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A Closer Look At Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Plan; California Regulators Ban New Gasoline Car Sales by 2035; Power Outages Across Cuba Becoming Increasingly Common; French President Macron on Goodwill Visit to Algeria. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 26, 2022 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

A federal judge ordered the Justice Department to release the redacted affidavit used to justify the FBI's search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. The release could happen anytime between now and noon on this Friday.

Plus, Thursday night President Biden gave a speech to supporters about his strategy, this as the Democrats grow more bullish about the upcoming midterm elections. More on these early stories in "EARLY START" in about 30 minutes from now.

We're going to move now on to another major story though out of Washington. That are still a lot of unanswered questions about President Biden's newly announced student loan forgiveness plan. Like when borrowers will start to see that relief and how the country plans to pay for it as well.

CNN's Brian Todd is taking a closer look at those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Vinessa Russell recently told CNN she's saddled with about $48,000 of student loan debt.

VINESSA GABRIELLE RUSSELL, STRUGGLING WITH STUDENT LOAN DEBT: I can't afford my expenses. I can't afford my groceries. I can't afford my transportation, my rent, and still try to put money aside for student debt.

MARC STEWART, BUSINESS JOURNALIST: It's one of the largest contributors to household debt and can haunt many students throughout her lives.

TODD (voice-over): Vinessa Russell likes President Biden's new plan where borrowers can have $10,000 of their student loans wiped out if they make less than $125,000 a year or are married or heads of households making less than 250,000. $20,000 of student loans can be forgiven for those who received Pell Grants, given to students from low and middle income families.

The president is also planning to extend the pause on all student loan payments, a moratorium put in place during the pandemic until January.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really excited. It's going to cut my loan almost in half.

TODD (voice-over): Others are critical.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Other people have other types of debt and those aren't being forgiven, so it's tough to swallow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just don't think it's enough to come out and say they are forgiving $10,000 to $20,000. It's just kind of ridiculous.

TODD (voice-over): What if you took out a loan but couldn't finish college?

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: This broad-based loan forgiveness will cover people who took out debt but didn't have the degree.

TODD (voice-over): But not every borrower can take advantage of this.

SINGLETARY: It also won't benefit people who have private student loans. This is only offered to people who have federal loans.

TODD (voice-over): That's the bulk of borrowers, experts say.

[04:35:00]

But critics are calling this plan unfair, a slap in the face to people who saved for college, who worked doggedly to pay off their loans or who went into the military or another field because they couldn't take on student debt. Some argue that American taxpayers will be footing the bill for a benefit for people who don't need it.

MARC GOLDWEIN, COMMITTEE FOR A RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL BUDGET: Well, not everybody that has student debt is rich. Disproportionately, student debt is being held by people that have advanced degrees and pretty good income and they can bear it a lot more, you know, than everyday Americans that are seeing the cost of their gasoline and clothing go up.

TODD (voice-over): And there's still the issue of skyrocketing tuitions. The total cost of going to college now averages over $35,000 a year, closer to $55,000 a year at a private university, according to the Education Data Initiative.

SINGLETARY: I'm not sure that it is going to help the root cause, which is college costs too much.

TODD: And Michelle Singletary worries that this new loan forgiveness plan won't make colleges rethink their tuition hikes, she worries it will be just the opposite. That if this program becomes popular, more people will rush to take out loans, and colleges will continue the charge whatever they want.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: A teacher strike has delayed the start of the school year for some 25,000 students in one Seattle suburb. A message posted on the Kent School District's website confirmed that all elementary and middle school activities were postponed until further notice. Negotiations with the teachers union have been underway since July. Union representatives say the strike is about several anti-union district proposals, and the state's refusal to grant cost of living pay increases.

Now as children in the U.S. get ready to head back to class, school officials have to figure out how to deal with any potential monkeypox cases. The disease is rare in children, but they can still get it, as you can see here, the breakdown in total cases so far in children under the age of 15.

So, what can parents do on their end to help keep their kids safe? Well, the National Association of School Nurses has some recommendations.

Familiarize yourself with monkeypox symptoms. Keep children home if they have a fever and a rash. Know that several illnesses can cause a fever in a rash. Talk to your child's doctor. Avoid blaming or excluding children based on fear or stigma. And wash hands, clean and disinfect surfaces.

Worldwide there's some good news about the virus. According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox cases are down more than 20 percent globally, for the week. But in the Americas, cases are rising. The W.H.O. blames this particularly on Latin America, on insufficient where awareness, combined with a lack of access to vaccines.

And an break of E. coli has been associated with Wendy's fast food restaurants in for U.S. states, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. And more than 80 people have been affected in 38 were hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. No specific food has been confirmed, as a source of the outbreak, but most sick people reported eating sandwiches with romaine lettuce. As a precaution, Wendy's is removing romaine lettuce in states reporting cases.

The legacy of colonialism still hangs over relations between Algeria and France. Now, President Macron has gone there on a mission to improve those relations and possibly secure more natural gas for France. A live report from Paris is just ahead.

Plus, power outages in Cuba are on the rise. How the blackouts are disrupting the lives of thousands across that island, even leading to acts of defiance by the people.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FOSTER: The U.S. state with the most people and the largest economy has taken a big step towards phasing out cars that run on gas. Thereby reducing fossil fuel emissions. California air regulations unanimously approved a strict new rules that would ban the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035. This would be the first such ban nationwide, and one of the first in the world as well. CNN's Chris Nguyen picks up the story.

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CHRIS NGUYEN, CNN NATIONAL 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 2 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's what a transportation expert had to say about the significance of this looming decision.

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

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Pakistan's climate change minister says monsoon rains and floods have affected at least 33 million people. This comes as the death toll has risen to more than 900 people including more than 300 children and thousands have been left homeless there. Pakistan is appealing for help from the international community, saying the rains threatening a humanitarian disaster and funds are needed for flood relief, rehabilitation and rebuilding damage infrastructure.

Power outages are increasingly complicated and Cuba. The authoritarian regime blames everything from American sanctions to a lack of investment, to a disastrous fire. But as CNN's Patrick Oppmann tells us, the crisis has driven defiant Cubans to do something rare and that is to protest in the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For many Cubans, this is now their life, waiting for the sweltering heat for the lights to come back on. In this neighborhood, people say the power is regularly cut by the government amid growing energy shortages for up to 16 hours each day.

It's very difficult, really uncomfortable, when it's time to go to bed you can't. He says. The mosquitoes eat you alive. The heat does not let you sleep. Power cuts are nothing new here, but Cubans are now dealing with the

worst outages in decades. As a perfect storm of economic calamity, a drop in tourism, and skyrocketing inflation batteries the island. The Cuban government blames increased U.S. government sanctions for the outages, but lack of investment in the state controlled energy sector and a massive fire that destroyed Cuba's main oil storage facility have brought crisis to the brink.

[04:45:00]

As the lights go out more frequently, Cubans fed up with the outages have taken to the streets in rare protests that the government usually does not allow. Cuba's president says protesters need to be patient.

Some people take advantage of the situation, to shout antirevolutionary slogans, he says. Others take part in vandalism and throw rocks and break windows and that doesn't resolve the situation. But government officials admit that there is no quick solution to the outages.

OPPMANN: The power outages have a major impact on people's lives. When the lights go out food spoils more quickly in the summer heat. People can't go to, work or school and they often have to sleep outside on the streets where there are exposed to mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue. At this point there is no indication that the energy crisis is going to get better anytime soon.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Wendy is nearly nine months pregnant and most nights has to sleep on the ground outside her house. She says out loud what many here are thinking.

The spoils and there's no food in the stores. There is nothing, she says. This is going from bad to worse. I want to leave.

Already, a record number of Cubans have left the island in the last year. For those that remain, they know that there are more long nights like this one to come.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, the Frenchman president, Emmanuel Macron is on the fence mending mission to Algeria. A country with a long and difficult history with France. Right now, he is attending a ceremony in the capital for French soldiers who were killed in world wars one and two.

Mr. Macron's trip is especially noteworthy because of the large high level entourage traveling with him, including numerous cabinet ministers.

CNN's Melissa Bell is watching all of this for us from Paris. And a deeply emotional event surrounding some deep scars in this relationship.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And of course, this cemetery he's at today for this commemoration for those soldiers who had fallen for France, Saint Eugene the Christian and Jewish cemetery is the main French cemetery from the colonial period in Algiers. And that question of those fallen for France, the number of Algerian soldiers, for instance, who fought on the French side during the Algerian war for independence, a particularly brutal war that lasted for eight years. Is one of the thorny issues that historians are trying to agree on.

There are so many questions on both sides, there is such raw motion, both on the Algerian side, but also on the French. That is been many of these questions that go back more than half a century, 70 years or so, still haven't been resolved. That is why this is a particularly poignant ceremony, and that is why also, Max, this visit was about looking towards the future in the context where Algeria matters perhaps more to France than ever it has before.

Not just its natural gas supplies, but its position on the African continent at a time when France has had to withdraw from Mali. It is looking to renew, to refresh that relationship, to look ahead as Elysee sources put it, ahead of the visit. But of course, for France, it is necessary to look backwards as well. And so far, the visit has been all about that.

Last night Emmanuel Macron had a meeting with Abdelmadjid Tebboune the Algerian president. And what emerged was no announcements on contracts of natural gas or any extra supplies, but rather that fundamental question of commissions of historians that will look back at the very complicated history of colonial France in Algeria, but also, they'll say the war for Algerian independents and try to come to some kind of agreement. Going back into the archives to figure out what happened and to agree on that common history that Emmanuel Macron described last night as a common history that was both complex and painful.

And that's what's made the relationship so difficult over the course of the last few years, not at least for Emmanuel Macron who had raised hopes amongst Algerians when he was just a candidate about the fact that it was time that France apologized, and then managed to cause a severe diplomatic row last year, over that question of history and memory and its interpretation. So, this visit trying to look forward, but first of all, having to look very much to the joint history of the two countries -- Max.

FOSTER: Such a sensitive trip isn't it, Melissa in Paris, thank you.

Now major tennis news, superstar Novak Djokovic says he'll miss this year's U.S. open. The reason for his withdrawal when we return.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Big but expected news in tennis, where 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will miss the U.S. Open which starts on Monday. It's because he refuses to be vaccinated against COVID. That means he cannot enter the U.S., which requires non-citizens to be fully vaccinated to obtain a visa. Djokovic also missed the Australian open over the same issue.

On Twitter the Serbian star said: Sadly, I will not be able to travel to New York this time. He wished to his fellow players, good luck, and said he would keep in good shape and positive spirit until you can compete again.

In basketball news, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren, will miss the entire NBA season with a foot injury. The 20-year-old Gonzaga star was the second overall pick in this year's draft. He had been averaging 14 points a game in summer league play, Holmgren injured his foot last Saturday in the pro-am game in Seattle. The Thunder say Holmgren has a long career ahead of him, and the team will support him during his rehabilitation.

The widow of NBA superstar, Kobe Bryant, posted this image on Instagram with the caption, "All for you. Justice for Kobe and Gigi."

That's after a federal jury awarded $31 million in damages to Vanessa Bryant and her co-plaintiff who also lost a spouse and a daughter in that deadly helicopter crash two years ago. Bryant says she will donate her 16 million dollar share to her nonprofit, the Mamba and Mambacita Foundation.

[04:55:00]

At issue in the trial, where a helicopter crash photos taken by L.A. County deputies and firefighters that included the mangled bodies of those killed.

Now, NASA is gearing up for one of the biggest launches in decades. The Artemis 1 moon rocket built to one day bring astronauts back to the lunar surface is stat to liftoff to Monday morning if the weather cooperates. NASA says that the latest forecast for Monday is 70 percent favorable. NASA will be streaming the launch online and will host a virtual watch party.

Actress Nichelle Nichols best known for her role as communications officer Uhura on the original Star Trek series, will have a resting place amongst the stars it seems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHELLE NICHOLS, ACTRESS: And I would hear your voice from all parts of the ship. And my fears would fade. And now they're making me tremble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Nichols passed away in July at the age of 89. She worked for years to encourage improvement of women and minorities to NASA's space program. And later this year, a portion of her cremated remains will be heading to outer space aboard a rocket aptly named the Vulcan. Along with remains from Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry and others.

And before we go, some good news for fans of a classic Christmas movie.

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(A CHRISTMAS STORY, MCG STUDIOS MOVIE CLIP)

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HBO Max is reportedly planning to release a sequel to "A Christmas Story," this November. A follow-up to the 1980s cult classic focuses on a grown-up Ralphie who's now dealing with Christmas as a dad himself. We should note that HBO Max shares the same parent company as CNN, but we haven't it confirmed ourselves.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Max Foster in London, "EARLY START" with Christine Romans and Omar Jimenez is next right here on CNN.

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