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Storm Forecast To Hit Florida As Major Hurricane Within Days; Midterm Races That Could Shape The Next Two Years; Cuban Migrants Make Trek To U.S. In Numbers Not Seen Since 1905; GOP Wielding Immigration As A Political Cudgel; Bodycam Video Show Police Vehicle With Suspect Inside Hit By Train; Worldwide Outrage After Death Of 22-Year-Old Woman In Iranian Custody. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 24, 2022 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:45]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This could end up becoming a major hurricane in just the next two to three days. If you live in Florida, go ahead and start preparing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Came through last minute.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This looks like a big one.

JUSTINE TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Fiona is currently having a terrible impact across Atlantic, Canada and eastern Quebec, storm damage like they've never seen. The situation remains very dangerous.

DAN MERICA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This race is arguably the best chance Democrats have of picking up a Senate seat in 2022. This has also gotten very personal.

JOHN FETTERMAN (D), NOMINEE FOR U.S. SENATE IN PENNSYLVANIA: Dr. Oz never stops reminding that I had a stroke. There's at least one person in this audience right now that's filming me, hoping that I mess up some words.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fury and defiance on the streets of dozens of Iranian cities sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman in the custody of the notorious morality police.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A quiet hurricane season in the Atlantic gives birth to an ominous new storm. And millions of Americans are right in the path. This is Tropical Storm Ian churning across the warm energizing waters of the Caribbean. The latest forecast shows it's strengthening to a category 4 over the Gulf of Mexico and then possibly weakening before slamming into Florida next week. It would be the first major hurricane to hit the state in four years. Floridians are heeding the warning, stocking up on water, fuel and

supplies. And this afternoon Florida's governor expanded a state of emergency to blanket the entire state. He says conditions are, quote, "projected to constitute a major disaster."

So let's go now to the CNN Weather Center where we find CNN's Britley Ritz, tracking Ian. What's the latest, Britley?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not much has changed as of the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center. We still have max sustained winds around the center of the low, at 45 miles per hour, still moving west at 16 miles per hour. A lot of convection now located around a new center. There's still a lot of uncertainty as to where the direct center is, which plays a role in the uncertainty of the track of the storm.

What we know is that it will be a major hurricane as it comes in on Cuba late Monday. Then a category 4 storm, now stronger because of the warmer waters and lower shear as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico by Wednesday with winds of 130 miles per hour. Still a lot of uncertainty from Panama City Just toward Ft. Myers as it weakens to a category 2 storm, still a very strong storm regardless of its category, because winds are still over 100 miles per hour.

Yesterday, put this in perspective here, yesterday we have models farther east. Today models have moved 150 miles west. That just shows you that we cannot pinpoint the direct landfall when it comes to Ian. The American model making landfall sometime Friday afternoon on the panhandle. The European model, some time Thursday morning on the West Coast. The trough that digs further south plays a big role in the track of that as well.

When it comes down to the American model, we're talking rainfall totals anywhere between two to four inches. But if we take the European track, Tampa up into the Big Bend, we're talking nearly a foot of rain -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right. And help us explain, better understand, I should say, what is influencing the strength of this storm?

RITZ: Absolutely. We are moving into the Gulf of Mexico. We have the gulf stream here. As it moves into the northern Caribbean and within the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico, we have water temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. That is fuel for Ian to strengthen or rapidly intensify, which it is forecast to do. Plus, we have very little shear within this environment so it's a little more conducive for strengthening. And that's what we can expect in the upcoming two days.

BROWN: All right. Britley Ritz, thanks so much.

And for more on Florida's scramble to prepare, let's check in with CNN's Carlos Suarez.

[19:05:06]

CARLO SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, Saturday afternoon Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expanded a state of emergency from 24 countries to the entire state of Florida. The Florida National Guard has been called up and is on standby. Exactly where they go will depend on where Ian makes landfall. Emergency officials throughout Florida are urging folks to get their hurricane supplies this weekend.

This morning in the Florida Keys, officials there held off on an evacuation order. Parts of the lower and middle keys are still rebuilding following Hurricane Irma, which hit in 2017. The storm was a category 4 hurricane.

So, Pamela, there is still plenty of time for Florida residents to prepare and adjust accordingly.

BROWN: All right. Carlos Suarez, thanks so much for that.

Well, for those in the projected path of Hurricane Ian, the possible dangers they are obvious. Hurricane force wind, storm surge, flooding. And earlier this evening I spoke with the mayor of Naples in southwest Florida. Here's my conversation with Teresa Heitmann.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: There are newest models that we are seeing show the path shifting westward. I'm sure you won't lower your guard regardless. What is your city doing to prepare, Mayor?

MAYOR TERESA HEITMANN, NAPLES, FLORIDA: Well, the city staff is very well-trained and they have worked on our storm drains and our weirs to make sure they're clear. And I have every bit of confidence that they are experienced in hurricanes and prepared.

We're educating our new visitors and older residents of Naples and having people not to panic, but just to be prepared. Being prepared and making sure that they get their supplies and their water, and maybe their canned foods, not forgetting they might need a manual can opener, flashlights, making sure that they have their pet plans, their evacuation facilities in place, and also the evacuation routes, if it comes to that.

You know, we experienced this kind of adrenaline before a storm and the path could change any time. But we want our citizens to be ready. They can go to the city of Naples' Web site, that's naplesgov.com to sign up for Code Red and also detailed information of what they can do to be prepared for the storm and making sure that they take their important documents and also any other pictures or memorabilia that they might be wanting to take with them.

The most important thing is we want them to be prepared and ready to go and safe in a location that's best for them.

BROWN: Yes. Preparation is key. Bottom line is Florida has not been hit with a major hurricane in four years. Do you feel like people there are taking this threat seriously, that they're taking the steps now that they need to prepare?

HEITMANN: Yes. This is the calm before the storm. I've seen lines at the gas stations and the natural gas propane. They're taking it serious. And I encourage those that are not to always take a storm seriously because you can never estimate where that storm might turn. And we need to be prepared. And if it's not coming directly for us, it might have strong winds, which you need to protect yourself with plants and anything outside of your home that can become a flying saucer, and also just making sure that you have the particular items that you need to survive this storm.

BROWN: Your city is a favored destination for retirees. Curious how does that impact preparing and possible evacuations later?

HEITMANN: Well, we have awesome staff, we have awesome community. We're out to help anyone who might need assistance. Again, you can go to our city Web site for that. And I know our local businesses are helping with sandbags for those that need it in case we have that storm surge, which always can happen even if we're not hit by the storm but most importantly if we do hit by that storm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And that was Teresa Heitmann, mayor of Naples, Florida.

Well, we have just learned that North Korea has test-fired an unidentified ballistic missile, that's according to South Korea. It says the North launched at least one missile towards the Sea of Japan just a short time ago.

North Korea has conducted more than 30 ballistic tests already this year. And this latest one comes just days ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris's scheduled visit to Japan. This is a developing story and we will keep you updated as we learn more.

Well, we are just 45 days from the midterm elections. Up next, a look at the key races that will shape the next two years. CNN's Chris Cillizza joins us live to break it all down.

[19:10:08]

Plus, massive protests in Iran after a woman died while being held by the country's morality police. And then later tonight, a train slams into a police car with a woman handcuffed inside. She survived, but there are new questions tonight about why it happened.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: So not long ago conventional wisdom was that the Republicans would probably take control of the House and Senate in this year's midterm elections. But polls suggest that's no longer the case.

CNN politics reporter and editor at large Chris Cillizza joins us now. So what's the deal, Chris?

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE: All right, Pam. Let's go through it. I want to go big picture then we're going to go into a few races. Big picture, there are 14 Democratic and 21 Republican seats in play. And Democrats have a one-seat advantage.

[19:15:01]

So we're talking about a very narrow margin here. Let's go through a few races. Arizona Senate. This is some of the most recent polling we have. Mark Kelly up by eight. Did I do this right? No, I did it wrong. Mark Kelly up by eight points over Blake Masters.

Here's why this race is problematic for Republicans. Look at this spending differential. Mark Kelly and Democrats have spent $65 million. Blake Masters, $16 million, and over the last week Blake Masters spent a total of the goose egg, zero dollars on television. That's never a good thing when you're in late September. Amy Walter, one of the people who runs top sheets in Washington, D.C., campaign reports, she just moved the state to lean Democratic. Not a good place.

Let's keep going. Pennsylvania Senate. You hear a lot about this race. This is John Fetterman versus Mehmet Oz. Fetterman has a narrowish lead, five points. What you're seeing from Oz is he just can't seem to find a place where Fetterman is weak. They have talked about Fetterman's health. He had a stroke in May. They've talked about his health. That's been a little bit helpful to narrow this race. But again a five-point lead, this is one of the swingiest states in the country. Pennsylvania, obviously we know at the presidential level.

Let's keep going. Georgia Senate. This is probably the race that Republicans thought they had the best chance at when the election started. Raphael Warnock won this race in a special election in the January runoff last time around. He's running against -- everybody knows this guy, Heisman Trophy winner, NFL star Herschel Walker. This is a close race, 51-49.

Raphael Warnock, because of what Georgia is, he's never going to win this race with 65 percent of the vote, 60 percent of the vote, 55 percent of the vote. He's probably going to be in this sort of 51 percent, 52 percent, 53 percent is probably actually out of the question. I would say it's 51 percent or 52 percent either way. But he's leading narrowly. Herschel Walker has struggled as a candidate a little bit.

Those three races, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, those are the three races that we're probably going to be talking about on election night when we're talking about who controls the Senate.

BROWN: All right. And now let's look a bit further into the future beyond the midterms. Let's look at 2024. What are people saying now about the possibility of Joe Biden running for reelection?

CILLIZZA: And you know what, Pam, we can even talk about Joe Biden as it relates to 2022 because where Joe Biden's polls stand now matters to candidates in 2022 and where he stands. This is pretty good news for Joe Biden. Obviously Joe Biden would rather - he'd rather have these numbers be flip-flopped. He'd rather have the 55 be his approval and the 45 be his disapproval. But 45 is pretty good for where Joe Biden has been. His numbers have been 41, maybe 42 for a while now. 45 is upward. You

know, you're looking for trend lines when it comes to polling. His numbers have been moving upward, so that's a pretty good sign that if you're a Democrat on the ballot, he's moving in the right direction as you get closer to the election.

Let's -- there's always a but when it comes to politics. The but is this, this was the same poll -- remember, he was at -- I keep writing this, I keep forgetting. He's at 45 percent approval in this poll. 28 percent of people want him to run again.

And Pamela, numbers are even more striking. Yes, of course, Republicans don't want him to run again, it's not a big surprise. The numbers, I looked into this. It's 50 percent of Democrats want him to run again and 50 percent of Democrats don't want him to run again. So even within his own party, he doesn't have strong support to run again.

This, if you're Joe Biden sitting in the White House, that has to worry you, particularly because 45 percent is not a bad number for Joe Biden. And even despite that, you know, just over a quarter of people want him to run again. That number has to come up if he wants to run and win a second term.

Pam, back to you.

BROWN: That was a lot of info packed in there, Chris Cillizza. I'm impressed.

CILLIZZA: Sorry. I'm writing on my writing.

BROWN: Yes. You're writing on your writing. And by the way, that was a five, not a six.

CILLIZZA: Yes, that's a five.

BROWN: All right.

CILLIZZA: That is terrible. I got to get better writing my fives. I'll work on that. I'll get better next time.

BROWN: We'll work on that for the next time then. Exactly. Chris Cillizza, thanks so much.

CILLIZZA: Thanks, Pam.

BROWN: Well, the U.S. border with Mexico gets most of the attention when it comes to the surge in migrants from other countries, but authorities who patrol the coast of Florida they are reporting a major surge in new arrivals from Cuba. It's grappling with its worst shortage of food and medicine in decades along with runaway inflation.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a look at that one boat that's washed up ashore.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A grim reality out at sea, migrants relying on makeshift sailboats to get to the United States. Nowadays it's a regular sighting for Coast Guard.

LT. RICARDO RODRIGUEZ, U.S. COAST GUARD: It is not uncommon to see at least two to three different ventures on just in the span of five hours.

ALVAREZ: U.S. Coast Guard crews have interdicted more than 6,000 Cubans since last October, making it the highest number of Cuban migrant interceptions since the 1990s and thousands of migrants have also made it to shore. So far, this fiscal year, border authorities have encountered nearly 3,600 migrants in the Miami sector. That's up from just over 1,000 last year.

CHIEF PATROL AGENT WALKER SLOSAR, U.S. BORDER PATROL MIAMI SECTOR: Seeing the uptick for us is really concerning in the fact that we are seeing more individuals on not so see where the vessel putting a significant amount of those individuals at very dangerous risk for loss of life.

[19:20:10]

ALVAREZ: Vessels include surf boards tied together, and boats with limited provisions and no navigation system, for what is a days-long journey. For years, Cubans have been fleeing the island. But recent unrest, persecution, and shortages of basic goods have pushed more to leave.

Immigration attorney David Claros, who's based in Miami, is hiring additional staff to meet the demand of Cubans arriving to Florida.

DAVID CLAROS, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: For the most part, individuals have come to us with the stories of persecution from the local government for their inability to participate in certain events, for just not agreeing with a local and communist policy of the island.

ALVAREZ: Patrols here are complicated by the varying terrain, requiring coordination among agencies on land, air, and sea, where CBP air and marine operations also patrols for incoming vessels. And it's not just Cubans they are looking for. Officials are also grappling with an increasing number of Haitian migrants.

(On-camera): More than 100 people traveled on this vessel from Haiti, a journey that can take about a week. If you look, you can see the clothes and the snacks left behind on what is a makeshift sailboat.

(Voice-over): Chief patrol agent in the Miami sector, Walter Slosar, acknowledged the demand on resources to address the new trend.

SLOSAR: We are all working finite resources. And as we encounter these individuals, you don't know who's on that boat. It takes our agents time to bring them into our custody, make sure that, you know, that they are healthy, and that they are clean, and that they're fed, and that they're safe, and then identify exactly who they are. ALVAREZ: Administration officials can see the jump in Cuban migration,

not only at sea, but at the U.S.-Mexico border poses a challenge. This week, the administration said the U.S. embassy in Havana is preparing to resume full immigrant visa processing for the first time since 2017. But out at sea, crews prepare for the worst.

(On-camera): What goes through your mind when you do see them?

RODRIGUEZ: It can be traumatizing and sometimes very sad depending on the scenario that you find these people in.

ALVAREZ: U.S. Customs and Border Protection has deployed additional agents to the Miami sector amid the influx. Of course, the greatest concern now is the hurricane season and the danger that that poses to migrants, who may take to the sea.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: All right, thanks so much, Priscilla.

Well, for Republicans, the immigration debate is an important political cudgel in this midterm period. In addition that continually denouncing the Biden administration's handling of border issues, critics say Republican governors are trying to score political points by shipping migrants off to blue states.

Florida's Ron DeSantis chartered planes to fly Venezuelan immigrants to the post Martha's Vineyard enclave in Massachusetts. And he got a standing ovation at a GOP event in Kansas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: This is a crisis now getting a little bit more attention. This is a crisis --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: It is a crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Back with us again, CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.

Ron, you wrote an op-ed for CNN.com saying that by sending immigrants into New York City, D.C. and Martha's Vineyard, governors like DeSantis and Greg Abbott in Texas are trying to seize control of federal immigration policy. You think it's very intentional and it's strategic. Clearly Ron DeSantis is proud of his efforts as we saw there.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Look, I mean, you know, the debate has mostly been so far about the political spectacle on the one side or the morality of it on the other. But there are real big legal implications to what is happening. Traditionally, the courts, including the Supreme Court as recently as 2012, has upheld the idea that the federal government has overwhelming primacy, Pam, in the enforcement of immigration laws and has very limited role for states.

And what we are seeing I believe is a consistent kind of revolution from below where you have Republican run states that are trying to take control of immigration policies both by what they are doing unilaterally, we can talk more about that, but also there are over 20 lawsuits now pending from various combination of red states that are suing the Biden administration to prevent them from changing the approaches, the hard line approaches that Donald Trump used.

So when you take the unilateral action and then the movement in federal court, you see the same kind of dual track tactic that red states used to overturn Roe v. Wade. And I think we are seeing something like that on the immigration front.

BROWN: I want to point to this new poll by Reuters-Ipsos that shows only 29 percent of Americans agree with this policy of shipping migrants to blue states.

[19:25:04]

How much should this sentiment factor into Republicans' decision making going forward?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, there is the legal question, right. I mean, the Biden administration has not taken the bait in effect. They have not gone into court to stop this. But DeSantis is facing a criminal investigation in Texas and also a class action lawsuit from civil rights groups representing some of the migrants who were shipped, and are both seeking damages and to enjoin him from doing this any further.

Look, in the Republican Party, there's no question the center of gravity has moved toward broad hostility to immigration and the way it is changing the country. 70 percent plus of Republican voters say in polls that the growing number of immigrants are threatening American values. And in the Trump administration, during the Trump years the vast majority of House and Senate Republicans voted for the biggest cut in legal immigration since the 1920s.

So DeSantis is on firm ground within his coalition. But as we were talking about in that segment, when there is a large group of voters now who are worried about what the Trump-era Republican Party means for rights and liberties that Americans have enjoyed, I think this kind of action which has the feel of a stunt that treats, you know, vulnerable people as pawns, I think it risks alienating the same kind of particularly white collar, suburban voters who have moved so sharply away from the GOP since 2016.

BROWN: I want to step back a little bit here and look bigger picture because you're concerned that these red states won't stop with immigration, right? And you say in the article that it's just one example of an effort to define a nation within a nation, one operating with a set of rules and policies that diverge from the rest of America more than almost any previous era.

Where else are some factions of the GOP trying to force policy changes that they can't effect in Washington?

BROWNSTEIN: Right. Look, I mean, one of the big stories of the past 60 years from the early 1960s is what legal scholars call the rights revolution. Between Congress and the Supreme Court, we nationalized more rights, the right to abortion, the right to same-sex marriage, the right to interracial marriage, the right to contraception. And we reduced the freedom of states to curtail those rights. Of course, ending segregation with the Civil Rights Act.

The general trend was nationalizing more rights. And what we are seeing is a concerted effort to reverse that six-decade pattern where you have the red states are passing new restrictions on voting, obviously the restrictions on abortion, LGBTQ rights, preventing transgender girls from playing high school sports, making it easier to ban books, limiting how teachers can talk about race and gender and sexual orientation, and then relying on sympathetic judges to support this in the courts.

And abortion, as I said, really demonstrates it. I mean, when Mississippi passed that law, it was -- it's really, they knew it was in violation of Roe. It was designed to provide an opportunity for this new conservative majority on the Supreme Court to revisit and overturn Roe. And there are people who believe that what Texas and Florida are doing by transporting migrants and also by what Texas is doing by authorizing state law enforcement personnel to enforce immigration law, they're doing the same thing.

They're trying to create a test case that will allow this Supreme Court to overturn the decisions as recently as 2012 in regarding Arizona that said the states have very limited freedom to get involved. So it is a two-track process of both advancing unilateral restrictions on rights in the states and then moving into the federal courts to undo what had previously been nationally guaranteed rights.

BROWN: Ron Brownstein, thank you. Really interesting.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, Pam.

BROWN: A shocking story tonight from Colorado. A train slams into a police car with a handcuffed woman inside. She survived, but there are a lot of questions tonight about how this happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:33:30]

BROWN: We have shocking new video of a train that struck a police car parked on the tracks with a suspect still inside. She is currently in the hospital, but is expected to survive, and I must warn you, the video we're about to show you is disturbing.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

BROWN: It is just shocking, Camila, to watch that video. What happened here?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's unbelievable and it is shocking, but I'll start from the beginning. Authorities say that they received a call reporting a road rage incident and this is about 30 miles outside of Denver, so Platteville Police responded and when they arrived they found Yareni Rios-Gonzales.

And here is what's key in all of this: She pulls over just past the railroad tracks. So, the officer that's coming in behind your parks right on the tracks. Moments later, more officers arrive. This is Fort Lupton Police now on the scene. They arrest that 20-year-old woman and they put her in the back of that patrol car.

[19:35:03]

BERNAL: In the meantime, the officers go to her truck and they're trying to search her vehicle for this alleged gun that they believe is involved in the incident. And as they are doing that, that's when you hear the train horn, that's when you see the chaos, the officers cursing and of course, that shocking moment when you see that train crushing that patrol car.

We know that she is okay and expect it to survive, but her attorney is speaking out to local media and saying that she has nine broken ribs, injuries to her back and her head, a broken arm. So, of course these are very serious injuries and it is going to take a lot of time to recover.

The officer that's involved in all of this that parked that vehicle on the tracks, he is on paid administrative leave at the moment, but of course this investigation is one that we will continue to ask about -- Pam.

BROWN: Yes, I mean clearly she is seriously injured, but it is pretty remarkable that she is expected to survive after watching that video.

Camila Bernal, thank you.

BERNAL: Thank you.

BROWN: Well, they are massive protests in Iran this weekend after a woman died in the custody of the country's Morality Police, a group that enforces headscarf laws.

We're going to have the latest up next on CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:55]

BROWN: International anger is growing over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman. They grieved in places like London and Berlin today for Mahsa Amini. Iran's Morality Police known for enforcing headscarf laws arrested her last week, and she died in their custody three days later, at a hospital. The Iranians claimed a heart attack and preexisting conditions killed Amini, but many on the streets of Iran do not buy that explanation, and a number of women are among those risking their lives in protest.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is watching developments from Istanbul.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pam, while the Iranian government is continuing to restrict the internet in the country, blocking social media platforms, we are still seeing video trickling out of the country on Saturday. It appears like protesters were out on the streets of many cities across the country.

In the capital, Tehran, we saw university students, many of them women taking to the streets chanting "Death to the Dictator." Of course, those protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old. Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's Morality Police, but we have seen the calls for justice and accountability turn into cries for freedoms and rights that this generation of young Iranians has never had.

We've seen these remarkable acts of defiance on the streets with women removing their headscarves, burning their headscarves, taking a great risk to do this.

And at the same time now, we are seeing the government crackdown continuing. According to the United Nations, they say that the government has used excessive force in facing these protests. Amnesty International saying that authorities have opened fire directly and deliberately at protesters.

By different estimates, we've seen dozens of people so far have been killed. We can't verify those numbers ourselves. According to Iranian state media, they also say that more than a thousand people have been detained so far. And there is a lot of concern that this crackdown is only going to intensify.

The government appears to be mobilizing its supporters. It is describing those protesters as rioters, describing what's going on in the country right now as a foreign conspiracy. Ominous warnings coming from the Army and the Revolutionary Guard Corps saying that they are ready to step in and deal with these protests.

Many watching what is going on right now, those who know what has been going on in Iran for years are worried that we're seeing the signs that the government is going to unleash a brutal crackdown to crush these protests as it has done in the past -- Pam.

BROWN: All right, Jomana, thank you.

A Connecticut Police Chief is putting the work in to community engagement and it is paying off in a big way. A preview of tonight's special "Champions for Change" with the story of one of the changemakers we're highlighting, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:53:28] BROWN: "Champion for Change" is CNN's week-long series bringing you extraordinary people working every day to change the world for the better.

Today, we introduce you to an innovative Police Chief in Westport, Connecticut.

Long before the murder of George Floyd when police reform became a national conversation, this Chief had already put major reforms in place. He is truly a beloved Police Chief and CNN's Alisyn Camerota rode along with him to see why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Foti epitomizes what policing should be realizing that times have changed and the duties of police officer have changed.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I had heard for years that the people in Westport, Connecticut love their Police Chief. Why do they love their Police Chief, particularly in this climate of tension?

And so I just wanted to find out what he is doing that could be implemented around the rest of the country.

All right, so we're going to get in the car and you're going to take me for a drive.

CHIEF FOTI KOSKINAS, WESTPORT POLICE CHIEF: We are going for a ride.

I moved to the US from Greece at the age of 11 and not knowing a word of English. I started as a police officer in 1996.

CAMEROTA: What I found is that Chief Foti has managed to successfully straddle the line between being pro-cop and pro-community.

KOSKINAS: It's a good stepping stone.

HAROLD BAILEY, COMMUNITY LEADER: Foti started looking into these issues, years before George Floyd when Michael Brown had just been killed. We talked about what needed to change, what didn't, and what I saw out of him with someone who listened and we saw there was some change in his perspective, but there was change in ours as well, for a number of us because we got to see what you had to deal with.

[19:50:14]

BAILEY: And we saw out of him a commitment to look at what was going on in the police force and establish a set of standards for reforms.

KOSKINAS: The day of the George Floyd incident, we were not backpedaling and backtracking and making excuses or even fighting the changes, we had already made the changes. So chokeholds, duty to intervene. They're all commonsense. Every police department should be doing this. DAN WOOG, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: I think he takes so seriously the idea that he is the Police Chief of everyone, whether it's the LGBTQ rally, Black Lives Matter. Foti was in the middle of it showing that he was there.

KOSKINAS: I stand here with you. I marched with.

I specifically said to the group that I will kneel with you, but I will kneel with you for a moment of silence. I will kneel with you for a moment of prayer. And I will kneel for you against police brutality, I will absolutely not kneel with you against police and I will not kneel with you against the flag.

I have challenged the status quo. At times, I got in trouble for challenging the status quo, but I wouldn't change anything about it. I think if I didn't, I wouldn't be where I am today.

CAMEROTA: So for five years in my 20s, I was a reporter at the crime show "America's Most Wanted." And then when I worked at that show, it really opened my eyes to all that police do and how the best ones, and I'm not saying there aren't bad ones, but the best ones go above and beyond and really are there for all the right reasons and are doing it for the justice of the community.

KOSKINAS: We hold a lot of different programs so we can get involved with the community. We do a cornhole, which seems to be the up and coming thing. It's a setup by high school kids and the officers participate in it.

For me as the Police Chief to be in shorts and a t-shirt playing cornhole, I'm just one of them at that point. Where that helps, when there is a crisis or when something is happening at the high school and we've had real lockdown, these kids have had the comfort to go to the School Resource Officer.

CAMEROTA: He is walking the walk literally. People know him. He stops to say hello to people. He grants kids' wishes.

KOSKINAS: It's showtime, I am saying, let's go have some fun.

Go ahead. So, we'll be out with Green 32.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have Green 32.

KOSKINAS: Come on. Come on. Oh, explode. Come on. Well, we're done.

WOOG: You can't fake what Foti does. You can't fake his smile. You can't fake his enthusiasm. You can't fake his genuineness. What you see with Foti is what you get, and we're lucky to get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And in just a few minutes, you can meet all of our Champions, a CNN journalist shine a light on those who inspire them. Our one-hour special "Champions for Change" is coming up at the top of the hour.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Up next, retired Justice Stephen Breyer on what he calls his frustrating final year on the bench.

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BROWN: He has been on the debate stage and asked the tough questions in interviews. Chris Wallace and his new show "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace" is on HBO Max and premieres on CNN tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Here is a portion of his interview with retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, his first interview since stepping down from the High Court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WALLACE, CNN HOST, "WHO'S TALKING TO CHRIS WALLACE": You had a bad final year. Some of the most important cases on the Court -- abortion, guns, the power of the EPA to regulate the climate. You were on the losing side. Was that frustrating for you to lose important case after important case?

STEPHEN BREYER, RETIRED SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: Yes.

WALLACE: But how frustrating?

BREYER: It is very frustrating.

WALLACE: When the Court undoes a right that people have lived with for half a century, doesn't that very much shake the authority of the court?

BREYER: Did I like this Dobbs decision? Of course, I didn't. Of course, I didn't. Was I happy about it? Not for an instant. Did I do everything I could to persuade people? Of course, of course.

But there we are, and now we go on and we try to work to get that on. I mean, it's a little corny what I think, but I do think it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Don't miss, "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace" tomorrow night at seven here on CNN.

Well, the actress who portrayed a nurse in the movie, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" has died. Louise Fletcher won an Academy Award for playing the villainous character back in 1976 and she starred in other roles, but Fletcher will most be remembered as the authoritarian controlling nurse opposite Jack Nicholson in the comedy drama film about a mental institute.

The movie won all five major Academy Awards and is considered one of the greatest films ever made.

Well, thank you so much for joining me this evening. I am Pamela Brown and I will see you again tomorrow night starting at 5:00 Eastern. "Champions for Change" starts right now.

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