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Affidavit Used by FBI Soon to be Seen by the Public; Donald Trump Wary of Possible Indictment; President Biden Tout His Accomplishments; Europeans Raise Concern Over Zaporizhzhia Power Plant; California Weighs Pros and Cons Over New Car Regulation; Mississippi Inundated with Flood; Texas Board Show Their Anger by Voting Pete Arredondo Out; Cities Continue to Receive Migrants from Texas. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 26, 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)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom, in the coming hours, new details are expected about the FBI search of Donald Trump's home. What will be released in the affidavit used for the warrant and what won't be.

Fires near the Zaporizhzhia power plant knock it off the power grid raising fears of a nuclear disaster.

And a historic decision in California as state regulators vote to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035 to curb climate change. Why they expect more U.S. states to follow their lead.

UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We're just hours away from learning new details about what prompted the FBI search on Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The U.S. federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to release the affidavit used to secure the search warrant, but some crucial information will be kept secret.

CNN's justice correspondent Jessica Schneider reports from Washington.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We could see the Mar-a- Lago search warrant affidavit in redacted form at any moment. And that's because the federal judge in this case, Bruce Reinhart has ruled that the Justice Department must make public the version they submitted to him on Thursday.

Now this is a version that is likely significantly blacked out, but it could still reveal a few procedural details about why the search at Mar-a-Lago happened on August 8th. The judge wrote that the DOJ must unseal their version of the affidavit by noon on Friday. And we saw that the judge did agree that the DOJ does need to black out substantial portions of the affidavit since the judge said it could reveal the identities of witnesses, law enforcement agents, it could even reveal uncharged parties who might eventually be charged with crimes related to this ongoing criminal investigation into classified information.

The judge also said that the DOJ could black out details relating to the sources and methods and grand jury information. Since we know of course a grand jury has been hearing evidence for months, they even issued a subpoena to Trump for return of some of this material.

So, the public will soon see a bit more detail but probably not a lot more about what prompted a federal judge to approve this unprecedented search at former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and resort. That will be by noon on Friday.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

BRUNHUBER: Well, we know what the judge says has to be blacked out of the affidavit before it's made public. So, what could be left in? Well, we ask CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I can think of a few things having done a few of these affidavits. First of all, there's always going to be some legal boiler plate laying out, the law, the premises to be searched, all that kind of thing. But more importantly, I think we could see DOJ's account of the ongoing negotiation between archives and DOJ and Donald Trump's lawyers.

Now we've seen some great reporting on that. We know that that negotiation went on for over a year, but this could be a definitive specific account of that. We could get DOJ's account of what documents they got before the search -- search warrant, because remember, Trump's team turned over 15 boxes to archives. There was a subpoena. We don't yet know exactly what was in those boxes. We could find that out as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's legal team is also facing a key deadline today. The U.S. federal judge wants them to better explain why they want a special master to oversee the review of evidence seized in the Mar-a-Lago search.

Now sources are telling CNN people close to Trump are starting to question the competency of his legal team. And the former president is asking members of his inner circle if they think he will be indicted.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has that story.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is growing concern among former President Donald Trump and his allies that he could be in real legal trouble. We had known that Trump had grilled his attorneys in the past over whether or not they actually thought that he might be indicted. And he had really approached that with a lot of skepticism.

We have now learned that those conversations have extended two men members of his inner circle asking them what they believe the outcome of all of this will be. And those allies, they think it's because Trump himself is concerned about a possible indictment about where this is all going.

[03:04:59]

One source telling me that even though former President Trump has been in legal peril before, even when he was president, this time it seems different and potentially more dangerous, particularly given the fact that he doesn't have those same legal protections that he had in the executive office. And a lot of these allies have started raising red flags, particularly about the competence of his legal team.

Christina Bobb, who is a former TV host of One America News, a pro- Trump right wing news network. She's really become the face of his legal team. And a lot of sources have pointed me to exchanges where it seems as though she is in over her head. She doesn't have answers about what the legal strategy is.

And on top of that, we have heard from a number of allies to Trump who were very upset and concerned about the fact that the legal team did not actually file anything for two weeks. And once they actually did file something, it was riddled with errors. It had to be clarified by the judge. They have to go back and return it and give it back to the judge and clarify.

So, a lot of concerns here, because once again, we are at a time where these allies were people close to Trump are concern that he might actually be in legal jeopardy.

BRUNHUBER: Legal experts say unsealing an affidavit even a redacted one is almost unheard of. Former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham tells CNN that people close to Trump are starting to get very worried about where this investigation may be headed. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He is going to use it to just point to the redacted portions and say, what are they hiding? They're not being transparent. I think he's going to use it to play victim even more, probably fundraise off of it a little bit more.

I do think though, they're going to be scouring what is there to try and figure out exactly, you know, what they have and more importantly, who they've been talking to. Because I know from people, I've been talking to that that remains a number one issue around there is, who is, who's talking, who's the mole, et cetera.

I'm sure deep down he's nervous, but he's never going to show that. He's going to use whatever he can to, you know, double and triple down like he always does. And right now, he just seems to be playing the victim. So, I am sure that he's nervous about whatever pieces of information will come out.

And look the media coverage even on, right, like with Fox has not been good for him. I mean, he kind of had a meltdown today on his social media network. You can tell he's getting very, very nervous. And I think that that's something to think about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: With U.S. midterm elections a little more than two months away, President Biden is leveling some of his sharpest attacks yet at Donald Trump and the Republicans. In short, he's openly accusing them of embracing, quote. "semi-fascism." At a rally Thursday night in suburban Washington Biden laid out a list of hot button issues that he hopes will drive Democrats to the polls on November 8th. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We'll codify Roe V. Wade.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: We'll ban -- we'll ban assault weapons. We'll protect social security, Medicare. We'll pass universal pre-K. We'll restore the childcare tax credit. We'll protect voting rights. We'll pass election reform and make no -- make sure no one, no one ever has the opportunity to steal an election again.

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BRUNHUBER: CNN's Phil Mattingly was at the event and filed this report.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's no question when you talk to Democrats, they believe their fortunes have shifted over the course of the last six or seven weeks. They don't necessarily believe that it means they can foresaw losing seats, particularly in the House during the midterm elections, but they now very clearly feel like they have something to run on.

They have a positive message and a message that is resonating. They've seen it in special elections around the country. They've seen it in the wake of the Supreme Court decision on Roe versus Wade. And those were all issues that President Joe Biden in his first real campaign rally of the midterms sought to highlight the contrast, making very clear what Democrats believe they've done, what Democrats believe they could bring to the table, what they believe opponents, the Republicans would do.

The president going after the former president who he rarely mentioned for the first 18 months of his time in office, and also repeatedly going after congressional Republicans and their opposition to his top agenda items. Probably the most fiery language we've heard on several fronts. Take a listen.

BIDEN: And 2020, you and 81 million Americans voted to save our democracy. That's why Donald Trump isn't just a former president. He is a defeated former president.

And it's not hyperbole. Now you need to vote to literally save democracy again. Will we be a country that moves forward or backward? Will we build a future or obsess over the past. Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans have made their choice to go backwards full of anger, violence, hate and division, but we've chosen a different path forward. The future unity, hope and optimism.

[03:10:08]

MATTINGLY: Now the president was out in Rockville, Maryland, it's actually a D.C. suburb. This is not exactly battle ground or red country, but it was an opportunity for him to kind of get his feet wet. It was a very much a campaign field packed gym, overflow rooms.

The president went and saw everybody, talked to everyone and made clear that the Maryland delegation mostly made for Democrats has a support. The real question going forward though, is, can the White House maintain some of the momentum the party's seen and will it have a real effect in November?

It's a question when you look at the history, Democrats, Republicans alike, first midterm of a new president never goes well, particularly in the House. Democrats now think they have a shot to buck that trend.

Phil Mattingly, CNN, Rockville, Maryland.

BRUNHUBER: President Biden made history this week by announcing plans to forgive student loan debt up to $20,000 for millions of Americans. But there are still lots of unanswered questions about the plan, like when borrowers will start to see that relief and how the country plans to pay for it.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke with CNN earlier about how much it might cost. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's going to be about $24 billion per year. Now, just to give you a little bit of context, that $24 billion a year, that is about 3 percent of what we spend on the military. That's just a tiny, tiny fraction. And if you hear what the Wall Street folks said, Goldman Sachs, they said this today, it will have a minor, minor effect. A minor, minor effect on this plan on what we're seeing currently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: An estimated 43 million Americans are expected to receive at least some relief from the loan forgiveness plan.

With about six and a half hours to go the start of a new trading day on Wall Street here is where U.S. stock futures stand right now. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 futures all slight, slightly down.

Meanwhile, trading across Europe, just getting underway this hour, all markets are up. And here's a look at how markets across Asia have fare today. The Nikkei Hang Seng and the Shanghai composite are all mixed as we can see.

And the eyes of the financial world will be on Jackson Hole, Wyoming in coming hours as Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak at the Fed's annual summer gathering about an hour after the opening bell on wall Street. It's expected Powell will offer some guidance on where interest rates may be heading in the coming month.

Now there are new concerns about the safety at Zaporizhzhia's nuclear plant. The risks that the facility faces after being removed from the power grid. We'll look at those coming up. Stay with us.

[03:15:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Fears of a potential nuclear incident are growing again at Europe's largest nuclear plant. Ukraine's nuclear operator says all six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant are still disconnected from the country's power grid. It's been cut off after fires damaged power lines Thursday.

Kyiv and Moscow have been trading blame over outages at the facility, which has been held by Russian forces since March. While it's still not connected to the grid, power has been restored to the plant and that's critical because it needs power to cool its reactors to prevent them from melting down.

President Zelenskyy says his government isn't taking any chances. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): I want to assure all Ukrainians we are doing everything to prevent any emergency scenario, but it depends not only on our state, international pressure is needed that will force the occupiers to immediately withdraw from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants.

The IAEA and other international organizations must act much faster than now because every minute of the Russian military staying at the nuclear plant is a risk of global radiation disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The disconnection is raising concerns that Moscow may be trying to divert electricity from Zaporizhzhia to occupied parts of Ukraine. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has also been pushing for its inspectors to go to the plant. The agency's director is now optimistic it may happen soon. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: I think now there is general recognition that we need to be there. We need to be there soon. Kyiv accepts it. Moscow accepts it. We need to go. And we are going to be there hopefully very, very soon.

UNKNOWN: Is very soon days or weeks?

GROSSI: Days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, the car bomb killing of the daughter of a prominent Putin ally is raising diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and the Vatican. Ukraine has summoned the Holy See's diplomatic representative this morning. And that's after Pope Francis described Darya Dugina as being among the innocent people who pay for the war. Ukraine says the comment equates the aggressor and the victim.

Now obviously the situation at Zaporizhzhia is a first for any nuclear plant anywhere. No other such facility has even been caught up in fighting during an active war.

So, for the latest we're joined by Scott McClean from London. Scott, we heard a stark warning there from the president of Ukraine about how close we are to disaster. What more can you tell us.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Kim, normally the Zaporizhzhia Power Plant would be providing power to the region. It's offline at the moment, but it still needs power from the Ukrainian grid in order to cool its reactors to keep the ventilation system going and even just to keep the lights on.

So, under normal circumstances, you would have four connections to the power grid providing electricity to the plant. Fighting early on in the war took out three of those. And so, essentially, you're left with one single connection to the electrical system. And then backup diesel generators.

[03:20:08]

Because of a fire at which you can see actually on satellite images recently taken because of this fire you had power cut to the plant. And so, you had to go and actually rely on these backup diesel generators yesterday.

Ukrainians, the Russians, they blame each other for the source of that actual power cut. But the head of new -- of Ukraine's nuclear power operator says that the Russians are actually trying -- intentionally to cut the plant off from the electrical grid, not to cause any kind of an accident on purpose, but because they want to take the plant off of the Ukrainian system and actually connect it to the Russian grid.

In order to do that, though, you'd have to shut it down completely from the electrical system. And during that transitional period, you'd have to rely on those backup diesel generators. And that, he says is the really risky time. Because those diesel generators, obviously they require fuel in the midst of a war zone. And also, they're not really meant to run for long periods of time. So that's the risk. As I mentioned yesterday, you had the power cut to the plant for the very first time. And President Zelenskyy says that the world really needs to understand what the risk is, what the threat is. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): With diesel, if the diesel generators hadn't turned on, if the automation in our staff on the plant had not reacted after the blackout, then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of a radiation accident. Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLEAN: So, the power issue, Kim, is not the only threat to the plant. You have workers also telling CNN that staff there are leaving by the dozens, not because of just danger in the area and fighting in the area, but also because the Ukrainians say that three plant workers have been killed. Dozens have been arrested, suspected of leaking information.

On top of all of that, you also have Russian military trucks inside of that facility. The Ukrainians believe that they contain explosive material. Experts say that the risk here is really twofold. You could have either an issue in the reactors themselves, which are housed in containment buildings, which are meant to withstand the force of even an accidental plane crash. Could they withstand the force of a missile strike? I don't think we want to find out.

The other risk is right there out in the open. And that is the cooling pools for those spent nuclear fuel and they have really no protection at all. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. It's just unbelievable that it's come to this. Scott McLean, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Yet another American politician is visiting Taiwan in defiance of Beijing, which considers the island of renegade, Chinese province. U.S. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn met with Taiwan's president reassuring her of American support for the self-governing island. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-TN): And we look forward to continuing to help and support Taiwan as they push forward as an independent nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now Blackburn doesn't represent the Biden administration on her trip and her comments don't change the longstanding one-China policy, which recognizes Taiwan as part of China. Blackburn's visit comes despite increased pressure from Beijing to stop such trips by U.S. officials. Several high-profile visits from congressional lawmakers including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have angered the Chinese government in recent days.

Now more electric vehicles will be hitting the roads in some of America's smoggiest cities. We'll talk about California's bold new plan to phase out gas guzzlers.

And evacuations are underway in the U.S. state of Mississippi where floodwaters are crossing through parts of the capital. Stay with us.

[03:25:00]

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BRUNHUBER: By 2035, all new vehicles sold in California must be zero emission. The state wants to phase out gasoline cars and trucks and reduce dangerous pollutants. California air regulators unanimously approved the gradual ban Thursday, it's the first of its kind nationwide and among the first in the world.

CNN's Chris Nguyen has details.

CHRIS NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Simply put, given the size of California's economy, this decision will have a major impact on the U.S. car market. Here in California, nearly two million new vehicles are sold each year. Which is why this is such a big deal.

Today's vote was years in the making and could encourage even more people to consider buying an electric vehicle. Here is what a transportation expert had to say about the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHA WEINSTEIN AGRAWAL, PROFESSOR, URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING, SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY: This is a historic moment. And by having a clear fixed target, when we stopped selling gas and diesel vehicles, we are going to be making a really important dent in our need to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: However, this isn't going to happen overnight. Officials have drafted up some benchmarks that they hope the states will meet, for example, by the year 2026, the hope is for 35 percent of new vehicles to be zero emission. Those target numbers then go up each year until 2035. Back to you.

BRUNHUBER: And Liane Randolph is the chair of the California Air Resources Board, she is with us from Sacramento. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So, we touched on that California is the biggest car market, California's economy is the fifth biggest in the world. So, what effect will this have not just on California but on the country and maybe around the world?

[03:30:03] LIANE RANDOLPH, CHAIR, CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD: Well, we in California see this as a huge opportunity to be world leaders and making this trans -- transition to zero emission vehicles.

In California, we set standards and 17 other states follow those standards as well. So, those states in California together are 40 percent of the vehicle market in the United States. And so, that will have a huge impact on the plans for automakers to transition to zero emission vehicles.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. So, the automakers say, you know, they agree, they want to get more electric cars on the market. But some of the challenges to getting there they say are out of their control, things like inflation, supply chain problems, labor, the availability of critical minerals and the semiconductor shortage. How valid are their concerns?

RANDOLPH: Well, this is the transition that is going to take some time, and we've already gotten underway in terms of providing infrastructure support throughout the state of California. We have spent over $3 billion on infrastructure deployment for zero emission vehicles from a variety of sources.

And we are optimistic that the supply -- as the supply chain issues worked their way through, and automakers are be -- are able to increase the number of vehicles they are able to make available onto the market, that the cost of these vehicles will reach parity with internal combustion engine vehicles very soon and they will be very attracted to purchasers because they have a lower total cost of ownership because the fuel costs less than gas and the repair costs less as well.

BRUNHUBER: Now, it's been a long road sort of getting to this point and there might still be more bumps ahead. I mean, the Trump administration had rolled back your state's ability to make this move. It was later reinstated this year. And then now, attorney -- attorneys general from many Republican states have sued to revoke California's ability to set these new standards. So, how seriously do you see this legal challenge or a potential challenge may be from a future Republican president?

RANDOLPH: California has had clear authority to set these standards for decades under the Clean Air Act. And we are so pleased to be able to partner with the Biden administration to ensure that we retain that authority, and we will vigorously defend that authority in court, and I am confident of success.

BRUNHUBER: Now, the head of the EV Equity Program in Central California and they said, you know, folks with lower incomes may not be able to make that transition to EVs because of the higher prices. So, you know, if the carmakers manufacture more EVs, the price will drop and there are, you know, new tax breaks that have just been announced by the Biden administration.

But that said, EVs, at least for the foreseeable future, they will be more expensive and lower income communities they might not have sort of the same access to the same charging infrastructures, more wealthy areas, for instance. Are you worried at all about those who might be left behind?

RANDOLPH: It's really important to prioritize all communities in California and lift up those underserved communities. So, we are absolutely partnering with other state and local agencies to ensure that the infrastructure is being rolled out in underserved communities. And we are also orienting our individual incentives that we provided state -- in the state of California more towards lower in (Inaudible) to assist them in purchasing vehicles. And we want to make sure there is a robust secondary market.

In California, only about 30 percent of car buyers buy a new car. A lot of folks buy used cars. And so, we want to ensure with our battery derivability requirements and requirements to disclose the state of health of batteries, that's part of the regulatory structure that we adapted today. We want to make sure that there is robust secondary market.

BRUNHUBER: All right. And finally, as I talked about, you know, there are other countries looking at this. Certainly, other countries have made similar types of promises, but they haven't enacted the same regulations that California has. How do you think that this will affect other countries in terms of their legislation sparking perhaps similar things?

RANDOLPH: It's really important to have enforcement (Inaudible). And so, we are really pleased to click this vote. And we are hopeful that other jurisdictions will be able to do the same and use some of the strategies that we are deploying in this regulation in terms of milestones and benchmarks and really supporting the work with, as I mentioned, incentives for both purchasing vehicles and for infrastructure. All of those pieces are important to make that zero- emission possible.

[03:35:08]

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll have to leave it there, really appreciate your time. Liane Randolph in Sacramento. Thanks so much.

RANDOLPH: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: The capital of Mississippi is dealing with a deluge. Nearly eight and a half inches of rain have fallen on Jackson over the past few days and areas east of the city like Pearl have received even more. This is now Jackson's rainiest August on record. The mayor has called for voluntary evacuations on areas with risk of flooding.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam who has been tracking the downpours. Derek, what's the latest?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Yes, you know, and we have seen what the sheer power of Mother Nature can do with these floodwaters, Kim. All week we've been reporting on that. Here's one of the examples. I mean, floodwaters can literally tear apart roadways and bridges. We know that it can disguise some of the potholes and roads. That's why the National Weather Service talks about turn around. Don't drown if you're encountering a flooded roadway. There are so many hidden dangers within that area.

Well, there are still the threat of flash flooding today, although it has been reduced. We no longer have that moderate risk of flash flooding today. However, through this morning, that's 7 a.m. local standard time, that's Central Standard Time, 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, that would put this area that's been hardest hit by the flash flooding lately under a slight risk of additional flooding for the day today.

I want to give you an example. Here's the Pearl River at Jackson. Kim was just talking about that a moment ago. And this is its forecast to actually crest through the weekend and into the early parts of next week roughly into major flood stage at about 36 feet. That's a problem considering that this should allow for water to inundate some of the roadways within downtown Jackson as well.

So, authorities there are urging people to get sandbags in preparation for this. There are voluntary evacuations for some of those locations.

You can see the flood warnings that are in place, basically tracking along some of those larger river basins and tributaries across central and southern Mississippi and into Louisiana. This area has had a deluge of rain since Sunday, some areas reporting almost a foot of rain.

So, what's in store for today and into the next 48 hours? Well, another additional 1 to 2 inches of rain. National Weather Service coming out of Jackson, Mississippi calling for some of the slow-moving thunderstorms to potentially produce another 1 to 2 inches in a matter of three hours. So, that could lead to, again, flash flooding in those hardest hit areas. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll keep an eye on that throughout the weekend. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.

Coming up here on CNN, parents of the children killed in the Uvalde school shooting get some measure of accountability, but will it be enough? We'll have the story after the break.

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[03:40:00]

BRUNHUBER: A federal judge has ruled the Texas law barring people under the age of 21 from carrying a handgun in public is unconstitutional. The Trump appointed judge said the law was inconsistent with the Constitution because the second amendment has no age restriction. The ruling doesn't prohibit gun restrictions for those under 18. It's on hold for 30 days to give the state time to appeal.

Now, the ruling comes a day after the Uvalde, Texas school board fired the school's -- school district's embattled police chief, Pete Arredondo. Many in the community had criticized his handling of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary school earlier this year.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADAM MARTINEZ, CHILD ATTENDED ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: This is a step in the right direction, but there's a lot more things that need to happen.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a moment of accountability that many in Uvalde have been waiting for, but many say isn't enough.

UNKNOWN: All in favor? Motion passes unanimously.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): The Uvalde School Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to terminate the employment of Pete Arredondo, the school district's police chief criticized for his role in response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.

UNKNOWN: We're going to continue our fight.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Many in Uvalde are also calling for the school board, the superintendent, and the entire school district police department to be replaced, all in their eyes partially responsible for failing to prevent the deaths of 19 students and two teachers three months ago.

DANIEL MYERS, PASTOR IN UVALDE: You are not going to sweep this under the rug. Three main failures, number one, school administration, right there.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Before yesterday's meeting, Arredondo's lawyer released a statement with a request that it be read aloud, calling the proceedings an unconstitutional public lynching and saying that Arredondo would not attend the board meeting over safety concerns.

BRETT CROSS, UNCLE OF VICTIM UZIYAH GARCIA: So, for him to not be here and actually to face the consequences to his actions --

UNKNOWN: He's a coward.

CROSS: Exactly.

UNKNOWN: Coward.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Arredondo has said he did not consider himself in charge during the May 24th shooting. But state officials identified him as the on-scene commander. The gunman was in two adjoined classrooms for more than an hour before officers entered and killed him, that time marked with chaos as no one to command.

[03:45:02]

UNKNOWN: I said who's going to be to call the shots. PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Arredondo at one point trying to communicate with the shooter, contradicting the law enforcement active shooter protocol, to eliminate the threat.

UNKNOWN: Please put your firearm down, sir. We don't want anybody else hurt.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Families now receiving some accountability for that delay.

MARTINEZ: Because you expect to be in a small community and hold his head up high and say that he's going to protect and serve, that simply just ridiculous.

PROKUPECZ (on-camera): Despite the firing of now the former chief Pete Arredondo, family members say they're going to continue to fight for transparency and for accountability. There's still so many investigations that are being conducted from the local police department, the Uvalde Police Department, to the Texas State Troopers, the Department of Public Safety, and the district attorney, and the Texas Rangers, all conducting investigations.

So, there are still many details that we don't know. And yet, in the months to come, we're only going to learn much more and certainly that's going to have a certain reaction from the community and family members.

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, San Antonio, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Texas is sending thousands of migrants on buses to cities like New York and Washington, D.C., and while it may be a relief for those families to be somewhere safe, many wonder if the cities can keep up. That's ahead. Stay with us.

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[03:50:00]

BRUNHUBER: For weeks now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been putting thousands of migrants on buses and sending them to Washington, D.C. and New York City as a protest of the Biden administration's immigration policies. The head of the Department of Homeland Security told CNN that Abbot's relocation efforts are wreaking havoc on the processing system. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: It is problematic however when an official works not in collaboration with us but unilaterally. And that lack of coordination makes problems in our very efficient processing. It also puts financial pressure on us, in that we fund the nonprofit organizations. We understand their capacity. We understand their needs. And when that action is not coordinated with us and with them, the whole system is out of whack. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: But for the thousands of people on those buses headed for New York and Washington, the trip is both the end of a grueling ordeal and the beginning of a whole new life.

Our Polo Sandoval reports.

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You wouldn't know it as they stroll through Brooklyn, but this family, dog included, has been through hell to get here. Navigating the concrete jungle that's their home today pales to the Central American jungle (inaudible) and his partner, Annabelle Gonzalez (Ph) survived this summer.

UNKNOWN: (SPOKEN IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

SANDOVAL (voice-over): The young Venezuelan couple documented their two-month journey that took the family of four, five if you count their dog, Max, through 10 countries. They carried only a few belongings on their backs, and occasionally, they're six and nine- year-olds as well as they trekked through the infamous Darien gap, linking South and Central America.

At times, they even swaddled their pup like a baby to sneak him on to buses and into hotels, fearing they would be separated.

UNKNOWN (on-screen text): There goes Sebastian and Criszanyelis.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): But the blood, sweat and countless tears were worth it for this moment, the day they waited across the Rio Grande --

UNKNOWN (on-screen text): Go.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): -- and onto U.S. soil for the first time officially requesting asylum. After a brief stop in Texas, it was onto a bus and a three-day drive to New York City, where they wait for their asylum cases to be heard.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

What's next for you, the next few days and weeks? Annabelle explains that her family came to the U.S. not for a hand out but to work. She's one of over 7,000 asylum seekers that officials say have turned to the city for shelter since May alone into a system that was already overwhelmed by homeless New Yorkers. Long before the governors of Texas and Arizona used these families to make a political point.

KATHRYN KLIFF, STAFF ATTORNEY, LEGAL AID SOCIETY: Unfortunately, the city was not prepared to meet the need or the capacity. So, we have a capacity crisis, which we've had since early June.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Attorney Kathryn Kliff says she saw this coming. Her organization ensures the city of New York adheres to its right to shelter law, which requires anyone eligible and in need to be offered a bed, be it an asylum seeker or New Yorker falling on tough times.

KLIFF: There's been so much focus on migrant families coming into the system and -- but it ignores the reality that we have had mass homelessness in New York City for a really long time.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): According to New Yorkers we met, there is a general desire for New York City to embrace this latest wave of tired, poor and huddled masses, as it's always done.

UNKNOWN: I think it will be great. That's the best thing about New York is you come from everywhere.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): But there's also a call to fix pre-existing issues, like the shelter crisis.

UNKNOWN: I think the city has always been kind of a beacon to people who arrive here from other places. But I think that there is a lot of things that need to be fixed here. And there's a lot of kind of work that needs to be done.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): City Immigration Commissioner Manuel Castro, an immigrant himself says he understands those concerns. But even as public schools alone expect an additional 1,000 migrant students this fall.

Is New York City in a position where it is able to welcome thousands that have arrived, and thousands more that will come here?

[03:54:56]

MANUEL CASTRO, NEW YORK CITY COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS: Look, you know, we're constantly improving. We're adjusting, we're adding capacity, we are continuing to open hotels to be used as shelters. We are contracting with community-based organizations to add additional services. So, yes, we continue to improve.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Those improvements can't come soon enough for the Orbaez-Gonzalez (Ph) family back in Brooklyn. There is a sense of frustration in Chrisman's (Ph) voice as he tells me he's pleading with city and federal immigration officials to speed up the process of securing work permits for asylum seekers.

At 27, this young father knows the sooner he can legally provide for his family here, the sooner he won't have to rely on New York's overburdened shelter system.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. That wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Max Foster picks up our coverage after this quick break.

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