Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Argentinian V.P. Escaped Death; Aung San Suu Kyi Staying Long Behind Bars; Donald Trump's Legal Team Push for Special Master; IAEA Team Reach Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; President Biden Not Mincing Words; Donald Trump Facing More Trouble; Voting Machines Sold Online Like a Pancake; Serena Williams Hailed as an Icon. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 02, 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."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law, they do not recognize the will of the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: President Biden declares a battle for the soul of America in a fiery speech accusing extremist supporters of former President Trump of undermining democracy.
Plus, Trump's lawyers and Department of Justice prosecutors come face to face in court for the first time since the FBI search of his Florida home.
And international nuclear inspectors finally given access to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, just as Ukrainian fighters fend off Russian attacks in the east.
UNKNOWN: Live from CNN center, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We're a little more than two months away from the U.S. midterm elections, and Joe Biden is determined to give Democrats a fighting chance to hold on to Congress. The U.S. president delivered a fiery speech in Philadelphia branding Donald Trump and his closest allies as extremists to threaten democracy.
Biden says he won't stand by while, quote, "MAGA forces rollback people's rights, spread baseless election conspiracies, and fan the flames of political violence." Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fanned the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Biden said not all Republicans are extremists, and he called for Americans to unite and protect and defend democracy.
More now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Biden delivered one of the most forceful speeches of his presidency Thursday night in Philadelphia, taking direct aim at his predecessor, Donald Trump and what he says is the extremism that is coursing through the Republican Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies. Here, in my view, is what is true. MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: This message coming nine weeks before the midterm election season underscores how the president and the White House is trying to re-frame the conversation, trying to make this a choice between Republicans and Democrats in the fall campaign.
Now, given the speech in Pennsylvania, clearly makes the case that the state is one of the most important. A key governor's race, a Senate race, as well as assorted House races. But the president went far beyond that. In a speech about democracy, he said it is incumbent on all Americans to stand up and protect their freedoms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I'm asking our nation to come together, unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy, regardless of your ideology.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: The White House is going to great lengths to say this is not a political speech. But there's no question politics was at the heart of the message from the president. Clearly, trying to make the case that Democrats he believes are better stewards of democracy than Republicans.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Philadelphia. BRUNHUBER: Now as you'd imagine Republicans had a very different view
ahead of the November midterms. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is demanding President Biden apologized for comments last week comparing MAGA philosophy to semi-fascism. McCarthy says Biden has chosen to divide, demean and disparage his fellow Americans just because they disagree with his policies. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: In the past two years, Joe Biden has launched an assault on the soul of America. On its people, on its laws, on its most sacred values. What Joe Biden doesn't understand is that the soul of America is in the tens of millions of hardworking people. Of loving families, of law-abiding citizens whom he vilified for simply wanting a stronger, safer and more prosperous country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:05:08]
BRUNHUBER: All right, let's head to Colchester, England where Natasha Lindstaedt is a professor of government at the University of Essex. Thank you so much for being here with us.
So, combative political forceful speech there. What's that for you?
NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: I think it was just a very necessary speech because I think the Democrats and Joe Biden in particular need to go on the offensive. Clarifying to the American public that the Trump led MAGA movement is a major threat to U.S. democracy.
Trump's movement is the biggest threat to U.S. democracy since the Civil War. It may sound like I'm overstating this, but we saw that there was an attempted coup. And that we are even afraid to prosecute Trump because there could be violence on the streets. This is how dangerous things have gotten that we have some people that are above the law.
Biden's speech was trying to address Americans that there's a lot at stake in these midterms. And that the Republican Party has essentially been infected by this Trump movement. He was careful to mention, not all Republicans are extremists.
And then he tried to also focus on some of the positive things that the Democrats have been accomplishing, that there's been lower gas prices, that unemployment keeps getting better and that countries are moving in the right direction. And so, the speech was focused on these two issues, but the most important thing was this urgency to fight for our democracy.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. So let me -- let me ask you sort of about the first point, that talk of the MAGA Republicans. I mean that there's been plenty of righteous indignation from Republicans after Biden had earlier called Trumpism semi-fascism as we heard from Kevin McCarthy there.
So, Biden, as you said he did go out of his way to distinguish MAGA Republicans from mainstream Republicans, but he did say it's the dominant force. And he continued attacking them. This sort of has echoes of Hillary Clinton's saying -- saying half of Donald Trump supporters belong in that basket of deplorables, basically attacking millions of people who voted for Trump. It seems like a risky strategy for a man who ran on becoming a unifying force.
LINDSTAEDT: Possibly. But the thing is that four years of past and as I mentioned, now these people that Hillary Clinton was referring to as deplorables, they actually tried to stage a coup. There was an insurrection. There was a march on the capitol. And that's the movement that Biden is referring to.
He is not talking about everyday citizens that are just trying to get by. He is clearly talking about this violent extremist movement that doesn't believe in Democratic institutions like elections. That is questioning our very elections. I mean, this is just actually unheard of. It doesn't believe in the rule of law. They think that they are special rules for their leader, their messianic leader, Donald Trump.
That's who Biden is referring to when he's talking about this extremist movement. And by doing so, it's really on the right side of history here. We have this fascist movement that their -- within their even own party they are willing to eviscerate Republicans like Liz Cheney. They are willing to go after their own.
And this is something the Republicans really need to look at head on. We compare to the Nixon era, the Watergate scandal. Republicans were able to stand up to Nixon and say, we had enough. Republicans of this era are not doing to do so and that's really dangerous.
BRUNHUBER: The timing of the speech, as we've signaled, before the midterms here President Biden is typically so far, refrain from talking to much directly about Donald Trump over his presidency. So, it wasn't really the case last night. He went after him. He named him politically. Is it a good tactic now to make this battle all about Trump rather than some of the other midterm issues like the economy, for instance?
LINDSTAEDT: That's a really good question. But I think ultimately, we have not escaped Trump. We are still dealing with this ongoing investigation of whether, you know, he is stealing documents that could've been a major threat to national security. Whether he's obstructing justice.
He is constantly in the news. We can't ignore it. I think there was efforts of a Democratic Party and Biden himself to try to move past this, to try to move forward and focus on things like having affordable drugs and fighting climate change and easing the cost of education.
But it's really not possible to talk about the midterms without addressing Trump. It's the big elephant in the room.
[03:09:59]
Trump has a huge impact on the Republican Party. Almost 180 or so of 200 candidates in the Republican primary that he supported won. So, I don't think the Democrats can go forward without addressing that. But they are also going to have to be emphasizing what they are doing well if they want a chance to actually pull off something they can use in midterms.
BRUNHUBER: But before we go, I want to ask you really quickly. Republicans at least we heard Kevin McCarthy there in his rebuttal, accused Biden of no lesser crime than an all of assault on democracy. Does this represent sort of a shift in their character raise -- characterization of Biden from the sort of, you know, dithering, incompetence too old man, to sort of a powerful existential threat to the country?
LINDSTAEDT: I mean, I think that they are trying to pull out all the stops and come out with whatever they can, I think sometimes they characterize him as a bumbling idiot. Sometimes they say that he is the biggest threat to democracy. And that really comes from the more extreme wing of the Republican Party saying this type of thing.
But we've seen these types of comments coming from Marjorie Taylor Greene that he needs to be impeached. So, I see Republicans pulling out all the stops in their attacks on Biden.
BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll have to leave it there. I really appreciate your analysis, Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much.
LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.
BRUNHUBER: Well, the decision could come at any time on whether to appoint the special master to review classified documents seized from Donald Trump's home last month. The federal judge decline to make a ruling at Thursday's hearing who ask the Justice Department what's the harm.
We have more from CNN's Evan Perez.
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A federal judge in Florida signaled that she is open to appointing a special master, a third party to review documents that the FBI retrieved from Donald Trump's home.
Judge Aileen Cannon held a two-hour hearing in West Palm Beach where a lawyer for the former president described the conflict over the removal and retention of classified government documents as comparable to an overdue library book.
Prosecutors say more than 100 documents bearing classified markings were removed from Mar-a-Lago during the FBI search. The documents include some of the most highly classified national security information, and they were being kept in a storage room and in other spaces that don't meet security requirements.
The Justice Department opposes the appointment of a special master, saying it's unnecessary, and that it would impede the ongoing investigation. But Trump's legal team says that appointing someone else to review the documents would increase trust in the investigation and lower the temperature in the nation.
The judge says that it was -- that she was considering granting Trump's request temporarily restricting the FBI's access to the documents, while allowing the intelligence community to continue doing a damage assessment.
Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump remains cagey as ever over whether he'll run in 2024. But on Thursday, he revives a theme from his final days in office, presidential pardons for January 6 rioters. Now, Trump didn't make good on it when he was in office, so there's a good reason to be skeptical. But he claims he is supporting some the same people financially. Here's what he told conservative radio host, Wendy Bell.
(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I met with and I'm financially supporting people that are incredible, and they were in my office actually two days ago. It's very much on my mind. It's a disgrace what they've done to them. If I decide to run, and if I win, I will be looking very, very strongly about pardons.
(END VOICE CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, we've learned the January 6th select committee is interested in speaking with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Members want to hear from him about his role in promoting false claims about the election and what communications he may have had with senior White House officials. The committee is hoping Gingrich will cooperate voluntarily.
A former New York City police officer was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for assaulting a Washington, D.C. officer during the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. That is the longest sentence for any defendant so far.
Videos played during the trial of Thomas Webster showed him swing a metal flagpole at the officer and choking him with his own chinstrap. Webster had pleaded not guilty claiming self-defense. His attorney blamed former President Trump and the Republican Party for turning Webster against fellow Americans.
Well, shocking images out of Argentina of a failed assassination attempt against the country's vice president on live president. Have a look.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was greeting supporters outside of her home late Thursday when a man pointed the gun directly at her face and pulled the trigger. Now for some reason the gun didn't fire, and the vice president was unharmed. The suspect was quickly taken into custody. Argentina's president addresses the nation soon afterward to condemn the attack. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[03:15:05]
ALBERTO FERNANDEZ, PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA (through translator): This is an incident of extreme, institutional and inhuman severity. An attack has been made on our vice president and social peace has been disturbed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Police have identified the suspect as a Brazilian national, and say the weapon was loaded with five bullets, they say it's not clear why the gun didn't fire.
International inspectors make their way to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. But now the question is, how long can they stay? We'll have a live report from Kyiv coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:20:00]
BRUNHUBER: Now just in, Myanmar court has sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to another three years behind bars with hard labor after convicting her of electoral fraud, that's according to a source familiar with the proceedings.
Suu Kyi who is 77 was already in prison for other offenses and this brings her total sentences for 17 years.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is covering this live from Seoul. Paula, this is a developing story. So, what more can you tell us?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, we've really been seeing this drip feed over recent months of case after case where Aung San Suu Kyi is found guilty. And then the total that she is sentenced to in prison just keeps rising, as you say, 17 years so far. This is a 77-year-old woman who still has many cases against her.
Our last count is that she has been charged with at least 20 offenses by the military junta. This is the military who took over in a military coup of Myanmar back in February of last year and ousted the democratically elected government which was led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
So, this particular one, we understand, is an electoral fraud case that she was found guilty. She was sentenced as you say, to three years and also hard labor. Now, this is the first time that we've heard t hard labor. It's not clear whether or not previous convictions included that as will. But certainly, that will be of concern.
Now, the charges against her really do vary. Electoral fraud, corruption, their accusations of violations of state secret laws, incitement. And many critics say that all the charges against her are bogus. That they are made-up. Her supporters say that it is the military junta trying to make sure that she stays behind bars, and stays out of the public eye until they can -- they can cement their power in the country.
Now, there has been a fair bit of resistance, bloody resistance in Myanmar since that bloody coup back in February of 2021. The military junta claiming there will be elections at some point.
But many, including Human Rights Watch say that this is a clear attempt by the military generals in charge at the moment to keep our Aung San Suu Kyi behind bars as she is extremely popular within the country. And the elections that took place just months before the military coup, she won in a landslide with her National League for Democracy Party.
So, there will be round condemnation for this, yet another conviction and sentence of Aung San Suu Kyi as there has been in the past. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll keep monitoring the story and bring new developments as they come. Paula Hancocks for us there in Seoul. Thank you so much.
To Ukraine now where the U.N. nuclear watch dog says it's not going anywhere and now that its inspectors are inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency reach the plant on Thursday for the first time since the war began. The IAEA chief later said this, his agency is there to stay.
But at this point, it's still an open question whether the agency will have a permanent presence there. President Zelenskyy says the plant should be demilitarized. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Demilitarization of the territory of the station is the goal of Ukrainian and international efforts. And it is bad that we have not yet heard the appropriate messages from the IAEA despite the fact that we talked about it with Mr. Grossi during our meeting in Kyiv. It was the key. The key security point of our agreement. It was outlined clearly. Demilitarization and full control by our nuclear workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: All right, for more, Melissa Bell joins us from Kyiv. So, Melissa, let's start there at the power plant. What more can you tell us?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was, Kim, what you just heard there from President Zelenskyy one of the long-standing demands from Kyiv. Because it's long accused the Russian forces of using the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as a military base and launching attacks from there.
The idea is that by the IAEA's very presence, calm, at least for a time, will be restored. And overnight that appears to have been the case. But in order for them -- but before they could get there, Kim, there was a lot more shelling and a lot more violence around the plant even than there had been before. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BELL: The shelling began at dawn around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The worst that the town of Enerhodar had seen since it was occupied in March, according to its mayor. Briefed on the situation but undeterred, IAEA inspectors decided to head through the front line, nonetheless.
RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: We are moving now.
BELL: The 14 strong team seeing for itself as it traveled the artillery and mortar fire that led to the shutting down of one of the plant's last two functioning reactors.
[03:25:06]
After an hours' long delay on its way, the IAEA inspectors arrived. A glimpse, at last, into a plant that's been occupied by Russian forces for months.
GROSSI: It is obvious that the plant and the physical integrity of the plant has been violated several times. So, this is something that cannot continue to happen.
BELL: Which is why, he said, five members of his team had stayed behind to ask more questions and to dig deeper. In a plant controlled by Russian forces but manned by workers who say that it's been almost impossible for them to do their jobs.
UNKNOWN (through translator): We feel like hostages, we actually can't do our jobs, we can't carry phones, flash drive, memory cards, and God forbid, if you look at a soldier the wrong way, you could be thrown into the basement."
GROSSI: The Ukrainian employees, I was with them throughout their -- throughout the day. Of course, they are in a difficult situation but they have an incredible degree of professionalism. And I see them calm and moving on.
BELL: The plant, he said for the IAEA to establish a permanent president at the plant and to make good on his words to its workers that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is now there to stay.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BELL: For the time being, we have waited that initial report that a team of inspectors that have stayed behind just for the next few days to get a better idea of exactly how damaged and at risk the plant is. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right. And Melissa, looking at the wider state of the war, we heard Ukraine claiming that Russia suffered significant losses in the south, also some developments in the east. What's the latest?
BELL: That's right. Essentially, the Ukrainian military is claiming that there has been very little advanced by Russian forces in the east of the country. And that something that we've been hearing also from western intelligence services for the last few days.
That as a result of that counter offensive and the preparation for it, resources had to be diverted from that eastern front for the Russian forces to try and protect their southern position in the south of the country.
And as far as that counteroffensive goes, we are hearing also according to Ukrainians armed forces that it is making progress. They are remaining fairly tightly broadly, but say that the losses on the Russian side have gone from tens to hundreds. That they continue to take on their ammunition depots, their logistical points, the crossings over the Dnipro River to try, and also saying that they expect to have more positive news that they'll be able to share shortly. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right. Melissa Bell, live for us in Kyiv. I really appreciate it.
Well, a tag of war between the U.S. Justice Department and Donald Trump's lawyers squaring off in court on Thursday over classified materials seized from Trump's home. Now, both sides are waiting to see if the judge appoints a special master. We'll explain what this all means, next.
Plus, troubling discovery on eBay. Why was an American voting machine for sale online and who bought it. Well, we'll have some answers coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
U.S. President Joe Biden is framing November's midterm election as a choice between democracy and extremism. During a speech in Philadelphia, he lashed out at former President Donald Trump and his closest followers as a threat to the very soul of the nation.
Biden says Republicans are determined to rule basic rights and some are even fanning the flames of political violence. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I will not stand by and watch. I will not, the will of the American people be overturned by wild conspiracy theories and baseless evidence to the claims of fraud. I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost. I will not stand by and watch the most fundamental freedom in this
country, the freedom to vote, and have your vote counted and be taken from you and the American people. My duty to level with you to tell the truth no matter how difficult. No matter how --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Biden says not all Republicans are extremists. He is calling for Americans to unite and protect, and defend democracy.
The decision could come at anytime on whether to appoint a special master to review top-secret documents seized from Donald Trump's home last month. The federal judge declined to make a ruling at Thursday's hearing, but ask the Justice Department what's the harm. Prosecutors reply that a special master is unnecessary and it would
impede the government's investigation.
Meanwhile, Trump legal team have suggested in court that the speech over the classified documents was akin to an overdue library book. The judge also said she may release more details about what the FBI seized.
Now earlier, I spoke with CNN legal analyst Areva Martin about this case. And she says, the fact the judges even considering a special master isn't something that would happen for anyone else. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It is important to note that for this being Donald Trump, this would be a no-brainer. This would never happen. If this were you, if this were me, if this was any other citizen the issue of a special master it would've never gotten this far.
[03:34:56]
Donald Trump is not entitled to a special master. He refuses to accept that when he left the White House the documents that were at the White House no longer were accessible to him. These are not his private records. And he continues to act as if they are.
And Kim, to acuate not returning confidential and highly sensitive records to failing to return a library book just goes to show how Donald Trump and his entire team, you know, just aren't taking this matter seriously given that the weight that it deserves.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. So, I mean, you've outlined some of those arguments against getting the master. But as a judge sort of said there, what is harm really?
MARTIN: Well, the harm starts with your entitlements. He's just simply not entitled to it. There is no law, there is no legal basis for him to have a special master appointed. The Department of Justice has already gone through the documents. The documents have already been reviewed. So, it's redundant, it is a necessary, and there is a risk.
DOJ pointed out that there is still an assessment being made by the Department of Defense as to what assets may have been put at risk as a result of these documents not being returned.
So, just because there is -- Donald Trump is saying there is no harm, or the judge is asking that question, it doesn't give him a legal right to these documents.
BRUNHUBER: So, in the meantime, all of the statements that Donald Trump has been making, for instance, on social media. How damaging have they been to his case? It seems as if he's sort of keeps further incriminating himself.
MARTIN: Well, he's incriminating himself, and as you know, Kim, his stories continue to evolve. They are inconsistent. They change daily. The clip you just played said, well, when you pack of goods and you live in the White House documents end up in boxes.
Early on, after the raid, he was saying that documents were collected at his private residence. Suggesting that the FBI had planted those documents. We've heard him say that, yes, the documents were there and I magically declassified all of them before I left the White House.
So, it's hard to know which of these stories he's actually sticking to. But it doesn't matter. The reality is he removed classified and highly sensitive documents from the White House that I didn't belong to him. He has no legal basis for having them. And then he lied and his team refused to return the documents after 18 months of negotiations by the National Archives.
And even when the FBI went to visit the property, we know that there is this affidavit that was submitted by his attorney stating that a diligent search of all records has been made. And that all records were being or had been turned over to the government.
And we find out, as a result of this raid, there over 100 documents. More documents found during the raid than were turned over voluntarily by his team. So, we've seen petulance and we've seen a complete fabrication.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Now CNN legal analyst Areva Martin speaking with us a short time ago. Well, we see election machines are supposed to be kept secure under lock and key, so how did an Uber driver end up selling a voting machine on eBay and who bought it? We'll have a report coming up in a moment. Stay with us.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The CNN weather watch is in association with the visit Maldives.
Let me take you to the western U.S. This is just outside of Los Angeles. And it continues to sizzle. We have temperatures easily in the triple digits 107 degrees for this particular location in Westhill, California. We have over 45 million Americans under heat alerts, stretching from
Washington state, all the way southward towards the California and Mexico border. That is where we have excessive heat warnings in effect.
Through the middle parts of this week, we have over the -- the potential for over 145 record high temperatures to be broken. Many of which will be across the state of California. Remember, this is a long, extended holiday weekend for many. And the heat will obviously play into the plans as you head outdoors.
Now, we have a cold front that's going to drop south out of Canada. That will bring chance of showers and thunderstorms, some of which could be strong to severe across the Central Plains and the northern Midwest.
Take a look at our excessive rainfall outlook across Texas into Oklahoma. That shifts a little further towards the east including a marginal risk for Atlanta by the weekend. Twenty-nine degrees in Atlanta for today, 27 for the big apple, 30 degrees for the windy city, Dallas, 32, Denver 34. The heat remains over the western U.S. through the weekend.
[03:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Michigan authorities want to know how a missing Dominion voting machine ended up on the online shopping web site, eBay. It sold for $1,200 last month.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan explains how the machine wound up on the site, who bought it and the possible threat it could pose.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Harri, what's in the box?
HARRI HURSTI, BOUGHT VOTING MACHINE ON EBAY: That is a device which can be configured either to be voting machine, as a DRE or ballot marking device.
O'SULLIVAN: This box should not be here on Harri Hursti's kitchen table in Connecticut.
HURSTI: Yes, I have been asked not to open it so that if it's a part of criminal investigation, it's preserved as evidence.
O'SULLIVAN: Hursti is an elections expert, he bought this voting machine for $1,200 on eBay.
EAN HUTCHISON, UBER DRIVER: As far as I was aware, it was a completely legal sale on my end.
O'SULLIVAN: An eBay seller is Ean Hutchison, and Uber driver in Ohio. In your eBay ad, you wrote, Dominion image cast x voting machine from
Michigan own a piece of history. This voting machine was one of thousands used in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
But, how did an Uber driver in Ohio get his hands on a Michigan voting machine? He bought it from Goodwill online.
HUTCHISON: I saw a listing for what looked like just an industrial touchscreen computer. And I got to look into the pictures, and in one of the pictures I saw in the bottom corner of the screen it said Dominion voting. So, I just on a whim bid on it. I was the only bidder and I won the auction.
O'SULLIVAN: So, how much did you pay for the voting machine?
HUTCHISON: I paid $7.99.
HURSTI: I'm really surprised about this. I mean $8. He made a good profit.
O'SULLIVAN: It turns out someone drop the voting machine off at this Goodwill in northern Michigan. Who that person is remains a mystery. But the Goodwill put the voting machine for sale up on its web site.
[03:45:04]
HUTCHISON: I wasn't even aware that they weren't supposed to be sold, let alone donated to Goodwill.
HURSTI: It is shocking that only when we started asking doesn't belong somewhere, only after they realized it has been stolen.
O'SULLIVAN: They, being the Michigan secretary of state's office.
One of Michigan's voting machines showed up on eBay.
JOCELYN BENSON (D), MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes. We immediately referred it to law enforcement.
O'SULLIVAN: Clearly, it's raised some issue up the chain of custody and how these machines are secured.
BENSON: We basically have 1,600 jurisdictions typically in between elections, clerks have the responsibility of securing all election equipment and protecting it from attempts, illegal attempts to access it by unauthorized individuals.
O'SULLIVAN: Michigan is one of several swing states where authorities are already investigating unauthorized access to voting systems by people who are trying to prove the false claim the 2020 election was stolen.
BENSON: There is a nationally coordinated effort to try to interfere with our elections that's manifesting itself at the local level in incidents like this in Michigan. What would you really have is individuals who don't seem to understand the technicalities of the elections process or election security. Trying to gain access to machines to keep the misinformation alive.
O'SULLIVAN: What do you say to the voter who is skeptical who is watching this and saying, they lost a voting machine in Michigan.
BENSON: Well, a couple of things. One, Michigan's elections are secured before every election. We test every machine for accuracy. And we've never seen even with this unauthorized access to machines, any actual evidence of any challenges or wrongdoing or lack of security in the process.
O'SULLIVAN: And police, of course now trying to figure out how that voting machine got to this Goodwill in Cadillac, Michigan. Goodwill telling us that they process thousands of items every week here in northern Michigan. And it's not even clear really if Goodwill knew that this was actually a voting machine when they put it for sale on their web site. It kind of looks like just a big monitor, a big screen.
Of course, lots of security concerns about this which is being investigated. But just a reminder, you never know what kind of deals you will find at a Goodwill or on eBay.
Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Cadillac, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control signed off on Pfizer's and Moderna's updated COVID-19 boosters on Thursday. Now, this comes after the CDC vaccine advisers voted to recommend the updated boosters earlier this week. It's the first time updated COVID vaccines have received emergency use authorization in the United States. The vaccines combined both company's original shot with one that targets the Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 variance.
Well, Serena Williams suffered a setback in her swansong at the U.S. Open. We'll look at what could be her last doubles match ever with her sister Venus, just ahead. Stay with us.
[03:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Women's tennis may play their last match together. Venus and Serena Williams lost in the first round to a team from the Czech Republic on Thursday night.
We have more now from CNN's sports anchor Coy Wire.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: After an upset win in front of sellout crowd Wednesday to advance in the third round of the U.S. Open, Serena was back in action. Now 24 hours later, this time alongside her sister Venus. Herself, a two-time U.S. Open champ. The two have won 14 major doubles titles together dating back to 1999. Three Olympic gold medals together.
But this was their first match together in eight years. The Czech duo Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova won 7 to 6, 6-4. So, it's the end of an era. But the Williams sister will forever remain champions far beyond the sport. Early in their careers as black stars in a predominantly white sport, they endured racist attacks, discrimination.
But they left the court Wednesday together likely for the last time to a standing ovation, to tearful cheers as two of the most impactful transformational figures the sport will ever know. Serena has made it clear she's transitioning away from the game. But her older sister, Venus' future is still unclear. Having already lost in singles in New York have -- have we seen the last of the future Hall of Famer, Venus in action. Seven-time Grand Slam champ but she's lost seven others to her sister Serena.
You can argue that without Venus there would be no Serena as we know are today. The two have pushed each other, they persevered so much. Now, as for Serena, we will be seeing her again Friday night under the bright lights in New York facing Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.
The gate is wide. The path is straight for Serena to make a magical run to the finals this year, as Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur, really the next big name she'd face. That potential match would be in the quarterfinals. And no matter what happens Serena Williams, 27 years of dominance is simply amazing and an incredible run.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Now to the men's competition, world number two Rafael Nadal is moving on to the third round after knocking off Fabio Fognini of Italy. The Spaniard survived a freak injury when he accidentally hit himself in the face with his own racket. I've been there.
[03:55:05]
That all ran to the sidelines so medics could treat his bloody nose. The 36-year-old was on to pitch Richard Gasquet of France on Saturday.
All right. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Have a wonderful day. CNN Newsroom continues with Christina Macfarlane, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
