that was high on his list of priorities. During the campaign, he pledged to cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt, but he didn't move to do anything related to that despite major democratic pressure for more than a year and a half until Wednesday.

The president moving forward on that idea, doing it unilaterally on his own authority and targeting that $10,000 in loan cancellations towards individuals making under $125,000 a year. Households making $250,000 a year or less.

Most importantly, perhaps, particularly for supporters who were pushing for the president to do much more. He also added an additional $10,000 for Pell grant recipients who have taken out student loans, a universe that is much more driven by lower and middle-income individuals. The exact type of people that Biden and the White House were attempting to target.

Now, there has been significant criticism from Republicans, saying it's in anathema to how market the market system is supposed to work, calling it a giveaway. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calling it a slap in the face. When Biden was asked about the idea of it being unfair to those who did pay their loans, or who chose not to go to college because of the expense, this is how you responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: And is this unfair to people who paid their student loans or chose not to take out loans?

BIDEN: Is it fair to people who, in fact, do not own multi-million- dollar business is seeing these guys get tax cuts? Is that fair? What do you think?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: While Republicans focused on the fairness issue, one of the biggest overall issues and one of the things driving the debate over the course of the last several months inside the White House was the economic side of things, particularly at a moment of exceedingly high inflation in the country. The idea of canceling student loan debt would ostensibly add significant demand to the economy.

White House officials say the president's decision to also put an end to the long running pandemic era freeze on student loan repayments at the end of this year should counteract that to some degree, saying it might offset it entirely.

Some economists, even some Democratic economists disagreeing entirely. However, it is definitely something to be watched going forward. One thing is clear. The White House officials who've gone through this believe could affect up to 43 million borrowers, more than 20 million of those borrowers could have their debt canceled altogether.

There's no question it is a significant problem in the country, whether or not this one-time solution is going to provide any kind of major relief to that system, still an open question.

Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH: A police chief blamed for fumbling the response to the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas has been fired. On Wednesday, the school board voted unanimously to sack its police chief Pete Arredondo. Officials said he was in charge of the police response during the shooting in which 19 children and two teachers lost their lives.

Officers waited more than an hour to confront the gunman, even as some students repeatedly called 911 and begged for help.

Shimon Prokupecz has more.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Three months to the day and finally accountability here for family members and community in Uvalde who've been waiting for this day for weeks, for months, hoping that there would be some kind of accountability, and now finally, the school board deciding to fire Pete Arredondo.

He was the school police chief. He was the man that officials say was in charge of the scene. He was the incident commander on that day that was supposed to lead these officers into their classroom and to kill the gunman and try and save those children. Of course, officials here saying that did not happen.

And they say the school board here saying the reason why they have fired him is because he showed lack of leadership. He did not perform his duties as a chief on that day. Now, as for Pete Arredondo, he's continuing to defend himself. His lawyer up until the last minute before this hearing took place release the statement defending Pete Arredondo's actions on that day, including saying that he was brave and saying that he did everything he can to possibly save the children.

Of course, that's not what officials say happened. Despite all these family members here say they're still going to continue to fight for answers. They're still going to continue to fight for transparency. They want more people to be fired. They want other law enforcement officials and school officials to also be held accountable for what happened that day.

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Uvalde.

CHURCH: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will remain out of jail for now as his supporters gathered outside the court where he appeared briefly a short time ago.

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The court decided to extend a legal order preventing his arrest in an ongoing anti-terrorism investigation. Khan is under investigation because he apparently made veil threats against Pakistan's head of police and a magistrate last week. Khan supporters say his detention would be a red line for them and they threaten to take over the capital if he's put behind bars.

And still to come, Ukraine's president says a deadly Russian missile strike targeted a train station as the country marked Independence Day. The details in a live report just ahead.

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CHURCH: The United States is ramping up its security assistance for Ukraine announcing its largest military aid package yet. Another $3 billion worth of arms. The military hardware headed to Ukraine includes another six surface-to-air missile systems, ammunition, two dozen counter artillery radars, as well as unmanned aerial systems and laser-guided rocket systems.

There will also be funding for training and maintenance. The U.S. and Ukrainian presidents are expected to speak about the armed shipments in the coming hours.

Well, a deadly attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine darkened an already somber Independence Day fulfilling the warnings from Ukrainian officials that Moscow would strike hard on the holiday.

And aid to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says at least 25 people were killed in Wednesday's missile attack, including an 11- year-old boy. It was one of several missile strikes reported on the same day Ukrainians marked 31 years of independence from Soviet rule, and six months since Russia launched its invasion.

In an emotional address Wednesday, Mr. Zelenskyy pledged that Vladimir Putin's war of choice would end with a Ukrainian victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): We will definitely make the occupiers pay for everything they have done. We will, without any doubt, evict the invaders from our land, no trace of this will ever remain in our free Ukraine. Let's make this our way to victory. There will be victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And CNN's Scott McLean is following developments. He joins us now live from London. Good morning to you, Scott.

So, this deadly train strike is exactly what Ukrainian officials have been warning about. And now there are concerns Russia will strike more civilian targets. So, what is the latest on this?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. It was the Ukrainian defense minister who said yesterday that the volume of incoming strikes from Russia really justified all of the concerns that Ukrainian officials had going into this two-day period, this two-day holiday period that Ukraine just wrapped up, marking independence, also marking six months since the beginning of the war.

Case in point, a soccer match held yesterday in Lviv in the far west of the country, well, it had to be interrupted four times because of air raid sirens. You also mentioned that train attack yesterday. While President Zelenskyy in a speech to the U.N. Security Council said that train cars sitting on the tracks had taken a direct hit.

As you mentioned, the latest death toll stands that 25. Local officials have just given an update this morning saying that two children were killed. One hit, one was killed in a fire in a car in a road nearby. The other was found underneath the rubble of a destroyed home nearby. Dozens of people were injured as well. Search and rescue operations there have now ramped up.

Now, typically when Russia is aiming for Ukraine's rail infrastructure, they're going for things like electrical power substations to try to slow the flow of weapons in getting to the front lines. But we have seen, as indicated here and in previous attacks that civilian parts of the railway are also not off limits. Even city centers are not necessarily off limits.

Last month, for example, two missiles hit in Vinnytsia with not a military target anywhere even remotely close. The Russians had justified this by saying that there had been a meeting involving military officials at the time. So, the bar here is pretty low.

Now, President Zelenskyy, as you mentioned, Rosemary, and the Ukrainians are getting a lot more aid, a lot more weaponry from the west to mark Independence Day yesterday. But in order to prevent these kinds of attacks far from the front lines, they will need a much, much improved air defense system.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And Scott, what more are you learning about preparations for sham Ukrainian POW trials.

MCLEAN: Yes, so it's not entirely clear if or when these trials may actually begin in Mariupol, but the U.N. had said earlier that it was concerned that they may start yesterday to mark symbolically Ukraine's Independence Day. When they do start or if they do start the stage is literally set. Because you see there, those steel cages they're actually sitting on top of the stage at the Mariupol Philharmonic Hall concert venue now presumably will be used for trials of prisoners of war.

The U.S. State Department spokesperson, Ned Price said yesterday, quote, "by planning to hold so-called tribunals in Russia controlled Mariupol against Ukraine's brave defenders the Kremlin is attempting to deflect responsibility for President Putin's war of aggression and distract from overwhelming evidence of the atrocities Russian forces have committed in Ukraine.

[03:24:54]

He also called those planned trials illegitimate and a mockery of justice. Obviously, the concern that there is for trials being held in occupied parts of Ukraine is that the leadership in these areas of the DPR in this case, they haven't signed up to the same kind of international treaties that most other countries have.

And so, the expectation of a fair trial is virtually nil. On the Ukrainian side, though the justice system is certainly far from perfect, it's a much different story. The very first Russian soldier tried and convicted of war crimes had originally gotten a sentence of life in prison on appeals that sentence was actually reduced to just 15 years. That was last month, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Scott McLean bringing us the very latest from London, many thanks.

Well, several rockets fired at coalition bases in Syria have left a U.S. service member slightly wounded. An official tells CNN American forces responded with attack helicopters, killing two or three people who carried out the strikes.

On Wednesday, the U.S. military said it struck nine logistics and ammunition bunkers used by Iran-backed groups in Syria. President Biden ordered the strikes after a briefing from his top military advisor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN KAHL, U.S. UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY: We're not going to hesitate to defend ourselves. We're not going to tolerate attacks by Iran-backed forces on our forces anywhere in the world to include in Syria. And we won't hesitate to protect ourselves and take additional measures as appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: This latest exchange of fire started last week when two coalition bases in Syria came under attack. Iran denies any involvement.

Well still to come, heavy rains are causing flash floods in Mississippi. We will have a live weather forecast when we return.

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CHURCH: More than 100 children and 15 workers had to be rescued from a Mississippi daycare center after floods in the area. Rescue workers are scrambling to save those stranded due to flooding after heavy rain in the region. And some areas are getting record rainfall. Wednesday was the wettest day of August on record for Jackson since hurricane Andrew slammed the city back in 1992. And our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has been watching this very closely. So, Pedram, what is the latest on this flooding? And where's it headed next?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, the southern United States has seen so much rainfall, Rosemary, as you noted, the wettest August day on record. We're talking about 10 inches coming down in a span of three days across this region. And the energy is shifting a little farther towards the east, certainly to damage left in place across central areas of Mississippi. Jackson, really the hardest hit across some of these areas.

And of course, that has the highest population as well, around the area as well. But you notice this. Rainfall amounts exceeding six, in some cases, 10 inches, again, since Sunday scattered about this region. And the concern is the energy is still there. The rainfall is still going to be heavy at times, but it is becoming a little bit more dwindled here as we go in over the next couple of days.

So, we do expect the energy to taper off as it migrates farther and farther towards the east. And here's how things are playing out. This morning, very little in the way of coverage as far as rainfall is concerned across say, Alabama, Mississippi on into Texas, but Georgia getting in the moisture at this hour with scattered isolated storms impacting areas of Mississippi.

But frankly, it's not going to take much here to lead to additional flooding, which is precisely why this region is still underneath some flood alerts with the rains that are forecast that develop later on into this morning and into the afternoon.

But notice the coverage, the vast majority of the strongest storms do hug right along the coastal areas. Again, removed from those interior regions that have been hardest hit. And then a lot of the activity moves off short.

So again, kind of the beginning of the end here for this round of active weather over the next 24 so hours. And we do expect finally conditions to quiet down here going into Friday. Notice a slight risk in place here for excessive rainfall. That includes Jackson. And then you notice we've talked about wet season and hurricane Andrew being the last time it was this wet.

Peak hurricane season about 16 days away. So, watching the tropics here, Rosemary, very quickly with a slight chance of development in the next five days. But of course, the season gradually beginning to warm up.

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to our Pedram Javaheri. I appreciate it.

Well, a blistering heat wave is sweeping across China with drought conditions threatening local livestock and crops. Power is being rationed in some provinces and some cities are calling in planes for cloud seeding to induce rain. And as drought conditions continue, it's getting harder for some areas to access drinking water. A tropical storm has left the Philippines and is now heading northwest. Meteorologists say rainfall is expected to weaken throughout the day. However, scattered flooding and landslides are still a threat across northern Luzon, the country's largest and most populous island. Authorities have evacuated more than a thousand people in the region.

And we'll be right back.

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CHURCH: Wall Street ended Wednesday in the black after several days of decline. Inflation has been weighing on the financial markets for months. So, ending any session in positive territory is welcome. The Dow gain just 59 points, but it could give investors a psychological boost. On Friday, Wall Street will be closely watching to see if Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell hints at possible future interest rate hikes.

And with five and a half hours to go to the start of a new trading day on Wall Street here's where U.S. stock futures stand right now. And look at that, very promising, all in positive territory there. Meantime, trading across Europe just getting underway this hour. You see there again, more positive news. And here's a look at how markets across Asia have fare today.

[03:39:58]

And just look there at Hong Kong's Hang Seng up more than 3 percent. We'll keep an eye on all of that and see where it goes.

Well, California is set to ban the sale of all new gasoline cars by 2035, with regulators expected to approve new rules which create increasing quotas for the number of zero emission vehicles sold in the state reaching 100 percent in just 13 years.

The proposed ban would be one of the first in the world and could have a far-reaching impact on the entire U.S. auto industry.

And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers Marketplace Middle East is coming up next. And for those of you here in North America, I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Ukraine has now seen six months of conflict violence and alleged war crimes brought upon the country. Here are just some of those key moments. And a warning, you may find some of the images disturbing.

On February 24th, Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine ordering thousands of Russian troops across the border. On March 9th, Russian forces bombed a maternity and children hospital in Mariupol killing three people, including a child. President Zelenskyy called the attack proof of genocide.

A week later, a Russian air strike hit a theater in Mariupol that was being used as a shelter for civilians. Painted on the ground outside the building in giant Russian letters was the word children. Hundreds were killed in that attack.

On April 1st, the world saw the first horrifying images of the massacre in Bucha. Evidence of Russian forces executing several men, their bodies found lying on the streets. And a mass grave with an untold number of people buried there.

The atrocities sparked demands for war crimes investigations and harsher sanctions on Russia. While a number of civilian casualties is still unknown, the United Nations now estimates more than 10 million Ukrainians have been forced from their home since the war began.

On Wednesday, a strong show of western support for Ukraine as it marked 31 years of independence from the Soviet Union, there was a surprise visit to Kyiv by the British prime minister who pledged another $66 million in security assistance.

In Berlin, several thousand Ukrainians marked Independence Day with a freedom parade, a huge yellow and blue flag was unfolded in Brussels. During an event attended by the European Commission president who called it a proud emotional moment.

And in the Ukrainian capital, there are fears Russia will ramp up its missile strikes, but that didn't keep people out of the streets.

CNN's David McKenzie shows us how they're marking the holiday.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the air raid siren is going off right now on Kyiv. But despite that, look at all these people here behind me, they're ignoring the calls of the government to stay at home, to stay out of large crowds, because this is an important moment for Ukrainians.

This is the anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union. It's also six months on from when this war began. They've lined up tanks all along this main street. Tanks, APCs, rocket launches from the initial attack of Russians on Kyiv many months ago.

So, Dima, (Ph) what do you think about today?

UNKNOWN: It's a great day. It's the day of independence of Ukraine and I came here to celebrate this day, but not to have fun or cheer, but to see at which price the independence is gained exactly.

MCKENZIE: And you were told to stay away from big crowds, but everyone is here. Why do you think that is?

UNKNOWN: Yes, Ukrainians value life, but they value freedom even more. MCKENZIE: For young people what has the last six months been like?

UNKNOWN: Actually, it was very scary and I have no words really, so sad.

MCKENZIE: You know, Ukrainian officials said that Russians would've wanted their own military parade here in Kyiv. So, they gave them one. Ukrainian style. And people are writing messages on the tank. This one says for Kyiv, for Donetsk, for all the regions that I've seen fighting and have been occupied by the Russians in this brutal war. This fight could go on for a long time here.

CHURCH: Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate and celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz is facing a backlash over comments he made about the health of his Democratic opponent. The controversy erupted shortly after Oz faced criticism over a video that went viral in which Oz questioned whether John Fetterman's stroke might have been due to his diet. But it's also raising serious questions about Fetterman's condition.

CNN's Eva McKend explains.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: From Erie to Pittsburgh --

JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Steel workers.

MCKEND: Pennsylvania's Democratic candidate for Senate John Fetterman back on the campaign trail more than three months after suffering a stroke.

FETTERMAN: If I'm your next Senator to Washington, D.C., guess what? You're still going to have a senator that's going to be living across the street from your steel plants.

[03:50:00]

MCKEND: Rallying members of the United steelworkers Tuesday, Fetterman was on message, but often halting in his speech and occasionally dropped words mid-sentence.

FETTERMAN: Being anti-union is anti-American. What is wrong with demanding for an easy safe kind of their income, a path to a safe place for them to win, or excuse me to work.

MCKEND: Fetterman declined to answer questions from CNN and other reporters at the event, a campaign spokesperson telling CNN, Fetterman is doing really well. Walking five to six miles a day, and following doctor's orders. They didn't say when the public would receive a status update from his physician about his condition, instead, pointing to a June letter from his doctor that said Fetterman would return in six months for a checkup, and noting a July interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette where the 53-year-old said he had nothing to hide. While acknowledging he at times struggles with hearing, may miss a word or slur two words together.

RICHARD BERNSTEIN, NEUROLOGY PROFESSOR, NOTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: It is one of the most common symptoms of a stroke. The slurred speech doesn't always indicate a problem with language processing. Sometimes it's simply a problem with pronunciation.

MCKEND: In May, doctors attached a pacemaker with a defibrillator to Fetterman's heart to treat his cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood through the body.

In that same July interview with the Post Gazette Fetterman said he is working with his speech therapist. Fetterman's health has emerged as a line of attack by his rival celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz. Since releasing this video aimed at highlighting grocery store prices --

MEHMET OZ (R), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: Six dollars.

MCKEND: -- Oz has come under withering criticism for being out of touch. But now he's trying to turn the tables, releasing a statement Tuesday that said, if John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn't have had a major stroke.

Fetterman responding, I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could never imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges. Fetterman supporters at that union rally downplaying concerns over his health.

UNKNOWN: I think that he's back fairly quick from it, to be honest with you.

UNKNOWN: I think if it was, you know, a bigger issue than -- than what it is, he would actually absolutely be more open about it.

MCKEND: A key question now, when will we see these two candidates debate? Oz has made this a central focus. Fetterman's campaign telling me, Fetterman is up for debating Oz, but has not yet committed to a date.

Eva McKend, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

CHURCH: And just in to CNN, the teacher strike in Columbus, Ohio is over. Early this morning, the teachers union and board of education say they reached a conceptual agreement to get students back in the classroom starting Monday. Thousands of teachers and other school workers went on strike over the weekend, demanding better classroom conditions.

The school year started as scheduled Wednesday but kids had to do online classes with substitute teachers. They'll stay virtual for the next two days while the regular teachers get ready for their return next week.

A U.S. federal judge has temporarily barred the state of our -- Idaho from allowing a ban on abortion to take effect in situations where a woman's health is endangered by pregnancy complications.

Idaho's near total ban on abortion kicks in today, but the judge agreed with the Justice Department saying this part of that ban conflicts with federal standards for emergency care. On Tuesday, a Trump appointed judge in Texas made the opposite decision and blocked that same federal requirement for hospitals to provide emergency abortion related services.

The rulings come just two months after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe versus Wade, the landmark case that guaranteed federal abortion rights.

Well, the widow of Kobe Bryant has won a lawsuit against Los Angeles County over graphic photos of the helicopter crash site where the U.S. basketball star died. A federal jury awarded $16 million in damages to Bryant's wife, Vanessa.

She sued Los Angeles County over photos, police and fire crews shared of human remains at the scene. Another $15 million went to the husband and father of two other victims who joined her suit. Nine people, including Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna died in that crash back in 2020.

And before we go, U.S. first lady Jill Biden tweeted her gratitude Wednesday for her rescue cat Willow who's keeping her company while she deals with a rebound case of COVID-19.

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She shared this photo of the gray Tabby lounging on a chair, pointing out the fact that the cat won't leave her side. The first lady tested positive for COVID-19 earlier Wednesday after previously testing negative. Her spokeswoman tells CNN she will remain in isolation with her cat until she has two consecutive negative tests.

And thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. CNN Newsroom continues with Max Foster, next.

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